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

[njhorseman]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

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.

I'm not questioning the mechanics of when and how it appears on your on-board statement...I've used the shore excursion credit on many cruises. But without any confirmation from someone who actually was in the position you've speculated about in your last sentence...actually having nothing to offset the amount... there is still an uncertainty in how it actually works because the terms and conditions of the credit specifically state it is a non-refundable credit: "Credit has no monetary value and is nonrefundable." 

 

On the other hand I can argue that in the case of a passenger who has booked and paid for shore excursions on line prior to the cruise the credit really should be refundable, simply because the passenger shouldn't potentially be penalized for paying for shore excursions in advance.

 

So the difficulty is reconciling the "nonrefundable" statement in the terms and conditions with the common sense argument that in the case of someone paying in advance the shore excursion credit has to be treated as a refundable credit in order to insure that a certain group...those who pay in advance...get full benefit of the shore excursion credit even if they have no other charges on their on board account to offset.

[julig22]

20 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 "Credit has no monetary value and is nonrefundable." 

 

I believe that is more in reference to "use it or lose it."  As in you only get a credit if you book an excursion, and if your excursion cost is less than $50, you don't get to keep the difference.

Non-refundable credits, such as CruiseNext credits, are clearly marked as non-refundable OBC

[Turtles06]

54 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I'm not questioning the mechanics of when and how it appears on your on-board statement...I've used the shore excursion credit on many cruises. But without any confirmation from someone who actually was in the position you've speculated about in your last sentence...actually having nothing to offset the amount... there is still an uncertainty in how it actually works because the terms and conditions of the credit specifically state it is a non-refundable credit: "Credit has no monetary value and is nonrefundable." 

 

On the other hand I can argue that in the case of a passenger who has booked and paid for shore excursions on line prior to the cruise the credit really should be refundable, simply because the passenger shouldn't potentially be penalized for paying for shore excursions in advance.

 

So the difficulty is reconciling the "nonrefundable" statement in the terms and conditions with the common sense argument that in the case of someone paying in advance the shore excursion credit has to be treated as a refundable credit in order to insure that a certain group...those who pay in advance...get full benefit of the shore excursion credit even if they have no other charges on their on board account to offset.

 

You have quite accurately presented the arguments.  I really doubt NCL meant "non-refundable" in the scenario you posed of someone paying in advance and having nothing on board to offset the shorex credit; as you said, it defies common sense.  And yet, the language NCL uses is "non-refundable."  It's really a shame that NCL (and other cruise lines) can't write things in a clear way.  This isn't the first time and, sadly, I'm sure it won't be the last.

 

32 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I believe that ["credit has no monetary value and is nonrefundable"] is more in reference to "use it or lose it."  As in you only get a credit if you book an excursion, and if your excursion cost is less than $50, you don't get to keep the difference. Non-refundable credits, such as CruiseNext credits, are clearly marked as non-refundable OBC

 

But that just isn't what the T&Cs say.  The statement that the credit is non-refundable is separate from "use it or lose it."  In fact, the language is not quite "use it or lose it," and it has to be read in context. What NCL says is: "Shore excursion credit is applicable for each port, including debarkation port, and is not transferable to other ports. Use the credit or lose it."

 

In other words, if you don't purchase a shore excursion in a particular port, you lose the promo credit for that port, you can't apply it to another port.  And since the promo credit is not applied to your account until after that port, there would be nothing on your account to "refund" if you haven't take an excursion in that port.  

 

Again, NCL could have done a much better job here with clarity of writing.  (And that also includes the very vague statement, debated elsewhere, about how many days you get the credit for on overnight stays. Don't get me started on that confusing language.  🤣)

  

[bren61]

I have 2 - $50 per port excursions credits with a special NCL was running which entitles me to $100 per port.  If we have a shuttle booked in Orlando for $45 for the 3 of us, do we just get the credit for $45 or do we get the $100 obc posted to our account since we booked an NCL excursion even though it wasn't the full $100?  Hope that makes sense.

[Turtles06]

3 minutes ago, bren61 said:

I have 2 - $50 per port excursions credits with a special NCL was running which entitles me to $100 per port.  If we have a shuttle booked in Orlando for $45 for the 3 of us, do we just get the credit for $45 or do we get the $100 obc posted to our account since we booked an NCL excursion even though it wasn't the full $100?  Hope that makes sense.

 

Just the $45. The promo has no cash value. 

[disneylover89]

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Just the $45. The promo has no cash value. 

I thought you could not use the promo for a transfer in home port.  I thought only when there is a homeport excursion with a drop off at the airport will the shore excursion credit be applied.

Edited November 5, 2019 by disneylover89

[julig22]

1 hour ago, disneylover89 said:

I thought you could not use the promo for a transfer in home port.  I thought only when there is a homeport excursion with a drop off at the airport will the shore excursion credit be applied.

The Orlando shuttle is an excursion, not a home port.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 11/3/2019 at 8:31 AM, Imalismom said:

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.

I don't see any mention of the $50 excursion credit from the free at sea promotions.

[Turtles06]

48 minutes ago, SouthLyonCruiser said:

I don't see any mention of the $50 excursion credit from the free at sea promotions.

 

And you wouldn't, because what that poster was quoting was the policy on cancelling a shore excursion. Whether or not the money paid for a shore excursion itself is refundable if you cancel the excursion has nothing to do with the "refundability" of the $50 shorex promo credit.  That issue has been fully covered above.  

[disneylover89]

On 11/4/2019 at 9:52 PM, julig22 said:

The Orlando shuttle is an excursion, not a home port.

Didn't realize.  Very inexpensive excursion @$15 per person.  Where does the shuttle bring you?

[julig22]

49 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

Didn't realize.  Very inexpensive excursion @$15 per person.  Where does the shuttle bring you?

Takes you to the beach

[luckyinpa]

this may have been mentioned but 6 pages is a lot to read thru

 

today i went to book dining and drink purchases and 2 excursions. it took my payment for the food and drink but not the excursions. said payment problem. however they did show up in my planner as booked. i did screen shots and called. 

 

she said because of the 50 credit i had 2 options. pay all today and i get 50 OBC or wait till im on board and it will charge me on board and take off the 50. of course i took the 2nd option and got immediate email confirmation of booking at zero dollars. 

 

i thought that the excursions had sold out as the number available went from 42 down to 29 but thats because they hide the others once you book. 

 

so to me it seems like calling is safer just for piece of mind. 

[Turtles06]

1 minute ago, luckyinpa said:

this may have been mentioned but 6 pages is a lot to read thru

 

You’re right. It’s all been covered. 😀

 

The only way to not pay for a shorex in advance when you have the promo is to call to book. 

[njhorseman]

On 12/5/2019 at 10:14 AM, Turtles06 said:

 

You’re right. It’s all been covered. 😀

 

The only way to not pay for a shorex in advance when you have the promo is to call to book. 

And by the way, if you're entitled to a discount because of your Latitudes status despite being quoted the correct discounted price on the telephone, it will still show up on your onboard account with the undiscounted price. You still have to go to the Shorex desk and have them correct the prices. It's a pain...and it's really annoying that NCL still hasn't fixed this. I assume they don't want to fix it and hope you won't notice. It's shameful.

[Turtles06]

On 12/13/2019 at 9:10 PM, njhorseman said:

And by the way, if you're entitled to a discount because of your Latitudes status despite being quoted the correct discounted price on the telephone, it will still show up on your onboard account with the undiscounted price. You still have to go to the Shorex desk and have them correct the prices. It's a pain...and it's really annoying that NCL still hasn't fixed this. I assume they don't want to fix it and hope you won't notice. It's shameful.

Paul, huge thanks to you and others who have flagged this issue. Despite being quoted the correct, Latitudes-discounted prices when I reserved our shorex by phone prior to the Gem cruise we are on now, and despite being assured that we’d automatically be charged those discounted prices on board, our onboard account showed the full, non-discounted prices. And so I had to pay a visit to the Shorex Desk on board to get this corrected. I spoke with the rep there about the problem, and he said they have no way of knowing a guest’s Latitude status, which is utter B.S.

 

I agree with you; one can only assume NCL has no interest in fixing this. 

[Arzeena]

Just returned from the Bliss. Had the shore excursion perk. This is how it worked for us:

Booked one excursion on phone with NCL prior to the cruise. Did not have to pay for it. Was reminded that I had to go to the shorex desk on board to get them to apply the 15% discount. I was told by the shorex reps that they can only do this manually.  Got that done. Excursion was charged to the room account.  After we came back from the excursion, the credit of $100 was on our account.

Booked few more excursions via the TV. Had to go down and get the 15% applied.

Booked a couple at the shorex desk on board. They applied the 15% right there.

All credit showed up very fast after the excursion.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Arzeena

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Just returned from the Bliss. Had the shore excursion perk. This is how it worked for us:

Booked one excursion on phone with NCL prior to the cruise. Did not have to pay for it. Was reminded that I had to go to the shorex desk on board to get them to apply the 15% discount. I was told by the shorex reps that they can only do this manually.  Got that done. Excursion was charged to the room account.  After we came back from the excursion, the credit of $100 was on our account.

Booked few more excursions via the TV. Had to go down and get the 15% applied.

Booked a couple at the shorex desk on board. They applied the 15% right there.

All credit showed up very fast after the excursion.

That is exactly how it works.  The problem is that when I've called to reserve my excursions, they tell me the discounted price and tell me it will be applied - absolutely no mention of contacting the shorex reps once onboard.    A simple fix but if you don't know to get it fixed, you pay full price.

[Turtles06]

Just now, Arzeena said:

Just returned from the Bliss. Had the shore excursion perk. This is how it worked for us:

Booked one excursion on phone with NCL prior to the cruise. Did not have to pay for it. Was reminded that I had to go to the shorex desk on board to get them to apply the 15% discount. I was told they can only do this manually. 

 

Interesting, since I was told the complete opposite by the three different phone reps who reserved my several shore excursions pre-cruise. Each one assured me the Latitudes discount would be applied automatically. In fact, one rep said that the discounted price we were to be charged was the only price conveyed to the ship with our booking. She also told me that the landside Shore Excursions Dept has sent memos to the ships about this on-going failure to charge the correct price on board. 

 

NCL needs to fix this. There’s typically a line at the shorex desk on board, and guests should not have to waste their time dealing with this during a cruise.

[jaja]

15 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

 

 

NCL needs to fix this. There’s typically a line at the shorex desk on board, and guests should not have to waste their time dealing with this during a cruise.

SO very true.....

[Arzeena]

23 hours ago, julig22 said:

That is exactly how it works.  The problem is that when I've called to reserve my excursions, they tell me the discounted price and tell me it will be applied - absolutely no mention of contacting the shorex reps once onboard.    A simple fix but if you don't know to get it fixed, you pay full price.

Yes, one must make it a point to go and get the discount applied onboard. It does not get applied automatically no matter what the shorex reps say. Many people forget or do not know about it and NCL does not remind them. Wonder how much they have made over this oopsie.

[Arzeena]

23 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Interesting, since I was told the complete opposite by the three different phone reps who reserved my several shore excursions pre-cruise. Each one assured me the Latitudes discount would be applied automatically. In fact, one rep said that the discounted price we were to be charged was the only price conveyed to the ship with our booking. She also told me that the landside Shore Excursions Dept has sent memos to the ships about this on-going failure to charge the correct price on board. 

 

NCL needs to fix this. There’s typically a line at the shorex desk on board, and guests should not have to waste their time dealing with this during a cruise.

I know different people get different info. 😕

NCL needs to fix this, I agree!

There was a line every time we went to get this fixed. The rep on board also told us they had to do this manually. The one excursion we booked via phone, pre cruise, showed up at full price on room account night one, inspite of the rep telling us it would show discounted price. So next morning we asked why discount was not applied and was told about the manual thing and they applied it immediately.

I called shorex many times before the cruise to ask questions. Sometimes I got  Jennifer or Brianna who were great, sometimes I was stuck with a short tempered Lak_ _ _ _ _,  who was a bit of a yeller and started most sentences starting with "I am TELLLLLING you.....".

Edited January 22, 2020 by Arzeena

[BostonGal35]

i have had to go to shorex every single time i use this promo to get my latitudes discount.

[Turtles06]

11 hours ago, Arzeena said:

So next morning we asked why discount was not applied and was told about the manual thing and they applied it immediately.

 

Your initial comment, to which I had replied, made it sound as though the landside shorex folks had told you that.  Could you please clarify:  were you only told on board that the Lat discount has to be applied manually? 

[Arzeena]

39 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Your initial comment, to which I had replied, made it sound as though the landside shorex folks had told you that.  Could you please clarify:  were you only told on board that the Lat discount has to be applied manually? 

 

One rep  at landside said that the discount will be taken off on board, but you have to let them know on board because they have to do it manually. Other landside reps insisted it was automatic and the price (with discount) she quoted on phone was the price that I should see on the account onboard....that I did not see, I saw the full price. So I went to the desk on board and the lady there also confirmed the "manual application" bit.

 

I remember now that other times on other cruises long before the shore ex perks promo, when we booked an excursion on board we had to remind them about the Latitudes discount. Many times when we booked from the room TV,  it would not be the discounted price, so we had to go and get that corrected at the shore ex desk. 

 

Reps give very inconsistent info.

[cwsdks48]

On 8/26/2019 at 10:00 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

It will offset anything charged to your on board account, except the DSC.

 We book shore excursions online when they open up, receive  the $50 credit after we return from our excursion. We then use the credit to treat ourselves to wine at dinner and a drink later in one of the Lounges. Works out perfectly. Usually we  also pay for laundry and a couple of bottles of wine to keep in our room. At the end of each of our cruises we still had a credit left, which NCL refunded per paper check about 3 weeks after we returned from our cruise.