Only able to book shore excursions on board?

[Lazz]

I recently booked an October Med cruise on the Constellation. Some of the listed shore excursions for Portofino, Italy state that we can only book on board.  Is this normal, or will it change to earlier booking at a later date?

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We saw that for the first time on a recent trip on the Solstice in Australia. The specific tours were already fully booked online and we were told to check into ithem once on board.  Not sure if that is the case in your situation, but it is the only time we have ever encountered this.

[Xport]

29 minutes ago, Lazz said:

I recently booked an October Med cruise on the Constellation. Some of the listed shore excursions for Portofino, Italy state that we can only book on board.  Is this normal, or will it change to earlier booking at a later date?

 

Though I've seen exceptions--particularly with respect to excursions that have defined availability with no prospect of increase [such as a folkloric shows, ballet performances, higher end/limited edition escorted tours at events like The British Open or Carnival in Rio, some wine tastings, home visits, chef's tours]--Celebrity tends to withhold [or at least has done so in the past; I have reason to believe that things may be a bit different on Edge] a portion of available tour capacity [I've been told it's about a third] for sale once aboard...

 

Further, I've seen occasions in which Celebrity has reopened online bookings as a result of advance cancellations or if a tour is proving to be sufficiently popular so as to warrant expanding capacity if resources are available to do so...  You might want to check Cruise Planner periodically...

 

Finally, "accessible" excursions--those designed for guests with physical limitations--are [in my observation] never offered for online pre-purchase...  Celebrity wants to be certain that only those having need for accommodation participate and, given the wide range of potential accommodation needs with no universal definition of "accessible"--that the tour is indeed suitable to the guest's individual needs/capabilities/mobility...  Don't know if still true but--when I visited Portofino in 2010--it was a tender port; not all--even with crew assistance--can negotiate the process...

 

I strongly suggest you visit the Shore Excursions Desk upon first boarding Constellation if you still have unresolved excursion matters at the time; "early birds tend to get the worm" if capacity exists...  The representatives may be able to sell you tickets, to wait list you if interested, or direct your attention to alternative tours with similar content...  I'm doing a tour in The Azores while aboard Edge in May; there are two offerings--with identical sightseeing content--but one features a wine/cheese tasting [no longer available via online booking] and the other does not; the $30/person price difference between the two buys a lot of wine/cheese either in town or back aboard ship...