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Pre paying onboard credit

KJ Aussie

By KJ Aussie,
in Princess Cruises

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KJ Aussie

KJ Aussie

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I have booked my first ever Princess cruise and I am accustomed to pre paying my gratuities by giving myself onboard credit. Is this possible on Princess? And also I see I can only reserve my excursions, so is it possible to pre pay those? I like to spread my costs out over the months preceding the cruise making it a lot less painful on disembarkation. Any advice would be great, thank you.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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You can send yourself a "gift" of OBC. There is an option to "pre-pay" gratuities but all that is is OBC in the amount of the hotel service charge, aka "auto-tip."

 

Excursions are just reserved and will be charged to your onboard account after boarding.

 

Your onboard account is a simple credit/debit system. Anything charged to it is deducted from any OBC, regardless of the source.

 

Here's a link to the OBC information: http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/onboard_credit/Index.jsp

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KJ Aussie

KJ Aussie

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Thanks Pam in CA and disgirl, that's just the info I needed, so it really is not too different to HAL or RCI which I have used in the past. Thanks for the link, I have forwarded it onto to our travelling companions as they have never cruised before.

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Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

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Thanks Pam in CA and disgirl, that's just the info I needed, so it really is not too different to HAL or RCI which I have used in the past. Thanks for the link, I have forwarded it onto to our travelling companions as they have never cruised before.

 

 

Its a great way to handle paying ahead for all these things. :)

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pusywillow

pusywillow

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Yes they will refund cash or they will send a check.

I have seen it done both ways.

 

They would rather pay you in cash on the ship. We had a note in our stateroom mailbox telling us to come to the desk to get our refund the last night.

 

Sue

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KJ Aussie

KJ Aussie

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I have had a look at the link given below and it has an order form to fill out and fax to Princess, but is there a way to do this online within their site, that is what I usually do on other cruise lines.

 

Faxing or ringing from Australia is a not the most efficient way to handle transactions.

 

Thanks for any info

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sparky-elpaso

sparky-elpaso

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I have had a look at the link given below and it has an order form to fill out and fax to Princess, but is there a way to do this online within their site, that is what I usually do on other cruise lines.

 

Faxing or ringing from Australia is a not the most efficient way to handle transactions.

 

Thanks for any info

 

Unfortunately, no. I wish there was (and I'm in the US). I can pay for the cruise online but to get my OBC I'll have to call. But I still plan to get a bunch beforehand. That way I can spread the cost out and not have a huge bill at the end (we're doing some ship's tours and you don't pay for them upfront on Princess).

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KJ Aussie

KJ Aussie

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Sparky-elpaso,

 

Thanks for your help. It's a shame is not online based, guess I will just have to do it the old fashioned way. My daughter is my travel agent so she will be able to sort it out for me I am sure.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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Anyone know what would happen if you cancel a cruise and have pre paid your gratuities and/or bought OBC?
Good question. I assume your pre-paid OBC (pre-paid gratuities are just pre-paid OBC) would be refunded to your credit card. It's once onboard that it's refunded in cash as that's a different accounting system.

 

Your TA can charge your card for pre-paid OBC and handle it for you. Another reason to book using a TA.

Edited by Pam in CA
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lrm

lrm

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I have booked my first ever Princess cruise and I am accustomed to pre paying my gratuities by giving myself onboard credit. Is this possible on Princess? And also I see I can only reserve my excursions, so is it possible to pre pay those? I like to spread my costs out over the months preceding the cruise making it a lot less painful on disembarkation. Any advice would be great, thank you.

 

I prefer to add to my savings account in the months before a cruise....use my credit card to pay all cruise costs to get the points.....then pay the card off with my savings account as soon as I get home.

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atmx093

atmx093

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Yes. You can add OBC at anytime. I just did $425 and was charged in CAD not USD so i saved about $40 if not more depending on exchange that day! :D

 

Last time I called to inquire about pre-paying OBC, I was told that it would be charged in USD on my CC because all transactions on board of the ship are in USD.

 

If there's a specific person to contact or a way to get it done, I'd really like to know!

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RetiredNTraveling

RetiredNTraveling

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You can send yourself a "gift" of OBC. There is an option to "pre-pay" gratuities but all that is is OBC in the amount of the hotel service charge, aka "auto-tip."

 

Excursions are just reserved and will be charged to your onboard account after boarding.

 

Your onboard account is a simple credit/debit system. Anything charged to it is deducted from any OBC, regardless of the source.

 

Here's a link to the OBC information: http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/onboard_credit/Index.jsp

 

Pam in CA, you are a wealth of information! :) Thanks again for posting!:D

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disgirl

disgirl

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Last time I called to inquire about pre-paying OBC, I was told that it would be charged in USD on my CC because all transactions on board of the ship are in USD.

 

If there's a specific person to contact or a way to get it done, I'd really like to know!

 

I just spoke to the agent who answered the phone. I ordered $425 OBC knowing it is USD and when I got my CC statement the charge was $425CAD from Pricness Vancouver. A nice surprise.

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atmx093

atmx093

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I'd say! Wow, I have to try. That's some really good savings when you look at the exchange rate right now! Thanks a lot for developing on that.

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone à l'aide de Tapatalk

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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I just spoke to the agent who answered the phone. I ordered $425 OBC knowing it is USD and when I got my CC statement the charge was $425CAD from Pricness Vancouver. A nice surprise.

Doesn't work for Aussies, I tried this in February, gifted myself $425 OBC, with the conversion/international fee, it was more like $475 AUD on the credit card statement. :D

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