Excursion Cancellation

[j.c.lantis]

Hi all! 
 

I’m looking for some advice in the area of Carnival scheduled excursions. Husband and I leave on the Horizon 3/21 which is scheduled to stop in Grand Turk. Recent events and posts seem to indicate that won’t be happening...bummer. 
 

Grand Turk is the only port I scheduled an excursion in and we were really looking forward to it but oh well, things change. My question is this—

 

I’m assuming we would be refunded the cost of the excursion in the event we don’t port at GT. My worry is that other excursions in the remaining ports may book up quickly after the announcement is made with people making up for their missed GT excursion. 
 

There’s one in Aruba we wouldn’t mind doing, and I’m wondering if it would be smart to just book it now, before getting on the ship. I would hate to wait till muster to hear we’re not stopping in Grand Turk and then have the guest services line be a mile long with people changing excursions only to find out the one we want to do is booked. 
 

Do any frequent cruisers have any insight on an issue like this? Should I just book The Aruba excursion now? If we end up stopping in Grand Turk would there a penalty to canceling an already booked excursion in a later port? 
 

Thanks for any help. First time cruising with Carnival and it’s our honeymoon, so I want it to be as stress-free as possible! 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Book the Aruba tour. 

 

If you do goi to grand turk... do both excursions. It's your honeymoon! 

[Nic6318]

Hi J.C.

 

Just want to throw this out for you to consider.

 

Most people, especially in the Caribbean, don't use the cruise lines excursions. I am not saying that the excursions offered by the cruise lines don't get booked up, but what many have found to be case was that there are many reputable and reliable excursion operators that offer similar or better excursions, generally for a much lower price than the cruise lines.

 

I see you are new to this site, so be sure to read up on all your port of calls on the "port of call" threads on this site. There will be a link for each of your stops if you look at the "Caribbean" link. You can ask and get opinions about any given tour and/or operator on those threads. Also, be sure to look on TripAdvisor for reviews, or a simple internet search such as "best excursions on ABC island". 

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[ireashmott]

26 minutes ago, Nic6318 said:

Hi J.C.

 

Just want to throw this out for you to consider.

 

Most people, especially in the Caribbean, don't use the cruise lines excursions. I am not saying that the excursions offered by the cruise lines don't get booked up, but what many have found to be case was that there are many reputable and reliable excursion operators that offer similar or better excursions, generally for a much lower price than the cruise lines...

Could not agree more!

[mbarker10]

2 hours ago, j.c.lantis said:

Hi all! 
 

I’m looking for some advice in the area of Carnival scheduled excursions. Husband and I leave on the Horizon 3/21 which is scheduled to stop in Grand Turk. Recent events and posts seem to indicate that won’t be happening...bummer. 
 

Grand Turk is the only port I scheduled an excursion in and we were really looking forward to it but oh well, things change. My question is this—

 

I’m assuming we would be refunded the cost of the excursion in the event we don’t port at GT. My worry is that other excursions in the remaining ports may book up quickly after the announcement is made with people making up for their missed GT excursion. 
 

There’s one in Aruba we wouldn’t mind doing, and I’m wondering if it would be smart to just book it now, before getting on the ship. I would hate to wait till muster to hear we’re not stopping in Grand Turk and then have the guest services line be a mile long with people changing excursions only to find out the one we want to do is booked. 
 

Do any frequent cruisers have any insight on an issue like this? Should I just book The Aruba excursion now? If we end up stopping in Grand Turk would there a penalty to canceling an already booked excursion in a later port? 
 

Thanks for any help. First time cruising with Carnival and it’s our honeymoon, so I want it to be as stress-free as possible! 

I'm really hoping GT stays a stop! It's still on the schedule.. https://www.visittci.com/grand-turk-cruise-center#port-schedule

[AVE757]

We’re on the same cruise ☺️ My boyfriend and I have been going back and forth about that also. I’ve been tracking the ship for the last 2 weeks and it hasn’t stopped at GT. I spoke to a Carnival rep yesterday and he said it was on a case by case basis—so there’s no telling. We decided to just keep the excursion (just in case). We have excursions lined up for the rest of the ports, so it’s no biggie. Fingers crossed with all this uptick in travel bans, the cruise doesn’t decide to cancel, or worse the other ports decide to close 🙁

[HakunaMatada]

GT is our favorite port, we sure will miss Topher 😞

[j.c.lantis]

4 hours ago, AVE757 said:

We’re on the same cruise ☺️ My boyfriend and I have been going back and forth about that also. I’ve been tracking the ship for the last 2 weeks and it hasn’t stopped at GT. I spoke to a Carnival rep yesterday and he said it was on a case by case basis—so there’s no telling. We decided to just keep the excursion (just in case). We have excursions lined up for the rest of the ports, so it’s no biggie. Fingers crossed with all this uptick in travel bans, the cruise doesn’t decide to cancel, or worse the other ports decide to close 🙁

 

At this point my husband and I are just waiting to see what happens between now and the cancellation deadline. Only time will tell.... I've really been looking forward to this cruise and in particular, the itinerary. ugh. too many unknowns 😪

 

If we do cancel, it seems like the biggest headache will be the airfare. Flying American but booked through expedia. If it comes down to that...I'll let my husband deal with the airlines hahaha

[tigereye]

HakunaMatada, I regret that I ne

ver had the pleasure of meeting Topher. Enjoy him on video.