Shore tour booking process?

[comcox]

I know that each category of cabin has a specific number of days in advance for pre-booking excursions (ours will be 67 days in advance), but at what time on that assigned first day is booking allowed? I've read in a couple of postings about folks getting up early that day to hit the computer. Are they opened at midnight? If so, midnight in what time zone?

 

Some tours on our sailing have multiple times listed. Will you know immediately if you got your preferred time slot or is that something you find out later? I ask because in a couple ports we may be able to do both an included and an optional tour IF we can get a specific time slot for one of them.

 

Also is payment required at time of booking for the optional tours?

[Peregrina651]

I know that each category of cabin has a specific number of days in advance for pre-booking excursions (ours will be 67 days in advance), but at what time on that assigned first day is booking allowed? I've read in a couple of postings about folks getting up early that day to hit the computer. Are they opened at midnight? If so, midnight in what time zone?

 

Some tours on our sailing have multiple times listed. Will you know immediately if you got your preferred time slot or is that something you find out later? I ask because in a couple ports we may be able to do both an included and an optional tour IF we can get a specific time slot for one of them.

 

Also is payment required at time of booking for the optional tours?

 

You are in luck. Booking opens at midnight Pacific time. (That means 3 am Boston time and I stayed up waiting knowing that I wouldn't sleep for anticipation).

 

Payment is required at the time of booking.

 

Where there are multiple time slots, you get to choose from among the time slots that are still available. If you do book two tours in one day (or if you are traveling with a group), then you should keep an eye on your booking over the weeks leading up to your cruise. Viking has the very bad habit of changing your cruise time without telling you. If they do make changes that interfere with you two tours in one day plan, contact Viking immediately (tellus@vikingcruises.com) and get it made right. Also, check you tickets as soon as you get to your cabin to make sure that nothing has been changed--and visit the shorex desk immediately if necessary.

 

If a tour you want (especially an included tour) contact Viking and beg them to put on additional buses. They will not inform you if additional buses are put on, you will have to keep checking back on My Viking Journey to see if the tour you want is no longer marked as sold out.

[Dauntless]

I made a copy of my shore excursions on the day they were verified and then printed it off so it would show the date they were made. This way you have a hard copy to show the Explorer's Desk if your plans had been changed wihtout your knowledge. As it turns out, I didn't need it because tickets stated the time assigned but if they didn't, I had more proof than just my word.

[Peregrina651]

I made a copy of my shore excursions on the day they were verified and then printed it off so it would show the date they were made.

 

Me, too. Saved them as pdf that I will put on my phone.

[PROCRUISE]

Yep, got up at 2:55 AM last Monday morning, flipped on the computer, and at 3:00 AM EST was allowed to sign up for excursions and also made a copy, just in case!

[comcox]

Thanks for all the great tips. I've already gone through the excursions and put them on my wish list and printed that out so I can hopefully book quickly when the time comes. I'm scheduled to land at 11:59 pm the night before (one minute before booking time!) on another trip so I may just sit in the airport and book from there if I have to.

[Peregrina651]

Yep, got up at 2:55 AM last Monday morning, flipped on the computer, and at 3:00 AM EST was allowed to sign up for excursions and also made a copy, just in case!

 

The Brits and Aussies have it so much easier--well, except that the Aussies have that dateline thing to contend with but at least it is daylight.

[Peregrina651]

Thanks for all the great tips. I've already gone through the excursions and put them on my wish list and printed that out so I can hopefully book quickly when the time comes. I'm scheduled to land at 11:59 pm the night before (one minute before booking time!) on another trip so I may just sit in the airport and book from there if I have to.

 

Right, you can't book directly from your wish list. You have to go to the shorex page, to each day you wish to book a cruise, select the cruise and add it to the cart. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to it. I decide that I wanted to do it in multiple transactions (so that possibly I could use my credit card points for one of the tours) and still it took me only about 15 minutes.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Peregrina651

[Peregrina651]

Right, you can't book directly from your wish list. You have to go to the shorex page, to each day you wish to book a cruise, select the cruise and add it to the cart. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to it. I decide that I wanted to do it in multiple transactions (so that possibly I could use my credit card points for one of the tours) and still it took me only about 15 minutes.

 

Dang! No idea where my brain was when I typed this. For cruise, please read shorex or tour.

[Granny27]

Tours booked prior to boarding are billed immediately to your credit card. Tours booked on the ship go to your onboard account. One day we thought we could get in a second tour, but the timing was tight. The rep at the excursions desk advised that we could get a manual ticket written at the bus door to be charged to our onboard account later. She said that if she made the reservation in advance and we didn't get back in time for the second tour, she would be unable to refund the cost. It worked out perfectly.

 

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[Peregrina651]

Tours booked prior to boarding are billed immediately to your credit card. Tours booked on the ship go to your onboard account. One day we thought we could get in a second tour, but the timing was tight. The rep at the excursions desk advised that we could get a manual ticket written at the bus door to be charged to our onboard account later. She said that if she made the reservation in advance and we didn't get back in time for the second tour, she would be unable to refund the cost. It worked out perfectly.

 

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Thank you for this great tip!!! And thank Viking for making it possible. What a hassle-free way of handling a situation that could cause so much tension for everyone involved.

[Granny27]

Of course, this depends on space being available. The tour desk rep checked that out for us. I would always check with them before trying to do this.

 

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[Vineyard View]

I am guessing that you still have to EACH book your excursions and everything else in your individual MyJourney? In other words, I cannot book my DH as well as myself at the same time in mine? Last year that was how it worked so in essence you are each booking separately for the same excursion and any spa treatments? Dinner as well? Thanks!

[Peregrina651]

I am guessing that you still have to EACH book your excursions and everything else in your individual MyJourney? In other words, I cannot book my DH as well as myself at the same time in mine? Last year that was how it worked so in essence you are each booking separately for the same excursion and any spa treatments? Dinner as well? Thanks!

 

Unless you each have a different booking number, you can book for both of you in one visit to MVJ.

 

For example, when you go to book shorex and you click on LEARN MORE for the tour you want, a box will pop up that looks like this at the top and has a description of the tour below it (which for space I didn't copy). You won't see this until shorex booking has opened for you; until then it will tell you how many days you have until booking opens. If both of you are going on the tour, click both boxes. If one is doing one tour and the other wants wants to do a different tour, click one box. BTW if you are doing different tours, it won't let you book them both in the same name because it will cause a conflict. Shorex aren't confirmed until they have been paid for but you can fill your cart with all the tours you want before checking out. Spa and dining reservations work similarly, with check boxes. Hope this helps.

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Peregrina651

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Peregrina. Simplified is very good ☺️

[Peregrina651]

Thank you Peregrina. Simplified is very good ☺️

 

And a picture is worth a thousand words.;)

Edited November 19, 2016 by Peregrina651

[photopro2]

Yes, thank you Peregrina that was helpful for us too. Do you know if adding to the wishlist in advance changes the booking process at all?

 

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[Peregrina651]

Yes, thank you Peregrina that was helpful for us too. Do you know if adding to the wishlist in advance changes the booking process at all?

 

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Not that I have been able to figure out. For me, it was more an aide memoire so I could remember what we had decided. When I booked I just went directly to the shorex page and then went day by day adding our choices to the cart and then checked out. By the time it got to booking day, we had talked about which tours we wanted so much that I didn't even need to consult the guest list.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Peregrina651