Waiting to Book Excursion?

[Marauder40]

We are going on the Magic this weekend.  First cruise ever for the entire family.  I am the type that wants to book the excursion in advance but my wife is real nervous about that.  

 

She doesn't want to book an excursion and then get locked into it.  She is afraid that maybe her seasickness or the weather or some other reason will cause her not to want to do it and not be able to get a refund.  We know that if the weather is horrible they will cancel the excursion but she is worried that the weather could be bad but not bad enough for the excursion to get cancelled or that her seasickness will cause her not to want to do anything else or something like that.

 

How bad is it to wait until say a day before to book the excursion?  I don't think the ones we are looking at will fill up (Amber Cove, either dolphin experience or bigger zip-lines.)  It is also the last stop on our trip so will have time to book the excursion while on the cruise. More worried about huge cost increase or something like that.  Since this is our first cruise and this is Amber Cove where some of the excursions can be an hour away from the port we are looking to stay with the Carnival excursions.

 

Any tips?

Edited August 8, 2019 by Marauder40

[riffatsea]

Hi,

DH and I take meds to prevent seasickness. You start taking them before you feel ill soooo that should not be a worry for your wife. You can prevent feeling bad.

It sounds like you want to do these things more than your wife with all her worries.

I don't think we can help with that.

I book ship excursions before we get onto the ship if there is one I particularly want to do.

I would not expect the cost to increase if you wait. Lots of people book the day before so really just up to you how you wish to handle this situation.

Sometimes I go and DH stays aboard as we don't always want to do the same things.

 

[PhillyFan33579]

Just curious, if your wife has never been on a cruise before,  how does she know she will get seasickness? Like the last poster mentioned there are people who take meds for it, but the majority of people don’t have an issue with seasickness. I know everyone is different, but most of the time I can’t tell if the ship is moving unless I look outside at the water. 

[Marauder40]

Thanks for the replies.  We already have the patch and plan on starting on it the day before.  The reason she is worried about seasickness is because she barely can ride ANY ride at Disney anymore without having issues.

[riffatsea]

@PhillyFan,

IF a person gets carsick then they can expect to get seasick. Some folks are just more susceptible to motion sickness than others. The patch though, is a serious kind of medication! I am not sure I'd try that as the first kind of preventative med but I suppose if your doc prescribed it then it is OK.

We just take over the counter meds

[purplephenom]

There isn't usually a cost increase if you book on the ship vs earlier.  But if you book earlier, and you can't make it, you can cancel up to 24 hours before.  If you can cancel before you board, you get refunded to however you paid.  If you cancel on board, it becomes on board credit.  You can spend that on pictures, or drinks, or whatever you'd pay for on the ship. 

[beachbum53]

3 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

We are going on the Magic this weekend.  First cruise ever for the entire family.  I am the type that wants to book the excursion in advance but my wife is real nervous about that.  

 

She doesn't want to book an excursion and then get locked into it.  She is afraid that maybe her seasickness or the weather or some other reason will cause her not to want to do it and not be able to get a refund.  We know that if the weather is horrible they will cancel the excursion but she is worried that the weather could be bad but not bad enough for the excursion to get cancelled or that her seasickness will cause her not to want to do anything else or something like that.

 

How bad is it to wait until say a day before to book the excursion?  I don't think the ones we are looking at will fill up (Amber Cove, either dolphin experience or bigger zip-lines.)  It is also the last stop on our trip so will have time to book the excursion while on the cruise. More worried about huge cost increase or something like that.  Since this is our first cruise and this is Amber Cove where some of the excursions can be an hour away from the port we are looking to stay with the Carnival excursions.

 

Any tips?

 

It depends on the excursion. If it's a very popular excursion, and/or there is limited availability, it may be sold out  if you wait until the day before. If you don't want to book an excursion well in advance, have an alternate choice in mind, just in case. 

[xitappers2bx]

4 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

We are going on the Magic this weekend.  First cruise ever for the entire family.  I am the type that wants to book the excursion in advance but my wife is real nervous about that.  

YAY!  I'm excited for you!

4 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

 

She doesn't want to book an excursion and then get locked into it.  She is afraid that maybe her seasickness or the weather or some other reason will cause her not to want to do it and not be able to get a refund.  We know that if the weather is horrible they will cancel the excursion but she is worried that the weather could be bad but not bad enough for the excursion to get cancelled or that her seasickness will cause her not to want to do anything else or something like that.

Swing by your doc and get the patch for motion sickness. It's amazing stuff.

4 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

 

How bad is it to wait until say a day before to book the excursion?

Not bad at all... I've only once ever booked an excursion before boarding.  The risk is that what you want to do will be sold out.  But, there are always so many options.

4 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

 

I don't think the ones we are looking at will fill up (Amber Cove, either dolphin experience or bigger zip-lines.)  It is also the last stop on our trip so will have time to book the excursion while on the cruise. More worried about huge cost increase or something like that.  Since this is our first cruise and this is Amber Cove where some of the excursions can be an hour away from the port we are looking to stay with the Carnival excursions.

We typically stick with the cruiseline too.  It's more pricey, BUT I have terrible anxiety and would stress and worry that we wouldn't make it back in time, and then well, that just sucks.

4 hours ago, Marauder40 said:

Any tips?

Don't stress.  Have fun.  Relax.  Wear sunscreen.  And if you don't get your first choice excursion, your second, third, or fourth choice should all be there.