Shore Excursion Cancellation

[blondie1234]

I usually book Princess and you can load up on the shore excursions at no charge, and as long as you cancel at the time posted in the bulletin there is no charge.

 

I see on Holland America this is not the case; if you book online, they charge you right away. It also says something about cancellation being "at least 10%." This seems to be for all types of tours,even island tours, etc. Princess never imposed any kind of cancellation fee unless it was a real specialized tour. Does anyone know what the deal is with Holland America? What is the cancellation fee if you cancel the tour, like if you cancel within the alloted time? Also, I am referring to only basic tours, nothing specialized.

 

Are other lines like Holland America and impose fees for cancellation? I guess I was spoiled by Princess, where they do not impose any fees and you can change your mind at will (up to 2 days before). Seems stupid to impose cancellation fees for basic tours, IMO. Not sure why HA does it and Princess does not.

[Caribbean Chris]

Yes, I know my Princess-loving friend was very annoyed about it when they joined us on the Noordam once.

 

Celebrity, FYI, also charges your credit card immediately when you book a tour or a specialty restaurant dinner in advance.

 

I don't recall there being any penalty if you cancelled before departure date or something like 48 hours ahead, but my memory may be faulty... and we've not ever cancelled one.

 

I think it is a good policy. It deters people from "loading up" just in case they might want to use the space...meanwhile blocking space for other people who really wanted to go. Separates the chaff from the wheat. Much better for the cruise line and their tour operator's point of view to be able to plan realistically.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Holland America has been doing this for years.

You do pay immediately when you book excursions online.

You can cancel on line up to either about 3 days before your cruise and there is no penality.

Once on the ship, you can cancel only on embarkation and not be charged a fee.

There will be an excursion booklet in your cabin that will list the cancellation dates for each port. You usually have 24 - 48 hours to cancel a tour and you will be charged a 10% penality.

If you miss the deadline -- there is no refund.

[profteedee]

So good to know. Thanks so much. We've never sailed HAL before and were unaware of this policy.

[cabinluvn]

We sailed the Noordam September 2011. It was a very port intensive tour and we became weary of the herding of people in a short amount of time. We went to the desk the morning of one of the tours and asked if we could switch tours from an intense walking tour to a laid back sightseeing tour, which happened to be cheaper. They did it, no problem and even credited the difference.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Esri]

We sailed the Noordam September 2011. It was a very port intensive tour and we became weary of the herding of people in a short amount of time. We went to the desk the morning of one of the tours and asked if we could switch tours from an intense walking tour to a laid back sightseeing tour, which happened to be cheaper. They did it, no problem and even credited the difference.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

In May 2011, the official policy was no refund unless you canceled at least 24 hours in advance. But I did get a refund on one excursion I had to cancel at the very last minute because my sister was ill. I also did NOT get a refund for another cancellation. The first tour was really full (maybe even overbooked), but the second was barely meeting the minimum to go. They will work with you when they can, but they are a business and to keep that business going, they have to make money.

[silvercruiser]

If I book an excursion after I get on the ship will it be billed to my onboard account or does it go right to my credit card? Although I have 132 days on HAL I've never booked ahead of time evidently, like I always do on Princess. With a 35-day cruise coming up in July (VOV) I'm wondering about all this.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

If you book an excursion aboard ship,it is charged to your shipboard account. If an excursion that you booked online before the start of the cruise, is canceled by the ship during the cruise, usually due to lack of participation, your onboard account is credited. This happened to us on our recent Amsterdam cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our Hawaiian cruise a few years ago, the weather was so bad that many of the shore excursions were cancelled by the cruise line.

Everything went back onto our shipboard account as credit even though we had prepaid for these tours before we left home.

Hundreds of us got a lot of shipboard credit and many of us were given money back at the end of the cruise.

[IRL_Joanie]

I usually book Princess and you can load up on the shore excursions at no charge, and as long as you cancel at the time posted in the bulletin there is no charge.

 

I see on Holland America this is not the case; if you book online, they charge you right away. It also says something about cancellation being "at least 10%." This seems to be for all types of tours,even island tours, etc. Princess never imposed any kind of cancellation fee unless it was a real specialized tour. Does anyone know what the deal is with Holland America? What is the cancellation fee if you cancel the tour, like if you cancel within the alloted time? Also, I am referring to only basic tours, nothing specialized.

 

Are other lines like Holland America and impose fees for cancellation? I guess I was spoiled by Princess, where they do not impose any fees and you can change your mind at will (up to 2 days before). Seems stupid to impose cancellation fees for basic tours, IMO. Not sure why HA does it and Princess does not.

 

Hmmmm.... I think I LOVE HAL's way of doing it because when you have to pay for an excursion up front you are less likely to book one that you can just blow off.

 

So many of the best excursions get sold out on HAL that they have to have a wait list for them, and it means that many of us do not get to take a specific excursion because we were to late in booking......I understand it, but.....

 

As to another line letting you book without paying until 2 days before.....I think that is wrong, IMO, because tours are usually limited to a specific amount of people and let's say that a cruise line offers, "Tour of Seattle Space Needle" the group/company places a limit of how many people they can take to ...let's say 100 people. Now let's say that a cruise line lets you book willy nilly and has over 300 peple who've signed up for that tour.....How do you tell those 200 that there is no room, sorry we over booked..............And who decides who those 100 lucky people are???

 

The way HAL does it works better because you pay for what you want and are guaranteed your place on that excursion:)

 

Joanie

[Typhoon1]

While no cancellation fee will be charged for bookings that are cancelled online, please note that online cancellations will not be accepted during the 3-day period prior to cruise departure. Instead, you will need to cancel once you board the ship. All onboard cancellations are subject to at least a 10% cancellation fee. If you cancel a Signature of Excellence shore excursion within 3 days of sailing, a 100% cancellation fee will apply since transportation and services will have already been arranged. If the onboard cancellation occurs after the cancellation deadline for the specific shore excursion, a 100% cancellation fee will apply. Optional excursions during the land portion of a Cruisetour are non-refundable within 3 days of your Cruisetour departure date. The ship's Shore Excursion Office will be able to advise you of the cancellation deadline applicable to each shore excursion. Passengers who wish to cancel should go the Shore Excursion Officer upon embarkation.

 

In the case of online cancellations made by you (which cannot be made during the 3-day period prior to cruise departure) or cancellations made by us more than 3 days prior to cruise departure, we will issue a credit on the credit card that you used to pay for the booking. For all other cancellations (whether by you, Holland America Line or the shore excursion operator), a credit will not be given on your credit card. Instead, we will apply an ONBOARD CREDIT ONLY policy under which the refund (less any cancellation fee) will show up as a credit to the shipboard account of the person who was to take the shore excursion. If the credit is not fully utilized during the cruise, the balance will be paid to that passenger by the ship's Purser.

 

You are cautioned not to leave anything behind while sightseeing, especially such items as cameras, coats and umbrellas, and are reminded that Holland America Line is not liable for any lost items or damage to any baggage or other property which occurs ashore, for any reason whatsoever. Passengers who leave during a tour for which transportation is included must thereafter provide for their own transportation and services at their own expense.

[itzmered]

 

 

As to another line letting you book without paying until 2 days before.....I think that is wrong, IMO, because tours are usually limited to a specific amount of people and let's say that a cruise line offers, "Tour of Seattle Space Needle" the group/company places a limit of how many people they can take to ...let's say 100 people. Now let's say that a cruise line lets you book willy nilly and has over 300 peple who've signed up for that tour.....How do you tell those 200 that there is no room, sorry we over booked..............And who decides who those 100 lucky people are???

 

The way HAL does it works better because you pay for what you want and are guaranteed your place on that excursion:)

 

Joanie

 

That is not how it works on Princess. If the tour has room for say 100 people they will take 80 bookings online and the other 20 are left for onboard booking. Not sure of the exact numbers but a certain percentage are held for onboard bookings. They dont let more people reserve than they have space for, if you book online you are guaranteed a spot. It is really no different than how HAL does it except you pay with your onboard account instead of with your credit card in advance and they dont charge a penalty for canceling as long as you cancel 48 hours in advance of the excursion. I like the fact that Princess holds so many of each tour for onboard booking only. That way people that dont go online to book still have a chance at booking. NCL also makes you pay by credit card if you book online but they let you cancel with in 48 hours with no penalty like Princess does.

[cruz chic]

Hmmmm.... I think I LOVE HAL's way of doing it because when you have to pay for an excursion up front you are less likely to book one that you can just blow off.

 

So many of the best excursions get sold out on HAL that they have to have a wait list for them, and it means that many of us do not get to take a specific excursion because we were to late in booking......I understand it, but.....

 

As to another line letting you book without paying until 2 days before.....I think that is wrong, IMO, because tours are usually limited to a specific amount of people and let's say that a cruise line offers, "Tour of Seattle Space Needle" the group/company places a limit of how many people they can take to ...let's say 100 people. Now let's say that a cruise line lets you book willy nilly and has over 300 peple who've signed up for that tour.....How do you tell those 200 that there is no room, sorry we over booked..............And who decides who those 100 lucky people are???

 

The way HAL does it works better because you pay for what you want and are guaranteed your place on that excursion:)

 

Joanie

I do like the Princess way of doing things. I would never book anything unless I am committed to going. I think to "load up" is not really having consideration of other pax. Since I'm Canadian HAL's way is a bit of pain because you book a shorex and you get charged in USD at one rate. If HAL cancels or I do then it's at another rate. I can tell you I never end up ahead on that one.

[sandij]

We always book our excursions through the cruise line, Carnival charges immediately also and I can understand they are trying to avoid the people who save and then wait for something better (wonder if they're chair hogs also)