When can you use OBC as I have heard it can take 2-3 days to show up

[cat_in_cda]

Hi there ..... I am new to Celebrity and have both OBC from Celebrity and also have purchase OBC ... I have been seeing postings that it can take 2-3 days before OBC shows up .... My question is what if I want to purchase something before the OBC shows up ... I do not want Celebrity to charge my credit card as a high interest rate when I already have purchased OBC for purchases On Board and playing BlackJack .....

 

Does anyone have any experience in this situation .... I will probably be making purchases the first day on board and for sure will want to play blackjack in the evenings ....

 

Thanks everyone for all your insights and hope everyone had a great New Years :):):)

Edited January 1, 2016 by cat_in_cda

[az_tchr]

You do not pay for anything until the end of your cruise. Not an issue as to when OBC appears. Just so that it does. If OBC from your TA be sure to have some documentation with you as the TAs do not always send it correctly to Celebrity.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Like Az_tchr said. Note that on the 2nd/3rd day of the cruise you should go by Guest Relations, ask to check that your OBC has been credited to your account. You can also do this via the interactive features on your stateroom tv, but Guest Relations will have better data and can give you a printout.

[fleckle]

Hi there ..... I am new to Celebrity and have both OBC from Celebrity and also have purchase OBC ... I have been seeing postings that it can take 2-3 days before OBC shows up .... My question is what if I want to purchase something before the OBC shows up ... I do not want Celebrity to charge my credit card as a high interest rate when I already have purchased OBC for purchases On Board and playing BlackJack .....

 

Does anyone have any experience in this situation .... I will probably be making purchases the first day on board and for sure will want to play blackjack in the evenings ....

 

Thanks everyone for all your insights and hope everyone had a great New Years :):):)

Celebrity does not post a charge to your credit card each time you buy something on the ship.

 

They only post one charge (or credit) to your credit card, and that is the final balance remaining on your shipboard account at the end of the cruise.

 

So there is no need for concern about the order in which your purchases and credits show up on your shipboard account. It really won't matter.

 

Wishing you a great New Year too, and a wonderful cruise.

 

Edited January 1, 2016 by fleckle

[gopro63]

On your Samsung tv, that is ran by Apple, turn the set on press the M(menu)buttons to get to the Main info screen, locate accounts:

 

the firs time you turn it on you will not see any activity, you must allow some time. won't be a Second, a Minute, an Hour, but more. Do not sit there worrying about things, it will be present later that day.

 

When you see your Statement on the screen, and make a charge, from for example the Casino, and by the time you head back to the room it will be DEDUCTED.

 

You can as always go down to Deck 3 or call, and get a paper statement.

 

Hope that eases your mind. Do not lose your cabin card it is your Creditcard! It does not have a photo ID on it and anyone can charge it if you drop it!

[GottaKnowWhen]

...You can as always go down to Deck 3 or call, and get a paper statement... Hope that eases your mind. Do not lose your cabin card it is your Creditcard! It does not have a photo ID on it and anyone can charge it if you drop it!

 

Note: if you lose your card, yes somebody could possibly use it to charge stuff. However: 1) if you have a drinks package the bartenders probably have come to associate you with your name, so if someone else goes to a bar to get a drink on your card, there may be questions. 2) if no drinks package, the unauthorized card user will need to sign a bar slip. 3) If a purchase in one of the stores, the unauthorized card user will need to sign a credit-card type receipt. In cases (2) and (3) the signatures will be obviously phoney and you would not be liable for those charges.

 

So, yes it is a good thing not to lose your room key but there is no need to be obsessed with it either.

[gopro63]

Just saying we all have different takes, thanks for that info. :)

[bigbenboys]

It can take a couple of days to show up. I always bring a copy of my reservation information with me just in case. I have had problems one time with OBC not being posted. They had to get hold of the Miami office to get it all straighten out.

[cat_in_cda]

Thank you everyone for your insights ... We have cruised 7 other times and was not sure how Celebrity handled this ..... I did print off the emails with confirmation of the OBC that I purchased and also we have the Big Bigger Best option and went with the "best" so we have another $300 from Celebrity that we will use for excursions .... and wish me luck with Black Jack :-) My theory is here is my $50 and I will play until you win it from me and if I win some back then great and if not then it was fun playing :-) Have a great start to all of your New Years :)

[gopro63]

Well when you get back post up your conclusion to this....

[spookwife]

Hi there ..... I am new to Celebrity and have both OBC from Celebrity and also have purchase OBC ... I have been seeing postings that it can take 2-3 days before OBC shows up .... My question is what if I want to purchase something before the OBC shows up ... I do not want Celebrity to charge my credit card as a high interest rate when I already have purchased OBC for purchases On Board and playing BlackJack .....

 

 

the card on file is not charged until the END of the cruise. they do not close out your account until then and only after all OBC is used up first.

 

you will be fine

[Beanb41]

When you get to your cabin on embarkation day you will find a heap of paperwork on your bed with all sorts of information. Part of this info should be documentation stating what OBC has been applied to your account. If you have OBC given to you in stages you may find a number of notifications waiting for you

[Lois R]

When you get to your cabin on embarkation day you will find a heap of paperwork on your bed with all sorts of information. Part of this info should be documentation stating what OBC has been applied to your account. If you have OBC given to you in stages you may find a number of notifications waiting for you

 

I have never heard of this and have never received any paperwork

in the cabin showing how much obc I have coming to me.

It must be something new or one of those "sometimes they do it and

sometimes they don't":eek:

Edited January 1, 2016 by Lois R

[lovemylab]

I have never heard of this and have never received any paperwork

in the cabin showing how much obc I have coming to me.

It must be something new or one of those "sometimes they do it and

sometimes they don't":eek:

 

I've never seen this either.

[lovemylab]

Do not lose your cabin card it is your Creditcard! It does not have a photo ID on it and anyone can charge it if you drop it!

 

From my experience, when charges appear on your account that do not belong to you, guest services is very good at having them reversed.

 

There are cameras all over the ship, all purchases have to be signed for and there is a picture attached to your card (while you can't see it, Celebrity staff can when the card is swiped into their system). If the cruise line felt the charges were worth investigating, they certainly have the means to do so.

[Beanb41]

I have never heard of this and have never received any paperwork

in the cabin showing how much obc I have coming to me.

It must be something new or one of those "sometimes they do it and

sometimes they don't":eek:

 

On three previous Celebrity Cruises it has always been there

[cat_in_cda]

Thanks again for all your help .... We have done 7 cruises but never any with OBC ...

 

I have them punch a hole in my sail-n-sign card and wear it on my wrist :-) using a bejeweled wrist lanyard from Michael's so I always have it with me :-)

 

Have a great start to you year ahead everyone :-)

 

Cathie

[lovemylab]

On three previous Celebrity Cruises it has always been there

 

If someone has given me a gift of OBC by contacting "Gifts by Celebrity", I've received a card indicating the amount and who it's from.

 

For OBC that is from Celebrity as part of a booking promo, I've never had any documentation of this waiting for me in my stateroom.

 

Did you receive documentation for both types of OBC? Or just the OBC that you bought/was given to you by friends/family?

Edited January 1, 2016 by lovemylab

[fleckle]

If someone has given me a gift of OBC by contacting "Gifts by Celebrity", I've received a card indicating the amount and who it's from.

 

For OBC that is from Celebrity as part of a booking promo, I've never had any documentation of this waiting for me in my stateroom.

Neither have we.

 

But the OBC from Celebrity does appear on our guest copy of the invoice from Celebrity that is sent to us as an email attachment.

 

So if we should ever need to show it as proof, we could just go to the computer lab on board and print out a copy of it.

 

However, it has not been necessary to do that on any cruise yet as our onboard credit has always shown up on our onboard account within the first few days of the cruise.

 

[ORV]

Thanks again for all your help .... We have done 7 cruises but never any with OBC ...

 

I have them punch a hole in my sail-n-sign card and wear it on my wrist :-) using a bejeweled wrist lanyard from Michael's so I always have it with me :-)

 

Have a great start to you year ahead everyone :-)

 

Cathie

 

Not sure how it works when you are buying OBC for yourself but I think you will be paying 5% to get money from the casino. Unless it works better with your exchange rate then it seems to be a negative proposition.

[GUT2407]

OBC is pretty much like any other money, at the end of the cruise you pay any outstanding balance, by cash or credit card as a general rule.

 

So if you spend $500 before your $300 OBC goes on the account and then another $200 after you still pay $400 at the end of the cruise.

[dodger1964]

I have never heard of this and have never received any paperwork

in the cabin showing how much obc I have coming to me.

It must be something new or one of those "sometimes they do it and

sometimes they don't":eek:

 

The last time we had Obc they had a card with each of the separate Obc's. The butler even had a form for us to sign indicating we had received them. That was about 2 years ago.

[Beanb41]

Not sure how it works when you are buying OBC for yourself but I think you will be paying 5% to get money from the casino. Unless it works better with your exchange rate then it seems to be a negative proposition.

 

If you have refundable OBC and want to take it home why do you need to go to the Casino and pay the 5% surcharge when on the last night you can draw it from Guest relations for no cost. At the same time you can settle up your account. One must remember that the ship is a cashless society. Everything is charged to your seapass card.

[ORV]

If you have refundable OBC and want to take it home why do you need to go to the Casino and pay the 5% surcharge when on the last night you can draw it from Guest relations for no cost. At the same time you can settle up your account. One must remember that the ship is a cashless society. Everything is charged to your seapass card.

 

If you read the person that I quoted they want to buy their own OBC, then take it out and use it in the casino to gamble. I don't think they're going to want to wait until the last night of the cruise for this.

 

I didn't start cruising yesterday, I know how it works with the seapass etc.

Edited January 2, 2016 by ORV

[ChucktownSteve]

Just saying we all have different takes, thanks for that info. :)

 

Because there are so many cameras on board throughout every deck and shopping area, it's highly unlikely someone can charge a stolen card without being able to be identified by security and the crew accepting the stolen card. Also your picture is embedded on the sea card. Ever notice your picture when you're swiped leaving or entering the ship security at port?

 

If you decide to jump overboard, they'll probably be able to see you go. :p

Edited January 2, 2016 by ChucktownSteve