JeffsterL Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 On my next cruise, I have an excursion booked but it is set to return only 30 minutes before my dinner reservation. I'm afraid of delays and I will miss it. Do you guys know if the end time for excursions are usually 'the latest you will arrive on ship' or are they more like 'the earliest you will arrive'? If it matters, the excursion is one of those "highlights of _____ city/town" types. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 I can say that ones booked through Royal will have you back pretty much exactly when they are supposed to. I think it's part of the terms the excursions companies have to adhere to be in good standing with the cruise line. That said...life happens. Accidents, flat tires, getting stuck waiting for other passengers, traffic etc. Plus you're not giving yourself much time to get back on the ship which could take 10 -20 minutes depending on the crowds at the time and on the elevators. Non-royal booked ones, also to be in good standing and good rep, will also usually do their best to get you back on time, but you are taking a bit more of a risk as those are always a YMMV type of thing, Either way though, I would suggest that if your dinner is MDR and you aren't tied to the menu, skip that reservation and do the Windjammer or something else so you're not as pressed about time. Or, if you have My time dining in the MDR, push it back. If you have a specialty on that night, see if you can move the dinner later or to a different day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Of The Seas Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 58 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said: I can say that ones booked through Royal will have you back pretty much exactly when they are supposed to. I think it's part of the terms the excursions companies have to adhere to be in good standing with the cruise line. That said...life happens. flat tires.......... Funny you should mention flat tires. We were on a 3 hour bus excursion of Bonaire Nov. '22. We were returning to the port and were passing the airport (could see Jewel across the bay) when suddenly..........KABOOM!!!! A tire on the rear axle explosively failed, scaring the living hell out of everyone on the bus and a construction crew building a house on the beach. The driver (reducing his speed to a crawl)got back to port with time to spare...............and a generous tip from us because we had no interest in walking the last mile or so................ PS: I know some pooh pooh bus tours, but this was excellent. Saw a lot, 2 outstanding guides sharing information about their country and many enjoyable stops. WAAAYTOOO and CrimsonCruiser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffsterL Posted January 4 Author Report Share Posted January 4 3 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said: I can say that ones booked through Royal will have you back pretty much exactly when they are supposed to. I think it's part of the terms the excursions companies have to adhere to be in good standing with the cruise line. That said...life happens. Accidents, flat tires, getting stuck waiting for other passengers, traffic etc. Plus you're not giving yourself much time to get back on the ship which could take 10 -20 minutes depending on the crowds at the time and on the elevators. Non-royal booked ones, also to be in good standing and good rep, will also usually do their best to get you back on time, but you are taking a bit more of a risk as those are always a YMMV type of thing, Either way though, I would suggest that if your dinner is MDR and you aren't tied to the menu, skip that reservation and do the Windjammer or something else so you're not as pressed about time. Or, if you have My time dining in the MDR, push it back. If you have a specialty on that night, see if you can move the dinner later or to a different day. Cool cool, thanks for the thorough reply! This is reassuring, I'm glad that there's atleast some pressure on the excursion vendor to return on time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 We've returned late twice out of 50 plus Royal excursions. On one we stopped by MDR and told them we'd be 20 min late in order to change. On the other we had a later res that wasn't affected. Ship waited for about 4 tour groups, including ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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