i messed up big time

[calmmerritt]

ok so we leave this Sunday on Freedom eastern route and this is our first ever cruise and we are a party of 5 and we have talked about doing the turtle snorkel but due to my husband being military i didnt book it until we had confirmation that his leave was approved well finally got said confirmation and tried to book turtles and yup you guessed it it is FULL so can anyone tell me is there any chance that it may be open to book once on the ship? i know i should have done this months ago but inexperience has come back to bite me in the you know what. my youngest loves turtles and was so excited about this tour now i feel like the bad mum. so any advice out there for me

Thanks

[Bobal]

Not sure which port this is, but I suggest you visit the ports of call board. In our experience almost all the Royal Caribbean excursions can also be done privately (and cheaper). Take a look or ask questions over on the relevant board to see if anyone has done a similar private tour.

[rolloman]

ok so we leave this Sunday on Freedom eastern route and this is our first ever cruise and we are a party of 5 and we have talked about doing the turtle snorkel but due to my husband being military i didnt book it until we had confirmation that his leave was approved well finally got said confirmation and tried to book turtles and yup you guessed it it is FULL so can anyone tell me is there any chance that it may be open to book once on the ship? i know i should have done this months ago but inexperience has come back to bite me in the you know what. my youngest loves turtles and was so excited about this tour now i feel like the bad mum. so any advice out there for me

Thanks

 

Where specifically is the excursion? You can book through a private tour ahead of time or worst case go on a private tour by one of the many vendors outside the cruise terminal. The upside is the price will be significantly cheaper than a ship sponsored tour.

[calmmerritt]

sorry the turtle snorkle was June 9th in Saint Thomas, will look into it privately as well just nervous about missing the boat :o

[reallyitsmema]

I would also suggest you go to the excursion desk on the ship as soon as it opens. They hold back a percentage of each excursion to sell on the ship. You might luck out and be able to book on board. I would also ask if they are keeping a waiting list if it is sold out. I know they do keep a waiting list on some excursions. We changed our mind on one of our excursions and cancelled it on board. The rep at the desk saw the other excursion we had booked and asked if we wanted to cancel that one too since he had a huge waiting list. I declined.;)

[DonnaK]

Don't panic. Tell us, what port you are trying to book this excursion? Perhaps it's something that can be arranged privately, at a better price, than the ship's excursion. The Ports of Call board for that location would be your best resource for that.

 

Sometimes, once you are onboard, availability opens up, so you can visit the Shore Excursion desk or try to book the excursion over the interactive TV in your room.

[cb at sea]

Go to the excursion desk when you board...they do "hold back" spots for those who don't book via computer....and there ARE folks who don't do everything online!!!

[rolloman]

sorry the turtle snorkle was June 9th in Saint Thomas, will look into it privately as well just nervous about missing the boat :o

 

No need to be nervous most people actually go on the private versus ship due to cost. Check out this site.

 

stthomasexcursions dot com

[MrsPete]

Just choose a private vendor. You'll be with a smaller group, and you'll have more control over what you do during your excursion. You'll also spend less money. Believe me, at dinner you'll have better stories to tell than your tablemates who stuck with the ship's excursions.

 

Don't worry about missing the ship. Choose the first excursion of the day, and don't cut it too close in getting back to the port. Use caution, but don't worry about it. You're not going to be out in some 3rd world country -- you're talking about the Virgin Islands.

 

Here are just a few choices:

 

http://www.travelvi.com/us-virgin-islands/st-thomas-usvi/st-thomas-usvi-day-sail/st-thomas-usvi-day-sail.html

 

http://www.**********/stthomas/SandL/charters.php

 

http://www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?tcode=028817

 

This one's a "pirate ship" and doesn't 'specially focus on turtles, but it looks fun for kids:

http://www.doubloon.com/Doubloon.htm

[MrsPete]

No need to be nervous most people actually go on the private versus ship due to cost. Check out this site.

 

stthomasexcursions dot com

I would not take a ship's excursion if it were half price. They're overcrowded and focus on taking you to shops, etc. that're giving kick-backs to the cruise line. Yes, saving money is nice, but it's not my main reason for avoiding ship's excursions!

[BananaAnna]

Even if there isn't room for 'party of five', perhaps there would at least be room for party of two - one parent and child.

[Dett]

ok so we leave this Sunday on Freedom eastern route and this is our first ever cruise and we are a party of 5 and we have talked about doing the turtle snorkel but due to my husband being military i didnt book it until we had confirmation that his leave was approved well finally got said confirmation and tried to book turtles and yup you guessed it it is FULL so can anyone tell me is there any chance that it may be open to book once on the ship? i know i should have done this months ago but inexperience has come back to bite me in the you know what. my youngest loves turtles and was so excited about this tour now i feel like the bad mum. so any advice out there for me

Thanks

 

I suggest that you try or at least get on a wait list as soon as you get on the ship. It could possibly be open. They may leave some open so that they can book them when people get on the ship and not allow all to be booked online.

 

We are on that sailing as well. Haven't seen you on our Meet and Mingle Roll call. Not sure if you can still sign up for meet and mingle but you could try. Also, we are having an unofficial meet and mingle at 3 pm at the Sky Bar on sailing day. We are wearing beads so that we will recognize each other.

[JWestShuh]

I would suggest what others have said and book privately. A lot of the tours gear toward cruise ship passengers, and they want to get you back on time as well. Particularly because they know that word of mouth is powerful. I have used shore trips dot com before and was really pleased. I have only been on 1 ship based excursion, and everything else has been private vendor. You get more for your money with the private vendors, in my experience.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We almost never book ship tours partly due to price but mostly due to over crowding, poor quality and wasted time. If you go independent, as suggested, take the earliest tour possible and plan on getting back to the ship at least one hour ahead of time--more if possible and you are still nervous about it.

 

The independent operators depend on repeat business and are very serious about getting you back on time because they don't want the bad press that missing the ship would give. Research on these boards for reputable companies.

 

Next time, if you know you want a particular excursion but aren't absolutely positive everyone can make it, go ahead and register. I think you can always cancel without penalty up to a certain period--24 hours?--before the excursion. Also, check on board; you may be able to get on it anyway.

 

Besides all this, unless you've been building up expectation for a turtle encounter and nothing else, your family will have fun on almost any excursion, especially one that is geared toward kids, like a simple beach day.

[calmmerritt]

cant book just for 1 parent and 1 child cause we have 3 kids and they all want to do the turtle snorkle, and dett i just signed up for the meet and mingle thanks for the reminder of something else i have been meaning to do but hadnt done :)

[bionicman97]

As others have said, and as we have experienced ourselves, they do hold back a % of each excursion to sell on the ship. Just make sure you book it as soon as the excursion desk opens, or from your stateroom TV.

[patseacruiser]

The private excursions would not be in business long if they weren't getting people back to the ship in time. Use one that is recommended from some of the people on this board and bet you will have a better and cheaper excursion.

[Mysticks1]

I agree that booking privately is the way to go, especially with children as they will get more individual attention on a private tour rather than herding around with a busload of people.

Here is one that I saw on TripAdvisor. I would recommend searching there as well as the ports of call boards here and read the reviews from those who have taken the tours. This one specializes in smaller groups.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147404-d1215144-Reviews-Homer_s_Scuba_and_Snorkel_Tours-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

[marci22]

I am guessing you might be referring to St. Thomas. There were several 'turtle' type snorkeling excursions available: read each description carefully as there might be something similar that you missed.

 

It might make you feel better to know that we went to Turtle Cove (?) on a ship's excursion and did not see one turtle, or many fish, but the ride out was nice (Castaway Girl).

 

The private excursions are better, I'm sure, but don't expect any bargains. Ship tours were about $40-$50 pp and private was around $75-100 pp. The private tours usually accommodate a maximum of 6 people.

 

You can always wait and book right away once onboard; there seemed to be lots of availability once we were on the ship and our snorkel tour was not completely full.

[Bookish Angel]

I NEVER leave home without checking tour operators out on VT first.

 

As others have said, booking non-ship excursions is not a problem IF you do some research and book with reputable companies. You can definitely save money over what the ship charges! As an example, my hubby and I went to a wildlife conservation park in Tasmania that was 40% less than the ship's tour for the EXACT same excusion. Plus, by taking a local bus and doing a bit of walking, we got to interact with local folks and see more of the area.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

The ships SE desk does save about 30% of tours of booking on board. You will need to be first in line to book, don't do it over the in room TV or drop form box.

 

ITA that private tours are the best. We book mostly private tours but it depends on the venue, port and timing, then we book ships tours simply cause we don't want to be left behind in any port. ;) :eek:

 

***

[calmmerritt]

thanks everyone and Marci22 i went back and read through all the different snorkel tours and we ended up picking the kayak/snorkel/hike tour,all 3 of my kids loved the sounds of it so we are now set! less then a week away and so very excited!

[marci22]

That tour sounds good, my kids always love to kayak. Have fun~

[Desert Cruizers]

Just remember, any tours you book privately, place close attention to your rime, and when your ship leaves. You need to be back on board at a specific time or they will leave. 30 Min before I believe is the standard time.

[calmmerritt]

we picked a tour offered through the ship, maybe next time we will be brave enough to try a private tour