Using OBC

[calliecat]

I am sure there are several posts regarding this but I don't seem to be able to find them.

 

Question about OBC and booking excursions. We will have a significant amount of OBC for our next cruise. We want to book excursions prior to sailing but I don't believe we can use this OBC toward the purchase. Do you suggest going to the tour office and cancelling and then rebooking once on board? I would be afraid that we would go to the bottom of the list if we did that. What do you suggest? We will not have to pay for gratuities this cruise (got a deal) and because we have military, Carnival stock , Princess credit card etc......we will have a considerable amount. Not a bad thing at all. We would like to put it toward some excursions if possible.

[Astro Flyer]

19 minutes ago, calliecat said:

We want to book excursions prior to sailing but I don't believe we can use this OBC toward the purchase.

 

You can book excursions before your cruise using OBC that is in your account prior to sailing which includes Military & Shareholder OBC.  Select your tours & use the option to pay using OBC. 👍

Edited November 16, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[JF - retired RRT]

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

You can book excursions before your cruise using OBC that is in your account prior to sailing which includes Military & Shareholder OBC.

Also, if your OBC is "lopsided", i.e. DH has more than DW...call Princess to have them do the booking. The reps can move OBC around, you can't.

[calliecat]

Thank you.  I will try this.

[senior lady]

I just called Princess and had them apply the OBC to our excursions.  Very easy

 

[geoherb]

Good for you. The only OBC that doesn't show up for me on my upcoming cruise is the loyalty credit. I've already booked my shore excursions using the OBC I'm getting for being a shareholder and using my FCD.

[red4u2]

Does your on board credit from a TA show up in your personalizer to use for shore excursions?   Or will I need to call Princess?     Thank you advance!😀

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, red4u2 said:

Does your on board credit from a TA show up in your personalizer to use for shore excursions?   Or will I need to call Princess?     Thank you advance!😀

Look on your travel document in your personalizer.  Some shows, some won't 

[red4u2]

23 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Look on your travel document in your personalizer.  Some shows, some won't 

No it's not showing up...Thank you for the screen shot

[caribill]

3 hours ago, red4u2 said:

Does your on board credit from a TA show up in your personalizer to use for shore excursions?   Or will I need to call Princess?     Thank you advance!😀

 

It depends if the OBC is really from your TA or is from Princess through your TA.

 

TAs, especially with "group" bookings, get amenity points that can be used to provide amenities to the clients. These points can be used by the TA to give OBC, wine, specialty dinner, etc. Or, the amenity points can be used instead to increase the commission of the TA. This type of TA OBC, which is really from Princess, will show up pre-cruise and you can use it when booking shore excursions pre-cruise.

 

OBC that is really coming out of the TA's pocket will show up when the TA wants it to. If it shows up pre-cruise, you can use it to purchase shore excursions pre-cruise. However, some TAs do not send the money to Princess until the cruise has started, so then it can only be used for on board purchases.

[calliecat]

On 11/16/2019 at 5:36 PM, senior lady said:

I just called Princess and had them apply the OBC to our excursions.  Very easy

 

The last few times I've booked excursions prior to sailing, I've had to pre-pay.  I'll figure this out with everyone's help!

[TheRabbit]

3 minutes ago, calliecat said:

The last few times I've booked excursions prior to sailing, I've had to pre-pay.  I'll figure this out with everyone's help!

When was the last time? I know we did this in May this year and may have done it on a cruise for fall 2018.

[TheRabbit]

Just went to one of my booked cruises and did a test.

 

After adding a tour to my cart, I went to the cart to pay.

Click on the small icon for the cart 

Then click on the Pay Now icon from the drop down

Page should scroll down to another Pay Now Icon.

Click on the Pay Now Icon

You will get a display with text like this

 

Reservations in Cart	$79.95
Previously Made Reservations	$99.95
Onboard credits applied	-$79.95
Show Credits
Subtotal	$0.00

Total Balance Due$0.00

Apply Credit

 

Make sure the Onboard Credit applied box is checked. (should be default)

 

Then just click on Apply Credit.

[calliecat]

3 hours ago, TheRabbit said:

Just went to one of my booked cruises and did a test.

 

After adding a tour to my cart, I went to the cart to pay.

Click on the small icon for the cart 

Then click on the Pay Now icon from the drop down

Page should scroll down to another Pay Now Icon.

Click on the Pay Now Icon

You will get a display with text like this

 

Reservations in Cart	$79.95
Previously Made Reservations	$99.95
Onboard credits applied	-$79.95
Show Credits
Subtotal	$0.00

Total Balance Due$0.00

Apply Credit

 

Make sure the Onboard Credit applied box is checked. (should be default)

 

Then just click on Apply Credit.

I'll try this weekend.  We went to Australia in February and don't remember the icon when we booked a couple excursions. I just may have overlooked it. I really prefer booking privately but with the extra SBC I will book an excursion or two.....we can only buy so many buckets of beer!  Our gratuities are paid this next cruise and it's a 14 day cruise.  Thanks for looking.

[PaperSniper4]

On 11/16/2019 at 10:09 PM, red4u2 said:

Does your on board credit from a TA show up in your personalizer to use for shore excursions?   Or will I need to call Princess?     Thank you advance!😀

 

Not in my experience. Might be dependent on your TA. My TA's invoices always contain language like "...OBCs will show on your account on day two of the voyage...". That has always been the case in the past; I have never seen the TA's OBC show in the Princess documentation until we've sailed. Other OBCs (usually!) show up on the Travel Summary sheet Special Services header I print after my final payment.

[lstone19]

From my one recent experience, any pre-payments you make for excursions ends up acting as the purchase of refundable OBC. On your ship's account, you'll find both the charge for the excursions and a credit for the pre-payment but if you have additional non-refundable OBC obtained since the excursion payment, you'll find the excursions covered by that leaving you with a refundable balance. At least that's what I believe happened. If so, no need to cancel and rebook to get additional non-refundable OBC applied to already purchased excursions.

Edited December 7, 2019 by lstone19

[red4u2]

Thank you.    I booked the Enclave  and used my credit card because my TA OBC does not show in my personalizer.  Hoping to switch payment to OBC once on board.

[hobbyfarmer2]

OBC can be used to pay for excursions pre cruise.  Princess accounting methods for a cruise also work to our advantage. 

 

On embarkation Princess creates your stateroom account.  They enter all debits and credits from scratch including any payment credits you have already made (cash or from OBC).  The account consumes all non refundable OBC first, then refundable OBC and cash credits next.  A debit balance at cruise end will go against the credit card used.  Any credit balance left over, if refundable, will be paid to you by Princess after the cruise.  A bit confusing but it makes perfect sense.

 

There are ways already discussed to get your refund more quickly as well.

[PaperSniper4]

10 hours ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

OBC can be used to pay for excursions pre cruise.  Princess accounting methods for a cruise also work to our advantage. 

 

On embarkation Princess creates your stateroom account.  They enter all debits and credits from scratch including any payment credits you have already made (cash or from OBC).  The account consumes all non refundable OBC first, then refundable OBC and cash credits next.  A debit balance at cruise end will go against the credit card used.  Any credit balance left over, if refundable, will be paid to you by Princess after the cruise.  A bit confusing but it makes perfect sense.

 

There are ways already discussed to get your refund more quickly as well.

 

At least with my TA, the agency OBC do not show on our Princess balance sheet until we're sailed. This is not always the case however. On a Princess cruise we have booked for Feb 2020 it is already showing on the Princess web page. Odd. There is probably some reason for why it sometimes does not, but the rational escapes me. It's usually not an issue as we don't book a lot pre-cruise except for maybe some scotch for cabin delivery. And even that I can wait until we're on board to order, at least we can with Princess.

[skynight]

28 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 

At least with my TA, the agency OBC do not show on our Princess balance sheet until we're sailed. This is not always the case however. On a Princess cruise we have booked for Feb 2020 it is already showing on the Princess web page. Odd. There is probably some reason for why it sometimes does not, but the rational escapes me. It's usually not an issue as we don't book a lot pre-cruise except for maybe some scotch for cabin delivery. And even that I can wait until we're on board to order, at least we can with Princess.

My understanding. OBC that really comes from Princess and is passed through the T.A., example group OBC, shows. OBC that is gifted by the T.A. from their points or other methods does not show.

[PaperSniper4]

13 minutes ago, skynight said:

My understanding. OBC that really comes from Princess and is passed through the T.A., example group OBC, shows. OBC that is gifted by the T.A. from their points or other methods does not show.

 

Well, heck, that is exactly what is happening. Thanks for posting that.😎

[Daniel A]

I have OBC from my 3 for free booking and shareholder OBC.  I just got my beverages paid with the PBP so I won't need the OBC to subsidize the bar/coffee tab.  Can I use this OBC to book excursions through the personalizer myself or do I need to go through the T/A to do it?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I have OBC from my 3 for free booking and shareholder OBC.  I just got my beverages paid with the PBP so I won't need the OBC to subsidize the bar/coffee tab.  Can I use this OBC to book excursions through the personalizer myself or do I need to go through the T/A to do it?

 

 

Yes, you should be able to do it yourself once the OBC shows up on your account. 

[I Love Cruising 3]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I have OBC from my 3 for free booking and shareholder OBC.  I just got my beverages paid with the PBP so I won't need the OBC to subsidize the bar/coffee tab.  Can I use this OBC to book excursions through the personalizer myself or do I need to go through the T/A to do it?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

Which cruise was that for?

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I have OBC from my 3 for free booking and shareholder OBC.  I just got my beverages paid with the PBP so I won't need the OBC to subsidize the bar/coffee tab.  Can I use this OBC to book excursions through the personalizer myself or do I need to go through the T/A to do it?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

Yes, if the OBC shows in your cruise personlizer under payments & credits then you can apply it to pre-book excursions. If your OBC is not balanced, one of you has most of it and the other not enough to cover their excursions then you have to call Princess and book over the phone.