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A Carnival cruise gives you the opportunity to explore several destinations during one vacation, but choosing what to do in each port can make a big difference to your experience. Carnival Cruise Line offers a wide range of shore excursions, from sightseeing tours and cultural experiences to water activities, outdoor adventures, and port-specific tours.
So, how do you book shore excursions with Carnival Cruise Line?
You can browse and reserve eligible excursions online through Carnival before your cruise, provided your booking meets Carnival's requirements. You can also purchase available excursions after boarding the ship. Carnival recommends booking in advance because popular excursions can sell out before the sailing date.
This guide explains how the Carnival shore excursion booking process works, what you need before booking, when you can reserve an excursion, how payment and cancellation work, and what to consider before selecting a tour.
Shore excursions are organized activities or tours available when your Carnival cruise visits a port of call.
Depending on the destination, available excursions can include:
City sightseeing tours
Historical and cultural tours
Beach visits
Snorkeling and water activities
Scenic tours
Nature and wildlife experiences
Food and local culture experiences
Adventure activities
Shopping excursions
Family-friendly activities
Port or destination highlights
The excursions available to you depend on your specific cruise itinerary and ports.
Carnival's website displays excursions relevant to the itinerary associated with your cruise booking. You can also browse excursions before completing a cruise booking, although certain booking and pricing information may not be available until you have an eligible cruise reservation.
The basic process is straightforward. You need a qualifying Carnival cruise booking, registration on Carnival's website, and access to the online shore excursion system.
You generally need to have a fully deposited Carnival cruise booking before you can purchase shore excursions online.
Carnival states that guests must have a fully deposited cruise booking and a cabin-level booking number to place a pre-sailing shore excursion order.
If you do not yet have a cruise booking number, you can still browse available excursions, but you cannot complete the shore excursion purchase until you have an eligible cruise reservation.
Once your cruise is booked, register with Carnival or sign in to your existing account.
Your cruise information allows Carnival's website to identify your sailing and show excursions associated with your itinerary.
Only excursions relevant to the booked itinerary are displayed when you use the booking information to make a pre-cruise purchase.
Visit Carnival's official shore excursion page and browse the available tours.
Carnival Cruise Line Shore Excursions
You can explore excursions by destination and review the activities available for your ports of call.
Choose the port you are interested in and review the available excursions.
Before selecting a tour, read the excursion description carefully. Pay attention to:
Tour duration
Meeting or departure information
Activity level
Transportation
Age requirements
Physical requirements
Included activities
Important restrictions
Return time
Available dates
Price
Do not choose an excursion based only on its title or photographs. The detailed description contains important information about what the tour involves.
After finding an excursion you want, select it and add it to your shopping cart.
Review your selected excursion before completing the order. Carnival's online booking process allows guests to place desired excursions in the shopping cart for review.
If you are traveling with other people, check that the correct guests and excursion quantities are included.
Pre-cruise shore excursions must be paid for when you complete the online order.
Carnival states that full payment is due at checkout for excursions booked online. Excursions purchased onboard are charged to the guest's Sail & Sign account instead.
After completing the purchase, Carnival provides a confirmation with an order number. You can also view the schedule of shore excursions booked for guests on the reservation.
Keep your confirmation available so you can refer to the excursion details during your cruise.
Carnival allows guests to book shore excursions before sailing and also offers remaining inventory onboard.
For U.S. and Europe sailings, Carnival's published pre-sail cutoff is 11:59 p.m. ET on the evening before departure. For cruises departing from Australia, the published cutoff is 11:59 p.m. AEST two days before departure.
After the pre-sail period ends, remaining excursion availability can be purchased onboard.
Because availability can change, booking earlier can be useful if there is a particular excursion you do not want to miss.
Yes.
Carnival ships have a Shore Excursion Desk where guests can get information and purchase available excursions onboard. However, onboard availability depends on remaining inventory.
This means you do not necessarily have to decide on every activity before leaving home.
However, waiting until you board can be risky if a popular excursion has limited availability.
Carnival's published information states that pre-sailing shore excursions must be purchased online rather than by telephone, fax, email, or mail.
If you have technical problems with the online booking process, Carnival's Online Support can help guide you through the website process, but the support team does not book the shore tour for you.
For excursion-specific questions, Carnival also provides contact information for its shore excursion team through its support information.
Choosing an excursion is about more than finding the cheapest or most popular option. Consider what you actually want to do during your time in port.
Check how long the excursion lasts and compare that with your ship's scheduled time in port.
A long excursion may give you more time at a destination, while a shorter tour can leave additional time for exploring independently.
Some excursions involve considerable walking, stairs, swimming, hiking, or other physical activity.
Read the excursion description carefully to determine whether the activity is appropriate for everyone in your group.
Transportation can affect both comfort and the amount of time available at the destination.
Check whether the excursion includes:
Bus transportation
Boat transportation
Walking
Transfers
Other local transportation
Some activities may have minimum or maximum age requirements.
Families should check these details before booking so that everyone who wants to participate is eligible.
Think about what you want from the port visit.
For example, you might prefer:
Historical attractions
Beaches
Food experiences
Nature
Photography
Shopping
Adventure
Relaxed sightseeing
Choosing according to your interests can make the excursion more worthwhile than simply selecting the first available tour.
Yes, Carnival states that guests can take more than one shore excursion in a port, depending on the duration of the tours and the ship's time in port.
Carnival advises allowing at least 30 minutes between excursions. If tendering is involved or you need additional time for meals, transfers, or other activities, you may need a larger gap.
For example, booking two activities that finish and start very close together can create unnecessary stress if the first tour runs late.
Carnival explains that one advantage of its organized shore excursions is that the cruise line monitors the departures and returns of its excursions. Carnival states that when guests participate in a Carnival-sold excursion, the ship will remain in port until those guests return.
This arrangement is different from independently arranging your own transportation or tour.
If you leave the ship independently, it is your responsibility to return before the ship's required departure time.
Yes. You are not required to purchase a Carnival shore excursion to leave the ship at a port.
Carnival's FAQ explains that guests can explore independently, but independently arranged activities are not monitored by Carnival in the same way as Carnival's own shore excursions.
If you choose an independent tour, carefully consider:
Transportation time
Traffic
Local conditions
Port distance
Required return time
Visa or entry requirements
Local tour operator reliability
The main practical difference is that you are responsible for managing your own schedule when you arrange activities independently.
A shore excursion can sometimes be cancelled or modified because of weather, participation levels, operational issues, or other circumstances.
Carnival states that when an excursion is cancelled, guests who purchased the affected excursion receive a full refund. If the cancellation happens before sailing, the refund is made to the original form of payment. If the excursion is cancelled while onboard, the refund is credited to the guest's shipboard account.
This can be particularly relevant for outdoor activities where weather conditions can affect operations.
Carnival allows online cancellation before the applicable pre-sail cutoff time without cancellation charges, subject to the excursion's specific terms.
For U.S. and Europe cruises, the published cutoff is 11:59 p.m. ET on the evening before departure. For Australian cruises, it is 11:59 p.m. AEST two days before departure.
Once the pre-sail cutoff has passed, changes generally need to be handled through the Shore Excursion Manager onboard.
Always check the specific excursion terms because individual tours can have additional conditions.
If you change your Carnival cruise to another ship or sailing date, existing shore excursion orders for the cancelled sailing are automatically cancelled, according to Carnival.
Carnival states that payments are refunded to the original form of payment and that guests must book new excursions for the new sailing.
This means you should not assume that an excursion reservation will automatically transfer to the replacement sailing.
Many Carnival excursions can be suitable for families, but suitability depends on the specific activity.
Parents and guardians should check:
Minimum age requirements
Maximum age restrictions
Activity level
Swimming requirements
Walking distance
Transportation arrangements
Equipment requirements
Duration
A sightseeing tour may work well for one family, while an adventure or water-based activity may be more appropriate for another.
Always review the individual excursion description before booking.
If you or someone in your group has mobility or accessibility requirements, check the individual excursion information carefully before booking.
Not every tour has the same transportation, walking, boarding, or physical requirements.
If you need clarification about whether a particular excursion is appropriate, contact Carnival before making the reservation so you can understand the available arrangements.
It depends on the specific excursion.
Some tours may include food, drinks, or meals, while others may not. The excursion description should be checked for details about what is included.
Do not assume that a meal is included simply because the tour lasts several hours.
Carnival also notes that meal schedules can sometimes be adjusted while the ship is in port to accommodate guests participating in excursions.
Carnival states that excursions designed for guests on debarkation day are available in many ports.
These tours can be useful for travelers with later flights, but you should verify your flight time before booking.
Leave sufficient time between the excursion's expected completion and your airport departure, especially when transportation is involved.
After completing your online order, you can access your shore excursion confirmation and order number.
Carnival also provides an itinerary or schedule showing the shore excursions booked for the guests on the reservation.
Prepaid shore excursion tickets are delivered to the guest's stateroom according to Carnival's published information.
Review your excursion information before the port day so you know where and when you need to go.
A little planning can make your port days easier.
If there is a specific excursion you really want, consider booking it before the cruise rather than waiting until embarkation.
Carnival recommends taking advantage of advance online booking because onboard availability can be limited.
Do not rely only on the excursion name.
Look for information about duration, physical activity, age restrictions, transportation, and inclusions.
If you book multiple excursions, leave enough time between them.
Carnival recommends at least 30 minutes between excursions, while additional time may be sensible when tendering, meals, or transportation are involved.
Always know when the excursion is scheduled to return and when you need to be back onboard.
Save your confirmation and order number so you can quickly check your reservation details if needed.
Weather and operational circumstances can affect excursions. If a particular activity is important to you, know what other options are available at the port.
You can book eligible shore excursions online through Carnival after you have a qualifying, fully deposited cruise booking. Sign in or register, select your itinerary and excursion, add it to your cart, and complete payment at checkout.
Yes. Carnival allows eligible guests to book shore excursions before sailing, subject to the applicable pre-sail cutoff and availability.
Yes. Remaining excursions can be purchased onboard through the ship's Shore Excursion Desk, subject to availability.
Yes. You can browse excursions without a booking, but Carnival requires an eligible cruise booking to complete a shore excursion purchase.
Pre-sailing shore excursions must be purchased online. Carnival's support team can help with technical questions about the online process but does not book the excursions for guests.
For U.S. and Europe sailings, Carnival currently lists 11:59 p.m. ET on the evening before departure as the pre-sail cutoff. For Australian cruises, the cutoff is 11:59 p.m. AEST two days before departure.
Online cancellations can generally be made without cancellation charges before the applicable pre-sail cutoff, subject to the excursion's terms. After the cutoff, onboard assistance may be required.
Carnival states that cancelled excursions receive a full refund. The refund method depends on whether the cancellation occurs before sailing or while onboard.
Yes, depending on the length of the excursions and the time your ship remains in port. Carnival recommends allowing at least 30 minutes between tours.
Carnival states that one benefit of its shore excursions is that the cruise line monitors excursion departures and returns. Carnival also states that the ship will remain in port for guests returning from Carnival-sold excursions, whereas independently arranged activities are the guest's responsibility.
Yes. Carnival does not require guests to purchase a shore excursion to leave the ship. You can explore independently, but you are responsible for managing your transportation and returning to the ship on time.
No. Carnival states that existing excursion orders are cancelled when the ship or sailing date is changed, with payments refunded, and new excursions must be booked for the new sailing.
Booking shore excursions with Carnival Cruise Line is a relatively simple online process once you have a qualifying cruise reservation. You can browse excursions for your itinerary, compare the available activities, review the requirements, add your selections to the shopping cart, and pay online.
Booking before your cruise can be useful when you have a specific excursion in mind because availability may be limited once you board. Carnival also provides onboard excursion booking for remaining inventory.
Before making a reservation, check the tour duration, activity level, age requirements, transportation, inclusions, and cancellation terms. Most importantly, make sure the excursion fits comfortably within your ship's port schedule.
With a little planning, you can choose shore excursions that match your interests while leaving enough time to enjoy your cruise and each destination.
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