shore exccursions, Brilliance of the Seas

[georgiacat]

We will be going on our first RCI cruise on the Brilliance on a Baltic cruise in June. If we reserve the ship excursions, when do we pay for them? (before the cruise vs. after) How far ahead of the cruise do you reserve your excursions? I know there is a lot of talk about the ship excursions vs the independent operators, for those of you who have gone on the ship excursions, which ones for the Baltic cruise do you recommend?

We are middle 60's with some walking problems. We won't be doing anything marked "active". :)

Edited December 12, 2014 by georgiacat

[Langley Cruisers]

We will be going on our first RCI cruise on the Brilliance on a Baltic cruise in June. If we reserve the ship excursions, when do we pay for them? (before the cruise vs. after)...

 

If you reserve them online, you pay at that time with a credit card. The tickets will be in your cabin when you arrive onboard, or shortly thereafter. If you wait to book them when you get on the ship, they will be charged to your onboard account. If you know what you want, I would advise you to book them as soon as possible. We booked early for our Med cruise; the tours can fill up quickly.

 

I see you have already been posting on the Baltics port of call board; that is the best place to ask about specific tours and such. Have a great cruise. :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192 <--Baltic forum

 

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[cb at sea]

When you book, you pay.....if you have OBC you want to use, you'll have to wait until you're onboard to use that....

 

It's seldom needed to book thru the ship....private tours or DIY are much cheaper! BUT...you must research...a guidebook is most helpful!

[georgiacat]

Thanks. What if we decide to cancel that excursion? It says that we can cancel with no penalty up to 24 hours before. If I have already paid for the excursion, do I get a refund on my credit card?

[Langley Cruisers]

Personally speaking, for us on our Med cruise, we took all ship's tours. It was fantastic. You show up in your designated meeting place and a staff member takes you off the ship in a group and over to your waiting bus. We really appreciated this peace of mind, and YES we paid more for it. Some people don't mind doing that. :)

[georgiacat]

I am concerned about the pay up front policy. What to do about any OBC (that I don't know if we have any.)? We don't purchase much on the ship other than excursions. What about any refunds? credit card or cash (check) payment?

 

We are used to the Princess policy where you can reserve excursions before the cruise, but pay after. Use any OBC to offset some of the expense of the excursions.

 

Thanks for the help.