Royal Caribbean offers a 48-hour hassle-free cancellation policy for excursions, including flights, trains, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, and private journeys. To avoid cancellation penalties, these tours must be cancelled 30 days before sailing. If a guest cancels within the designated cancellation period, they are eligible for a full refund of the excursion cost.
The new Shore Excursions Cancellation Policy transitions from a 24-hour prior to tour departure deadline to a 48-hour prior to port arrival. To get a credit to your credit card, guests must cancel 72 hours before the cruise. Royal Caribbean’s cancellation fee is $70 if guests notify them at least 75 days before the first day of the cruise (60 days for three).
Guests can also modify or cancel excursions up to 48 hours prior to port arrival without penalty. If a guest cancels 48 hours before the shore excursion takes place, they can switch to a different tour or cancel for a full refund. Cruise planner items can be canceled up to 48 hours before the cruise departure date.
Guests can cancel existing orders for pre-cruise products, including Shore Excursions, Beverage Packages, Specialty Dining, and Spa services via My Royal Cruise. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. reserves the right to cancel any Shore Excursion due to inclement weather. The cruise planner can cancel existing orders 2 days before sailing, or 24 hours before the excursion once on the ship.
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Can I cancel excursion on Royal Caribbean?
Excursions can be modified or cancelled up to 48 hours before port arrival without penalty. Tours involving flights, train, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, and Private Journeys must be cancelled 30 days before sailing to avoid cancellation penalties. Guests can cancel pre-cruise by calling the offices or using the Cruise Planner, or onboard at the Shore Excursion desk or Guest Relations. For cruises affected by Royal Caribbean’s suspension, visit the Health and Travel Alerts page for more details on Onboard Credit.
Does Royal Caribbean cancel excursions due to weather?
It is within the prerogative of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to cancel any scheduled shore excursion due to inclement weather or other extenuating circumstances. In such instances, the company is not held liable for any resulting financial loss to guests. Unless otherwise indicated, the cost of museum and site entry fees is included in the price of the respective shore excursion. The provision of shore excursion services is undertaken by insured tour operators acting in an independent capacity.
Are cruise excursions refundable?
The cancellation and refund policy for shore excursions is subject to change due to bad weather or unexpected circumstances. Some excursions have minimum guest participation requirements and may be cancelled or modified based on the number of participants. Carnival or the Tour Operator will provide advance notice in case of cancellation or modification. Full refunds will be made to guests who purchased cancelled excursions. If the excursion is cancelled before sailing, the refund will be directly credited to the payment used to pay for the order.
If the excursion is cancelled while onboard, the refund will be credited to the shipboard account. If you do not have a cruise booking number, you can browse shore excursions online at carnival. com/shore-excursions. To make a booking, you must first book a cruise and meet deposit requirements for each guest. If you still do not have a booking number, contact your Travel Agent or whoever assisted you with your cruise booking. If you change your cruise booking to a different ship or sailing date, all shore excursion orders for the cancelled cruise booking will automatically cancel and any payments will be refunded.
Is it cheaper to buy excursions on the ship?
Ship-sponsored tours are often more expensive than directly offered tours through the operator, as the cruise line serves as the middleman and inflates fees to take a cut before paying the tour company. Independent tours take smaller groups, allowing for more personalized experiences. When booking a private tour, you may be one of fewer than 20 people, compared to the smaller group sizes of third-party tours. Therefore, it’s essential to choose the right tour option for your travel needs.
Can you cancel a non refundable trip?
A nonrefundable ticket is typically defined as a ticket for which the airline will not provide a refund in the event of cancellation. In such instances, the value of the ticket is remitted to the customer in the form of a voucher rather than cash.
Can you get off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship without an excursion?
Passengers are at liberty to explore the ports of call at their own discretion and are not obliged to reserve shore excursions. Passengers will be informed of the time at which they are required to proceed to their cabins, which is typically 30 minutes prior to departure. It is recommended that this time be verified on board and posted in a prominent location near the ship’s gangway. The vessel will not delay its departure from the port of call in anticipation of the arrival of all passengers.
How much do you lose if you cancel a cruise?
The penalty for non-payment of a cruise is the standard deposit amount, which is applied from the final payment date to 56 days prior to sailing. From 55 days to 30 days, the penalty is 50 of the Total Fare or the standard deposit amount, whichever is greater. From 29 to 15 days, the penalty is 75 of the Total Fare or the standard deposit amount, whichever is greater. From 14 days to the day of the cruise, the penalty is 100 of the Total Fare. No refunds will be made if the cruise is not attended or canceled.
The Total Fare includes Cruise Charges, Transfer Services, Pre/Post Cruise Vacation Packages, and Fly2Fun Air. Government Taxes and Fees, as shown on the cruise invoice, and any prepaid Service Gratuity are not subject to a cancellation penalty and will be refunded in case of cancellation. The Cruise Charges are the combination of the Cruise Fare and Required Cruise Fees and Expenses.
Does Royal Caribbean allow cancellations?
A full refund is offered by Royal Caribbean for cancellations made at least 75 days prior to the commencement of a cruise, with the exception of those occurring during a holiday period. For voyages of between one and four nights in duration, the cancellation fee is as follows: no charge is levied for cancellations made at least 75 days prior to the scheduled departure date, a fee of $50 is applied for cancellations made between 74 and 61 days prior, a fee of $75 is applied for cancellations made between 60 and 31 days prior, and a fee of $100 is applied for cancellations made 30 days or less prior to the scheduled departure date.
Can I cancel an excursion on Royal Caribbean?
Excursions can be modified or cancelled up to 48 hours before port arrival without penalty. Tours involving flights, train, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, and Private Journeys must be cancelled 30 days before sailing to avoid cancellation penalties. Guests can cancel pre-cruise by calling the offices or using the Cruise Planner, or onboard at the Shore Excursion desk or Guest Relations. For cruises affected by Royal Caribbean’s suspension, visit the Health and Travel Alerts page for more details on Onboard Credit.
Can you cancel Celebrity excursion?
The company does not offer refunds for non-refundable products. However, tours can be cancelled or modified up to 48 hours before departure for a full refund. Cancellations for flights, trains, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, and private journeys must be made 30 days before sailing to avoid penalties. Tours purchased before the cruise departure date will be charged in the same currency as the reservation, while onboard tours will be charged in U. S. dollars. Casino free play and tournaments are refundable up to 48 hours before sailing through My Celebrity Cruise.
What happens if I cancel an excursion on Carnival?
The cruise offers a 25-minute charge once on board and a 100-charge charge if canceled within 24 hours of arrival. Refunds are applied as a refundable On Board Credit to the guest’s Sail and Sign account. If Tour Operations cancels a pre-purchased excursion during the cruise, a refundable On Board Credit is applied to the guest’s account. Sail and Sign credit balances are paid to the guest in the form of a Carnival check at the end of the voyage. Pre-sail excursions are fully refundable, and a refund will be processed back to the payment used to secure the order after the voyage ends.
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Had Panama Canal cruise cancelled in May so I booked a 6-night on Odyssey in April 2021 with the Panama Canal FCC (future cruise credit). That got cancelled as well. Still waiting for updated FCC for that one. Have 1 booked November 4, 2020 on Oasis: Not going to happen. Waiting for Royal to cancel that one. Have 2 booked late November 2021. With the FCCs that will be reissued for Odyssey once I call (I guess) AND the FCC for Oasis, they are already paid for. 2020 is the worst. What a nightmare for the Royal Caribbean staff to have to sort out all the FCCs and apply them correctly. We’re hanging on for better days.
b2b scheduled over Christmas, did the final payments and used some FCC’s from previous cancelations. Best case…the ship sails and I feel comfortable sailing on it too. Yay, vacation! Worst case, I or they cancel it and I move that FCC to something booked for next year and probably upgrade those ones. I fully expect that they’ll be canceled, but I’m perfectly happy with that 25% bonus on the new money spent each time 🙂
It would be an outrageous personal irresponsibility to assume that RCCL will survive deep into 2021, burning cash at an insane monthly rate with zero income (other than deposits and fares that they know they cannot fulfill) and NOT seek shelter by utilizing whatever applicable bankruptcy statutes are available to put them out of their misery. Other than a Kamikaze, show me any pilot who would fly an aircraft until the fuel tanks are completely dry and not bail out before crashing. Those FCC certificates would be about as valuable as Lehman Brothers stock certificates.
We are scheduled for the KLOVE cruise on Independence of the Seas for Jan 30th. The ship is sold out and there is a wait list. We are in the wait mode here delaying buying airline tickets but planning on going on this phenomenal cruise from Ft. Lauderdale. Only stops on 5 day cruise were Nassau and Labadee, Haiti.
I had six canceled cruises. Guess what?now I’m cancelling on them next time. No new regulations temperature checks,mask, distance, closed buffets, limited seating. If I would like to get medical care for a healthy person forget it. If people are getting sick perhaps it’s the five g you added to your ships.
We use a cruise tour if ship is docked along way from city etc eg Bangkok is a 2 hour drive from port. However in Caribbean we have never booked a cruise tour as local cabs/ tours are plentiful when you get off and much cheaper. They usually know what time ship departs as well. Often we have arranged for them to return and pick us up from a beach as payment is made when we return to the ship so no issues with being stranded.
My first cruise was a group cruise booked through a friend. He had been to Bermuda before so knew a great beach accessible by taxi van; otherwise he was basically useless as towards helping find excursions. Definitely will be doing research on ports and using a travel agent the next time I go on a cruise. Quick question, do travel agents work with reputable third parties? Would definitely consult with a good travel agent before booking an excursion.
Going on a Greek island cruise. I found the well Caribbean shore excursions lacking since they don’t provide an itinerary and are not clear on whether the shore excursion includes tickets to major attractions. Calling royal Caribbean was frustrating since there customer service people do not know anything about the shore excursions and just read back the description from the website. Seems like an area where a lot of work still needs to be done.
We have viewed Vloggers’ private, non- Royal Caribbean tours off the ship and have booked the same tour and was very satisfied with the tour. Like Matt said, we were not surprised, and also were able to stop at a fire station to buy some shirts. (This was a private tour, rather than a group tour) Just needed to ask if we could take a short detour.
Honestly, next time I go to the Grand Caymen. I would love to take a tour of the National Trust. It’s a wildlife sanctuary of animals on the Island. Including the beautiful Blue Iguanas as well as other beautiful animals on the island. But they don’t have ship tours for it. Then again, it’s on the other side of the island.
I have a first time cruiser question-if I’m planning an excursion from an outside vendor, what times do I use to book? Such as the itinerary says our ship docks at 9am, does that mean I can’t plan for anything before 11am? And if it says leaving port at 9pm, should I plan to be back 1 hr, 2 hrs before that?
Can you provide any tips on timings for shore excursions if book them privately? For some ports, I want to explore on my own or book a private tour as the RC options aren’t great but not sure on things like; what time can I realistically get off the ship at each port ie if arrive in port at 8am can I get off the ship at 8am or would it be more like 9/9.30am? and also I keep hearing about local time versus ship time, and that everything I book privately has to be on ship time. I’m a first time cruiser so any info welcome.
All your suggestions are good. However, you left out a major source of information. Written guidebooks! They exist for regions, individual countries and sometimes for cities. Cruise guidebooks do exist. But read them all. No one guidebook covers everything you can do, see, and buy. Borrow from your Public Library. Older editions are fine for preliminary research. Use the Internet for current prices, hours, new & closed venues, etc. Rick Steves has 2 cruise guidebooks for Europe. He concentrates on independent port exploration but does recommend commercial operations for some ports.
Great info Matt! Got a quick question. How far in advance do they list tickets for Perfect Cay? We cruise next April and I see all the other cruise excursions listed. Just wondering if that is usually the last thing added or do we just pay when we get there. I’m sure I missed a article of you talking about this but I probably missed it. Thanks and love all the info!!:-)