Shareholder OBC for pre-booked excursions

[Native Floridian 26]

Is it possible to use onboard credit earned by being a shareholder for shore excursions booked prior to the cruise? I was googling around and saw a reference that other cruiselines did not allow it, but that Princess did.

[Astro Flyer]

You can reserve shore excursions & pay for them during your cruise using any type of OBC including shareholders. You cannot use OBC to pay for anything prior to your cruise including shore excursions.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[pusywillow]

Is it possible to use onboard credit earned by being a shareholder for shore excursions booked prior to the cruise? I was googling around and saw a reference that other cruiselines did not allow it, but that Princess did.

 

Yes, you can reserve shore excursions prior to your cruise. When you get on the ship each day your charges will be listed. Your OBC will show up as a credit and be deducted from whatever you buy including the shore excursions.

 

Sue

[caribill]

Is it possible to use onboard credit earned by being a shareholder for shore excursions booked prior to the cruise? I was googling around and saw a reference that other cruiselines did not allow it, but that Princess did.

 

Most other cruise lines require any pre-booked excursions to be paid for at the time of booking and thus being before the cruise, OBC could not be used to pay for them.

 

However, any excursions booked on the ship on those other lines could have OBC used to pay for them. The problem is that if you wait until embarkation to book the excursions, they may be sold out.

[satxdiver]

Any OBC from any source is simply a credit on your ship board account. At the end of the cruise credits and charges are totaled up and any money due is charged to your credit/debit card or cash posted. Luckily Princess allows you to reserve shore excursions and pay for them once you are on the ship. So the OBC(s) can be used for specialty dining, bar purchases, automatic tip, etc while on the ship. Some OBC are not refundable if any remains at the end of the cruise - not that we have ever had a problem with that!

[paul929207]

The important thing is do not pre-pay for the excursions. As long as the cost is charged to your onboard account, any OBC can be used to pay for it.

[Native Floridian 26]

The important thing is do not pre-pay for the excursions. As long as the cost is charged to your onboard account, any OBC can be used to pay for it.

 

That is what I'm trying to confirm. Can you reserve excursions prior to the cruise without paying for them? It sounds like by your answer that you can either pay when reserving, or chose to pay once onboard, thus using the OBCs.

 

Although the shore excursions are not available for the 10/16 sailing yet, the tab for Excusions Reservations says "Prepay and reserve". I take this as though you must prepay when reserving. Is that not correct?

 

Also, how long before the cruise will they be available?

Edited September 24, 2015 by tzais01

[geoherb]

Yes, with Princess you can book your shore excursions in advance through the Cruise Personalizer on the website. You don't have to pay for them until you are on your cruise.

[skynight]

That is what I'm trying to confirm. Can you reserve excursions prior to the cruise without paying for them? It sounds like by your answer that you can either pay when reserving, or chose to pay once onboard, thus using the OBCs.

Yes, payment is NOT required when you reserve an excursion in the cruise personlizer. Just select it. The cost of the excursion will be one of the first line items listed on your onboard account. Almost all excursions can be cancelled without penalty prior to sailing, and each excursion ticket will have a cancel by date/time on it. If you cancel by that date/time the charge will be removed from your onboard account. The option to pay in advance is there for those passengers that wish to manage their cash or credit flows, sort of get off the ship with no money due.

 

Although the shore excursions are not available for the 10/16 sailing yet, the tab for Excursions Reservations says "Prepay and reserve". I take this as though you must prepay when reserving. Is that not correct?

Your assumption is NOT correct. NO payment is required as explained above. Just ignore the Pre-pay icon. Select the Browse & Reserve icon. Select the excursion you want. Click on the Reserve icon. It's that simple. You will get an immediate confirmation.

 

Also, how long before the cruise will they be available?

Probably 90 to 120 days. If your Oct 16th cruise is at the end of a season, for example the Europe season, then probably 90 before the start of the full season, which would be in this example around Feb. Keep checking.

 

See above

[denmarks]

 

Also, how long before the cruise will they be available?

 

You have a choice of prepay or to use your onboard account. There is no difference. You can cancel either the day before the excursion. Excursions are usually available about 6 months before the cruise. Sometimes later due to arrangements not being completed.

[Native Floridian 26]

Thank you everyone! That's awesome to be able to reserve without paying at the same time.