Using cruise credits for shore excursions before sailing

[chronicler]

Hello,

This seems unbelievable to me but here goes....we are going to have hundreds..close to $1000 in cruise credits for our sailing on June 8.... We are in a Concierge suite only b/c we booked late and all the "good" F category suites were gone so we figured OK..this once..etc. So yesterday (Sunday) I was online booking a couple of free excursions but when I got to the one we wanted that was $83 pp or something close to that, I searched for a way to use our credits and could not find a way so I waited to call Regent this morning. They said...checking with a supervisor..that 1) you can only use cruise credits once on board and 2) we could not pay and then cancel and re- book as the agent first suggested. When she brought in the supervisor, she said once we are on board, we could not cancel (forget the 36 hour rule) and would not be reimbursed so we would just have to wait for the sailing and take our chances! $800 pp extra for the Concierge suite and this is the deal?

 

Anyone else have this experience? I am astonished and will call my TA but doubt she can do anything....

 

Just venting...but maybe someone out there has been here before.

 

Thanks!

Edited January 20, 2014 by chronicler

[mrlevin]

We have always cancelled and rebooked once onboard; of course, this only works when there is still room on the specific excursion; otherwise, when you cancel, it goes to next on the list.

 

Marc

[TedC]

Marc writes the TRUTH!

 

Even if your tour is full there are often cancellations. Don't give up!

Last Nov. I had $1600 in OBC - all my grandkids got nice watches for Xmas!

 

Some of the girls also had jewelry.

 

I used some leftover OBC for laundry - I don't do laundry while on vacation!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Travelcat2]

Unfortunately the communication between headquarters and the ships is lacking at times. Agree 100% with last post. In fact, we cancelled and rebooked an excursion onboard the Voyager last month.

 

Keep in mind that those wonderful on board credits can be used in the spa and boutique as well as for the special wine tasting/lunch that costs approximately $179/person. My DH was frustrated with OBCs when we first had a lot to spend but now looks at it as "play" money to purchase things we don't need or get gifts for friends and relatives from the extremely high priced boutique.

[jhenry1]

I have never had a problem using the OBC once onboard the first thing I do is go to the desk as see about cancelling excursions that have a charge and rebooking them using the OBC and Regent will credit my credit card for the excursions charges.

 

They have never refused unless something else has changed. In fact on my May cruise that is what I planned to do.

 

Kandy

[Travelcat2]

I have never had a problem using the OBC once onboard the first thing I do is go to the desk as see about cancelling excursions that have a charge and rebooking them using the OBC and Regent will credit my credit card for the excursions charges.

 

They have never refused unless something else has changed. In fact on my May cruise that is what I planned to do.

 

Kandy

 

Your experience has been different than ours. On the last three cruises, we were able to cancel and rebook excursions but they would not credit our credit card. They insisted on giving us cash.

[chronicler]

Looks like this really IS an issue.. Kind of a racket, wouldn't you say? My inclination is to wait til onboard but that is iffy, right? The idea of holding space with $$ then canceling and rebooking seems silly, unfair, and encourages dishonesty!! Wow.. Guess it's the way of things. Thanks again for posts and sharing.

Edited January 20, 2014 by chronicler

[quepaquete]

I was on the Mariner for the holidays and had the same issue. I decided to take a chance and not book the excursions with a fee, to avoid having to cancel and get a credit, and so on. But, I booked some "free" excursions just in case the "paid" ones were all full. I had no issues booking the excursions with an extra fee. Two of them we even booked them the evening before;. One in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the other in Rio de Janeiro, both were full-day tours (8 hours each). Maybe that was unique to this cruise, but we were able to exchange a couple of the free excursions the evening prior, no problems at all.

[chronicler]

That's pretty much what we have decided to do, skipping the possible hassle with money back, etc. I know there are always cancellations! Thanks for your post. :)