Do Celebrity ever have specials on shore excursions?

Looking at a couple of expensive excursions and wondering if I should buy them now and avoid missing out or wait and see if there is a sale? Granted I have never seen one but maybe I haven't looked at the right time?

Thanks in advance.

I have never seen excursions discounted but I have seen popular excursions sold out before embarkation

Likewise.I have never seen a shore tour discounted. In most cases the cruise line is simply a booking agent for local tour operators . If they operate / organise a special tour to a unique site or special event there tends to be a surcharge rather than a discount as it generally means extra organising.

When we cruised the South African coast for example we called at ports without tourist infrastructure ,so special buses and staff had to travel to meet the ship .

Thanks. I thought this would be the case but always worth asking. We are looking at the Tranz Alpine out of Akaroa.

When one does excursions going far away from ship like this one one really has to bite the bullet and do the ships excursion. It is a very popular excursion because of its uniqueness. Am I right in assuming that it goes onto Queenstown and Milford or does it go through to Greymouth and return

You get off at Arthur's Pass and they take you back via coach.

Its going to be a long day. Its about a 45 minute drive into Christchurch. From a personal perspective the Tranz Alpine in summer is a good train trip but in winter with the snow all around it is a magnificent train trip. To get the full benefit one needs to go all the way to Greymouth and back. You wouldn't get back in time if you went all the way.

Looking at a couple of expensive excursions and wondering if I should buy them now and avoid missing out or wait and see if there is a sale? Granted I have never seen one but maybe I haven't looked at the right time?

 

Thanks in advance.

Yes they do. At least on cruises outside Australia. They offer something like 10-15% off about 2 months before departure.

Yes they do. At least on cruises outside Australia. They offer something like 10-15% off about 2 months before departure.

There have been occasional sales, but they don't always apply to all cruises.

In respect of the comment that they are an agent, while local operators mostly run the tours, Celebrity arranges a package and adds its own profit margin on top. Hence they are able to offer discounts if willing to cut their margin, or when they want to boost sales e.g. low bookings, and may also offer packages/recommendations on the cruise that are discounted.

Received an email from Celebrity this morning headed

4 Days Only | Up to 25% off* pre-cruise packages

Logged in to cruise planner for my booked cruise and so far it only shows the normal prices :(

Will try again later. Excerpt of the fine print:

*Offer applies to new purchases of select beverage packages, shore excursions, specialty dining packages, internet packages, photo packages, and spa treatments made Friday, May 11th, 2018 - Monday, May 14th, 2018, for select sailings departing May 17, 2018 – December 31st, 2019, excluding chartered sailings.

Ooo, thanks. I'll go check my emails.

Looking at a couple of expensive excursions and wondering if I should buy them now and avoid missing out or wait and see if there is a sale? Granted I have never seen one but maybe I haven't looked at the right time?

 

Thanks in advance.

We are on Solstice Oct29 and Nov.9 back to back cruises. Several months ago I got an email from Celebrity that had selected shore excursions 20% off which we did several. On the Solstice they often have 10% off future shore excursions. One lady booked a future cruise and all the shore excursions with the discount. Said it was cheaper doing it ahead of time, wanted specific ones that she didn’t want to miss and we found on our Fiords cruise, excursions were either sold out or prices way higher than purchased before cruise.

So hard to decide. Wondering if the excursion off the Soltice in New Zealand in January 2019 is worth the price tag of $799.

So hard to decide. Wondering if the excursion off the Soltice in New Zealand in January 2019 is worth the price tag of $799.

Unless it is the across the South Island excursion to / from Milford then no it isn't. There is no excursion in NZ other than this one that cant be done cheaper. The Milford excursion has been criticised many times for its costs but those that have done it have come rapt in what they have seen and done

Looking at a couple of expensive excursions and wondering if I should buy them now and avoid missing out or wait and see if there is a sale? Granted I have never seen one but maybe I haven't looked at the right time?

 

Thanks in advance.

They have one right now for Oct.29, and Nov.8 Great Barrier Reef and NZ. We got sales 2 months before our Celebrity Fiords May 2018 cruise.