NCL says you cannot cash out any OBC onboard!

[MrMike45]

Yes you can charge as much as your credit card can bear. In the casino if you ask for $1000 or more at one time they will need to call for approval from accounting -- this is a slow process in the middle of the night :o (been there done that). If you ask for $900 they do not need to call.

 

 

Rochelle

 

Oh that much I know. We usually become very friendly with the pit bosses and cashiers (yes we spend too much time in the casino smh). They have schooled me to never ask for more than $900 in a day lol

[ngrund]

in the good old days NCL would let you charge markers to the room folio with no fee

[NLH Arizona]

in the good old days NCL would let you charge markers to the room folio with no fee

Same with Celebrity, who now charges 5%, but unfortunately a few spoiled that as well.

[Lady Arwen]

I hate to disagree with a supervisor at NCL...but I am.

 

I have been on many cruises, and spend wayyyy too much time in the casino. Unless something has changed since our last cruise, you definitely can take money against your on board account, with a 3% fee.

 

OBC deducts from your on board account/total balance.

 

So you should be able to withdraw $485 from the Casino, charged to your account, with the 3% fee, that will make it $500 and it will be a wash

 

That's exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you for making it clear and sensible. Cruise line phone reps can be so exasperating!

[Love my butler]

I just spoke to a supervisor at NCL regarding purchased OBC and getting cash from the casino with a 3% fee and they told me that NCL will not give you cash in the casino against your OBC account.

 

I asked her how to get cash in the casino and she said that it would be charged to your credit card plus the 3% and that OBC was applicable only to onboard purchases and if you did not use it NCL would send it back to you after the cruise. She said finally "The casino will not give you cash and that's the way it is. Use your OBC in the stores!"

 

I told her I would call back and cancel my OBC since it's my money, not NCL's and I should be able to do with it whatever I choose to.

 

I've read on CC how it is common practise for people to obtain cash from the casino. What am I missing here? Can I get my money as I had planned? It's only $500.00, but it's mine!

 

Your first mistake was actually believing anything a 'customer service' rep told you on the phone. Including supervisors. They seem to be just as clueless as any other rep. Wait until you get on the ship and do what you believe to be correct. You probably won't be wrong.

[Nola26]

If you purchase OBC it will apply to charges on your cabin bill.

 

If you charge gambling money to your cabin you will be charged a 3% fee for those charges. Your OBC can cover those charges.

 

Math: Buy $125 OBC, charge $100 to cabin for casino play, $103 will be deducted from OBC to cover that expense. You have $22 to spend toward other charges to the cabin onboard account.

 

NCL's policy is to charge 3%, even when we are effectively pulling our own money. Now that we know this we can decide to skip casino, bring cash to cover gaming, pay the 3% fee, use onboard ATM or some combination.

 

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your cruise!

[MeHeartCruising]

Another comment here is that on the ship, you don't really even need to involve an NCL employee to accomplish getting your OBC out as cash. At least on the Getaway (and presumably other ships). The slot machines have the ability for you to download $$ to your sea pass card and charge it to your cabin account (plus the 3% service charge for doing so). You can then gamble with it in the slots. Or you can immediately cash out your "winnings" to a paper receipt. My "winnings" were only $40 and I took the paper receipt to a machine that read the bar code and gave me my $40. The cashier's desk had a little piece of paper that they give you to walk thru this process step-by-step. I was a little confused about one step, but one of the employees manning the floor stepped in and helped me figure out the buttons to pick on the slot machine. The $40 I charged to my sea pass card was covered by my $50 OBC.

[Lady Arwen]

Another comment here is that on the ship, you don't really even need to involve an NCL employee to accomplish getting your OBC out as cash. At least on the Getaway (and presumably other ships). The slot machines have the ability for you to download $$ to your sea pass card and charge it to your cabin account (plus the 3% service charge for doing so). You can then gamble with it in the slots. Or you can immediately cash out your "winnings" to a paper receipt. My "winnings" were only $40 and I took the paper receipt to a machine that read the bar code and gave me my $40. The cashier's desk had a little piece of paper that they give you to walk thru this process step-by-step. I was a little confused about one step, but one of the employees manning the floor stepped in and helped me figure out the buttons to pick on the slot machine. The $40 I charged to my sea pass card was covered by my $50 OBC.

 

Thank you! This is even better than using the casino cashier. I wish NCL phone reps were a little more knowledgeable. I knew CC folks would have the right answer!

[Lydia B.]

I returned from the Pearl last week and nope could not use OBC for gambling. As others have said you USED to be able to draw money from your OBC account via the little players card and the actual slot machine, no longer.

When I asked about the change I was told the machines take money ONLY...they just kept repeating that. With that said if you still have $10 left on a machine and want to go to another machine, yes you can cash out, get a ticket and simply insert it into the next machine.

But again as for getting any of your OBC to play with a no go. We each had $200 OBC and were planning on using it to gamble with. I was ok as I had also brought cash, but my friend really had not brought extra to gamble with so you didn't go to the casino.

I didn't win anything, but didn't spend much. I left the ship with $121 refundable credit that NCL will send me a check.

Would I have spent that $121 in the casino, probably yes, so I am not sure if the NCL new policy is helping there bottom line any.

[davis9267]

I returned from the Pearl last week and nope could not use OBC for gambling. As others have said you USED to be able to draw money from your OBC account via the little players card and the actual slot machine, no longer.

When I asked about the change I was told the machines take money ONLY...they just kept repeating that. With that said if you still have $10 left on a machine and want to go to another machine, yes you can cash out, get a ticket and simply insert it into the next machine.

But again as for getting any of your OBC to play with a no go. We each had $200 OBC and were planning on using it to gamble with. I was ok as I had also brought cash, but my friend really had not brought extra to gamble with so you didn't go to the casino.

I didn't win anything, but didn't spend much. I left the ship with $121 refundable credit that NCL will send me a check.

Would I have spent that $121 in the casino, probably yes, so I am not sure if the NCL new policy is helping there bottom line any.

 

Just to clarify, does this mean that you no longer can go to the casino cage and draw money against your shipboard account with the 3% fee?

[NLH Arizona]

Would I have spent that $121 in the casino, probably yes, so I am not sure if the NCL new policy is helping there bottom line any.

Well, if some didn't purchase OBC to either cash out in the casino with not intentions to spend it in the casino just to make a profit from or cash out to spend in ports, we probably would still be able to use OBC in the casino. I hope NCL comes up with a system where they will offer promotion chips or slot play for those that want to use OBC in the casino.

[lettienets]

Yes you can charge as much as your credit card can bear. In the casino if you ask for $1000 or more at one time they will need to call for approval from accounting -- this is a slow process in the middle of the night :o (been there done that). If you ask for $900 they do not need to call.

 

 

Rochelle

 

Do you get your winnings in cash? Or are they sent home by check too?

[lettienets]

Well, if some didn't purchase OBC to either cash out in the casino with not intentions to spend it in the casino just to make a profit from or cash out to spend in ports, we probably would still be able to use OBC in the casino. I hope NCL comes up with a system where they will offer promotion chips or slot play for those that want to use OBC in the casino.

So does that mean you can't put bills in the machine, only your card?

[NLH Arizona]

So does that mean you can't put bills in the machine, only your card?

You can put bills in. The only thing folks are reporting is that they can't cash out their OBC to use in the casino.

[SPB in da RVA]

The rep is correct. You cannot get cash from the casino against OBC that has been prepurchased.

 

You CAN charge cash from the casino against your onboard account (subject to the 3% fee) and then use your OBC to pay that at the end of the cruise.

 

What the rep was trying to say is that you can't, for example, buy $500 in OBC and then go to the casino and ask for $500 against that OBC. They can only give you cash against your onboard account. The OBC is for the onboard account desk to worry about, the casino will not be involved.

 

That is just a matter of symantics you are saying you can and cannot do the same thing. ALL on board purchases (including cash at the casino) are charged to your on board account and balanced against any OBC you might have.

[sparks1093]

Reading through this makes what happened on the Gem make a little more sense now- I had purchased $1100 OBC prior to the cruise. When we were getting ready to go to Port Canaveral I realized we didn't have enough walking around money for Sea World so I went to the casino to take out some cash (knowing that I was going to pay 3% but still better than paying $5 from the ATM). They told me that I couldn't take cash out because there was no credit card securing my account. When I went to Guest Services I found out that the card I had presented at check in had been declined. I put another card on the account and was then able to withdraw cash from the casino. We spent all of the OBC and then some so I'm not sure what the outcome would have been had we had a positive OBC balance at the end of the cruise.

[Lady Arwen]

My sister and her husband just returned from Breakaway. They had pre-purchased OBC and had no problem going to the casino, getting cash (with 3% fee). It all came off of their account which had a credit balance. Once the $1000.00 OBC was used, all other purchases were charge against their account secured with a credit card. No one asked where she was planning on spending this cash....no one cares!

 

So many opinions have been posted and most are completely incorrect. Don't worry if you have OBC, you can get it from the casino, no questions asked!

[tel2]

Here's the deal. According the credit card companies using the casino withdrawl services is technically a cash advance and subject to different rules and much higher fees and interest. The cruise lines are obligated to report it as such. Now, since OBC is not real time, there is nothing technically stopping you from charging to the room then cashing out OBC before it posts denying them higher fees. So, officially, to keep the credit card companies happy, the policy on paper is no cashouts and that's what <script id="gpt-impl-0.17509742793395228" src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gpt/pubads_impl_81.js"></script>the rep has to say.

 

Now, in practice, the cashier will look at the balance, look at transactions, realize the OBC will be there, cash it out, and the line gets its 3 percent cut.

 

Unless something has changed very recently, cash advances with the 3% NCL fee taken at the casino cage are NOT put thru your credit card account as cash advances. They are posted to your onboard account just like any other onboard purchase, and they are charged at the end to your CC as purchases, not as cash advances.

 

Terry

[ISLABONITA]

On my last 2 NCL cruises, most recent in Feb. I had over $100 in OBC leftover from what my TA had given me.

 

Both times I had to go to guest services and get a supervisor to approve the cash out but only if I had under the $100 mark.

 

I am not a casino goer and did in fact get a card to cash out with that 3% taken out and I had no help in getting it, so I cashed out insisting at guest services that this was not NCL money but TA gift to me and it got approved.

 

Yea they said it would be mailed but I told them I needed the money once I got off the ship.

[Lady Arwen]

Unless something has changed very recently, cash advances with the 3% NCL fee taken at the casino cage are NOT put thru your credit card account as cash advances. They are posted to your onboard account just like any other onboard purchase, and they are charged at the end to your CC as purchases, not as cash advances.

 

Terry

 

You are 100% correct. Thank you for posting. This was exactly how it was processed for my sister on Breakaway last week and how I expect it to be when we board in May. So much misinformation on these boards, it gets very frustrating.

[mickeychicky]

Hate to bash the employees at any cruise line that work the phones AS WELL as Guest services.... but you can get your OBC back in cash in the casino, and just be charged a minimal % fee 3%-5%. I have asked Guest Services before and they have told me you cannot cash in your OBC, however,I have on several cruises in the casino and not used it in the casino. Little bit of extra cash....

[NMLady]

Hate to bash the employees at any cruise line that work the phones AS WELL as Guest services.... but you can get your OBC back in cash in the casino, and just be charged a minimal % fee 3%-5%. I have asked Guest Services before and they have told me you cannot cash in your OBC, however,I have on several cruises in the casino and not used it in the casino. Little bit of extra cash....

 

The thread is more than a year and a half old so rules could easily have changed in that time.

[LSauls7537]

The telephone folks at cruise lines know NOTHING except what is printed in their "cheat sheets"....

 

If you are BUYING OBC...it IS your money, and you can get it back. It the cruise line GIVES you OBC, it's use it or lose it.

 

Sailed last year and we PURCHASED OBC and used it in the casino, however....we had a $300 OBC from NCL and could NOT use that at casino.

[mickeychicky]

The thread is more than a year and a half old so rules could easily have changed in that time.

 

 

Possible. However, I did it on Star in Nov 2015 and also on Epic in March 2017. And on RCCL cruise also (2015-2017).

[BostonGal35]

i was able to cash out non-refundable OBC in the casino as well.