Pre booking shore excursions

[NanciEA]

Does anyone have a definitive answer on when or if you can pre-book shore excursions? The website says only the shore excursion packages can be pre-booked, but I thought somewhere else I read 90 days prior. However, when I sign in with my booking number it appears I can select individual excursions now. I haven't decided what we are doing yet for our June cruise, but I was just curious. Thanks.

[Andee]

We were on the Regatta in November and were able to book individual shore excursions on-line. We then had to cancel them because our stops in Libya were eliminated.

 

Although they charged our Visa as soon as we made the reservation, it took them several weeks after the cruise ended to make the credit.

[phlewt]

We booked several individual shore excursions ahead of time for our Asia cruise on Nautica. The Ha Long Bay junk excursion was cancelled due to the late arrival of Nautica, and the cost was deducted from our on-board account prior to the end of the cruise.

[spindrift]

Does anyone have any recommendations for tours in any of our ports. We went ahead and took the 3-day package tour in Beijing. Altho Oceania's tour department leaves a lot to be desired, I felt for us, this was the best move. However, I was wondering about the other ports. Would appreciate any advice you all might have.

 

Not long now.

[spindrift]

Well, we have gone ahead and booked our individual shore excursions in each port. I guess I am just more comfortable with their arrangements and assurance of getting back to the ship. After having read some stories about folks missing the ship doing their own thing, and after doing research on the various tours to book on our own and how close the cost comes to Oceania's, we decided the few extra dollars was worth it. They really do have some lovely trips.

[Druke I]

We were on Regatta into the Baltic this past Aug., and prebooked individual shore excursions, bypassing the excursion packages.

 

We hope to be able to book individual excursions again on our upcoming trip on Nautica through the Suez, Nov 06.

[Member]

Does Oceania has the similar shore excursion cancellation policy as other major cruise lines, i.e. full refund or credit is notified to cancel one full day prior to arrive that tour port?

[JoePDX]

Does Oceania has the similar shore excursion cancellation policy as other major cruise lines, i.e. full refund or credit is notified to cancel one full day prior to arrive that tour port?

 

I just booked an excursion last evening on line. They quoted that they need to give notice to the operator 36 hours prior to arrival and that all cancelations need to be in prior to that time for refunds.

 

Joe

[NanciEA]

When I went to book the shore excursions, Oceania did not provide departure times. Am I to assume they all depart soon after the ship docks? For example, in Santorini, the ship is docked from 8:00 to 6:00, why do they not tell you when the 4 hour "Panorama" excursion departs? Maybe I am missing something....

[can48]

You won't know the times of departure for the tours until you receive the tickets. The only info that they give you when booking is whether it is in the morning or afternoon if it is a short tour...four hours as an example.

 

One major thing we liked about Oceania's tours was that they did not fill their buses to the maximum. Often, we were in the large buses but there were only about 25 allowed on the bus.

 

Enjoy, great ships.

[Member]

... need to give notice to the operator 36 hours prior to arrival and that all cancelations need to be in prior to that time for refunds. Joe

 

3 days before arriving the tour port to cancel the excursion for full refund is fair to me. Will the refund be credited to the onboard account?

[digby]

Are you certain you get a full refund? I seem to remember being charged something for canceling while on the Insignia.

[spindrift]

If I am correct, they say that a full refund will be given, but I certainly do not want to speak on their behalf. It seems that that is the way it worked when we went around the horn.