Donh44 Posted June 21, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I am booked on the Splendor out of NY in Sept to go to New England/Canada. Two of the excursions that I am interested in have me a bit concerned. In St John, NB there is a Photo Taking tour that is about 3.5 hours but not scheduled to be over until about 15 min before the ship departs. In Halifax, NS there is a Peggy's Cove/Titanic Cemetery excursion that is not scheduled to be over until 30 minutes prior to ship departure. This has me puzzled. They are Carnival excursions. I know they are supposed to be guaranteed but would you book an excursion which gets you back to the ship so close to departure? I am one who likes to make sure that I am back on time. I am not a pier runner and don't want to be. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing? Can't believe that Carnival would have them scheduled so close to departure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evandbob Posted June 21, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 21, 2015 If they are Carnival Excursions I wouldn't worry at all. You will return to the ship before it sails, np. Is there a difference between ship time and shore time then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donh44 Posted June 21, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted June 21, 2015 If they are Carnival Excursions I wouldn't worry at all. You will return to the ship before it sails, np. Is there a difference between ship time and shore time then? No change in ship time at those locations. Both are in the Eastern time zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snc_cam Posted June 21, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 21, 2015 as long as they are Carnival excursions, the ship will not leave without you. That is one of the guarantees of a Carnival excursion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted June 21, 2015 #5 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I am booked on the Splendor out of NY in Sept to go to New England/Canada. Two of the excursions that I am interested in have me a bit concerned. In St John, NB there is a Photo Taking tour that is about 3.5 hours but not scheduled to be over until about 15 min before the ship departs. In Halifax, NS there is a Peggy's Cove/Titanic Cemetery excursion that is not scheduled to be over until 30 minutes prior to ship departure. This has me puzzled. They are Carnival excursions. I know they are supposed to be guaranteed but would you book an excursion which gets you back to the ship so close to departure? I am one who likes to make sure that I am back on time. I am not a pier runner and don't want to be. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing? Can't believe that Carnival would have them scheduled so close to departure. Don't sweat it, the ship will not leave without you. Enjoy your excursions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donh44 Posted June 21, 2015 Author #6 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Don't sweat it, the ship will not leave without you. Enjoy your excursions!! Thanks for the encouragement. But, I hate to cut it close even though I know that Carnival will back it up. BTW, loved your picture review. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naz022292 Posted June 22, 2015 #7 Share Posted June 22, 2015 No change in ship time at those locations. Both are in the Eastern time zone. Actually, they are in the Atlantic Time Zone and they are 1 hour different than the Eastern Time Zone. I'm not sure how/if that affects the excursion time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all_aboard Posted June 22, 2015 #8 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Don't worry, they will wait for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta3 Posted June 22, 2015 #9 Share Posted June 22, 2015 My husband did the photo tour in St. John and had no issues on getting back to the ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dioxide45 Posted June 22, 2015 #10 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Actually, they are in the Atlantic Time Zone and they are 1 hour different than the Eastern Time Zone. I'm not sure how/if that affects the excursion time. I would think the ship will stay on ships time and all the times provided on both the arrival and departure time as well as the shore excursion times are based on ships time. Though this could be the cause of the issue? Not sure. If it were me, I would just rent a car and leave early. The photo taking tour being only 3.5 hours, it sounds like leaves later in the day. Renting a car and getting out early would give you lots of time to see the sights. You could probably get to some better sites in a car than the bus could. Too bad Hopewell Rocks is over two hours away. Depending on tide times, that would be a great place to see. Driving from Halifax to Peggy's Cove is less than an hour and I suspect the cemetery they go to is Fairview Cemetery in Halifax. Seeing the rows of Titanic victim graves is truly haunting. While you wouldn't have a tour guide, I would rent a car for this one too. With a car you could perhaps beat the buses to Peggy's Cove which tends to get over run with them throughout the day. Driving in Canada is super easy. Not sure how easy it is to rent a car near the port though. We traveled through Eastern Canada with our own car, never cruised to there. Edited June 22, 2015 by dioxide45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donh44 Posted June 22, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I would think the ship will stay on ships time and all the times provided on both the arrival and departure time as well as the shore excursion times are based on ships time. Though this could be the cause of the issue? Not sure. If it were me, I would just rent a car and leave early. The photo taking tour being only 3.5 hours, it sounds like leaves later in the day. Renting a car and getting out early would give you lots of time to see the sights. You could probably get to some better sites in a car than the bus could. Too bad Hopewell Rocks is over two hours away. Depending on tide times, that would be a great place to see. Driving from Halifax to Peggy's Cove is less than an hour and I suspect the cemetery they go to is Fairview Cemetery in Halifax. Seeing the rows of Titanic victim graves is truly haunting. While you wouldn't have a tour guide, I would rent a car for this one too. With a car you could perhaps beat the buses to Peggy's Cove which tends to get over run with them throughout the day. Driving in Canada is super easy. Not sure how easy it is to rent a car near the port though. We traveled through Eastern Canada with our own car, never cruised to there. I wanted to go to the Hopewell Rocks Park, but I checked the tide schedule and, on the day that we are there at the time of the excursion, it will be high tide. No chance to walk on the ocean floor. Wouldn't think that it would be that scenic to see if it is mostly water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evandbob Posted June 22, 2015 #12 Share Posted June 22, 2015 If they are Carnival Excursions I wouldn't worry at all. You will return to the ship before it sails, np. Is there a difference between ship time and shore time then? As someone said, the ship will be on Eastern Time and you will be visiting an earlier Atlantic Time Zone so that means your excursion ends not 15 minutes but an hour and 1/4 before ship sail time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elainmir Posted June 22, 2015 #13 Share Posted June 22, 2015 If its Carnival then you'll have no issues..it's when it's someone private not booked through Carnival that you'd have to worry maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donh44 Posted June 23, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted June 23, 2015 If its Carnival then you'll have no issues..it's when it's someone private not booked through Carnival that you'd have to worry maybe Thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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