Carnival Cruise Lines Launches New Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee

[CatlinSTJ]

I'll reserve judgment until we see how difficult it is to get them to honor the guarantee and how many hoops you have to jump through. I have always found better pricing and smaller groups booking on my own rather than through Carnival.

[gamma5]

Just worked for me today. Saved approx. $140 on 2 excursions (2 adults and 1 child) Chacchoben ruins in Costa Maya and Altun Ha in Belize (Dream in Feb). Search on Carnival "Excursion Guarantee" for the online form, filled in and submitted around noon today, rec'd email confirmation and verified that prices had been reduced on online booking this evening. Parameters must match (excursion time--4 hrs tour, 6 hr tour, etc, lunch/no lunch, transpo/no transpo, etc,, everything must be the same) However, it took me about 2 minutes to Google it and I found a matching excursion. Can't say it will be so lucky on every excursion, but can't hurt to try!

[riclop]

They are still overpriced.

[hagges]

I will still choose to do well researched private company excursions.

[stormy_weatherman]

I found the requirements/details of this via their Shore Excursions page. It's not as good as it originally sounds:

 

In order to be eligible to receive the Best Price Guarantee, you must (1) reserve the applicable shore excursion(s) prior to the commencement of your cruise; and (2) complete and submit an online Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee claim form at least seven (7) days prior to the commencement of your cruise. Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee claim forms can be found at http://www.carnival.com/request-forms/shore-excursion-best-price-guarantee.aspx. Failure to meet any of the following conditions will result in your claim form being rejected. Carnival Cruise Lines will review your claim within two (2) business days. Lower rate must be publicly advertised and available to the general public at the time your claim is filed, as determined by Carnival Cruise Lines personnel. Rates offered on membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates; group, charter, rewards program, incentive, meeting, convention, consolidator or interline prices; prices obtained via auction or similar process; or prices available only by using a coupon or other promotion not offered to the general public are ineligible. The Best Price Guarantee is available only for exact shore excursion matches, for example, duration of the shore excursion, transportation fees, and the exact same dates of the shore excursion as booked through Carnival Cruise Lines. The Best Price Guarantee is not available for shore excursions booked through any third-party where excursion details are unknown until after purchase. If your claim meets these requirements, Carnival Cruise Lines will issue a non-refundable onboard credit worth 110% of the price difference. An email confirming the outcome of the request will be sent to you. If you cancel your excursion, your onboard credit will also be cancelled. The onboard credit is nonrefundable, non-transferable, and has no cash value. The onboard credit must be used during the applicable cruise. Any unused portion of the onboard credit will be forfeited. Carnival Cruise Lines reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify or discontinue the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee or to restrict its availability to any person, at any time, for any or no reason, and without prior notice or liability to you. The terms that are in effect at the time of your booking will determine your eligibility under the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee. No change in the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee will affect any coupon that has already been issued to you. The failure by Carnival Cruise Lines to enforce any provision of these Terms & Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of that provision

[michelle1836]

the tours have to be EXACTLY the same? im thinking Carnival will be able to reject a lot of claims

[gamma5]

Sorry, double posted!

Edited January 16, 2014 by gamma5

[sharecruises]

Sounds good...but the logistics are mind boggling LOL

 

I guess in some cases it might prove beneficial ...

 

I can imagine in some ports this could be a help (Belize, Jamaica, maybe Roatan) where the "safety" /security of ship tour would be an advantage

some of the trips to Dunn's River for example might be comparable

 

IF/when Carnival goes back to Europe this could be a benefit...the repo cruises....might find comparable tours and go with Carnival especially if the timing is tight, short hours in port. Dive tours are a real option....stingray tours = also in Alaska - might be worth giving it a try

 

Now...some ports?? Well some ports (Caribbean) lots of us have favorite places,drivers, etc..so no I don't think it would be of interest

 

My guess is that many/most of the cruisers won't even know how to search this out and make it worth, at least not once they are on board

 

I also think there may be many loopholes - little differences = if the local vendors are smart they too will close some of those loopholes haha

 

I do agree - Carnival must be hurting with the excursions. I think they made a stand with Mahogany Bay - making it hard for the locals to grab cruisers for cheaper tours.

[Nathanyell]

Just saved $44 on the Mayan ruins in Belize with no questions asked. The other tour was shorter and had a 4 person minimum but carnival still honored it.

[Nathanyell]

I just saved $44 on the xunantunich mayan ruins tour for the two of us. Even though the website I found had a 4 person minimum and was an hour shorter. I'm pleased with this one.

[Nathanyell]

I just saved $44 on the xunantunich mayan ruins tour for the two of us. Even though the other website I found had a 4 person minimum and was an hour shorter. So it does not seem like they are not picking as many would assume.

[LWiening]

so now for this to work. You have to book a Carnival excursion then tell them on the form what the competitor has? Seems to me it is almost making it so that people will end up doing their excursions booking more. Sounds like a Monopoly. But wait maybe they realized that people aren't booking with them cause they are expensive. But I think there will be lots of loop holes and you will end up having to stay with the excursion you picked with Carnival because the one that you would have booked will be booked.

[momof3cruisers]

The vast majority of the tours I take are from reputable private tour companies (most often found right here on CC). I truly worry about the impact this will have on the private companies. I want options and I hope the new policy does not impact private operators.

I've taken some excellent cruise sponsored tours as well, but they are quite often considerably more expensive and with large busloads of other passengers; instead of smaller, more personal tours.

 

That's my thought as well. If they really want to be more competitive, they would just lower their prices. They already know they're over priced.

[loxley]

It will not change me from booking private even if they are the same price, I will not book thru the ship.

 

I did ship excursions when I first started cruising. I am not interested in doing a ship excursion again.

[FL011049]

If my family of four has an outside excursion booked, will I receive 110% of the difference in price for one person! or is it for all 4 of us?

[Jldevlin]

Out of 6 excursions we have booked for our next b2b on conquest 4 are independent tours and 2 with Carnival. This is the kind of challenge hubby likes !!!! so he went and found the same tours and put in his request .. we will see what happens but we wont be changing the independent ones we chose just because of this... but it does bring out the competitive in him lol.

[cruzfitter]

If my family of four has an outside excursion booked, will I receive 110% of the difference in price for one person! or is it for all 4 of us?

 

Zero! You have to be booked with Carnival to get anything back. And then it is in OBC so you will be giving it back to Carnival anyway.

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

Here's the thing: if you're booking with a tour operator that you've found here on CruiseCritic you've probably read all about their great service, small groups, etc......now IMAGINE they didn't get you back before your ship sailed:eek: Believe me, their business would be done, finite, caput! The tour operators that you will see here on CC would not be in business if they failed to get their clients back to the ship on time so they are very committed to that....trust me when I tell you that the experience you will get on a small group excursion is MILES apart from that you will receive when you go as part of a large group excursion. Please do not let the fear of "getting back to the ship" be the deciding factor in what tour to take.

 

(I've posted this yesterday but it's a valid point to consider, esp for any newbies out there)

 

But of course, they know the ship's schedules. Day to day, that is a given.

 

The true value, IMO, is the "insurance" of an out of ordinary circumstance...

 

-Heading back to ship with your wife & kids, your ship-sponsored van gets flat tire- no problem, they call the ship, and the ship is waiting.

 

-Heading back to ship with your wife & kids, your private van gets flat tire- no one to call to advise, and you better roll up your sleeves and help... and hope he has a good spare (because no inspections)

 

Again, IMO....

 

(Back in the days of me and my college buddies, either above scenario would be an adventure... now traveling with the wife & young daughters... no thanks, only the ship sponsored one (& now an OBC, netting me paying less than the independent) for me.

 

YMMV.)

Edited January 16, 2014 by Smart Arsenal Fan

[jmkel]

Now we'll just see the independant companies raise their prices up - because of loss in business and even lower head count tours...... :mad: :mad:

[cruizinisthebest]

I've done mostly private tours. Booked on my own in advance and many times we've just gotten off the ship and hopped in a taxi. By now, I'm learning more and more what makes me feel comfortable. The independent operators are almost always connected to someone else. So if something unfortunately happened to the vehicle, someone would be there to rescue folks and get them back to the ship on time.

 

For excursions that are a distance away, such as the rain forest in San Juan or the ruins in Mexico however, I would book with the ship.

 

Not every ship sponsored excursion is a herd or large crowd. And I've never seen someone so slow in the group that they actually held up the flow of the tour. I'm not going to let this guarantee factor into my decision-making. Not really worth worrying about IMO. Do what you've been doing I say.

[cmitch9999]

Wonder if their guarantee would include the same tour offered by other cruise lines at a cheaper rate?? I find the same excursions offered on NCL and RCL at 25% cheaper prices than Carnival consistently. I am sure they would say it is not a publically available rate.

[Pine Bluff]

I found the requirements/details of this via their Shore Excursions page. It's not as good as it originally sounds:

 

In order to be eligible to receive the Best Price Guarantee, you must (1) reserve the applicable shore excursion(s) prior to the commencement of your cruise; and (2) complete and submit an online Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee claim form at least seven (7) days prior to the commencement of your cruise. Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee claim forms can be found at http://www.carnival.com/request-forms/shore-excursion-best-price-guarantee.aspx. Failure to meet any of the following conditions will result in your claim form being rejected. Carnival Cruise Lines will review your claim within two (2) business days. Lower rate must be publicly advertised and available to the general public at the time your claim is filed, as determined by Carnival Cruise Lines personnel. Rates offered on membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates; group, charter, rewards program, incentive, meeting, convention, consolidator or interline prices; prices obtained via auction or similar process; or prices available only by using a coupon or other promotion not offered to the general public are ineligible. The Best Price Guarantee is available only for exact shore excursion matches, for example, duration of the shore excursion, transportation fees, and the exact same dates of the shore excursion as booked through Carnival Cruise Lines. The Best Price Guarantee is not available for shore excursions booked through any third-party where excursion details are unknown until after purchase. If your claim meets these requirements, Carnival Cruise Lines will issue a non-refundable onboard credit worth 110% of the price difference. An email confirming the outcome of the request will be sent to you. If you cancel your excursion, your onboard credit will also be cancelled. The onboard credit is nonrefundable, non-transferable, and has no cash value. The onboard credit must be used during the applicable cruise. Any unused portion of the onboard credit will be forfeited. Carnival Cruise Lines reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify or discontinue the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee or to restrict its availability to any person, at any time, for any or no reason, and without prior notice or liability to you. The terms that are in effect at the time of your booking will determine your eligibility under the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee. No change in the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee will affect any coupon that has already been issued to you. The failure by Carnival Cruise Lines to enforce any provision of these Terms & Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of that provision

 

Wow! Way too much work to reap that paltry "reward".

 

Ill stick with rewarding my $$ to the one not overpricing their tours.

[cbell21219]

I still will never book through a ship to go on a excursion. Ship excursions cater to a certain type of person (the worriers and panicky type). NO thank you. I will stick to my awesome private tours where my group gets to laugh at ship tours being herded like cattle in and out of massive buses.

[jcearth]

Wow! Way too much work to reap that paltry "reward".

 

Ill stick with rewarding my $$ to the one not overpricing their tours.

 

 

Not too much work for me - it is more like a challenge - filled out one request already (on an excursion I had already booked with Carnival) - only took me 5 minutes - I will see if it is accepted or not. If it is, more drinks for me. If not, no worries.

[iheartmarshall]

Just saved $44 on the Mayan ruins in Belize with no questions asked. The other tour was shorter and had a 4 person minimum but carnival still honored it.

 

Did you do this with the Island Marketing Ltd one? I'm trying to submit a claim for the same tour which would net us $40+ however Carnival's form isn't wanting to go through. Ugh!