Three for Free Shore Excursion Credit

[sherylc]

Got free shore excursion credit for our upcoming cruise in addition to some regular onboard credit. We weren't planning on booking any excursions with Princess. Does anyone know if I can transfer this credit to regular shipboard credit or do I lose it? Also one of the perks was a free dining for each of us in a specialty restaurant. Have heard multiple versions of how this is implemented - are people getting a card with a date/time/restaurant or can you book it yourself onboard.

Thanks all (sailing in 2 1/2 weeks on the Star)

[southwestgal]

Just got off the Ruby Princess on Sunday and we received the same promotion. The excursion credit just showed up as a credit on our account and wasn't tied to any excursion. Looked like any other obc.

 

We were traveling with 2 other couples and had second seating traditional. We each received a card showing a reservation in the Crown Grill for 8pm and they had a lovely table for us. I didn't try to change the reservation, but I got the impression that if there was availability it wouldn't be a problem. Bring the reservation card with you because it acts as a voucher for the cover charge and the server will collect it from you.

 

The promotion was handled very well IMHO.

[Lanwood]

Yes - same experience as southwestgal re OBC

 

1.Our free "excursion money" (which our TA doubled for us :)), just showed as any other OBC on our account. This was on top of the free OBC including in our booking (which our TA also doubled for us).

2.Our 3 for free promotion included one free speciality restaurant, but if you read the fine print it's not for all ships/itinerary's. We received a free bottle of wine voucher in our cabin in leiu of this one for our cruise.

3.We also got a voucher in our cabin (that said 3 for free promo) to redeem at the photo counter for the free photo and frame.

 

All very easy, and all pre organised by Princess well.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Lanwood

[caribill]

Small print on that offer said it did not have to actually be used for a shore excursion.

[terrierjohn]

Same experience as lanwood and southwestgal, we did not take any tours but still got the benefit of the OBC.

[BarbaraP]

First let me say, I love Princess:)

But, I find the "3 for free" promo that Princess offers rather insulting when you compare it to Celebrity's "1-2-3 Go" promo:(

Don't flame me it's just my opinion.

[CI66774]

It becomes a regular OBC and you can use however you want. The dining OBC becomes a regular OBC, too.

[trbarton]

We received the same thing but there was no assigned restaurant or time. We picked Portofino's which was excellent and could pick the date & time that we wanted. As been mentioned the excursion credit just shows up as an OBC.

 

Tom:)

[Meatman1]

How did you get these credits? Are you long time cruisers with Princess or something?

[caribill]

How did you get these credits? Are you long time cruisers with Princess or something?

 

It was a sales promotion. Everyone who booked during that promotion got the benefits. The small print said that two of the benefits could be used as OBC for anything.

[caribill]

We received the same thing but there was no assigned restaurant or time. We picked Portofino's which was excellent and could pick the date & time that we wanted.

 

On Princess?

[Pam in CA]

First let me say, I love Princess:) But, I find the "3 for free" promo that Princess offers rather insulting when you compare it to Celebrity's "1-2-3 Go" promo:(

 

Don't flame me it's just my opinion.

Opinions are good but reality is better.

 

On the other hand, Princess allows TAs to discount fares so let's say you are paying 10-20% less than the Princess fare price plus getting a nice OBC and perks and still get the "3 for Free," that makes it a pretty good deal. And unlike Celebrity, all OBC can be combined regardless of source. It's just a different way of doing business. I'd much rather pay less and get a ton of OBC. For instance, on my September cruise, I'll have $650 in OBC and I'm paying over $1K less than the current Princess pricing.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Pam in CA

[sherylc]

Thanks for all the replies (9 days and counting until our Alaska cruise on the Star!) We got the 3 for free as a promotion in addition to our travel agent lowering price, giving us an additional $175 OBC per cabin for a total of $350 AND TA gave us prepaid tips. Seems like a good deal to me. Even better if we can use the $50 per person "shore excurion credit" for something else on board. I am also hoping we either don't get assigned a specific restaurant or can change it once on board since none of us want to go to Sabatinis, but would like to hit the steak house a few times.

Thanks again to all who responded.

Edited June 5, 2014 by sherylc

[Paula_MacFan]

We were just on the Golden last week and had the same 3 for free promo. We only spent $20 in shore excursions on the Victoria shuttle, and the remainder was applied to other charges, no hassles. Also we were given the choice to swap the $30 wine voucher for either 9 cans of soda or 10 bottles of water. You just call room service and they will do the swap, and you sign the voucher. Easy!

[windsor26]

Lanwood Could you kindly e-mail me please Your cruise sounded great Yvonne

[Colo Cruiser]

It becomes a regular OBC and you can use however you want. The dining OBC becomes a regular OBC, too.

 

It is applied to the ship board account as excursion credit but it is lumped together with the rest from the beginning. So its pretty much reg OBC from the get go.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[margob111]

I was just on the Coral last week and had the same promotion. I used the OBC for excursions. I did have a restaurant assigned but was able to change the date and time with no problem.