Using On Board Credit for Excursions Prebooking

[Living the Dream 67]

On my next B2B cruise, I have a fair amount of OBC - $800 and want to use at least half of it for an excursion but when I go to the HAL site, if you book an excursion, you have to pay for it at the time of booking.  Of course, some of the most sought after excursions are booked before cruise.  Is it possible to book excursions before the cruise and use the OBC and if so how does that work?

[Cruise Suzy]

21 minutes ago, Living the Dream 67 said:

Is it possible to book excursions before the cruise and use the OBC and if so how does that work?

 

You cannot use OBC until onboard HAL.

 

Some people have been able to book an excursion using a credit card before boarding and then once onboard talking with the Shore Excursion personnel (NOT Guest Services) to have it refunded and charged to OBC. However, this is not guaranteed to happen on all cruises.

 

If you book pre-cruise and expect to cancel and rebook once onboard, you risk there being a waitlist - which means you go to the end of the waitlist.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Cruise Suzy

[cbr663]

You've hit on the main reason why I don't find much value with the HIA promo.  We always have OBC that we need to use on the ship.  With HAL heavily promoting HIA with its excursion credit (which can be used to book excursions prior to boarding), promoting its Navigator self-serve app and that HAL ships have gotten larger and sailing quite full, I, like you, am very hesitant to wait until I board the ship to book my cruise add-ons.  I pretty much have my planned spending, what used to be on board spending, pre-booked and pre-paid prior to stepping foot on the ship.  Any OBC that I have is used for crew appreciation and any remaining purchases while onboard.

[Living the Dream 67]

Thank you both for your guidance.  I agree, with the HIA, excursions fill up quickly before getting on ship.  With $800 of OBC and prepaid gratuties, I'll just have to figure out when I board how to spend.  I might end up on one of the lesser desirable excursions but I can do that at one or two ports and then book the "have to" excursions directly ahead just to be safe.

[Loreto]

39 minutes ago, Living the Dream 67 said:

Thank you both for your guidance.  I agree, with the HIA, excursions fill up quickly before getting on ship.  With $800 of OBC and prepaid gratuties, I'll just have to figure out when I board how to spend.  I might end up on one of the lesser desirable excursions but I can do that at one or two ports and then book the "have to" excursions directly ahead just to be safe.

I was in the same situation on my Panama Canal BtoB this year.  I ended up buying things on board that I never would have purchased, as it was use it or lose it.  As we were driving to the port, suitcase weight wasn't a concern....I even bought a HAL bathrobe, which I am enjoying.

 

If there is an excursion you really want, buy it ahead of time.

[Haljo1935]

@Living the Dream 67 if the excursion you want is still available, purchase now w/cc, then once on board, immediately go to Shore Excursions desk and tell them you want to move it from CC to OBC. They will do it for you on the spot. You will see the previous excursion purchase as a credit on the onboard statement (tv and Navigator app) and the new one one as a purchase.

It's very important you do NOT try to do this yourself through the app or tv, or go to Passenger Service, but rather go to Shore Excursions or you could well find yourself with no excursion and possibly a cancellation penalty (depending on when the excursion is scheduled).

I've done this many times on several different ships and never had an issue.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Edited July 3, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Living the Dream 67]

Haljo - I'll do it right now.  Thank you so much for the guidance.

[shipshapegirl]

We just got off our cruise in May.  I prebooked our excursions ahead of time and charged to my credit card.  Once on the ship, shore excursions told me that they or Guest Services could help me with the reimbursement to my credit card.  Just make sure after you purchase your excursions that you print your receipt that they email you and take it with you on your cruise.  We had no problem getting this done.  Have a great cruise!

 

 

[cccole]

With the HIA is the OBC different from $$$ toward shore excursions?  I just booked a shore excursion online for our January South America/Antarctica cruise and the shore excursion credits were applied at checkout, which then made the excursion free.   Just my experience,  Cherie   

[3rdGenCunarder]

44 minutes ago, cccole said:

With the HIA is the OBC different from $$$ toward shore excursions?  I just booked a shore excursion online for our January South America/Antarctica cruise and the shore excursion credits were applied at checkout, which then made the excursion free.   Just my experience,  Cherie   

 

Yes, HIA shorex credits are exactly that. If you don't buy excursions that use up all the shorex credit, it doesn't convert to regular OBC.

 

Oddly, the website says a shorex credit of $200 is for two excursions up to a value of $100 each. But people have reported using the credit for one excursion that costs up to $200. And last winter, the system let me use my $200 shorex credit to book one tour at $69 and two more at $59 each. 

 

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

...And last winter, the system let me use my $200 shorex credit to book one tour at $69 and two more at $59 each. 

 

That's been my experience, as well. Details say up to $100 each, but reality was $200 credit applied to total excursion purchase. Which, for me, was better.

[DaveOKC]

16 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

That's been my experience, as well. Details say up to $100 each, but reality was $200 credit applied to total excursion purchase. Which, for me, was better.

Just booked with my $200 pp credit from HIA.  Was able to use the entire $200 over three excursions automatically (two of the three were less than $100).  Just had to pay the difference.  Was quick and easy.