Has Princess ever added tours when sold out?

[adstz]

We have booked a cruise/tour (FB4 - 2 nights Fairbanks, 2 nights Denali and train to Whittier) for summer 2016. We have never been on the Island so we went ahead and booked. After reading about the changes made during dry dock, I decided we would be better off moving our departure back a few days so we could sail on the Coral instead.

I investigated it for a few days and was going to talk to our travel companions to see if they agreed to the change.

When I went online again, all tours with the Coral are suddenly sold out. My travel agent says people are booking early for next year.

Is it possible that Princess will add more of this tour? It's the exact one we want to do as our friends have never been to Alaska and this gives them a good taste.

Thanks

[Pam in CA]

Yes, I've seen Princess add additional buses or tour times. However, it depends on additional demand, the port, the tour and whether the tour company has the resources to add another tour with guide.

[Astro Flyer]

Once on a "Wine Country Coastal" cruise from LA to Vancouver they didn't offer any wine tours from SF despite promoting them as options to Sonoma. It wasn't due to a lack of sufficient time as we didn't sail until 11:00 PM & many of us contacted Princess to voice our disappointment. They eventually added a wine tasting tour and there were 3 full large buses of happy wine tasters who enjoyed 3 different Sonoma wineries.

 

I know that's not the same as the OP's question but if they can add a tour that was not offered then hopefully it'll be possible to have additional buses for their tour.

[Loonbeam]

As I read this are you talking excursions or is the land portion booked...

 

If the land portion is what you mean, additional spots are not likely except for cancellations, as the Princess Lodges have limited capacity. Same for the trains, but they can add buses to supplement if available.

[Colo Cruiser]

In this case probably not.

[f-mattox]

If there is enough of a demand to add a bus they will add it if the tour operator can supply it. Ask to be put on the waiting list so they can track demand.

[Putterdude]

Often they will but for what you seem to be looking for probably not so likely. However, I would get your names on the waiting list.

[GUT2407]

Yes but it appears they base it on the number on the waitlist.

[cherylandtk]

If I read it correctly, you are asking if additional cruise tours (not shore excursions) are added? Then the answer is no.

 

But there is something unusual about the Coral cruise tour listings for 2016. Every single one of them is listed as sold out, yet the very same tours for the same months on the Island and Star show only one or two unavailable options. I have no idea what the issue is, perhaps a computer glitch, perhaps a change in deployment. But your TA is incorrect that they are sold out due to demand; if that were the case the cruise tours on the other two ships would show similar sell outs and they don't.

[john watson]

Yes; I have known them to create extra tours e.g. putting in an afternoon option. The option has to be feasible in terms of a venue being available for an increased number or the extended hours. In this respect it might well be impossible to add new options.

 

Regards John

[paul929207]

Princess has the cruise tours set up to maximize the use of their lodges. So they are unlikely to be able to add additional capacity.

 

As mentioned above, it sounds like something is going on if one ship is sold out for all cruise tours and the others have space on nearly all sailings.

[adstz]

To add to the confusion - if you look at just the sailing of the Coral, there are plenty of cabins available all summer 2016.

But if you look at the cruise/tour with the Coral, they are sold out all summer.

Somethings fishy.

Should I ask Princess? What is the likelihood they will actually know?

[cherylandtk]

You could call M-F when the IT dept is open. But wait until midway through the day, so they can attempt to recognize the problem and fix it first.

[Pam in CA]

To add to the confusion - if you look at just the sailing of the Coral, there are plenty of cabins available all summer 2016.

But if you look at the cruise/tour with the Coral, they are sold out all summer.

Somethings fishy.

Nothing fishy. Cruise tours sell out pretty quickly as space is limited for the tour section. All this means is that if you want to do a combination cruise and Princess tour, you're out of luck. If you want to just cruise, go ahead and book. You can always rent a car and do your own Alaska touring.

[2theship]

In some cases, I think they only post a certain number of openings at a time to be certain that they don't overbook. Once they know they can fill all of the orders, they'll add more. Sometimes it's a matter of arranging additional buses or contracting with more providers. On last's year's British Isles cruise, all of trips to the Edinburgh Tattoo sold out quickly. They must have managed to get some more tickets because at a later date, additional spots became available.

[caribill]

For all those replying.

 

Only a few of the replies recognize that the OP is asking about an Alaska cruisetour.

 

Responses about extra shore excursions do not apply to what the OP is asking about.

 

Op's real question comes down to is the Coral really sold out on the desired cruisetour or not.

[adstz]

For all those replying.

 

Only a few of the replies recognize that the OP is asking about an Alaska cruisetour.

 

Responses about extra shore excursions do not apply to what the OP is asking about.

 

Op's real question comes down to is the Coral really sold out on the desired cruisetour or not.

 

It appears that the cruise/tour in question with the Coral is NOT sold out. I just looked and they are again available. I'm guessing it was a glitch. I quickly emailed my travel agent to switch to the Coral.

Here's hoping!

[Colo Cruiser]

It appears that the cruise/tour in question with the Coral is NOT sold out. I just looked and they are again available. I'm guessing it was a glitch. I quickly emailed my travel agent to switch to the Coral.

Here's hoping!

 

 

You will find that happening a few times. I have seen it on many different ships/sailings so its not limited to the Coral. :)

Glad you were able to snag it.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Colo Cruiser