Excursion without Carnival

[tammi0916]

I have read how it is much cheaper to book excursion yourself- I am considering do this for our upcoming trip in the Glory (July 4th) but an wondering what happens if the ship has to change the itenerary and you don't make it to that port? Does that happen often - it will be early in the hurricane season so I hope not, but just wondering if I will loose my money by going outside of the carnival excurisons?

 

Thanks so much - I just love this board, I never knew how passinate crusiser were as this is our first cruise!

 

:D

[CruiseLover824]

If you book with a reputable vendor, they should give your money back if for some reason the ship can't make it into the planned port. So, stick with the ones that eveyone mentions on these boards, and you shouldn't have to worry about losing your money. :D

[elgato2]

We almost always book excursions on our own...albeit usually not til we get to our destination but have done it ahead of time online and agree with other poster..a reputable compnay will refund if the ship is a no-show...after all that's how they stay in business.

Just one other word of advice...BE SURE TO WATCH YOUR TIME>

 

We always tell private taxi drivers that we need to be back an hour before we REALLY have to be back to the ship cause they won't wait for you!

Have a great cruise...We are leaving this morning for a quick 5 day our of Tampa...can't wait!!

[myamifin]

I have read how it is much cheaper to book excursion yourself- I am considering do this for our upcoming trip in the Glory (July 4th) but an wondering what happens if the ship has to change the itenerary and you don't make it to that port? Does that happen often - it will be early in the hurricane season so I hope not, but just wondering if I will loose my money by going outside of the carnival excurisons?

 

Thanks so much - I just love this board, I never knew how passinate crusiser were as this is our first cruise!

 

:D

 

It really depends on who you book with. When we did our cruise in Jan, we booked both excursions through independent tour operators (saved us over $200 for a family of 5) and neither of them asked for a deposit, just pay when you get there. Many of the reputable operators will have a policy regarding ship no shows, just ask.

 

Visit the ports of call section and check what others are saying about their tours there, and then check out their recommendations. That's how I decided who to go with and did not have any issues whatsoever.

 

Hope this helps.

[Yes_Dear]

Just returned from Fascination cruise Thursday. I had reserved a room at the CS for the 24th, the day we were scheduled to be in Nassau. They notified us on the 22nd that the cruise itinerary was going to change because of windy conditions. Now we were going to be in Nassau on the 23rd and Half Moon Cay on the the 24th. Since there is a 5 day cancellation period at the CS, I knew we were in big trouble. I called the Comfort Suites from the ship and they were able to change our reservations because they were not booked completely for Monday. But just be careful because I understand this happens quite often. If they had been full we would have forfeited the entire cost of the room.

[nbsjcruiser]

I have read how it is much cheaper to book excursion yourself- I am considering do this for our upcoming trip in the Glory (July 4th) but an wondering what happens if the ship has to change the itenerary and you don't make it to that port? Does that happen often - it will be early in the hurricane season so I hope not, but just wondering if I will loose my money by going outside of the carnival excurisons?

 

Thanks so much - I just love this board, I never knew how passinate crusiser were as this is our first cruise!

 

:D

 

We rarely book excursions through the ship. What we do is do our homework well in advance and then when we get there we go to our destination. For us we like to do stuff like that in the first 4 or 5 hours at port. That way we can return to the ship, grab a bite to eat (I already paid for that meal so I'm gonna eat on the ship ;)) and then head back out for some shopping close nearby. That way you don't need to worry about rushing back from some self booked excursion 15 minutes before the ship sails.

[gazingm42]

When we boot excursion we normally communicate via email. We make

sure we ask what the policy is if a ship does not come into port.

 

I am also very gun shy about giving them my credit card for a deposit. But

if they demand it and you research show they are on the up and up. Then

I purchase a pre paid visa at the store and give them that credit card #. Then

you only out that money and they can cause a fraud on your every day

credit card.

[DukeFamily]

That exact thing happened on our last cruise - the Ecstasy with its propulsion problems. Progresso & Cozumel stops were switched in their order. We had a snorkeling trip planned in Coz - I had arranged the whole thing and there was even a group joining us from another ship! Tom at Paradise Beach set it up for us. I had to use the Internet cafe for the first (and hopefully last) time to get the message out that the 12 of us on the Ecstasy would NOT be there! Tom got us switched to the next day with his friends and the group off the other ship went on without us as planned. It all worked out well but I was in a panic for a while! Let me tell you there WAS a rush at the internet cafe after that announcement - I wasn't the only one needing to change arrangements!