Carnival Cruise Lines wants to ensure that guests get the best price guarantee on their shore excursions, so they're doing just that. A new program, available fleetwide, makes sure that guests get the best deal possible on a shore excursion.

Trough the best price guarantee program, guests who come across the same tour offered by an operator other than Carnival, at a lower price than the excursion the booked, either before or during their cruise, can fill out a claim form and may receive 110 percent of the different in the form of a shipboard credit.

This guarantee is available for excursions booked prior to or during a cruise. If a guests pre-books an excursion and then finds the same tour advertised somewhere at a lower price, the guest can complete an online form up to seven days prior to the cruise to ensure that they get the credit. A form can also be completed during a cruise, either before or after they go on the excursion. It takes about 24-48 hours to process a claim.

"Many of our repeat guests who have booked Carnival shore tours previously are already knowledgeable on the outstanding value our tours provide," said Mico Cascais, vice president of tour operations for Carnival Cruise Lines.  "However, our research indicates that many others, particularly first-time cruisers, are interested yet concerned as to whether or not they are getting the best deal.  The best price guarantee program will assure our guests they are getting both the highest quality and the best value on all of our tours," he added.

When a guest books their excursion through Carnival, their tickets are delivered straight to their stateroom. They also have 24/7 access to staff who can answer questions. They can also take comfort in knowing that they will receive a refund or the excursion time may change in case of bad weather that may delay the ship. Tour operators also keep in constant contact with ship staff to let them know of any changes.

The online and onboard best price guarantee form asks guests to provide the name of the business offering the cheaper price on the same tour, the name of the excursion, where the tour was advertised and the duration, price and anything that the tour might include like food, drinks, transportation and admission fees.

The best price guarantee only applies to shore excursions that take place on the same date as the tour purchased through Carnival.

For additional information on Carnival's shore excursion best price guarantee, visit www.carnival.com/shoreexcursionbpg.  For general information on Carnival Cruise Lines, contact a travel agent, visit www.carnival.com or call 800-CARNIVAL