OBC For Excursions

[IronRobi]

On our upcoming cruise in Nov. we have $450USD in non-refundable OBC. I plan to use some of it to upgrade to unlimited internet, but beyond that we already have the Free At Sea perks with the dining package and drink packages. We're also in a spa suite so that rules out using it on the thermal suite pass. So I figure we'll use the remaining OBC on shore excursions, but we also don't want to wait until we're on board and risk the excursions that we want to do being full.

 

What I'd like to do is pre-book the shore excursions and pay for them to hold the spot on the excursion, and then refund/rebook once on board to use the OBC. I understand the rules changed a few years back where you can no longer call in to reserve your spot and just pay when you're on board. And I understand that when booking online in advance you must pre-pay for the excursion. The NCL site says that shore excursions may be cancelled without penalty up to 48hrs in advance, and I've read if cancelled on board it gets added to your account as a refundable OBC.

 

So here are my questions:

1: If we board the ship at approx. noon on day 1, and our first port of call puts us in at 9am on day 3, that's inside the 48hr window. Does this mean there would be no way to do this and that we have to just wait until we're on board and hope the excursion isn't full?

2: For the remainder of the ports of call that would be beyond 48hrs, is there a specific order that the OBC is used? I would hate to cancel the excursion in Port 2 only to have the refundable OBC used up right away when it's rebooked, leaving the same non-refundable OBC on our account.

[julig22]

Only guessing - their accounting system defies logic and doesn't even seem to be consistent between ships, so I can only give you my experience. I believe that any refunds are considered cash - not refundable OBC, so they should use your existing OBC to book anything new.

 

When they cancel an excursion, they will refund the full amount (including the $50 promo, if applicable).  Then they will add back the $50.  In theory, they are supposed to use OBC first so if you book another excursion, it should come from the OBC and you would have a credit for what was cancelled.  But whether or not that happens, I can't say.  On my last cruise I had OBC and a small credit from a cancelled excursion.  In the first couple of days on the ship, the only things I'd charged were CN certificates and cash in the casino (neither of which should be eligible for OBC), yet when I got a print-out, it showed 0 remaining balance for my OBC.  On a previous cruise, my OBC balance kept changing even when I wasn't charging anything to my card!

If you have access to your account on the TV, it should give you a balance on OBC - but that can be a moving target...Using the NCL account on your phone only gives you a total so you have to get a printout from customer service.

 

[n4w]

On 8/23/2022 at 2:08 PM, IronRobi said:

1: If we board the ship at approx. noon on day 1, and our first port of call puts us in at 9am on day 3, that's inside the 48hr window. Does this mean there would be no way to do this and that we have to just wait until we're on board and hope the excursion isn't full?

It has been reported here that the exception to the 48hr requirement is for cancellations done on day 1, since they know you can't go negative days to affect items booked for day 2.

[n4w]

On 8/23/2022 at 2:08 PM, IronRobi said:

2: For the remainder of the ports of call that would be beyond 48hrs, is there a specific order that the OBC is used? I would hate to cancel the excursion in Port 2 only to have the refundable OBC used up right away when it's rebooked, leaving the same non-refundable OBC on our account.

If refundable is applied first, I'd visit the customer service desk and ask nicely for it to be taken from non-refundable first.  

[n4w]

On 8/23/2022 at 3:35 PM, julig22 said:

I believe that any refunds are considered cash - not refundable OBC, so they should use your existing OBC to book anything new.

 

hmmmm, just spitballing here, some might say "Hi Jack!"....

 

Let's say I have FCC expiring at the end of the year, probably won't have a chance to use it all of it by then, would really hate to lose the remainder.

NCL says I can use FCC on prepaid excursions, so let's say I book a $1200 Silver Cove Suite @ GSC or a $500 dolphin adventure at one of the ports, or something else I may not end up doing.

If I cancel once on board, is this really cash? refundable OBC? non-refundable OBC? or does it turn back into FCC and not able to be used during this trip?

If it is cash or refundable OBC, I can just walk off the ship with it at the end of the cruise?  If it can't be that easy, can I take the 3% hit and cash out at the casino, and then walk off the ship with it?

 

All thoughts and considerations are welcome, any actual experience is most very welcome.

 

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, n4w said:

 

hmmmm, just spitballing here, some might say "Hi Jack!"....

 

Let's say I have FCC expiring at the end of the year, probably won't have a chance to use it all of it by then, would really hate to lose the remainder.

NCL says I can use FCC on prepaid excursions, so let's say I book a $1200 Silver Cove Suite @ GSC or a $500 dolphin adventure at one of the ports, or something else I may not end up doing.

If I cancel once on board, is this really cash? refundable OBC? non-refundable OBC? or does it turn back into FCC and not able to be used during this trip?

If it is cash or refundable OBC, I can just walk off the ship with it at the end of the cruise?  If it can't be that easy, can I take the 3% hit and cash out at the casino, and then walk off the ship with it?

 

All thoughts and considerations are welcome, any actual experience is most very welcome.

 

FCC is a different animal but if I was in that situation, and in the absence of any additional information, I'd give it a go.  Based on my assumption that the on-board accounting system doesn't know how you paid.

My cancelled excursions were pre-paid in cash - and I had a balance at the end of the cruise so they gave me the cash at the end.  So yes, it could be just that easy, assuming they handle it the same way.  In fact they insisted on the cash, wouldn't return it to my credit card.

Make sure you check the cancellation policies if you go that route - some of the more "exotic" type excursions may have a non-cancellation policy.