A few shore excursion questions

[Sundiego]

When we do port excursions, we usually use independent tour guides so pardon my ignorance here 🙂

 

When I book a shore excursion at NCL.com, I know I put it in my cart and pay for it then. If I decide to cancel it before sailing, does NCL just refund back to my credit card? And can I cancel myself online or do I need to contact NCL by chat or phone?

 

Also, if I want to book a ship's excursion, is there a sense of urgency? In other words, do they sometimes fill up and NCL does not add additional tour buses?

 

Thanks!

 

Denise

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, Sundiego said:

When we do port excursions, we usually use independent tour guides so pardon my ignorance here 🙂

 

When I book a shore excursion at NCL.com, I know I put it in my cart and pay for it then. If I decide to cancel it before sailing, does NCL just refund back to my credit card? And can I cancel myself online or do I need to contact NCL by chat or phone?

 

Also, if I want to book a ship's excursion, is there a sense of urgency? In other words, do they sometimes fill up and NCL does not add additional tour buses?

 

Thanks!

 

Denise

If you cancel before your cruise, you will get a refund to method of payment (so typically a credit card). If you cancel while onboard, you will get an OBC.  And you need to call if cancelling before sailing...no doing it online. As mentioned above, sometimes they do fill up and depending on the excursion, no more are available. I always check on board if there is something I really want to do as there are cancellations.

[Sailing12Away]

Yes, some do fill up. If it's a very popular one (Tracy Arms out of Juneau in Alaska) it will fill up and it's a one and done - no more boats will be added.

 

Sometimes it depends on the cabin you're booked in and the type of excursion too. On that same Alaska trip we wanted to do the private Hummer tour where they give you a driver and you can fit 4 people in the car with you. It was sold out. We were in a Haven room... I contacted the pre-cruise concierge, and viola... they were able to add in an extra car so we could book that excursion.

 

So it all depends on the tour, but there's no harm in booking something and then cancelling it if you change your mind. Just don't wait until the last minute to cancel.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, Sundiego said:

When I book a shore excursion at NCL.com, I know I put it in my cart and pay for it then. If I decide to cancel it before sailing, does NCL just refund back to my credit card? And can I cancel myself online or do I need to contact NCL by chat or phone?

 

Also, if I want to book a ship's excursion, is there a sense of urgency? In other words, do they sometimes fill up and NCL does not add additional tour buses?

If you cancel it prior to cruise, you will get a refund to your credit card.

 

You can cancel onboard up to 48 hours prior to the port call. You will get a refundable OBC which would turn into a refund, if not used, at the end of the cruise. 

 

A very limited number of tours have to be cancelled before cruise departure. Those include helicopter, airplane, and a few other limited availability tours.

 

You can not cancel tours yourself. You need to call NCL. 

 

At this moment in time, tour providers worldwide are suffering from staffing and other shortages. On many cruises, ship shore excursions will sell out before departure. Popular shore excursions well before departure. We were on a cruise in May where about 90% of the tours were sold out by departure leaving rock climbing and whitewater kayaking. 

[IronRobi]

Sorry to hijack, but still related to the question at hand of cancelling excursions so figured I'd hop on instead of making a new post.

 

On an upcoming cruise I've got roughly $450USD in OBC. I'd like to use it towards excursions, but I'd also like to pre-book the excursions to reserve a spot.

 

I've read of people pre-paying the excursions and then going to the shore excursions desk on board and refunding/rebooking to use the OBC. Our first port is inside the 48hr window from embarkation, so it sounds like this won't be possible with this one. The next 2 ports are outside of the 48hr window, but it sounds like they'll just credit me more OBC which will put me right back to where I started.

 

Is there any way to successfully use the OBC towards excursions without crossing our fingers and hoping they're still available when we get on board? 

Edited August 7, 2022 by IronRobi

[farjar]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

If you cancel it prior to cruise, you will get a refund to your credit card.

 

You can cancel onboard up to 48 hours prior to the port call. You will get a refundable OBC which would turn into a refund, if not used, at the end of the cruise. 

 

A very limited number of tours have to be cancelled before cruise departure. Those include helicopter, airplane, and a few other limited availability tours.

 

You can not cancel tours yourself. You need to call NCL. 

 

At this moment in time, tour providers worldwide are suffering from staffing and other shortages. On many cruises, ship shore excursions will sell out before departure. Popular shore excursions well before departure. We were on a cruise in May where about 90% of the tours were sold out by departure leaving rock climbing and whitewater kayaking. 

We are platinum and are entitled to a 10% price reduction.  It doesn't show up when I try to book online.  Do I need to call the shore excursion number and book through them in order to receive the discount?  I don't recall if I did that previously or had to go to the shore excursion desk once on the ship and get the discount there.  Thanks.

[cruiseny4life]

On 8/6/2022 at 6:56 PM, Sundiego said:

lso, if I want to book a ship's excursion, is there a sense of urgency? In other words, do they sometimes fill up and NCL does not add additional tour buses?

Yes! Our cruise leaving in 21 days had more than 30 shore excursions when we booked it in late June. It currently has only 5 remaining. 

 

We have a sailing in March and are already discussing shore excursions to be sure we get what we want. I'd recommend you do book when you can. As you mention, you have plenty of time to cancel.

[Sundiego]

On 8/7/2022 at 11:19 AM, farjar said:

We are platinum and are entitled to a 10% price reduction.  It doesn't show up when I try to book online.  Do I need to call the shore excursion number and book through them in order to receive the discount?  I don't recall if I did that previously or had to go to the shore excursion desk once on the ship and get the discount there.  Thanks.

Did you actually put the excursion in the cart and review the checkout $ amounts? We are also platinum and I am able to see the 10% discount plus the $50 off the first name on the booking. 

 

Denise

[farjar]

1 hour ago, Sundiego said:

Did you actually put the excursion in the cart and review the checkout $ amounts? We are also platinum and I am able to see the 10% discount plus the $50 off the first name on the booking. 

 

Denise

I tried your suggestion and it worked.  What I found interesting was it would allow the first person to book another excursion in the same port and get the same discount on the second excursion again if time allowed.  Thank you.

[jsn55]

On 8/6/2022 at 8:14 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you cancel it prior to cruise, you will get a refund to your credit card.

 

You can cancel onboard up to 48 hours prior to the port call. You will get a refundable OBC which would turn into a refund, if not used, at the end of the cruise. 

 

A very limited number of tours have to be cancelled before cruise departure. Those include helicopter, airplane, and a few other limited availability tours.

 

You can not cancel tours yourself. You need to call NCL. 

 

At this moment in time, tour providers worldwide are suffering from staffing and other shortages. On many cruises, ship shore excursions will sell out before departure. Popular shore excursions well before departure. We were on a cruise in May where about 90% of the tours were sold out by departure leaving rock climbing and whitewater kayaking. 

I just booked ShoreExes for a late September cruise.  My husband is recovering from some surgery, so I read the cancellation terms and booked the excursions that we hope to take.  I was unaware that they couldn't be cancelled online.  I already have enough grief with United, Virgin and Delta with credits that must be dealt with on the phone.  It is maddening.  Does NCL answer the phone?

[BirdTravels]

On 8/7/2022 at 2:19 PM, farjar said:

We are platinum and are entitled to a 10% price reduction.  It doesn't show up when I try to book online.  Do I need to call the shore excursion number and book through them in order to receive the discount?  I don't recall if I did that previously or had to go to the shore excursion desk once on the ship and get the discount there.  Thanks.

The discounts and shore ex credit are properly applied at checkout. You will see full detail on your emailed receipt

 

Example (two shore excursions, one for $49 and one for $79):

Edited August 10, 2022 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Does NCL answer the phone?

Yes. Call the general reservation line and navigate to shore excursions. 

[Turtles06]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. Call the general reservation line and navigate to shore excursions. 

Even better, call Shorex directly:  866-625-1167

[WorkingForOBC]

23 hours ago, farjar said:

I tried your suggestion and it worked.  What I found interesting was it would allow the first person to book another excursion in the same port and get the same discount on the second excursion again if time allowed.  Thank you.

Hi Farjar,

 

Yes. The $50 Shore Excursion Credit is applied to every excursion that the first passenger books. That includes multiple excursions in the same port, on the same day... if time allows. 🙂

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Even better, call Shorex directly:  866-625-1167

Triple LIKE!  I hate phone trees.

[Turtles06]

14 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Triple LIKE!  I hate phone trees.

 

Same here.  That's why I save direct dial numbers whenever I am given them.  😊