Princess Cruise Line - Excursion Questions

[TravelerUnknown]

Hi All!

I know that you can book directly through the cruise line or through a 3rd party and that if you book directly through the cruise line, you have the guarantee's, etc. 

 

My family is going to St Kitts in January and we have a very specific question that may differ between excursions. We plan on doing the Dolphin Swim experience. Through Princess, they have only one option listed on their guaranteed excursions where if you book directly with the 3rd party, they have additional options. In anyones experience, bonus points if it's any of dolphin experiences, have you been able to book through the cruise line but pay the difference at the excursion site for one of their better packages? 

 

E.g. I want my family to be able to do the Royal Swim Memory experience. This includes photo and an enhanced experience. The one offered through the cruise line does not include the photo or experience, but you can buy the photos at the site. No biggie about paying extra for the photo. 

 

I have reached out to both Princess and the Company directly. The customer service doesn't have intimate knowledge about how the excursions are negotiated or built out on the site. The company said I can book directly through them but I can cancel within 5 days for a refund less 10% . (This is risky because if there's a storm and the port is replaced, we lose 100% which is a crappy loss because you only know a day or so ahead of time.) 

 

Let me know if I can clarify anything. We've booked excursions at the port before and beforehand. We want to go through Princess if possible this time as it helps with our peace of mind.

[gottagocit]

I believe it was Cayman Islands where we did a dolphin experience through a ship excursion but I can’t swear it was there. In any case the company we/they used worked very hard at the end of the water fun to show us the photos they took of everyone and sell them at a extremely high price. Some bought ones they particularly liked but many did not due to the price. I can’t say for certain you’re situation will be the same but I expect it will be. 

[TravelerUnknown]

I'm not too concerned about the photo price. It's extremely high, $40/picture I read? But if we ala cart it, then it's not entirely unreasonable out the door. The cruise line does $139/pp for the dolphin. It's $189 through the company but includes the photo. Some people would say the $189 is a better deal. Would it be any different if they charged $179 for the experience, but $10 for the photo? 

 

I'm more interested in upgrading to the royal experience where they lift you up using your feet. (For my daughter). 

[SeaYouThere]

If you book the excursion through the tour company and your ship doesn’t make it to St Kitts Will your trip insurance cover the non refundable payment?   Some credit cards offer coverage if you aren’t purchasing trip insurance.  Just a thought..

[1025cruise]

If you book the ship's excursion, you will be in a group for that particular experience. 

[TravelerUnknown]

3 hours ago, SeaYouThere said:

If you book the excursion through the tour company and your ship doesn’t make it to St Kitts Will your trip insurance cover the non refundable payment?   Some credit cards offer coverage if you aren’t purchasing trip insurance.  Just a thought..

 

excellent suggestion. I'll inquire with the CC company to get that answered.