"Onboard credits may not be used to pay for your gratuities."

[Bars7816]

Just got an email from a certain TA. They're offering very good OBC on NCL cruises. However, the fine print states that "Onboard credits may not be used to pay for your gratuities."

 

I hope this is only through this TA and not the new rule for NCL. We don't spend hundreds of dollars on ship, so a large OBC wouldn't do us much good.

 

OBC from a TA is usually use it, or lose it. We would have to take up serious drinking! And now apparently, reservations for shore excursions must be paid in advance and not with OBC during the cruise. :confused:

[RNPJN]

Just got an email from a certain TA. They're offering very good OBC on NCL cruises. However, the fine print states that "Onboard credits may not be used to pay for your gratuities."

 

I hope this is only through this TA and not the new rule for NCL. We don't spend hundreds of dollars on ship, so a large OBC wouldn't do us much good.

 

OBC from a TA is usually use it, or lose it. We would have to take up serious drinking! And now apparently, reservations for shore excursions must be paid in advance and not with OBC during the cruise. :confused:

we used ours in oct.

[Pokeraddict]

I have taken cash advance at casino that use to bounce back to OB acct with no charge, the casino gives you a voucher to feed into machine or chips , feed voucher into slot machine then press cash out button and you now have a different voucher that is cashable at casino wicket.

So I'm wondering if you can take the OBC out through casino and do the above.

[che5904]

This is not a new rule, although it appears some OBC have reworded it a bit. And yes some OBCs that are given through NCL have it written as well.

 

From the posts of long time NCL cruisers, cc members, "yes that is and has been written on some OBCs. However the ships are not set up to distinguish between this type of expense and others. So all the ship computers see is expense and credit" So no problem using the OBC for all of your expenses.

[swedish weave]

There may be room for some argument if the OBC restricts use for gratuities since NCL calls the 12 dollar per day charge DSC instead of gratuities.

[springhills]

Because of a fortunate set of circumstances, we had OBC for a total of $700 on our cruise last week on the Star. We were able to use it to cover the $12 service charges as well as gratuities for the concierge, butler and room steward. We simply signed vouchers at the service desk. No problem, no questions asked.

[che5904]

There may be room for some argument if the OBC restricts use for gratuities since NCL calls the 12 dollar per day charge DSC instead of gratuities.

 

:) you have a point. My post above states "it appears some OBC have reworded it a bit". I've seen some from NCL that state cannot be used for OSC (LOL or whatever they are calling it these days) or gratuities.

[che5904]

Because of a fortunate set of circumstances, we had OBC for a total of $700 on our cruise last week on the Star. We were able to use it to cover the $12 service charges as well as gratuities for the concierge, butler and room steward. We simply signed vouchers at the service desk. No problem, no questions asked.

 

The OP was asking about OBC with those conditions. Do you know if any of your $700 had this particular terms. Otherwise yes ,your OBC could be used for anything on your account.

[johnql]

Around and around we go. To me, it's all just official rhetoric that carries absolutely no weight. Some promotions do indeed specify that the OBC cannot be used for gratuities. However, no one on CC has ever reported not being able to apply their OBC (regardless of fine print restrictions) to their DSC.

 

To reiterate: NCL's shipboard accounting system is not capable of distinguishing between different types of credits. OBC shows up as a credit. All expenses (debits), including the DSC, are simply offset by the credits.

 

So, to the OP: not to worry. I would be shocked if you come back and report that you were not able to apply your OBC to your DSC.

[agabbymama]

Folks are stating the on-board system cannot tell the difference. I beg to differ. On NCL Star Pacific Northwest cruise in September, on my account print-out, there were entries that said Non-refundable On-Board Credit and Refundable On-board credit. I was told the Non-Refundable credit was from my TA and that I could not use it for Service Charge. So the sytem must be able to tell the difference somehow.

 

And to the poster asking if you could go to the casino and cash out, you can for the Refundable On-Board credit, because I did. Had to pay 3% fee, then I stopped at the watch store and spent the Non-Refundable credit on my way back to my cabin.

 

And my final bill showed a Credit of 21 cents and stated it would be mailed to my home address.

[swedish weave]

The ships computers do distinguish between refundable and non-refundable OBC, so it would be a simple program fix to take the next step, however, it would create a firestorm of protests !!

[che5904]

Folks are stating the on-board system cannot tell the difference. I beg to differ. On NCL Star Pacific Northwest cruise in September, on my account print-out, there were entries that said Non-refundable On-Board Credit and Refundable On-board credit. I was told the Non-Refundable credit was from my TA and that I could not use it for Service Charge. So the sytem must be able to tell the difference somehow.

 

And to the poster asking if you could go to the casino and cash out, you can for the Refundable On-Board credit, because I did. Had to pay 3% fee, then I stopped at the watch store and spent the Non-Refundable credit on my way back to my cabin.

 

And my final bill showed a Credit of 21 cents and stated it would be mailed to my home address.

 

To clarify some, not all non-refundable credit has this clause that states it cannot be used for OSC or gratuities, so the front desk staff was not right when they told you that since the ones that work at the desk by just looking at your statement would not know what clause was stated on your OBC. The difference between non-refundable and refundable is that you do not get any of the non-refundable back at the end of your cruise.

 

So assuming you had $200 non and $200 refundable and your bill at the end of your cruise was $195. You would only get back $200. They use your non-refundable OBC first.

[che5904]

The ships computers do distinguish between refundable and non-refundable OBC, so it would be a simple program fix to take the next step, however, it would create a firestorm of protests !!

 

Oh very much so since a lot of people don't read the fine print or wouldn't have a copy of the OBC offer with them. When they went to pick up their bill and were told "no, see your OBC is classed as a non-refundable*1, and that means you can't use it for the DSC, but if you would have had a non-refundable*2,*3, or *4 then you could have"

 

Oh my, I can see the hold ups at the front desk now, with raised voices and lots of gestures :eek:

[johnql]

Alright, I concede that the ship's computer is capable of labeling different OBCs as refundable vs. non-refundable. However, that does not mean that the different types of OBC are treated any differently when it comes down to settling one's account. The total credits are still used to offset one's total expenses. I still have never heard of anyone complaining that they couldn't apply their OBC to the DSC. And I truly believe that we would have seen a thread here the moment it happened.

[che5904]

And I truly believe that we would have seen a thread here the moment it happened.

 

:D You are probably right.

[johnql]

My apologies to njhorseman for pulling one of his posts from a different (but related) thread. His anecdote is relevant here.

 

Link, Post #28:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1510961&page=2http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1510961&page=2

 

"A year or two ago I was on an NCL cruise managed by a well-known hotel director. At the Meet and Greet, someone asked him if OBCs could be used toward the DSC, and he said no...but one of his staffers immediately elbowed him in the ribs and told him he was wrong. The HD gets on his phone and calls his accounting manager, who of course confirmed that OBCs were applied to the DSC, simply because the accounting system couldn't distinguish one form of credit from another. The moral of the story is that even a senior officer didn't know that while the written rules may have said one thing, the accounting system wasn't set up to handle it that way."

[springhills]

Just for clarification: Our combination of OBC was all non-refundable. That was shown on the statement we had printed mid-cruise. All purchases, dining charges, Internet, DSC and a debit from the casino were all listed. The credit balance was listed as "Non-refundable." We were still able use that balance for the remaining DSC charges and to purchase the vouchers which we used for gratuities the butler, etc. It worked for us.:)

[swedish weave]

Alright, I concede that the ship's computer is capable of labeling different OBCs as refundable vs. non-refundable. However, that does not mean that the different types of OBC are treated any differently when it comes down to settling one's account. The total credits are still used to offset one's total expenses. I still have never heard of anyone complaining that they couldn't apply their OBC to the DSC. And I truly believe that we would have seen a thread here the moment it happened.

 

As I posted before -- It would be a simple program fix to initiate the change. Having said that, maybe NCL is "sticking their toe in the water" to see what kind of hell raising a change like that would cause. I am sure they don't consider it a priority, because they get their money anyway, but they don't profit from the DSC like they do with dollars spent onother items onboard.

[johnql]

As I posted before -- It would be a simple program fix to initiate the change. Having said that, maybe NCL is "sticking their toe in the water" to see what kind of hell raising a change like that would cause. I am sure they don't consider it a priority, because they get their money anyway, but they don't profit from the DSC like they do with dollars spent onother items onboard.

I have never said that it would be difficult for NCL to change their programming. I'm just stating what practical experience has told us, which is that NCL does NOT differentiate between the two types of OBC when it comes down to settling one's account. Obviously, that could change but, for the time being, I still believe it's safe to say that the OP can safely expect that his OBC will be used to offset his DSC. Of course, in actuality OBC is not used to offset any specific charge, which is the whole point. Total OBC (credits) is simply used to offset total charges (debits).

 

I view this whole situation akin to the soda/bottled water issue. If you call NCL and ask them whether you can take soda onto the ship, their official policy that their reps are directed to state is, "No, you are not allowed to bring soda onto the ship." However, in actual practice, no one has ever posted on CC that they were prohibited from doing so.

[FEckeT]

We have $175 OBC (from NCL) for our next cruise. Our PCC told me that OBC cannot be used for the DSC which took me a bit by surprise. (When we get our final statement on board, all I have ever noticed is charges, credits and a balance :eek:)

 

Not very concerned, because husband likes his "bucket of beers" (and I could always go to the spa) and sometimes we have dinner at some of the specialty restaurants.

 

For our last cruise we used the world points from our NCL credit card to purchase OBC which I was going to do again for this cruise. Does anybody know if OBC from world points is a refundable credit or not?

 

:confused:

[djmess]

I must say I get really frustrated on this board when someone asks a question or points out something they know and then some other person, who must have lots and lots of time on their hands complains that the questions have been asked and answered many times before

 

Yes if you read pages and pages and have many 1000's of posts, then you probably know everything on these boards. Some of us, even if we had been original CC members when it was just a part of AOL in the 90's, may just browse and post occassionaly now when time permits or we have a question. We don't always have time to search and then sort through search results.

 

Sorry, after the last year or so of following the boards more closely again, posting just some times, I just notice this happening all the time to those that just have questions or notice something they felt would be nice to share.

 

PLEASE just answer the questions nicely

[Hawaiifrank]

My $75 OBC from Traveocity stated that it could not be used for gratituties. I wasn't too concerned since my wife and I will easily drink at least that much. :D I had never seen this type of stipulation before on either CCL or RCCL which are the only other lines we've cruised.

[spacepotatoes]

I must say I get really frustrated on this board when someone asks a question or points out something they know and then some other person, who must have lots and lots of time on their hands complains that the questions have been asked and answered many times before

 

Yes if you read pages and pages and have many 1000's of posts, then you probably know everything on these boards. Some of us, even if we had been original CC members when it was just a part of AOL in the 90's, may just browse and post occassionaly now when time permits or we have a question. We don't always have time to search and then sort through search results.

 

Sorry, after the last year or so of following the boards more closely again, posting just some times, I just notice this happening all the time to those that just have questions or notice something they felt would be nice to share.

 

PLEASE just answer the questions nicely

 

The thing is, though, that there are many questions that don't just come up every now and then, but that come up ALL the time. This one was asked just a few days ago. Skimming thread titles back to pg. 4 would have turned up this thread:

 

http://forums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1520944

 

Same question, same responses. No search and sifting through results were required. Just bothering to check the last few pages of post would have been sufficient.

 

I'm not trying to be rude or insulting to the OP by pointing this out, I can understand the search issues. But it also amazes me how many people post things without checking to see if it's already been answered that recently.

[Bars7816]

Well. This was a new TA ad and I don't recall ever seeing this issue stated in an offer for OBC. Sorry to have wasted your time. And do sooooo hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!!!

[che5904]

Well. This was a new TA ad and I don't recall ever seeing this issue stated in an offer for OBC. Sorry to have wasted your time. And do sooooo hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!!!

 

 

Bars you didn't waste my time at all, I was glad to give you information on what I knew.

 

I seem to feel a little different than some others though. There was a thread the other day that was a repeat of one just 4 below it. All I did was simply say something to the fact that "the subject thread is already active a couple of threads down and posted the link". The OP came back said thank you, they hadn't see it and they would post there. Easy solution, no need to make the poster feel they shouldn't have asked the question.