Excursions

[matt'smom]

If a excursion is sold out, is there a chance it could open once on board?

[jelayne]

Yes if someone cancels the excursion once on the ship.

[Georgia_Peaches]

To piggy back on Jelayne's answer, you could go to the shore excursions desk upon embarkation and tell them which excursion you're interested in and ask to be put on a waiting list so that if there is a cancellation, you have a chance of getting notified.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, matt'smom said:

If a excursion is sold out, is there a chance it could open once on board?

check your cruises Roll Call as there maybe private tours you can join which are usually much better value than X's offerings.

Or book your own private guide (this is our preferred option) and get other Roll Call members to share with you.

[ggo85]

I know many folks on these boards sing the praises of private tours.  We've done them and I agree they can be great not only for value but b/c you have control of where you go, how long you stay, etc.

 

HOWEVER, there can be a lot of time and effort involved in setting up your own tour.  You have to search for a reputable company, do the legwork to meet up, sometimes bring large amounts of cash to pay, etc.  If you join someone you don't know, you have to hope you like being in a small vehicle with them all day.  It's really, really easy to reserve a ship's tour and show up for it.  In my experience, most (definitely not all) ship's tours have been well above average.

 

It's unlikely that lots of people will cancel a tour before boarding as there is no incentive to do so.  Definitely check with the ShoreEx desk. Track when people have to cancel without penalty for the tour you want and check back that day for cancellations.  
 

Despite what I said above, if you really, really want a specific tour and it's sold out, you probably are best lining up your own b/c you can never count on cancellations.

[indy406]

Side note on excursions. We had a food tour booked in Athens last month and had to cancel because my wife twisted her knee. Walking around Athens simply wasn't going to happen. I'd booked the excursion on the X app but the app wouldn't let me cancel. No big deal, I went to the shore excursions desk and it was handled quickly. Not particularly friendly, but quickly. Whatever. I mentioned I'd try to cancel on the app but it wouldn't let me. The shore excursions guy, a supervisor, told me "if we let people cancel on the app they'd be canceling right and left." Oh. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, indy406 said:

The shore excursions guy, a supervisor, told me "if we let people cancel on the app they'd be canceling right and left." Oh. 

Now that's some real sympathy demonstrated!😄