Back to the "old" OBC leftover policy

[hawkeyetlse]

Just make the date so that no one inside final payment is

caught by a change in the terms of their booking.

I agree that they should have announced the change ahead of time, out of principle. But I wonder how important this principle is to you. Worth cancelling your cruises over? If Princess told you, sorry that is the policy, however, we are allowing you the possibility to cancel without penalty. Would you do it?

 

What have you done or what are you planning do about this concretely? Have you called Princess? You never know, they might offer you some additional OBC as compensation… :p

[PescadoAmarillo]

Following are parts of questions I posted on the Princess Facebook page followed by Princess answer:

 

Me: If there is OBC leftover following the first leg of a B2B, would it be possible to carry it over to the second leg?

 

Me: I am also concerned that the vouchers I received from my TA for all five of my upcoming cruises clearly state all of my OBCs are refundable ("yes" under "refundable" for each OBC), where my personalizer has been changed to list all but the military OBC as nonrefundable. Isn't that bad practice to change the terms, especially after final payment?

 

Princess: Regarding your back-to-back Emerald Princess voyages, we will be able to transfer any leftover OBC from the first voyage onto the second voyage. We will have one of our representatives contact you directly regarding your OBCs and which are refundable vs non-refundable, to ensure that we provide the correct level of detail for your specific OBCs.

 

Well, the rollover is very welcome news. B2Bers (like us) have long treated a cruise as a single entity, and Princess has generally obliged by having our statement roll over from one cruise to the next. Some cruises, we might have a larger purchase or splurge; others not. It's nice to know that we don't have to allocate our spending amongst cruises.

 

Interesting that they ignored the second part of your question. Thank you for posting this, and please let us know what they tell you offline.

[billco]

Well, the rollover is very welcome news. B2Bers (like us) have long treated a cruise as a single entity, and Princess has generally obliged by having our statement roll over from one cruise to the next. Some cruises, we might have a larger purchase or splurge; others not. It's nice to know that we don't have to allocate our spending amongst cruises.

 

Interesting that they ignored the second part of your question. Thank you for posting this, and please let us know what they tell you offline.

The first part of our B2B is a 17 day transatlantic with $875 OBC. All of our excursions are private tours, so we don't expect to spend all of the OBC. The second part of the B2B is a 5 day Western Caribbean with $150 OBC with two Princess excursions booked, so carrying over some of the OBC should be helpful. My TA says OBC has always been listed as refundable, so she is looking into it.

[satxdiver]

I just checked all my future reservations and sure enough all the OBCs have a star next to them other than the military one. However since we manage to spend more than the OBCs, we have never had a problem. From a business standpoint I would expect Princess to not refund any OBC that they have granted to get the business.

[hillslife]

We leave next Saturday. Previously only a couple small things were starred not refundable. Today, everything except military is starred....no worries, we will spend it all. But interesting it was changed after being posted on our account for months....

[WAVTAM]

So if everything is classified as NR except military, one can't still use the casino account trick to pull the monies?????

[billco]

So if everything is classified as NR except military, one can't still use the casino account trick to pull the monies?????

I'm not concerned about Casino account tricks. I am concerned that Princess changed the terms of a contract I made through my travel agent.

[mycruisey]

Following are parts of questions I posted on the Princess Facebook page followed by Princess answer:

 

Me: If there is OBC leftover following the first leg of a B2B, would it be possible to carry it over to the second leg?

 

Me: I am also concerned that the vouchers I received from my TA for all five of my upcoming cruises clearly state all of my OBCs are refundable ("yes" under "refundable" for each OBC), where my personalizer has been changed to list all but the military OBC as nonrefundable. Isn't that bad practice to change the terms, especially after final payment?

 

Princess: Regarding your back-to-back Emerald Princess voyages, we will be able to transfer any leftover OBC from the first voyage onto the second voyage. We will have one of our representatives contact you directly regarding your OBCs and which are refundable vs non-refundable, to ensure that we provide the correct level of detail for your specific OBCs.

Interesting, as I just spoke with a Princess rep who indicated that in the case of a B2B the onboard credits would NOT carry over!!! So what is the REAL answer???

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Interesting, as I just spoke with a Princess rep who indicated that in the case of a B2B the onboard credits would NOT carry over!!! So what is the REAL answer???

 

Like almost every other question asked you'll get different answers when you call Princess directly. You'll know what they intend to do after you board the ship & even that may change depending on which ship it is. ;)

[pablo222]

If Princess told you, sorry that is the policy, however, we are allowing you the possibility to cancel without penalty. Would you do it?

 

There is another couple that I am traveling with.

If they could cancel as well, then yes.

 

I really doubt that princess would make an exception for me.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Like almost every other question asked you'll get different answers when you call Princess directly. You'll know what they intend to do after you board the ship & even that may change depending on which ship it is. ;)

 

Bingo!

[bhopal21]

I'm not concerned about Casino account tricks. I am concerned that Princess changed the terms of a contract I made through my travel agent.

 

 

That attachment is from your TA correct?

 

Mike:)

[billco]

That attachment is from your TA correct?

 

Mike:)

That is correct. Sorry that I couldn't make it more readable. I have vouchers for five upcoming cruises, All show yes under refundable for each OBC. When I asked my TA about the change to refundable/nonrefundable, her response was "It’s odd about the onboard credits. I’ve never know them to be any other way than what you described. If you have that in writing and can forward that to us, we’ll check it out for you!"

 

My TA is one of the best TAs out there and I was lucky to find her based on recommendations from other long time CC members.

[bhopal21]

I'm sure she is a good TA but I doubt that she will be able to effect any changes to the new non-refundable OBC policy of Princess.

 

We are leaving in 10 days on the Ruby and have quite a bit of OBC. I just can't imagine having any left over.

 

Mike:)

[billco]

I'm sure she is a good TA but I doubt that she will be able to effect any changes to the new non-refundable OBC policy of Princess.

 

 

 

We are leaving in 10 days on the Ruby and have quite a bit of OBC. I just can't imagine having any left over.

 

 

 

Mike:)

 

 

Didn't mean to imply she could effect a change, just that she hadn't heard of it. I generally don't have any left over either. Just don't like changing the terms.

 

However, that voucher I posted has prepaid gratuities for a 20 day cruise plus $200 OBC in addition to the regular credits. Since we book private excursions, don't drink much, don't gamble, and don't eat in specialty restaurants we might have a bit of trouble.

[Princess Patches]

Just got off the Crown today. I was unaware of the OBC policy change and went to the Passenger Services desk on the last evening of the cruise to cash out about $500 in unused OBCs. I was told by the person at the desk and the manager that the policy changed in August and no OBCs are refundable except military credits. The military credits are only refundable to your credit card and you cannot get cash for them. No other credits are refundable.

 

I then went to the casino and charged the amount of my unused credits to my casino account which is deducted from any and all OBCs. I played slots briefly (it was already late evening at this point) and then cashed out the casino account. The casino charge appeared immediately on my account and was deducted from all the remaining OBCs on the account. If you are not going to use all of your OBCs, cashing out at the casino is the only way I know to get cash for any unused credits.

[bhopal21]

Just got off the Crown today. I was unaware of the OBC policy change and went to the Passenger Services desk on the last evening of the cruise to cash out about $500 in unused OBCs. I was told by the person at the desk and the manager that the policy changed in August and no OBCs are refundable except military credits. The military credits are only refundable to your credit card and you cannot get cash for them. No other credits are refundable.

 

I then went to the casino and charged the amount of my unused credits to my casino account which is deducted from any and all OBCs. I played slots briefly (it was already late evening at this point) and then cashed out the casino account. The casino charge appeared immediately on my account and was deducted from all the remaining OBCs on the account. If you are not going to use all of your OBCs, cashing out at the casino is the only way I know to get cash for any unused credits.

 

 

With all their cost cutting and trimming of benefits can Princess afford to supplement actions like this?

 

Mike:)

[DanaPointBob]

Assuming Princess reads these boards would suggest cashing out in the casino will end soon too. I am sure Princess thanks you for exposing the loophole. Sigh!

[Princess Patches]

Assuming Princess reads these boards would suggest cashing out in the casino will end soon too. I am sure Princess thanks you for exposing the loophole. Sigh!

 

The ability to cash out at the casino has been mentioned many, many times on these boards and even multiple times on this thread alone. Posters come here for information, not secrecy.

 

Princess created the policy to allow casino charges to be deducted from the OBCs in the first place. Anyone who has ever played at the casino and had OBCs has seen that casino charges are always deducted from their OBCs. This is not a loophole or top secret info. It is something Princess has chosen to do and certainly does not have to do. They could change the policy, as they have changed many other favorable policies in the past, with a simple computer adjustment whenever they like. I imagine the reasoning behind the policy is to get you gambling any way they can. As long as the casino continues to turn a profit, the policy will probably remain in place.

 

If they do change the policy, I will still sail Princess and will come up with some way to spend $800 OBC (per cabin) on a one week cruise. We had loyalty credit, FCC credit, TA credit, Princess promotional credit and shareholder credit. It adds up fast and difficult to use all on a one week cruise.

[Griller]

Just got off the Crown today. I was unaware of the OBC policy change and went to the Passenger Services desk on the last evening of the cruise to cash out about $500 in unused OBCs. I was told by the person at the desk and the manager that the policy changed in August and no OBCs are refundable except military credits. The military credits are only refundable to your credit card and you cannot get cash for them. No other credits are refundable.

 

I then went to the casino and charged the amount of my unused credits to my casino account which is deducted from any and all OBCs. I played slots briefly (it was already late evening at this point) and then cashed out the casino account. The casino charge appeared immediately on my account and was deducted from all the remaining OBCs on the account. If you are not going to use all of your OBCs, cashing out at the casino is the only way I know to get cash for any unused credits.

 

Thankyou so much for publicising this even more, now it won't be long before no-one can do it. Talk about shooting yourself - and everyone else - in the foot!

Ever heard the saying "Loose Lips Sink Ships"?

Edited October 12, 2014 by Griller

[bhopal21]

Thankyou so much for publicising this, now it won't be long before no-one can do it. Talk about shooting yourself - and everyone else - in the foot!

 

Princess should have this loophole plugged within the next couple of weeks.:D

 

Mike:)

[Sandy R]

Kudos to Princess if they continue to return unused Military OBC to our credit cards! If we're given a credit to our credit cards, there's no need to "cash out" in the casino. And, I'm certain Princess already knows about the casino "loop-hole"... that practice has been discussed several times on the CC board.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Sandy R

[DanaPointBob]

As enlightening as your reply was I still suggest since the point of the OBC is to spend it ON BOARD that cashing it out in the casino is a loophole.

[Princess Patches]

As enlightening as your reply was I still suggest since the point of the OBC is to spend it ON BOARD that cashing it out in the casino is a loophole.

 

So if I charge $200 to my casino account and win $100 and walk away with $300, then this is a "loophole" because I not only cashed out my $200 OBCs but I made a $100 profit. According to you, the OBCs were not spent ONBOARD the ship because I walked away with $300 of "Princess money" in cash.

 

Since I charged $250 to my casino account but only lost $30 on the last evening of the cruise, that is a loophole in your book. if I had lost $50 would that still be a loophole? What about if I lost $100 of my $250? Is that still a loophole or is that legitimate policy? Since according to your policy, you cannot walk away with any of your onboard credits as cash or it is a loophole.

 

Why do they even let people cash out at the casino at all on the last night of the cruise? There was a line out the door of people cashing out the last night of the cruise. I did not see any staff member telling them they could not receive cash if they did not spend all their OBC credits elsewhere first. What you suggest is plain silly and strictly in conflict with Princess Policy. Princess requires that you charge any casino play to your onboard account (you cannot use cash in the casino) and then they automatically deduct that charge from any OBCs on your account. You cannot do it any other way. That is their policy, not mine.

 

I only had an hour to lose $250 and I failed. Next time I will try to do better and lose all of it so I do not run afoul of your loophole policy.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Princess Patches

[Griller]

Oh dear some people really don't know when its a good time when to zip it up........ and of course the slots in the Casino take cash, bills up to $100 I believe in most cases.