"" Writer's Wanderings: To Pre-Book Or Not To Pre-Book Those Cruise Extras

Tuesday, September 05, 2017

To Pre-Book Or Not To Pre-Book Those Cruise Extras

More and more we find ourselves booking our cruise extras ahead of our cruise. Usually several months before your cruise the line will publish its excursions for the cruise and then allow you to book them before you board. They will also let you book specialty dining and spa treatments. So we take the time to check out the things we find most important to us.

On our holiday cruises we especially take the time to book our specialty dining nights. The specialty dining is usually filled up quickly on those cruises since it is such a special time of the year. If you get on board and find that you booked on a night you'd rather eat in the dining room (don't want to miss lobster night or prime rib night) then you can either cancel or if there is another free spot, change to another night.

We don't usually use the spa other than Bob enjoying the thermal suite. He will usually buy his package on the ship as soon as we board--after he's checked to be sure it offers what he wants. Keep in mind if you are prebooking that days in ports will be less expensive than days at sea. Just be careful to not book something close to the end of an excursion you take. They don't always return on time.

And speaking of excursions--depending upon our itinerary, we will prebook the excursions that we just absolutely don't want to miss. While we do a lot of exploring on our own or booking tours that are not part of the ship's offerings, there are some that we want to be sure we make it back on board when the ship is ready to sail. Usually the more interesting excursions will sell out quickly so those are best if prebooked. There is a window of opportunity to cancel your excursion if your plans change. Be sure to check the cruise line's policies.

Hope that helps you make your decisions. The more you cruise the more you'll figure all these things out on your own. But then even after more than 50 cruises, we find things always change. Keeps us on our toes.

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