I didn't realize that

[les221b]

After reviewing the various shore excursions, I decided
to reserve a few (to be paid for with my on-board credit).
The Oceania web site lists those reserved excursions on
the right-hand side of my "Manage your Trip" web page.
But it also shows "You have not selected any excursions"
on the left hand side.

I called Oceania to ask about the discrepancy and was
told that shore excursions are not reserved until paid
for, and since I planned to use the on-board credit for
payment, as far as they were concerned, they have
no record of any reservations. In other words, I
wasted my time making what I thought were
reservations.

Perhaps this is common knowledge, but
I didn't realize that.

Les

[Paulchili]

Originally Posted by les221b

After reviewing the various shore excursions, I decided
to reserve a few (to be paid for with my on-board credit).
The Oceania web site lists those reserved excursions on
the right-hand side of my "Manage your Trip" web page.
But it also shows "You have not selected any excursions"
on the left hand side.

I called Oceania to ask about the discrepancy and was
told that shore excursions are not reserved until paid
for, and since I planned to use the on-board credit for
payment, as far as they were concerned, they have
no record of any reservations. In other words, I
wasted my time making what I thought were
reservations.

Perhaps this is common knowledge, but
I didn't realize that.

Les

Unfortunately, this is true.
You have to pay for your shore excursions as you book them (unlike, say, with Princess); the fee is refundable if you choose to cancel them later.
If you want to use your OBC for this, you have to book them onboard (and run the risk of not being able to book it, as it may be full). Therefore, if there is any excursion that you definitely do not want to miss, book it now - you'll find other uses for your OBC (including other "less important" excursions that you'll book onboard).
Hope this helps.

[LHT28]

I would not worry too much about pre booking
Unless it is a special trip like to Moscow, Iguassu falls, Pyramids that everyone will want to book.
Most will have space as most O cruisers do private tours
Just book as soon as you board for those tours you really want to do

Lyn

[Bowie MeMe]

Originally Posted by LHT28

I would not worry too much about pre booking
Unless it is a special trip like to Moscow, Iguassu falls, Pyramids that everyone will want to book.
Most will have space as most O cruisers do private tours
Just book as soon as you board for those tours you really want to do

Lyn

Hi Lyn. Do you really think that MOST O cruisers do private tours? I would agree that MOST of the folks posting on Cruise Critic and sailing on O do private tours but on the cruise Aegean Adventures last month had far far more folks on O tour than private. Had Discovery package (one excursion per port) and I am basing this observatio on the number of folks showing up each morning for tours. I enjoyed the package and thought all of the guides were excellent -- good facts, good English, and well organized. I guess I tolerate bus transportation well and after big boats excursions the small size of O made it seem so sane.

[DOJO466]

[quote=LHT28;21553495]I would not worry too much about pre booking
Unless it is a special trip like to Moscow, Iguassu falls, Pyramids that everyone will want to book.
Most will have space as most O cruisers do private tours
Just book as soon as you board for those tours you really want to do

Lyn,

We are on the T/A march2010 with a stop in Casablanca. Many on our roll call are opting for the O excursion due to a number of reasons. I am wondering if I should book that excursion ahead of time and pay for it. I am VERY sure that I will spend all of our OBC...too many wines and martinis

[wripro]

I think this is an unfortunate policy. One of the big advantages of having OBC is to pay for shore excursions. By not allowing one to make reservations ahead of time without paying upfront O is hoping to make more money, have your cash earlier, and hope you won't even use up all your OBC. Other lines allow you to reserve excursions early, and you only pay before disembarkation, thereby allowing you to use your OPC.

[LHT28]

Originally Posted by Bowie MeMe

Hi Lyn. Do you really think that MOST O cruisers do private tours? I would agree that MOST of the folks posting on Cruise Critic and sailing on O do private tours but on the cruise Aegean Adventures last month had far far more folks on O tour than private.

I guess it depends on the PORT and the comfort level of passengers on that cruise.
In the past some tours were not fully booked , some were cancelled due to lack of interest..
hence my comment if it is something special you want to do book ahead
Have a Plan B incase that tour is cancelled

It depends on the cruise where it goes etc...


Lyn

[LuAnn]

[quote=DOJO466;21554108]

Originally Posted by LHT28

I would not worry too much about pre booking
Unless it is a special trip like to Moscow, Iguassu falls, Pyramids that everyone will want to book.
Most will have space as most O cruisers do private tours
Just book as soon as you board for those tours you really want to do

Lyn,

We are on the T/A march2010 with a stop in Casablanca. Many on our roll call are opting for the O excursion due to a number of reasons. I am wondering if I should book that excursion ahead of time and pay for it. I am VERY sure that I will spend all of our OBC...too many wines and martinis

Good point re Casablanca! I'm wondering too, based on this info, if we should book that 1 tour ahead of time. I'm not too worried about the other ports...what do you think? LuAnn

[dwelsh]

[quote=LuAnn;21558109]

Originally Posted by DOJO466

Good point re Casablanca! I'm wondering too, based on this info, if we should book that 1 tour ahead of time. I'm not too worried about the other ports...what do you think? LuAnn

There is more than one tour in Casablanca, at least there was when we last visited. If that is still the case, you need to book the tour which most interests you. i would not recommend doing a private or taxi tour there.

The majority of cruise pax do not know about or subscribe to CC. IMHO that is one reason that ships tours are so heavily booked ahead of time by TA's.

[umtali]

Re Oceania Tours, we book and pay prior to any trip, and receive confirmation by email, have never had the chance to use onboard credits with Oceania. But, Silversea, once booked if onboard credit is given it is there to be used (other than the Casino), whenever and for whatever. We booked and paid for a number of shore excursions prior to our last cruise using onboard credit, and received confirmation of each booking by email.

[capecodder2]

Originally Posted by wripro

I think this is an unfortunate policy. One of the big advantages of having OBC is to pay for shore excursions. By not allowing one to make reservations ahead of time without paying upfront O is hoping to make more money, have your cash earlier, and hope you won't even use up all your OBC. Other lines allow you to reserve excursions early, and you only pay before disembarkation, thereby allowing you to use your OPC.

I disagree with wripro's negative statement above. There isn't a business out there of any kind today that wouldn't like your money ahead of time. If you don't use all your OBC, it will be returned to you by O, so why insinuate that they hope you will not use it all? I, presently, do not know any cruise lines that let you reserve excursions and not pay for them then, but I haven't checked them all. OBC for excursions is not a "big advantage" to me, I always find things to spend it on.

[Aruba]

Originally Posted by capecodder2

OBC for excursions is not a "big advantage" to me, I always find things to spend it on.

Me too. After a few visits to Martini's or a consultation with the wine steward in the GDR, the OBC is gone quickly. But I'm curious...in the event that a passenger does NOT use up the OBC, is the balance refundable or is it forfeited?
Come to think of it, I'm assuming an OBC can't be used for gratuities either. Am I mistaken?

[Dreps]

Capecodder2, I do not think you are correct. If you have a balance of onboard credits, in most cases, they will not be returned to you. I think the rules on Oceania are the same as for Regent, with which I am more familiar. (Both now have the same parent company.) The only shipboard credits that are refundble in cash are amounts put on an individual credit card by a friend or a travel agent. Shipboard credits given by the cruise line or by a travel agent in conjunction with the cruise line are not refundable.

There was a huge discussion of this when Regent went to online reservations for excursions. Mind you I do not like this policy because we have a long, upcoming cruise and a large amount of shipboard credits, and I am concerned that if I don't book my excursions online and pay up front by credit card, I may not get the excursions that I want, but I will be left with unused shipboard credits.

[les221b]

Originally Posted by Aruba

Me too. After a few visits to Martini's or a consultation with the wine steward in the GDR, the OBC is gone quickly. But I'm curious...in the event that a passenger does NOT use up the OBC, is the balance refundable or is it forfeited?
Come to think of it, I'm assuming an OBC can't be used for gratuities either. Am I mistaken?

We don't drink, so on-board credits would hold no
incentive if not for the excursions.

To answer your question, the credit must be used for
the one cruise in which it is given, it can't be carried
over to a later cruise, nor will it be exchanged for
cash if not used up on that one cruise.

Les

[tanny18]

The OBC must be used on the cruise. In fact we are doing back to back in December and have OBC on both cruises, but they cannot be combined. The OBC for first cruise must be used before the second one begins. When all else fails and no wine or gambling is your bailiwick, there is always the jewelry store!!! Arlene

[hondorner]

Originally Posted by Dreps

...The only shipboard credits that are refundble in cash are amounts put on an individual credit card by a friend or a travel agent. Shipboard credits given by the cruise line or by a travel agent in conjunction with the cruise line are not refundable..

Originally Posted by les221b

...the credit must be used for
the one cruise in which it is given, it can't be carried
over to a later cruise, nor will it be exchanged for
cash if not used up on that one cruise...

Dreps is closer. If the credit is an incentive from the cruise line, whether directly or as a part of the "soft money" that cruise lines extend to travel agents for them to use, it cannot be refunded. Use it or lose it. If the travel agent has used their own funds to extend the credit, or if you pay into the shipboard account ahead of time, it is not the cruise line's money, and will be refunded to you if you do not use it.

Also, if you book a shore excursion ahead of time, pay for it with your credit card, andthen cancel it once on board, it will be credited to your shipboard account and any excess amount over what you spend on board will be refunded to you. the last time this happened to us, it was refunded in cash onthe morning of disembarkation because the ship did not have the means to issue a credit to the original credit card.

In the event of a canceled shore excursion credit, Oceania will apply the shipboard credit first, using it up, then apply the shore excrusion credit to any remaining balance. This is as it should be. Not so Celebrity. On our recent Alaska cruise, we pre-booked and prepaid for a helicopter excursion in Juneau, which was cacneled due to fog on the glacier. We had a credit to our shipboard account of almost $600. We also had shipboard credit of $200 extended by the cruise line. They tried to use our shore ex credit first, and then tried to keep their $200 because "we did not use it, so we would lose it." I refused to accept this, but it finally took an override decision from the chief financial officer of the ship to change it, and that was only to get rid of me as a nuisance at the guest relations desk. If I had not accidentally discovered the charge I might not have noticed the credit to my card was wrong a month later. They added the charge after issuing me my final statement on the last night.

[chicagogal]

Originally Posted by tanny18

, there is always the jewelry store!!! Arlene

Now you're thinking! Also the spa ...

[DOJO466]

[quote=dwelsh;21559297]

Originally Posted by LuAnn

There is more than one tour in Casablanca, at least there was when we last visited. If that is still the case, you need to book the tour which most interests you. i would not recommend doing a private or taxi tour there.

The majority of cruise pax do not know about or subscribe to CC. IMHO that is one reason that ships tours are so heavily booked ahead of time by TA's.

Dwelsh,
There are 3 shore excursions. What I was trying to say and I think so was Luann was that in this particular 1 port we would consider prepaying for one of the shore excursionS.
Luann
I will post on roll call. Deb

[wripro]

Capecodder2,
If the OBC comes from Oceania and you do not use it you will not see one penny from it. It is not negative to state the obvious. On Seabourn and Silversea you can reserve and get confirmations for excursions and not pay a penny upfront. You are billed upon disembarkation and whatever OBC you have is applied to any or all charges you have made.

[ClaudiaF]

Why not just book what you want now and use the credits against your on board bill..of course there will be one..there is always one..