Using on board credit positively

[Ellen495]

Hi Again you wonderful, helpful people,

We are now in the process of booking excursions. You might remember me from the TA taking over our cruise topic. So we will have 350 on board credit each (hubby and I in Neptune) and daughter and boyfriend will have 400 total. We  booked a Skagway tour on our own. We want dog sledding (no flying) in Juneau. .The TA found us one for 580 for 3 people (left out boyfriend so far) and that seems like a lot. But that's not my question - though I welcome responses.

 

My main question is this: Should we book tours via cruise company (at least one) or will we use that money on other things on the boat? We will not buy alcohol (bringing wine). We might upgrade dinners (noordam) but don't know the cost of that so perhaps you can give us an idea. We won't buy souvenirs - do that off the boat. So what are your thoughts on that on board credit?

 

Further, can the TA book tours via the cruise now that he "owns," our cruise or would we contact the cruise company to do so if that's your best advice?

 

THANKS

Ellen 

[sevenseasnomad]

You can book your own excursions through the HAL site.  Go in through the link "Already Booked" at the top of the page.  You will need your booking confirmation # to reserve anything.  You can book dining, spa treatments, excursions, gifts and indulgences etc. 

 

As for excursions: whether you should wait to book onboard or book now is your preference.  Please be advised, though, that those tours which have a limited number of participants could sell out prior to the cruise, leaving you without an excursion.

 

If you wait to book until you arrive on the ship, do so through your concierge in the Neptune Lounge.  Those ladies will take wonderful care of you.  Likewise, should you experience a problem while onboard, let these ladies handle it for you.  You do NOT have to go to the Front Desk.  One of the nice perks of staying in a suite.

 

In our experience, dog sled excursions are expensive.  You may also want to check out private excursions.  Current prices of specialty restaurants are as followed: Pinnacle Grill $39 per person, Canaletto $19 per person, Tamarind $25 per person and Sel de Mer a la carte.  Not all restaurants are available on some ships.  You didn't mention which ship you've booked.

 

Have a lovely cruise.  Alaska is fabulous, literally jaw-dropping scenery.

[catl331]

Your Hotel Service Charge in a Neptune will use up $105 for each of you and $94.50 for each of them in a non-suite.  If you buy the Surf (mid-range) internet package that's another $100, or $140 for Premium to get streaming.  Pinnacle Grill dinners are $39 pp.  I'd spend the rest on shore excursions.

 

Yes, your TA can book ship excursions but it's not necessary for him/her to to it ... you can do it online yourself if the site functions correctly for you!

Edited October 1, 2019 by catl331

[sevenseasnomad]

Forgot to say that if you book anything prior to leaving for the cruise, take the confirmations with you just in case there's a mix-up.  This way you'll have proof you paid.

 

Also, the restaurant prices I quoted are straight off the HAL reservation site, and the price, at least for Pinnacle Grill, has increased from $35 to $39.

[catl331]

6 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

You didn't mention which ship you've booked.

She didn't say here, but it's Noordam s.b. from Seward, so no Tamarind and only a pop-up SdM if any.

 

[Ellen495]

Hi thanks! We are on Noordam. What restaurants are worth it? We love good food but happy with whatever rather than up pricing mediocre food. What service charge?  If you mean gratuities are gratuities are included. It was a perk for both us and my daughters room.  We would never wait until the last minute to book excursions we realize they will book up. My daughter is determined to dogsled. So despite the cost will do it .  TripAdvisor suggested that we use Dyea dave  to see Emerald Lake in Skagway so we book that. I see that you can add a dogsled to that excursion but I’m not sure if you get the full experience adding that on to their private tour or whether it be better to just do it in Juneau.  

 

 Are there any excursions the people have done that they would say oh it’s a must it’s a must?? Thanks for your time I really appreciate it 

[catl331]

Pinnacle Grill is very good, but I wouldn't bother with the Canaletto on just a 7-day cruise. A pop-up Sel de Mer would be very good. It would be fixed price, not ala carte, but I don't know what the price is off-hand.

 

Since your Hotel Service Charge (which some people call gratuities, but I don't regard them as such) is pre-paid and you won't be buying expensive wine you could have a lot of OBC left over unless you take expensive excursions.  If that OBC came from your TA any excess will be refunded to you.  If it came from HAL (and is therefore non-refundable) I suggest that any you can't use up be donated to the crew by increasing your HSC payments. 🙂 

Edited October 1, 2019 by catl331

[Ellen495]

Oh we are good tippers and will tip individual people with cash not OBC. OBC is from HAL.TA not helpful at All!  So okay we should book the dog sledding with credit I think! Thanks!

[catl331]

7 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

and will tip individual people with cash not OBC.

That's great, but I'm saying you shouldn't let any excess non-refundable OBC simply revert to HAL, but rather donate it to the crew HSC pool.

Edited October 1, 2019 by catl331

[Ellen495]

3 minutes ago, catl331 said:

That's great, but I'm saying you shouldn't let any excess non-refundable OBC simply revert to HAL, but rather donate it to the crew HSC pool.

I promise! 

[kazu]

52 minutes ago, catl331 said:

A pop-up Sel de Mer would be very good. It would be fixed price, not ala carte, but I don't know what the price is off-hand.

 

Pop up Sel de Mer is $49 pp.

I've enjoyed them so far and if you want to splurge, order the fruits de mer at $25 and share with the 4 of you 😉 

You'll be amazed at how fast the OBC can start to go.  And if it doesn't and it's non refundalbe then increase your OBC.  I believe on an increase you can direct it to specific crew membes if you are so incline.

[Ellen495]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Pop up Sel de Mer is $49 pp.

I've enjoyed them so far and if you want to splurge, order the fruits de mer at $25 and share with the 4 of you 😉 

You'll be amazed at how fast the OBC can start to go.  And if it doesn't and it's non refundalbe then increase your OBC.  I believe on an increase you can direct it to specific crew membes if you are so incline.

What is the pop up? Like a maybe dinner place? Any thoughts on where to dogsled in Juneau? No flying. Travel agent wants 580 for 3 people. Is that right? 

[kazu]

Just now, Ellen495 said:

What is the pop up? Like a maybe dinner place? Any thoughts on where to dogsled in Juneau? No flying. Travel agent wants 580 for 3 people. Is that right? 

The pop up Sel de Mer is a dinner different than the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner.

 

It is held in the Pinnacle Gril on a special night.

 

I will let others wiser help you with the dog sledding question - but, I suggest you log in the HAL site and see what their cost is.  That should give you a good idea.

 

I like private tours IF your travel agent is truly offering a private tour.  Hit Trip Advisor and you will soon know the prices 😉 

[Ellen495]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

The pop up Sel de Mer is a dinner different than the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner.

 

It is held in the Pinnacle Gril on a special night.

 

I will let others wiser help you with the dog sledding question - but, I suggest you log in the HAL site and see what their cost is.  That should give you a good idea.

 

I like private tours IF your travel agent is truly offering a private tour.  Hit Trip Advisor and you will soon know the prices 😉 

Oh pop up sounds great. No TA didn’t do private tour. We did ir all ourselves with some help from TripAdvisor forum. Anchorage, Denali, Seward totaling 7 days on our own no tours,

 

deya dave is a smallTour company that was recommended by trip adviser forum

 

 friends

 

i will check HAL tomorrow thanks!!

[jb008]

If you book excursions online in advanced you'll be paying credit card for them iirc.  HAL doesn't reserve the spots and add them to your shipboard bill. 

 

 

[jb008]

IF you're open to dog sledding elsewhere, I think that was offered as part of the whitepass rail and bus tour at one of the tour stops for something like an extra $60-75? It was on wheeled sleds though not snow/ice. 

 

I was fine watching the dogs and didn't mind that we didn't ride firsthand. 

 

Juneau we did the helo tour of Mendenhall and it was amazing and worth the cost imho. 

 

 

In terms of booking independent tours I felt most comfortable doing that in Alaska. Things are governed by US law, cell phones work there, and you can normally use a credit card and are dealing with properly registered *real* businesses. Unlike some of what you see down in the Caribbean and elsewhere. 

Edited October 1, 2019 by jb008

[Ellen495]

8 hours ago, jb008 said:

If you book excursions online in advanced you'll be paying credit card for them iirc.  HAL doesn't reserve the spots and add them to your shipboard bill. 

 

 

Oh so OBC is just that .. on board. Makes sense. So if I wait I may not get the excursion I want. 

 

Yes i think there might be dog be dog sledding with the Dyea dave tour in Skagway ( why does HAL call it Haines BTW?) 

 

I’m terrified of doing a flight no matter how beautiful. 

[jb008]

37 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

Oh so OBC is just that .. on board. Makes sense. So if I wait I may not get the excursion I want. 

 

Yes i think there might be dog be dog sledding with the Dyea dave tour in Skagway ( why does HAL call it Haines BTW?) 

 

I’m terrified of doing a flight no matter how beautiful. 

 

It gets confusing with the OBCs.  Some of the lines let you reserve the tours but pay onboard, HAL doesn't do that though.  They incentivize you to purchase popular tours in advance so that you use the OBC and spend some additional money on tours.

 

The tour we did in Skagway was the White Pass Rail with a bus tour to various additional places.  One of those places was an old trading post that had the sled dogs and offered sled rides.  We sailed with Princess for that trip, but the tours were pretty similar across lines from what I was seeing.  Here's a picture of the sled dogs from the Skagway stop.

 

There's tons of resources on the boards for Alaska idea.  Take a look at your options in Juneau.  Everyone's wish list will be different, but I'm not sure I'd want to use a lot of my time in Juneau for a sled dog excursion, I personally would prefer it as an add-on to a bigger excursion (e.g., Mendenhall glacier with sled dog camp visit, or White Pass Rail with a sled dog ride).  But as I said, everybody's trip wish list will be different.    

 

Here's my notes on Skagway from my trip report a few years ago (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2418088-northbound-voyage-of-the-glaciers-trip-report-may-27th-june-3rd-2017/😞

Day 5: Skagway - We did the Princess' "Yukon Expedition & White Pass Scenic Railway" which took a bus up to Caribou Crossing and Carcross, and then connected with the White Pass train back to port. The order of these will vary based on times. Bus portion was pretty, chicken bbq was a little basic, Caribou Crossing was a generally interesting tourist spot (shops, dogs, dog cart ride, mini-museum on Yukon and Royal Canadian Mounted Police in region, and stuffed animal exhibit). The train ride back was beautiful. Suggestion is to be seated on the right side for the bus tour if going UP, and the right side on the train is a little better views on the ride DOWN. We were able to stand on the platforms between train cars for pictures, but we lucked out with unseasonably warm weather that day so it was temperate enough to be out there the whole ride without gloves. I also was able to get a Princess (Shore Excursion) Best Price Guarantee refund on this excursion. I’m going to link to my separate post on that though in case that info ends up being deemed too racy to stay on the boards 😉

 

 

Back in Skagway we got a snack and drinks at the Skagway Brewery, which is about as far from the ship as you can be and still be in town - still a very doable walk for us (or there’s a public shuttle for a few bucks). It ended up raining during our walk back (the only rain for this trip!) and we were sort of shopped out at that point regardless.

 

[Mtn2Sea]

We did HAL’s dog sled excursion out of Juneau.  Only six passengers signed up for this excursion - I suspect the cost kept many people away.  We started with a brief ride to the airport, where we boarded a helicopter to fly to the Mendenhall glacier.  For us, that part of the excursion was great.  The scenery was the best of everything we saw in Alaska, which is really saying something.  After landing on the glacier, we got a short briefing on then went sledding.  The excursion was definitely one of our highlights for this cruise.

 

[DaveOKC]

Just back from Alaska with alot of OBC, so here is how we spent it:

 

2 Shore excursions - we booked an additional one ahead of time and paid for it of course with a credit card.

 

Lunch at Pinnacle Grill - cost $15 pp.  Great meal and well worth the cost IMO (sea day only and you should book early once onboard as it fills up fast).  Can only book onboard.  We also did a Pinnacle Dinner the last night at cost of $39 pp.  Do not do both the Pinnacle Lunch and Dinner on the same day IMO.

 

We sailed of out Seatlle, so we took the cruise line transfer to the airport at a cost of $29 pp.  Taxi would have been $47 (fixed rate) plus tip, so a wash and a good way to use OBC.  If you are going out of Seattle, definately use Port Valet (for can read more on this on other posts) which was fantastic - no cost and they pick up your bags right outside of your cabin the night before (just like normal) and the next time you see them will be at your home airport luggage claim.  They print your boarding passes as well, so once you get to the airport (whichever way you want of course) you walk right over to security - no checkin required!

 

We also spent a fair amount of money at the ship's shops - they had some great deals going on (75% off) since we were on the final Alaska cruise of the season - but often they have deals, so check it out.

Edited October 1, 2019 by DaveOKC

[trixiee]

Just wondering... can you use OBC in the casino?  Take all the OBC, turn them into chips, roll the dice or play a hand of poker, then cash in the chips (for cash?)

[richwmn]

1 minute ago, trixiee said:

Just wondering... can you use OBC in the casino?  Take all the OBC, turn them into chips, roll the dice or play a hand of poker, then cash in the chips (for cash?)

At one time you could, but it no longer works. When you see your on board statement, any OBC from HAL or Carnival Corp has a notation that it is not to be used for cash or casino. When the night accountant checks on the last night of the cruise (s)he will make sure that no unrefundable  credit is used in the casino

[trixiee]

Just now, richwmn said:

At one time you could, but it no longer works. When you see your on board statement, any OBC from HAL or Carnival Corp has a notation that it is not to be used for cash or casino. When the night accountant checks on the last night of the cruise (s)he will make sure that no unrefundable  credit is used in the casino

Ah!  Thanks for the clarification!  I never have enough OBC to worry about doing that anyway.

[catl331]

5 hours ago, Ellen495 said:

( why does HAL call it Haines BTW?) 

That means you dock in Haines, 15 miles south of Skagway, and have to take a transfer boat to Skagway.  Sometimes there are too many ships scheduled for the available piers in Skagway. Or there may be other reasons that I'm not aware of! 

[zelker]

16 hours ago, Ellen495 said:

deya dave is a smallTour company that was recommended by trip adviser forum

 

 

Dyea Dave is in Skagway and is fabulous.  He books out quickly so if you want to do a tour up to Carcross in the Yukon with him, I recommend contacting him sooner than later.  Oh, but I just saw you're docking in Haines so not sure you'll have enough time to take the ferry from Haines to Skagway, hook up with him for a tour, then take the ferry back to Haines … and weather and sea conditions can effect the ferry schedule too.  Unless you're in port really late, if you want to do something in Skagway, I'd suggest a ship's tour.  But Haines is beautiful so don't discount doing something there for the day either.

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by zelker