Guess I missed that

[Auntiebe]

Now you have prepay your shore excursions when you book. I know for our November cruise you had to call Shore Excursions Desk if you had the excursion credit, then just before we left for our cruise they said you could book online and get the credit.

 Well one good thing trip will be completely paid for when we go 2021

[drvmywifecrzy]

This changed in February

[Auntiebe]

Thank you drmywifecrzy

[david_sobe]

This has existed for awhile.  I remember being required to pre-pay excursions as early as 2015

[seaman11]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

This has existed for awhile.  I remember being required to pre-pay excursions as early as 2015

only on ncl?  i don't remember ever not having the option on board, my last Carnival  cruise last aug, i booked at the excursion desk onboard. 

[julig22]

3 hours ago, david_sobe said:

This has existed for awhile.  I remember being required to pre-pay excursions as early as 2015

If you had the $50 excursion credit, you could reserve by calling - and excursions were billed to your on-board account.  If you did not have the promo, you could reserve on-line but had to pay in advance. 

Policy changed just prior to all the covid stuff.  It makes it harder to use your OBC for excursions, although someone recently posted that you can use OBC by essentially rebooking the excursions onboard and get a refund once onboard.

[complawyer]

after taking 18 cruises on many and varied ncl ships, i have never had to pre pay for a shore excursion. and except for maybe 2or 3, i have never had any of the ones i wanted to take be sold out. actually, i usually book the day or night before we reach a port.

 

just lucky i guess

[All-ready2cruise]

But now, we can book the shorex we want, pay for them and receive the $50 discount. I like that, however, do we also receive the Lat. discount or do we still need to contact the onboard Cruise Next/Latitude rep onboard? 

 

Just wondering.... 

 

[mugtech]

17 minutes ago, complawyer said:

after taking 18 cruises on many and varied ncl ships, i have never had to pre pay for a shore excursion. and except for maybe 2or 3, i have never had any of the ones i wanted to take be sold out. actually, i usually book the day or night before we reach a port.

 

just lucky i guess

Took Jewel in 2019 Singapore to Hong Kong, first stop was Ko Samui after a sea day.  That first night all the excursions were sold out.  Had something to do with eliminating all excursions which included elephants because Thailand was guilty of elephant abuse.  So we did not get to see monkeys pick coconuts.  Had fun with the ladies selling mangoes and coconuts right before going into town.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, All-ready2cruise said:

But now, we can book the shorex we want, pay for them and receive the $50 discount. I like that, however, do we also receive the Lat. discount or do we still need to contact the onboard Cruise Next/Latitude rep onboard? 

 

Just wondering.... 

 

I believe you get your discount when you book, although now they take the $50, then the discount, so that's another $5 (or more depending on your level) you won't get.  But some of us use OBC to pay for excursions, so not a good change in my opinion.  Hoping that it's true that you can get your OBC back under those circumstances - it's been said that you can but not everything you read on CC is true!

[Turtles06]

7 hours ago, julig22 said:

It makes it harder to use your OBC for excursions, although someone recently posted that you can use OBC by essentially rebooking the excursions onboard and get a refund once onboard.

It makes it impossible to use your OBC when you must pay in advance.  If you cancel on board and hope to rebook using OBC, you do run the risk of an excursion being sold out. Also, the lines at the shorex desk are often quite long. 
 

It would be great if NCL would adopt the policy of other cruise lines (like Celebrity) and allow OBC to be used for pre-cruise purchases. This is especially true because, with so many perks  bundled in with the cruise price now, we find there is little to spend OBC on.

 

 

[david_sobe]

OMG

So many are on different song sheets on this thread LOL

I dont think the OP and definately myself did not mean while  BOOKING WHILE ON THE SHIP

pre-paying i.e. when you are home and book online prior to your cruise

 

Of course anything onboard is booked directly to your cruise account

 

I am sorry but I had to laugh at "I have never been asked to pre-pay excursions.  I always book the day before the port."

NCL many years ago makes you pre-pay excursions booked before you cruise.  Not talking OBC, Not talking about $50 credit either.   

 

The old days, you could book any excursion online before your cruise and you would not be billed until after you sailed.   Its been for a LONG time that you pay for excursions before you sail.

Edited June 2, 2020 by david_sobe

[david_sobe]

15 hours ago, seaman11 said:

only on ncl?  i don't remember ever not having the option on board, my last Carnival  cruise last aug, i booked at the excursion desk onboard. 

I am talking about booking excursions online prior to sailing...…..not while on board

[EllieinNJ]

When we booked our April 2020 cruise (which got cancelled) back in May, 2019 there was a promo to get an extra $50 per cabin plus the $50 from the free at sea, which we took.  That came to $100 per cabin per port.  There were 7 ports.  We called the excursion desk and reserved tours at all seven ports and was told we did not have to pay anything until after we boarded the ship.  We would also get the platinum discount as well.

[All-ready2cruise]

27 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

When we booked our April 2020 cruise (which got cancelled) back in May, 2019 there was a promo to get an extra $50 per cabin plus the $50 from the free at sea, which we took.  That came to $100 per cabin per port.  There were 7 ports.  We called the excursion desk and reserved tours at all seven ports and was told we did not have to pay anything until after we boarded the ship.  We would also get the platinum discount as well.

Yes, this is the OLD way of booking the shore excursions with the discounts.  Now, if you have a cruise booked, you can book an excursion, receive the $50 discount and (hopefully the latitudes discount, I'm platinum) and prepay for the excursion prior to boarding. 

However, if you have an abundance of OBC, you won't be able to it unless you wait until you board the ship to book your shorex. 

I can confirm that you'll receive the Lat. discount as well. 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by All-ready2cruise

[bones774]

12 hours ago, complawyer said:

after taking 18 cruises on many and varied ncl ships, i have never had to pre pay for a shore excursion. and except for maybe 2or 3, i have never had any of the ones i wanted to take be sold out. actually, i usually book the day or night before we reach a port.

 

just lucky i guess

that was the case for me also but I think since the $50 shorex credit became more prevalent some of them are being sold out quicker, esp. the lower priced ones. IMO

Edited June 2, 2020 by bones774

[EllieinNJ]

In today's uncertain cruising world, I do not think I would prepay any excursions if I can still reserve them by calling the excursion desk.  There are people from my cancelled cruise that are still awaiting prepaid excursion and gratuities refunds in addition to the total cruise refund.

[odie1024]

I sailed September 2019, called the  Shore Excursion Dept and booked my cruises and did not have to prepay.

 

[All-ready2cruise]

Right, OLD versus NEW way of booking Shore excursions

 

OLD - go online and book and pay for excursion (prior to $50 discount)

with $50 discount  -  call NCL shorex desk and book excursion. Payment not required until onboard and shorex taken. Payment reduced by $50 discount. Option 2, pre-book excursion, pay in full and receive $50 discount on your onboard account. 

 

NEW - go online, book excursion through MYNcl, automatically receive $50 discount and Latitude discount and pay for discounted shore excursion. 

 

Obviously, the option to wait until you're onboard to book using OBC would remain. 

 

Done.  

 

 

 

 

[oregonian123]

2 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Right, OLD versus NEW way of booking Shore excursions

 

OLD - go online and book and pay for excursion (prior to $50 discount)

with $50 discount  -  call NCL shorex desk and book excursion. Payment not required until onboard and shorex taken. Payment reduced by $50 discount. Option 2, pre-book excursion, pay in full and receive $50 discount on your onboard account. 

 

NEW - go online, book excursion through MYNcl, automatically receive $50 discount and Latitude discount and pay for discounted shore excursion. 

 

Obviously, the option to wait until you're onboard to book using OBC would remain. 

 

Done.  

 

 

 

 

 

I am still confused on one point.

Can you still call NCL Shorex to reserve it? 

Do you have to pay upfront if you call NCL Shorex?

[julig22]

8 minutes ago, oregonian123 said:

 

I am still confused on one point.

Can you still call NCL Shorex to reserve it? 

Do you have to pay upfront if you call NCL Shorex?

Yes, I think you can still call but you have to pay upfront.

[All-ready2cruise]

1 hour ago, oregonian123 said:

 

I am still confused on one point.

Can you still call NCL Shorex to reserve it? 

Do you have to pay upfront if you call NCL Shorex?

I'm going to call to make sure but have an idea that you'd have to pay.  I'll check. 

 

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

Yes, I think you can still call but you have to pay upfront.

Think you're right... only a phone call away. 

 

Confirmed, yes, they must be paid for when booked even if you call. 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by All-ready2cruise
update info.

[BirdTravels]

22 hours ago, julig22 said:

If you had the $50 excursion credit, you could reserve by calling - and excursions were billed to your on-board account.  If you did not have the promo, you could reserve on-line but had to pay in advance. 

Policy changed just prior to all the covid stuff.  It makes it harder to use your OBC for excursions, although someone recently posted that you can use OBC by essentially rebooking the excursions onboard and get a refund once onboard.

If you cancel onboard, you get a refund in the form of an OBC. So, it does not achieve what you want. 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

On 6/2/2020 at 4:43 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you cancel onboard, you get a refund in the form of an OBC. So, it does not achieve what you want. 

 

It actually does, since it's refundable OBC. 🤦‍♀️