Reserving RCL tours

[KarenRae]

Is it better to reserve tours on-line now through RCL's website or wait until we are actually on board the ship?

 

Thanks!!

[beachchick]

If there are excursions you really want to do, then you need to book them in advance. Most have limited capacity, and popular ones often sell out well in advance of the cruise date. We very rarely take ship excursions, but when we do, we book them early. You can cancel as late as 24 hours before the excursion, so you really aren't risking much. OTOH, my hubby woke up feeling like heck one morning and had to miss the one ship excursion we'd booked one time. Naturally, we did not receive a refund for him at that late time.

 

It's up to you, but think about (1) how much you want to do the activity, (2) how popular it is likely to be (especially excursions that have very small capacity), (3) whether you're willing to risk it being sold out if you don't book it, (4) whether you're willing to risk the small possibility of losing money if you can't go at the last minute, and (5) if it's something you could plan/book on your own without going through the cruise line.

 

beachchick

[John Bull]

As the Chick's post, there's no advantage in delaying, prices won't come down - but some excursions do sell-out.

 

But before booking, check whether ship's excursion is the way to go.

There are many advantages in the alternatives.

A private tour, or sharing another cruiser's private tour (via your cruise's roll-call, on this website), or winging-it with a taxi or shared van hired at the quayside, will be more comfortable, more flexible & more fun. They can replicate ship's road tours or vary according to your wishes or take you somewhere completely different. No hanging around at places that don't interest you, no dashing away from places that do, no waiting for folk late back to the bus or those incredibly slow at alighting or boarding, none of the "cattle" treatment that you can get with large tour groups. And so much cheaper - a shared van hired at the quayside can work out about 1/3rd of ship's prices !!!!!

And using ship's buses for a transfer to a beach is nearly always a waste of time & money - this can be done cheaper & better using local buses or taxis.

Activity excursions - like river-tubing or snorkelling with turtles - or excursions by boat or 4x4, can rarely be fixed up on the fly, so book ahead for them, either via the ship or privately-booked.

 

So do a bit of research, including checking out cc's Ports of Call boards

 

John Bull

[KarenRae]

Thanks so much John Bull & beachchick for your advice. Much appreciated!!

I didn't want to get to ahead of myself and start booking excursions now and then later find out while on board, that there was a tour(s) that would have been better for us.

My parents have done both private tours & private taxi's while on their cruises and have had nothing but good experiences. One taxi driver in St. Thomas actually took them, along with my cousins, to "his" watering hole (locals only) for lunch while touring the island. They were a little apprehensive but ended up having a blast!! He also took them to a beach, where again, "locals only" and met his wife and kids. I'm glad I found out about this after they arrived home SAFELY. Crazy parents :-) These are the same people that taught me never to take rides from strangers!

I was interested in the zipline and 4x4 beach excursion, which by your comments, I'll be booking tonight thru RCL.

Thanks again for your help!! :)