Back to the "old" OBC leftover policy

[LMaxwell]

Will this be like Royal Caribbean where I believe Non-Refundable credits are used first; and if you want money from the Casino there is a 5% fee? (I believe the fee is regardless of type of OBC; they are just charging an advance to your room)

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

cursion options in case we need to find ways to spend the OBC.

 

You could always treat yourself to one of the specialty dining restaurants to help burn through the non-refundable OBC.

[PunkiC]

Like many others I don't have a problem with the OBC being non-refundable. At first I felt that the Shareholder OBC should be refundable but I guess I can see it from the Princess side as well.

 

However, I would be extremely unhappy if all OBC was restricted from going to the auto-tips. I count on the shareholder OBC to cover part of that expense and it is a factor in whether we cruise or not. Unlike a number of people who post here I have limited means and have to budget for money to use for cruising.

 

Up until now all OBC seems to have gone into a big "pot" and all expenses - including the auto-tip - have been deducted until it was gone and all additional expenses have been charged to my credit card. If the OBC restriction on being used for tips is enforced it will have a negative effect on a large number of people. Some can afford the change much better than others.

 

Some, I feel certain, would recoup the loss by cancelling the auto-tip. This will in turn affect the wages of the crew and that could impact their attitude toward the passengers. I can't imagine anything good coming from such a practice.

 

Princess should tread softly with this type of change. They have a very large and loyal passenger base that they should be careful not to alienate. There are a lot of cruise lines around and only so many "new" cruisers to attract. Without the loyal customers Princess could find that they won't be able to fill their ships. Making all OBC non-refundable is acceptable and, other than a bit of grumbling, won't have much effect on anybody or anything. Making all OBC unavailable to pay the auto-tip might have a much greater impact.

 

So far, I haven't seen or heard anything "official" from Princess regarding the auto-tip and OBC. I know that the Shareholder info always contained verbiage regarding this issue but it would be a poor idea to implement it. Hopefully this is nothing but some "the sky is falling" being tacked onto the apparent reality regarding all OBC being non-refundable.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. OBC is one of the factors we seriously consider when we book a cruises.

 

Since we are stockholders and are both veterans, it is always a better deal for us to book Princess or Cunard, both of which honor veterans and stockholders with OBC. Our OBC always covers our Auto-tip, plus some wine for dinner, dinner at a specialty restaurant, and any other little incidentals we might need on board. Not allowing us to use our OBC for the Auto-tip would be a very big deal for us and would most definitely limit the number of cruises we could take in a year.

[pablo222]

We're boarding the CB in 4 weeks for a 10-day B2B. Based on our past experience, I thought the promotional OBC we got would be refundable, but now I don't know what to expect. There's absolutely nothing in the confirmation docs I received upon booking that indicates either way. But when I now log on to my Cruise Personalizer, and search out the previously-unknown (to me, anyway), tab labeled "Payments & Credits," I see the asterisk saying it's non-refundable. Hmmph. News to me. :mad:

 

I booked a cruise last week, fare was $398, with $400 OBC

 

As I proceeded through the booking on the princess web site,

I eventually got to a summary page showing the cruise fare,

port charges, OBC, etc.

 

Under the obc was a link labeled 'Details'.

 

I clicked the link which popped up a window which said

something like enjoy the OBC on board, as it is non-refundable.

 

So, I knew in advance, and could have abandoned the booking

at that point.

[Astro Flyer]

Princess or Cunard, both of which honor veterans and stockholders with OBC.

I wasn't aware that Cunard also gives veterans OBC which is another reason for us to plan a future TA to Europe, touring Europe & the QM2 back to the US without any long international flights. :)

[PunkiC]

I wasn't aware that Cunard also gives veterans OBC which is another reason for us to plan a future TA to Europe, touring Europe & the QM2 back to the US without any long international flights. :)

 

Yes they do and, since they share a data base with Princess, it will show up automatically when you book your cruise.

[Mary Ellen1]

You could always treat yourself to one of the specialty dining restaurants to help burn through the non-refundable OBC.

 

Yes! That's on our short-list of possibilities... :)

 

 

I booked a cruise last week, fare was $398, with $400 OBC

 

As I proceeded through the booking on the princess web site,

I eventually got to a summary page showing the cruise fare,

port charges, OBC, etc.

 

Under the obc was a link labeled 'Details'.

 

I clicked the link which popped up a window which said

something like enjoy the OBC on board, as it is non-refundable.

 

So, I knew in advance, and could have abandoned the booking

at that point.

 

My fare & OBC was very similar to yours, but I called Princess directly to book it. The agent didn't say anything about whether it was refundable. I thought it would be, based on past experience. And my booking confirmation docs don't mention anything either way... :(

 

So... based on what you said about the link labeled "Details," I just went in & did a mock booking, which STILL doesn't show the OBC being offered on my cruise as non-refundable. It says:

 

Onboard Credit Summary

Onboard Credits are essentially onboard spending money that is applied to your shipboard folio. At the end of your cruise,

these credits are applied to your final balance due

.

 

I read that as refundable. I guess I'll find out on board.

[cherylandtk]

So, trying to get this straight - what my personalizer says right now, prior to sailing, (in regards to which items are asterisked as non refundable) may change once I am on board in three weeks?

No, those won't change, if they are asterisked they are likely booking promotions, to be used onboard and are NR. BUT, some of your other items may consist of both NR and R credits. Just because a credit in your Personalizer does not have an asterisk, that does not mean it is refundable.

[cactusrose]

On the CB we had both types of OB credit & on the first night opened a casino account & transferred it all to that account on 9/25 as soon as the casino opened. I decided not to use it for gambling & cashed out on 9/27 and here I sit with cash in hand tonight ready to continue on for the second leg of the trip. All gratitude's will be billed to my credit card as expected along with all our purchases.

 

What is a casino account?

[bigenna]

So much conflicting information. The only thing I show currently on my oct 20th cruise as non refundable is a $50 "goodwill" credit that was awarded me last year. Nothing else, Military, Shareholders, Travel Agent OBC, FCC OBC shows as non refundable at this point. I guess we will wait and see like everyone else.

 

This cruise is the first one that we have ever amassed a sizeable OBC and prior to this thread we were discussing what we would do with these hundreds of dollars left over AFTER auto tip. We had already decided to book an ultimate balcony dinner, a first for us, as well as looking at Princess excursions, even though we prefer either booking privately or just doing our own thing.

 

We are non drinkers and don't gamble so I guess I will be going shopping or trying the spa services.

 

It has only been the last year or so that we have fixed our loyalty with Princess thanks to all the great tips here on Cruise Critic.

 

Normally our OBC is enough to cover auto tip, a few mocktails. The most we have ever cashed out is about $50.00. We keep saying to ourselves this can't go on forever so are not surprised to see Princess putting the brakes on. One poster said something about cashing out close to $400 - YIKES!

 

So all in all, it was nice while it lasted, sorry it has to start the first time we would have been able to possibly have cashed out partial travel expenses home, but it should be fun having all these choices to spend it on.

 

The thing that will make the big difference to our cruising costs is if they enforce not being able to pay the auto tip out of available OBC. That will make us think twice about making our getaways exclusively cruising as has been our practice. May look into some land based holidays as well.

[tothemall&beyond]

So, trying to get this straight - what my personalizer says right now, prior to sailing, (in regards to which items are asterisked as non refundable) may change once I am on board in three weeks?

 

I have been on phone with Princess management for the past two hours. Despite whatever notation you may have on your Cruise Personalizer, the Shareholder OBC is NOT refundable, nor is the Future Cruise Deposit OBC. You can NOT use any of your Military, Shareholder, Future Cruise or Promo/ShoreEx OBC's in the casino any longer for casino credits or purchases. New policies went into effect on 8/18 enforcing what was always the actual (but unenforced) policy. Even if it looks like you've transferred $$ to your casino purse and cashed it out, beware!!! It will NOT get applied against your OBCs. It will be charged as a new purchase and billed to your account. So when you get your final folio, the OBC's (except for the Military) will still be left sitting in your account unused but not refundable nor able to be cashed out in the casino, and you will have a nice, new charge for whatever you transferred.

[karena1]

We have $350 in OBC on our upcoming Ruby cruise and I KNOW there won't be anything left at the end of the week. Guessing we will owe over that which is fine. I have yet had to worry about using OBC. If I see some on the last day, I head down to the shops and get a bottle of booze to bring home if nothing else interests me.

[Astro Flyer]

I have been on phone with Princess management for the past two hours. Despite whatever notation you may have on your Cruise Personalizer, the Shareholder OBC is NOT refundable, nor is the Future Cruise Deposit OBC. You can NOT use any of your Military, Shareholder, Future Cruise or Promo/ShoreEx OBC's in the casino any longer for casino credits or purchases. New policies went into effect on 8/18 enforcing what was always the actual (but unenforced) policy. Even if it looks like you've transferred $$ to your casino purse and cashed it out, beware!!! It will NOT get applied against your OBCs. It will be charged as a new purchase and billed to your account. So when you get your final folio, the OBC's (except for the Military) will still be left sitting in your account unused but not refundable nor able to be cashed out in the casino, and you will have a nice, new charge for whatever you transferred.

Thanks for doing that research...any mention about using OBCs for gratuities?

 

Although I'd be hesitant to ask not wanting them to consider that change. If they make that change I'd have rethink Princess as my 1st choice & whether to keep my CCL shares if that OBC is not allowed for gratuities which is where most of mine goes.

[azbirdmom]

I had mentioned early on in this thread that travel agents also have access to a screen that shows every type of OBC itemized line by line and it clearly has a column titled "Refundable" with Yes or No next to each type. For our booking, only the Customer Relations category has "No" which is consistent with what is displayed on the CP screen. I have no doubt that we will manage to spend every penny of our OBC. However, I am with those who object to Princess changing the status of OBC on the final folio if a passenger has documentation to the contrary that was provided prior to the cruise.

Edited September 29, 2014 by azbirdmom

[bigenna]

Thanks for doing that research...any mention about using OBCs for gratuities?

 

Although I'd be hesitant to ask not wanting them to consider that change. If they make that change I'd have rethink Princess as my 1st choice & whether to keep my CCL shares if that OBC is not allowed for gratuities which is where most of mine goes.

 

That is what I am thinking too. I am really hoping that at the very least, some of the OBC we get can be used towards the auto tip.

[tothemall&beyond]

Thanks for doing that research...any mention about using OBCs for gratuities?

 

Although I'd be hesitant to ask not wanting them to consider that change. If they make that change I'd have rethink Princess as my 1st choice & whether to keep my CCL shares if that OBC is not allowed for gratuities which is where most of mine goes.

 

 

Astroflyer,

 

I actually did broach that subject and didn't get a clear, committed response. Even if not changing that yet, I wouldn't trust what may happen in the future without notice, just like these most recent post-booking, post-final payment modifications. And then, to add insult to injury, they didn't want to let us cancel our booking (for 11/15) without losing $240 in fees. I persisted and eventually prevailed. But it was a 2 hour ordeal. Not multiple calls. One call that lasted 2 hours! Now DH and I are thinking that we may sell our shares of CCL, and for the first time in over 8 years, look at other cruise lines.

[SOLIVITA LADY]

We are actually going on the 11/15 cruise and I didn't book it to cash in my OBC and walk away with a free cruise. I will be very surprised if we cannot use our OBC for gratuities and if that happens then I will cancel my 2015 cruises (all 3 of them) and consider selling my shares but not until I see for myself. Answers you may get from Princess reps do not always reflect what actually happens on the ships.

 

Jackie

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[PunkiC]

I too called Princess to see what they had to say on this subject. The front line people, as usual, were clueless, but I did talk with Customer Relations and this is what they relayed:

 

1. Yes, OBC could be used to cover gratuities.

 

2. The non-refundable OBC would be applied first.

 

That being the case, since the majority of the OBC that most people will have will be nonrefundable, the only people I can imagine feeling the change would be the people who cancelled their Auto-tip and tried to cash it out. You may or may not agree with me, but IMHO anyone who would attempt to cancel the Auto-tip and cash it out, deserves to lose their OBC.

 

Since we are both veterans credit is refundable, I doubt we will ever have and non-refundable credit left. On a 14-day cruise we get $500 in Military credit and we never have that much left at the end.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Pam, thanks for posting this. Good to have the heads-up. And thanks to the many others who have posted recent, ship-specific, experiences.

 

We're boarding the CB in 4 weeks for a 10-day B2B. Based on our past experience, I thought the promotional OBC we got would be refundable, but now I don't know what to expect. There's absolutely nothing in the confirmation docs I received upon booking that indicates either way. But when I now log on to my Cruise Personalizer, and search out the previously-unknown (to me, anyway), tab labeled "Payments & Credits," I see the asterisk saying it's non-refundable. Hmmph. News to me. :mad:

 

Again, many thanks for the heads-up. Gotta love CruiseCritic. DH & I don't gamble, don't drink alcohol, and are now perusing the shore excursion options in case we need to find ways to spend the OBC.

 

You can also go shopping!

[tothemall&beyond]

We are actually going on the 11/15 cruise and I didn't book it to cash in my OBC and walk away with a free cruise. I will be very surprised if we cannot use our OBC for gratuities and if that happens then I will cancel my 2015 cruises (all 3 of them) and consider selling my shares but not until I see for myself. Answers you may get from Princess reps do not always reflect what actually happens on the ships.

 

Jackie

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

 

 

These weren't Princess reps. These were management personnel in Customer Relations and we went three levels up the supervisory chain within that dept.

[dianef]

I just called Princess and was transferred to someone who told me that military OBC is refundable and all other OBC can be used for gratuities.

 

I previously have gotten some money back at the end of the cruise and she said you never get money back if it was something they gave you.Did not want to argue with her,so not sure if the gratuity thing is even correct.Hopfully it is.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I can tell you from someone that we spoke to on the Caribbean Princess sailing that was on the week before us and got off this morning with us what their experience was with OBC.

On last week's sailing they went down to the purser's desk and cashed out a good portion of their OBC. They had a lot of it including the $200 per person. They were able to get almost all of it out as cash.

For this last sailing they were notified that this was not the case. They were not able to cash out almost all of it.

[richstowe]

We have 7 different OBC's for our upcoming cruise in 23 days and only one has a star by it with the following explanation at the bottom of the page "Payments and credits"

 

*Please enjoy using these credits onboard as they are not refundable.

 

Mike:)

 

Honestly, with all the OBC being given with all the new promos, I am surprised that Princess is even profitable lately. Every one I know lately who is cruising is getting as much OBC as the cruise costs, literally.

I am looking at booking my first Princess cruise and am a firm believer in getting whatever you can.

Having said that, when 7 different OBC's are available for a

single cruise, I believe Princess is degrading its own product.

Perhaps not in the short run but certainly in the long run.

It almost hints of desperation like the extreme car rebates of years ago.

I have no doubt that those with multiple and extensive OBC believe these are earned

and would disagree with me. I would disagree with me too if I had all these "gifts". ;)

Edited September 30, 2014 by richstowe

[bhopal21]

I am looking at booking my first Princess cruise and am a firm believer in getting whatever you can.

Having said that, when 7 different OBC's are available for a

single cruise, I believe Princess is degrading its own product.

Perhaps not in the short run but certainly in the long run.

It almost hints of desperation like the extreme car rebates of years ago.

I have no doubt that those with multiple and extensive OBC believe these are earned

and would disagree with me. I would disagree with me too if I had all these "gifts". ;)

 

Surprise!

 

I don't disagree with you at all.

 

And further I don't think ANY of the credits should be refundable since they are in fact "Onboard Credits".

 

I realize that I am in the minority but we all have our opinions.

 

Mike:)

[Thorpe]

I'm of the opinion " use it or lose it". Was never my money to start with and yes I have shareholder and other OBC on my cruises. :)