I was reading on another thread concerning things to do at port and one advised a fellow traveler to wait til they got to the Pirates of Nassau because the rate to book it online through Carnival was $39.00 but you can walk up to the gate there and pay $12.00.

I am not going to that port but the Western Carribeans and wondered if that wasn't a good idea. I understand perhaps some things are "limited" and read that some get there and it is already sold out.

What do you think?  What have you found to be a good rule of thumb on this....pay now or wait for a better price.

Happy cruising everyone!

Azuremoonlight   You won't get it any cheaper from Carnival. The only other option is booking once you get off the ship.  You have to keep in mind the time element.  If you go with Carnival and there is a problem on the excursion, the ship will wait.  If you book on your own and you are delayed, they won't wait.  You will be left to your own devices to get to the next port.  I know people who do it all time time and never have a problem.  I would just be aware of what time they get back to the port.  I wouldn't do any excursion that gets back less than two hours before the ship sets sail but that is just mho.  Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise.

azuremoonlight:

I was reading on another thread concerning things to do at port and one advised a fellow traveler to wait til they got to the Pirates of Nassau because the rate to book it online through Carnival was $39.00 but you can walk up to the gate there and pay $12.00.

I am not going to that port but the Western Carribeans and wondered if that wasn't a good idea. I understand perhaps some things are "limited" and read that some get there and it is already sold out.

What do you think?  What have you found to be a good rule of thumb on this....pay now or wait for a better price.

Happy cruising everyone!

We ran into this on the Victory in May.  We saw a month or so before we sailed that the prices had gone down.  We contacted Carnival and they said to cancel and rebook the excursion.   So we waited until we got on the ship and went to the Desk.  They gave us a credit to our S&S, it took about 2 minutes.

I don't book with Carnival unless they are the only one offering the excursion and that is rare.  Prices are sometimes double.  Way too many are booked on each excursion. 

I have the same opinion as Joan and Themoores , Knowing that mu boat will wait for me no matter what is PRICELESS. Once for saving 50.00 on a private excursion ended paying a little fortune to fly to the next port

   Ana

joan:

Azuremoonlight   You won't get it any cheaper from Carnival. The only other option is booking once you get off the ship.  You have to keep in mind the time element.  If you go with Carnival and there is a problem on the excursion, the ship will wait.  If you book on your own and you are delayed, they won't wait.  You will be left to your own devices to get to the next port.  I know people who do it all time time and never have a problem.  I would just be aware of what time they get back to the port.  I wouldn't do any excursion that gets back less than two hours before the ship sets sail but that is just mho.  Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise.

Ditto Ditto Ditto!! Did I say DITTO!

The answer to your question depends a lot on which port your talking about and which excursion you're talking about.  The Pirates excursion you referred to is simply a museum off Bay Street in Nassau - the $12 was the admission to the museum.  There is NO way that it could sell out and it's only a few blocks from the ship so missing the ship would take a HUGE act of irresponsibility! 

It all depends on how far away you're considering going, what mode of transportation is needed to get there and how long you'll have to stay there.  It's perfectly safe to go off on your own as long as you do your research ahead of time and know where you're going and what to expect. 

Now, some places just aren't safe to go off on your own and some trips are too far to do safely on your own, such as going to Tulum from Cozumel, which involved a ferry ride, a bus ride, a bus ride back and then a ferry ride back - too much that could potentially go wrong with that so in that instance, I'd book through Carnival. 

Now, going to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, on the other hand, is a $15 cab ride away and the folks there take GREAT care to get you back to your ship in time - they ask when you get there what time you want to return and will call a cab for you when it's time to go back.

I agree with the other posters about booking thru Carnival. The extra you pay for is for peace of mind. Knowing that Carnival will hold the ship for you, and the cruise line has already checked and validated licensing and insurance for the providers ashore makes me feel better.

True, but there's so many things out there that AREN'T available through a Carnival excursion that are still perfectly safe and trustworthy.  All I can say is - do your homework, research the places you want to go to and the guides you want to book with and make sure they're legitimate and then keep track of your time!  You're all grown-ups, you can do that!

I am thinking of doing an excursion in Progresso and going on own in Cozumel.  Want to see Mayan ruins on the Yucatan.  Which is best to do Carnival excursion or go on own?

Well, there really aren't any ruins on Cozumel - some recreations of ruins, but not the real thing.  You'd be better off doing an excursion to Tulum from Cozumel if that's where you want to do your excursion.  OR, do a ruins excursion in Progresso and go it alone in Cozumel - there's plenty to do there without an excursion; shopping, drinking, beaches, all of the above (Nachi Cocum).  Enjoy!

Hi Azuremoonlight,

Your Bio says you're retired. Where can you retire from at age 40? Your pic certainly looks no older than 40, probably younger. I wish I could have retired at a young age like that. As for shore excursions, if the shore excursion is local, you can probably book off the ship and be OK. If you are going from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen by ferry or tender, then taking a bus ride to Tulum, I'd stick with Carnival. The 45 minutes each way trip across the bay coupled with a one to 1 & 1/2 hour trip on a rickety bus each way to and from Tulum would leave too much chance of missing the ship. No one wants to be left standing on the dock watching a Fun Ship sail away into the sunset without him/her.

That's really what I meant to say - book a Tulum excursion through Carnival (just didn't come out that way did it?).  Goes back to what I originally said - if there's a lot of travelling involved or if safety is an issue, use a ship-based excursion.  If you just want to explore a populated area like Cozumel, Nassau or Grand Cayman (to name ONLY a few!), then it's usually OK to go it alone.

Thank you but I am going to turn 62 on this cruise and the picture is one taken from a distance and the wrinkles certainly don't show, do they :)

After the passing of my mother and dad in the past year (they were 7 months apart) I left north Georgia to move down to live with my son who is at the moment stationed at Eglin AFB.  I retired to do that.  Easy to do when you sell your home and go be a burden to your kids *laughs*

I appreciate all of the comments made on my question.  You all certainly know your P's and Q's to cruising. :)

Well, I have a couple of days for my first cruise and I am so looking forward to the new adventure.

Have a blast of a summer, folks!

Well.....Carnival prices can be extreme and they don't offer everything. So what I did was book two excursions with private companies and I'll book two with Carnival only because one of the excursions is very far and the other is actually cheaper through Carnival (which I find to be a miracle...lol)

From what I've read everyone has nothing but good things to say about the private companies. Yes there is an occasional delay but I haven't read about anyone being left at a port up to now!