How to Book Princess Cruises Excursions Before You Sail

Eric DawsonByEric Dawson Boats & Cruises

To understand how to book excursions on Princess Cruises, browse tours for each port and reserve through Manage Booking on Princess.com or the Princess Cruises App before sailing. Princess says Manage Booking reservations can be made up to 5 days before departure, though popular and award-winning tours may sell out much earlier.

Plan several weeks ahead for the widest selection. Booking before sailing can save up to 20% on popular tours, and Princess says the ship will wait or Princess will arrange transport to the next port for a late-running Princess-booked excursion. Guests can also visit the onboard Shore Excursions desk, but remaining availability may be limited.

How to Book Excursions on Princess Cruises

Guests can reserve Princess Cruises shore excursions before departure through Manage Booking on Princess.com or the Princess Cruises App. Before sailing, browse the tours offered for each port on your itinerary and reserve the options that suit your plans.

Reserve Tours Through Manage Booking

On Princess.com, Manage Booking is the main pre-cruise tool for viewing and reserving available shore excursions. Because tours vary by port, start with your individual sailing and review each destination’s available experiences rather than relying on a general excursion list.

Use these steps to make a Princess shore-excursion reservation before your cruise:

  1. First, sign in to Manage Booking on Princess.com using your cruise reservation details.
  2. Next, review the tours available for each port on your itinerary.
  3. Then, compare the excursion descriptions and choose the experiences you want to reserve.
  4. Finally, complete the reservation for your selected tours through Manage Booking.

Mobile travelers can also use the Princess Cruises App to manage an upcoming cruise and book tours where they are available. Although the app works best on a mobile device, Princess also provides a web version when needed. Complete the app and Travel Checklist no later than 24 hours before embarkation, since the checklist helps expedite the arrival process.

Choose Tours Port by Port

Keep each destination’s schedule in mind as you select activities, especially if you want a guided outing, lighter activity, or time for independent exploration. Princess groups its sightseeing tours into Best of, Ultimate, Easy, and On Your Own categories, giving guests a starting point for comparing the style of experience offered in each port. Separate from the app-completion timing, Princess says shore excursions can be booked through Manage Booking up to 5 days before departure.

When to Book Cruise Excursions

Choose Princess Cruises shore excursions several weeks before departure, especially when a particular tour matters to your plans. Princess says popular and award-winning tours can fill quickly, while its FAQ allows reservations through Manage Booking until five days before departure.

That five-day deadline is a booking-window endpoint, not a promise that every tour will remain open until then. Popular options may sell out weeks earlier, so early selection gives guests the strongest stated opportunity to reserve the outings they want. Availability can vary among the tours shown for each port, and Princess repeatedly advises reserving before sought-after choices are gone. For travelers asking when to book cruise excursions, the practical answer is as soon as their plans are settled, preferably several weeks ahead.

Review your itinerary before making choices, since the desired experience, activity level, and port schedule can shape how quickly you need to decide. Princess groups its sightseeing excursions as Best of, Ultimate, Easy, and On Your Own. Easy excursions are described as light on walking and stairs, while Caribbean snorkeling and water-sports activities may not suit youngsters. Families should consider each activity carefully before reserving.

Keep the five-day excursion deadline separate from the app’s 24-hour-before-embarkation completion guidance. That earlier app timing concerns the Travel Checklist and arrival preparation, rather than a stated shore-excursion cutoff. Mobile access remains available for the app. Travelers can therefore handle cruise preparation on its own timeline while treating excursion selection as a decision best made weeks before sailing.

Waiting until embarkation leaves only remaining desk availability. Advance reservations may also save money. Shore excursions cost extra beyond the standard cruise fare, so confirm your choices before reserving. Princess also says advance booking can save money generally without attaching the same percentage to every listed excursion.

I would use the several-weeks recommendation as the real planning rule and treat the five-day figure only as the last stated point for booking through Manage Booking. The two figures answer different questions: one addresses whether a tour may still have space, while the other sets a booking cutoff. If a particular outing matters, waiting risks reduced choice.

Choosing Princess Cruises Shore Excursions

These labels can help travelers narrow the selection by deciding whether they want an immersive guided visit, an excursion with exclusive components, a lighter-activity option, or independent exploration.

Four labels provide the clearest starting point for comparing tours at each port. Best of excursions are described by Princess as fully immersive, while Ultimate excursions include exclusive components. Easy excursions are light on walking and stairs, which makes that category a useful first filter for guests seeking a less physically demanding outing. On Your Own identifies options centered on independent exploration.

Start with the kind of port day you want, then use the category descriptions to reduce the list. Guests drawn to local context may prefer Princess’s more intimate guided tours, which are intended to introduce the people behind the places. For travelers who want headline sights, Princess says its excursion lineup highlights a destination’s main points of interest across all four categories. Caribbean plans deserve an added activity check because many shore excursions there involve snorkeling and water sports, and Princess says some may not suit youngsters.

Consider the trade-off between structure and freedom. An immersive Best of experience or an Ultimate outing may suit travelers who want a guided program, whereas On Your Own can fit a day built around independent discovery. People who prefer a gentler pace can begin with Easy, then compare the available port-specific choices. That approach keeps the category useful without treating it as a complete description of any individual tour.

Price can also shape the final shortlist, since shore excursions are an additional-cost item rather than part of the standard cruise fare. Standard cruise fare covers accommodations, meals, entertainment, and activities such as trivia and kids crafts. Advance reservations can also help. Compare the excursion’s category and planned activity with the port day you want before making your final choice for your group.

Book Before Sailing, Onboard, or Independently

Advance booking through Manage Booking on Princess.com or the Princess Cruises App is the strongest choice for travelers who want a particular tour before sailing and Princess’s stated late-tour assurance. Onboard reservations at the Shore Excursions desk provide another route. Independently arranged tours can broaden the options at a port, although guests using them remain responsible for returning before the ship’s scheduled departure time.

Princess says many port cities make it easy to book adventures or tours shortly after leaving the ship, and tourism offices can be useful to check before departure. Because Princess describes its own excursion programs as operating on an optimal and tight schedule, travelers exploring on their own need to watch the time closely. Guests who book a Princess tour receive the line’s stated commitment that the ship will wait or Princess will arrange transport to the next port when that Princess tour is running late.

A Princess excursion reserved before sailing is also covered by the stated refund policy if a port is canceled or the ship’s arrival is delayed. Booking at the onboard desk remains a practical backup for guests who decide after embarkation, provided the tour is still available. For both advance and onboard Princess bookings, the same program-level port-cancellation and delayed-arrival refund policy applies.

Comparison Point Book Before Sailing Book Onboard Arrange Independently
Booking route Reserve available tours through Manage Booking or the Princess Cruises App. Visit the Shore Excursions desk after embarkation. Use local tourism offices or arrange an adventure or tour after leaving the ship.
Availability Popular and award-winning tours can fill quickly. Availability may be limited, and tours may already be sold out. Options are arranged outside Princess’s excursion program.
Late return Princess says the ship will wait or Princess will arrange transport to the next port for a late-running Princess tour. Princess describes this as a Princess excursion booking. Guests must return before the scheduled departure time.
Port cancellation or delayed arrival Princess says it refunds all shore excursions. Princess states the same program-level refund policy. Independent arrangements are outside that Princess policy.

Price can also shape the decision. Neither Princess Plus nor Princess Premier is described as including shore excursions; Princess identifies those upgrades as savings on Wi-Fi, Crew Appreciation, and Drinks.

If your priority is securing a preferred Princess Cruises shore excursion, reserve it before sailing rather than waiting for the onboard desk. When deciding when to book cruise excursions, treat the ability to use Manage Booking up to five days before departure as a booking window, not a promise that every tour will remain available. Separately, Princess Cruises excursion prices and independent-tour choices may vary by port and provider, while Princess’s stated late-tour protection applies to its own excursions.

Princess Cruises Excursion Prices and Savings

These excursions are a separate purchase. Advance booking may offer savings. Savings apply to popular tours, according to Princess’s June 2026 guidance.

Qualifying tours are identified as popular tours in Princess’s up-to-20% savings statement, making that figure a maximum saving rather than a single discount for every excursion. Excursions remain extra-cost items when guests receive an advance-booking saving. Broader Princess guidance says that booking before sailing can save money, without repeating a percentage. Across its program, Princess offers over 250 unique excursions worldwide.

Dining included in that fare includes four-course dining rooms. Specialty restaurants, laundry, shore excursions, and other services may have additional fees. Separating included cruise features from paid extras can help guests plan their port-day spending.

Packages can be added to a booking through Princess Plus or Princess Premier. Adding either upgrade to a booking is presented as a way to save on the listed package items. Princess identifies Wi-Fi, Crew Appreciation, and Drinks as the areas where those upgrades can save money.

Those named package savings are separate from the advance-booking excursion savings described for popular tours. MedallionNet and MedallionNet Max are Princess’s listed Wi-Fi options, and Max is exclusively available with Princess Plus and Princess Premier.

Guests should keep Crew Appreciation separate when estimating their overall cruise account. Princess lists adjustable daily amounts of $18 USD per guest for Interior, Oceanview, and Balcony staterooms; $19 USD per guest for Mini-Suites and Reserve Collection; and $20 USD per guest for Suites.

Those onboard-account amounts are not shore-excursion prices. For a straightforward budget, count the cruise fare, the selected paid excursions, and other fee-based services as separate parts of the trip. That approach keeps a fare inclusion from being confused with a separate excursion charge.

Late Returns, Canceled Ports, and Refunds

For excursions booked through Princess, the company says the ship will wait or Princess will arrange transport to the next port when a tour runs late. If a port is canceled or the ship’s arrival is delayed, Princess says it refunds all shore excursions. Those statements answer the two itinerary-related outcomes Princess addresses directly.

Princess frames its ship-waiting statement around excursions booked through its program. That guidance applies to Princess excursion bookings, including tours reserved before sailing or at the onboard Shore Excursions desk. By contrast, the general return rule says guests must be back aboard before scheduled departure because the ship will not wait for late arrivals. Read together, the statements distinguish a late-running Princess tour from a guest who returns late.

When a port is canceled, or the ship’s arrival is delayed, Princess says every shore excursion is refunded. Its refund statement applies to the shore-excursion program and does not distinguish between a reservation made before sailing and one made at the desk. Because the policy covers both listed disruptions, it addresses a changed port call rather than a guest’s personal change of plans.

Guests on a late-running Princess tour have the stated ship-waiting protection, while other passengers remain subject to the scheduled departure time. Rather than treating every late return alike, use the booking channel and the reason for the delay to understand which Princess statement applies. Only a Princess-booked tour is identified in the stated exception. Princess says it refunds all shore excursions if a port is canceled or the ship’s arrival is delayed.

Independent activities follow the general passenger-return rule that requires guests to be back before the scheduled departure time. Travelers exploring on their own may lose track of time when immersed in another culture, Princess says. Accordingly, keep the ship’s departure time in mind when making independent plans.

Princess also says many port cities make it easy to arrange adventures or tours shortly after leaving the ship, but its ship-waiting statement is tied to a Princess-booked excursion. Meanwhile, port cancellations and delayed arrivals trigger the stated refund policy for all shore excursions.

Denver 2024 was one of two flights in ten years, which leaves me poorly qualified to romanticize tight connections and very qualified to picture myself watching a departing vehicle with paperwork in hand. For late returns, the passenger return rule is the useful part: independent plans need enough margin to get back before the scheduled departure time.

What to Know Before You Reserve

Before reserving, confirm that the excursion fits your plans, activity comfort, and return-to-ship arrangements, then reserve early if it is a priority. These categories provide a starting point for choosing.

Activity fit deserves close attention before you commit. Easy excursions are described as light on walking and stairs, while Best of tours are fully immersive and Ultimate tours include exclusive components. Caribbean options often involve snorkeling or water sports, and Princess cautions that some of those activities may not suit youngsters.

Reservation decisions should also account for timing and availability. Popular and award-winning tours can fill quickly, so Princess advises choosing activities several weeks before departure. Manage Booking accepts excursion bookings up to five days before departure, but that window does not ensure a particular tour remains open.

Cancellation considerations belong in the decision before a reservation is made. Review terms tied to your selected excursion and weigh how a cancellation, change, missed meeting time, weather issue, or itinerary change would affect your plans. Payment details, tour pricing, taxes, gratuities, and any later price changes are further practical points to settle before booking.

Independent plans require a separate assessment of timing and responsibility. Many port cities cater to international travelers, and Princess says tourism offices can be useful to check before departure. Travelers arranging their own tours should keep the ship’s scheduled departure time front of mind, since guests generally must return before departure. Princess says its excursions follow an optimal, tight schedule, while independent explorers can lose track of time when absorbed in another culture.

Finally, check your upcoming cruise administration and excursion choice. Use Manage Booking or the app as needed. Complete the app no later than 24 hours before embarkation, and use the Travel Checklist, the only way to complete certain information and expedite arrival.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Book Princess Shore Excursions Through Manage Booking?

Yes. Princess lets guests browse tours available for each port and reserve them through Manage Booking on Princess.com. The Princess Cruises App is another option for booking available shore excursions before sailing, and Princess says the app works best on a mobile device, with a web version available when needed.

How Late Can I Book Princess Shore Excursions Before Departure?

Princess says shore excursions can be booked through Manage Booking up to 5 days before departure. Still, Princess recommends deciding what to do several weeks before sailing because popular and award-winning tours can fill quickly or sell out. Booking early can also save up to 20% on popular tours, as of June 2026.

Can I Cancel Princess Shore Excursions Online?

Beyond that, princess says it refunds all shore excursions if a port is canceled or the ship’s arrival is delayed. The available information does not set out an online cancellation process, a guest cancellation deadline, fees, no-show rules, or procedures for changing an excursion.

Are Princess Shore Excursions Included in the Cruise Fare?

No. Shore excursions are an extra-cost item rather than part of the standard cruise fare. Princess says the fare includes accommodations, meals, entertainment, and activities such as trivia and kids crafts, while shore excursions, specialty restaurants, laundry, and other services may carry additional fees.

Will the Ship Wait for a Late Princess Excursion?

Princess says the ship will wait or Princess will arrange transport to the next port for a Princess-booked tour that is running late. That differs from the general rule requiring guests to return before the scheduled departure time, because the ship will not wait for late arrivals. The stated late-tour assurance applies to Princess excursion bookings, not independent arrangements.

Can I Book Excursions After Boarding a Princess Cruise?

Yes. Guests can book shore excursions onboard at the Shore Excursions desk. Princess warns that onboard availability may be limited, and a desired tour may already be sold out, so reserving before sailing is the stronger option for selection.

For the best chance of getting the tours you want, browse your port options in Manage Booking or the Princess Cruises App several weeks before departure and reserve early. Manage Booking accepts excursion reservations up to 5 days before sailing, but popular choices may sell out well before then.

References

Sources read in September 2026.

Eric Dawson

I'm Eric Dawson, and I write The Money Watch from north Columbus, Ohio. Most of what I cover comes from my own life: renting, a 2014 Honda Fit, parking, computers, food and the bills behind all of it. I spent four years in an apartment-property office and eleven on a distributor's operations desk, reading leases and invoices. Where you need real information, I research the maker's or agency's own page and independent sources and report what they publish. I don't give tax, investment, legal or medical advice.