Anyone else notice the $5.00 increase on Shore Excursions?

[canadarocks]

With all the distraction with MDR reservations, anyone else notice the $5.00 increase on every Princess shore excursion? My my Princess… you never cease to astound me. This right after a 20% “sale”? Brilliance or complete lunacy? I guess time will tell. My guess is another “special shore excursion sale” is coming. 

Edited June 20 by canadarocks

[AZaTaz]

Not all of mine have gone up since last week. Only a few and all by $5. Lol

[canadarocks]

I’m sure many here will wonder why I’m questioning a measly $5.00. For context.. I was seriously considering a St Maarten excursion that was $149.95 per person. Has been that price for a LONG time. Then a supposed 20% shore excursion sale happened. That same excursion was “on sale” for $149.95. A week ago that same excursion was $179.95. Now it’s $184.95. 

 

Independent bookings have never looked more appealing!

 

 

[AZaTaz]

I get it. We book our excursions almost as soon as they appear. Then I monitor price. Normally all I am doing is watching the price go up up up and away. Although last week I saw some go down on a November/December cruise and save $85 p/p for that cruise 

I know I have way to much time on my hands. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Never book excursions with the cruise line so not an issue with me. 

[Ken the cruiser]

It’s all part of the “game” and one of the main reasons we always book our PCL excursions as soon as we can. 

[cr8tiv1]

The closer to the cruise, the higher the price.  Even higher booking once on the ship.  IF...I do a Princess excursion, I book it when it first opens.  I know...they have my money.  But in some cases, they will draw from OBC.  I can always cancel.  

[happy42cruise]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The closer to the cruise, the higher the price.  Even higher booking once on the ship.  IF...I do a Princess excursion, I book it when it first opens.  I know...they have my money.  But in some cases, they will draw from OBC.  I can always cancel.  

Well, not true on our Alaska cruise in May.  I booked an excursion ahead but SURPRISE when we boarded there was an excursion discount flyer in our cabin showing our excursion & some others discounted!  So took our tickets down to the desk for an adjustment but was told no, I would need to cancel & rebook. That was even with their excursion price guarantee.  So we cancelled & rebooked but ended up cancelling completely.  It did not make me feel warm & fuzzy with the excursion department.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I would consider myself lucky if I only got dinged $5!  I see much higher increases all the time!

[latebloomer56]

I booked our excursions in 3 ports on our Hawaii trip they have been paid for so are we locked in? Didn't book last time so wasn't surprised how high the prices have gone.

[ravrat]

If I was $25B in debt I would probably raise it more than $5

[paddingtonbear]

I haven't been on a princess excursion yet because I've managed to find something cheaper with less people in Alaska and Britain.   I was going to say that there are always alternatives and one day Princess with price themselves out of the market. 

 

But our next cruise is to Canada - New England with a stop at Saguenay.  

I want to get to the National Park but there doesn't seem to be a way to get there without doing a very $$$ ship excursion ($100US pp).  There are local excursions but they are even more expensive than the ship excursions (and the local excursions don't get good reviews).

Yes, I can walk around the town on our own.

So I do understand why people do the ship excursions at some ports. 

[coops14]

The excursion I wanted to book has increased by $100 dollars per person, it was $299, it’s now $399, the Glacier Point Wildness Safari in Skagway. 

[harg56]

$80pp increase on the Yukon & White Rail Pass for our Alaskan cruise. 

[dog]

Only have 2 booked. Same price. One is sold out.

[BamaVol]

We are on Enchanted right now. Every day we get a flyer listing excursions available at a 20% discount. Why? They are not full. So, if you’re a gambler, go ahead and take a chance. 

[paddingtonbear]

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

We are on Enchanted right now. Every day we get a flyer listing excursions available at a 20% discount. Why? They are not full. So, if you’re a gambler, go ahead and take a chance. 

What people are saying is if you book early the excursion might be $100pp. Closer to departure it might be $180. 20% off brings it back to $144. Not the bargain you thought you were getting. 
 

On the other hand, I don’t want to do a really expensive excursion if the weather is awful so even though the last minute price might be higher it might be worth holding off. Although you can cancel a booked excursion too… Too many options. 

[paddingtonbear]

6 hours ago, harg56 said:

$80pp increase on the Yukon & White Rail Pass for our Alaskan cruise. 

That was one excursion that was really worth it. We saw a lot of wildlife and the history of the early settlers was very interesting. 

[BamaVol]

9 minutes ago, paddingtonbear said:

What people are saying is if you book early the excursion might be $100pp. Closer to departure it might be $180. 20% off brings it back to $144. Not the bargain you thought you were getting. 
 

On the other hand, I don’t want to do a really expensive excursion if the weather is awful so even though the last minute price might be higher it might be worth holding off. Although you can cancel a booked excursion too… Too many options. 

I have no idea how expensive these were a year ago. Moot point since the port was canceled this morning. 

[azbirdmom]

Funny but I got an email about excursions being buy 1 get one 50% off for our Alaska cruise next month.  And when I went to look at excursions in the Personalizer the disclaimer said that the individual pricing would be shown at up to 25% off to account for the promo.  There were a couple of excursions I had been watching and to my surprise they were all shown at $5 more than they cost yesterday despite being labeled as being reduced for the sale.  Didn't book anything LOL.

[paddingtonbear]

You really have to be aware of the game.  You also have to have time to plan and take notes so you know which prices being offered are reasonable or not.  I don't know how people do it last minute.  

I guess the cruiselines will continue to charge outrageous amounts for excursions while people are prepared to pay for them.  And since so many of them are sold out by cruise time there are lots of people who are prepared to pay any amount, it seems.   

I understand the convenience and the fear of missing the boat scare tactics but generally, at most ports, you can get a shared mini van with a small number other people at excellent rates for matching or even better excursions.  It does take time to research though. 

Edited June 21 by paddingtonbear

[paddingtonbear]

Sort of in the same vein:  The hotels in Toronto and Boston, for example, cost around UD$450 a night (and up). Apparently the hotels are happy to keep rates high and have rooms empty because it’s difficult to get staff and this is a way to balance things.

These big companies (like the airlines) have complicated algorithms which ensure they maximise their profits.  You can take advantage of temporary offers or last minute deals if you are savvy and quick.  It’s complicated! 😊

[Cruisemeister2002]

I booked my excursions for a September cruise some months ago on Sky Princess the increases on the four excursions booked vary between $25 and $55 per person. I calculated the total extra amount if I booked now and it is $280 or around £220.

[Cruisemeister2002]

6 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

You really have to be aware of the game.  You also have to have time to plan and take notes so you know which prices being offered are reasonable or not.  I don't know how people do it last minute.  

I guess the cruiselines will continue to charge outrageous amounts for excursions while people are prepared to pay for them.  And since so many of them are sold out by cruise time there are lots of people who are prepared to pay any amount, it seems.   

I understand the convenience and the fear of missing the boat scare tactics but generally, at most ports, you can get a shared mini van with a small number other people at excellent rates for matching or even better excursions.  It does take time to research though. 

You are spot on. We have a cruise later in the year and I have booked 4 excursions, but that's out of 12 ports of call. A few years ago we visited New York. Took a cab to the Hudson river where we got a water taxi, went to the Statue of Liberty and then Ellis Island. Water taxi back to Battery Park and cab to Macy's apartment store. A bit of shopping then back to ship. All for about 50% less than the cruise line were charging. We also weren't restricted time wise.

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 6/20/2024 at 2:47 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

I would consider myself lucky if I only got dinged $5!  I see much higher increases all the time!

Yes you are correct. See my comment. I booked four excursions on our September cruise. Total now = $280 more.