Thanks for great tips and advice on booking optional excursions!

[kctwinmommy]

On 4/7/2024 at 11:35 AM, Moby_Spout said:

Thoughtful! 
I'm taking notes. Hopefully, the cruise isn't an anticlimax after all the excitement and activity to prepare for it! 😄

You're welcome! I thought it would be helpful for new people, like us.

 

And I get it, we've done a lot of planning to get to this stage. I can't believe we leave in a week. Once we get there, then I'll be all better. LOL!

[abgo]

Thanks for the great info, will be using it next week.  Hope your travels are going great!

[rmalbers]

On this topic, do you even need to worry about booking included, at least right away.

Edited May 4 by rmalbers

[Mitina]

19 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

On this topic, do you even need to worry about booking included, at least right away.

For River cruises not so much, but Oceans usually have multiple start times for their included excursions.

[OneSixtyToOne]

26 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

On this topic, do you even need to worry about booking included, at least right away.

 

In general, no. They are always exceptions.

However you must reserve your included excursions in advance. You can't just expect to arrive on the ship on the first day and get a seat. Viking needs to schedule the resources needed to handle everyone who signed up. I've read on other websites that some people didn't know they needed to reserve their included excursions and complained when there wasn't room.

 

Edited May 4 by OneSixtyToOne

[rmalbers]

ok, makes since.  I forgot about the time slot thing.

[kctwinmommy]

On 5/4/2024 at 11:16 AM, rmalbers said:

On this topic, do you even need to worry about booking included, at least right away.

I would definitely recommend it. We found that almost all excursions were booked up by the time we started our cruise. That includes all of the included ones as well.

[kctwinmommy]

@emckeeve - this is what I wrote up after we did our bookings. Since we were new to the process, I thought it was good to help others who were also new. 😃 

[sunkey1]

I've been doing research into new options, given that we've cruised some lines so many times. See this post about double computers in order to get tours, difficulty getting reservations for dining, etc. makes me nervous, given the upcharge from what we typically pay, and with less hassle. Tell me I'm wrong to be concerned.

 

[kctwinmommy]

3 hours ago, sunkey1 said:

I've been doing research into new options, given that we've cruised some lines so many times. See this post about double computers in order to get tours, difficulty getting reservations for dining, etc. makes me nervous, given the upcharge from what we typically pay, and with less hassle. Tell me I'm wrong to be concerned.

 

I wouldn't worry too much. I think we did it, just to be safe and because we were also worried. But I don't think there were that many things actually sold out after we were done. Yes, a few things, some of the more exclusive excursions, but not that many. You will probably be fine just booking it all on one computer too. 😉