Redeeming on board credits Oosterdam July 11

[sharonann24]

Hi! We are sailing on the Oosterdam depArting from Barcelona on July 11. We have on board credit that I would like to use for excursions, but I have been told I can't do this until we are physically on board. We have previously pre booked tours but with the credit decided to wait. Will we get locked out of tours? We also have two speciality dinner reservations but can't book those either. Anyone else have this experience? These were the perks for booking early and I am hoping that I can book what we want on board that first day.

[DaveOKC]

Hi! We are sailing on the Oosterdam depArting from Barcelona on July 11. We have on board credit that I would like to use for excursions, but I have been told I can't do this until we are physically on board. We have previously pre booked tours but with the credit decided to wait. Will we get locked out of tours? We also have two speciality dinner reservations but can't book those either. Anyone else have this experience? These were the perks for booking early and I am hoping that I can book what we want on board that first day.

 

What you have been told is correct on HAL. On board credit can only be used on board and the items you book and pay for ahead of time do not qualify.

 

My advice - get on the ship as early as you can and go right to the shore excursion desk to make your reservations. Likely you will be able to get what you want, but you might not get the times. Then again, if there is alot of demand for an excursion, they often add capacity and/or times.

 

Same goes for the specialty dining, except you can just call from your cabin.

 

We do this FIRST THING and have not had a problem.

[3 on a cruise]

I am also on the Oosterdam in July and have OBC of $1000. As all tours have been Paid I have been considering freezing the graturities charge and suggesting it be offset against the OBC or possibly cancelling some tours and re booking when on board. Would this be possible

[Krazy Kruizers]

Shipboard credit can be used for your Hotel Service Charges. Depending on the length of your cruise you will be surprised at how quickly it goes

 

You may be able to cancel your excursions once on the ship -- first day only -- you will get mall your money back -- but it will become a shipboard credit -- it does not go back onto your credit card right away. You may run into a problem here. If there is a waiting list for a particular excursion, the people on that list will be taken care of first and you may not get your excursion.

 

As to waiting to book specialty restaurants once on the ship -- you may or may not get the day and time you want. Sometimes the Pinnacle fills up quickly. We had a hard time on one cruise getting the dates we wanted for our free dinners with our 5 star mariner status.

 

 

[kazu]

I am also on the Oosterdam in July and have OBC of $1000. As all tours have been Paid I have been considering freezing the graturities charge and suggesting it be offset against the OBC or possibly cancelling some tours and re booking when on board. Would this be possible

 

No need to "freeze"gratuities. The HSC (gratuities) will be deducted from your OBC automatically (disregard what HAL says - the ship just deducts all charges from your on board credit).

[3rdGenCunarder]

I would take another look at the excursions and think about how you'd feel if you didn't get them. If there are some that you'd be terribly disappointed to miss, book them now. If there are some that are just OK, or maybe there's a port where you could be happy with one of 2 or 3 choices, let those wait until you board. That strategy has worked for us in the past.

 

I can't remember which cruise line it is, but I've seen online excursions say "only 2 seats left" or something like that when the tour gets close to full. You might keep watching to see if that happens to a tour you're interested in.

 

Another factor in the gamble on waiting is competition from other ships. Check cruise timetables or what's in port to see what other ships will be with you.