HAL's shore excursions...pre-book or buy onboard

[TAD2005]

We have an upcoming Zuiderdam 26 day cruise from Athens to Ft. Lauderdale, on Oct 14. We occasionally get e-mails from HAL to book our tours online, before embarkation day; the premise is to guarantee we will get the tours we want. We have been on many cruises, HAL, Crystal, Celebrity, Princess, Cunard and NCL, and we have never had a problem booking onboard. I realize that private car/minibus tours are limited capacity. But the standard 20 - 30 passenger bus tours with guides are almost always available when booked onboard, with a reasonable lead-time. HAL makes a huge markup on shore excursions, so I would think that when they see a tour selling out, a phone call from the excursion desk is quickly made to reserve a few more busses and tour guides. Has anyone seen a popular tour totally sold out, a week or so in advance, and they could never clear the waitlist ? Is it really worth purchasing shore excursions ahead of time online or is this a plan by HAL to get your cash upfront ?

[rkacruiser]

If there is a HAL Shore Excursion that I have my heart on experiencing and would be disappointed if I missed it by delaying my booking, I will book it online before embarkation.

 

I have been on many cruises where some Shore Excursions were sold out with only a waiting list available. In some ports, there is only so much tour transportation available.

 

Certainly, HAL would like to have your cash sooner than later. One has to make their own decision as to what they wish to do in this area. The importance of the tour to you ought to be the deciding factor, I think.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The tour companies that HAL books through can't always get extra buses on short notice.

So if we see a tour that we really want to do, we pre-book it right away.

When we were in Germany, we pre-booked the train ride. Some people waited until they got onto the ship and found it was already completely sold out.

[CruiserBruce]

I agree, the local vender's can't always add another bus or guide "on a simple phone call". Some of the sights or locations have limits. The vendors have limits.

 

If the excursion is severely capacity restricted, like helicopter rides, for example, the limit is the limit.

 

Do you really think HAL is making a lot of money at today's rates having your money for a couple of months? Airfares are expensive, do you pay them at the gate? You paid for your cruise 75 days out...

 

Some people like paying for their excursions in advance. Helps with budgeting.

Edited August 14, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[kazu]

While we don't do a lot of HAL tours, we do some and those that we do, we want to do. So, we book on line in advance.

 

I have seen tours sold out on the ship and HAL is offering some small group tours on our upcoming cruise of 20 people which does appeal to me, and I suspect they will sell out early.

 

By the way, for the OP, the norm I have seen on a tour bus is usually around 30-40, not 20-30 unless you book the small group excursion.

 

Booking early holds one advantage for us Canadians as well. With a dropping loonie, it can work out in our favour big time if we are lucky enough to book at the right "time". You can save some money that way.

 

And, as Cruiser Bruce says, it can help with budgeting to spread some of the costs out with a bit here and a bit there :)

[wander]

I am also a person who looks over the potential tours and if some are of particular interest to me and or really important to me - I purchase them early. For - "well maybe" tours I wait until onboard. In years past I did miss out on a few desired because of waiting. I am particularly quick when a tour is marked as "Limited", such as many tours involving 4x4s.

[ellieanne]

I agree with everyone else. If there is a tour I definitely want, I will book it online early. This is especially the case with small-group/limited tours, but I'll book larger-group tours if I definitely want to do them.

 

Sometimes I'll decide to cancel what I originally booked online and switch to something else once we are onboard, but that's rare.

 

The only time I have booked tours onboard recently was a stop in New York when for whatever reason, NO tours were available for booking online prior to the cruise.

[Cruising-along]

I've never booked excursions onboard, other than when ours was canceled and we had to choose another one.

 

I like to plan ahead, and I like to have as much paid for ahead of time as possible. I also don't like to spend my vacation time standing in line at the shore excursion desk.

JMO :)

[syesmar]

Hi,

Our last 24 Day Cruise was 2 12 day segments. Once on board, I was not allowed to fully book an excursion for the 2nd segment; they waitlisted us until the final half began even though it was not full (thankfully, we were able to join).

 

Also, for the only time in our sailings, we were not allowed to purchase transportation to the airport once on board (they claimed my flight out of BCN was too early, but they in fact had a half empty bus that left around the same time we did for the airport, most passengers of which were on our flight! It all worked out, as our taxi was half the cost of the shuttle and we left when we wanted).

 

But I will definitely keep that experience in mind as I make plans for any future multi-segment sailings.

 

All the Best!

[DeeniEncinitas]

I always book online! The last thing I want to do is waste my time on a holiday standing at the front office like I have seen trying to reserve some excursions.

Just my opinion.

Denise:)

[dmcfad2]

The only problem I can see with booking online is if I wanted to use OBC to pay for my excursions. Does anyone know if there is a way to book online ahead of time and have it taken off your OBC? On my upcoming Caribbean cruise I have a lot of OBC!

[DaveOKC]

If you definitely want a specific tour - book it ahead of time to be safe.

 

One thing no one has mentioned yet is that while the tour may be available onboard, the time you want may already be booked. Once we were going to take a jungle tour in Costa Rica and someone on these CC boards mentioned to take an early tour time. We booked before hand and got a very early time. We had a great tour, but by the time we finished it was already getting hot. Later, we met some folks who had a later tour time (that was all that was left onboard) and they were very miserable on the tour and really did not enjoy it.

[3rdGenCunarder]

The only problem I can see with booking online is if I wanted to use OBC to pay for my excursions. Does anyone know if there is a way to book online ahead of time and have it taken off your OBC? On my upcoming Caribbean cruise I have a lot of OBC!

 

I don't think you can do that. When the Anniversary tour OBC was announced, there was some speculation about booking in advance, cancelling on board (credit card you used gets the refund), then re-booking on board to use the OBC. But nobody knows if this will work. If you cancel and there are people on a waitlist, they may get your spots on the tour and you won't be able to go.

 

Lots of tours sell out in advance. Our cruise leaves in a few weeks, and I'd guess that nearly half of the tours are no longer available.

[RuthC]

Does anyone know if there is a way to book online ahead of time and have it taken off your OBC?

Sorry, there isn't any way to work it this way.

If you book in advance, you pay in advance. If you want to use OBC, you book on board.

[TAD2005]

Sorry, there isn't any way to work it this way.

If you book in advance, you pay in advance. If you want to use OBC, you book on board.

Thanks Ruth & Debbie. That is my situation, I have a bunch of OBC, plus more coming as a gift from a friend. I already have the Explore-4 promotion plus TA dining gifts, which includes PG and Cannelloni lunches and dinners, plus I have the 26 day Signature Beverage Package. So, my onboard expenses will be mostly the hotel service charge and some casino chips. I would rather use the money I have in HAL's bank instead of what's in my bank.

I have heard of people booking online, then cancelling on the ship, with the intention of using OBC to rebook. But, cancelling onboard gets you a 10% penalty for tours booked online, according to HAL's website FAQ's.

So, I guess my only options are to take a chance on sold-out tours or book the critical ones online. Thanks for all of your input.

[Katie333]

Thanks Ruth & Debbie. That is my situation, I have a bunch of OBC, plus more coming as a gift from a friend. I already have the Explore-4 promotion plus TA dining gifts, which includes PG and Cannelloni lunches and dinners, plus I have the 26 day Signature Beverage Package. So, my onboard expenses will be mostly the hotel service charge and some casino chips. I would rather use the money I have in HAL's bank instead of what's in my bank.

I have heard of people booking online, then cancelling on the ship, with the intention of using OBC to rebook. But, cancelling onboard gets you a 10% penalty for tours booked online, according to HAL's website FAQ's.

So, I guess my only options are to take a chance on sold-out tours or book the critical ones online. Thanks for all of your input.

 

Been there! In my limited experience with HAL, I've never seen zero tours available. With a lot of OBC on our most cruise we waited until onboard and found there was still choice (though granted, we only did a tour in one port as we had been everywhere else multiple times). If you really have your heart set on something, book it in advance, otherwise, be prepared to be flexible, but it's rare there is no option, there are lots of cruisers who, for whatever reason, don't book in advance.

[OlsSalt]

Yes, we always purchase most of our tours ahead of time if they look like they will be limited capacity. Some ports don't have the ability to keep adding resources to meet the demand.

 

Nor would they even want to over-load the experience to meet this additional demand. So pick the ones you want for sure and ensure you get them. Others that appear to be a more large bus bulk experience might not be so critical.

 

I know many feel HAL tours are over-priced but we have found them to uniformly excellent and most of them avoid getting dragged into additional "shopping experiences" the less expensive local tours can often tack on - "my uncles jewelry shop - best prices" type ruses.

[Traveling Dot]

I have a question about booking online. If we book online for an excursion does it count toward our mariner points for spending on the cruise?

[OlsSalt]

I have a question about booking online. If we book online for an excursion does it count toward our mariner points for spending on the cruise?

 

Yes.

[take us away]

I book online if it is a tour I do not want to miss. If there are options for a few tours in a port, I wait until on board. Tend to 'do my own thing' in several ports and have found that the very 'touristy' ports tend to have a lot of capacity for people on tours so tend to worry less in these ports. The form where you check your tour and drop it in the box outside the excursion desk is a huge time saver. Think some ships now have an interactive booking system in the hallways - outside the forward elevators on the Noordam if I remember.

[oldmanonthesea]

Why does HAL charge for online tour reservations at the time the booking is made? Every other cruise line I have been on let's you book online and then adds the your cost to your onboard account.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[RuthC]

Why does HAL charge for online tour reservations at the time the booking is made? Every other cruise line I have been on let's you book online and then adds the your cost to your onboard account.

Why not? You're purchasing the product, so might as well pay for it.

 

The advantage is that there is supply available for those who are seriously committed to that excursion. If you don't have to pay for it at the time of purchase, then there's no reason not to book several tours, leaving the decision of what to take until later. This ties up supply, and others who might want that tour can be shut out.

 

Another advantage is that people who want to budget, and pay as they go along, can do so.

If you aren't sure, or want to use OBC, then it's better to wait to book on board.

[Ottawa traveller]

Yes on board credit counts for mariner points.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Ottawa traveller
original unclear

[kazu]

Why does HAL charge for online tour reservations at the time the booking is made? Every other cruise line I have been on let's you book online and then adds the your cost to your onboard account.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

huh:confused:

 

I am on an Oceania cruise in the fall and I can ASSURE you that everything I have booked so far has been immediately charged to my credit card. Just like HAL does (and no, the lines are NOT related)

 

it is what I would expect so I have no difficulty with it.;)

[gatorbill62]

I agree, the local vender's can't always add another bus or guide "on a simple phone call". Some of the sights or locations have limits. The vendors have limits.

 

If the excursion is severely capacity restricted, like helicopter rides, for example, the limit is the limit.

 

Do you really think HAL is making a lot of money at today's rates having your money for a couple of months? Airfares are expensive, do you pay them at the gate? You paid for your cruise 75 days out...

 

Some people like paying for their excursions in advance. Helps with budgeting.

I agree with Bruce, we book in advance mainly for budgeting reasons, that way we are not hit with a huge bill at the end of the cruise.