How does Carnival's excursion low price guarantee work?

[guxu]

How does Carnival's excursion low price guarantee work? I guess we need to provide URL with the lower price. But do we have to book Carnival's excursions before cruise? Can we book excursions on ship and still request the low price guarantee?

Edited July 2, 2015 by guxu

[wemjam]

Yes, you would have to show them proof of the same exact excursion at a lower price - it should work if you do it before or on the cruise either way.

 

HOWEVER, I can pretty much guarantee you that you will not be able to find the same exact excursion (operator, included trip, etc) for a better price. We have cruised a lot and tried to book directly with some of the same operators Carnival uses and talked to others that Carnival approached about being a tour operator for them and they all say Carnival makes their tour operators sign agreements that they can not sell the tours to cruise passengers directly... so doubt you will find the same thing cheaper.

Edited July 2, 2015 by wemjam

[love my grandkids]

Even if you do find the same tour at a lower price another problem.

 

Most Carnival tours will be done using a large bus.

 

Private tours are typically done with a van so that they can unload and load faster and not worry about getting as many people back on the bus on time.

 

As a result private tours typically will do more in same period of time.

[silvercrikhix]

We have collected on this guarantee before.

Snapshotted the lower priced excursion and sent it as directed.

We received OBC equivalent posted to our account.

It was for Atlantis Submarine in Grand Cayman.

[JillySue]

We collected on the guarantee for the Catalina Undersea Adventure. You can tell from the photos that it's the exact same vessel doing both tours. Got it processed rather quickly, but the math didn't make sense, so I tried calling. DONT FOLLOW UP BY PHONE. They are email only. I learned that the hardest way possible.

 

You get the difference as OBC, not paying less upfront, by the way.

[love my grandkids]

We have collected on this guarantee before.

Snapshotted the lower priced excursion and sent it as directed.

We received OBC equivalent posted to our account.

It was for Atlantis Submarine in Grand Cayman.

 

That is an easy one as you walk to the submarine from the port so apples and apples.

[dave_k58]

You will not find any tour from a private operator that is exactly the same as the Carnival excursions. Pretty safe bet for Carnival, and a good advertising ploy.

[love my grandkids]

You will not find any tour from a private operator that is exactly the same as the Carnival excursions. Pretty safe bet for Carnival, and a good advertising ploy.

 

And than they combine that with scaring new cruisers that they are in danger of missing the ship if they do a private tour.

[coevan]

first hand knowledge, my son is a Captain who did snorkel tours in St.Thomas. Yes, the company signs agreements not to take cruise passengers and they do ask where you are staying. However his tour was $75 pp through CCL. The tour was $45 if you stayed in a hotel, must be CCL's markup. As a mutliple time cruiser, Captain and sailboat owner in the Virgins, I can tell you most of the tour operators know each other, which are cruise ship contracted, and to which cruise line. Another example are dive trips, a 2 tank dive is rarely over $100, and rarely less then $150 on the shore excursions. Don't let CCL scare you into thinking their excursions are safer, or you won't get back to the ship. This is their lively hood, they want you to have a great time and you will be back at the ship on time.

[dave_k58]

And than they combine that with scaring new cruisers that they are in danger of missing the ship if they do a private tour.

 

 

I have never taken a ship sponsored excursion and have never had any problems. I don't care much for their scare tactics. But, business is business.

[love my grandkids]

first hand knowledge, my son is a Captain who did snorkel tours in St.Thomas. Yes, the company signs agreements not to take cruise passengers and they do ask where you are staying. However his tour was $75 pp through CCL. The tour was $45 if you stayed in a hotel, must be CCL's markup. As a mutliple time cruiser, Captain and sailboat owner in the Virgins, I can tell you most of the tour operators know each other, which are cruise ship contracted, and to which cruise line. Another example are dive trips, a 2 tank dive is rarely over $100, and rarely less then $150 on the shore excursions. Don't let CCL scare you into thinking their excursions are safer, or you won't get back to the ship. This is their lively hood, they want you to have a great time and you will be back at the ship on time.

 

like

[love my grandkids]

I have never taken a ship sponsored excursion and have never had any problems. I don't care much for their scare tactics. But, business is business.

 

First couple of cruises we didnt know any better and took ship excursions. Those days are long gone.

 

Just have to make sure excursion is do back well before sailaway just in case you run into any problems.

[coevan]

they know the times better then you, no worries

[love my grandkids]

they know the times better then you, no worries

 

They usually do but would be proactive to make sure.

[JillySue]

We could do the excursion privately for the lower price, but since Catalina is a tender port and we've skipped it on a cruise last year, same time of year, we chose to book through the ship. Just in case we skip the port, there's far less hassle getting a refund.

[love my grandkids]

We could do the excursion privately for the lower price, but since Catalina is a tender port and we've skipped it on a cruise last year, same time of year, we chose to book through the ship. Just in case we skip the port, there's far less hassle getting a refund.

 

We dont pay in advance so no hassle with getting refund.

[TerReuv]

Yes, you would have to show them proof of the same exact excursion at a lower price - it should work if you do it before or on the cruise either way.

 

HOWEVER, I can pretty much guarantee you that you will not be able to find the same exact excursion (operator, included trip, etc) for a better price. We have cruised a lot and tried to book directly with some of the same operators Carnival uses and talked to others that Carnival approached about being a tour operator for them and they all say Carnival makes their tour operators sign agreements that they can not sell the tours to cruise passengers directly... so doubt you will find the same thing cheaper.

 

Just an FYI - it does not have to be the same operator to price match. The excursion has to match exactly but not the operator.

 

We did ship's excursions our first cruise and then did it on our own last time. We are booking our own again this time. If there was something I wanted to do that might take a longer time, then I would consider a ships excursion only for the guarantee that we will get back on the ship. Otherwise, just choose wisely and give yourself a good cushion for returning to the ship.

 

Not sure I would call it "scare tactics" when Carnival says they will leave you, because it is true. They just state the facts that if you are on your own excursion and are late then you risk being left. With a Carnival excursion they won't leave you. That being said - no reputable operator will want to have you left as it makes them look bad too. They rely on the cruise ships for tourists and they want to be known as not being late returning passengers to the ship. Do your research before booking a private operator.

[dmdiver]

We've booked on our own and ship excursions. I guess I always missed the price guarantee on excursions. We have dives booked on our next cruise through the ship, so I think I will be doing some research to see if we can get some OBC.

 

So, on something that requires transportation, I'm guessing that those may be a bit trickier to price match.

 

Oh and the part about the contracts - I know that is true - tried to get info on a horseback trip & when the company found out I was coming in on CCL, they said I had to book through CCL. Also found that to be true when I looked into booking the Twister boat to Passion Island in Cozumel.