Onboard credits for shore excursions

[lel5344]

Next question from Oceania newbie.

 

There are all kinds of posts re: this topic in this forum, but I confess that I really don't understand them.

Can someone please explain, in the most simplistic way possible, the best way to use onboard credits for shore excursions?

We will be the beneficiary of a significant onboard credit from our travel agent and our first thought is to add it to the $600 that Oceania offers. We are not hard liquor or soda drinkers and our wine consumption is usually only a glass a day each, so the beverage package is not a good option.

 

Thanks!

[Flatbush Flyer]

41 minutes ago, lel5344 said:

Next question from Oceania newbie.

 

There are all kinds of posts re: this topic in this forum, but I confess that I really don't understand them.

Can someone please explain, in the most simplistic way possible, the best way to use onboard credits for shore excursions?

We will be the beneficiary of a significant onboard credit from our travel agent and our first thought is to add it to the $600 that Oceania offers. We are not hard liquor or soda drinkers and our wine consumption is usually only a glass a day each, so the beverage package is not a good option.

 

Thanks!

Choose the excursions option for your O Life perk. If the O Life SBC option is $600 per cabin the tours option will instead be 6 tours per cabin (ergo basic value at $100 each). However, the allowable tours to pick from can retail for up to $199 each (and no OE or OS designation on the tour number). Thus, if you select the most expensive allowable tours that interest you, the value of the $600 perk can be almost doubled to just under $1200!

At the same time, on the first page of the shore excursions PDF (accompanies your O invoice email) and in your account on the O web (in the ship for tours section) it will tell you how many minimum tours per person you must order (including your O Life ones) to qualify for the YWYW 25% discount on any paid ones in the group. 
We pretty much always do this and then add some private tours from certain providers in certain locations.

Do not take the O Life SBC. The extra cost of O Life fare with SBC and without air is exactly the same as the O “cruise only” fare plus the value of the SBC. (It’s a “wash.” You are paying for the SBC upfront). Only the tours or booze O Life options have any real extra value.

 

I could go on but, I (and others) have posted extensive notes here on the CC O forum regarding O Life strategies, air fare, booze, Platinum Cruise etc. Use the search feature here and you’ll find every answer a newbie needs. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Flatbush Flyer

[basor]

When you go on the website to book your excursions, book what you want and then click on the cart, it will reflect the cost of your chosen excursions,then deduct any OBC you have and show final cost prior to actually purchase - very intuitive

[njhorseman]

28 minutes ago, lel5344 said:

Next question from Oceania newbie.

 

There are all kinds of posts re: this topic in this forum, but I confess that I really don't understand them.

Can someone please explain, in the most simplistic way possible, the best way to use onboard credits for shore excursions?

We will be the beneficiary of a significant onboard credit from our travel agent and our first thought is to add it to the $600 that Oceania offers. We are not hard liquor or soda drinkers and our wine consumption is usually only a glass a day each, so the beverage package is not a good option.

 

Thanks!

FYI, soft drinks, bottled water and fancy coffees are all included in your base fare on Oceania so you wouldn't be using OBC for sodas or other non-alcoholic beverages anyway.

 

Sounds like the best way for you to make use of "O Life" is by taking the shore excursion option rather than the beverage package or OBC.  You're like us...you drink little alcohol. If you take O Life OBC you're just getting back your own money because the difference between the cruise only fare and the O Life  fare is exactly the amount of OBC you would receive. By taking the free shore excursion O Life option you can generally find shore excursions that would cost more if paid for in cash than the cash value of the O Life. For example if O Life has the option of 6 free shore excursions or $600 OBC you can normally find and book a number of shore excursions that would cost more than $100 each if you paid for them via cash or OBC. So you might be able to book 6 excursions that would other wish cost $750 total if paid for in cash or by OBC. Plus the shore excursions you book count using the O Life allowance toward the number of excursions required to get the 25% discount on additional excursions you may wish to take offered under the 'Your World Collection" shore excursion program .

 

It's a bit tricky for newcomers. Hopefully I haven't made it more confusing.

[ORV]

1 hour ago, basor said:

When you go on the website to book your excursions, book what you want and then click on the cart, it will reflect the cost of your chosen excursions,then deduct any OBC you have and show final cost prior to actually purchase - very intuitive

TA OBC is not always available for that pre cruise though. OP seems to have a bunch of that. I think I'd book with no Olife. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, basor said:

When you go on the website to book your excursions, book what you want and then click on the cart, it will reflect the cost of your chosen excursions,then deduct any OBC you have and show final cost prior to actually purchase - very intuitive

Sorta intuitive. Though, if you check the YWYW button for each passenger in the cart, the prices displayed remain the retail prices! Only the total cost figure will adjust for your O Life choices (assigning the perk to the most expensive of the allowable ones in your allocation) and the 25% discount on the paid ones (as long as your total number of tours per person in the cart meets the minimum number of tours required for YWYW 25% discount on YOUR cruise.

So, if you want to check the math, you need to DIY to see if your total matches theirs.

Once you make the purchase, call O and ask for a copy of the newly created (once you’ve paid) tours pdf called Pre-Purchased Shore Excursions and Onboard Items. It shows you all the math including the freebies and YWYW prices. And, most importantly, it is based on the official O accounting record. So bring a copy with you to the cruise since it trumps anything else you’ve received (and the cruise summary you receive shortly before embarkation should match that PDF.

 

Trust me: As good/intuitive as the Cart is at the bottom line price for combined O Life excursions and total YWYW purchases, it sucks with some of the displayed prices in the Cart. For example, just the other day, I put the LaReserve Dom Perignon dinner for 2 in the Cart and it showed a price of $89/person instead of $348 [incl. gratuity]!!! I wish!!! However, when I DIYed the actual cost of all the items, the correct cost of the dinner was in that bottom line price.

 

So, again, DIY on the math and get that O PDF mentioned above (not to be confused with another doc they send called Pre-Selected Shore Excursions that sometimes can have errors! [too confusing to explain that glitch]).
 

Finally, know that if O cancels one of your OLife freebie tours while you’re aboard, your account will get a $100 (original O Life tour value) non-refundable credit regardless of how much the cancelled tour retail price was. Of course, you can replace the O cancelled tour with another allowable one up to the $199 cutoff price. And, BTW, you can always add tours onboard and get your YWYW discount used in the original pre-purchase.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Flatbush Flyer

[AMHuntFerry]

Here's my simplest process for deciding whether to do O-Life shorex or cruise only:

1) Go through the list of shore excursions THAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO DO and list them in a spreadsheet with full price, whether they qualify for O-Life shorex, and 75% price (requires a min. number of tours = YWC package; some things like executive cars are not included)

2) Prioritize each shorex for each port (A=love it!, B, C = OK)

3) Choose first choice shorex for each port and do step 4

4) Are there enough O-Life qualified shorex (e.g., 3 per person in your case)? If yes, do the three (or more on longer cruises) most expensive O-Life qualified shorex average more than $133 full price (= $100 at 75% discount)? If yes, use the O-Life shorex addition. If no, do "cruise only" fare and use the YWC 25% discount if you have enough ship sponsored shorex that you'd rather do (maybe 4 person on your cruise) than DIY.

5) Play around with other shorex that interest you (e.g., you really love that $800 shorex, but you'd be happy with the $175 O=Life qualified shorex too) and optimize to your tastes and budget.

 

Other things to consider...cancellation deadline is earlier for O-Life shorex than YWC or a la carte. If O cancels an O-Life shorex you get non-refundable SBC, but you get refundable SBC if they cancel YWC or a la carte.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Here's my simplest process for deciding whether to do O-Life shorex or cruise only:

1) Go through the list of shore excursions THAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO DO and list them in a spreadsheet with full price, whether they qualify for O-Life shorex, and 75% price (requires a min. number of tours = YWC package; some things like executive cars are not included)

2) Prioritize each shorex for each port (A=love it!, B, C = OK)

3) Choose first choice shorex for each port and do step 4

4) Are there enough O-Life qualified shorex (e.g., 3 per person in your case)? If yes, do the three (or more on longer cruises) most expensive O-Life qualified shorex average more than $133 full price (= $100 at 75% discount)? If yes, use the O-Life shorex addition. If no, do "cruise only" fare and use the YWC 25% discount if you have enough ship sponsored shorex that you'd rather do (maybe 4 person on your cruise) than DIY.

5) Play around with other shorex that interest you (e.g., you really love that $800 shorex, but you'd be happy with the $175 O=Life qualified shorex too) and optimize to your tastes and budget.

 

Other things to consider...cancellation deadline is earlier for O-Life shorex than YWC or a la carte. If O cancels an O-Life shorex you get non-refundable SBC, but you get refundable SBC if they cancel YWC or a la carte.

Excellent addition to my post above.

It really is all about making a “plan A” and doing the math.

[AMHuntFerry]

5 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Excellent addition to my post above.

It really is all about making a “plan A” and doing the math.

I like processes. My process is actually more complicated, but without a flowchart it just starts getting messy.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

I like processes. My process is actually more complicated, but without a flowchart it just starts getting messy.

Ah yes - Process - big fan here.

Also a big fan of organization and, for each cruise, I have created a two-sided, color coded excel doc that summarizes every aspect of the trip, door-to-door. Though too complicated to explain here without great detail, what I lovingly refer to as the “cheat sheet” is so much easier to reference (as needed and in a big picture format) that even DW carries one too. 

[AMHuntFerry]

12 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Ah yes - Process - big fan here.

Also a big fan of organization and, for each cruise, I have created a two-sided, color coded excel doc that summarizes every aspect of the trip, door-to-door. Though too complicated to explain here without great detail, what I lovingly refer to as the “cheat sheet” is so much easier to reference (as needed and in a big picture format) that even DW carries one too. 

Haha! My husband calls the docs I send with him on business trips (often with a day or two for fun) "pocket Kathleen". He revels in finding info faster than his app-dependent colleagues.

[MEFIowa]

21 hours ago, lel5344 said:

Next question from Oceania newbie. ... Can someone please explain, in the most simplistic way possible, the best way to use onboard credits for shore excursions? ...

Purely as for shore excursions... You'd have to price out the similar excursion that you book yourself, going directly to various excursion providers. The price differentials I've seen are horrific. O takes their cut and the excursion provider isn't discounting. So when wife and I were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 we booked all of our own excursions in advance. So easy to do on line. And each one came thru for us (whether in Cozumel, Roatan, or Santo Tomas). The O price for similar excursions wasn't close and we found so many other excursions that were far more interesting to us anyway. But to each their own.

[Flatbush Flyer]

11 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Purely as for shore excursions... You'd have to price out the similar excursion that you book yourself, going directly to various excursion providers. The price differentials I've seen are horrific. O takes their cut and the excursion provider isn't discounting. So when wife and I were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 we booked all of our own excursions in advance. So easy to do on line. And each one came thru for us (whether in Cozumel, Roatan, or Santo Tomas). The O price for similar excursions wasn't close and we found so many other excursions that were far more interesting to us anyway. But to each their own.

Not quite that simple.

 

Surely, the price of a similar private group tour can be less (even far less) costly than the RETAIL price of an O group tour (perhaps provided by exactly the same tour company).

But, in this thread, we are discussing the strategies to lessen that O retail pricing significantly.

 

We already know that, if one finds desirable O tours that are allowable O Life selections priced at $199, the value of their $100 O Life perk has been doubled- in essence reducing that O Life tour’s price tag by 50% (thus often costing less than the same/similar private tour price). 

Then there’s YWYW and the 25% discount on ANY paid O tours as long as the number of your per person tour selections meets the minimum number required on your cruise. (Fortunately, your O Life tours count towards meeting that minimum.).

Bottom line on the value -purely from a math standpoint is that your tour budget can often smile more favorably at choosing the right combo of O tours.

 

Add to this the qualifier associated with some very small remote ports (e.g., certain French a Polynesian islands) where O has contracted with the best tour companies available - leaving little in the way of the most respected tour vendors for private hire. Again, using Polynesia as an example, Bora Bora’s “Maohe Nui” lagoon tours are world famous and in such demand that “year in advance” booking is not unusual. The companies right behind “Patrick”? All contracted by O.

 

And finally, there is the single factor that many folks discount in their consideration: the time and energy it takes to plan private tours. Note that I am not talking about the occasional cruiser as I am talking about the consistent cruiser who may do multiple O cruises per year.

FWIW, I just quickly reviewed our upcoming cruises (so far) over the next 18 months and considering a total of more than 100 days that might translate to 75+ port stops, the amount of private tour research, correspondence, coordination with other cruisers, etc. begins to wear away at the enjoyment of planning (while not forgetting the TRUE cost of O tours when O Life and YWYW strategies are correctly employed.

 

Please remember that I’m not saying ONLY do O tours. What I’m saying is that the bottom line cost of a well constructed total O package of tours (O Life + YWYW) may surprise the hell out of you - particularly when you realize that many of the tours are done by the same company you are considering for the private tours!
 

And BTW, don’t think that most of the companies O contracts with do not discount their cost for an O contract. For example, though I can’t remember the actual port (Malaga?) it was interesting to see the busses lined up to go to the Alhambra. Most were from a company named Spain Day Tours (or something like that). There were 6 busses for Oceania passengers and only one for those who booked privately.

 

Speaking of busses, I do admit that we will almost never book an O tour that is labeled “panoramic” nor do we often do any that are “OE.” We lean mostly to those types of O tours that use 8-16 passenger vehicles with one guide per vehicle. 
And we often mix in the private tours (e.g., Patrick and Maohe Nui in Bora Bora, Sicily with Mario in Messina, etc) that are unmatched by other vendors.

 

Finally: Of course, even O tours require some degree of planning and some will have exorbitant retail prices. But, there’s a real value to be found in the obvious convenience of a single “vendor” and the O Life/YWYW savings (correctly done) can quickly dispel the overgeneralization about O’s “expensive” tours. And don’t forget the “icing on the cake” during these Covid era times of uncertain port consistency: Cancelled ports (and thereby, tours)? O tour booking refunds are all automatic and a list of new options is quickly provided.

 

Talk about “first world problems!”

[MEFIowa]

Though, Flatbush Flyer, the basics are simple. PRICE out your excursion BOTH by way of O and by way of what you can or might want to book directly. Only then will you know which is less expensive.

 

And NO way around the fact that IF you want to see all the potential excursions you might be able to do at a port, you'd have to do your own research.

 

But in the real world, such research usually finds you the excursion you want at the price that works best for you. Only you know how much your time is worth. (Being retired and having an MBA, I've got the time and inclination.)

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Only you know how much your time is worth. (Being retired and having an MBA, I've got the time and inclination.)

Having a PhD and two Master’s degrees (so far), I definitely respect academic achievement. 

Enjoy your cruises.

[AMHuntFerry]

One reason I booked O-tours for the Mayan coast itinerary was time constraints. Many of the Mayan ruins were a bit of a drive/fly ("all day tours"...not the Gilligan type). One private tour I looked at would not even book certain tours unless your ship was scheduled to be in port X+ hours. If on an O-tour, the ship will wait until you return, which it did at the Costa Maya stop (my husband was the last passenger back on the ship since he didn't want some of the less-agile folks to feel like they had to hurry...he's a big sweetie!).

On our next O-cruise I have no tours planned and am doing pure DIY wandering around ports. It's only 8 days in CA so more of a get away than travel (love the slow internet for truly getting away!). Interesting(?) note...the O-Life shorex is only 4 per cabin, and the YWC package does not appear to be available.

[Flatbush Flyer]

17 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

One reason I booked O-tours for the Mayan coast itinerary was time constraints. Many of the Mayan ruins were a bit of a drive/fly ("all day tours"...not the Gilligan type). One private tour I looked at would not even book certain tours unless your ship was scheduled to be in port X+ hours. If on an O-tour, the ship will wait until you return, which it did at the Costa Maya stop (my husband was the last passenger back on the ship since he didn't want some of the less-agile folks to feel like they had to hurry...he's a big sweetie!).

On our next O-cruise I have no tours planned and am doing pure DIY wandering around ports. It's only 8 days in CA so more of a get away than travel (love the slow internet for truly getting away!). Interesting(?) note...the O-Life shorex is only 4 per cabin, and the YWC package does not appear to be available.

I think it’s important to remind folks that, while O makes every effort to wait for, at least, it’s own tours that may be delayed, it does not/cannot guarantee “waiting.”

As the old saying goes: “Time and tide wait for no man.” Under certain conditions in certain locations, waiting is not an option. What is guaranteed, however, is that O will cover the costs incurred in getting you to the next port. Some private tour companies do the same. But, in either case: if the next port is four sea days away, ........

BTW: the same apples to air travel arranged by O: Delayed/cancelled flights are not O’s responsibility. O acts solely as a travel agent -selling tix, handling booking changes, etc.

[1985rz1]

Several of us has stated that the OLife selection of excursions, with the 25% YWC discount saves folks a lot of $$$ and outlined how it works on the O-site.  I just recently booked ship excursion for our Feb 2023 Caribbean trip and thought a specific example would be helpful:

 

Our trip is 12 days, with 8 days in ports.  The OLife excursion perk is 3 free per person, increasing the cruise price by $300 above cruise only.  The number of excursion to meet the YWC discount is a total of 5 per person, just 2 more than the free OLife ones.  We ended up doing 8 excursions per person.

 

 

The total per person "List Price" for the 8 excursions was $1252.

 

Our most expensive ones were $199, $189, and $179, and they were our free OLife selections.

 

After deducting them (a total of $567) from the total "List Price" cost, the remaining balance was $685 per person.

 

The YWC discount on these excursions was $171.25 per person.

 

Thus, our net cost for the 8 excursions was $513.75 per person.

 

But we need to add back in the initial cost of the OLife, $300 per person

 

So the 8 excursions with a total list price of $1252  we paid $813.75 , an over all saving savings of $438.25 or 35% per person.

 

Still expensive compared to 8 private trips?  Depends on how many are on the private trip and how the excursion itineraries compare.  

 

This is just one example, and YMMV. Hope this is helpful.

 

BTW, the O-site for booking did not work properly.  The cart failed to give the correct cost of at least one excursion and did not deduct the YWC discounts, so we had our TA do the transaction.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by 1985rz1

[lel5344]

33 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Several of us has stated that the OLife selection of excursions, with the 25% YWC discount saves folks a lot of $$$ and outlined how it works on the O-site.  I just recently booked ship excursion for our Feb 2023 Caribbean trip and thought a specific example would be helpful:

 

Our trip is 12 days, with 8 days in ports.  The OLife excursion perk is 3 free per person, increasing the cruise price by $300 above cruise only.  The number of excursion to meet the YWC discount is a total of 5 per person, just 2 more than the free OLife ones.  We ended up doing 8 excursions per person.

 

 

The total per person "List Price" for the 8 excursions was $1252.

 

Our most expensive ones were $199, $189, and $179, and they were our free OLife selections.

 

After deducting them (a total of $567) from the total "List Price" cost, the remaining balance was $685 per person.

 

The YWC discount on these excursions was $171.25 per person.

 

Thus, our net cost for the 8 excursions was $513.75 per person.

 

But we need to add back in the initial cost of the OLife, $300 per person

 

So the 8 excursions with a total list price of $1252  we paid $813.75 , an over all saving savings of $438.25 or 35% per person.

 

Still expensive compared to 8 private trips?  Depends on how many are on the private trip and how the excursion itineraries compare.  

 

This is just one example, and YMMV. Hope this is helpful.

 

BTW, the O-site for booking did not work properly.  The cart failed to give the correct cost of at least one excursion and did not deduct the YWC discounts, so we had our TA do the transaction.

 

Great information! Thank you so much. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Several of us has stated that the OLife selection of excursions, with the 25% YWC discount saves folks a lot of $$$ and outlined how it works on the O-site.  I just recently booked ship excursion for our Feb 2023 Caribbean trip and thought a specific example would be helpful:

 

Our trip is 12 days, with 8 days in ports.  The OLife excursion perk is 3 free per person, increasing the cruise price by $300 above cruise only.  The number of excursion to meet the YWC discount is a total of 5 per person, just 2 more than the free OLife ones.  We ended up doing 8 excursions per person.

 

 

The total per person "List Price" for the 8 excursions was $1252.

 

Our most expensive ones were $199, $189, and $179, and they were our free OLife selections.

 

After deducting them (a total of $567) from the total "List Price" cost, the remaining balance was $685 per person.

 

The YWC discount on these excursions was $171.25 per person.

 

Thus, our net cost for the 8 excursions was $513.75 per person.

 

But we need to add back in the initial cost of the OLife, $300 per person

 

So the 8 excursions with a total list price of $1252  we paid $813.75 , an over all saving savings of $438.25 or 35% per person.

 

Still expensive compared to 8 private trips?  Depends on how many are on the private trip and how the excursion itineraries compare.  

 

This is just one example, and YMMV. Hope this is helpful.

 

BTW, the O-site for booking did not work properly.  The cart failed to give the correct cost of at least one excursion and did not deduct the YWC discounts, so we had our TA do the transaction.

 

The “cart prices listed” glitch for YWYW has been a problem for a long time.  They’re aware of it but don’t seem to fix it since the bottom line price is correct- assuming you clicked the YWYW button for each person.

Once you’ve made your tours and other optional purchases like cooking classes and LaReserve, call O and ask for a copy of the “Pre-Purchased Shore Excursions and Onboard Items.PDF” 

It shows all the math.

[1985rz1]

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The “cart prices listed” glitch for YWYW has been a problem for a long time.  They’re aware of it but don’t seem to fix it since the bottom line price is correct- assuming you clicked the YWYW button for each person.

Once you’ve made your tours and other optional purchases like cooking classes and LaReserve, call O and ask for a copy of the “Pre-Purchased Shore Excursions and Onboard Items.PDF” 

It shows all the math.

I did click both buttons and the bottom line was still incorrect...even on the checkout page.  It did the OLife credit properly in the total but not in the listing of individual excursions.

Edited March 16, 2022 by 1985rz1

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

I did click both buttons and the bottom line was still incorrect...even on the checkout page.  It did the OLife credit properly in the total but not in the listing of individual excursions.

Did you do the math yourself for the non O Life?

Did you call and book over the phone? That’s what I do when the numbers don’t jive.

[1985rz1]

46 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Did you do the math yourself for the non O Life?

Did you call and book over the phone? That’s what I do when the numbers don’t jive.

Of course I did the math myself...with OLife and without.  Do you think I am stupid?  Then, I called my TA and she booked it, with the correct amounts.  I said that in my original post.

Edited March 17, 2022 by 1985rz1

[Flatbush Flyer]

12 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Of course I did the math myself...with OLife and without.  Do you think I am stupid?  Then, I called my TA and she booked it, with the correct amounts.  I said that in my original post.

Wasn’t giving you a hard time. Just making sure folks who read this thread understand that, due to the cart glitches, it is important to do the math yourself to see that it’s bottom line is the same as yours.

And, while some folks want their TA to handle it, my preference on this item is to call O direct.

[MEFIowa]

21 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

... The OLife excursion perk is 3 free per person, increasing the cruise price by $300 above cruise only. ... But we need to add back in the initial cost of the OLife, $300 per person....

That fascinating O math where spending $300 per is "free". Their definition of "free" and my definition of "free" differ in regard to that $300 pp.