Should I pre-book my excursions or wait till I am on my cruise? Or is it better to just get off the ship and tour myself? As you can see I have never been on a cruise.
barbtony
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
I was on a Carnival Cruise last year and I tried to prebook, but what I wanted wasn't available online. I booked as soon as I got on the boat though.
M_Berk-Glenn
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
I like to go with the flow so i booked things day by day....sometimes I just stayed on the beach and had drinks....wasnt in the mood for activities
peaches42587
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
definitely definietely definetely pre book the ones you want to do. you will get on the boat and half the things u want will be booked solid and you wont be able to get them. i do a lot of cruising and you just have to do your research. for intsance we're doing an egypt and mediteranian cruise for our honeymoon. we will be prebooking all our egypt excursions to see the pyramids before hand but we might not for rome and such because there are certain things we want to see that the cruiseline doesnt offer.
if it involves traveling to get to an excursion def book through cruiseline. the cruiseline guarantees you get back on the boat and they wont leave without u. if you decide to take a taxi an hour away and the taxi gets lost or theres traffic or breaks down the boat will leave without u and you are responsible to getting to the next port.
fm me if you have any questions.
christine2010
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
i don't know because i have never been on a cruise before but i have heard from other experiences the pros & cons of pre-booking excursions.
pros: some give you a discount
cons: you may wake up too tired & some have strict canceling polices & you may end up loosing your money
NYgirlinTX
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
I wouldn't Book excursions for everyday imo. I would possibly pre-book 1 or 2 depending on how many days you are going for. And I would keep in mind if you take a long time to get ready... Depending on what time your dinner seating is, I wouldn't book a tour on the day of the captains Dinner. Its the Dinner you have to get really dressed up for. I just know it takes me forever.
halfbaked
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
I'd say it depends on when you ar traveling. If it's the busy season, I'd recommend pre-booking. If not, book once your on the ship. I've always booked when I was on the boat, but keep in mind that if it's something simple like snorkeling or something, you're better off getting it on the island. The cruises overcharge ridiculously for stuff like that. We saw the people from the boat snorkeling at the same spot we were and they paid $35, while we paid $5 and got treats to feed the fish and unlimited use of our gear. FOr something like the dolphin swim, we booked that on the boat. GL!
mariedsgn
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
Posted by M_Berk-Glenn
I like to go with the flow so i booked things day by day....sometimes I just stayed on the beach and had drinks....wasnt in the mood for activities
ITA!!! This is what I have done every time I went on a cruise! I like to chill on the beach and do some local shopping too. Plus, most of the time you can find the same excursion on land for cheaper. I would only pre-book if it is something that you HAVE to do
grkbarbie
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
where are u going?? fh and i never book excursions.. only to disney when were in orlando. we tour on our own.. but i dont recommend this for every1. fh says i have a HUGE PAIR (of bawls) so it reallly depends on how 'touristy' you are
let me knwo where ur going, and i can point u tot he right direction
Yankees2323
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
Posted by christine2010
i don't know because i have never been on a cruise before but i have heard from other experiences the pros & cons of pre-booking excursions.
pros: some give you a discount
cons: you may wake up too tired & some have strict canceling polices & you may end up loosing your money
ive pre booked stuff and woke up that day sooo not wanting to go and i had to go or lose my $ .... my opinion is if your getting a good discount pre book if not do it when ur there
Future Mrs H
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
Posted by grkbarbie
where are u going?? fh and i never book excursions.. only to disney when were in orlando. we tour on our own.. but i dont recommend this for every1. fh says i have a HUGE PAIR (of bawls) so it reallly depends on how 'touristy' you are
let me knwo where ur going, and i can point u tot he right direction
This is for our HM. we are doing the Southern Carribean out of PR. Jackie and John had recomended a few months ago to go river tubing in Dominica so I really want to book that one. The rest will be just touisty things. We are going to St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and Dominica.
Katlyco
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
I tried to prebook my ecursions although I did book one on the cruise right before we were at port and it was totally fine.
grkbarbie
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
in pr u can go to the fort and go shopping.. all on yoru own. dont do an excursion.
st thomas u dont need an excursion either to go to the beach. dont pay 30$ to go to a beach thru the ship. when u get out of the ship at every port, theres a million locals with signs offering u trips to the beaches.. dont go to them lol walk about 500 feet away and ask around the other ppl how much it is.. you will get to the beach for about 10$.
little j
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
i suggest doing the research in advance so you know what excursions you would like...but i wouldnt book in advance
there are a few factors why --
maybe you wont feel like it, or maybe (hopefully not) you will feel sick. this happened to a friend of mine, and if we booked in advance she would have been out ALOT of $$$.
i plan to do research in advance...if its a complicated excusrion where the timing is close, DEFINATELY book thru the ship!!
if its just a simple 'go to the beach' type of tour, you can usually catch a cab on your own.
hth
Future Mrs H
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
Posted by grkbarbie
in pr u can go to the fort and go shopping.. all on yoru own. dont do an excursion.
st thomas u dont need an excursion either to go to the beach. dont pay 30$ to go to a beach thru the ship. when u get out of the ship at every port, theres a million locals with signs offering u trips to the beaches.. dont go to them lol walk about 500 feet away and ask around the other ppl how much it is.. you will get to the beach for about 10$.
in PR- I have been there so I am not planning any excursions. Plus its the day after we get married and I just plan on relaxing. St Thomas I did al ittle research on and I think there is shopping close to the port. It really the dominica one I am worried about. If I dont book that before I dont want it to book up.
Lisalana
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
We prebook the ones we really want to do. But we don't always go through the ship - we've found many great excursions based on the islands. Just be sure to do you research - cruisecritic.com is a GREAT resource.
peaches42587
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
Posted by Future Mrs H
Posted by grkbarbie
where are u going?? fh and i never book excursions.. only to disney when were in orlando. we tour on our own.. but i dont recommend this for every1. fh says i have a HUGE PAIR (of bawls) so it reallly depends on how 'touristy' you are
let me knwo where ur going, and i can point u tot he right direction
This is for our HM. we are doing the Southern Carribean out of PR. Jackie and John had recomended a few months ago to go river tubing in Dominica so I really want to book that one. The rest will be just touisty things. We are going to St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and Dominica.
Dominica is my favorite island in the caribbean. I would go back everyyear if i could. its poor and underdeveloped but beautiful. it's my kind of island. I recommend the ti tou gorge and waterfalls excursion. I heard the tubing is rough. you will defineitely NEED to book an excurision in dominca. the roads are narrow and curvy and on cliffs.
Puerto RIco and st thomas u dont need to pre book anything. st thomas has open air taxis that are cheap to go down to shopping and beach. If you're doing beach on the other islands you can take a taxi. if you want something specific like rafting, water sports, stuff like that you should pre book.
peaches42587
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Re: Girls that have gone on cruises
heres dominca pics...this is ti tou gorge, and the natural hot springs. the hot springs were amazing...a little nasty looking. they look orange and murky cuase of the sulpher but its hot bubbling water from nature.
the first 2 pics is of the gorge and you go and swim in a cave and at the end is a giant waterfall
