Shipboard credit - use for excursions?

[cruisesusie]

Hi,

 

A friend told me her t/a said she could use onboard credit to pay for excursions only if she booked the excursions while she was on board. If any excursions were booked prior to the cruise, she wouldn't be allowed to use shipboard credit to pay for them. This didn't sound right to me. Does anyone know the answer. We never take ship excursions so I wasn't able to give her an informed answer.

 

Thanks,

Susan

[Treven]

Hi,

 

A friend told me her t/a said she could use onboard credit to pay for excursions only if she booked the excursions while she was on board. If any excursions were booked prior to the cruise, she wouldn't be allowed to use shipboard credit to pay for them. This didn't sound right to me. Does anyone know the answer. We never take ship excursions so I wasn't able to give her an informed answer.

 

Thanks,

Susan

BS. The excursions are merely charged to one's onboard folio. Any credits on the folio are what excursions and/or all other onboard charges are debited from. Then after the credited amount(s) are eaten up by the charges, the remainder is charged to whatever method is chosen by the cruiser.

 

Anyway, if there is an excursion that's real popular, and your friend waits until boarding to make her reservation, she'll find that the excursion is sold out!

[Gunner22aa]

On my one and only NCL cruise there were restrictions on what the credit could be used for but I can't remember exactly what they were. I didn't have OBCs on the other lines I have sailed on so I can't comment. I cruise exclusivly Princess now and have done for some years. On Princess it is good for anything. You start with X amount, a negative ballance and as you spend it decreases until you end up with Y amount always a positive amount in my case and pay them. Princess operates on a use it or loose it principle. If you fail to spend the credits in your account they disappear and are not carried forward to future cruises.

 

Hope this helps. Perhaps posting this question on the board for the line you will be cruiseing with will get you a difinative answer.

[Gunner22aa]

On my one and only NCL cruise there were restrictions on what the credit could be used for but I can't remember exactly what they were. I didn't have OBCs on the other lines I have sailed on so I can't comment. I cruise exclusivly Princess now and have done for some years. On Princess it is good for anything. You start with X amount, a negative balance and as you spend it decreases until you end up with Y amount always a positive amount in my case and pay them. Princess operates on a use it or loose it principle. If you fail to spend the credits in your account they disappear and are not carried forward to future cruises.

 

Hope this helps. Perhaps posting this question on the board for the line you will be cruiseing with will get you a difinative answer.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Others can correct but I do not recall any restrictions by Princess for use of onboard credit.

[skynight]

Book on line in advance or book on board. Charges for tours booked on line show up on your folio on the first day of the cruise. Charges for tours booked on board show on your folio when you book them. They are all added to the folio balance and when the OBC's are used up the folio becomes a positive balance. Unless specifically noted, tours can be cancelled up to the cancellation date shown on the ticket, normally but not always, 48 hours prior.

 

The TA is incorrect when it comes to Princess.

[cruisesusie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My friend is sailing on Princess - maybe her t/a had another line confused with Princess. I thought shipboard credit could be applied to anything. Thanks again. I'll let her know.

 

Susan

[Kamloops50]

Hi,

 

A friend told me her t/a said she could use onboard credit to pay for excursions only if she booked the excursions while she was on board. If any excursions were booked prior to the cruise, she wouldn't be allowed to use shipboard credit to pay for them. This didn't sound right to me. Does anyone know the answer. We never take ship excursions so I wasn't able to give her an informed answer.

 

Thanks,

Susan

On Princess OBC can be used for everything including Gratuities . I usually buy OBC to the estimated amount of my on board charges. I also prepay my gratuities as well.

[Host Jazzbeau]

These replies are correct for Princess. Since that's what I experienced on Princess, I thought everybody did it that way. Turns out Celebrity charges your credit card immediately when you book shore excursions online, so you can't use OBC on Celebrity. But you can on Princess.

[bjkTX]

12 Princess cruises and most all our excursions were paid with OBC.

[OCruisers]

On some other cruise lines what your friend told you is true.

 

It is not the case on Princess.

 

LuLU

~~~~~

[pms4104]

These replies are correct for Princess. Since that's what I experienced on Princess, I thought everybody did it that way. Turns out Celebrity charges your credit card immediately when you book shore excursions online, so you can't use OBC on Celebrity. But you can on Princess.

That also is true of Holland America.

[PunkiC]

Princess operates on a use it or loose it principle. If you fail to spend the credits in your account they disappear and are not carried forward to future cruises.

 

Hope this helps. Perhaps posting this question on the board for the line you will be cruiseing with will get you a difinative answer.

 

This is not true. if you have remaining OBC at the end of your cruise, they will make you go to the purser's office and collect the balance.

 

Of course, we almost always spend every dime, but one time we were so exhausted after a long port day that we just went back to the ship and crashed for the night, failing to go to dinner and buy the bottle of wine we had planned for our remaining OBC. When we tried to disembark, we were stopped and sent back to the pursers office to collect our balance.

[Treven]

This is not true. if you have remaining OBC at the end of your cruise, they will make you go to the purser's office and collect the balance. ... When we tried to disembark, we were stopped and sent back to the pursers office to collect our balance.

Absolutely correct. I, too, rarely have money leftover.

[skf]

Cruisesusie...you were given bad info. The excursions are always billed to your shipboard account, even if booked in advance online. Any onboard credits you have are applied to that account.

Steve

[pablo222]

This is not true. if you have remaining OBC at the end of your cruise, they will make you go to the purser's office and collect the balance.

 

This depends on the type of credit. Some can be cashed out,

and some can't.

 

Also, if the op buys something in advance, like internet minutes

-- those would be charged to their credit card when they buy.

If they buy internet minutes on board, that will be charged to

their shipboard account -- which would be covered by obc.

[vickie_bernie]

I know that Princess came out with a sale recently for Alaska cruises and the perks were upgraded cabin plus $50 on board credit to be used for shore excursions, plus dinner for two at a specialty restaurant (to be determined by the maitre d once you board). We got a flyer in the mail that said this.

 

But like many others here have said the $50 is usually applied to your on board account and they really don't note what it is specifically used for.

[Kamloops50]

This is not true. if you have remaining OBC at the end of your cruise, they will make you go to the purser's office and collect the balance.

 

Of course, we almost always spend every dime, but one time we were so exhausted after a long port day that we just went back to the ship and crashed for the night, failing to go to dinner and buy the bottle of wine we had planned for our remaining OBC. When we tried to disembark, we were stopped and sent back to the pursers office to collect our balance.

 

Our left over usually goes back to our credit card.