Need Help with Halifax Excursion

[LisaT12]

Hi,

I rarely book an excursion through Carnival, we are a family of 4, so I investigate and research and book things on my own. Here is the situation I just came across. I researched Halifax through a tourism site and found the Harbour Duck tour. They offer a special for $90. for a family of 4. What a great deal!! Well, I was just on the Carnival site and they offer this exact tour for 49.00 per adult and 39.00 per child. My question is....can I still just book my tour independently and NOT use the Carnival excursion??? OR do they not book a person who is on a Carnival cruise and make them go through Carnival??:confused:

[Essiesmom]

Feel free to book any excursion independently. Have you joined the roll call for your cruise yet? There might be people there looking to share tours. Also check out the Ports of Call area for discussion of excursion options. EM

[Casino Player]

Hi,

I rarely book an excursion through Carnival, we are a family of 4, so I investigate and research and book things on my own. Here is the situation I just came across. I researched Halifax through a tourism site and found the Harbour Duck tour. They offer a special for $90. for a family of 4. What a great deal!! Well, I was just on the Carnival site and they offer this exact tour for 49.00 per adult and 39.00 per child. My question is....can I still just book my tour independently and NOT use the Carnival excursion??? OR do they not book a person who is on a Carnival cruise and make them go through Carnival??:confused:

 

Feel free to book with an independent tour company if you wish. However, be cognizant of the fact that if you come back to the ship late they will not hold the ship for you. If you book through Carnival then they could hold up the ship if the tour is running into problems.

In the end the choice is yours. Choose wisely.

[PeggyMc]

This one shouldn't be a worry especially if you choose a good time prior to sail away. The Harbor Hopper is fairly close to the port area too.

 

We didn't do this, but I remember thinking it would be a good option if we had the kids with us and the deal you described sounds pretty reasonable too. I'd email them and see about booking it independently.

[sapper1]

Hi,

I rarely book an excursion through Carnival, we are a family of 4, so I investigate and research and book things on my own. Here is the situation I just came across. I researched Halifax through a tourism site and found the Harbour Duck tour. They offer a special for $90. for a family of 4. What a great deal!! Well, I was just on the Carnival site and they offer this exact tour for 49.00 per adult and 39.00 per child. My question is....can I still just book my tour independently and NOT use the Carnival excursion??? OR do they not book a person who is on a Carnival cruise and make them go through Carnival??:confused:

http://www.murphysonthewater.com/harbourhopper/

 

Try this.

[nybumpkin]

DH and our two older sons did this tour without booking through Carnival. The worst that should happen is that some of the scheduled tours will be pre-booked with people who bought the ship excursion and you may have to pick a different time. I think DH had a 3:00 hour-long tour, and the latest time to be back aboard the ship was 5:30. Harbour Hopper is within an easy walk of the cruise ship pier. And DH and sons loved it! (In case you were wondering, while everyone else was on Harbour Hopper I was with youngest son riding Theodore Tugboat, which is also available both through Carnival and independently. I bought tickets right on the boardwalk.)

[Sabi48]

It should not be a problem to book on land and not with Carnival. My husband and I live in Halifax so if you have any more questions you can email me at Sabi412000@hotmail.com

[DanJ]

The only issue you might have is, as mentioned above, the good times being pre-booked by the cruise line. They won't stop you from booking independently, since they don't have to know you are on the ship anyway. And it's probably more money to them if you book direct as they probably give Carnival a group rate. I don't know if Harbour Hopper makes special arrangements with the cruise lines for pick-up location, but usually tour tickets include transportation to the excursion site which is part (albeit a small part) of the reason why ship excursions are higher priced. As conveniently located as the Harbour Hopper is, it's still not right next to the pier, and I have never taken a ship excursion that made you meet as far from the ship as HH is.

 

$90 for a family as 4 is a lot better than the Carnival price, but on the Harbour Hopper website shown a couple posts above, 2 adults and 2 kids can go for approx $80 Canadian dollars (including tax), or a touch over $70US.

[LisaT12]

Thanks for your help.

One more thing...should I call a head of time and reserve a spot??

[DanJ]

Thanks for your help.

One more thing...should I call a head of time and reserve a spot??

 

That can't hurt at all, given the cruise ship crowds. I know when we were in Halifax on vacation a couple years ago that we had to wait a few hours when we walked up to buy tickets.