Buying Shore excursions in advance with OBC

[cruisersince1986]

We are returning to cruising after a long break! We have a nice amount of OBC coming from our travel agent for our upcoming Princess cruise.

Our intent is to use the credit to book excursions. We went on the Princess to book excursions it looks like you have to pay upfront with a Credit card when we hoped to put it on our folio to use the OBC against the excursions.   
Are we out of luck with booking excursions until we board the ship or is there a way to book them in advance without prepayment on CC?
 

 

[Jetstreamer]

I booked an excursion last week for an upcoming sailing and it gave me the option to use my shareholder OBC to pay for my seat but had to use credit card for my wife (presumably as OBC is non-transferrable).

 

Go right through the process to the point of entering your credit card and see if it takes your OBC off as it did for me.  I must admit I was not expecting to have the option!

[Ken the cruiser]

From my understanding, your TA OBC will not show up into your account until embarkation day. However, SHB and military OBC as well as any other OBC issued by Princess should be posted to your account when issued and can be used to prebook excursions. 

 

Update: As referenced by @Jetstreamer, the advanced OBC issued by Princess can only be used to prebook items associated with the guest that it was issued to. For example, our Carnival shares are in my DW's name, so she gets the SHB OBC posted in her name. However, since we both are retired military, we each get military OBC post in each of our names. 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[mvaldes140]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

From my understanding, your TA OBC will not show up into your account until embarkation day. However, SHB and military OBC as well as any other OBC issued by Princess should be posted to your account when issued and can be used to prebook excursions. 

I have 3 cruises coming up for this year, and for all 3 of them TA OBC along with the others were shown before sailing, and I used them for excursions pre-departure

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, mvaldes140 said:

I have 3 cruises coming up for this year, and for all 3 of them TA OBC along with the others were shown before sailing, and I used them for excursions pre-departure

That's good to know. How far in advance of embarkation day was your TA's OBC perk added to your account? Also, was the TA's OBC evenly divided between each of the guests in the cabin or just to Person #1 on your bookings?

Edited June 14, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[geoherb]

The OBC from my TA showed up immediately. I'm still waiting for my shareholder OBC. I hear it's currently taking at least a couple of weeks for that to post.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, geoherb said:

The OBC from my TA showed up immediately. I'm still waiting for my shareholder OBC. I hear it's currently taking at least a couple of weeks for that to post.

That's definitely great to hear, as I'm assuming it was before final payment. Has this always been the case with Princess or just since cruising restarted?

 

Update: The reason I ask is because the OBC we got from our previous TA on a Jan 2020 25-day cruise wasn't available in our account until after we boarded.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[NavyVeteran]

15 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Update: As referenced by @Jetstreamer, the advanced OBC issued by Princess can only be used to prebook items associated with the guest that it was issued to. For example, our Carnival shares are in my DW's name, so she gets the SHB OBC posted in her name. However, since we both are retired military, we each get military OBC post in each of our names. 

This is true if you try to book and pay online, but it is not completely correct. A Princess telephone representative can use OBC for one passenger to pay for shore excursion for another passenger in the cabin. I get both military and shareholder OBC, so I have a lot more OBC than DW, and I've done this many times. If the telephone rep you speak to doesn't know how, speak to someone else.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

This is true if you try to book and pay online, but it is not completely correct. A Princess telephone representative can use OBC for one passenger to pay for shore excursion for another passenger in the cabin. I get both military and shareholder OBC, so I have a lot more OBC than DW, and I've done this many times. If the telephone rep you speak to doesn't know how, speak to someone else.

Good to know!

[cruisersince1986]

Thank you all for your comments. Do most TA OBC post to account before sailing? I booked with a large Cruise agency. I am about 80 days out and I don’t see it. 
 

I am still also waiting for the Shareholder benefit to book. Sent that off a few weeks ago- does it usually take this long? 

[mvaldes140]

8 minutes ago, cruisersince1986 said:

Thank you all for your comments. Do most TA OBC post to account before sailing? I booked with a large Cruise agency. I am about 80 days out and I don’t see it. 
 

I am still also waiting for the Shareholder benefit to book. Sent that off a few weeks ago- does it usually take this long? 

My shareholder form took about 2-3 weeks even though the form says 7-10 days, but regarding the TA obc, I just booked a cruise during the 3-day sale and that was shown immediately when the booking was made, but when I booked with a different TA, I had to call them 3 times and each time they said it should be on their because they submitted the form, but the third time I got a really nice person who had me wait on the line while they contacted princess about it not showing up, and then it appeared. My obc was split between the 2 people, but not the shareholder benefit

[ED49404]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That's good to know. How far in advance of embarkation day was your TA's OBC perk added to your account? Also, was the TA's OBC evenly divided between each of the guests in the cabin or just to Person #1 on your bookings?

 

19 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

This is true if you try to book and pay online, but it is not completely correct. A Princess telephone representative can use OBC for one passenger to pay for shore excursion for another passenger in the cabin. I get both military and shareholder OBC, so I have a lot more OBC than DW, and I've done this many times. If the telephone rep you speak to doesn't know how, speak to someone else.

I have the same military and shareholders OBC.  At first Princess put both in my name.  I have the military OBC in my name and since the shareholders OBC is in both our names, when I send in the statement for the shareholders OBC I make sure Princess put it in DW name now.

 

[JF - retired RRT]

24 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That's definitely great to hear, as I'm assuming it was before final payment. Has this always been the case with Princess or just since cruising restarted?

 

Update: The reason I ask is because the OBC we got from our previous TA on a Jan 2020 25-day cruise wasn't available in our account until after we boarded.

It depends on the TA. If the TA is using "credits" from Princess, it will show up immediately. If TA is paying for OBC, it won't.

Also, for those with out of balance OBC...if you call Princess, the rep can move OBC around to pay for the excursion. In other words, #1 has $500, #2 has $100 and the exursion is $200 each. The rep can adjust the OBC to pay for both. I know, because I've done it.

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, ED49404 said:

 

I have the same military and shareholders OBC.  At first Princess put both in my name.  I have the military OBC in my name and since the shareholders OBC is in both our names, when I send in the statement for the shareholders OBC I make sure Princess put it in DW name now.

 

My stock is in a IRA in my name only, so I can't change it. So I'm stuck with the $500 shareholders and military OBC both in my name. If you have joint ownership, it's definitely a good idea to split it the way you did.

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Also, for those with out of balance OBC...if you call Princess, the rep can move OBC around to pay for the excursion. In other words, #1 has $500, #2 has $100 and the exursion is $200 each. The rep can adjust the OBC to pay for both. I know, because I've done it.

The rep does not adjust the OBC - #1 retains all $500 OBC in this case. The rep adjusts the excursion charges. The excursion booked for passenger #2 is charged to passenger #1. The OBC is not moved - the excursion charge is moved.

[JF - retired RRT]

13 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

The rep does not adjust the OBC - #1 retains all $500 OBC in this case. The rep adjusts the excursion charges. The excursion booked for passenger #2 is charged to passenger #1. The OBC is not moved - the excursion charge is moved.

OK. Puts me in my place.

[ED49404]

39 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

My stock is in a IRA in my name only, so I can't change it. So I'm stuck with the $500 shareholders and military OBC both in my name. If you have joint ownership, it's definitely a good idea to split it the way you did.

As cheap as Carnival stock is right now, open a joint account and just buy or if you can transfer 100 shares.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

It depends on the TA. If the TA is using "credits" from Princess, it will show up immediately. If TA is paying for OBC, it won't.

OK, you've got me curious. What's the difference? Our last TA gave us 7.2% of our base cruise purchase price in refundable OBC. But we didn't have access to it until we boarded the ship. I'm assuming the TA gave us the OBC using some of the commission they got for booking the cruise. What are "credits" from Princess?

[JF - retired RRT]

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, you've got me curious. What's the difference? Our last TA gave us 7.2% of our base cruise purchase price in refundable OBC. But we didn't have access to it until we boarded the ship. I'm assuming the TA gave us the OBC using some of the commission they got for booking the cruise. What are "credits" from Princess?

The commission...I wasn't trying to be obtuse, just couldn't think of the correct term. I have an excuse...I'm old.

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That's good to know. How far in advance of embarkation day was your TA's OBC perk added to your account? Also, was the TA's OBC evenly divided between each of the guests in the cabin or just to Person #1 on your bookings?

Our TA's OBC does not usually show or only a small portion of it shows until we are onboard.

[cruisersince1986]

Well I just confirmed with my TA that their contribution of OBC will not appear until 24-48 hours of boarding. 🥲That is a bummer for excursion planning. 
 

[harryfat1]

Is the OBC from TA refundable?  

 

We will have 3 types of OBC on our upcoming cruise:

 

• From TA
• Shareholder Credit
• Measly Credit from Princess

 

I know the shareholder credit is non refundable (use it or lose it) and I assume the ones from Princess is in similar category but what about OBC from TA? We will have the Princess Plus package so we won't need the credit to offset the gratuities.  

 

Thanks,

 

Harry

[Ken the cruiser]

32 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Is the OBC from TA refundable?  

 

We will have 3 types of OBC on our upcoming cruise:

 

• From TA
• Shareholder Credit
• Measly Credit from Princess

 

I know the shareholder credit is non refundable (use it or lose it) and I assume the ones from Princess is in similar category but what about OBC from TA? We will have the Princess Plus package so we won't need the credit to offset the gratuities.  

 

Thanks,

 

Harry

I believe you should ask your TA that question, as I believe it depends on the contract they have with the cruise line. 

[robinbtigger]

I have a similar problem.  I have $250 coming from my TA but it won't be there until I board.  I had planned to use that on an excursion.

Would I be able to swap in the OBC on a prepaid excursion once I board?  We are doing a southbound Alaskan cruise and our first port is 3 days after we board. 

 

I thought that maybe I would cancel and re-buy the excursion.  I understand that if I cancel an excursion once onboard and before the "Closing Time for Cancellations" the money I paid for it will become OBC.  Is that OBC refundable at the end of the cruise?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, robinbtigger said:

I have a similar problem.  I have $250 coming from my TA but it won't be there until I board.  I had planned to use that on an excursion.

Would I be able to swap in the OBC on a prepaid excursion once I board?  We are doing a southbound Alaskan cruise and our first port is 3 days after we board. 

 

I thought that maybe I would cancel and re-buy the excursion.  I understand that if I cancel an excursion once onboard and before the "Closing Time for Cancellations" the money I paid for it will become OBC.  Is that OBC refundable at the end of the cruise?

Thanks for any insight!

 

I would think your plan to “refare” your excursion onboard with OBC from your TA should be doable. My suggestion is to be forthcoming with your plan with the excursion desk folks, especially if the excursion is sold out. 
 

The worry would be there might be a waiting list if the excursion is sold out and when they “cancel” it, you would not be able to rebook it and would be placed at the bottom of the waiting list. That’s why it’s good to be upfront with the excursion desk folks so they can work their magic to rebook the excursion with your TA’s OBC, regardless of it being potentially in a sold out status.

 

If successful, the refunded $$$ from the cancellation of the prepaid excursion would be refundable.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Ken the cruiser