Booking excursions

[britincanada]

Hi

 

Having read lots of posts about the pros / cons of booking excursions with Carnival, DH & I have decided that as this will be our first cruise to book directly with Carnival for our excursions. We will be on the 5 night cruise on Imagination.

 

my questions is should I book on line (we go in 19 days!!), or book on the ship? I have been looking online, but DH thinks there may be more info on the ship. I am concerned that we may not get the excursions we want if we leave it too late.

 

Advice please!

[elizablake]

I don't have any first hand knowledge but I have heard that the excursions are more expensive when you book them on the ship (read it in a review, not sure if it's true or not). Also, once you are within a week of sailing, you can no longer book online. Hopefully someone with more experience will be able to give you more info or correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Just my opinion, but I think it would be better to book ahead of time so you can enjoy your vacation once on board and not spend anytime waiting in line to book your excursions.

[Mysticks1]

Some excursions are limited as to the number of people. If you wait until you board the excursion that you want might be completely filled. If it were me and I knew what I wanted to book I would go ahead and get that online. One less detail to have to remember when you board. Have a great first cruise!

[zaandam_2]

if there is an excursion you 'must do', book it in advance. i like booking in advance so i don't have such a big bill at the end.

 

not sure where you are cruising but in the caribbean you'll find excursions offered at the port by independant operators for about half the price. there is a risk though - if the independants are late getting you back the ship doesn't wait for you. if you're on a carnival excursions they do wait.

[Bluecat25]

From what I rememeber, book online! We didn't do any ship tours last time, we booked all our tours seperate. But from what I remember, there is no downside to booking online. I believe you can cancel once you get on the ship with no penalty. But, oh my gosh, the lines on board. Everything sells out very quickly. If there is a tour you want, book it in advance. To get a heads up, there is another place in the forum that concentrates on each individual port. You can go there and research your tours, see what you want to do. Double check the cancellation policy. If the tour departs without you, and you haven't cancelled, you've paid for it, no refunds. But I believe there is a time period, maybe 24 hours or the night before port, that you can cancel with no penalty.

[jenjens1023]

The best reason to book online? Two words: NO LINES :)

[Mysticks1]

The best reason to book online? Two words: NO LINES :)

 

You don't always have to stand in line. I don't know if it is available on all ships but on the Conquest we were able to book a last minute excursion due to port change on the tv in our cabin. It was a very easy process. If you do book online, be sure to print out your confirmation and take it with you in case you need it.

[jenjens1023]

You don't always have to stand in line. I don't know if it is available on all ships but on the Conquest we were able to book a last minute excursion due to port change on the tv in our cabin. It was a very easy process. If you do book online, be sure to print out your confirmation and take it with you in case you need it.

 

Didn't know that! We had booked in advance (and/or independently) so I ignored the whole thing once on board. But I was very aware of the lines at the excursions desk every time I tried to go by it.

[BlueJacketsFan1]

If there is a excursion that you really want to do and it is available to you on-line than you should go ahead and book it now. If you have ports that you are not sure of which one you want. Go to the meeting on the ship which tells you about that island and the excursions. Then you can book right on your TV in your cabin. Remember not all the excursions are available on the website for pre-booking. We have booked excursions both ways and have gotten what we wanted everytime. Yes, the excursion by Carnival are a little more expensive, but the ones I have checked weren't that bad. We enjoy the peace of mind by booking with Carnival. It all up to each people and what make them happier, independent or Carnival. Good Luck and Happy Sailing.:cool:

[mrdood]

There is not a price difference between on-line and ship, it just comes down to whether you want to risk not getting the excursion you want or not.

 

No guarantees, but if you get an excursion list when you board and decide fairly quickly, you will probably be fine...

[Sultan]

Is there any way to find out the actual cost of the Carnival excursions? I know they give you $$ as guidelines, but I would like to know the real cost.:confused:

[kcscrapper]

We were not able to book any excursions on the TV in our cabin. The menu on the TV said that it was available -- but when we tried to book an excursion in Miami due to our late flights, we were required to go to the excursion desk -- with the potential of a line! And - when arriving at the excursion desk -- we found that it wasn't open (tho' it was "supposed to be")!!

[Leo Jay]

Is there any way to find out the actual cost of the Carnival excursions? I know they give you $$ as guidelines, but I would like to know the real cost.:confused:

 

When you go through the excursion selection process online, it tells you what the price is.

 

Good tip about printing out your reservation confirmation "just in case". I'll do that now.

[sweetcincy]

:confused: No Worries, when we took our cruise on Fascination this past july, excursion desk was closed. But, we already knew which excursion we wanted. We went to pursers desk and asked about booking excursions. The pursers desk offered and booked our excursion. So, there wasn't any problem at all. I don't think alot of people are aware of this. Also, when you have time in miami before your flight out, we took the miami/art deco/airport transfer tour. Fantastic, saves you the cabfare to miami airport, and you learn so much about miami, and they take you everywhere, our guide was soooo good I emailed carnival because I wanted them to know what a passion this man has for miami, his tour was fantastic. It was worth every penny. Plus, we were able to walk along south beach on our own, and have a little lunch. What a great tour. Have fun:)

[Mysticks1]

Is there any way to find out the actual cost of the Carnival excursions? I know they give you $$ as guidelines, but I would like to know the real cost.:confused:

 

You have to register on Carnival.com and enter your booking number. Click on "view cruise details" and you will see your itinerary - next to the ports you should see a link to book excursions. That will show you the actual prices.

[britincanada]

thank you everyone! We will book before we go - after checking out the port forums!