Can you Book an Excursion On Board?

[SuzieQ521]

Hello:

 

I was wondering if one can book an excursion (that is no longer available online) while on board? Did they keep spaces open?

 

We are in Cabo next week and both the whale watching tour and coastal deluxe cruise show as unavailable on NCL.com. 

 

And if I do onboard , will they automatically subtract the $50 excursion credit that was part of the promo?

 

Thanks!

[CILCIANRQTS]

3 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Hello:

 

I was wondering if one can book an excursion (that is no longer available online) while on board? Did they keep spaces open?

 

We are in Cabo next week and both the whale watching tour and coastal deluxe cruise show as unavailable on NCL.com. 

 

And if I do onboard , will they automatically subtract the $50 excursion credit that was part of the promo?

 

Thanks!

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

[zqvol]

Yes to all three questions but book as soon as you board so that it doesn’t sell out.

Edited January 18, 2023 by zqvol

[kitkat343]

But I’d price out an independent excursion.  Usually a better and cheaper experience.  You can find vendors on the cruisecritic port if call board or on TripAdvisor.  

[Oceansaway17]

3 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Hello:

 

I was wondering if one can book an excursion (that is no longer available online) while on board? Did they keep spaces open?

 

We are in Cabo next week and both the whale watching tour and coastal deluxe cruise show as unavailable on NCL.com. 

 

And if I do onboard , will they automatically subtract the $50 excursion credit that was part of the promo?

 

Thanks!

usually you can do it on the tv in your room too.

[julig22]

Yes, you can book onboard.

NO, they do NOT hold back spaces - people seem to confuse this with restaurant reservations that they do limit.  Makes absolutely no sense to think they would, as excursions must be paid upfront. But people cancel and they can sometimes add more people if the vendor has another tour guide, bus etc.  Depending on the ship, you can book using the app once you are onboard, on your tv, or at a kiosk. Or go to the excursion desk and get on the wait list.

Yes, they will subtract the $50 if you book onboard, but not until after you've gone on the excursion.

From my experience, the folks who answer calls for booking excursions can be quite helpful - told me to keep calling back to check on the excursion I wanted - and it did become available the next day.

[wcook]

15 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Yes, they will subtract the $50 if you book onboard, but not until after you've gone on the excursion.

I booked on board and this freaked me out as I had a balance $200 higher than expected. Which did get credited back $50 after each excursion. Anyone know what happens if I skip the excursion; do I not get the $50?

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, wcook said:

I booked on board and this freaked me out as I had a balance $200 higher than expected. Which did get credited back $50 after each excursion. Anyone know what happens if I skip the excursion; do I not get the $50?

They don't care if you go or not, it's just the way their accounting system works. You still get your credit.

[Peachypooh]

You can book onboard but do it soon. Also do it yourself excursions are great. I do have one guideline that I use because I worry too much LOL. I will only do an independent excursion if in a pinch it would be possible for me to walk back to the ship if needed. For example the lumberjack show in Ketchikan. Easy peasy book yourself and then walk back to ship. Botanical garden in Tortola. The taxi never came back like he promised to so we walked back. An easy 1 1/2 mile or so walk back. Same with tramway in St. Thomas...anything easily walkable. I would stick to ship excursions if you are going to go a long distance. One time we did an indpendent excursion in Curacao and the taxi broke down and we were about 3 miles from the ship. I wanted to  start  walking but luckily the taxi driver called for a replacement on his radio. Delayed us by 30 min but it could have been worse

Edited January 18, 2023 by Peachypooh

[mjkacmom]

16 hours ago, julig22 said:

They don't care if you go or not, it's just the way their accounting system works. You still get your credit.

But not a refund of your excursion.

[PATRLR]

I second the "do it yourself" suggestion.  Spend some time on the Mexican Riviera boards here at CC and also Trip Advisor.  Book with someone reputable.  They will get you back on time, their reputation (aka their livelihood) depends on it.  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/124-mexican-riviera/

 

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by PATRLR

[SuzieQ521]

Thanks everyone. 

 

Another option we're thinking about (since my son has never been to a beach) is to go to Medano Beach...do we just take a water taxi from the tender area?

[PATRLR]

5 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Thanks everyone. 

 

Another option we're thinking about (since my son has never been to a beach) is to go to Medano Beach...do we just take a water taxi from the tender area?

Not to sound like a broken record, but, you really should go check out the Mexican Riviera forums.  I'll bet anything if you go there search "Medano Beach", you'll get loads of information, including answers to questions you never thought to ask.

 

[SuzieQ521]

No one knew the answer to this on the Mexico forum since it's NCL specific: Does anyone know if NCL provides towels that we can take off the ship to use at Medano Beach?

 

Thanks 

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

No one knew the answer to this on the Mexico forum since it's NCL specific: Does anyone know if NCL provides towels that we can take off the ship to use at Medano Beach?

 

Thanks 

Yes

[BirdTravels]

On 1/17/2023 at 4:44 PM, SuzieQ521 said:

I was wondering if one can book an excursion (that is no longer available online) while on board? Did they keep spaces open?

 

We are in Cabo next week and both the whale watching tour and coastal deluxe cruise show as unavailable on NCL.com. 

 

And if I do onboard , will they automatically subtract the $50 excursion credit that was part of the promo?

You have waited way too long to think about shore excursions if you are leaving this weekend. 

The correct answer to your question is that NCL does not hold seats for onboard booking. If it is sold out now, it will be sold out onboard.  You can only book onboard if someone cancels. 
 

You must cancel 48 hours in advance for a refund. No Show = lose money. 
 

If you book onboard, you will get the $50 credit and any latitudes discounts. 

[SuzieQ521]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

You have waited way too long to think about shore excursions if you are leaving this weekend. 

The correct answer to your question is that NCL does not hold seats for onboard booking. If it is sold out now, it will be sold out onboard.  You can only book onboard if someone cancels. 
 

You must cancel 48 hours in advance for a refund. No Show = lose money. 
 

If you book onboard, you will get the $50 credit and any latitudes discounts. 

 

Thank you for the info.  Been thinking about them for a couple months but had some personal issues and time escaped me. My parents went to a NCL cruise a couple months ago and booked an excursion on board (but I guess it was because someone cancelled as you said).

 

But in any event, we just decided to make it easy (especially since we are traveling with a young child) and do something more land-based like Medano beach.

[cruiseny4life]

10 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

 

Thank you for the info.  Been thinking about them for a couple months but had some personal issues and time escaped me. My parents went to a NCL cruise a couple months ago and booked an excursion on board (but I guess it was because someone cancelled as you said).

 

But in any event, we just decided to make it easy (especially since we are traveling with a young child) and do something more land-based like Medano beach.

If you still want a shot at the excursion (sounds like no)...but they do maintain a waiting list. Go to the shore excursion desk and get placed on it. They'll contact you if space is available.