Shore Excursions

[oceanxbreeze89]

Hi! My sister and I are cruising on the Liberty in August of 2013. When we were on a carnival cruise a couple of years ago, we did all private excursions. This time, we like some of the Carnival excursions being offered. How does the process work? How much in advance can you book them? Do you pay for them before the cruise or will they be on your sign and sail account at the end of the cruise (like they did when I cruised on Princess last year)? Thank you for your help in advance!

 

Helen

[KenMo]

I don't know how soon they become available, but...

 

You can buy them online and pay with a credit card.

 

Or you can buy them once on the ship and it will be posted to your S&S.

 

Either way, the tickets will be delivered to your cabin with time/location to meet for the excursion.

 

If there is something you have your heart set on, I would book online as soon as it becomes available. The popular ones sell out fast.

[chipq]

You can either book and pay for them in advance through your 'Manage My Cruise' tab or you can wait until you are on board and book then but it will go on your sign and sail card. The risk of waiting until on board is that if the excursion is a popular one, theres a chance it may sell out and you would have to be on a waiting list.

 

ChipQ http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[wrigley80]

You can book and pay for your shore excursions ahead of time.

A word of advice for ya though. Shore excusions through Carnival are often overpriced, too many people, and you don't nearly the same amount of time than if you would book an independent tour :)

[beachbum53]

You can book and pay for your shore excursions ahead of time.

A word of advice for ya though. Shore excusions through Carnival are often overpriced, too many people, and you don't nearly the same amount of time than if you would book an independent tour :)

 

It really kind of depends on the excursion. There are some excursions that are only available through Carnival, because the tour operator has a contract with Carnival. But, there may be some excursions that are not exclusive to Carnival. It will take some on line research on your part to determine if a particular excursion that you're interested in is available both through Carnival and independently of the cruise line to determine which is the better deal. There are some excursions that may include certain things through one tour operator that are not included with someone else, such as food and drinks, the use of beach chairs and snorkeling equipment on a beach excursion, etc. Also, when considering who to book with, look for customer reviews. The more research you can do ahead of time, the better it is for you to be able to make an informed decision. If you do decide to book any excursions through Carnival, it's not a bad idea to pay for them ahead of time. The more things you can pay for ahead of time (gratuities, excursions, etc.) the better. Then your S&S account will be much less at the end of your cruise.