lynn2002 Posted May 2, 2015 #1 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I have been give US$200 shore excursion obc for myself and US$200 for my 11 year old daughter. Can we pool the obc together and purchase US$400 worth of excursions or do we each spend our own US$200. The reason I ask is that children's shore excursions cost a lot less than adults and what would cost US$200 for an adult may only cost half of that for a child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take us away Posted May 2, 2015 #2 Share Posted May 2, 2015 My understanding is that the OBC must be used by the named person. You can use this OBC for multiple excursions which should take care of the OBC for your child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Banditswife Posted May 2, 2015 #3 Share Posted May 2, 2015 (edited) We are new to Holland America, but I had our TA check out the OBC we will get for our upcoming cruise. She verified with HA that it can be used for other things, anything that goes on your sign & sail card- tips, laundry, excursions, drinks- of course your 11 yr old wouldn't have much of a bar bill, but I would assume it could be used for soft drinks. Hopefully one of the HA experts will come on to answer you. If Our TA misdirected us, I hope someone will post it on here. Good luck & enjoy your cruise. Edited May 2, 2015 by Banditswife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemima Posted May 2, 2015 #4 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Your TA is probably correct. Our confirmation from HAL just shows a combined OBC amount for each of us. I'd like to know for sure because we prefer to book excursions ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn2002 Posted May 2, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We each had $50 obc prior to getting the shore excursion obc for booking on board a previous cruise. It now shows a total of $250 each so the TA may be correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted May 2, 2015 #6 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I have been give US$200 shore excursion obc for myself and US$200 for my 11 year old daughter. Can we pool the obc together and purchase US$400 worth of excursions or do we each spend our own US$200. The reason I ask is that children's shore excursions cost a lot less than adults and what would cost US$200 for an adult may only cost half of that for a child. If this is the anniversary promo and for shore excursions, then the obc and only be used for shore excursions. I called HAL and was told this and verified with my TA. If it is regular obc, and not the anniversary special for shore excursions it can be used for anything on your shipboard account. Hope this helps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Banditswife Posted May 2, 2015 #7 Share Posted May 2, 2015 (edited) If this is the anniversary promo and for shore excursions, then the obc and only be used for shore excursions. I called HAL and was told this and verified with my TA. If it is regular obc, and not the anniversary special for shore excursions it can be used for anything on your shipboard account. Hope this helps :) This is why we all get so confused. Our TA called HAL & was told the anniversary OBC could be used for any onboard purchases. It depends on who you call & when. I would like to get a concrete answer before we sail. Our booking just lists it as OBC-no specification about excursions. Edited May 2, 2015 by Banditswife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted May 2, 2015 #8 Share Posted May 2, 2015 This is why we all get so confused. Our TA called HAL & was told the anniversary OBC could be used for any onboard purchases. It depends on who you call & when. I would like to get a concrete answer before we sail. Our booking just lists it as OBC-no specification about excursions. If it is just plain obc. And not for shore excursions, you should've just fine :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take us away Posted May 2, 2015 #9 Share Posted May 2, 2015 You need to check with your TA as we have been told that this new promotion (and 1st time ever offered by HAL in recent history) is specific to excursions, and is not the general OBC that can be used for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare richwmn Posted May 2, 2015 #10 Share Posted May 2, 2015 This just goes to show that at HAL, like a lot of large corporations, if you ask 3 different people a question you get 4 different answers. My PCC checked and said it could be used for anything. Perhaps this is like the stockholder credit. On the terms and conditions for the stockholder credit it clearly states that it can not be used for gratuities. However, many people including myself have posted that once aboard the ship it just becomes a general credit which is commonly used for gratuities. One thing is for sure, we will have a more definite answer when someone is actually aboard a ship and either uses it or is refused for something other than excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scrapnana Posted May 3, 2015 #11 Share Posted May 3, 2015 When I booked onboard the Westerdam last week, the Future Cruise Consultant Alex, told me that although the promotion said it was for excursions, in reality it would be lumped together as OBC along with the bonus of booking onboard and could be used for anything. When I received the paperwork the next day it showed one figure for OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted May 3, 2015 #12 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) When I booked onboard the Westerdam last week, the Future Cruise Consultant Alex, told me that although the promotion said it was for excursions, in reality it would be lumped together as OBC along with the bonus of booking onboard and could be used for anything. When I received the paperwork the next day it showed one figure for OBC. I was told it would show as regular obc but they would be keeping track. Now, how well they can keep track is another question all together of course. Too bad we can't get one answer Edited May 3, 2015 by kazu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Banditswife Posted May 3, 2015 #13 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thank you everyone for your responses & thank you Lynn2002 for the thread, I think we'll just have a couple of HA excursions in mind, then ask once we get onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn2002 Posted May 4, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Thank you for all your advice. I think I will wait to book excursions when I'm on the ship and am able to find out exactly what I can use the OBC for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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