Timing of booking excursions

[grouchomarx]

I have never had a cruise booked so far out before. So I am not sure when is the best time to book my excursions with Princess.  I have a Christmas cruise, western Caribbean on the Sky.  Should I assume more excursions will be added to the list over time, or they're all listed already?  Like I said, we usually book much closer to sailing and then book excursions in a short amount of time afterwards. I don't wanna book too soon if there might be more added, as I'm not terribly crazed about any of the current offerings.

[canadarocks]

Two reasons to book early are that sometimes the price of excursions increase and sometimes they sell out. We've got cruises booked for January & February and I've already reserved our excursions. One of the February ones has already increased by $5 a person.  

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by canadarocks

[suekel]

You can always cancel if something you like better comes along.  

[Jezabel2924]

We have 3 ports with Princess excursions on our next cruise.  For those 3 trips they have increased in price $10, $30 and $50 for a total of $90 per person since I booked them months ago.  We had a 4th tour that we changed our mind and canceled.  I would book any trips that are "unique" or in high demand as soon as you know you want them.  Keep checking for newly added excursions as Princess does add selections as time goes on. 

[grouchomarx]

I was hesitating to book now because you have to pre-pay and I wasn't sure how easy/fast it is to get a refund if we change our minds.  That's how long since my last Princess cruise, back when you could book now and pay later.  Otherwise I would have booked already since I'm a real planner type.  I guess I won't wait too long.

[canadarocks]

6 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I was hesitating to book now because you have to pre-pay and I wasn't sure how easy/fast it is to get a refund if we change our minds.  That's how long since my last Princess cruise, back when you could book now and pay later.  Otherwise I would have booked already since I'm a real planner type.  I guess I won't wait too long.

Do you happen to have any on board credit? You can use that to pre-pay for shore excursions. 🙂 

[grouchomarx]

Just now, canadarocks said:

Do you happen to have any on board credit? You can use that to pre-pay for shore excursions. 🙂 

No we have no OBC unfortunately!

[Paula_MacFan]

I agree with the advice you've been given above.  If there's something you know you want to do -- book it before it goes up in price or sells out.  I have had excursions booked for a September 2020 cruise for a few months now.  I was quite surprised the excursions were even available that far in advance, but I fully expect the price to go up, so I locked them in.  As others have said, you can always get a refund if something changes.  

[Rubynic]

I have recently cancelled an excursion which had been paid for on a credit card. The refund was processed in less than a week.