Shore excursion sold out online

[cheriberi]

If a shore excursion is not available to book online, what are the chances that we will be able to book it once we board the ship?

[az_tchr]

Who knows. They never sell 100% of the seats online. you also will possibly find a private excursion on your roll call as good or better. Be sure and check it out. lots of experienced people out there get tours that are too small for X to bother with but are in reality more enjoyable as you are usually in a van with 6-8 others instead of a 50 passenger bus.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I have seen several instances where an excursion was listed as sold out in the papers they leave in the cabins so they do not always hold open slots for booking on board.

 

This is more likely to happen if it is very popular or if it is a small group excursion such as the newer market discoveries.

[villauk]

Is it definitely saying 'sold out' online? Only asking as some excursions are only available to book onboard and quote phrasing such as 'enquire onboard'. I've seen a couple of tours, where mobility is an issue, only available to book once boarded. Unsure if this is the case for you?

 

Always ask at the excursion desk even if all the spaces are full because if there are enough interested parties to book further buses etc, then X will cater for the additional pax if at all possible. This has happened to us previously - they have a waiting list ;). There are sometimes cancellations too ;). However, if it's a must see tour, check to see if there are any private excursions being organised on your roll call :).

[jagoffee]

I would say it is not 100% certain you can book on board if it is "sold out" on line, but from my experience it is very likely.

[Azulann]

Some excursion are very unique and do fill up before the cruise starts.

Our "Running with the bulls" ship excursion from the port of Blibao ,Spain been sold out for months. The cruise is not until July 2016.

[ondeckatsea]

On our last cruise, a European 13 night Med. Cruise, I decided to wait until onboard to book some of our tours so that I could use a lot of our credits. When I went to the desk shortly after embarkation , I was told the tours were full but they put me on a wait list. We were told a day or so later that they could book us. So, all was fine and dandy. I did see that the tours were all about 10% higher in cost than if I had booked online from home. So....from now on, if my heart is set on a particular tour I will try to book online. Of course, as we all know, the "X" website is horrible!

[Redtravel]

If you really want to book an excursion, do it right after booking. Excursions can and do sell out. You may also try to book the same excursion privately. A few years ago, I booked several private excursions sharing with people on the roll calls. Excursions were excellent and cost less. Now I try to do my own thing. For example, in Israel, we booked privately as a group of 8 with a private co. For all 3 days (full days)including tips each person spent about $300. We decided where we wanted to go. It would have cost us a lot more if we booked with the ship. Do not be upset if the excursion sells out.

[ghstudio]

Excursions with obviously limited capacity can and often do sell out.....4x4 tours, helicopter tours, horseback riding on the beach, deep sea fishing. Tours that use tour buses, in our experience, rarely sell out in advance.

 

The "safe" way is to book the tours you want in advance and pay for them in advance. Many want to use their "free" OBC for excursions....that's fine. Once on board, check to see if the tour you booked is still open and ask if you can cancel your reservation and re-book. That will essentially credit back your initial payment to your on board account as a refundable item and your on board account will be charged for the new booking which will go against your non-refundable OBC. As part of this, if the price is more on board, you can decide to just go on the pre-booked excursion and spend your non-refundable OBC on something else.

[Banjo]

I had it happen to me on Princess but never on Celebrity.

 

Usually, since I always have OBC, the first thing I do when I board I go to the Excursion Desk. Always got the tour I wanted. I did have the experience, when wanting to change a tour the day before that tour, that the particular tour I wanted was fully booked.

[HokiePoq]

If a shore excursion is not available to book online, what are the chances that we will be able to book it once we board the ship?

 

I've seen it go both ways. Sometimes either more capacity is added or some spots have been left for those who do not use the internet...or the excursion is not listed at all in the brochure. If I see something I really want to do, I sign up for it ASAP.

[cheriberi]

Thank you for all the responses. The excursion we are interested in is the Tracy Arm catamaran for our Alaska cruise. They pick you up directly from the ship, and it cannot be booked privately (I checked). This excursion has not been available to book online for some time, so I am hoping we can book it once we are onboard.

[chemmo]

Sea plane trips, helicopter trips with finite capacity and difficulties easily expanding tour numbers tend to be the ones to sell out. Also venues (hotel beach day passes) may be limited.

 

If there is a 'lifetime' trip we want to do and use X because of time schedules....we will book as we book the cruise even if we have loads of OBC.

 

Cheriberi, on boarding go straight to excursions and check availability and ask to be placed on a wait list. In the meantime, as others have said, check out other options. Also keep trying to book on line, if anyone cancels you can then book...

 

Hope you have a great cruise and manage to book the excursions you want.

[bar_20]

If it's a four passenger fly in fishing trip it's probably sold out. Why would X take a trip off their listing as sold out if it's not. Call and verify the status and ask to be put on a wait list if it is.