Excursion Wait List ?

[stefmaia]

I just called the excursion desk to book a trip that my husband and I have finally agreed on ( yeah , 1 down 4 to go...or so I thought) and when I called in it was fully booked!!

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. I was told to go to the excursion desk on board where there "may be" a wait list and try there. Has anyone ever had any luck with this?

 

2. Do the Haven passengers have any excursions kept on hold that can be released to general population if they are not booked ?

 

3. Does anyone have a good suggestion of how to break this to my husband who took 3 weeks to make his mind up on this , the first excursion he said yes to ? :)

 

 

[laurabegorrah]

Answer to #2 is that they do not hold any excursions for Haven guests.  The only Haven excursion benefit is, once on the ship, the Concierge can book tours for you through the excursion desk. But there is no priority status for booking to spots held back for possible haven guest usage.

 

I would say check outside of NCL for the same excursion.  Pretty much any excursion available through the ship,  will be available to book on your own directly with the tour company - for less $$!

[StolidCruiser]

1. Luck? Yes.  Frequently? No.

2. Excursion slots are not "held back" for possible booking by Haven guests.

3. Tell your husband "You put the 'pro' in 'procrastination'.  I guess we'll be enjoying time by the pool on board.  At least we'll be able to get prime seats."

Edited August 22, 2019 by StolidCruiser

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, stefmaia said:

1. I was told to go to the excursion desk on board where there "may be" a wait list and try there. Has anyone ever had any luck with this?

No. And it is up to the shore excursion staff on whether they maintain a wait list. NCL does not run any tours; they have local contractors who run the tours. You can walk up to any of the touch screen kiosks on the ship and check daily/hourly if there is any availability on the excursion. 

 

2. Do the Haven passengers have any excursions kept on hold that can be released to general population if they are not booked ?

Nope. There is no reason to do so. The ship's goal is to sell every seat, as soon as possible. 

 

3. Does anyone have a good suggestion of how to break this to my husband who took 3 weeks to make his mind up on this , the first excursion he said yes to ? 🙂

Tell hubby "snooze lose". He waited too long and the tour is sold out. 

 

 

[bluesea777]

A fraction (about 1/3) of excursion spaces are sold online, and the rest on the ship. So if you can make a beeline to the Excursions desk when you board the ship, you may be in luck.

 

Not everyone has a computer or have NCL login ….

 

 

[Nic6318]

Hi Stefmaia

 

You don't mention where your were going or what kind of excursion you were considering.

 

As mentioned, there are many reliable companies that offer comparable if not better excursions than those offered by the cruise lines. Generally you will find that they will be better priced.

 

If you haven't tried before, look on the "port of call threads" on this site for other ideas, also sites such as trip advisor will be able to suggest a good variety of things you can opt to do almost anywhere in the world. 

 

No matter what you choose to do, don't wait till the last minute because you may find yourself disappointed again.

 

have a great cruise