Onboard credit will not be accepted for pre-reservations

[Astro Flyer]

Cassandra,

Princess likely won't 'tell' individual passengers other than when you go to book Excursions for cruises occurring after the April/May timeframe, you will only see prepay options. No payment, no excursion booking. I'm sure that the boards will be full of remarks confirming this when the summer cruises open for excursion bookings, probably by February or March if not before.

 

As for the casino option, you put down the $400 from your onboard account balance, not actual cash. Play a bit, then cash out. You get cash out from your OBC in. I expect to see this being used much more frequently. I just hope that option does not disappear, too in the future.

 

If it does, I will be booking only cruises with price reductions rather than package deals such as Sip And Sail or 3 for Free.

The problem is the option to get a good net price without OBC is now extremely rare for cruises we consider & it continues to get more difficult to use for tours & for specialty dining.

 

The new tour FAQs states that "You can book your shore excursion with Cruise Personalizer® from approximately 180 days before travel, and up to 5 days before you depart". That's earlier than the previous 90-120 day window so we may begin to see new threads from those who are also upset about the new tour rules sooner than later.

[Astro Flyer]

Yes ok it is there, but who really goes and reads that once you have been on several years. I remember when they changed the smoking policy we got an email and I believe something showed up in their announcements area...this seems to have been done on the sly with no real announcement being made in a spot that people would readily see it. I know I don't frequent the FAQS page as I have been on so many I know what to do..only became aware as I was perusing CC. Just saying I think Princess could have done a better job at announcing that.

I completely agree with you about Princess routinely doing a poor job notifying passengers about changes & when they do too often they contain conflicting information resulting in more questions than answers.

 

They've even screwed up announcements about things they perceive as positive changes & by not making an announcement for the tour (and specialty restaurant) changes, they're obviously not in a hurry to have passengers learn about changes that adversely affect many passengers. Instead they only notify TAs & do not educate the Princess CSRs & agents about the change. I think they're in no hurry for passengers to learn about these negative changes & thus there's no press release nor is it touted on their home page.

 

Why tout becoming a follower of other cruise lines by taking away a benefit & that Princess is no longer a cruise industry leader?

Edited November 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[cruzrbachoua]

Yup so true and they are even trying to look like other lines with the designs on the new ships and the new hull paint..blah. Maybe if we all whine loud enough they wont make the change...sort of like they brought back the center staircase on the Royal...perhaps if we all send Princess our thoughts this might make a difference..we can hope or dream. Who wants to be the same as the others...stand out Princess, be different....

[oskidunker]

I can get better prices and more personalized itineraries by booking with local people.There might be a few instances, like Russia, where you still might want to book with Princess.

 

Be sure the local operators will refund your deposit if the ship does not dock.. If they won' t, I'll book at the pier when we arrive.

 

Usually the onboard credit prices become a bad deal once they start reducing the price of the cruise closer to sailing. Have been through this many times and always end up canceling and rebooking at a lower price without the onboard credits. I guess it is possible that that won't happen.

 

Maybe a great elite perk might be the ability to book excursions without paying in advance.

Edited November 14, 2016 by oskidunker

[RDC1]

I completely agree with you about Princess routinely doing a poor job notifying passengers about changes & when they do too often they contain conflicting information resulting in more questions than answers.

 

They've even screwed up announcements about things they perceive as positive changes & by not making an announcement for the tour (and specialty restaurant) changes, they're obviously not in a hurry to have passengers learn about changes that adversely affect many passengers. Instead they only notify TAs & do not educate the Princess CSRs & agents about the change. I think they're in no hurry for passengers to learn about these negative changes & thus there's no press release nor is it touted on their home page.

 

Why tout becoming a follower of other cruise lines by taking away a benefit & that Princess is no longer a cruise industry leader?

 

From their point of view, easier to deal with customers as individuals that having the reaction magnify by many people reacting to the news at the same time. Especially they can always say that the excursions (and information) were available before final payment dates.

[Astro Flyer]

From their point of view, easier to deal with customers as individuals that having the reaction magnify by many people reacting to the news at the same time. Especially they can always say that the excursions (and information) were available before final payment dates.

That's all true & while it's better for Princess, it's worse for their customers.

 

If they know that changes will be popular with most passengers they tout the changes; if they know it'll be unpopular with many passengers they try to keep it a secret until it's absolutely necessary to inform us.

[cruzrbachoua]

Dumb question...on topic sorta...DH was going to buy ginger ale to bring on the ship as he couldn't recall if they had any on ship...since now we have excess obc I am thinking he should just buy it on ship...so does anyone know for sure if they offer ginger ale? That is what helps settle his stomach when his eyes are bigger than the tummy and eats his way through the day...lol. We have seen bottle of tonic water but cant recall ginger ale?

[Astro Flyer]

Dumb question...on topic sorta...DH was going to buy ginger ale to bring on the ship as he couldn't recall if they had any on ship...since now we have excess obc I am thinking he should just buy it on ship...so does anyone know for sure if they offer ginger ale? That is what helps settle his stomach when his eyes are bigger than the tummy and eats his way through the day...lol. We have seen bottle of tonic water but cant recall ginger ale?

I don't think there are any dumb questions but maybe some dumb answers. ;)

 

Checking the gifts section which you can purchase from room service & use OBC for a soda can package listed in the options...including ginger ale! It's 6 cans of soda for the same price as 5 cans...$11.50 which appears to include gratuity.

 

"Choose any six sodas listed below in any combination for the price of five: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Diet Sprite, orange soda, soda water, tonic water, ginger ale".

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-gifts-celebrations/gifts-and-services/

Edited November 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[cruzrbachoua]

Ahha...thanks... I went into the personalizer and looked at the beverage packages there...didn't think to look at that other spot in services. Learned something new today. Thanks........well there goes part of my obc.....lol. I guess we all will have to make lemonade out of lemons if princess doesn't hear our whining..lol. :rolleyes:;)

[Astro Flyer]

Ahha...thanks... I went into the personalizer and looked at the beverage packages there...didn't think to look at that other spot in services. Learned something new today. Thanks........well there goes part of my obc.....lol. I guess we all will have to make lemonade out of lemons if princess doesn't hear our whining..lol. :rolleyes:;)

There you go & I feel the same way...not happy about the changes but it's better to have lemonade on a cruise than having lemons while sitting at home! :p

 

I'm still going to share my displeasure about making it more difficult to use OBC for tours & potentially for specialty restaurant reservations...once it awhile I've seen them actually react to unhappy passengers. ;)

Edited November 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[cruzrbachoua]

Me too. I sent an email when I thought it was just alaska. .i will see what happens when my excursions open for classic Canada or once my ta responds to me...but he is out til 21st on a river cruise in Europe. ..

 

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[Astro Flyer]

Me too. I sent an email when I thought it was just alaska. .i will see what happens when my excursions open for classic Canada or once my ta responds to me...but he is out til 21st on a river cruise in Europe.

Good for your TA...they don't get paid much & need to enjoy their working travel benefits! ;)

 

One positive change is they state the tours will be available as early as 180 days before cruises. That's better than the current 90-120 levels but it also gives those paying for tours more time to book all of the good tours leaving even fewer for those using OBC.

[cruzrbachoua]

I do check back frequently in the personalizer to see if they open the excursions as I have seen them open early in the past. Someone on my roll call said that they called princess today and was told it was still just Alaska. I posted the letter that was posted here and DH says it doesnt say just Alaska but yet it does seem to go into detail for Alaska excursions....

 

Yeah I hope he is having a great time and will hit him up for details on his cruise, then if he got the same letter once he returns on the 21st.

[caribill]

Usually the onboard credit prices become a bad deal once they start reducing the price of the cruise closer to sailing. Have been through this many times and always end up canceling and rebooking at a lower price without the onboard credits.

 

 

Princess and other cruise lines are trying to maintain "price integrity" by not making significant price reductions before a cruise starts. Instead, sales keep about the same list price and they become sales by the amenities such as OBC, free gratuities, free AIBP, etc.

 

So what you were able to do many times in the past may not be possible anymore. If lower pricing does show up close to the sail date, it will be long past the date you could cancel with no penalty and then rebook at the lower price.

[joe d]

There are only 2 things that we use OBCs for - Gratuities and Shore Excursions.

 

As far as gratuities are concerned, most of my upcoming cruises already include “Free Gratuities”.

 

As far as shore excursions are concerned we are fairly limited in our choices due to our age and health issues. I have found that many of the excursions that we do sell out early (long before the cruise). I am not prepared to thousands of dollars on a cruise and take a chance I will be able to get the shore excursions I want once I get on board.

 

If I cannot use my OBCs for either of these then they are of limited value to me and Princess will have to come up with some other incentive for me and others like me.

[gailisacruzin]

I honestly think that loyal cruisers on Princess, like myself, have chosen to be because of Princesses excursion policy. Unlike others I have booked all my excursion with Princess for years and I have cancelled only 2. One because I was sick and the other cause I injured my foot.

 

Loyal cruisers have always had this perk and the least Princess can do is allow Elite passengers to reserve their excursions without prepayment.

[cruzrbachoua]

I am just as loyal but am only platinum as I just started cruising not to long ago. I have never canceled a tour so I don't think I should be left out just because I am not elite. I find it hard to believe their motivation is because people book stuff just to book it with no intention of going...that just seems like a spin they are putting on it.

 

I sent an email to their customer relations department and hope others do as well. Perhaps if they get enough negative feedback they will drop this policy and once again be LEADERS in the industry and not FOLLOWERS.

 

They claim the trial with Alaska this year went well so that is why they moved it to fleet wide......

[cruzrbachoua]

Another thought/question....since our gratuities are already paid for with the 3ff deal and we cant do obc for them or excursions....could we add more tips to our room and say we want them to go to our waiters and stewards? Normally we would give them envelopes at the end but wonder if we could charge it to the ship account and have it go to them not into the pool like the other tips do? Also anyone recall rootbeer being on the ships? That list that listed out the ginger ale didn't mention that and that is about the only soda I drink.albeit usually the caffeine free version but any rootbeer I guess would do....

[oskidunker]

Princess has been using dynamic pricing for some time. Still, If you have a lot of credit, I would book once on the ship.

[cruzrbachoua]

Not if we want to be guaranteed to get the ones we want . Several of them denote popular and based on the cruise this year it was popular. ..wouldn't want to risk it especially not knowing when we will be there again as we usually can't do longer cruises.

 

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[janetz]

We will have $760 of OBC for our cruise in March 2018. The gratuities are pre-paid because the cruise was booked under the “3 for Free” promotion. If the OBC can only be used for onboard expenses I may try to book a couple of shore excursions when I first get on the ship. We will probably go to the Crowne Grill once. We don’t drink, so liquor purchases aren’t an answer. We are elite so we get free coffee cards in place of the minibar setup. I guess I could buy a watch or some jewelry in the shops. Anyone have any suggestions for ways to spend the OBC?

 

As for getting money from the casino; my understanding is that a separate onboard account has to be setup by placing money into it and then it can be withdrawn to get the cash on the cruise.

 

Spa? Depending on ship offerings, IPad, etc, etc :)

Edited November 16, 2016 by janetz

[janetz]

Alaska excursions, being so popular and pricey, fill up fast.

People will pay ahead, afraid of getting shut out of the excursion they want.

Annoying as it is, smart move for Princess.

 

I will just hold my breath and hope I can get the excursion I want with OBC once I board. :)

Edited November 16, 2016 by janetz

[Alaskanb]

The policy comes into effect starting with Alaska. That is not March.

I am on a late May 2017 British Isles cruise -- no need to pre-pay either for the one Princess excursion we are doing. Princess does need to clarify their statement re pre-booked, onboard booked excursions, and OBC.

On our 2016 Alaska cruise tour we had to prepay for Princess excursions on the land tour component only.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Alaskanb

[caribill]

I am on a late May 2017 British Isles cruise -- no need to pre-pay either for the one Princess excursion we are doing. Princess does need to clarify their statement re pre-booked, onboard booked excursions, and OBC.

On our 2016 Alaska cruise tour we had to prepay for Princess excursions on the land tour component only.

 

Your BI cruise is before the new policy apples world wide.

 

In 2016, Princess only had the pre-pay on Alaska itineraries from one port.

[caribill]

Another thought/question....since our gratuities are already paid for with the 3ff deal and we cant do obc for them or excursions....could we add more tips to our room and say we want them to go to our waiters and stewards?

 

Nope.

 

Only if you want to add more to the pool can you charge it to your on board account.