Carnival's new online shore excursion booking

Jason · January 7, 2005

Carnival Rolls Out New On-Line Shore Excursion Booking System

MIAMI, Jan. 3 -- Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise operator, has introduced a new on-line shore excursion booking system that provides guests the opportunity to purchase shore excursions prior to their cruise utilizing the line's user-friendly Web site, carnival.com.

With the new system, guests are able to book shore excursions in conjunction with all Carnival "Fun Ships" sailing to 65 different ports throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Canada, New England and Europe.

More than 1,000 different shore excursion choices are available. Snorkeling and scuba expeditions, horseback riding, helicopter flightseeing, shopping and city tours are among the excursions that can be booked via this new dynamic shore excursion booking engine. In-depth information such as excursion description, activity level, duration, and pricing are included in each listing.

"More consumers than ever are using the Internet for travel research and purchases and our new on-line shore excursion booking system provides Carnival guests with an easy and convenient means for purchasing the wide variety of fun and interesting shore excursions available aboard the 'Fun Ships,'" said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO.

To access the new on-line shore excursion booking engine, guests must be registered on carnival.com and have a fully deposited cruise booking. After accessing their cruise booking through the "View Cruise Details" link, guests are prompted with the "Add Shore Excursions" option, which lists all shore excursion choices associated with the ports of call featured on their particular cruise.

To purchase a shore excursion, guests simply click on the shore excursion of their choice and enter credit card payment information via a secure encrypted reservations portal. Guests are provided with a printable shore excursion confirmation and shore excursion tickets are delivered to guests' staterooms on embarkation day.

On-line shore excursion orders can be made from 180 days up to five days prior to departure date. Guests are also welcome to visit the shore excursion desk once on board to book shore excursions and obtain additional information.

The new on-line shore excursion system is just the latest enhancement to Carnival's popular carnival.com Internet site, which encompasses more than 2,000 Web pages and offers a host of new and expanded features, including enhanced site navigation, streaming video, personalized content tailored to each visitor, and more 360-degree "virtual tours" of the "Fun Ship" fleet.

Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) (NYSE:CUK) , is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 20 "Fun Ships" operating voyages ranging from three to 16 days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Canada, New England and Europe. The line currently has two 110,000-ton "Fun Ships" - Carnival Liberty and Carnival Freedom - scheduled for delivery between now and spring 2007.

For additional information and reservations on Carnival's "Fun Ship" cruises, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

Carnival Cruise Lines is a proud member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, Windstar Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, our member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Together, we offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.

Source: Carnival Cruise Lines

buffetfan2004 · January 10, 2005

Please note in case anyone is frustrated--the website has seemed to be having volume related issues and has its time of "being down".

There is also discussion one only needs to have a deposit down, not ful cruise. Haven't personally had success with website, while others I've read posts from have, and many not fully deposited. So keep trying.