Purchase shore excursion before or during?

[RonChl]

I'm going on a Mediterranean cruise on September 11 from Rome. Is it wiser(cheaper) to book excursions before or during the cruise.

It seems when I look at the offers from Royal Caribbean Home page, some are sold out and some give a 10% discount.

I'm most interested in Pompei and Florens.

Thanks for a great site!!

Brgds,

Ron

[wordell1]

It will almost certainly be cheaper before - the earlier the better in general.  You can always cancel and rebook if the price goes down.

[Ryan79]

There are literally zero benefits to booking in the cruise. The price will be higher and the availability of options will be at their lowest point. I’ve never heard of anyone waiting to book until on the ship by design

[TessFromFlorida]

Book before. Don't rule out Viator.

[rjac]

Definitely book before, as far in advance as possible. Then watch for sale prices in the cruise planner and rebook. If you wait until you're on the ship you'll have to wait in line and run the risk of the excursion you're interested in being sold out. I learned that the hard way on our first cruise in 2006! Also what Tess mentioned above, don't rule out Viator. We have used them a couple of times for Alaska and Greece. Have a great trip! 

[PhillyLady]

Ha-Ha--As soon as I make my deposit on a cruise I usually start booking my shore excursions, especially if there is something I must do, and even more so if I have on-board credit.   I have booked excursions as far in advance as a year and a half.  I always choose first from the cruise line excursions, but if there is something I know about and want to do that is not listed, then we will arrange on our own (example Scuba diving for husband in Caribbean, visit Basilica Cistern in Istanbul). 

Sometimes I budget almost as much or more than the cost of the cruise for the excursions, especially the Mediterranean/Europe/etc. Yes, tours do sell out, especially the very unique ones. I try to purchase in order of priority--maybe one a month until I do all the port days. 

I am booked on a Celebrity Iceland cruise for July, and already about five excursions are completely sold out.  I have sailed on Viking, and they open up shore excursions based on cabin cost, which can be very annoying for those at the lower end budget because often the good tours all disappear. 

Well, there are often sales of 20% and even 30%, and that is about as good as you can get. You can find some threads on this forum from other cruisers who booked and cancelled then rebooked excursions to get a cheaper price, and unfortunately the RC accounting system messed up and sent them potential cruise cancellation notices for lack of payment, so I would proceed a little bit with caution.  

Pompeii is fabulous, but a bit hot and dusty, and a lot of walking.  If you can splurge you might want to combine it with something more relaxing, like lunch in Portofino or Amalfi, to make a whole day excursion.

Have a wonderful time, and bon voyage!