Book Shore Excursions in Advance?? How Far?

[FamilyGuy1010]

Greetings:

 

I last took a cruise in December of 2014, or as some like to call it "the good old days".  Fast forward almost 10 years and the kids are grown and it's time for the wife and I to take a much-needed vacation.  Realizing there have been a lot of changes, I have been reading about as many as I could; yet after a search of the forum I didn't find a thread addressing the change Princess made to booking shore excursions: you now have to pay when you book them.  They used to put them on your shipboard account.  I guess they are trying to improve cash flow.  To the questions:

 

1) Are people finding the excursions selling out in advance of final payment?  (I don't have an issue with paying for them in advance, but our cruise leaves the end of June 2024: Sky Princess Iceland & Norway for reference.)

 

2) When is the best time to reserve ship excursions? (I am wanting to do ship excursions because of the destinations and the protections offered by being on a ship excursion.)

 

Thank you.

[1965]

We almost always take Princess excursions. I book our excursions months in advance. We sail June 8, 2024. I've booked 3 & will book the rest over the coming weeks. 

[skynight]

I looked up your itinerary. It's a very nice one and you should have lots of great memories. I have been on many cruises. They all seem the same after a while. But this itinerary still stands out. The scenery and views are spectacular. 

Now to your question. Book tours early on. They fill up on this itinerary. When I did this itinerary we did some ship's tours and also took some private tours arranged via the roll call.

Flaam is at the end of a very long and scenic fjord. The sail out is beautiful and happens around early dinner time. I skipped DR dinner that evening and sat on deck. The full sail out takes around 3 hours. The most scenic portion is between the first 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

By the way, you can cancel booked tours within the cancellation time noted.

 

Edited January 6 by skynight

[Paula_MacFan]

If there's something you definitely want to do on your cruise, then I'd advise booking as soon as they open up.  We have several cruises booked right now and just took a European cruise in Sept/Oct.  For all booked and recently taken cruises our preferred excursions sold out (some months in advance) and went up in price.  For our upcoming Alaska cruise some have been sold out for quite awhile now, and the ones that haven't, the prices have gone up anywhere from $10 to $50 per person.  

 

If you change your mind you can get a refund, with some specific exceptions which are detailed in Princess' cancellation policy.  

 

Have a great cruise, the one you're doing is on our bucket list! 🙂 

[mtnesterz]

2 hours ago, FamilyGuy1010 said:

1) Are people finding the excursions selling out in advance of final payment?  (I don't have an issue with paying for them in advance, but our cruise leaves the end of June 2024: Sky Princess Iceland & Norway for reference.)

2) When is the best time to reserve ship excursions? (I am wanting to do ship excursions because of the destinations and the protections offered by being on a ship excursion.)

The first thing we do after deposit is log in to Princess and view excursions offered.  There are no more videos posted as in the old days, but Youtube is your friend for those. Might be a different cruise line, but still the same shore excursion. We put them in the Wishlist. When we decide from them, click to buy them, a box will come up with your names, the price and how many places are still available.  If you start to see that number move, buy. But for us, after final payment is our marching orders. 

[FamilyGuy1010]

Hi:

 

I read the replies and decided to book the excursions that are important to us now.  I'll book the other two next month.  I can't believe how much money I will end up spending on excursions!!!  Thanks for the comments.

Edited January 6 by FamilyGuy1010

[Thrak]

Princess makes you pay when you book due to the number of people who would book a bunch of excursions and then decide when onboard which ones they were actually going to take. Booking a bunch in advance - even though they knew they wouldn't take all of them - made them unavailable for other people to book. It was a real problem. I'm sure Princess also wants the money to play with but I sincerely believe that passenger behavior had a major influence on the decision.

[Joanne G.]

34 minutes ago, FamilyGuy1010 said:

Hi:

 

I read the replies and decided to book the excursions that are important to us now.  I'll book the other two next month.  I can't believe how much money I will end up spending on excursions!!!  Thanks for the comments.

You made the right decision to book the important ones you want now and the others soon.   

 

But I know what you mean about how much $$$$$$ the excursions in Europe add to your vacation cost.  I used to tell friends that a cruise was an economical way to visit Europe, when you compare the cruise fare to hotels, meals, entertainment, and transportation between cities on land.  That might still be true, but for those of us who prefer ship-sponsored excursions, it's a different calculation for sure.  Worth it to me, but still a lot of money!  

 

(Yes, I know there are many options besides ship excursions.   But I am a lot less likely to navigate public transportation, local cabs, independent tour operators, etc. in an unfamiliar city when my hotel is floating away at the end of the day. I know others feel differently.) 

 

Have a great cruise.