The one stripe 'financial' accountant officers that man the credit desk (next to guest services) are clueless about obc

[fstuff1]

I'm currently on the breakaway.

 

I have $400 in obc. I've spent it in massages and booze at the gift shop.

My bill so far should be around $300 from cabin tips and cruise next certificates but the ncl app says I owe $360.

 

Guest services gave me a printout and it says I have $65 in unused obc.

 

I went to the credit desk and asked about it.

I explained to him that I have $400 in PURCHASES and why didn't $65 in obc apply?

He kept on saying that obc can't be used for cabin tips.

 

After the THIRD time I explained to him that I know that and I KEPT showing him on my printout that I have $400 in purchases, he says he needs to check with his supervisor but he's not in right now.

 

He says he'll give me a call when he finds the answer.

 

I'm guessing these one stripe guys that man the desk are new and have no clue about how financial things are done  on the ship.

Ie: standard undertrained newbies

 

It seems They're  given the most unwanted job in the financial Dept, which frustrates us customers.

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by fstuff1

[IrieBajan54]

Maybe they are no different that the reps in the call centers who are always the last to know.

[BirdTravels]

Spend it quick. 

[novanoto]

I had the same frustrations. They refused to apply an extra $100 OBC I had and when I spoke to them on three different occasions, I got the same line of "my supervisor isn't in right now, but will call you". Never got the call. Went on our final morning before we disembarked when it still wasn't rectified and I said I would dispute the amount with my CC company since we were out of time and they advised I should do that. So, yea.

[hawkeyetlse]

My guess is it has something to do with the OBC you got back after purchasing the CruiseNext certificates. This can sometimes have the effect of turning one kind of OBC into a more restrictive type of OBC. But spa services and booze should still be eligible purchases.

 

Anyway, since they seem to be hung up on the tips, have them calculate the total amount of your tips, and if it’s less than $360, ask them why your OBC is not being applied to the remaining balance, which is not tips. 

[_Rick_]

NCL seems to be indirectly advocating to not give tips or you may be essentially ripped off in terms of your OBC.

 

It seems the answer is don't put tips on your account if you have OBC.  Just give tips in cash only if you want to tip.  It also ensures the person who deserves the tip is the one who receives the tip.

[Budget Queen]

Does your $400  obc,,,include the Cruise Next credit?   How many CN did you buy?    But I would think,  massages would be more than $150?   (eg,  if you bought 2 Cruise Next-  cost of $250)      But if you actual OBC is $650 due to not counting the CN credit?   a different story.   

 

 

[NYcruzzer]

Dang. Perhaps you should escalate and ask to speak with a 2 Stripe guy..

[sfaaa]

Sounds like the IRS. 

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

Does your $400  obc,,,include the Cruise Next credit?   How many CN did you buy?    But I would think,  massages would be more than $150?   (eg,  if you bought 2 Cruise Next-  cost of $250)      But if you actual OBC is $650 due to not counting the CN credit?   a different story.   

 

 

The $400 is a casino comp OBC which has additional restrictions on what it can be used for. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by BirdTravels

[jskinsd]

12 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

I'm currently on the breakaway.

 

I have $400 in obc. I've spent it in massages and booze at the gift shop.

My bill so far should be around $300 from cabin tips and cruise next certificates but the ncl app says I owe $360.

 

Guest services gave me a printout and it says I have $65 in unused obc.

 

I went to the credit desk and asked about it.

I explained to him that I have $400 in PURCHASES and why didn't $65 in obc apply?

He kept on saying that obc can't be used for cabin tips.

 

After the THIRD time I explained to him that I know that and I KEPT showing him on my printout that I have $400 in purchases, he says he needs to check with his supervisor but he's not in right now.

 

He says he'll give me a call when he finds the answer.

 

I'm guessing these one stripe guys that man the desk are new and have no clue about how financial things are done  on the ship.

Ie: standard undertrained newbies

 

It seems They're  given the most unwanted job in the financial Dept, which frustrates us customers.

 

 

Never have had a problem with finances while on a ship.  I make them aware of a issue and then give them time to research.  Although I am usually right, I have to admit it that I was wrong once.  All it ever cost me was a little time.  I have always received excellent customer service regarding my concerns.  It is sad to know that you think their representatives are clueless.  Happy cruising✌️

[dexddd]

9 minutes ago, jskinsd said:

 

Never have had a problem with finances while on a ship.  I make them aware of a issue and then give them time to research.  Although I am usually right, I have to admit it that I was wrong once.  All it ever cost me was a little time.  I have always received excellent customer service regarding my concerns.  It is sad to know that you think their representatives are clueless.  Happy cruising✌️

Most cruises are 7 days.  Why should anyone spend vacation time due to a cruise line who can't figure out the details Miami throws at them?  We've had to and at times the staff is clueless and contradicts each other, for your convenience, of course.

[jskinsd]

2 hours ago, dexddd said:

Most cruises are 7 days.  Why should anyone spend vacation time due to a cruise line who can't figure out the details Miami throws at them?  We've had to and at times the staff is clueless and contradicts each other, for your convenience, of course.

 Boo Hoo Hoo.  Just check your statement every morning.  And nobody has ever wasted time waiting in line on a cruise ship for something they think should be so simple.   Oh those darn representatives.   Just pull yourself away from the buffet a little earlier the next time and make up that time.   OBC are one of the most discussed topics on NCL threads.  And still cruisers think they are being screwed with their OBC.

[smplybcause]

A guess - I've seen some people post that their non-refundable OBC was not applied to additional gratuity that they gave at specialty restaurants. Is it possible that it's not applying the OBC to the 20% on your spa visits? $65 would be about $325 worth of services in the spa - unless you tipped more. 

[NRWPA]

My last cruise I had $200 on board credit. I booked 6 excursions with the $50 Free at sea offer - still spending about $550 after discounts but before OBC. I checked my bill almost every day, including the last full day. My $200 OBC was deducted all along...until I received the final bill they put on your door in the early hours of disembark day. Then, my bill showed I had $150 "unused non-refundable credit" which was added back on to my balance. This is the third time similar OBC screw ups happened to me. I was able to get it resolved all three times but makes me wonder how many people don't notice or just don't have the patience to deal with trying to get a resolution. p.s. don't hold me to these exact figures but this is the gist of what happened - i.e. I spent more than enough in on board charges but they attempted to say I didn't - no clue why.

[drumming cruisers]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The $400 is a casino comp OBC which has additional restrictions on what it can be used for. 

'I will be receiving $400 OBC on next cruise from casino. What are the additional restrictions????? I don't want to be buying things that aren't offset by the $400 OBC

[BirdTravels]

Use to be the medi spa treatments, teeth whitening,
acupuncture. 
 

rereading the OP post, if he has $240 on his bill for his massage, the $40 gratuity on that massage is not eligible for non-refundable OBC. 

[minniem]

I am new to Norwegian. We have a small amount of non refundable obc.  Can this be applied to the daily service charge?  On Princess gratuities can be paid for using obc. If I cannot apply it to the daily service charge i will be sure to spend it.

[shof515]

1 hour ago, minniem said:

I am new to Norwegian. We have a small amount of non refundable obc.  Can this be applied to the daily service charge?  On Princess gratuities can be paid for using obc. If I cannot apply it to the daily service charge i will be sure to spend it.

 

usually non refundable obc can not be used for the daily service charge. only refundable obc can

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, minniem said:

I am new to Norwegian. We have a small amount of non refundable obc.  Can this be applied to the daily service charge?  On Princess gratuities can be paid for using obc. If I cannot apply it to the daily service charge i will be sure to spend it.

 

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

 

usually non refundable obc can not be used for the daily service charge. only refundable obc can

 

Also, non refundable OBC can’t be used to give any additional gratuities to servers in the specialty restaurants. 

[fstuff1]

Update:

 

on the final night of the cruise, i went to bed at 11pm. ncl app still says i have unused obc.

i woke up at 6:30am on disembarkation day.  the ncl app says i no longer have any unused obc and the amount i owe seems correct.

 

coincidental:

i opted for email invoice for my cruise.

my email acct received the invoice email at 3am on disembarkation day.

it still says i have unused obc.

 

so sometime between 3am and 6:30am, it was corrected.

i'm betting that this was manually corrected.

if it was auto-corrected by computer, then why didnt it display the correct balance i owe from the beginning?

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by fstuff1

[hawkeyetlse]

Thank you for the update. Did anyone from the OBC desk ever get back to you about this? Or were you OK leaving it until the last morning to figure out?

[fstuff1]

43 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

Thank you for the update. Did anyone from the OBC desk ever get back to you about this? Or were you OK leaving it until the last morning to figure out?

noone from the credit desk got back to me. 😞

 

from past experience (on another ship), a 2 stripe accounting officer mans the credit desk on disembarkation morning.

so i was hoping it was the same in my cruise.

thankfully, i did not need to find out

[shof515]

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 the ncl app says i no longer have any unused obc and the amount i owe seems correct.

 

 

 

 

on my previous cruise, the ncl app never had the correct obc amount listed. it was very confusing. i noticed viewing my account on the stateroom tv was more accurate then the ncl app. hopefully NCL improves the app. i have no issues with other cruise lines apps

[dexddd]

On 1/31/2020 at 8:49 AM, jskinsd said:

 Boo Hoo Hoo.  Just check your statement every morning.  And nobody has ever wasted time waiting in line on a cruise ship for something they think should be so simple.   Oh those darn representatives.   Just pull yourself away from the buffet a little earlier the next time and make up that time.   OBC are one of the most discussed topics on NCL threads.  And still cruisers think they are being screwed with their OBC.

You do a lot of assuming.