Here are some tips & instructions for booking shorex using the $50/port shorex promo

[EllieinNJ]

About saving the excursions to "favorites"...is there a folder you must activate before saving?  Every time I would tap the red heart in the upper right hand corner it says there are no favorites saved.  How do you start?

[Joken35]

On 8/13/2019 at 8:23 PM, OrcaGirl said:

 

Totally agree that it's ridiculous that NCL's site doesn't display any other shore excursions for a port once you've booked something. For what it's worth, back in January 2019 I actually submitted that as a bug to NCL's digital team because it seemed so weird, and this was the reply I got:

 

"I did review this with out IT Department and there is an issue going on where only the booked excursions shows and nothing else. They are looking into the issue because you should be able to view all the excursions available no matter what. This is not an intentional design, this is a legitimate error that is occurring and is being worked on. We apologize for the inconvenience."

 

But if it's still happening... 🤷‍♀️

Unfortunately, this “glitch in the system” is still happening. I have to go into ,y daughter account, she has not booked anything yet, to see alternatives to what my husband and I have selected. 

[Turtles06]

3 minutes ago, Joken35 said:

Unfortunately, this “glitch in the system” is still happening. I have to go into ,y daughter account, she has not booked anything yet, to see alternatives to what my husband and I have selected. 

 

I spoke to the Shorex Dept a while ago about this. It’s not a glitch. They told me the system was designed this way to keep people from booking two excursions in the same port that conflict with each other.  Well hello NCL, welcome to the 21st century. Other cruise lines have set up their reservation systems so that a big box pops up on your screen if you try to make a reservation that conflicts with another one. 

 

The workaround for NCL’s silly system is to not be logged on to NCL’s website and, in the top upper left of the home page, click on the Explore tab and select Shore Excursions from the pull down menu, and go from there.  

[WYB!]

Hypothetical;

2 Person(s) in cabin "01" have the NCL $50 shore excursion credit and visit port "A" and do the NCL excursion but not interested in excursion in Port "B"

2 Person(s) in cabin "02" have the NCL $50 shore excursion credit and visit port "A" but do not do an NCL excursion but do an NCL excursion in Port "B"
 

Cabin 01 purchases 1 ticket and cabin 02 purchases 1 ticket for the Shore excursion for both ports A & B.

 

Any thoughts?

[cloudsail]

57 minutes ago, WYB! said:

Hypothetical;

2 Person(s) in cabin "01" have the NCL $50 shore excursion credit and visit port "A" and do the NCL excursion but not interested in excursion in Port "B"

2 Person(s) in cabin "02" have the NCL $50 shore excursion credit and visit port "A" but do not do an NCL excursion but do an NCL excursion in Port "B"
 

Cabin 01 purchases 1 ticket and cabin 02 purchases 1 ticket for the Shore excursion for both ports A & B.

 

Any thoughts?

I don't think the shore excursion credit is transferrable.

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, cloudsail said:

I don't think the shore excursion credit is transferrable.

Obviously not transferable but I don't think that's the question - I think they are asking if they can use someone else's tickets.  As far as I remember, I have never been asked for id when using shore excursion tickets, so hypothetically you could probably get away with it on some excursions.  Might be a problem with "activity" excursions where you have to sign a liability waiver or produce a driver's license to drive a vehicle for example.

[WYB!]

Who benefits most or least?

 

- The passengers in cabin 01 & cabin 02
- NCL for booking an excursion
- The local tour operator for operating an excursion

- something I'm overlooking

 

Who doesn't benefit?

- something I'm overlooking

Edited October 27, 2019 by WYB!

[cruisequeen4ever]

You answered the very questions I’ve always had about this perk; thank you!

[Imalismom]

 

 

If we want to prepay for the excursions - can I prepay when I call and book?  If no, 

If I just book online, will my latitude number apply the correct discount before I pay?  if yes,

will I still see the excursion credit after I take the excursion as an OBC, or do I have to do something different to see it applied?

Edited October 27, 2019 by Imalismom

[Turtles06]

9 minutes ago, Imalismom said:

 

 

If we want to prepay for the excursions - can I prepay when I call and book?  If no, 

If I just book online, will my latitude number apply the correct discount before I pay?  if yes,

will I still see the excursion credit after I take the excursion as an OBC, or do I have to do something different to see it applied?

 

NCL should happily take your money prior to the cruise if you want to call and prepay.   I haven't booked on line, but I just did a test while logged on (coincidentally, I was just checking some shorex for an upcoming cruise), and when I put the excursion in my cart, it dropped the price 10% (Platinum discount).   

[Imalismom]

9 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

NCL should happily take your money prior to the cruise if you want to call and prepay.   I haven't booked on line, but I just did a test while logged on (coincidentally, I was just checking some shorex for an upcoming cruise), and when I put the excursion in my cart, it dropped the price 10% (Platinum discount).   

Thanks - when did you first notice excursions appearing? We have 434 days to go, and can't remember when they start showing up.

 

[Turtles06]

2 minutes ago, Imalismom said:

Thanks - when did you first notice excursions appearing? We have 434 days to go, and can't remember when they start showing up.

 

 

That's pretty far out.  They show up randomly, at no set times; not all at once, nor for all ports at once.  You just have to keep checking.  

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:31 AM, Tinyturtle22 said:

If you prepay it is refundable. I have done it dozens of times. If you don’t want to do it that way then don’t.

The Terms and Condition states that it is a non refundable credit. Either you have been lucky or the Terms and Conditions are incorrect. I don't think that I'll take my chances.

[Joanne G.]

15 hours ago, Imalismom said:

Thanks - when did you first notice excursions appearing? We have 434 days to go, and can't remember when they start showing up.

 

My cruise is late May, 2020, and excursions started showing up for booking a couple weeks ago.   Only a few options for a few of the 12 ports are available, but I will be checking regularly now.   I wish I knew whether the current choices represent all the offerings for a given port or if more will appear as time goes on.   But, I guess if I book over the phone and am not charged at the time, it should be easy to cancel if a more appealing choice becomes available.

[Turtles06]

14 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

My cruise is late May, 2020, and excursions started showing up for booking a couple weeks ago.   Only a few options for a few of the 12 ports are available, but I will be checking regularly now.   I wish I knew whether the current choices represent all the offerings for a given port or if more will appear as time goes on.   But, I guess if I book over the phone and am not charged at the time, it should be easy to cancel if a more appealing choice becomes available.

 

It is entirely possible that additional offerings for a specific port may be added, you just have to keep checking. Just be sure, when you do book something, you know how to view alternatives for that port, since they will not show up in your account once you have booked for that port. (This is discussed above.)

[EllieinNJ]

On 10/26/2019 at 4:37 PM, EllieinNJ said:

About saving the excursions to "favorites"...is there a folder you must activate before saving?  Every time I would tap the red heart in the upper right hand corner it says there are no favorites saved.  How do you start?

Does anyone know the answer?

[Turtles06]

On 10/26/2019 at 4:37 PM, EllieinNJ said:

About saving the excursions to "favorites"...is there a folder you must activate before saving?  Every time I would tap the red heart in the upper right hand corner it says there are no favorites saved.  How do you start?

 

10 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

Does anyone know the answer?

 

When you are logged in to your reservation and viewing the list of shorex for a specific port, click the heart in the photo that appears with the specific shorex you want to add to your favorites and it will be added.  After that, to see your favorites, just click on the heart in the upper right of your screen when you are logged in to your reservation.   (That heart will have a number in it corresponding to how many favorites you have added.)

[disneylover89]

5 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

Does anyone know the answer?

I favorited them while logged out and then I logged in.  Most of the time my favorites crossed over.  I did this on my computer, not my phone.

Edited October 28, 2019 by disneylover89

[ighten]

Thanks for all this info its been confusing me..

 

 have now noticed that booking online does deduct your plat discount correctly - but it still seems daft that if your logged in and it knows who you are why it cant apply the 50$ discount - think I'll just wait till were onboard and book (though again I presume the app or in cabin tv will also be useless at applying any discounts correctly) by queuing at the desk.

[Turtles06]

 

22 minutes ago, ighten said:

have now noticed that booking online does deduct your plat discount correctly - but it still seems daft that if your logged in and it knows who you are why it cant apply the 50$ discount -

 

I don't think it has anything to do with the system's capability.  It could surely be programmed to apply the promo.  But NCL has chosen not to apply the $50 promo credit to a guest's account until she takes the shore excursion, no matter how the excursion was booked.

 

Years ago, when the promo was first introduced, if you had that promo you could not book the excursion on line, you had to call the NCL Shorex Dept. and reserve the excursion.  Done that way, you did not pay anything in advance.  At some point, NCL began allowing guests with the promo to book on line.  When an excursion is booked on line, everyone pays in full for the excursion (less any Latitudes discount), promo or not.   The promo credit is applied on board.  Perhaps NCL doesn't apply the promo on line because people might re-price the cruise later, and change promos, whereas their Latitudes status does not change.  (I'm not defending NCL, just explaining.)  

 

What is truly daft is that people who are entitled to the Platinum discount and who book over the phone are told the correct price with the discount, are assured that on board they will be charged the correct price, and yet, once they get on board, are charged for the excursion without the Plat discount and have to get that corrected. 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by Turtles06

[ighten]

I see what you mean by them applying it onboard - but am I correct in thinking from reading this thread that they auto add $50 per trip to your account but as non refundable credit.

[Imalismom]

On 10/28/2019 at 6:29 AM, SouthLyonCruiser said:

 

The Terms and Condition states that it is a non refundable credit. Either you have been lucky or the Terms and Conditions are incorrect. I don't think that I'll take my chances.

In reading this , it looks like the tours are refundable

 

Refunds and Cancellation Fees

Most tours may be cancelled one day or more prior to sailing, any exceptions to this are noted in the tour descriptions on NCL.com. Tour cancellations which occur one day or more prior to sailing shall automatically receive a full refund on the credit card used to purchase such shore excursion tour, unless the tour has a more restrictive cancellation policy or unless a balance remains due to be paid on the guest’s reservation. In order to receive a full refund a guest must cancel their reservation on a shore excursion tour, one or more days prior to sailing. If a guest cancels a shore excursion tour reservation within the cut-off window (one day or more prior to sailing) a full refund shall be posted to the credit card used regardless of whether or not the individual who made the purchase is sailing. Please allow 7-10 business days for the credit to post to the credit card account. Shore excursion tours can be cancelled prior to the start of the sailing by contacting a Shore Excursion Agent at 1.866.625.1167.

In the instance that a tour cancellation is made by a guest outside of the cut-off date for such cancellations, the guest must request to cancel such shore excursion tour with the Shore Excursion Manager onboard. Once onboard, any refunds will be made to the onboard folio account of the Shore Excursion order contact person, not the original credit card used to secure the online order. This applies even in the event that shore excursions were purchased as a gift by someone who is not sailing. In the instance that at the end of the sailing, any onboard credit remains unused at the end of your sailing, such credit shall be refunded via check in the name of the Shore Excursion order contact person. Payment of the refund check will be mailed following sailing to the individual listed as the Shore Excursion order contact person.

All tours cancelled by guests less than 48 hours prior to arrival in the port where the tour is scheduled to operate are non-refundable. Please note that certain tours, such as overland tours, customized tours and tours with theater performances or special events may be subject to different cancellation fees. Check with the Shore Excursion Desk for details. If a flight departure is cancelled due to weather by the flight company in conjunction with the Shore Excursion Manager, a full credit will be provided. You can cancel a tour by returning the tour ticket to the Shore Excursion Desk and advising the staff of the cancellation. Refunds will be credited to the guest's onboard account.

It should be noted that in the instance that an online booking for a shore excursion is made and a balance remains on guest’s reservation, payment made for the online booking shall be applied to the remaining balance on guest’s reservation. In the instance a guest requests to cancel a shore excursion reservation and a balance remains due on the guest’s reservation, the online booking refund will not be made to guest until full payment of the reservation is received.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Imalismom

[EllieinNJ]

Since I have been following this topic one of my excursions have increased by $5 pp.  Better start calling.

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, Imalismom said:

In reading this , it looks like the tours are refundable

It isn't a question of whether the shore excursions  themselves are refundable...that's not an issue, it's a question of whether the $50 per port shore excursion on board credit is a refundable credit or a non refundable credit. 

[julig22]

24 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It isn't a question of whether the shore excursions  themselves are refundable...that's not an issue, it's a question of whether the $50 per port shore excursion on board credit is a refundable credit or a non refundable credit. 

Per my last on-board statement, the $50 is applied as a credit to your account at the end of the day when you take (or don't cancel) the excursion.  Which would appear to make it refundable if you had nothing to offset the amount.