shore excursions refunds

[kevboy]

I have never booked excursions prior to getting on the ship before . P&O are pestering me to book excursions now for a cruise next year in case they sell out. My questions are; if I book  any do I pay in full  at time of booking or just a deposit , and If I pay in full then either cancel the excursion or even  the cruise, Do I get a refund of any shore excursion paid for?

many thanks

kev

[Presto2]

15 minutes ago, kevboy said:

I have never booked excursions prior to getting on the ship before . P&O are pestering me to book excursions now for a cruise next year in case they sell out. My questions are; if I book  any do I pay in full  at time of booking or just a deposit , and If I pay in full then either cancel the excursion or even  the cruise, Do I get a refund of any shore excursion paid for?

many thanks

kev

 

We always try to book before we sail. You have to pay in full there and then, but have always been able to cancel an excursion before we sail and the money has gone back on the card we paid on. (I think there is a time limit though like 48 hrs but don't take my word for it and check).

 

If you want to cancel the cruise make sure you cancel your excursions first, get your money back on your card and then cancel the cruise just to be on the safe side. (If this makes sense)

 

Also, we have discovered this time that if the port is cancelled for any reason you get your refund for your excursion back on your card pretty quickly.

[kevboy]

Many thanks Presto2, especially the bit about cancelling trips before cancelling cruise. You have answered all my questions perfectly. kev

[No pager thank you]

If an excursion is cancelled on board, more than 48 hours in advance, then the sum is returned, less a 10% cancellation fee.  After then, the excursion becomes non-refundable, unless P&O cancel it I.e., the port is cancelled, or the trip is cancelled due to insufficient passenger bookings.

 

However, there is no fee if you cancel before you board, and you do so (I believe) several days before you board.  The Peninsular discount, I.e., 5-10% based on your "tier" comes off the cost, when booking in advance too.

 

It does make sense now to book excursions before boarding, and earlier, as the pricing is capacity sensitive, although the ability to use OBC is lost by doing so.  For example, we booked several excursions and saw the price go up by £10-25 per person in some cases, not all. 

 

I haven't (yet) seen an excursion come down in price, unlike the cruise itself, whereas you can (sometimes) lose out by booking early now.

 

The ones to watch are not booking something which can be done simply yourself, for example HOHO buses, or in ports with very good access to the town/amenities like Cartagena.  Another example of this was in Stockholm recently and an excursion to the Abba Museum.  The cost of booking the ticket privately was around a third of doing so with P&O and, even allowing for taxi transport, you were still "quids in." No advantage, at all, to booking with the cruise company, and no risk of missing the boat - Voulez vous save money!

 

The other one I remember in particular was the Flam Railway, a short walk from the pier - £40 extra with P&O than just booking the tickets yourself, either in advance or on the day. 

 

Generally speaking, anything which is further afield than the main port of call we are visiting, or relies on public transport in the other country to arrive, we tend to book with the cruise company (convenience) - there are alternatives available though, like taxi tours and private excursion companies from many ports now.  Some posters never, or rarely, use the excursions, just a matter of convenience.

[FangedRose]

12 hours ago, No pager thank you said:

If an excursion is cancelled on board, more than 48 hours in advance, then the sum is returned, less a 10% cancellation fee.  After then, the excursion becomes non-refundable, unless P&O cancel it I.e., the port is cancelled, or the trip is cancelled due to insufficient passenger bookings.

 

However, there is no fee if you cancel before you board, and you do so (I believe) several days before you board.  The Peninsular discount, I.e., 5-10% based on your "tier" comes off the cost, when booking in advance too.

 

It does make sense now to book excursions before boarding, and earlier, as the pricing is capacity sensitive, although the ability to use OBC is lost by doing so.  For example, we booked several excursions and saw the price go up by £10-25 per person in some cases, not all. 

 

I haven't (yet) seen an excursion come down in price, unlike the cruise itself, whereas you can (sometimes) lose out by booking early now.

 

The ones to watch are not booking something which can be done simply yourself, for example HOHO buses, or in ports with very good access to the town/amenities like Cartagena.  Another example of this was in Stockholm recently and an excursion to the Abba Museum.  The cost of booking the ticket privately was around a third of doing so with P&O and, even allowing for taxi transport, you were still "quids in." No advantage, at all, to booking with the cruise company, and no risk of missing the boat - Voulez vous save money!

 

The other one I remember in particular was the Flam Railway, a short walk from the pier - £40 extra with P&O than just booking the tickets yourself, either in advance or on the day. 

 

Generally speaking, anything which is further afield than the main port of call we are visiting, or relies on public transport in the other country to arrive, we tend to book with the cruise company (convenience) - there are alternatives available though, like taxi tours and private excursion companies from many ports now.  Some posters never, or rarely, use the excursions, just a matter of convenience.

If you cancel the excursion within 48 hrs of date you pay the 10%. If they cancel the excursion you get full amount back.

 

Another point is that it is cheaper to book prior to sailing than on board. Also it is a way to spread the cost.

 

Re Flam (and other popular small ports), if several cruise ships are in port there is a real chance that all excursions will be block booked by the cruise lines. Therefore there will not be any seats for sale for independent bookers. If you really want to do something best to book it asap.

Edited June 5, 2023 by FangedRose

[zap99]

21 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

If you cancel the excursion within 48 hrs of date you pay the 10%. If they cancel the excursion you get full amount back.

 

Another point is that it is cheaper to book prior to sailing than on board. Also it is a way to spread the cost.

 

Re Flam (and other popular small ports), if several cruise ships are in port there is a real chance that all excursions will be block booked by the cruise lines. Therefore there will not be any seats for sale for independent bookers. If you really want to do something best to book it asap.

On Azura we cancelled a full day tour and changed it to a half day tour. No charge for the change and the refund processed quickly. I think it was a couple of days before the tour.