Shore Excursions..please help! =)

Okay, a couple of questions about shore excursions..

1. Do more excursions become available the closer you get to your cruise? I began looking at possible excursion ideas for my cruise (in June) and there weren't many options (including the one I REALLY wanted). However, now when I've looked, it seemed as though there were more choices. Is it possible that my excursion has yet to appear?

2. How much time is ample time to get from excursion to excursion? There are 2 I really would love to do but they are only 1/2 hr apart from the end of one to the beginning of another. Is that enough time? Also, do all excursions provide transportation back to the boat at the end?

3. How do people handle taking cameras on excursions? I obviously want to take many pictures but I am scared of losing my camera or not having any place to put it while on the excursion. Some of the excursions involve boat trips to the beach etc.. are there safe places to store cameras while not in use? Or is it better to leave my nice camera for pictures on the cruise boat and maybe take a disposable for excursions?

Any answers people can provide are GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you in advance!!

Hi,  my wife and I will be sailing on our 8th cruise in March and am very excited.   You will have a wonderful time.  Now, let me see if I can help you: 

I wouldn't try to go from 1 excursion to the next, that will really be pushing it.  You can always check with the ships concierge when you get onboard just to make sure.

As far as the camara, it depends on the excursion.  We always take ours on excursions but we do not always have opportunities to use it.  One good thing about the excursions is that the host typically always have a photographer there for you to take a photo and purchas from them.  The same thing happens when you are on the ship, photographers everywhere.