upfront payment for excursions?

[Coolmamma]

Hello,

 

I went online to reserve some specialty restaurants and an excursion and it asked for all my credit card info. Is it charging me at this time or does it just hold the reservation?

 

Thanks!

[dacsmom]

Your card is being charged when you book.

[Coolmamma]

Thank you!!

[Pumbaamd]

Yes, you are charged. However, we've never had a problem when changing or cancelling excursions. They would apply a credit to our credit card within a few days.

Rick and Deirdra

[DrD]

Yes, RCCL is known for getting interest-free loans from their customers. Maybe other lines are now also but it was a bit of a shock the first time for me on RCCL. That's one reason I've gone to private tours.

 

Amazingly people don't seem to mind. Many even post here about how they pay the cruise off before the deadline!

[corgigrl]

Yes, RCCL is known for getting interest-free loans from their customers. Maybe other lines are now also but it was a bit of a shock the first time for me on RCCL. That's one reason I've gone to private tours.

 

Amazingly people don't seem to mind. Many even post here about how they pay the cruise off before the deadline!

 

Took me by surprise as well when I went on to check out shore excursions. Course I haven't cruised RCCI since 2004 and I don't remember paying till we cruised! When did they start charging beforehand? Just wondering...

[Clarea]

Took me by surprise as well when I went on to check out shore excursions. Course I haven't cruised RCCI since 2004 and I don't remember paying till we cruised! When did they start charging beforehand? Just wondering...

It's been that way for at least the last 7 years.

[travelplus]

Hey Coolmama,

 

I went ahead and booked an excursion for our upcoming cruise in the Canary Islands. We are going from Santos(Sao Paulo)-Barcelona in April.

 

The benefit to booking online is you are guaranteed the tour. I called the Shore Excursion desk and they say its on a first come first served basis. If you know you want the tour you should book it as early as possible as they can sell out.

 

You will get your Tour Tickets in your Stateroom usually on the day of departure. It will state where and when you need to be on the ship on the day of your excursion.

 

People cancel shore excursions all the time and it takes a few days for the credit to appear on your credit card. Either way I would book it now rather than seeing all the excursions have been sold out.

[LeeW]

With Princess you reserve in advance and are charged about 24 hours before the excursion if you don't cancel. While I prefer this, the downside is that some folks will book several excursions and decide just before the cancellation time which to take.

 

With RCI you have already paid so they know in advance if there are enough bookings and people are less likely to cancel.

 

Either way the tickets show up in your room on the first night.

[CruisinCadie]

Celebrity also has the pay-in-advance policy. I guess it's not surprising, since Royal is the parent company.

 

Kathy

[leaveitallbehind]

Yes, you are charged. However, we've never had a problem when changing or cancelling excursions. They would apply a credit to our credit card within a few days.

Rick and Deirdra

 

My understanding of RCI's cancellation policy is excursions canceled by three days prior to sailing will result in the amount as a credit applied to your credit card. Cancellations after that and on board by 24 hours prior to the excursion will result in the amount applied as an OBC on your SailPass card.

 

Someone please correct me if I am incorrect.

Edited January 22, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[joepeka]

Yes, RCCL is known for getting interest-free loans from their customers. Maybe other lines are now also but it was a bit of a shock the first time for me on RCCL. That's one reason I've gone to private tours.

 

Amazingly people don't seem to mind. Many even post here about how they pay the cruise off before the deadline!

 

HAL and Carnival are the same - pay at the time of the reservation. I suppose if you're a "plan ahead-pay ahead" type person who wants as many expenses as possible out of the way prior to the trip (and you know you aren't going to change your mind about the excursion), it's a good thing.

Edited January 22, 2014 by joepeka

[At Sea 4Ever]

I don't remember.. Does specialty dining get charged ahead of time?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Clarea]

I don't remember.. Does specialty dining get charged ahead of time?

Yes.

[bouhunter]

I don't remember.. Does specialty dining get charged ahead of time?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Yes, if booked prior to the cruise.

[lady_cruiser]

Yes, RCCL is known for getting interest-free loans from their customers. Maybe other lines are now also but it was a bit of a shock the first time for me on RCCL. That's one reason I've gone to private tours.

 

Amazingly people don't seem to mind. Many even post here about how they pay the cruise off before the deadline!

 

But if an excursion I am interested in is sold out, by pre booking it I know I have tickets for it. I have had more than one excursion I was interested in sell out before I even set sail.

 

And frankly, as a stock holder, I am glad that Royal Caribbean can make a profit any way they can.

Edited January 22, 2014 by lady_cruiser

[billscruiser]

We recently had to cancel a prebooked excursion while on the ship (Celebrity). It was credited against our onboard account. This left us with a credit balance which was credited back to our credit card. I was afraid they would treat it like unused OBC and not refund, but they handled it just great.

[DrD]

But if an excursion I am interested in is sold out, by pre booking it I know I have tickets for it. I have had more than one excursion I was interested in sell out before I even set sail.

 

And frankly, as a stock holder, I am glad that Royal Caribbean can make a profit any way they can.

 

Sure it's good to reserve, but other lines let you reserve without paying, or at least they used to, it's been awhile since I've cruised another line.

 

Also private tours let you reserve ahead without paying.

 

As for profit, they also lose some money from people like me. For example, last year we found a private stingray tour in GC that was about the same price as RCCL, but I booked with them partially because they did not require payment until the day of the tour. Of course I have no way to know if they come out ahead or behind.

 

This year for the first time we're doing all private tours. One did require payment up front but also offered a substantial discount for early booking (25%).