Any luck getting an excursion once on ship if sold out on-line

[Oceansaway17]

Boy and darn it, I waited about 3 weeks too long and now for my NCL Escape this year on June 6 and 7th BOTH excursions to Cinque Terre are no longer listed.  All 4 opportunities gone.

wow I did not see that coming since a lot of ports still have many things listed.

 

also once on board, have they tried to add more folks for a tour.

 

thanks in advance for any replies.   So mad at myself but at least I grabbed what I wanted for Rome and Monaco.  

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Oceansaway17

 

As a general rule; NO CHANCE.

 

But they will have a waitlist so get to the shore excursion desk asap when you board and get your name on the list.

[julig22]

Keep watching - people do cancel prior to the cruise and it will be re-posted on the website if a vacancy occurs. And sometimes they will add another bus if they can find one and the location isn't capacity controlled. 

But otherwise, get to the excursion desk as soon as you board and get on the waiting list.  Also, have you checked to see if there is a private excursion? Sometimes the CC RollCall (and other social media sites) for your trip will have people looking for people to join a group excursion.

[complawyer]

try this (for us it works)  the excursion desk always puts out descriptions of every excursion as well as the prices.  i take one, decide which excursion i want, and when we're off the ship i find a cab, show him the description and ask if he can duplicate it. most of the time he can, at a reduced price. tell him your time frame, and when you want to be back.  wherever we have done this (in mostly every port we've stopped at) the driver will stop where/when requested, allowing  you some breather time to take pictures an continue on your way.

 

if that doesnt work for you, as soon as youre on board, run/ dont walk to the excursion desk and put y our name on the waiting list

 

good luck and i hope you can get on the tour

[idocdlw]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Boy and darn it, I waited about 3 weeks too long and now for my NCL Escape this year on June 6 and 7th BOTH excursions to Cinque Terre are no longer listed.  All 4 opportunities gone.

wow I did not see that coming since a lot of ports still have many things listed.

 

also once on board, have they tried to add more folks for a tour.

 

thanks in advance for any replies.   So mad at myself but at least I grabbed what I wanted for Rome and Monaco.  

Fingers crossed for you...perhaps a bevy of good thoughts will manifest spots on the excursion for you & yours!  You've got my good thoughts headed your way.

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Boy and darn it, I waited about 3 weeks too long and now for my NCL Escape this year on June 6 and 7th BOTH excursions to Cinque Terre are no longer listed.  All 4 opportunities gone.

wow I did not see that coming since a lot of ports still have many things listed.

 

also once on board, have they tried to add more folks for a tour.

 

thanks in advance for any replies.   So mad at myself but at least I grabbed what I wanted for Rome and Monaco.  

Keep checking the page for your cruise. The offerings can change.

I could not get a particular shorex for my cruise last January in one port. It was gone whrn I decided, well before the cruise to book trips.

It reappeared a few weeks later.

[fredflint]

Post on your Roll  Call and see if anyone else is doing a private tour.  85% of the time a private tour will be better than anything the ship offers.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

try this (for us it works)  the excursion desk always puts out descriptions of every excursion as well as the prices.  i take one, decide which excursion i want, and when we're off the ship i find a cab, show him the description and ask if he can duplicate it. most of the time he can, at a reduced price. tell him your time frame, and when you want to be back.  wherever we have done this (in mostly every port we've stopped at) the driver will stop where/when requested, allowing  you some breather time to take pictures an continue on your way.

 

if that doesnt work for you, as soon as youre on board, run/ dont walk to the excursion desk and put y our name on the waiting list

 

good luck and i hope you can get on the tour

We have not had any success with wait lists, even when requested by the General Manager’s office. 

 

Cinque Terra is a bit harder since it involves taking multiple water taxis and trains to see all five villages. 
 

[trivia addict]

Good advice to get on the waitlist as soon as you board. There could be a chance to grab a spot.  I know that we have cancelled a few excursions in the past once on board

That being said, almost all excursions we have taken have been private ones either booked ourselves or joined ones from a roll call. These work so much better.

[itsnotjustme]

If going it on your own/private tour, my advice would be to do that the first day in Livorno so that you don't have an all abord time (until the next day) to worry about.  You'll be tying up about 4 hours in transportation time - plus traffic.

 

Lucca is pretty impressive if you have never been.

 

Good Luck.

[victory2020]

I was on a cruise once where I was on a waiting list & got the tour. I think it was because there were so many waitlisted that they put another tour on

[floridafish]

I was just on the phone with NCL about cancelling one of my excursions and they told me they update their availability every 2 weeks.

I happen to be using www.ItalyTours.eu next month and I hear good things about them.

[proton-excitement]

On a recent Alaska cruise we went to the excursion desk first thing after boarding to get on the waitlist for an excursion we missed online. We ended up getting a call to our cabin the night before, asking us if we were still interested, as space had opened up due to a cancellation. So it can happen, but I don't think you can rely on it.

[julig22]

25 minutes ago, floridafish said:

I was just on the phone with NCL about cancelling one of my excursions and they told me they update their availability every 2 weeks.

I happen to be using www.ItalyTours.eu next month and I hear good things about them.

2 weeks seems to be their answer to everything LOL

But from what I can tell, the excursion database is dynamic, meaning that it changes in real time.  How could it be otherwise?? It has to be able to block anyone from booking when it's full.  But since you do have to call to cancel, there could be a delay from the time someone cancels and the time that spot opens back up - but I highly doubt that it's anywhere near 2 weeks.

[Oceansaway17]

thanks to all that have replied.  I have two days in Livorno so I did book Florence/Pisa for day 2 and will decide eventually what to do with day 1.   I do know the Cinque Terre is further away than if the ship was docked in La Spezia and more travel time too.

I also know that the villages are a bit hilly and uneven so perhaps it might be for the best.

I will take a cruise down Almalfi coast and pretend it is Cinque Terre.

 

But I have heard Lucca was nice too.

[Oceansaway17]

14 hours ago, itsnotjustme said:

If going it on your own/private tour, my advice would be to do that the first day in Livorno so that you don't have an all abord time (until the next day) to worry about.  You'll be tying up about 4 hours in transportation time - plus traffic.

 

Lucca is pretty impressive if you have never been.

 

Good Luck.

so please tell me why you like Lucca as I would be interested and perhaps others. 

[The Traveling Man]

On 3/2/2024 at 3:44 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

Boy and darn it, I waited about 3 weeks too long and now for my NCL Escape this year on June 6 and 7th BOTH excursions to Cinque Terre are no longer listed.  All 4 opportunities gone.

wow I did not see that coming since a lot of ports still have many things listed.

 

also once on board, have they tried to add more folks for a tour.

 

thanks in advance for any replies.   So mad at myself but at least I grabbed what I wanted for Rome and Monaco.  

We have done it more than a half-dozen times.  We've only been shut out a couple of times.  As they say in the Hunger Games, "may the odds be ever in your favor."  Stop by the Excursions Desk as soon as you get on board and put in your request.  You may be put on a waiting list, but someone with a reservation may cancel or NCL may be able to add capacity to the tour.

[itsnotjustme]

8 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

so please tell me why you like Lucca as I would be interested and perhaps others. 

Lucca is a well-preserved medieval era walled city.   There are many cathedrals and museums to tour.  Things to do - Google Maps

 

[Oceansaway17]

10 hours ago, itsnotjustme said:

Lucca is a well-preserved medieval era walled city.   There are many cathedrals and museums to tour.  Things to do - Google Maps

 

Thanks for advice and I will consider it since the chances of C Terre becoming available is most likely slim

[Oceansaway17]

16 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

We have done it more than a half-dozen times.  We've only been shut out a couple of times.  As they say in the Hunger Games, "may the odds be ever in your favor."  Stop by the Excursions Desk as soon as you get on board and put in your request.  You may be put on a waiting list, but someone with a reservation may cancel or NCL may be able to add capacity to the tour.

Thanks for replying

 

[lorif]

In 2019, we had an excellent private tour  for Cinque Terre, using this company https://www.bellaitaliatour.com/

If I remember, we didn't form our group, but each couple were able to sign up individually for it. We even had a couple from another cruise ship in port with us.

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Thanks for advice and I will consider it since the chances of C Terre becoming available is most likely slim

We went to Cinque Terre from Genoa on our own by train in October and it was very easy. You should be able to do the same from Livorno. I would recommend a ticket from Livorno to Levanto, then use a 5 Terre Express ticket to travel between the villages, then a ticket from La Spezia to Livorno for your return.
 

The trains run often and are very economical. You can book online, or use the app, which will save time instead of booking at the stations. Book a ticket for your return from La Spezia that allows changes in times, in case you decide to return earlier or later than originally planned. 
 

https://www.thetrainline.com/

 

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/services/travel-around-5-terre.html

 

 

[dhanakorn]

21 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

thanks to all that have replied.  I have two days in Livorno so I did book Florence/Pisa for day 2 and will decide eventually what to do with day 1.   I do know the Cinque Terre is further away than if the ship was docked in La Spezia and more travel time too.

I also know that the villages are a bit hilly and uneven so perhaps it might be for the best.

I will take a cruise down Almalfi coast and pretend it is Cinque Terre.

 

But I have heard Lucca was nice too.

Lucca is a very charming small town. Easily accessible by train, only about half an hour from Livorno, make it a perfect day trip. Many local restaurants in the town so you can enjoy a nice leisure lunch. If you go to Florence or Cinque Terre, you’ll spend most of the time on transportation rather than enjoying the city. 
 

 

 

 

[ColdCruise]

We booked 2 excursions on Sky in Caribbean this cruise. One we just asked NCL shorex person collecting tickets on pier and she wrote us a paper ticket. The other we went to shorex desk night before and got “last 2” seats. 
 

so … depends on availability but good luck

[Raleigh Traveler]

On our last cruise, an excursion was full. I kept watching the monitor in the Atrium and the day before the excursion, slots opened up, I jumped in line and got it. Don't know the how or why but it did happen and could for you as well. We were on the waitlist but did not get a call previous to me seeing the opening and checking myself.