What happens to on board credit if you don't spend it?

[mobster75]

Hi outerspaceguy,

 

On the last line of my post I said I was kidding about trash and leftover food being dumped at sea...

 

I'm pretty sure the trash gets incinerated on-board (only when the ship is far away from land).

 

Am I wrong?

[simplelife]

You might have onboard credit left over if you never tip, never order a bottle of wine at dinner or a drink in a bar, never buy anything from the gift shops, never take a shore excursion, never dine at a specialty restaurant, never use the Internet, and never visit the salon or the spa. Did I leave out any of the ways one can spend money on the ship?;)

Never buy any photographs. Never gamble in the casino.

[Senga]

Shareholders onboard credit not used is lost. This is in the fine print of Shareholders Benefit, Investor Relations: "Any unused credit shall be forfeited."

 

We are not big spenders but still have no problem using up the credit we receive.

[bearjr]

You will spend it!!!:D

 

I second that.

 

Photos are a lasting value for any vacation. DW and I always get at least 4 of 8x10 photos that comes with a free album and picture of the ship.

 

If you don't like the gift shop items, you can always schedule a private photo session - those photographers know which parts of the ship create the most enchanting backdrops, and will clear away other passengers so you get that perfect picture without other people in the background.

[emileg]

Never buy any photographs. Never gamble in the casino.

Oh yes, I left out photos and gambling from my list of ways to spend onboard credit. Thank you!

[TravelinGert]

Hi Jo and Rob !

 

I wrote about OBC's a couple of days ago. I noticed you are from the UK, and I am not certain if the rules are different for our UK friends. This is the latest for US residents. Here is the link : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=24727483&postcount=21

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy your Cruise !

 

 

So I read the link, and I still have questions. Which types become refundable credits, and which non-refundable? In particular, if I got an OBC for booking when I did, will that show up as refundable? What about the other types, such as service issue resulting in an OBC, credit card points redemption OBC, or credit from referral? Just wondering if anyone knows.

[BILLP1]

This past May we had a credit for the amount that we did not spend on our credit card within a week after our cruise.

[Langley Cruisers]

Just a note that a member bumped this five year old thread - normally when that happens, things may have changed since they were first posted. Just a heads up. :)

[Oville]

So I read the link, and I still have questions. Which types become refundable credits, and which non-refundable? In particular, if I got an OBC for booking when I did, will that show up as refundable? What about the other types, such as service issue resulting in an OBC, credit card points redemption OBC, or credit from referral? Just wondering if anyone knows.

 

Typically if is it an OBC from Celebrity it is nonrefundable, though there may be exceptions. If the OBC is from your travel agent or points redemption from your credit card they are refundable.

[TeaBag]

So I read the link, and I still have questions. Which types become refundable credits, and which non-refundable? In particular, if I got an OBC for booking when I did, will that show up as refundable? What about the other types, such as service issue resulting in an OBC, credit card points redemption OBC, or credit from referral? Just wondering if anyone knows.

If you get a printout of your account after about the third day on board, you will see your OBC stated on there as OBN or OBR. OBN is nonrefundable, OBR is refundable and if not used will be returned to your credit card very quickly after you disembark. Celebrity applies your onboard spending first to the nonrefundable OBC till it is gone.

 

As has been stated, this is a very old thread and some things have changed.

Edited June 27, 2015 by TeaBag

[Project_gal]

As this is a thread that has been dragged up from the past, I thought that I would add our recent experience which gives a fuller explanation about withdrawing OBC and refunding surplus refundable OBC at the end of a cruise. The cruise in question was the 17-night transpacific on Millennium in April/May this year:-

 

There was a great deal of discussion about OBC before we left for this cruise and it was one of the things I promised to report back about.

 

We started the cruise with a large amount of OBC [non-refundable] from Celebrity and even more purchased OBC [refundable] so, on embarkation, I did not register a credit card. I really did not want any refundable surplus to go onto our credit card and take an exchange rate hit as we could always use it on another cruise. We did, however, want to get access to some of the OBC as cash during the cruise for our additional gratuities and to use in the Casino.

 

Early on, my husband checked with the Casino that [in a PH] we could draw out cash without paying the surcharge. We could but, as there was no letter about this in our suite, I am not sure which suites receive this concession.

 

My husband withdrew the first amount without any problem. The next time he tried, he was told that he could not unless a credit card was registered to the account. We asked the Michael's Club to clarify this as it did not seem reasonable with the amount of OBC we had.

 

The clarification was: if you still have unused non-refundable OBC, you cannot withdraw cash from the Casino without registering a credit card. We still had roughly US$150 non-refundable OBC. The original cashier had made an error. We registered our credit card and were then able to continue withdrawing cash.

 

We had credit left at the end of the cruise and I was able to withdraw that, in cash, at Guest Relations on the final day.

 

Here is the important part: the total withdrawn from the Casino plus refunded at the end of the cruise exceeded the refundable OBC.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Project_gal

[PumpkinPatches]

OK let me see if I get this straight....

 

OBC that is given to you by CELEBRITY is non-refundable

OBC that is given to you by YOUR TA is refundable

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

I was just given a lot of OBC.... $475 from X and $350 from my TA. Just wondering if any of this will be refundable on my next cruise.

 

If not... HELLOOOO Michael Kors & Jewelry stores!!

[gergles]

OK let me see if I get this straight....

 

OBC that is given to you by CELEBRITY is non-refundable

OBC that is given to you by YOUR TA is refundable

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

I was just given a lot of OBC.... $475 from X and $350 from my TA. Just wondering if any of this will be refundable on my next cruise.

 

If not... HELLOOOO Michael Kors & Jewelry stores!!

 

Generally speaking that's correct; you can't determine for sure until you have been onboard for a couple of days. Refundable OBC will show up on your in-room TV statement as "OBR" and non-refundable OBC will show up as "OBN". OBN will be consumed first, followed by OBR, followed by the credit card or cash deposit.

[PumpkinPatches]

Generally speaking that's correct; you can't determine for sure until you have been onboard for a couple of days. Refundable OBC will show up on your in-room TV statement as "OBR" and non-refundable OBC will show up as "OBN". OBN will be consumed first, followed by OBR, followed by the credit card or cash deposit.

 

THANK YOU... that is most helpful :)

[Lonedaddy]

Not necessarily true. We had an OBC from TA for booking plus another for rate reduction. We ended up spending it all (with a withdrawal from casino) with a 10 cent left on the OBC. We got a credit to the credit card.

 

Wow you can take it out as a withdrawal from the casino?:D

[Lonedaddy]

Shareholders onboard credit not used is lost. This is in the fine print of Shareholders Benefit, Investor Relations: "Any unused credit shall be forfeited."

 

We are not big spenders but still have no problem using up the credit we receive.

 

Is the shareholders OBC combinable with other OBC's like ones from the TA

[swapilot]

On our cruise in February we had an OBC posted to our account on the last day of the cruise for the dining package we had pre-purchased and shore excursions that had been pre-purchased--the amount was about $100. I was irritated that we didn't know about it until the end of the cruise but we did our best to spend it that last night. We were told that if we didn't spend it we'd loose it but were surprised to see on the final bill that the remainder that we didn't spend was credited to our account. Probably not the norm and maybe we were just lucky.

[Project_gal]

On our cruise in February we had an OBC posted to our account on the last day of the cruise for the dining package we had pre-purchased and shore excursions that had been pre-purchased--the amount was about $100. I was irritated that we didn't know about it until the end of the cruise but we did our best to spend it that last night. We were told that if we didn't spend it we'd loose it but were surprised to see on the final bill that the remainder that we didn't spend was credited to our account. Probably not the norm and maybe we were just lucky.

 

No, refunds for pre-purchased amenities that are cancelled on board are refundable. Had you cancelled pre-cruise, the refund would have been to your credit card.

[Corgis mom]

Don't forget the Apple Store. Typing this on the IPad mini we got this spring. Also the camera store. Bought a canon SX 710 HS also. Plus the Apple t.v. thing. (BtB) bought the iPad mini the first week, and other stuff the second week. Had to add to it to get the iPad, but I love it.

The last cruise we found we had 75.00 left, so we went to the liquor store.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Corgis mom

[OBX-Cruisers]

Others have already posted the OBN vs. OBR designations that will tell you this on your printout available at Customer Relations desk.........I don't think/remember that the TV account goes into this detail.

Edited July 10, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers

[schlimazel_traveler]

On Summit at the end of May, the on-screen account review did identify the refundable and non-refundable OBC separately.

[junetraveler2014]

But one thing you must remember about OBC, it can only be used once you are on board. You will not be credited if you purchase an excursion or specialty restaurant before your cruise. Wait till you are on-board!

[Pinkbudgie]

We didn't want to take any chances and we had about $70 left near the end so I bought a handbag during a "clearance" sale. Just to be on the safe side. ;)

Previously, we had eaten at Tuscan Grille, upgraded one drink package, bought two bottles of liquor, several t-shirts, and a nice warm jacket for me.

We then ended up eating lunch in the Bistro on 5 (yummy!) so we ended up with about $25 being charged on our credit card at the end. Not bad.

[lovecruzin]

If you have a OBR and are due money back, be sure it actually happens!

On our June cruise on Solstice we had $300 of each refundable and non-refundable. We looked at our onboard account printout several times, everything looked good, we also got a printout the last day showing approx $150 of OBR which would go back to our credit card. We did not receive a printout the final night as we have in the past. Almost a week after returning home, we did not get the credit on our credit card as expected.

I called and had a final bill emailed, at some point between our final printout and closing our account they switched our OB charges so they went against the OBR not the OBN, so we "lost" that $150. The gentleman I spoke with was very helpful but could not explain how that happened. He immediately put thru a refund for us.

[TeaBag]

Wow you can take it out as a withdrawal from the casino?:D

Yes, they charge you 5%.