Cancelled Shore Excursions (again)

[commodoredave]

Today we received notice from SS of the cancellation of yet another shore excursion on our upcoming cruise in Japan which starts in 9 days. This is the 4th excursion for us that has been cancelled on this cruise in the last 3 months.

Having to find a last-minute replacement for a cancelled excursion is hard enough, especially since the most popular ones tend to sell out within a few weeks of opening up for booking. But try to find a decent replacement with just 9 days to go!

Are we just unlucky, or is this (cancelling shore excursions) becoming more commonplace with SS? What about the other luxury lines that include them?

[Host Jazzbeau]

They didn't cancel any on our NZ-Oz cruise last month, and in fact added additional departures when excursions filled up.  But every month seems to bring more bad news...

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

4 hours ago, commodoredave said:

This is the 4th excursion for us that has been cancelled on this cruise in the last 3 months.

This happened to us last year on a Norwegian fjords Venetian Society Reunion voyage on the Dawn for late September 2023.  It seemed like every few days we were getting another email informing us that the more interesting, mostly full day excursions we signed up for were being cancelled, and this was well before the final payment was due.  We gave up, cancelled the voyage and took our FCC.  On our upcoming 30 day voyage aboard the Cloud next month in South Africa, there were next to no cancelled excursions and all the ones we signed up for are set to go.  

Edited March 25 by CruzinFeraBruzin

[jgmc]

I am interested in which excursions were cancelled in Japan as I will be on the Muse in April.

[commodoredave]

1 hour ago, jgmc said:

I am interested in which excursions were cancelled in Japan as I will be on the Muse in April.

If you booked an excursion that was cancelled, you will get an email telling you. There may be more cancelled excursions than the 4 I know about as I only received notification of mine. 

[Looking 4Answers]

Maybe jgmc is asking because they are looking for advance warning as to what might be canceled on their own upcoming Japan cruise - perhaps to have a little extra time to make alternate arrangements?

[commodoredave]

4 hours ago, Looking 4Answers said:

Maybe jgmc is asking because they are looking for advance warning as to what might be canceled on their own upcoming Japan cruise - perhaps to have a little extra time to make alternate arrangements?

My cancelled excursions have been removed from the list of those available, so can no longer be booked, at least for the foreseeable future or at no cost. When I have time, I will go back through my records to find the exact excursions that were cancelled and report back. Until then, everyone is in the same boat (excuse the pun) for this spring. Next year, who knows.

[commodoredave]

I have found these 3 notices from Silversea of excursion cancellations:

SM240403014 / 04/04/2024 / Japan / Shimizu / SMZ-G – Steam Locomotive Experience & Wooden Bridge on Guinness Book

Thank you for your interest in the excursion SMZ-G – Steam Locomotive Experience & Wooden Bridge on Guinness Book, operating in Shimizu, Japan on 04/04/2024.

We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled.

The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program.

SM240403014 / 04/07/2024 / Japan / Hiroshima / HIJ-M – Taste of Hiroshima

Thank you for your interest in the excursion HIJ-M – Taste of Hiroshima , operating in Hiroshima, Japan on 04/07/2024.

We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled.

The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program.

SM240403014 / 04/09/2024 / Korea, Republic of / Busan / BUS-C – Korean Cuisine

Thank you for your interest in the excursion BUS-C – Korean Cuisine, operating in Busan, Korea, Republic of on 04/09/2024.

We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled.

The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program.

[commodoredave]

Just received this notice of a change to an excursion. At least this one sounds like an improvement:

 

** Silversea Tour Notification ** SM240403014 AKT-BA Tea Ceremony at Geisha House & Senshu Park Stroll (ex Akita Castle Ruins & Tea Ceremony at Geisha House) - Akita, April 13, 2024

 

Dear Silversea Guest(s),

 

Thank you for your booking on the above-mentioned tour.

 

As we strive to always provide excellence, we are pleased to inform you that the itinerary and title of the above-mentioned tour has been revised and enhanced to suit our quality standards.

 

As the Akita Castle Ruins site was not appreciated by most of our guests on tour during the past season, this site has been replaced with a stroll in the scenic and historical Senshu Park, one of Japan’s top 100 Cherry Blossom’s Spots.

[drron29]

In 2013 we were in Japan for Sakura time. We really loved the cherry blossoms at the Akita Castle ruins though it was about a week later in April. At that point we were land based and they did a night visit to the ruins with the blossoms illuminated which was magic.

 

We have also had the train excursion in Shimizu cancelled.