Pre-reserve shore excursions?

[lauracruise2004]

On princess, we could pre-reserve shore excursions but were not obligated to keep the excursions if we changed our minds up to a certain point - usually around 48 hours before the excursion. Does anyone know if Royal Caribbean has a similar policy?

[emilygrace]

Sort of....you can purchase shore excursions before sail, but the charge will be put on your credit card immediately. You can cancel them anytime up to I think 24 hours before the excursion (I'd check with RCL about that). If you cancel before you even sail, the credit will go back on your card. I think if you cancel on board, the credit will go to your SeaPass account, which may or may not be attached to that same credit card.

[Sue L]

You have to pre-book, in other words you buy the excursion up front , pay for it with your credit card and it is charged to your account at that time. You can cancel at any time up to 24 hours before the excursion. If you cancel before the cruise starts then it will be credited back to you credit card. If you wait until you are on the ship then it will be credited to your sign and sail account.

 

If there is something you really want to do I would suggest you book it now because you are taking the chance that it will be sold out when you get to the boat. Especially with excursions that have very limited availability.

[crb04]

...

 

If there is something you really want to do I would suggest you book it now because you are taking the chance that it will be sold out when you get to the boat. Especially with excursions that have very limited availability.

 

Very true. We just returned from Monarch (great time, will post review later) and there were several other passengers asking about one of the tours we had pre-booked...the guide told them it had been sold out for at least a month.

[LouisvilleDon]

When can you buy on line. We are 6 months out and RCC site will not let us see the excursions yet?

Thanks :)

[Sue L]

When can you buy on line. We are 6 months out and RCC site will not let us see the excursions yet?

Thanks :)

 

 

You can "shop" for the excursions now and decide what you want to do. Just do the section that says browse instead going through your reservation. They should be coming available soon. I was able to book in Sept for March.

[gdisney]

Very true. We just returned from Monarch (great time, will post review later) and there were several other passengers asking about one of the tours we had pre-booked...the guide told them it had been sold out for at least a month.

 

Sold out for a month, really? Which tour was it?

[cb at sea]

You can wait until you are on the ship to book excursions--you don't have to do it too far in advance! They always hold back a certain number of spots for those who don't book online. If there is an excursion you really don't want to miss, I'd book early. But, if you are unsure if you want to do any excursions, just wait! No need to do everything in advance!

[crb04]

Sold out for a month, really? Which tour was it?

 

ATV & Winery tour (was sold out for a month according to the guide, who had no space available to those expressing interest at the pier). We did have a blast doing that one--lots of fun...:)

 

We also wanted to kayak off Catalina, but checked a few places online first, and availability was good, so we waited until we got there and went straight to the rental place directly. Was less expensive than the ship's excursion price, and we didn't have to be on the 'group' time schedule either...

 

Happy cruising...

[SLH]

You can wait until you are on the ship to book excursions--you don't have to do it too far in advance! They always hold back a certain number of spots for those who don't book online. If there is an excursion you really don't want to miss, I'd book early. But, if you are unsure if you want to do any excursions, just wait! No need to do everything in advance!

I think a big advantage to booking ahead of time is not having to waste time waiting in line at the excursion desk on the ship.

[tcfive]

Another advantage of prebooking is being able to spread the cost of the extras over time. By doing this, I know my budget in advance and won't be shocked by a high SeaPass bill at the end of the cruise.