Can I pre-purchase OBC and can I bring wine on board?

[RobinCruiser]

Sorry for the newbie questions, I'm sure they have been asked tons of times and I tired searching the forum for answers but I find the search tool on this updated form pretty useless. 

 

So I'm wondering, can I pre-purchase OBC and use it for things on board, and if I don't use it all, cash it out at the casino or desk? I've done this on RCI, makes it nice to have some money in my OB account

 

and second, is, are we allowed to bring any wine/soda/water on board pre-cruise? 

 

thanks!

[tandemcruzr]

Not sure on the OBC. Re wine, 1 bottle per person over 21. Soda in cans only. Water - no bottles of any kind of liquids.

[Kadeeu]

Your best bet is to first read all the great information Carnival provides on the main help page, and searching is easy.  You might gets answers here, but it best to get it from Carnival first.

 

https://www.carnival.com/help

 

[marc_b2001]

31 minutes ago, RobinCruiser said:

Sorry for the newbie questions, I'm sure they have been asked tons of times and I tired searching the forum for answers but I find the search tool on this updated form pretty useless. 

 

So I'm wondering, can I pre-purchase OBC and use it for things on board, and if I don't use it all, cash it out at the casino or desk? I've done this on RCI, makes it nice to have some money in my OB account

 

and second, is, are we allowed to bring any wine/soda/water on board pre-cruise? 

 

thanks!

 

At the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, each guest (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750 ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.

 

A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day and must be in the guest's carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person.

 

No still water is allowed.

 

As for OBC, you can purchase “Cruise Cash” from Carnival website that is automatically applied to your room or you can buy “Gift Cards” that you can transfer to your room account at check-in.

 

[emoorehead]

2 hours ago, marc_b2001 said:

As for OBC, you can purchase “Cruise Cash” from Carnival website that is automatically applied to your room or you can buy “Gift Cards” that you can transfer to your room account at check-in.

Cruise cash is a use it or lose it type situation, but I have seen people day that you can do the casino trick to cash out on the last night. 

I feel like I have read the same thing about gift cards.

Full disclosure.....I have never done this, I am only repeating what I have read from others.

[BrezQ]

We buy a couple of carnival gift cards and add them right away, it basically covers the gratuities charge on the last day, and a few other on board purchases, we don;t spend much! Get them through AARP and you'll save 10%!!! I have never had left over, so no clue on that!

 

[mapman_2004]

14 hours ago, marc_b2001 said:

 

At the beginning of the cruise during embarkation day only, each guest (21 years of age and older) may bring one 750 ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.

 

A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day and must be in the guest's carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person.

 

No still water is allowed.

 

As for OBC, you can purchase “Cruise Cash” from Carnival website that is automatically applied to your room or you can buy “Gift Cards” that you can transfer to your room account at check-in.

 

 

Still water?

[Organized Chaos]

And remember, it's one bottle of wine per guest 21 & over...not just per room. So take advantage of that if you like wine. I don't drink it myself, but we still take another one that counts as "mine" just in case my wife wants it. It's handy to bring your own corkscrew. You can ask your steward for one, and I think Guest Services sometimes has some, but we bring our own. If you take your bottle of wine to the MDR or one of the specialty restaurants, they'll charge you a $15 "corkage fee." This isn't necessarily just to open it for you, but a fee to cover any wine that isn't purchased from Carnival.

 

As has been said, soda has to be in cans and is limited to up to 12 cans per guest. You can leave them in the carton. I like Pepsi & Dr. Pepper, so I've even opened one carton to do half & half, then taped it back up. Be aware, sometimes the screeners at home ports will want to open the cartons to make sure there's no alcohol. There's also been instances of them tearing the carton open so bad that you can't use it anymore. So it's a good idea to take a bag of some kind just in case this happens. Last year I took a reusable grocery bag and it's a good thing I did because my carton broke out in the parking lot. Water has to be purchased through Carnival and can be purchased on board (just ask your steward) or before your cruise through the online FunShops on Carnival's website. It'll be waiting for you when you get there (or arrive shortly after, depending on how busy they are).

 

You can buy Carnival gift cards and add them to your S&S account once you're on board, just not before. Or you can buy Cruise Cash from the online FunShops ahead of time. If you still have funds left in your S&S account that were put on using a gift card, Guest Services will issue you a new gift card (or one will be mailed to you with your balance). Cruise Cash, as has been mentioned, is non-refundalble and only for the cruise you buy it for. But yes, you can use the casino trick to get cash back on gift cards and Cruise Cash.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[grandmarnnurse]

15 hours ago, RobinCruiser said:

Sorry for the newbie questions, I'm sure they have been asked tons of times and I tired searching the forum for answers but I find the search tool on this updated form pretty useless. 

 

So I'm wondering, can I pre-purchase OBC and use it for things on board, and if I don't use it all, cash it out at the casino or desk? I've done this on RCI, makes it nice to have some money in my OB account

 

and second, is, are we allowed to bring any wine/soda/water on board pre-cruise? 

 

thanks!

Yes, you can buy OBC in the Fun Shops, along with anything else you want to order pre-cruise. You can bring on one 750ml bottle of wine per person, along with two 12 packs of canned soda each. Bottled water is not allowed to be brought on, but can be ordered ahead in the Fun Shops pretty reasonably priced. 

[Organized Chaos]

23 minutes ago, mapman_2004 said:

 

Still water?

 

"Still water" isn't mentioned in the Carnival FAQ's, per se, but they do mention distilled water. I wonder if that user was referring to people who actually distill their own water. Some people do use a still to do that themselves. Carnival sells distilled water or allows it to be brought on board (for CPAP's, for example) but I'm sure they want it to be store-bought. Wouldn't want anyone sneaking shine on board. "Oh that, that's just my distilled water."

[emoorehead]

3 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

"Still water" isn't mentioned in the Carnival FAQ's, per se, but they do mention distilled water. I wonder if that user was referring to people who actually distill their own water. Some people do use a still to do that themselves. Carnival sells distilled water or allows it to be brought on board (for CPAP's, for example) but I'm sure they want it to be store-bought. Wouldn't want anyone sneaking shine on board. "Oh that, that's just my distilled water."

"Still water" refers to water that is not carbonated.

[coevan]

3 hours ago, mapman_2004 said:

 

Still water?

 

 

the rock group in Almost Famous

[momof3cruisers]

7 hours ago, BrezQ said:

We buy a couple of carnival gift cards and add them right away, it basically covers the gratuities charge on the last day, and a few other on board purchases, we don;t spend much! Get them through AARP and you'll save 10%!!! I have never had left over, so no clue on that!

 

Regarding AARP you can find threads talking about this on the board but basically, it is their Rewards for Good program. You don't have to be a member, you just set up an account and answer quizzes. You earn points that can then be applied to giftcards that you order from AARP. For instance, 1000 points will get you a $100 gc for $90. It's a nice way to save a bit of money. And on all of my cruises, I have gone to the casino to "cash out" the leftovers. Any balance under $10 will be donated to St Jude's.

[dmdiver]

If you can find water in cans or cartons, you can bring it on board.  My daughter drinks a canned water but I think it is carbonated flavored water.  She also buys coconut water in those cartons.  We've brought premier protein drinks in cartons on board in the past.  We usually just order a 12 pack of water in advance from the fun shops.  I think with the delivery fee, it was $5.31 or thereabouts.  We mostly use it for going ashore & taking meds in the cabin.  My hubby usually takes Mio to flavor his water.  We just refill the bottles if we go through the 12 pack.

[emoorehead]

2 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

Regarding AARP you can find threads talking about this on the board but basically, it is their Rewards for Good program. You don't have to be a member, you just set up an account and answer quizzes. You earn points that can then be applied to giftcards that you order from AARP. For instance, 1000 points will get you a $100 gc for $90. It's a nice way to save a bit of money. And on all of my cruises, I have gone to the casino to "cash out" the leftovers. Any balance under $10 will be donated to St Jude's.

I earned 7000 (I think) points in literally 2 minutes by signing up for a bunch of email newsletters. The points were awarded immediately, but you have you confirm your email before they actually send the newsletters. Just ignore the confirmation email and you are good to go....points in your account and no emails in your box.

[Organized Chaos]

22 hours ago, emoorehead said:

I earned 7000 (I think) points in literally 2 minutes by signing up for a bunch of email newsletters. The points were awarded immediately, but you have you confirm your email before they actually send the newsletters. Just ignore the confirmation email and you are good to go....points in your account and no emails in your box.

 

But there are promo codes in those newsletters worth 150 points each. It's not much, but they do add up. Especially if you book well in advance and have time to accrue more points. Free points with minimal effort. I recommend creating a new, free email account (Outlook or Gmail work well) to use for things like this. That way the newsletters aren't cluttering up your primary inbox.

[emoorehead]

2 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

But there are promo codes in those newsletters worth 150 points each. It's not much, but they do add up. Especially if you book well in advance and have time to accrue more points. Free points with minimal effort. I recommend creating a new, free email account (Outlook or Gmail work well) to use for things like this. That way the newsletters aren't cluttering up your primary inbox.

That is good to know! Maybe I will go confirm my email address......

[Organized Chaos]

27 minutes ago, emoorehead said:

That is good to know! Maybe I will go confirm my email address......

 

When you subscribe to the newsletters, I think the ones that are marked with the ribbon are the ones that give points codes. The bad part is, they don't always have codes in them. You definitely get more newsletters without the codes than ones with them, so that's why it's nice to have them sent to a spare account.