Booking Ship Excursions Before Cruise

[FredZiffle]

Am I correct that if I want to use OBC to pay for a ship excursion, I have to wait until I'm onboard to book?  I've already watched one excursion fill up.  What about booking and paying cash now, then cancelling once onboard and immediately rebooking the excursion using OBC?

[shof515]

correct the only way to use obc is buy purchasing onboard the ship

 

when you cancel an excursion onboard the the ship, your refund is given as refundable onboard credit

[FredZiffle]

1 minute ago, shof515 said:

correct the only way to use obc is buy purchasing onboard the ship

 

when you cancel an excursion onboard the the ship, your refund is given as refundable onboard credit

Which would be fine since it's refundable OBC.  I'd then turn around and rebook using my non-refundable, which is always used up first before refundable.

[JandC_Cruising]

12 minutes ago, FredZiffle said:

Which would be fine since it's refundable OBC.  I'd then turn around and rebook using my non-refundable, which is always used up first before refundable.

The issue with this "strategy" is that if the excursion is sold out they will not let you cancel and immediately re-book if there is a waiting list for open spots, which often there are.  

If you cancel, your spot(s) will be offered to the first on the waiting list.

And, as others mentioned, then you have even more OBC. 

If there is an excursion you want to be sure you take, best to book it ahead to ensure your spot.  

[zqvol]

2 hours ago, FredZiffle said:

Which would be fine since it's refundable OBC.  I'd then turn around and rebook using my non-refundable, which is always used up first before refundable.

Of course if there is anyone on the waiting list you go to the bottom of the list. 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, FredZiffle said:

Am I correct that if I want to use OBC to pay for a ship excursion, I have to wait until I'm onboard to book?  I've already watched one excursion fill up.  What about booking and paying cash now, then cancelling once onboard and immediately rebooking the excursion using OBC?

The drawback is that if anyone is on the wait list, they would get your tickets when you cancel. 
 

And yes, popular shore excursions will sell out before your cruise. We have not been successful with wait lists. On our September cruise, we even had the General Manager make a request to get us on a shore ex, but it didn’t happen. 

[dbrown84]

like others have said, you risk there being a wait list if the excursion is sold out.  But if the excursion is not sold out, then yes you can cancel and reboot using your OBC.  You do also risk that the price could have gone up.

[julig22]

Curious if anyone has actually been sent to the bottom of the wait list - or just speculating. When I've been on a waiting list, it was always on a sign-up sheet, so replacements were done manually