New policy on reserving tours before your cruise

[Near PDX]

I did a dummy booking the other day for our cruise in july to alaska do see if it asked for payment and it didn

 

I too just did a dummy booking for an excursion on our September cruise to Alaska and it didn't ask for payment or OBC.

[Cruiser411]

Another unhappy cruiser with a question - has the cancellation time frame changed as well?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

No...

[toescat]

Everyone needs to read what is posted on Princesses site. NO WHERE DOES IT STATE YOU MUST PRE PAY YOUR EXCURSIONS

[cruiseintoheaven]

Everyone needs to read what is posted on Princesses site. NO WHERE DOES IT STATE YOU MUST PRE PAY YOUR EXCURSIONS

 

It's interesting the different experiences people are posting on here. I just booked a tour for our California Coastal next March, and payment was indeed required. However, we were able to apply OBC to cover it. It's clear though that if we hadn't had the OBC, a credit card would have been required to book.

[cherylandtk]

Everyone needs to read what is posted on Princesses site. NO WHERE DOES IT STATE YOU MUST PRE PAY YOUR EXCURSIONS

Everyone needs to read the thread and realize this new requirement is being rolled out for different cruise itineraries and ships over the course of the next several months. Just because someone's cruise in 60 days does not have this requirement does not mean others are not seeing it on theirs.

 

As for what it says on the Princess site, here is a screen shot posted from another thread on this same subject that shows, indeed, what Princess says on the subject, in red:

[RDC1]

I guess two cruise lines learned from Princess's last attempt. Princess by allowing OBC to be used as they tighten up their excursion booking process. Celebrity as well in that they have loosened their to also allow OBC to be used when making advance excursion bookings. Princess has lost one of their major advantages over Celebrity, though they still retain the ability to stack OBC.

[deltaqueenie]

We are sailing the Regal on 9/1/2017- my excursions on this cruise are NOT affected...But, I tried to book excursions on our Sea Princess for 3/24/2018 and I clearly have a message "reservations not made until payment is received". You must put the excursion in "your cart", like when shopping online, and then pay for it. I find this VERY disappointing and will look elsewhere for excursions. I would never pay in advance, and always use OBC to cover excursions. Even if I can apply my OBC now- I still would wait to pay. The BEST customer service is to continue to give us a CHOICE.

[Corfe Mixture]

All this means is that I will not book my tours, or indeed any Select Dining reservations (which on our next cruise also require up front payments) until just days before the cruise at the VERY earliest.

 

This is not me reacting adversely to the policy but simply that for savvy non-US clients it is potentially very costly.

 

This is because the exchange rate for self gifted OBC is set at the time of booking and it is not until the last few weeks that it becomes clear whether or not the best policy is to gift oneself loads of OBC at the set rate or simply settle one's onboard account using a credit card and get the current rate.

 

For example in the case of our last December cruise, which was taken at a time when the exchange rate was around US$1.26 to the pound. I was able to gift myself US$1000 of OBC for just £600 (rate $1.67 to the pound) instead of around £800 if I had simply settled my account using my credit card at $1.26.

 

For our cruise this forthcoming Christmas I have the option to pre-purchase OBC, pay for my excursion (though they are not yet available) and book my select dining evenings at a rate of £1.46 (as I booked back in June 2016), when the current rate is around $1.26.

 

Whether or not the rate will move back as the Brexit issues get addressed in anyone's guess, but right now that doesn't matter either way as the $1.46 available to me until a couple of days before departure, and I can therefore keep my options open until the very last moment.

 

So, given the choice between booking things now and locking my rate into $1.46, when I can take a no-risk play on the exchange rate, there is no way I will book anything until I see how the exchange rate moves over the next eight months.

[DreamflightPat]

All this means is that I will not book my tours, or indeed any Select Dining reservations (which on our next cruise also require up front payments) until just days before the cruise at the VERY earliest.

 

This is not me reacting adversely to the policy but simply that for savvy non-US clients it is potentially very costly.

 

This is because the exchange rate for self gifted OBC is set at the time of booking and it is not until the last few weeks that it becomes clear whether or not the best policy is to gift oneself loads of OBC at the set rate or simply settle one's onboard account using a credit card and get the current rate.

 

For example in the case of our last December cruise, which was taken at a time when the exchange rate was around US$1.26 to the pound. I was able to gift myself US$1000 of OBC for just £600 (rate $1.67 to the pound) instead of around £800 if I had simply settled my account using my credit card at $1.26.

 

For our cruise this forthcoming Christmas I have the option to pre-purchase OBC, pay for my excursion (though they are not yet available) and book my select dining evenings at a rate of £1.46 (as I booked back in June 2016), when the current rate is around $1.26.

 

Whether or not the rate will move back as the Brexit issues get addressed in anyone's guess, but right now that doesn't matter either way as the $1.46 available to me until a couple of days before departure, and I can therefore keep my options open until the very last moment.

 

So, given the choice between booking things now and locking my rate into $1.46, when I can take a no-risk play on the exchange rate, there is no way I will book anything until I see how the exchange rate moves over the next eight months.

 

Have just been on to my cruise personaliser and have 3 reserved tours for my cruise in September. It says "Do you want to pay now or pay on board" I can't find anywhere that says you have to pay upfront.

[Corfe Mixture]

Have just been on to my cruise personaliser and have 3 reserved tours for my cruise in September. It says "Do you want to pay now or pay on board" I can't find anywhere that says you have to pay upfront.

 

As others have said to similar comments.... READ THE WHOLE THREAD.

 

In particular look at post #30 which includes a screen of what folks see if they are on a cruise which requires tours to be pre-paid.

 

This is new and is apparently being introduced progressively with the result that it is appearing as a requirement on some cruises but not others. Clearly it is not a requirement on your September cruise.

 

However, in the case of my December cruise, although I can't yet see the tours, it is already clear that the cruise will be subject to the new system as I am being offered the opportunity to make my Select Dining reservations in advance BUT ONLY if I pay up front at the time of making the reservation.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Corfe Mixture

[carmensmom]

As others have said to similar comments.... READ THE WHOLE THREAD.

 

In particular look at post #30 which includes a screen of what folks see if they are on a cruise which requires tours to be pre-paid.

 

This is new and is apparently being introduced progressively with the result that it is appearing as a requirement on some cruises but not others. Clearly it is not a requirement on your September cruise.

 

However, in the case of my December cruise, although I can't yet see the tours, it is already clear that the cruise will be subject to the new system as I am being offered the opportunity to make my Select Dining reservations in advance BUT ONLY if I pay up front at the time of making the reservation.

If you continue on to pay as seen in the screen shot on post #30 it will give you the option to pay with OBC

[Corfe Mixture]

If you continue on to pay as seen in the screen shot on post #30 it will give you the option to pay with OBC

 

Yup I know, but if you read my post you will see that it was a response to a person who was posting to say that Princess were not requiring them to pay up front.

 

In terms of using OBC, yup, that can be done, but that is just another form of "currency" that can be used for pre-payment.

 

As I said in post #33, my first contribution to this thread, in the case of non-US cruisers, it doesn't make sense to gift oneself any OBC until a few days before the cruise when It becomes possible to determine whether or not it is better to pre-purchase OBC or pay for excursions at the offered exchange rate or simply settle the onboard account by credit card.

 

OK some of the OBC may be offered as a 'gift' by either Princess or one's TA, but using this to pre-pay for tours only makes sense to a non-US citizen if one is sure that you will not spend more onboard than the total value of the Princess/TA gifted OBC

Edited April 11, 2017 by Corfe Mixture

[figmentdj]

My experience. Just booked excursion for January Panama Canal. They deducted my OBC (only $60) first then had to pay balance with card, before it was officially booked. This excursion sells out quickly so I was happy to get it booked.

 

BTW, I'll get more OBC as it gets closer. (CCL Bonus)

[NavyVeteran]

My experience. Just booked excursion for January Panama Canal. They deducted my OBC (only $60) first then had to pay balance with card, before it was officially booked. This excursion sells out quickly so I was happy to get it booked.

 

BTW, I'll get more OBC as it gets closer. (CCL Bonus)

 

I just looked at excursions for my January Panama Canal cruise, and they require prepayment. I haven't booked yet, but I will soon. I have $150 OBC now ($100 military and $50 FCD) that I can use, but I don't have my $100 shareholder OBC yet. I just talked to Booking Support about getting the shareholder OBC earlier to use it for shore excursion prepayment, and the representative had not heard anything about this change until I told her. When she talked with her supervisor, he said he had just received information about it and that they were looking into some potential changes to allow it to be used in advance, but there are no changes in their policy (less than 90 days in advance) now.

[oskidunker]

Has anyone booked an excursion using on board credit and then cancelled? If so, how long before the onboard credit is returned to the personalized.

[Times Prince]

Has anyone booked an excursion using on board credit and then cancelled? If so, how long before the onboard credit is returned to the personalized.

The standard has been that, as soon as you cancel and turn in the excursion voucher, a credit will be issued to your onboard account. There really has not been separate accounting for OBC vs any other payment - it is a credit/debit running account, and you pay the balance at the end of the cruise.

[oskidunker]

What voucher? are you saying the money will not be reaccredited until on the ship and have the paper voucher to turn in?

[cherylandtk]

Has anyone booked an excursion using on board credit and then cancelled? If so, how long before the onboard credit is returned to the personalized.

From what I can see, it still shows the full amount of OBC in the Credits and Payments page even though it is 'paid' in the Shore Excursions page. Haven't tried cancelling anything, but I suspect they won't actually deduct the OBC for the excursions until onboard the ship when they print out the ticket vouchers.

[oskidunker]

interesting

[cruiserjanet]

From what I can see, it still shows the full amount of OBC in the Credits and Payments page even though it is 'paid' in the Shore Excursions page. Haven't tried cancelling anything, but I suspect they won't actually deduct the OBC for the excursions until onboard the ship when they print out the ticket vouchers.

 

 

That is correct. I spent much unnecessary time with several Princess reps regarding excursions. It showed our excursion confirmed and no balance due for each one. However, in the payments and credits portion, it showed we still needed to pay the balance and had all of our OBC. The rep stated that this would all be cleared up on our shipboard account when we board the ship. She also stated they were still working out the bugs. I hope so because it's confusing.

[hollon]

My sister who is handicapped (sorta - long story), we booked an excursion for misty forge for our alaskan cruise, if she can't get up in the plane, will they give us our money back to obc, etc?

[NavyVeteran]

My sister who is handicapped (sorta - long story), we booked an excursion for misty forge for our alaskan cruise, if she can't get up in the plane, will they give us our money back to obc, etc?

 

Do not count on a refund. Princess considers it your responsibility to look at the excursion description and decide whether or not you are able to participate. If she shows up and cannot get in the plane, they cannot sell that seat to anyone else, and Princess will have to pay the tour operator.

 

For most excursions, my recommendation would be to book it in advance and then talk with the people at the Shore Excursions desk onboard as soon as you board. My wife has some walking difficulties and I always talk with them about all of our excursions soon after boarding and before the cancellation deadlines. The Shore Excursions personnel are generally knowledgeable about their excursions, and they can send a message to the tour operator to ask a question if they don't know the answer.

 

However it is different for an excursion involving flights. As stated under Excursion Cancellations in FAQ: EXCURSIONS, "Due to the nature of excursions involving hotel accommodations, flights and private vehicles, these excursions are not refundable after the closing date, which is 30 days prior to sailing."

 

You can try to ask Princess representatives ahead of time, but they are not very knowledgeable about specific shore excursions. All they have is a written description which is not much more detailed than the one online.

 

If you are not sure she will be able to board the plane, I would not recommend booking the excursion. She may be unable to go with no refund, and the cancellation may not be covered by trip insurance.

[Cruiserkenn]

My sister who is handicapped (sorta - long story), we booked an excursion for misty forge for our alaskan cruise, if she can't get up in the plane, will they give us our money back to obc, etc?

I have been on this shore excursion. I would not book it. The small plane is very difficult. There is a different Misty Fjord boat tour, and I would do that one.

 

Best wishes.

[Loonbeam]

I concur, having done that excursion it was tricky getting in the plane on the floating dock for those of us who were in good physical condition... That would not be one I would risk...

[hollon]

I concur, having done that excursion it was tricky getting in the plane on the floating dock for those of us who were in good physical condition... That would not be one I would risk...

Thank you all - I think I will cancel