Follow-up Southern Caribbean Questions

[Lovestotravel]

I have been following the thread re: Southern Caribbean excursions as we will be doing the ABC islands and St. Marteen May 2020.  Here are a few follow-up questions!

1- It seems all islands have opportunities for inland tours, beach days and snorkeling.  If you could only pick one activity for each island, what would it be?  In other words, which island is best to snorkel, which is best for a great beach day (perhaps the nicest beach with umbrellas, food/drinks etc), which island is best to do an excursion on land etc?

2- Based on your answers in #1, what tour companies or beaches do you recommend?  

3- How far in advance should we book excursion?  We don't sail for almost 11 months.  

Thanks!!! 

[ChessE4]

If you are considering RCI excursions as a possibility, download the brochure for your itinerary, then watch prices as promotions occur,  If you find something better, you can cancel or cancel/re-book.  You can also compare RCI prices to 3rd party prices.   I find it is easier to study the RCI brochure off line than try to navigate the Career Planner for a couple of hours.  In my experience, there are promotions up until the week before your departure, but we typically book excursions 3-6 months out when we find a good price.

15 minutes ago, Lovestotravel said:

3- How far in advance should we book excursion?  We don't sail for almost 11 months.  

Thanks!!! 

 

[Lovestotravel]

1 minute ago, ChessE4 said:

If you are considering RCI excursions as a possibility, download the brochure for your itinerary, then watch prices as promotions occur,  If you find something better, you can cancel or cancel/re-book.  You can also compare RCI prices to 3rd party prices.   I find it is easier to study the RCI brochure off line than try to navigate the Career Planner for a couple of hours.  In my experience, there are promotions up until the week before your departure, but we typically book excursions 3-6 months out when we find a good price.

 

REALLY Rookie question:  where do I find the brochure?  When I log in to my online cruise on RC, I can see all of the excursions if I search by island.  I don't see a brochure however, just the online description?  TIA!

[ChessE4]

Just now, Lovestotravel said:

REALLY Rookie question:  where do I find the brochure?  When I log in to my online cruise on RC, I can see all of the excursions if I search by island.  I don't see a brochure however, just the online description?  TIA!

Yeah, it's a little tricky.  When I go into Cruise Planner, I look for the fine print on the excursion page; sometimes there is an arrow to "view all excursions" instead of just the few they are trying to promote.  Then somewhere on the page, perhaps at the bottom, there is a place to download the brochure.  It will prompt you to put in the ship and date of cruise.  Then you can download.   When you download the brochure, there is a table of contents at the front that allows you to check prices/times before you go to the detailed descriptions.

So my best advice is look carefully at the entire excursion screen when you are in career planner.  If I remember something more specific, I'll update you.

[Lovestotravel]

1 minute ago, ChessE4 said:

Yeah, it's a little tricky.  When I go into Cruise Planner, I look for the fine print on the excursion page; sometimes there is an arrow to "view all excursions" instead of just the few they are trying to promote.  Then somewhere on the page, perhaps at the bottom, there is a place to download the brochure.  It will prompt you to put in the ship and date of cruise.  Then you can download.   When you download the brochure, there is a table of contents at the front that allows you to check prices/times before you go to the detailed descriptions.

So my best advice is look carefully at the entire excursion screen when you are in career planner.  If I remember something more specific, I'll update you.

Thanks!  I will look!

[Lovestotravel]

11 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

Yeah, it's a little tricky.  When I go into Cruise Planner, I look for the fine print on the excursion page; sometimes there is an arrow to "view all excursions" instead of just the few they are trying to promote.  Then somewhere on the page, perhaps at the bottom, there is a place to download the brochure.  It will prompt you to put in the ship and date of cruise.  Then you can download.   When you download the brochure, there is a table of contents at the front that allows you to check prices/times before you go to the detailed descriptions.

So my best advice is look carefully at the entire excursion screen when you are in career planner.  If I remember something more specific, I'll update you.

Found it! Did take some digging for sure, but have it downloaded now!

[ChessE4]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/?error=notfound&ship=&currency=&date=

This link might work.  I couldn't find it on cruise planner so I did a google search.  Looks like it is hidden in "before you board" stuff.

35 minutes ago, Lovestotravel said:

12 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

 

 

 

[Lovestotravel]

Just now, ChessE4 said:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/?error=notfound&ship=&currency=&date=

This link might work.  I couldn't find it on cruise planner so I did a google search.  Looks like it is hidden in "before you board" stuff.

 

Got it!  Thanks!  Funny how they bury this!