Excursions

I usually book my excursions after I board the ship. Has anyone booked excursions online? Please share your experience and if there were any problems

If you're booking a SHIP's excursion online, then no issues. You do realize that many things require NO excursion at all. A guidebook should be your first stop...find out what is in each place you'll visit...and find out about transportation, food/drink, beaches, points of interest, etc....and you may find you don't need an excursion at all. Excursions are the largest costs after your fare.

If you're booking a private excursion....go to the "Port of Call" boards on this site, and see what others have to say about your provider.

We never do cruise excursions except for cabanas in HMC. It's easy to go to TripAdvisor, ports on CruiseCritic, check your roll call on here and Facebook and see what others are doing. You will get the most up-to-date information that way. Never had a problem booking independent excursions. Much cheaper, more fun, less crowded.

Carnival excursions booked online? No problems.

Spa services booked online? Yea, huge problems.

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I've booked online for most of our excursions - either through the ship or the vendor. There's usually something we REALLY want to do so I book that ahead of time online, and then for other things I just wait and see what we feel like doing that day. One thing I learned this year was to PACE myself. We boarded the ship Monday and had quite a few drinks on the Serenity deck. So on the next day we were to do a pub crawl in Key West (an excursion I booked prior to sailing online) and let's say I was suffering. In that case I wish I hadn't booked in advance. I survived but i didn't really use my drink coupons as I had enough drinks the night before!!

If we do any excursions, whether through the ship or a third party, I always book them online. I’m a big planner, but usually, my time for planning is late at night, so booking online offers me the opportunity to book when it’s convenient for me.

For our upcoming cruise, I was offered a discount if I booked our excursions within 2-3 days of booking the cruise, so I grabbed a cabana at HMC, and then a Segway tour in Nassau.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

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Carnival excursions booked online? No problems.

 

Spa services booked online? Yea, huge problems.

J5I65kBC2O0

What a rant. While I completely agree the spa services are crap, that seemed long winded and a bit dramatic over a $70 error

Some of the best excursions I have been on are the private ones I have found on Tripadvisor. I do a combination of on the ship and off the ship private excursions. Really depends on what port/location has to offer. Their are pros and cons of each, just need to do your research before booking any one of them.

Totally depends on the ports.

We always book ahead of time, at least 3-4 months, just to ensure we get to do what we want. Online with Carnival is very easy, plus they price match.

the only times we have booked onboard the ship, we have been disappointed...once due to itinerary change, so everyone on ship was rebooking and we got leftovers as we couldn't decide the first day. By the time we got to book, all the good ones taken. Ditto on our Alaska cruise where we didn't book anything for a port until onboard, and then just picked one that wasn't full. Same issue, not the greatest excursion, not bad just not best for us.

When I book Carnival excursions, I always book ahead of time online as the more popular excursions often fill early. I have never had a problem with those excursions.

If you're booking a SHIP's excursion online, then no issues. You do realize that many things require NO excursion at all. A guidebook should be your first stop...find out what is in each place you'll visit...and find out about transportation, food/drink, beaches, points of interest, etc....and you may find you don't need an excursion at all. Excursions are the largest costs after your fare.

 

If you're booking a private excursion....go to the "Port of Call" boards on this site, and see what others have to say about your provider.

Where do you get the guide books? I've never looked for one on any of our cruises before but love the idea.

I never bother with guidebooks. All of that information is available online.

We always book our excursions in advance (through Carnival or a 3rd party, depending on the port). I like to have everything planned out and paid for in advance.

Totally depends on the ports.

We always book ahead of time, at least 3-4 months, just to ensure we get to do what we want. Online with Carnival is very easy, plus they price match.

the only times we have booked onboard the ship, we have been disappointed...once due to itinerary change, so everyone on ship was rebooking and we got leftovers as we couldn't decide the first day. By the time we got to book, all the good ones taken. Ditto on our Alaska cruise where we didn't book anything for a port until onboard, and then just picked one that wasn't full. Same issue, not the greatest excursion, not bad just not best for us.

Thanks for the information. I wasn’t aware of the price match policy. That may come in handy when I book.

If you want a particular excursion, book it online ahead of time. If you don't, you run the risk of the excursion selling out. If you don't care what excursion you take, I guess you could wait until you are on board.

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Thanks for the information. I wasn’t aware of the price match policy. That may come in handy when I book.

Although nice to have, be aware that Carnival incredibly picky with the price match. For example, if you find a much cheaper excursion that is the same for everything except that Carnival includes a cheap bottle of water with theirs, you will not be able to get the difference in price.

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If you have a Carnival credit card you will also receive a 10% refund on your statement for any excursions booked beforehand. :)

Although nice to have, be aware that Carnival incredibly picky with the price match. For example, if you find a much cheaper excursion that is the same for everything except that Carnival includes a cheap bottle of water with theirs, you will not be able to get the difference in price.

 

 

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Wrong. I have used the price match several times and gotten it every time, even if the wording is not exact. I used it just a few weeks ago for our next cruise (Feb) for a parasailing excursion in Nassau. Wording was not even close, but it did the same activity for $20pp less. Got it as a credit onboard for our cruise and it only took 1 day to get answer by e-mail.

We always book Carnival's excursions online. Yes, you have to pay for them at the time of booking, but you don't run the risk of them selling out and you don't waste time standing in line at the excursion desk. Plus, you can read the reviews prior to booking. We've booked a few independent excursions online in advance that required no deposit - just paid in cash when we arrived at the port.

I've never done a price match, but no reason not to start.

I used my Carnival credit card for the excursions I just booked for us as well as our travel companions. Within days of posting to the credit card account, a credit for 10% posted. I'm pleased, plus I get double points on it that will be used on a future statement as a credit.