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Shore excursion sale

Kruzer Zuker

By Kruzer Zuker,
in Holland America Line

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CruiserBruce

CruiserBruce

Posted
Posted

Really? Cruise fares have nothing to do with excursion fares. I guess if you bought the cheapest cabin, and the most expensive excursion, on a very short cruise...maybe. But if a suite pax buys the cheapest excursion.... no correlation.

 

Rare sales. Not very often. You can probably, with a little research, book private tours for cheaper.

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, Kruzer Zuker said:

I know there is no general correlation.  Just the specific one I am looking for is more expensive than the cruise fare.  

 

Another thing, excursions prices are not shown until after booking.  Unlike other lines.  

 

 

 

Going for two nights in Machu Pichu, Peru might be one of those shore excursions that is more expensive than an original cruise fare. Suggest one takes a land-based trip instead of trying to awkwardly fit it into a cruise schedule.

 

Shore excursions into Agra and the Taj Mahal from Mumbai were often very pricey too. A two-night inland safari in South Africa between two port stops had pretty high sticker shock too. Flying to Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta is not cheap either. Tikal is another pricy one.  Typically, anything that requires a flight or overnight hotel stay starts adding up shore excursion costs, often prohibitively. 

 

Happens, but that is the price of traveling if this is what one chooses to do. 

Edited by OlsSalt
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mcrcruiser

mcrcruiser

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It is not hard to get into a private tour or organize one  .Benefits are many , MUCH lower cost , can design the tour the way you want it ,  limit the number of people on the  tour vs many on a ships tour ,ie :classic_biggrin:

 

 We have done & led  many private tours . First look at the posts in the Cruise Critic "Ports Section " for the area or country you want to see . Then read the posts of other cruise critic members to see who they used as a tour operator .then check that operator on tripadvisor.com or other worthy travel sites for  the tour operators  ratings  .Set it up to meet at a specific point on the ship & leave as a group  to meet the vendor at the port . Make sure the tour operator clearly understands that you want to be back at the pier one hour before the ship departs .Make sure your watches are set to ships time & not port time 

 

 You can also get ideas from Tripadvisor.com on tour operators 

Edited by mcrcruiser
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Alberta Quilter

Alberta Quilter

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HAL sometimes offers a View & Verandah promotion which has, as one of the perks, a discount on certain shore excursions.  When I booked under that promo, I found that the "sale" was about $5 less than the original price.  And, it was on the least popular shorex.  One time, I booked a cruise to Hawaii under the V&V promo - no shorex in Hawaii were reduced.  Only two shorex in Vancouver or Victoria were reduced.  I found that perk to be very disappointing.

 

OP what itinerary and which shore excursion are you looking at?  Maybe we can offer alternatives...

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caribill

caribill

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4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Going for two nights in Machu Pichu, Peru might be one of those shore excursions that is more expensive than an original cruise fare. Suggest one takes a land-based trip instead of trying to awkwardly fit it into a cruise schedule.

 

Shore excursions into Agra and the Taj Mahal from Mumbai were often very pricey too. A two-night inland safari in South Africa between two port stops had pretty high sticker shock too.

 

I agree with OlsSalt -- If a land trip (not by the cruise line) is feasible either before or after the cruise, then it is a much better value than a mid-cruise excursion to these places. They will usually cost less than a ship's tour, have less people on them and have more time to visit more sights along the way. In addition you will not be missing several days on the cruise ship and any ports that are visited during those days.

 

I know that when we visited Machu Pichu before a cruise in a group of five, we paid significantly less and saw more on our five day tour than the ship charged for their rushed three day tour. And last year we had a tour with 9 nights in India (including visiting the Taj Mahal) that cost less (including roundtrip airfare from the USA) than half of a cruise ship mid-cruise excursion cost.

 

However, if doing the mid-cruise ship's excursion is the only way in your lifetime you can get to see one of these sites, then to you it would be worth the cost.

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Kruzer Zuker

Kruzer Zuker

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Posted (edited)
15 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

HAL sometimes offers a View & Verandah promotion which has, as one of the perks, a discount on certain shore excursions.  When I booked under that promo, I found that the "sale" was about $5 less than the original price.  And, it was on the least popular shorex.  One time, I booked a cruise to Hawaii under the V&V promo - no shorex in Hawaii were reduced.  Only two shorex in Vancouver or Victoria were reduced.  I found that perk to be very disappointing.

 

OP what itinerary and which shore excursion are you looking at?  Maybe we can offer alternatives...

 

The one I am looking at is Tikal from Guatemala.  Charter flights involved.  $650pp x 4 people.  Was hoping for a sale or a promo or discount code like 5% off or something like that. 

 

A land tour in Central America would be another (probably much better) way to see it but I am not very interested in that at the moment.  

 

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Posted
40 minutes ago, Kruzer Zuker said:

 

The one I am looking at is Tikal from Guatemala.  Charter flights involved.  $650pp x 4 people.  Was hoping for a sale or a promo or discount code like 5% off or something like that. 

 

A land tour in Central America would be another (probably much better) way to see it but I am not very interested in that at the moment.  

 

 

Don't let $32 keep you from taking this shore excursion, if this is what you want to see and have no plans to return by land.  Not sure why you would expect a discount. Hoping for one I can understand (don't we all), but expecting one?

 

Small airport, limited flights, long distances, need to coordinate with ground transportation, guides, meals, etc in a very remote setting.  Good example of a limited capacity shore excursion where one needs to sign up early before it gets sold out.  

 

Wear good walking shoes and prepare for the heat. We did it. Quite fabulous and something that I assume would be impossible to pull off on your own.  Let alone feel assured and insursed HAL would be standing by you. Pay the premium added on shore excursion value, and then just enjoy it and don't second guess it.  C'mon, you are just talking $32 here. This quite frankly should not make or break your vacation.  

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ChinaShrek

ChinaShrek

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30 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Don't let $32 keep you from taking this shore excursion, if this is what you want to see and have no plans to return by land.  Not sure why you would expect a discount. Hoping for one I can understand (don't we all), but expecting one?

 

 

Royal Caribbean is offering a Cyber Monday sale on Shore Excursions.  Savings are up to 25% off, so they do happen.  Plus, I can understand the OP wanting to pay less.  Why should we pay 'full' price when we have been trained not to?

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Posted (edited)
32 minutes ago, Kruzer Zuker said:

Carnival also has some shorex promo on Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.  

 

If you don't know HAL is not Carnival and it is not Celebrity, you might want to keep looking for a cruise line that suits you better.  Take your pick from all the other ones that offer Tikal shore excursions.  Norwegian stops at Puerto Quetzel.  Plenty others also make stops here, but Norwegian was the cheapest.  Don't know if they offer Tikal but maybe you could arrange this on your own which could also save you some money.

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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USA Today sorts out various cruise lines and what shore excursions they offer in Puerto Quetzel.  Looks like only HAL offers Tikal https://traveltips.usatoday.com/shore-excursions-puerto-quetzal-guatemala-57576.html

 

Others suggest driving to Tikal from Belize - maybe another cruise entirely if you want to get to Tikal from the Caribbean side.

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Kruzer Zuker

Kruzer Zuker

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4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

If you don't know HAL is not Carnival and it is not Celebrity, you might want to keep looking for a cruise line that suits you better.  Take your pick from all the other ones that offer Tikal shore excursions.  Norwegian stops at Puerto Quetzel.  Plenty others also make stops here, but Norwegian was the cheapest.  Don't know if they offer Tikal but maybe you could arrange this on your own which could also save you some money.

 

Not sure why you would think anyone might think HAL is Carnival.  My comment was to say some cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean to name a couple) do have shorex sales from time to time, therefore it is perfectly reasonable to check if HAL does too, especially around Black Friday time.   Not expecting a sale like you said in an earlier post, but to check.  

 

Thanks to the rest of posters who answered my question.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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drowelf

drowelf

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On 11/25/2018 at 11:11 PM, mcrcruiser said:

It is not hard to get into a private tour or organize one  .Benefits are many , MUCH lower cost , can design the tour the way you want it ,  limit the number of people on the  tour vs many on a ships tour ,ie :classic_biggrin:

 

 We have done & led  many private tours . First look at the posts in the Cruise Critic "Ports Section " for the area or country you want to see . Then read the posts of other cruise critic members to see who they used as a tour operator .then check that operator on tripadvisor.com or other worthy travel sites for  the tour operators  ratings  .Set it up to meet at a specific point on the ship & leave as a group  to meet the vendor at the port . Make sure the tour operator clearly understands that you want to be back at the pier one hour before the ship departs .Make sure your watches are set to ships time & not port time 

 

 You can also get ideas from Tripadvisor.com on tour operators 

And join the Roll Call for your cruise. You'll find that many private tours are already being organized by folks on the same cruise your on. 

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utahtea

utahtea

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Posted
On 11/25/2018 at 5:49 PM, Kruzer Zuker said:

Do HAL shore excursions ever go on sale?   The ones I want are more expensive than the cruise fare.  

 

Yes,  Holland America does have Shore Excursion sales.  Usually they are "up" to 10% off but all the ones I've seen and booked were only 5% off and not all of their excursions will have a discount.  Last year at this time is when the shore excursions went on sale and it went though mid-March.  

 

One thing to take into consideration, if you purchase an excursion with a discounted price and then see a drop in your cruise price and take it, you will then have to rebook all your discounted excursions at the higher price and if the tours are booked, then you risk the chance of not getting your spot if there is a waiting list. 

 

Utahtea

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Mary229 "Live from...." Rare

Mary229

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I have never noticed a big difference in price.  What you do get with private tours is smaller size,  variety and customization.  I consider most HAL tours as basic transportation for distant ventures when getting back in time may become an issue.

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