Booking Excursions & OBC Query

[janny444]

On an up and coming cruise we will have a considerable amount of OBC which I want to spend on  excursions.

If I pre book and pay  before cruise once on board will I be able to cancel and then rebook the same excursions or will I have to go to the bottom of the wait list and possibly miss out?

I know some excursions are very popular and are sold out before the cruise  hence the wanting to pre book.

 

I am also aware that if I book before the cruise I will receive my Peninsular discount but once onboard I will have to use the OBC  before I receive any discount......just wondered if anyone had done it

[david63]

Bear in mind that there may be a cancellation fee, depending on the lead time for the excursion and I don't know if this has been re-introduced post Covid but pre Covid excursions were slightly more expensive when booked onboard than when booked pre cruise.

[FangedRose]

Pre booking excursions is cheaper than on board. You still get any peninsular discount. As you say, they may be sold out. If there are certain ones you want to do I wouldn't risk it.

[bbtablet]

5 hours ago, david63 said:

Bear in mind that there may be a cancellation fee, depending on the lead time for the excursion and I don't know if this has been re-introduced post Covid but pre Covid excursions were slightly more expensive when booked onboard than when booked pre cruise.

On board>

No fee when I had to cancel due to falling up (sic) the stairs on the ship and injuring my knee. They had a waiting list so that may be why I was refunded even though within a day of the planned tour - within two days you are not entitled to a refund.

Before you go>

Yes, pay before you go and you get the discount.

Pay on board and it will use up your OBC first. However, if no OBC left you will get the discount on board and your card will be charged, of course.

 

Regarding the original question, you cannot cancel pre-paid tours within the last couple of days of setting sail and get the money back on your card - you're too late see conditions explaining this. Nor can you book them during this period, I believe.

 

Also if you do cancel prepaid and it is full, then you have shot yourself in the foot!

 

Also if you try to book again onboard you will have no priority over those still booking so it becomes a risk that your chosen tours become fully booked between the time you cancelled and tried to rebook on board.

 

All far too risky for my peace of mind - I pay before the cruise, get the discount and have done with it!

[david63]

28 minutes ago, bbtablet said:

No fee when I had to cancel due to falling up (sic) the stairs on the ship and injuring my knee.

There is no cancellation fee if the cancellation is on medical grounds - just get your tickets stamped at the medical centre

[janny444]

1 hour ago, bbtablet said:

On board>

No fee when I had to cancel due to falling up (sic) the stairs on the ship and injuring my knee. They had a waiting list so that may be why I was refunded even though within a day of the planned tour - within two days you are not entitled to a refund.

Before you go>

Yes, pay before you go and you get the discount.

Pay on board and it will use up your OBC first. However, if no OBC left you will get the discount on board and your card will be charged, of course.

 

Regarding the original question, you cannot cancel pre-paid tours within the last couple of days of setting sail and get the money back on your card - you're too late see conditions explaining this. Nor can you book them during this period, I believe.

 

Also if you do cancel prepaid and it is full, then you have shot yourself in the foot!

 

Also if you try to book again onboard you will have no priority over those still booking so it becomes a risk that your chosen tours become fully booked between the time you cancelled and tried to rebook on board.

 

All far too risky for my peace of mind - I pay before the cruise, get the discount and have done with it!

 

I was thinking along those lines ....I usually do book before cruise all excursions that I want to do.....just thought it could be a way of using the OBC......we are not big drinkers....spa etc. doesn't interest me and the shops sell " stuff" that doesn't remotely interest me 

[FangedRose]

52 minutes ago, david63 said:

There is no cancellation fee if the cancellation is on medical grounds - just get your tickets stamped at the medical centre

Agree, medical reason for cancellation (especially if accident happened on board) means no cancellation fee.

[FangedRose]

1 minute ago, janny444 said:

 

I was thinking along those lines ....I usually do book before cruise all excursions that I want to do.....just thought it could be a way of using the OBC......we are not big drinkers....spa etc. doesn't interest me and the shops sell " stuff" that doesn't remotely interest me 

Stock up on duty free for Christmas presents. Treat yourself to select dining. Upgrade your drinks to branded gin (or whatever) instead of 'house'. Get Internet package. Buy handbags, scarves or jewellery for Christmas presents (or yourself). Spending a lot of OBC can be hard work, you just have to try hard and concentrate,  you can do it! 😅

[janny444]

3 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

Stock up on duty free for Christmas presents. Treat yourself to select dining. Upgrade your drinks to branded gin (or whatever) instead of 'house'. Get Internet package. Buy handbags, scarves or jewellery for Christmas presents (or yourself). Spending a lot of OBC can be hard work, you just have to try hard and concentrate,  you can do it! 😅

I suppose if I try hard enough and give it my best shot then....possibly...I may be able to plough through it ! 😄 I was just trying to find a way of spending all the " dosh" on something that I really want to do..

[wowzz]

We will have over £1000 obc on Brittania next year. 

Looks like champagne every night is the way to go .

[janny444]

7 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We will have over £1000 obc on Brittania next year. 

Looks like champagne every night is the way to go .

If only I could....'fraid it just makes my body act unladylike 🤥

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, janny444 said:

If only I could....'fraid it just makes my body act unladylike 🤥

The mind boggles! Care to share some details. It's not "Mum dancing" is it ?

[janny444]

15 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The mind boggles! Care to share some details. It's not "Mum dancing" is it ?

Sorry Wozz but you will have to use your imagination although " mum dancing" could  be a definite happening 

[tring]

On 8/20/2022 at 8:36 AM, janny444 said:

On an up and coming cruise we will have a considerable amount of OBC which I want to spend on  excursions.

If I pre book and pay  before cruise once on board will I be able to cancel and then rebook the same excursions or will I have to go to the bottom of the wait list and possibly miss out?

I know some excursions are very popular and are sold out before the cruise  hence the wanting to pre book.

 

I am also aware that if I book before the cruise I will receive my Peninsular discount but once onboard I will have to use the OBC  before I receive any discount......just wondered if anyone had done it

 

We always look at excursions we may want to do if we have a lot of OBC.  I think it is a very good idea and better than buying stuff you do not really want, but also need to consider what else will be of use to you.  The discount really does not make a difference, because if you do not get it on shore tours, you will likely get it on something else if you do spend all that cash and more.  Using the OBS usefully, from our point of view, is the most important thing.

 

I agree with an others that any excursion(s) you would not want to miss are best booked before the cruise.  For other excursions we go onboard with the details of what we want in hand luggage and turn up at the shores desk as soon as we can, once they are open.  Though with all that extra OBS sploshing around, the queue may well be bigger than normal and there often is a queue, albeit not too big.

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by tring

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, tring said:

Though with all that extra OBS sploshing around, the queue may well be bigger than normal and there often is a queue, 

That is one of the benefits of being on Princess - you can book excursions through the cabin tv. The downside of course,  is that  Princess are less than generous when it comes to dishing out obc.

[Megabear2]

Having just paid my balance for Christmas early I had a look at excursions this morning.  Two things I noticed, far fewer tours to choose from and a few already sold out or limited.  Managed to book two that had only 2 spaces and 6 spaces available although that second one wasn't the time we would have liked.  Rest of the ports seem limited so will most likely need to book fairly soon.  

 

Had hoped to spend some OBC on some of them but most likely they'd be gone by then.

[janny444]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Having just paid my balance for Christmas early I had a look at excursions this morning.  Two things I noticed, far fewer tours to choose from and a few already sold out or limited.  Managed to book two that had only 2 spaces and 6 spaces available although that second one wasn't the time we would have liked.  Rest of the ports seem limited so will most likely need to book fairly soon.  

 

Had hoped to spend some OBC on some of them but most likely they'd be gone by then.

Just shows that we need to book before we cruise to be sure of getting what we want....I was hoping that someone would say that it would be ok to pre-book then cancel and rebook as soon as we boarded using our OBC but looks like that idea is a non starter

[purplesea]

I have today booked a cruise for January 2024 and have had a look at the shore excursions. Some dates are still to appear and tell me I can book from 365 days ahead of my cruise, while others are showing limited availablity!!

[kruzseeka]

48 minutes ago, purplesea said:

I have today booked a cruise for January 2024 and have had a look at the shore excursions. Some dates are still to appear and tell me I can book from 365 days ahead of my cruise, while others are showing limited availablity!!

Sometimes I think limited availability may not be a result of lots of pre-bookings but perhaps a reflection of what the excursion is and if there is limit on numbers for the activity eg Rib Adventure so from the get-go there won't be a lot of capacity. 

We once did an Everglades trip on an Airboat.  It was fully booked but we went on the waiting list then they notified us they had been able to book an extra boat (albeit at silly o'clock).  However we were very pleased to accept and it was fabulous but the numbers were determined by the capacity of the boat and how many boats they could book. 

[FangedRose]

6 hours ago, tring said:

 

We always look at excursions we may want to do if we have a lot of OBC.  I think it is a very good idea and better than buying stuff you do not really want, but also need to consider what else will be of use to you.  The discount really does not make a difference, because if you do not get it on shore tours, you will likely get it on something else if you do spend all that cash and more.  Using the OBS usefully, from our point of view, is the most important thing.

 

I agree with an others that any excursion(s) you would not want to miss are best booked before the cruise.  For other excursions we go onboard with the details of what we want in hand luggage and turn up at the shores desk as soon as we can, once they are open.  Though with all that extra OBS sploshing around, the queue may well be bigger than normal and there often is a queue, albeit not too big.

 

You can book excursions through the app when on board. No queueing. 

Edited August 21, 2022 by FangedRose

[wowzz]

Slightly off topic,  but assuming you are talking about Caribbean cruises, there is really no need to book P&O  tours. Apart from a few tours (eg Sugar Train in St Kitts) it is far easier and cheaper to get a private tour in a taxi or minibus at the port gates.

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

Slightly off topic,  but assuming you are talking about Caribbean cruises, there is really no need to book P&O  tours. Apart from a few tours (eg Sugar Train in St Kitts) it is far easier and cheaper to get a private tour in a taxi or minibus at the port gates.

As a matter of interest what sort of thing are these port gate tours offering?  We take a lot of sea based tours normally but thought we might try something different this time round but most of the offerings from P&O have shrunk considerably - we had thought newer offerings were being introduced but so far only a couple seem to be there.  

 

Are these tours by taxi/minibus drives around the islands or trips to beaches or do the drivers ask you what you want to see?

 

 

 

[yorkshirephil]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

As a matter of interest what sort of thing are these port gate tours offering?  We take a lot of sea based tours normally but thought we might try something different this time round but most of the offerings from P&O have shrunk considerably - we had thought newer offerings were being introduced but so far only a couple seem to be there.  

 

Are these tours by taxi/minibus drives around the islands or trips to beaches or do the drivers ask you what you want to see?

 

 

 

We have done quite a few of these over the years and find them good value and informative. We usually have a fair idea what we want to see before we go which we discus with the driver before setting off as they know their own islands. Lots of the minibuses wait until they are full before setting out, always agree a price first and pay on return to the ship.

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Are these tours by taxi/minibus drives around the islands or trips to beaches or do the drivers ask you what you want to see?

 

Phil has basically answered your question for me !

The key thing, as he mentioned,  is to decide in advance what you want to do.   

[david63]

2 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

always agree a price first

That does not always work. On more than one occasion, especially in non English speaking countries, we have agreed a price, usually with the "taxi organiser" only to have the driver demand more money at the end.