Excursions

[seiffann]

Do we have to book excursions? Or can we wait til we get there and see what is going on? Any advice.

[clackey]

Do we have to book excursions? Or can we wait til we get there and see what is going on? Any advice.

If you want to take a ship tour you need to book early because the popular ones fill up quick. We usually research the ports online and have an idea of what we want to do before we arrive in port. Then we book thru a local or grab a cab and wing it. That way we get it cheaper, plus we are not at the mercy of the weather. We have been to a couple of ports when the wind or weather canceled most tours. This also lets us use our taxi driver for a guide. In Roatan we asked to go to a good beach for snorkeling. Ralph, our driver, suggested a good one and even help us pick a good place for lunch.

[Jacky4]

We have always waited until we got on board to book. Only on our last cruise did we book an excursion before going. We all wanted to try snuba and were afraid it would be sold out. It wasn't, only my family and 1 other person signed up. The down side of waiting until your on board is the lines are usually long and some can sell out. My mother and sister waited until the day of the excursion to book a tour of Freeport but it was sold out. So they got in a taxi and had the driver show them around and tell them where to go for shopping and lunch. They had a great time and it was cheaper than the tour through the ship. If you don't mind standing in line I think you will be ok. There are so many choices that if something is sold out you can find something else to do. Just my opinion.

[boundingmaynard]

If it is a must do excursion book online now, otherwise it doesn't matter. We have done it both ways succesfully.:)

[seiffann]

just purchased our excursions, now what do I do? Will we get a refund if it rains or the ship doesn't make it?

[pungo3]

You only get a refund if Carnival has to cancel. If they cancel, your S&S account will be credited. I've never had a problem being refunded.

[seiffann]

do they refund if it rains and can't make it to shore?

[pungo3]

If weather prohibits the ship from docking, your money will be refunded. If the ship docks and the tour continues in the rain, you are not refunded. That said, if your experience is going to be a poor one (due to the weather) Carnival will usually cancel. If it's a snorkeling tour, visibility is poor in the rain and they usually cancel. It really depends on what you are doing on the tour. If it's a bus ride of an island, they usually continue in the rain because there is plenty you can see in bad weather. The tour operators will also sometimes cancel because they know the guests aren't going to have fun and they don't want bad reviews written about them for future cruisers. When that happens, Carnival refunds your money.

[TCF]

We do both.

Rule #1. If the activity is more than five hours then we book though the ship. That way if there are flat tyres, land-slides, broken vehicles....and the excursion is late getting back...the ship will wait for you.

Rule #2. Rule #1 is the only one we follow!!!

Sometimes the ship excursion is better...most often doing the early research and booking directly with the provider is cheaper and better. We have never had a problem doing it this way.

Have a great cruise!

[dkb363]

We also follow rule 1. It if is a long tour, and we will be close to ending when we need to be back onboard, we book with Carnival. That does not happen much, the most recent was the Panama Canal tour which got us back to the ship an hour late. Most tours we book privately, it saves us money and we do exactly what we want on our schedule. If you research, and read reviews of the operators in ports posed on CC, you won't have problems - these guys make their living doing this and do not want bad reviews. They will get you back to the ship in time. On our second cruise, many years ago, we tried to book an excursion on board and it was sold out. I now plan everything ahead of time to avoid disappointment.