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What would you do with $1800 in OBC??!!

tropiclvrs

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lady_cruiser

lady_cruiser

Posted
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Is it possible to put part of an OBC towards your next cruise? While I am not expecting an OBC that size ($1800) I are planning on having a nice size one from my RCL Visa points, a price drop (and I am expecting at least one before we cruise in 2011), stock option, etc.

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cruisenfever

cruisenfever

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I have the same amount of OBC to blow on an upcoming cruise. I have already booked excursions since I don't want to wait in line down at Explorations. You'd be amazed how many get to the desk and have not a clue what they want to do and take a long time asking questions about various excursions before making a decision.

 

Of my $1,800, $600 is for booking on board which is non-refundable. It is 12-day cruise so $240 will go to tips. We will eat in the pay restaurants a couple of times. We are not drinkers or sucker Bingo players or ready-to-be ripped off art buyers so our on-board expenses won't be close to $1,800.

 

I have "heard" that they will deduct from the refundable portion ($1,200) until it is exhausted before hitting the non-refundable portion ($600). I've not had this confirmed but will certainly ask when on board. Anyone out there have any insight on this?

 

If I'm not happy with the answers (evasive or different from asking two or three times), I plan to truck on down to the casino and chip (pun intended) away at it and take a 3% hit on it. Figure that would be on $1,200 or $36. My goal is to get off the ship with a shipboard bill of $5 to be charged to my credit card (lol).

 

Tucker in Texas

On our November cruise we had a rather large OBC also. Included in our total OBC was $1000 due to a price reduction after final payment was made.

 

That $1000 was totally refundable to us because it was our money to begin with....it was part of our final payment.

 

We had no problems withdrawing what was left of it from Guest Relations on the day before debarkation.

 

All non-refundable OBC is used first and then refundable is used last. This is what has been told to us on our last 3 cruises.

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golfer1966

golfer1966

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I thought it would be fun to see what other people would do with this amount of OBC. This is my current "dilemma" now that I actually do have that much. :eek:

 

I first only had a measly $100 obc when I booked Oasis on my last Mariner cruise, then I got another $285 when I transferred the booking to a travel agent, but now I got another $1396 after chaning from a D1 to a D3 (there was a significant difference in price for the 3rd/4th persons and a small difference for the 1st and 2nd).

 

Since we are within final payment period, we got the OBC which is perfectly fine with me. I'm dreaming of all the ways we can spend it including a "Mother's Day Massage" a "Happy Birthday to me Massage" and all the yummy cocktails to sample every night. Of course, we'll be finding plenty of things for our 2 kids that are coming with us.

 

What would you do??????

 

 

Pre pay all your tips, pay for your excursions.....the rest on Red in the casino. Win = book another cruise, lose = oh well, everything else was paid for.;)

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pcur

pcur

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Totally incorrect!:rolleyes: Any unused OBC is cheerfully refunded on your credit card listed on your pass. This has been our experience on mulitiple cruises. Even for OBC gift certificates we didn't use all of, they refunded it.

What's the matter with you people....book another cruise:D

 

Ummmm...actually that post was correct. I had the same situation on the Indy in December 2009: part non-refundable and part-refundable. The obc from a special was non-refundable, and they DEBITED THAT FIRST. Not trying to yell, but I was told differently by some posters here on CC and by RCCl by phone. On board I asked Customer Service and they said (and did this, too) the non-refundable is use it or lose it. The refundable you just either get cash from them on the last day, or they credit it back to your credit card if you don't show up to get it the last day.

 

I know this for a fact because I fumed while my MIL tried to find something to spend her remaining $75 out of a non-refundable $100, all the while not even bothering to give her only grandsons a birthday/Christmas and Christmas gift. My youngest had his 28th birthday on the cruise, and we got off the ship on 12/20. Needless to say, Grandma will not be accompanying us again........there was more.

 

Anyway, to the OP, if I had that much I would use it to pay for another cruise since the money was already out of my budget and being used for travel anyway.

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cruisenfever

cruisenfever

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Ummmm...actually that post was correct. I had the same situation on the Indy in December 2009: part non-refundable and part-refundable. The obc from a special was non-refundable, and they DEBITED THAT FIRST. Not trying to yell, but I was told differently by some posters here on CC and by RCCl by phone. On board I asked Customer Service and they said (and did this, too) the non-refundable is use it or lose it. The refundable you just either get cash from them on the last day, or they credit it back to your credit card if you don't show up to get it the last day.

 

Anyway, to the OP, if I had that much I would use it to pay for another cruise since the money was already out of my budget and being used for travel anyway.

That's how it was explained to us also. We were told that any/all OBC is coded whether refundable/non-refundable on your SeaPass account and these codes can only be seen by Guest Relations when they look up your account.

 

However, on Radiance for some strange reason, we have always had any unused non-refundable OBC credited back to our CC.:D

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cruisenfever

cruisenfever

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If its an obc from Royal - yes it will be refunded (the balance not used) but if its a travel agent credit or other from an outside company it isn't:)

OBC from booking a cruise while on board or from being a shareholder is coming from RCI and is non-refundable.......it's use it or lose it.

 

The only time an OBC from RCI is refundable is if it is generated from a price reduction after final payment has been made.

 

Any other OBC from outside sources (TA, Visa Points, Gift Certificates) is completely refundable.

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critterchick

critterchick

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Totally incorrect!:rolleyes: Any unused OBC is cheerfully refunded on your credit card listed on your pass. This has been our experience on mulitiple cruises. Even for OBC gift certificates we didn't use all of, they refunded it.

 

 

That used to be the case, but it hasn't been that way since some time in 2009. Now your shareholder, onboard booking and any other RCI-provided credits are non-refundable. But price drop OBC, TA-provided OBC or any gift OBC are refunded if you don't spend them.

 

I wouldn't alter my spending habits (which aren't exactly frugal, anyway:D). Enjoy yourself, don't go overboard (;)) and enjoy some leftover credit!

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lovemylab

lovemylab

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I'd enjoy myself the same as I would on any other cruise (a few drinks, a few trips to the specialty restaurants, etc.) and then I'd take the rest back in cash (or have it refunded to my credit card). I'd then take that money and book another cruise.

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Fun2snorkel

Fun2snorkel

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I was on the Serenade a couple weeks ago and we had OBC. We asked if it was refundable and they said no. After spending some and adding our tips on, there was still a lot left and we did not just want to spend for spending sake. So we went to the casino and withdrew the money. They did charge 3% but that was better than losing the OBC or buying things I really did not want.

No matter what - have a wonderful time! Happy cruising!
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bedfordmom Great Review Rare

bedfordmom

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[quote name='mgg42']Wait, $1,800 usually covers an onboard account? This might be the first early sign that I have a "problem"!

:eek::eek:[/quote]


Had ovwe 800 last year to spend from OBC and fuel surcharge credit (remember those). We made sure we spent all plus more on tips for four on a nine day; excursions; a couple of soda packages; a few drinks; and a couple of gifts on board. We overspent it by about 150 no problem.

Its a nice problem to have, we had alot of fun spending it.
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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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[quote name='critterchick']That used to be the case, but it hasn't been that way since some time in 2009. Now your shareholder, onboard booking and any other RCI-provided credits are non-refundable. But price drop OBC, TA-provided OBC or any gift OBC are refunded if you don't spend them.

I wouldn't alter my spending habits (which aren't exactly frugal, anyway:D). Enjoy yourself, don't go overboard (;)) and enjoy some leftover credit![/quote]

[SIZE=3]Thanks Jean and Patti, I always learn new stuff on here from you guys. In our case, it was OBC from a gift cert. and also a $100 OBC from a TA, but we got it all back. Now I know about the other stuff. Maybe it depends on the ship also, it was Voyager.[/SIZE]
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  • 4 weeks later...
goatwife

goatwife

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Wow, there are so many ideas for you out there!!! Good Luck spending!!!! We are on the same cruise, with two kids as well (8&10). No OBC for us though. One suggestion is the photo book that someone posted about on another thread. It is $99, and it is made up of all the photos taken from the ship. The suggestion was to make sure that you get as many pictures taken, at as many places as they are available or there will be stock photos put into your book.
It would be a nice family keepsake I think. I can't tell you too much about it as I am a first time cruiser, and am new to all of this!!!!

Good Luck spending!
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