How far in advance is too late to book land excursions?

[VacayGuy]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum. I will be on a Western Caribbean cruise starting April 4th on RC's Rhapsody of the Seas.

 

What is the closest to April 4th I should dare to still not any excursions booked? I am wondering how fast they may become fully booked? I would book now, but I'm not 100% sure which ones I want to do at which port. (Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize City, and Roatan Island Honduras)

 

I am thinking we will want to go:

1)  tour a Mayan Ruin site from Costa Maya.

2) Snorkeling and hang out at a beach in Roatan.

3) swim or raft through a cenote or maybe do the Punta Sur Eco-park in Cozumel.

4) probably go cave tubing or maybe just hang out at port in Belize City.

 

Let me hear from you all on what is your favorite things to do at each of these ports of call.

Let me know how close to April 4th will be too late to book and get to do what we want to do.

Let me know if there are trusted 3rd party companies you use instead of the RC sponsored ones.

 

Thanks for your answers

[Schoifmom]

I would recommend that you check out the ports of call forums for information regarding your specific ports.

 

As far as how close is too close to book excursions ... it really depends on how popular the excursion is that you want to do.  For ship-sponsored excursions, there is a risk that they could sell out closer to the sail date.  I do know that on Carnival you can book excursions once on the ship, I'm pretty certain that RC would be the same.

 

If you wanted to chance it, there are always excursion companies and private guides waiting for you when you leave the ship.  Just pick one that looks promising and go for it.

[evandbob]

The OP has some good options for his ports.  The ruins near Costa Maya aren't vast, mostly small sites, perhaps change ruins port to Cozumel and visit Tulum on a ship sponsored excursion?  This way, the ferry to and from Playa and transport to the site is organized by the tour staff and you are assured of not missing the ship if there is a late return.  Don't know if the OP has any experience visiting Mayan sites, but Tulum, or even Coba, are excellent for 1st impressions.

 

Costa Maya can then be spent in Marajuel, a short shuttle from the port for some seaside lunch and perhaps an inexpensive massage ($25).

 

Cave tubing is popular in Belize, so is snorkeling, zip lining, and rappelling,  Some snorkel tours go to Caye Caulker or Ambergris on San Pedro, both isles so unlike the Belizean mainland. Each one has a "shark ray alley" where you can snorkel with wild free range sting rays and nurse sharks.   Plenty of choices!

[sanger727]

It depends on the excursion but many will be available to book onboard. Keep in mind many cruisers don’t pre-book anything and just wait until they get onboard to book excursions. We always book ahead via third party sites or local tour operators. Again, just depends on how popular a tour is. But I wouldn’t be too concerned yet for April. If it were me I would want to have everything booked by a month or two out.

[skrufy]

5 hours ago, VacayGuy said:

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum. I will be on a Western Caribbean cruise starting April 4th on RC's Rhapsody of the Seas.

 

What is the closest to April 4th I should dare to still not any excursions booked? I am wondering how fast they may become fully booked? I would book now, but I'm not 100% sure which ones I want to do at which port. (Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize City, and Roatan Island Honduras)

Ww want to go:

1)  tour a Mayan Ruin site from Costa Maya.

2) Snorkeling and hang out at a beach in Roatan.

3) swim or raft through a cenote or maybe do the Punta Sur Eco-park in Cozumel.

4) probably go cave tubing or maybe just hang out at port in Belize City.

 

Let me hear from you all on what is your favorite things to do at each of these ports of call.

Let me know how close to April 4th will be too late to book and get to do what we want to do.

Let me know if there are trusted 3rd party companies you use instead of the RC sponsored ones.

 

Thanks for your answers

If there is an excursion you definitely  want to do, book it, don’t wait. We have waited a few times and tried to book on the ship and found out it was sold out. You can always cancel your excursion and book another, but be aware there is a cut off date for canceling.

[denmarks]

The cruise line will cut it off a few days before the cruise. Even if sold out they hold some spaces for booking aboard. Also the price can go up the longer you wait. Many cruise lines allow you to cancel a excursion a day or two before it occurs.

[shiframeir]

I'm looking specifically at HAL for their Oosterdam Alaska 7 day cruise. we booked the expensive big excursions, and now have some smaller ones in mind to go with the kids that don't show low availability 2 weeks out. is there any reason to book now online vs waiting and possibly getting some sort of discount?
also, this site is awesome and thank you to all those sharing your knowledge to first-timers :).

[crystalspin]

14 hours ago, shiframeir said:

I'm looking specifically at HAL  ...is there any reason to book now online vs waiting and possibly getting some sort of discount?

Have never heard of (1) ShoreX discount on HAL, (2) ShoreX discount on board over pre-price. That said, I've never waited! I remember once a convincing sale, in advance, for Princess excursions on a Panama Canal transit, that I booked but had to cancel. And we did once decide on the spot to take a taxi driver's scenic drive at Dubrovnik, when we had only planned for a ride to Old City.

 

There are surely lower prices with independent companies. I'd say join your rollcall but my experience there is that AK roll calls are very quiet if any join at all. Maybe check the Ports Of Call for Alaska. We did totems and wildlife with a Sourdough Tours in Ketchikan, and it was a very good value although we saw no bears. 

[bbwex]

My personal preference is to book private tours, and use the Roll Call for the cruise to find others to share the expense -- private tours generally are cheaper than ship tours if you have six to eight people. 

 

What is making me wonder is why you would wait any longer than you have to.  If you know you are going on the cruise, go on the Ports of Call section of CruiseCritic, read about the various ports, and decide what you want to do.  This is obviously more important if you do some research and determine the better private companies and want to book them before they are tied up when you are there, but some ship's tours sell out as well.  I would work on it now, decide what you want to do, and lock it in well in advance.

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/15/2019 at 1:21 PM, VacayGuy said:

...

 

maybe just hang out at port in Belize City.

 

...

The more you want a particular, specific tour the earlier you should book it.  The really good ones are the only ones which are likely to sell out, but if you are sure you do want a particular one, why would you want to delay booking it?

 

Most of your options look interesting —- but having been to Belize City, I think I would prefer to spend an afternoon (without anesthetic) at a periodontist’s office to  this one.

[Floridiana]

I loved the Lamanai Mayan ruins excursion in Belize City. Booked it via the ship well in advance.  

It was a lengthy tender ride, a bus ride through the countryside, buffet lunch  in a river side restaurant, a boat ride on the river to the ruins where howler monkeys  greeted us.

[bbwex]

As a follow-up to my posting from yesterday, I need to relate a little story.

 

We are taking a cruise in October and November, 2020.  I started my research a few days ago, identified a tour operator in one of the stops and reached out to make a reservation.  Heard today that he is already booked that day!  So when is too late to start booking tours?  I think my answer is "now."

[VacayGuy]

2 hours ago, bbwex said:

As a follow-up to my posting from yesterday, I need to relate a little story.

 

We are taking a cruise in October and November, 2020.  I started my research a few days ago, identified a tour operator in one of the stops and reached out to make a reservation.  Heard today that he is already booked that day!  So when is too late to start booking tours?  I think my answer is "now."

Wow! That is over a year in advance! What destination is that for?

[bbwex]

It's in Ephesus, Turkey.  The RC's Explorer of the Seas will be there at the same time, and someone got to the one tourguide I had heard was the best.  ☹️

[bhoffman]

On 9/5/2019 at 3:01 PM, bbwex said:

It's in Ephesus, Turkey.  The RC's Explorer of the Seas will be there at the same time, and someone got to the one tourguide I had heard was the best.  ☹️

I am trying to find a good guide in Ephesus...can you spill on this good guides name?! 

[donaldsc]

This is going to sound like a flippant answer but it isn't.

 

1) If you are really certain that you want to do a specific tour, book it now.

 

2) If you did not obey rule #1 and the tour(s) that you want to do are full, you are too late.

 

I am going on cruise in January that stops at the Falklands.  There is an excursion to a site where thousands of King Penguins nest with only limited availability.  There will be 2 ships in port with a total of about 4500 passengers which will overwhelm Port Stanley.  Apparently the cruise ships bought out most of the spots on the penguin tour leaving few spots available for independent booking.  The few independent booking spots sold out about 1 1/2 years ago so I am stuck with paying the cruise company about $450 for a tour that I could get for about $225 if it was available but I really want to see the penguins so I am paying.

 

DON