OBC Question

[SteelCruisin]

We have quite a large OBC and we cannot see us spending it all, gratuities are prepaid as well, our question is can we get a cash advance in the casino and cash out whatever we don't use of our OBC?

[sandbag7]

I'm pretty sure the answer is a big No.

[RuthC]

Short answer is yes. Longer answer is you may not have to do that.

Depending on the source of your OBC, some of it may be refundable in cash anyway. If your TA gifted you OBC, that can be returned to you in cash. So can any pre-payments you make, or gifts to you from friends, relatives, etc.

Only OBC given to you by HAL/CCL comes under the "use it or lose it" rule.

The best way to cash out the non-refundable OBC is to load up your cabin card at the casino, take a spin or three on a slot machine, then cash out. That way there's no 3% fee deducted.

[sandbag7]

Short answer is yes. Longer answer is you may not have to do that.

Depending on the source of your OBC, some of it may be refundable in cash anyway. If your TA gifted you OBC, that can be returned to you in cash. So can any pre-payments you make, or gifts to you from friends, relatives, etc.

Only OBC given to you by HAL/CCL comes under the "use it or lose it" rule.

The best way to cash out the non-refundable OBC is to load up your cabin card at the casino, take a spin or three on a slot machine, then cash out. That way there's no 3% fee deducted.

Well I'm sorry for the wrong answer and completely surprised 😳 they allow this. I'll wait for the experts next time.

[Appalachian Mountain Mama]

We may have this "problem" also. Not sure what is considered a "large" OBC (first cruise in well over a decade) but we have the drink package, a Pinnacle dinner, prepaid gratuities and are in a Neptune suite with all its perks. We have about $800 and may receive a bit more as gifts from friends and family. We are booking almost all our shore excursions privately so no OBC spent there so this info about the casino will come in handy I think. By "load up your cabin card" you mean transfer some OBC to the card correct? Are there any limits to that...amount, more than once a day? RuthC, I am always happy to see you answer questions as you are always spot on with excellent info, what a great resource you are!

 

 

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[RMLincoln]

Short answer is yes. Longer answer is you may not have to do that.

Depending on the source of your OBC, some of it may be refundable in cash anyway. If your TA gifted you OBC, that can be returned to you in cash. So can any pre-payments you make, or gifts to you from friends, relatives, etc.

Only OBC given to you by HAL/CCL comes under the "use it or lose it" rule.

The best way to cash out the non-refundable OBC is to load up your cabin card at the casino, take a spin or three on a slot machine, then cash out. That way there's no 3% fee deducted.

 

Ruth, The way I read your explanation, it seems the Stock Holders Benefit OBC would fall in the non-refundable category as it comes from HAL/CCL. Is that correct? Thanks for the expertise! m--

[Crew News]

We have quite a large OBC and we cannot see us spending it all, gratuities are prepaid as well, our question is can we get a cash advance in the casino and cash out whatever we don't use of our OBC?

 

The answer is "Yes."

 

A few years ago we had a $1800 OBC problem. Several OBC transfers to the Casino, a few penny-slot pulls, and cash-outs over a few days solved the problem. Thanks to advice provided by CC member Jtl513. When we had dinner with our HAL PCC in Seattle a few years ago, she told us that the ship has only a single pot of OBC and does not know the source of the OBC in that pot for each stateroom.

[alwaysfrantic]

So this would actually give cash and I wouldn't need to go to an ATM on shore? It would be nice to have cash for tour guides. But don't want to travel from home with all I'll need along the way.

[0bnxshs]

Ruth, The way I read your explanation, it seems the Stock Holders Benefit OBC would fall in the non-refundable category as it comes from HAL/CCL. Is that correct? Thanks for the expertise! m--

 

Maureen, not Ruth (obviously :rolleyes:) but in my experience this is correct. The Stockholder's Benefit falls under the category of "use it or lose it". I believe the fine print on the description of the benefit addresses this.

 

It's also been my experience that HAL is very good at applying the non-refundable OBC to account charges first.

[mr.roboto]

I guess I read something wrong on the HAL website. According to this thread, you can use on-board credit in the casino, but the website says just the opposite. Did I read/interpret something wrong? I live in Las Vegas, so I really have no desire to gamble on a cruise ship anyway. Just always looking into what OBC can be used for.

[sail7seas]

delted sorry

[richwmn]

The answer is "Yes."

 

A few years ago we had a $1800 OBC problem. Several OBC transfers to the Casino, a few penny-slot pulls, and cash-outs over a few days solved the problem. Thanks to advice provided by CC member Jtl513. When we had dinner with our HAL PCC in Seattle a few years ago, she told us that the ship has only a single pot of OBC and does not know the source of the OBC in that pot for each stateroom.

 

No disrespect to you or your PCC, but two things tell me that those on board DO know the source of the OBC. First, looking back at account printouts shows that the amount I get for Stockholder, FCD and Welcome Back show as Promo Credit and that which I purchased or was purchased for me was listed as Gift Manifest. The Promo Credit would cover the non refundable credit. Also about a year ago when I went to settle my account, the associate looked at the screen to determine my refund then asked a supervisor to finish. The supervisor said that I had spent enough to cover my non refundable credit.

 

Now we all know that what Seattle tells us, and what happens on the ship can be totally different things. For example the stockholder credit specifically states that it can not be used for the HSC or Casino, but it almost always is. Most of the time when I get my refund the front desk attendant just looks at the bottom line and refunds the balance.

[jtl513]

No disrespect to you or your PCC, but two things tell me that those on board DO know the source of the OBC.

The last time I used HAL-Barclay Visa Reward points for "excursions" it showed on my bill as Gift Order.

[SFO Peter]

o.k. here is my recent 2016 experience. I had about $450 shipboard credit of various kinds. I opened a casino account and did two $500 transfers at different times to my casino account at the dollar slot machine. Played the slots for $1 each time. Near the end of the cruise I decided to cash out. Then did not want to carry around that amount in cash so I went to the desk and had them apply the excess cash to my account balance. So yes it can be done. I recommend you do it discreetly since it is not unusual for them to block your account after the first cash out. Suggest you open your casino account with a little bit over the OBC. The two $500 transfers were just a test.

[TAD2005]

We have the HSC paid as part of our booking for a 25 day cruise which is a $675.00 benefit. Does HAL add that amount on your portfolio the first day, and they deduct the $27 (for 2 people) per day ? With the SBP, your daily drinks are debited, and then immediately credited back, one-for-one. There is no specific base value to work off. With the pre-paid HSC, there is a specific value that is debited each day against your account. I would feel better if I saw the full $675 as a credit to our account, and work it down each day.

[Crew News]

We have the HSC paid as part of our booking for a 25 day cruise which is a $675.00 benefit. Does HAL add that amount on your portfolio the first day, and they deduct the $27 (for 2 people) per day ? With the SBP, your daily drinks are debited, and then immediately credited back, one-for-one. There is no specific base value to work off. With the pre-paid HSC, there is a specific value that is debited each day against your account. I would feel better if I saw the full $675 as a credit to our account, and work it down each day.

 

On our last Zuiderdam cruise in Dec 2016, the HSC was added each day and then deducted in the next transaction. It was not applied at the very start of the account with all of the other OBC.

[SFO Peter]

If I remember correctly HAL pre-paid gratuities are an offset credit each day of the same amount to the daily gratuities debit. Shows on your account. So net gratuity charge each day = zero.

[kevingastreich]

. . We are booking almost all our shore excursions privately so no OBC spent there so this info about the casino will come in handy I think.

We had a big OBC too. We booked our excursions on board to use it up. I know they are generally more expensive than doing it privately but if you do it on your own or even with HAL before the cruise, you can't use your OBC for the excursion charges.

[kevingastreich]

If I remember correctly HAL pre-paid gratuities are an offset credit each day of the same amount to the daily gratuities debit. Shows on your account. So net gratuity charge each day = zero.

This is the way it was done on NA last week.

[mr.roboto]

We had a big OBC too. We booked our excursions on board to use it up. I know they are generally more expensive than doing it privately but if you do it on your own or even with HAL before the cruise, you can't use your OBC for the excursion charges.

I ran into a similar situation. But the day we are in Juneau there is 3 other large cruise ships in port on the same day with a total of 10,000+ visitors. Almost makes it necessary to arrange for excursions pre-cruise.:(One of the excursions I wanted was already sold out months ahead of time. The other port days seem to have less visitors, excursions and shorter port times making it easy to decide on some easy self tours.

[mexylopez]

So if my cruise costs includes the HSC (promo) but billed out daily, does it count towards my dollars for cruise day credits? It's about $650 for both of us

 

 

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[Crew News]

So if my cruise costs includes the HSC (promo) but billed out daily, does it count towards my dollars for cruise day credits? It's about $650 for both of us

 

 

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The HSC even though it is refunded each day as part of a promo it still counts towards the $300/day Mariner Points.

[mexylopez]

The HSC even though it is refunded each day as part of a promo it still counts towards the $300/day Mariner Points.

 

 

Thank you! That makes me very happy!

 

 

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[jhsocal]

Thank you Ruth, for answering my potential question, refundable OBC.

[JudithLynne]

Very good information on this thread. Thank you all!