shore excursion payment...?

[laur1005]

We are currently booked on the Diamond Princess this May, Vancouver to Whittier. (first cruise ever for both my husband and I, very excited!)

 

We currently have "pre-reserved" spots on 3 excursions through Princess. When do we actually paid for these? Are the excursions just billed to our account onboard, or do we pay each of the separate excursion companies when we get to them?

 

Also, if anyone here has ever been on any of these specific shore excursions, I would love some feedback on them:

 

Ketchican - Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition

Juneau - Evening Whale Quest

Skagway - Wildlife Float Quest in Eagle Preserve

[juggles]

We are currently booked on the Diamond Princess this May, Vancouver to Whittier. (first cruise ever for both my husband and I, very excited!)

 

We currently have "pre-reserved" spots on 3 excursions through Princess. When do we actually paid for these? Are the excursions just billed to our account onboard, or do we pay each of the separate excursion companies when we get to them?

 

Also, if anyone here has ever been on any of these specific shore excursions, I would love some feedback on them:

 

Ketchican - Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition

Juneau - Evening Whale Quest

Skagway - Wildlife Float Quest in Eagle Preserve

 

I pre reserved a tour. I picked up the ticket on ship and the amount was on my statement at the end of the cruise.

[mii]

The shore excursions are on your account when you board. also you will find the tickets to the excursions in your cabin either on the first day or sometimes they will show up on the 2nd day. There is also some great information on things to do over on the Ports of Call board, then scroll to Alaska. A wealth of info there. Just go back to the home page and scroll down to Ports of Call.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Marilyn

[paul929207]

The tickets for your excursions will be delivered to your cabin the day you board. You pay for them when you settle your account on the last day (usually by credit card given the first day.)

[TonyFred]

To be clear, any excursions that you prebook through Princess will be charged to your onboard account that you will settle at the end of your cruise. Some excursions are cancelled for various reasons, so that is one reason you pay after you take them.

There are a lot of independent excursions available for the Alaska cruises. As stated, if you search through the Alaska forum, you will see extensive descriptions and reviews of them.

For my upcoming Alaska cruise, I have booked some excursions through Princess and others through independent operators. Some of the independents are actually the same companies that Princess uses, but you can save considerably if you book directly. For those tours, some operators require a deposit up front and others want full payment. Be sure and check the cancellation policy before booking any independent tours.

[can786]

We did the evening whale watch through Princess several years ago and greatly enjoyed it. Saw many whales, both orcas and humpbacks as well as other wildlife. I would highly recommend a whale watching tour in Juneau, either through the cruiseline or booked independently.

[CandCrew]

So essentially there is no way to "prepay" unless you book independently? Bummer--I'd preferred to have the payment taken care of in advance and not to have to worry about "what-ifs" with our CC--we don't like to use CC's but do if we HAVE to. If we'd rather pay in cash, tc, etc. then we can "settle up" the last night and not have the CC charged, right?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

So essentially there is no way to "prepay" unless you book independently? Bummer--I'd preferred to have the payment taken care of in advance and not to have to worry about "what-ifs" with our CC--we don't like to use CC's but do if we HAVE to. If we'd rather pay in cash, tc, etc. then we can "settle up" the last night and not have the CC charged, right?

 

A bit off topic, but I had the same concern. We have a $2000 daily limit on our card. While I wasn't expecting it to be that high, I decided to stop by the passenger services desk a couple of days before we returned, and had them run the card for the balance on the shipboard account to that point, just to be safe. They then automatically billed us for the remaining couple hundred at the end of the cruise, but I would have been prepared to pay cash at that point, if there had been any last-minute problems. If there had been a problem a couple of nights earlier, that would have given me time to contact my card issuer and resolve the problem.

[Pam in CA]

So essentially there is no way to "prepay" unless you book independently? Bummer--I'd preferred to have the payment taken care of in advance and not to have to worry about "what-ifs" with our CC--we don't like to use CC's but do if we HAVE to. If we'd rather pay in cash, tc, etc. then we can "settle up" the last night and not have the CC charged, right?

You can send yourself a "gift" of onboard credit at any time and as often as you like to be applied to your onboard account. Go to the Princess website > Learn About Our Cruises > Onboard Experience > Special Services > Gifts > Gift Card.

[CandCrew]

pardyalldatyme--Good to know we can have them run the card. Just hoping that we can "guarantee" with a card and pay cash LOL1

 

Pam--Excellent idea. I found the info but how does one purchase the gift cards?

 

TYA so much for the help.

[FredS]

Also remember, that if you decide to cancel a tour and take a different one you don't have to worry about having your CC credited or getting your cash back. Usually you have to cancel a tour 24 hours before the tour. The last time you can cancel for a specific day is in the Princess Patter "newspaper". Don't wait until the last day/evening to go to the Purser's desk and pay your bill with cash. As has been said take care of the major part of it a couple of days in advance. Also, go early in the morning or late in the evening and there is usually no long line.

[LeeW]

Gifts are done either by faxing their form or by calling 1-800-PRINCESS. You can either give gifts to your onboard account or as casino credits. Only problem with casino credits is that the max value of a gift is $100, so if you want to send $1000 to yourself that is 10 gifts. Last time I tried this the agent had to enter the credit card information separately for each gift....

 

Casino credits are just a form you take to the casino. No charge to redeem.

 

Some Alaska tours can't be cancelled except by the operator but most tours can be cancelled or exchanged up to about noon on the day before (see the Patter). Just write cancel on the ticket and drop in the box if no one is at the tour desk.

[Treven]

You can send yourself a "gift" of onboard credit at any time and as often as you like to be applied to your onboard account. Go to the Princess website > Learn About Our Cruises > Onboard Experience > Special Services > Gifts > Gift Card.

Pam, can one simply have your TA send $ to Princess to be credited to the account? This would be beyond/after the final payment has been made.

As an example, my excursions are going to cost me about $500. I'm thinking of having my TA use my MasterCard information to send princess $500, which would be added to my onboard account.

[Toto2Kansas]

Pam, can one simply have your TA send $ to Princess to be credited to the account? This would be beyond/after the final payment has been made.

As an example, my excursions are going to cost me about $500. I'm thinking of having my TA use my MasterCard information to send princess $500, which would be added to my onboard account.

 

 

Treven, I am not Pam, but I can answer your question.

Yes, you can have your TA call and place a shipboard credit on your account and charge it to your Credit Card. Not a problem, it will be there when you board to cover those excursions. ;) Just don't wait until a few days before you leave, I would do it as soon as possible. After final payment is fine, as long as it isn't the day or two before you leave.