Breakawayers Beware - OBCs

[SciFiCruiser]

I am sorry you had problems.:( Hopefully your posting here will help other cruisers avoid something similar. My family and I are going on our first NCL ship this summer and I will keep that in mind as we have some OBC coming to us and are hoping to use in in a specialty restaurant.

[valleyvillage]

I had a great boss once who practiced the assumption of innocence/best intentions whenever possible. It is always possible! Just like the Dalai Lama said about being kind.

[sweetride]

I am sorry you had problems.:( Hopefully your posting here will help other cruisers avoid something similar. My family and I are going on our first NCL ship this summer and I will keep that in mind as we have some OBC coming to us and are hoping to use in in a specialty restaurant.

 

you'll be fine, its common knowledge and written on the OBC coupons you get that it cannot be used on auto gratuities. they can be used for everything else on the ship though. if you have any left the night before you get back, just buy stuff in the shops on board before they close up.

[Two@Sea]

Our first NCL cruise is booked for early next year. I am aware of the OBC allowances only through Cruise Critic posts.

 

If our account showed our OBC diminishing every day due to the service charges, my first thought would be, "Oh, they changed things. How nice!"

 

NCL needs to correct/adjust their computer system to accurately reflect the TRUE daily balance, rather than have so many 'surprise endings.'

[sweetride]

Our first NCL cruise is booked for early next year. I am aware of the OBC allowances only through Cruise Critic posts.

 

If our account showed our OBC diminishing every day due to the service charges, my first thought would be, "Oh, they changed things. How nice!"

 

NCL needs to correct/adjust their computer system to accurately reflect the TRUE daily balance, rather than have so many 'surprise endings.'

 

it was their first sailing and it wasn't a fleet wide issue. someone wrote the code wrong in their computer system for the first sailing. did everyone expect everything to be perfect on the initial sailing? i'm sure its fixed or being worked on now.

[Lulley766]

While I shouldn't have to "defend" myself about my apparent ignorance about the change in OBC policy I will. While I am NCL platinum, I haven't sailed NCL since the policy change. We took a break and sailed other lines. Therefore, I didn't know the policy changed.

 

Why was I checking my balance daily? It's a new ship, I figured there would be glitches, and erroneous charges. It would be easier to fix on Day 4 rather than on Day 7. I didn't want to be one of the people at the guest services desk on the last day arguing about their bill, which is exactly what happened.

 

And as far as how much I spent or how little, I don't see how that's relevant to the story. We cruise at least twice a year, so we don't spend every nickel we have. We don't use the spa, and didn't order a lot of drinks, so our balances were low. We did use the laundry and made purchases in the store, not that this should matter.

 

If I was trying to "scam" the system as others have impolitely suggested, I would have said to take the charges from the crew pool funds - but I didn't. And, if the charges are being posted against the OBCs for 7 days straight - why would you question it? If they give you a key to your room should you ask if this is the room you will be staying in?

 

Some people just love to bicker....

[shark with a laser]

I can't imagine not spending $250 even on a 3 or 4 day cruise. The only way I can think of for that to be possible is eat only at the MDR or buffet, don't gamble, don't drink anything except the free beverages, don't take any NCL sponsored excursions, and don't buy anything. It probably costs me $100 just to step out of my stateroom!

[shoreless]

If I were you, I would have questioned about it because everyone knows that OBC cannot be be applied towards service charges. You should have known that it was a computer glitch, spent more than an hour to fight for something you really didn't entitle to was silly.

 

I guess "everyone" doesn't include me then.

 

I didn't know about it, although I'm willing to accept that perhaps I would have if I were more thorough about reading documentation.

 

I'm glad the OP posted the warning, in any case. I don't think it would ever affect me but that's only because I always buy a lot of internet time. We drink very little, usually only eat at one specialty restaurant per cruise, don't gamble much, and often don't take excursions (depending on the itinerary).

 

My idea of entertainment is sitting on my balcony and looking at the ocean. We're apparently very cheap and probably quite boring :eek::D

[gatorsfam]

We sailed in a promenade view room which overlooked the customer service counter on the Voyager of the Seas... It was quite entertaining watching people get so worked up and how well the staff kept their cool and tried to resolve the concerns - which 95% of the time are simple misunderstandings. Oftentimes what is attributed to a huge conspiracy is nothing of the sort, but a collision of policies, computer glitches, and misinformation.

[SissasMomE]

We are just off the London to NY TA. All was perfect until the final morning. We got 2 OBCs = one from World Points for $150, the other from NCL for $100. We checked our online account daily. On the final night had spent the entire $250, and the service charges were applied accordingly against the credits.

 

On the morning of debarkation they slipped our bill under the door. Lo and behold, the charges had been revised to no longer reflected the services charges being paid, and we now had a $66 unspent OBC.

 

Infuriated we spoke with guest relations who admitted NCL has "glitch" in their accounting, but refused to do anything about it. His suggestion was to go buy pictures, or order some drinks at the bar (at 6:15 AM!). We balked as we not only had an unused credit, but now owed more because of the unused credit.

 

The next suggestion floored me. They would equalize the $66 against the services charges. In simple english, they would not pay the staff to reimburse us. They presented us a form to sign. We refused. Two wrongs don't make a right. I was both horrified and incensed that this was what they would even suggest.

 

Calls were made to the supervisor, who reiterated the suggestions to go buy pictures. Finally after nearly an hour, and huge scene at guest relations, they relented and credited the $66 dollars, (but not from the service charges).

 

I find their actions unconscionable. My reason for posting this to future Breakawayers is to make everyone aware of their sneaky actions. If NCL had no intentions of applying the OBCs to the service charges, why for 7 days did my OBC balance decline? When I asked that question I got no answer. The answer is that is a sneaky, underhanded practice on the part of NCL to revise the accounts on the last night when people are not likely to look at them. Given the fact that I am platinum, seemed to have counted for nothing, either. I've spent a lot of money with NCL and deserved much better treatment.

 

Shame on you NCL!

 

Yikes! You really had a fit over $66?! Unless you buy your own OBC pre-cruise, or are given a refundable OBC, you can't use any OBC towards the DSC. Good for you for not letting them rip the crew off though!

[mikewrit]

Perhaps we will hear from some of the poor souls stuck in lengthening lines at the service desk while OP spent so much time and energy asserting his rights and perquisites as a platinum cruiser.

[Lulley766]

It wasn't about the $66. It was the issue of accountability. NCL should have admitted the presentation of the charges was wrong and fixed it. No way was I going to let them hit the crew up for their mistake. And, if NCL truly wasn't at fault, there was no way they would have given the money back.

 

It just strikes me as awful strange that no one in the accounting area checked what and how things were posting on a brand new system until the final night of the cruise. Things that make you go hmmm...

 

 

Thank you for all the positive support I've gotten. To those who feel I should have known better, well, live and learn. Perhaps they will be in my shoes one day and not know all they have tasked me with knowing.

[FEckeT]

I am under the impression that World Points OBC is a REFUNDABLE credit, therefore COULD be used for the DSC.

 

The other OBC from booking the cruise is NON-REFUNDABLE and CANNOT be applied to the DSC.

 

If we ever feel that we are NOT going to use up all our OBC, we just purchase a future cruise reward certificate. Seems like an easy way to use up any unused OBC.

 

BTW: I loved the fact that I could check our account on the GEM and I agree, I like to know that everything we charge is there and nothing more. On the Jewel and the Star, I would stop by Customer Service if I happened to walk by and there was no line. This way on the last night, I wasn't searching madly for receipts. Those "buckets of beers" my husband buys can really add up :eek:

 

:D:)

[bob brown]

This thread despite the bickering, is somewhat educational to me. So there are 'refundable' and 'non-refundable' On Board Credits, depending on whether you get them from NCL as a booking promotion, or a travel agency, as their own promotion. Did I get that right, so far?

 

So say your start out with $100 OBC from each category, for a total of $200. As you 'spend' on board, how do they determine which 'pool' to pay the charges from, if you don't use all of it?

You would think that they should be fair about it and apply the non-refundable OBC first, but now I wonder, do they?

 

Or am I misunderstanding the whole issue?:confused:

[phoenix1181]

It's my understanding that they use the non-refundable first unless the transaction is the DSC. Of course, I have no personal experience with this situation because we prefer to prepay DSC & always use every penny of our OBC & then some............

[SissasMomE]

It wasn't about the $66. It was the issue of accountability. NCL should have admitted the presentation of the charges was wrong and fixed it. No way was I going to let them hit the crew up for their mistake. And, if NCL truly wasn't at fault, there was no way they would have given the money back.

 

It just strikes me as awful strange that no one in the accounting area checked what and how things were posting on a brand new system until the final night of the cruise. Things that make you go hmmm...

 

 

Thank you for all the positive support I've gotten. To those who feel I should have known better, well, live and learn. Perhaps they will be in my shoes one day and not know all they have tasked me with knowing.

 

I think they probably gave the money back to shut you up, not because they made an error. What difference does it make how it "posted"?! The bill was correct by the last day. I doubt it was a conspiracy.

[dcollette]

I don't think anyone is trying to cheat anything. That being said, this is exactly why I prepay my DSC so that whatever is on my account is for spending onboard. I agree that it is wrong of the staff to try to take the additional money out of the tip pool (even though I have encountered some staff that don't deserve their share) for a mistake. NCL credits are not usable toward your DSC, but travel agents credits are and perhaps that is how they were applying it to the OP's account so when it was being checked everything seemed in order. Glitches do happen, but they shouldn't try to short the staff to fix it.

 

As for those doubting why someone wouldn't check their account daily--I always check my account daily to catch any errors (or catch my kids overspending) right away instead of waiting until the end of the cruise and causing more aggravation then I need. If you are checking your account daily and everything is in order, I can understand the frustration of getting an unanticipated bill at the end. Whether due to the glitch or human error, it needed to be fixed, but not at the expense of the staff IMO.

[SwellBee]

It probably costs me $100 just to step out of my stateroom!

 

I laughed really loud when I read this! :D I'm at work, oops! Spending money on a cruise is way too easy!

[Riverwinds 13]

While I shouldn't have to "defend" myself about my apparent ignorance about the change in OBC policy I will. While I am NCL platinum, I haven't sailed NCL since the policy change. We took a break and sailed other lines. Therefore, I didn't know the policy changed.

 

Why was I checking my balance daily? It's a new ship, I figured there would be glitches, and erroneous charges. It would be easier to fix on Day 4 rather than on Day 7. I didn't want to be one of the people at the guest services desk on the last day arguing about their bill, which is exactly what happened.

 

And as far as how much I spent or how little, I don't see how that's relevant to the story. We cruise at least twice a year, so we don't spend every nickel we have. We don't use the spa, and didn't order a lot of drinks, so our balances were low. We did use the laundry and made purchases in the store, not that this should matter.

 

If I was trying to "scam" the system as others have impolitely suggested, I would have said to take the charges from the crew pool funds - but I didn't. And, if the charges are being posted against the OBCs for 7 days straight - why would you question it? If they give you a key to your room should you ask if this is the room you will be staying in?

 

Some people just love to bicker....

 

 

Lulley, For what it's worth, you have my vote of confidence. Honest misunderstanding. One thing I learned about reading these boards is that some people just wait to pounce on others comments. We all live and learn and it seems to me that's what happened to you.

[gatorsfam]

Companies 'give the money back' to make a problem (or perceived problem) go away all the time. It is not an admission of having done something wrong, much less having done something wrong intentionally.

 

Squeaky wheel gets the grease...

[lowroller]

On our shortened GEM cruise to Bermuda due to Hurricane Sandy,

We started our 5 day adventure with a credit of $1250.00.

 

I still had to pay $750.00 to get off the ship :eek:

I thought I would have a hard time spending $1250

 

boy was I wrong

 

 

And I thought I had a problem......................:)

[lowroller]

Lulley, they did allow the World Points OBC ($150) to be used against the DSC correct?

The $100 from NCL was the problem, correct?

How much was the laundry bill? How much was you bar (drinks) bill? I would have thought they would have bveen more than $34 ($100 NCL OBC minus $66 that was not allowed = $34 in other charges)

Glenn

 

 

 

We are just off the London to NY TA. All was perfect until the final morning. We got 2 OBCs = one from World Points for $150, the other from NCL for $100. We checked our online account daily. On the final night had spent the entire $250, and the service charges were applied accordingly against the credits.

 

On the morning of debarkation they slipped our bill under the door. Lo and behold, the charges had been revised to no longer reflected the services charges being paid, and we now had a $66 unspent OBC.

 

Infuriated we spoke with guest relations who admitted NCL has "glitch" in their accounting, but refused to do anything about it. His suggestion was to go buy pictures, or order some drinks at the bar (at 6:15 AM!). We balked as we not only had an unused credit, but now owed more because of the unused credit.

 

The next suggestion floored me. They would equalize the $66 against the services charges. In simple english, they would not pay the staff to reimburse us. They presented us a form to sign. We refused. Two wrongs don't make a right. I was both horrified and incensed that this was what they would even suggest.

 

Calls were made to the supervisor, who reiterated the suggestions to go buy pictures. Finally after nearly an hour, and huge scene at guest relations, they relented and credited the $66 dollars, (but not from the service charges).

 

I find their actions unconscionable. My reason for posting this to future Breakawayers is to make everyone aware of their sneaky actions. If NCL had no intentions of applying the OBCs to the service charges, why for 7 days did my OBC balance decline? When I asked that question I got no answer. The answer is that is a sneaky, underhanded practice on the part of NCL to revise the accounts on the last night when people are not likely to look at them. Given the fact that I am platinum, seemed to have counted for nothing, either. I've spent a lot of money with NCL and deserved much better treatment.

 

Shame on you NCL!

[ChiMimi69]

On our shortened GEM cruise to Bermuda due to Hurricane Sandy,

We started our 5 day adventure with a credit of $1250.00.

 

I still had to pay $750.00 to get off the ship :eek:

I thought I would have a hard time spending $1250

 

boy was I wrong

 

 

OMG!!! 2K really? :eek: I check my balance every day. Simply because as a single mom, I'm already freaking out when my charges are more than my monthly grocery bill. :D But hey, if you got it like that, I say...good for you! I hope you had a BLAST spending it! :)

[lolane1]

On our shortened GEM cruise to Bermuda due to Hurricane Sandy,

We started our 5 day adventure with a credit of $1250.00.

 

I still had to pay $750.00 to get off the ship :eek:

I thought I would have a hard time spending $1250

 

boy was I wrong

 

Jewelry maybe? I can see that. Artwork, hmmmmm. Hope it wasn't spent all at the bar cause you would have been embalmed before your time.

[francina]

I don't know what world points are but if it wasn't once receive from NCL they should have been able to use it for service charge. I thought any refundable obc can be use for service charges.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2