Using OBC for pre cruise purchases

[h-sar]

I have some OBC that I received as part of a Princess promo for an upcoming cruise. Looks like I can use it for booking excursions, but not specialty dining or mocktail packages, correct? Is there a list on the princess site that indicates what it can and cannot be used for pre-cruise? I realize that, when I go to pay, I will get the indication then, but it would be nice to know beforehand. Thank you.

[cherylandtk]

AFAIK there is no list; OBC can only be used to ‘prepay’ excursions, everything else must be used on board.

[h-sar]

AFAIK there is no list; OBC can only be used to ‘prepay’ excursions, everything else must be used on board.

 

Thank you. It’s unfortunate that Princess won’t allow us to reserve the specialty dining prior to the cruise using OBC as payment. Booking ahead of time allows for more choice in date and time. I find that, even if I run to the Crown right upon boarding, there seems to be very limited selection left.

[paul929207]

That is correct, you cannot use OBC to reserved specialty dining before the cruise.

[Thrak]

There is no advantage to buying the mocktail package in advance. It will be available in multiple places when you board. Pre-purchasing specialty restaurants tends to have limited times available. Just book the time and day you want when you board.

[jennybenny]

Thank you. It’s unfortunate that Princess won’t allow us to reserve the specialty dining prior to the cruise using OBC as payment. Booking ahead of time allows for more choice in date and time. I find that, even if I run to the Crown right upon boarding, there seems to be very limited selection left.

 

 

 

Don’t worry, you can board and book all the specialty dining you want. We book specialty dining every first night of the cruise, we are not in a suite. It’s never been a problem, even as a walk in on Christmas Eve, we were seated immediately. Service was slow that night but they were booked to capacity.

If you wanted to, you could book every night of your cruise once on board, and you can use your OBC once on board to pay for it.

It’s like starting the cruise with a negative due balance.

 

I’ve not encountered the issue of limited selection left.

 

However if you must have a specific day and time then you would want to pre pay and use your OBC for something else

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

Thank you. It’s unfortunate that Princess won’t allow us to reserve the specialty dining prior to the cruise using OBC as payment. Booking ahead of time allows for more choice in date and time. I find that, even if I run to the Crown right upon boarding, there seems to be very limited selection left.

When tours began to require payment to book in advance we couldn’t use OBC to pay for tours. Thankfully Princess made that an option in response to passenger feedback.

 

It would be convenient to use OBC to pre-book specialty restaurants however that could result in even more reservations that could easily be canceled or changed onboard. Making a creditcard payment is more of a commitment & is still better than on other mainstream cruise lines we’ve sailed who charge a cancellation fee when canceling onboard closer to the reservation.

 

For me the Princess procedure is better & haven’t had any problems making specialty dining reservations onboard which unfortunately hasn’t been your experience.