What is the current status of OBC that is given for cruises that are booked on board?

[elena7seas]

When I was on board the Silhouette in October, you still had a choice as to when you would take the OBC that was given for making a specific booking while on board (Cruise Now):

 

(1) on the current cruise (i.e. the cruise during which you made the specific future cruise booking) or

 

(2) on the future cruise itself.

 

In both cases, it was the same amount of OBC, depending on the length of the cruise.

 

Can anyone please tell me if this is still the current situation, or if the rules have changed recently. Someone who is sailing currently has told me that the Future Cruise department on board has told her that she MUST take the OBC on the current cruise.

 

I appreciate any help that you can provide.

[RickInOz]

See http://celebrityonboardcruisesales.com/t&c.html for the fine print .. this appears to be what Celebrity is telling TAs

[jelayne]

Booked 2 cruises while on the Eclipse last month. We had the choice of either OBC now or on the future cruise. For 1 cruise we chose to get the OBC to use on the cruise we were on. On the 2nd booking we elected to get the OBC on the future cruise.

[Max Circus]

We booked two future cruises while on Equinox in December. This is what we were given.

 

Two options:

 

1. Receive 350 OBC on future cruise and 300 on current cruise. The deposit would be non-refundable.

 

2. Receive $650 OBC on future cruise. The deposit is refundable.

 

We chose option 2 for both cruises.

[LynandBill]

We just booked a 14 night Caribbean cruise on the Eclipse out of Miami while onboard the Constellation. We received the Classic Drink Package for 2, Pre Paid Gratuities for 2, and $650 OBC. They put it under our travel agent and she gave us another $300 OBC.

[elena7seas]

Thanks very much to each of you who responded.

 

It sounds as if the terms are still the same as they were on the Silhouette in October 2014...take the OBC now, or on the booked future cruise.

 

Thanks RickinOZ for posting the Terms and Conditions. That is quite a comprehensive document :).

[RickInOz]

Thanks RickinOZ for posting the Terms and Conditions. That is quite a comprehensive document :).

 

You're most welcome :)

 

It you have a wander around the web site itself (http://celebrityonboardcruisesales.com) you will find the 'Sales' version in plain English (It starts about half-way down).

[Iamthesea]

Currently onboard the Equinox. There has been a change in the amounts of ONBOARD BOOKING OBC. According to our FCC rep, this change took place about 10 days ago. :rolleyes:

 

The. AQ, CC, and Veranda staterooms are now lumped together, instead of the AQ being up their with the Suites. We received $100 OBC LESS THAN NORMAL, for our 12 and 14 day cruises in an AQ. $200 and then $250 versus the $300 and $350 we normally receive.

 

We also paid the down payment equal to the amount of OBC, NOT $100 per person. Of course, it added up to $100 per person for the one cruise.

 

The 123 GO was still the $300 OBC

 

I wish that Celebrity would make an announcement a few months ahead of time that these changes are to take effect. Before I left home, I had participated in the other "OBC" thread and both passengers and Celebrity's website indicated the previous amounts of OBC amounts.

[Spartan Tartan]

What happens when you book a future cruise on board and receive the OBC's offered and then Celebrity offers 123 GO or 123 Go all inclusive promotion for the same cruise. Do you receive all benefits when you make final payment?

[elena7seas]

Currently onboard the Equinox. There has been a change in the amounts of ONBOARD BOOKING OBC. According to our FCC rep, this change took place about 10 days ago. :rolleyes:

 

The. AQ, CC, and Veranda staterooms are now lumped together, instead of the AQ being up their with the Suites. We received $100 OBC LESS THAN NORMAL, for our 12 and 14 day cruises in an AQ. $200 and then $250 versus the $300 and $350 we normally receive.

 

We also paid the down payment equal to the amount of OBC, NOT $100 per person. Of course, it added up to $100 per person for the one cruise.

 

The 123 GO was still the $300 OBC

 

I wish that Celebrity would make an announcement a few months ahead of time that these changes are to take effect. Before I left home, I had participated in the other "OBC" thread and both passengers and Celebrity's website indicated the previous amounts of OBC amounts.

 

IamtheSea, thank you so much for posting this information.

 

I have just spend a hour on the phone with Captain's Club and the Resolutions Desk, and your post is correct.

 

The Concierge and Aqua Class cabins have been dropped into the same classification as the Veranda cabins, as far as OBC is concerned for booking on board.

 

This means that Concierge and Aqua Class cabins are now receiving $100 OBC less per future booking, across the board for all cruises, regardless of the length of the itinerary.

 

You can still elect to take your OBC EITHER (1) on the cruise you are on when making your future booking, or (2) on the future cruise that you booked while on board.

 

If anyone is on board and can pick up the new Cruise Now flyer with the updated OBC (that is apparently available in the Future Cruise office), and post it at some point, it would be most appreciated.

Edited February 4, 2015 by elena7seas

[Iamthesea]

I hope to remember. :). I have the flyer and will take a photo tomorrow and post.

 

We took the OBC from one booking and are using it onboard, currently. The other credit will be applied to the future cruise.

[Iamthesea]

Here you go. Sorry that I cut off parts.

[elena7seas]

Here you go. Sorry that I cut off parts.

 

Thanks for posting the photo, Iamthesea....sorry it took me a while to get back here and say thanks!!

[wwcruisers]

Eileen, we booked an upcoming cruise with the FCO on Summit, last September. At that time, we were told that the only choice (for the particular promo we were booking) was to receive the OBC (an equal amount to the deposit) on our current cruise -- which made it non-refundable. :cool:

[elena7seas]

Eileen, we booked an upcoming cruise with the FCO on Summit, last September. At that time, we were told that the only choice (for the particular promo we were booking) was to receive the OBC (an equal amount to the deposit) on our current cruise -- which made it non-refundable. :cool:

 

HI Suzanne:

 

When I was on the Silhouette in October, the friends that I was cruising with were told that they had to take their OBC on the cruise that we were on. I knew that was wrong, and sent them back to the FCO, who said, "oops, sorry about that" and put the OBC on the future cruise they had booked on board. So it was clear to me that the option to use the OBC now or later still existed at that time.

 

It put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth when I found that later in the cruise, the FCO was still telling people they had to take the OBC on the current cruise. If people didn't know any better, I guess they just went along with it.

 

I think it was a bit of a scam, frankly, to get people to take the OBC immediately. I'm not sure what the goal would be in that. I do know that my friends did not need any more OBC on the cruise we were on, so perhaps would not have used all of it, which I suppose is a savings for Celebrity.

 

At any rate....having heard from someone else that the FCO was insisting that the OBC had to be taken immediately....that's why I was wondering if Celebrity had now made it policy that you have to take the OBC on the current cruise. However, from the replies that I have received to my original post, apparently the choice still exists.

[wwcruisers]

Eileen, in our case, it might have been that particular promo -- the "All-In". It was only offered (for a limited time) by the FCO's on Summit -- for the same ship/itinerary, next year. It was a good deal, even with the non-refundable deposit/OBC. Our FCO did tell us that, if we changed our minds, we could move the deposit and booking number to another cruise, with no problem. We would only "lose" our deposit if we out-right cancelled the booking.

[happy 2 b cruising]

HI Suzanne:

 

When I was on the Silhouette in October, the friends that I was cruising with were told that they had to take their OBC on the cruise that we were on. I knew that was wrong, and sent them back to the FCO, who said, "oops, sorry about that" and put the OBC on the future cruise they had booked on board. So it was clear to me that the option to use the OBC now or later still existed at that time.

 

It put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth when I found that later in the cruise, the FCO was still telling people they had to take the OBC on the current cruise. If people didn't know any better, I guess they just went along with it.

 

I think it was a bit of a scam, frankly, to get people to take the OBC immediately. I'm not sure what the goal would be in that. I do know that my friends did not need any more OBC on the cruise we were on, so perhaps would not have used all of it, which I suppose is a savings for Celebrity.

 

At any rate....having heard from someone else that the FCO was insisting that the OBC had to be taken immediately....that's why I was wondering if Celebrity had now made it policy that you have to take the OBC on the current cruise. However, from the replies that I have received to my original post, apparently the choice still exists.

 

We did not have a choice being it was a pilot program making it mandatory

that we take the OBC on the current cruise when we had purchased a future cruise. We had no need for the OBC and they gave it to us as a credit on our credit card. When we booked onboard in November 2014 we had a choice when we wanted to take the OBC for the future cruise.

[Iamthesea]

You're welcome. That was a terrible photo that I took.

 

happy 2 b cruising - That's the same experience that we had. During the pilot program, the OBC went on that current cruise. The next two times we booked onboard, the OBC went to the new booking.

 

Now that I am back home, I'll be glad to scan the paper, both front and back, if anyone is interested. ;) It will have to be sometime tomorrow. Let me know.

[Korianto]

What happens when you book a future cruise on board and receive the OBC's offered and then Celebrity offers 123 GO or 123 Go all inclusive promotion for the same cruise. Do you receive all benefits when you make final payment?

 

It depends on if your fare contained a combinable discount with the 123 promo.

 

Why? We were told you cannot receive more than Two type of offers from Celebrity.

 

For example, we did an advance booking last November that gave us $300 OBC, plus the 123go offer for an Oceanview. Had to pay nondiscounted fare. That was two offers, the OBC and 123.

 

But we just found a better deal on a Spring Mediterranean Cruise, a veranda with all inclusive 123 go, plus it had a discounted fare of $200 pp (combinable with 123). So we transferred our Fall booking to the Spring booking.

 

Now we thought we could combine both of those promos with our on board booking bonus of $300 OBC, but Celebrity told our TA no, we're only allowed a maximum of 2 promotions per cruise. So there was no advantage to booking onboard in this situation.

 

We're not complaining as our TA is giving us an add'l $300 OBC, so we'll have a total of $600 OBC (we'll need it too, Shore excursion prices have dramatically increased over prior years - I guess they have to get their money somehow).

 

K