How far in advance do you book third party excursions?

[anricat]

We're going to book a tour in Skagway next summer with Chilkoot Charters (based on multiple recommendations from cruisers here on the DIS). How far in advance do you book tours with outside companies?

 

[HookdonWDW]

I book them as soon I am sure we will be cruising. Why wait for it to potentially sell out? Just check the refund policy so you know what your options are if you should have a change in plans.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I'm a planner. We were on the first Hawaiian DCL cruise. I booked with outside companies immediately after booking. I got a few funny responses about how I plan far in advance but I am so happy I did. I didn't want to risk not getting the companies that came highly recommended. Alaska would be one that I would book asap as well. Some of the othe ports like Cozumel, St Thomas etc I would worry as much since they've been going there for years. I book early for land vacations, too. In Amsterdam I was on the computer the day that ticket sales were available for Anne Frank's house. It's such a relief to have everything all planned out in advance.

 

[DISGRL13]

I book my excursions as soon as I can after booking the cruise. If you find a good tour company you don't want to chance not getting them because they are full. Good luck!! You will love Alaska!

 

[anricat]

Thanks all! It's a 10% cancellation fee. At this point we are about $300 away from full payment on the cruise and we have airfare (nonrefundable) booked to Vancouver. We also have hotels in Vancouver booked and a rental car in Vancouver. So...we're pretty committed. I have trip insurance at this point as well.

So, what I'm saying is that it's pretty safe to say that we're going. I'll go ahead and book after double checking with the DH. He pretty much just sort of let's me be the "cruise director" and goes along for the ride, though, so I'm sure it will be good.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Just make a note of the cancellation information and if for some reason you have to cancel your cruise, you can easily cancel your tour, too.

 

[Pens Fan]

This thread reminded me of a comment our tour guide in Kirkwall, Scotland made this past summer. It was the first time a Disney ship had come to the area and she mentioned that Disney fans must be "early planners". She said her company sold out months in advance for that day and had already sold out most of the slots for next summer already as well. This apparently wasn't the norm with other cruise lines that have stopped there before. I just laughed, as I certainly fit the bill. We booked her a year or so in advance. I've already booked our guides for next October's Canadian coastline cruise as well. Yes, I get the occasional friendly remark about being the early bird, but I just feel better knowing it's booked.

On our last cruise, we had a few tours that had stiff cancellation policies, so I added the cost of them to our (3rd party) trip insurance. It didn't cost much at all and gave me some piece of mind.

I will throw this out though. Disney (well, all cruise lines actually) does on occasion change itineraries. This happened to us last summer when three port dates got shuffled around. I had to scramble to rearrange things and in one case change tour operators. But for your case I'd guess that it's highly unlikely that the Alaska itinerary would be changed, barring some last minute unforeseen circumstance.

Have fun - love Alaska!!

 

[MunFam]

We always buy trip insurance and include all of our excursions on the insurance, so I book immediately.