Excursions Set Aside for Onboard Booking?

[cruiserccl]

Hi. Sorry if this question has been asked before. I tried searching...perhaps I'm not using the correct phrase.

My cruise has a lot of sold out excursions. I was wondering if a certain number of spots are set aside for booking once we board.

For instance, my daughter has no idea if any of her new found friends will want to go to the thrill waterpark. So it's best to wait until we get on board, but if they may be sold out, I was thinking if we should purchase it now. If that's the case, can we get a refund if she decides not to go?

I would appreciate any assistance.

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Allen2]

Often cancellations become available when on the cruise. Try for a 'stand-by' list on the ship. Very occasionally Royal will try to add another "segment".

[cruiserccl]

25 minutes ago, Allen2 said:

Often cancellations become available when on the cruise. Try for a 'stand-by' list on the ship. Very occasionally Royal will try to add another "segment".

Thanks! I'll definitely check for cancellations. 

And hope that if they have a long waitlist, they would add more spots.

[KJones]

The water park could very easily sell out. I would purchase now and if her friends don't want to go, you can cancel. If you cancel onboard, you'll get the refund as OBC towards your account statement, and if you don't spend it onboard, it should go back to your original form of payment post-debarkation.

[Atlantix2000]

42 minutes ago, cruiserccl said:

Thanks! I'll definitely check for cancellations. 

And hope that if they have a long waitlist, they would add more spots.

The ability to add more spots depends on the specific excursion.  For most ports, the excursions are operated by independent vendors and they would need to have additional staff, transportation, and equipment so it isn't always possible.  Other excursions like cabanas on Coco Cay are restricted by the number of units available and number of ships visiting that day.  So you have to hope for cancellations (or maybe passengers on the other ship didn't use their allotment and it become available to your ship) but that's just a hope.  Finally, for something like the Thrill Waterpark, the can't open unlimited spots without reducing the experience.  If they sell so many tickets that the lines for the slides get ridiculous, people won't come back or will demand refunds.  They may not publish a capacity limit, but you can bet they have one.

To answer the question in the thread title, I don't think I've ever seen evidence that they hold some excursion capacity for after you board the ship.  Most likely, anything available on board will be due to cancellations.  I think you also have to cancel 48 hours before the excursion to get a full refund.

[cruiserccl]

4 hours ago, KJones said:

The water park could very easily sell out. I would purchase now and if her friends don't want to go, you can cancel. If you cancel onboard, you'll get the refund as OBC towards your account statement, and if you don't spend it onboard, it should go back to your original form of payment post-debarkation.

Thank you. That's likely what we'll need to do.

[cruiserccl]

4 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

The ability to add more spots depends on the specific excursion.  For most ports, the excursions are operated by independent vendors and they would need to have additional staff, transportation, and equipment so it isn't always possible.  Other excursions like cabanas on Coco Cay are restricted by the number of units available and number of ships visiting that day.  So you have to hope for cancellations (or maybe passengers on the other ship didn't use their allotment and it become available to your ship) but that's just a hope.  Finally, for something like the Thrill Waterpark, the can't open unlimited spots without reducing the experience.  If they sell so many tickets that the lines for the slides get ridiculous, people won't come back or will demand refunds.  They may not publish a capacity limit, but you can bet they have one.

To answer the question in the thread title, I don't think I've ever seen evidence that they hold some excursion capacity for after you board the ship.  Most likely, anything available on board will be due to cancellations.  I think you also have to cancel 48 hours before the excursion to get a full refund.

Thanks for the detailed info. It makes sense for independent tour operators. 

I was thinking that they would hold some for CocoCay for those people who prefer to wait until they're on board. Don't get me wrong, if it was my choice, this would be booked far in advance, but in certain situations, it's difficult to be sure. But as suggested, I will book and cancel onboard if I need to since I'm getting the refund as OBC, which can easily be used by gratuities etc.