Royal Caribbean shore excursions offer a unique way to explore each vibrant port you visit, including land tours, Europe excursions, private tours for small groups, and exclusive shore trips in Antigua. With 365 beaches in Antigua, guests can book shore excursions by visiting the Shore Excursion desk onboard during their cruise or purchasing them before they sail. The cruise line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, oversees three businesses targeting different cruising segments: families, couples, and small groups.
The RCIs Caribbean fleet includes eight ships, including one OASIS-class (Allure OTS) ship. Princess Cruises, the leading cruise line in Alaska, unveiled its biggest-ever Alaska season for 2026, featuring the debut of the All Access Tour. Shore excursions are available in every port of call and disembarkation ports. Prices vary by ship and are per person.
Guests are not obligated to book a shore excursion and are free to explore ports of call on their own. Shore excursion times are based on the ship’s time, and guests are advised on the best ways to enjoy their cruise vacation.
While Royal Caribbean shore excursions can sell out, most people do not book them half a year before they sail. The All Access Tour can be reserved through Cruise Planner or MyRoyal Cruise, and prices vary by ship and are per person.
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Are shore excursions worth it?
Shore excursions are one of the most common parts of a trip that cruise passengers take an extra credit card hit on. From guided tours to private beach clubs, shore excursions can help make the most of your time in each port your cruise visits. You don’t need to book a shore excursion at all you can simply get off the ship and walk around or explore on your own. But going on an excursion can certainly be a worthwhile experience.
You might have dozens, or even hundreds of options to choose from for shore activities. But all can be broken down into two general categories those sold directly by your cruise line and those sold through local or third-party companies.
As an avid cruiser, I’ve done both and have had good and bad experiences with each option. Neither is necessarily a bad way to go. One of my favorite shore excursions I’ve ever done was a resort day pass in St. Kitts I booked through a third-party travel site. But another all-time favorite was a guided tour of top attractions in Jamaica that I booked directly through Carnival while on one of their ships.
Can you do a cruise without excursions?
Guests are not obligated to book a shore excursion and free to explore ports of call on their own. While onboard the ship, all guests will be advised as to when they should be back on board the ship prior to sailing. Generally, the ship’s all aboard time is scheduled approximately 30 minutes prior to sailing; this time should be verified once onboard and will be posted near the ship’s gangway. The ship will not wait for any guest faring on their own, as it is their responsibility to be onboard before the ship’s scheduled departure time.
Is it cheaper to buy excursions on the ship?
Is it cheaper to book shore excursions on the ship?. No. Most cruise lines either charge the same prices for shore excursions booked online and on board or offer a discount for tours purchased in advance. For example, Royal Caribbean often advertises up to 30% off select tours reserved ahead of the sailing.
Do I need to tip on shore excursions?. Whether you’re on a cruise line sponsored or independent shore excursion, a best practice is to tip your tour guides at the end of the tour. Exceptions are if tips are included in the price or if you’re visiting a country with a non-tipping culture, where offering cash would be awkward.
Tipping is a personal matter, and there are no hard and fast rules. I canvassed TPG’s cruise team and we agreed that we give roughly $5 to $10 per person for half-day tours and $10 to $20 per person for full-day excursions, adjusted for service and quality. Tip non-guide drivers roughly $2 per person in your party.
Can you do your own excursions on Royal Caribbean?
Guests are not obligated to book a shore excursion and free to explore ports of call on their own. While onboard the ship, all guests will be advised as to when they should be back on board the ship prior to sailing. Generally, the ship’s all aboard time is scheduled approximately 30 minutes prior to sailing; this time should be verified once onboard and will be posted near the ship’s gangway. The ship will not wait for any guest faring on their own, as it is their responsibility to be onboard before the ship’s scheduled departure time.
Are shore excursions more expensive on the ship?
Often, PCL Shore Excursions go up in price from first posting to sail date. So, they can certainly be more expensive on the ship, but should be same as last posted price online.
How much do Royal Caribbean shore excursions get paid?
Total salary range for Royal Caribbean Group Shore Excursions Staff Monthly Pay. The estimated total pay range for a Shore Excursions Staff at Royal Caribbean Group is $3K–$5K per month, which includes base salary and additional pay.
The “Most Likely Range” reflects values within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role. Glassdoor salaries are powered by our proprietary machine learning model, which utilizes salaries collected from our users and the latest government data to make pay predictions.
Your input helps Glassdoor refine our pay estimates over time.
Related Searches:Royal Caribbean Group Salaries|Shore Excursions Staff Salaries.
Do Royal Caribbean excursions sell out?
Unfortunately, it does happen that some of the more popular Shore Excursions sell out. However, other guests also cancel their excursions from time to time. Therefore, check the website often. We recommend that you purchase all Shore Excursions as early as possible after reserving your cruise. A limited amount of space is reserved for sale onboard the ship.
It varies, based mainly on location. It is generally recommended that you allow at least an hour to get from one excursion to the next. When reserving excursions online on our website, the system will leave a 45-minute interval between the return of one excursion and departure of another excursion to account for unexpected delays. You will not be able to reserve excursions that fall within 45 minutes of each other as it is considered an overlap by our system.
Golf excursions may be reserved online or onboard your cruise. It is important to note that golf courses and prices are subject to change. For tournaments, only certain dates will be available for prereserving online.
Do you take your passport with you on excursions?
Should you take your passport with you on shore excursions? No, you shouldn’t bring your passport, unless your tour requires it. We recommend bringing your driver’s license as a form of ID instead. You don’t want to risk losing your passport ashore. In the event of an injury or other unexpected event that forces you to stay in port, the cruise line will bring all your stuff (documents included) to you so you’re not left stranded.
Regardless of the shore excursion you’re taking, it’s always smart to have a little cash on you for emergencies, tips and shopping. But there’s no need to bring a roll of hundreds unless you plan to purchase an entire market stall. Bring some cash (we find $50 or so usually suffices) and a credit card. If you’re in a country that requires you to exchange currency, bring a debit card. ATMs offer better exchange rates than banks and currency-conversion centers.
Related: Credit Card Mishaps That Could Ruin Your Cruise.
Can you change Royal Caribbean excursions?
Excursions can be modified or cancelled up to 48 hours prior to port arrival without penalty. Tours involving flights, train, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, and Private Journeys must be cancelled 30 days prior to sailing to avoid cancellation penalties. Other restrictions may apply.
Guests may cancel their excursions pre-cruise by calling our offices or by using the Cruise Planner. Once onboard, guests may cancel their excursions at the Shore Excursion desk or at Guest Relations.
If your cruise has been impacted by the Royal Caribbean cruise suspension, please visit ourHealth and Travel Alerts pagehere for more details on Onboard Credit.
How to look up shore excursions on Royal Caribbean?
Guests visiting our website who have a cruise booking may view the available shore excursions for their specific sailing bylogging in toMyRoyal Cruise.
Guests who have areservation with paymentmay also contact1-800-398-9819 for Pre-Cruise Planning Assistance.
📹 Things Cruisers MUST know before trying Royal Caribbean Cruises
Book your Royal Caribbean Cruise through JJ Cruise! Book at www.JJCruise.com —————————————– In our JJ Cruise …
Broke my tooth and permanent dental bridge on Rock Hard bread on Royal Caribbean the first 20 minutes on board,before the ship even departed . Had to exit the vessel and wait out the remainder of that Sunday and the following day Monday ( a holiday) and then was at my dentist chair at 0800 Tuesday for the close to $5K in dental work. $2500 of which was out of pocket. Royale Caribbean wound up doing nothing for me and said well you have the travel insurance. AON was a delay/deflect/deny nightmare that has paid me not one red penny. The $2500 in AON dental coverage is written in such a way that I wonder if AON has ever paid a penny in dental coverage in its history. The expense must have occurred “during your trip” so if a steel ship gurder falls and busts your teeth out and you cant return to the ship to resume pina coladas, your incurred “no COVERED dental damage” because the dental bill must have occurred after exiting the vessell and before returning to the same vessel. If the injury is too severe to return to the vessel its”Not Covered” I will never use Royal Caribbean nor any type of “travel scamsurance ” ever again
I just sailed my first RC cruise that ended yesterday on Ovation. It was just ok, I think I should try some of the newer larger ships. I did have breakfast at cafe270 on the last day. It was practically empty. Oh and I loved the coconut cookies too. I have a higher status with NCL and my next cruise will probably be with NCL again. I’ll consider one of the newer RC ships.
Thankyou for the great info Jared. My 93 year old mom and I are hoping to go on the Apex in March depending ón her health. She only wants to go on Celebrity which is fine for me. The only thing I hate is the infinity balcony which is all you can get on an accessable cabin. Last year we were on the Reflection which was wonderful and had a real balcony. The only reason I am looking on going on the Apex again is because next March we will have my cousin in the stateroom and the Apex was much larger and has a full size couch that can be a 3rd bed. I’m not sure what to do. Any suggestions?
I cruised out of Cape Liberty last week. Security confiscated my cruise line approved power adapter. I have used this adapter on several RCCL and Celebrity cruises. The security guard insisted because more than one item could be plugged into the adapter it was not allowed on the ship. So be warned about security at Cape Liberty taking previously approved power adapters.
Does anyone know if I can add credit for my past cruises with Royal Caribbean? I totally intend for my 1st cruise with my Mom ti be my only cruise, but then my Hubby told me a cruise was on his bucket list, so we went last year, & we’ve already booked our next one for next year😅 I guess we’re cruisers now😁
One thing I did not like about Harmony of the seas was you have to reserve to watch the shows and go to the comedy shows and if you have my time to dine its best to reserve a time and the wind jammer buffet had a long line all the time to which you had to stand in for about 30 minutes to get in. Never again RC sorry, never have I had to reserve a seat to see a show on any cruise I have been on 50 cruises in my life time or since the 70’s. I tried reserving 2 months ahead of the cruise (thats when I found out about reserving seat for shows) everything was booked up on board, only got to reserve one show and that was at 5 pm in the afternoon.
Very informative. Would you kindly give me your advice on preference between RC Odyssey of the Seas compared to NCL Breakaway for a first time cruiser Dad daughter. Both ships are about equal in cost and going to same ports so it’s all about the ship itself. What are the pros and cons of both ships/cruise lines so I can make a more informed decision before booking. I appreciate your help. Bobby
Last cruise I was able to get a bunch (like 3 doz) coconut rangers from the buffet and the cafe, put them in freezer bags, and yes took them off the ship on disembarkation day LOL!! Is that allowed you ask? The answer is an unequitable NO! It’s agents US customs and border protection laws to bring ANY food that’s not packaged for retail like off the ship into the US. If I got caught I could have gotten them confiscated and fined. But, they’re really not looking for cookies as much as drugs.
Hey J. Love the chat feature. Didn’t know you could rebook a purchase. So you just cancel and rebuy at the lower price. All great tips. My QUESTION is; we’ve been on Royal twice. Going on Celebrity Edge in July. When we downloaded the Celebrity app, it automatically opened with my Royal app password/Face ID. Is my Royal Crown and Anchor number gonna be the same? Odd. I just tried and it’s not going through. So is it 2 separate accounts with 2 separate Crown & anchor #’s🤷🏻♀️🤦♀️?
Royal Caribbean. My partner and I cruised aboard “Navigator of the Seas” October, 2023. It was a charter, Gay cruise booked through Atlantis Events. (They have a website). The crew were great, the food? Not. Upcharge at the “Chops” restaurant? Not worth it. The lobster bisque? Tasted like hot paprika soup. David swapped it for a salad. The “Jamie’s Italian”? Even worse. David is Italian, and knows how to cook. Room service? My “grilled cheese” sandwich was two limp slices of bread, with an American cheese slice. Pathetic.
This is going to be an incredibly unpopular opinion (people will call me evil and horrible) – feel free to bring the hate. RCL is amazing for so many people and I love that. After almost 2 years of health struggles, I am finally back to where I can travel, and RCL did not make my list of top 20 vacation options. For me it is a Goldilocks situation. On the new ships, I feel like I am paying for amenities I am never going to use. On the older ships, even Freedom, the rooms are dark and dated, just not my aesthetic. As I am starting to plan my next adventures, RCL is not on my list – Disney Treasure, Celebrity, and Virgin + some land travel js what I am looking at. To each their own! P.S. I am getting old. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂