When might excursion choices be available for Jan. sailing?

[drrich2]

Hi:

 

Looking to book a Caribbean cruise onboard Liberty of the Seas in January 2011. Hoping to take a friend who's never cruised before & it excited about it. My wife wanted to show him the shore excursion options, but I see they're not available.

 

Any idea how long before the cruise these tend to get posted?

 

Does it matter that my wife & I have 1 prior RCI cruise, are gold level Crown & Anchor, and might book next week? Will we get access to see the options sooner than the 'non-booked' general public? Would going through the C&A somehow give me faster access now?

 

Thanks!

 

Richard.

[nanfromatlanta]

Hi:

 

Looking to book a Caribbean cruise onboard Liberty of the Seas in January 2011. Hoping to take a friend who's never cruised before & it excited about it. My wife wanted to show him the shore excursion options, but I see they're not available.

 

Any idea how long before the cruise these tend to get posted?

 

Does it matter that my wife & I have 1 prior RCI cruise, are gold level Crown & Anchor, and might book next week? Will we get access to see the options sooner than the 'non-booked' general public? Would going through the C&A somehow give me faster access now?

 

Thanks!

 

Richard.

 

Excursions usually become available 60-90 days prior to the cruise. Your C&A level will not make a difference. You can get an idea of some of the shore excursions offered by going to http://www.rccl.com. Click on Before You Board at the top of the page. Select Shore and Land Excursions. Select Browse by Ports of Call. Select Caribbean. Select a port. Halfway down the page, on the righthand side, select Shore Excursions for that port.

[drrich2]

Great, that's exactly what we needed. Thanks! Printed off the excursion listings to share.

 

Richard.

[NorthTXRanchers]

We have been on numerous cruises and for the first few, we always booked excursions through the cruise line (just to be safe). But, on the past cruises, we've gone on our own and it's been a fantastic option for us. I love the website http://www.tripadvisor.com where you can type in any destination (e.g, the ports you are visiting including the one you are boarding at) and see the top ranked "things to do" for that location. At Fort Lauderdale, Key West, and Cozumel, we booked highly recommended excursions from that site and had the best trips ever. No huge "cruise ship/tourist" crowds, and much nicer of an excursion (and more personal) for about half the price. For instance, in Key West, we sailed with the number one ranked catamaran there and had a great 4 hour trip for $28/each and it was heads and shoulders above the excursions through the cruise lines. We saw the cruise line associated catamarans sail by and they were packed. We enjoyed the luxury of a far nicer experience for a fraction of the price and enjoyed getting to know the crew well, and they sailed just as we liked. When we wanted to snorkel, they took us to a reef and we explored away. Wonderful. Not to mention the best rum cocktails for a bargain on board. Will definitely stay with this approach. They are professional and were aware of our cruise timing obligations and gave us more than enough time to get back on. I'd suggestion something through a trusted website such as tripadvisor and calling personally to book your trips to ensure there re no issues with the timing of your trip. I did have a few of them tell me that it might be cutting it too close, and I appreciated that. The reputable ones with great reviews will be honest and work with you. :) Enjoy!!!!

[drrich2]

Thanks for the tip. My wife, friend & I are recreational scuba divers. Some scuba divers recommend booking separately from the cruise line, much like you're referring to. My wife & I have done it both ways, and things went well on both.

 

Sounds like Trip Adviser is worth looking into.

 

Richard.