Max OBC or other Credit You've Received from a TA

[garyl62]

Don't want any TA names or identifiers, but wondering if there is a general consensus as to the limit a TA will give back.  Many people talk about shooting for a 10% rebate or refundable OBC, several online ads pop-up on my screen talking about "get up to $1,000 back", but I'm wondering what about those who have booked something where 10% OBC is well over $1,000.  For example, a $15k - 20,000 cruise, are you holding out for 10% of that, or are things usually capped around $1,000?

[ECCruise]

Nope.  Just got $1500 and $1600 on 2 cruises in the last couple months that were both in the $13000-15000 range.  Plus the benefit of being refundable so virtually all of it came back to us (we had a good bid of non-refundable that we used on the ships).

[Georgia_Peaches]

Sailed on a 9 night southern Caribbean back in November in a Royal Suite for our anniversary.  TA gave us

$1225 refundable OBC  + $300 from Celebrity.  As we were in a RS, we didn't use any on specialty dining and we did our own excursions.  So after purchasing a pass to Persian Gardens, we didn't have much else to use the OBC on.  It was refunded back to our CC within a few days of returning.  I look at is as a room rate discount.

[Pinboy]

We usually book on board and receive an extra $ 200 OBC ( $ 100 each ) plus other perks offered  , make a lower deposit ( as low as $25 pp on occasion ) , receive a one category room upgrade ( Book 1A pay for 2A ), then transfer the booking to our TA ( Big Box Store ) where they issue a Gift Card valued at approximately 8%  of what we paid for the cruise.  By booking with the Big Box Store TA, there is always someone there to access the account, put us on hold and they contact Celebrity . I believe they have a phone line to Celebrity which is not available to the general public. It works very well for us .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garyl62]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

Just got $1500 and $1600 on 2 cruises in the last couple months that were both in the $13000-15000 range.  

 

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

TA gave us $1225 refundable OBC   I look at is as a room rate discount.

 

Thanks for the quick replies, I was hoping to hear that has been the case.  We had a more expensive than usual for us cruise canceled so we might be able to turn some lemons into lemonade with the 25% FCC bonus and a hefty TA credit.

[Wine-O]

You can normally get 10% OBC from a good TA after taxes and port charges.  Note that taxes are wrapped into the cruise fare you pay, and your port charges show as a separate line item.  🍷

[Fouremco]

14 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

You can normally get 10% OBC from a good TA after taxes and port charges.  Note that taxes are wrapped into the cruise fare you pay, and your port charges show as a separate line item.  🍷

Our taxes are never wrapped into the cruise fare, but instead are combined with port fees as a separate line item. Do a dummy booking and you will see that the Celebrity website always lists the taxes and port fees as a separate item.

[Wine-O]

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Our taxes are never wrapped into the cruise fare, but instead are combined with port fees as a separate line item. Do a dummy booking and you will see that the Celebrity website always lists the taxes and port fees as a separate item.

Those aren't your taxes on your cruise fare.  For example, when you do a dummy booking, it shows cost of the cruise plus taxes/port charges to be, for example, $118.52, added onto your cruise fare.

 

You can bet that if someone pays pays $1000 for a cruise, and another pays $12,000 for a cruise, they don't pay the same tax, but they do pay the same port charges.  Ergo, the taxes on your cruise fare are bundled in with the cruise fare.   You don't see it as a separate line item, but your TA does, that's why they deduct it from the commission-able rate, because they don't get paid commission on the taxes.  🍷  

Edited April 4, 2020 by Wine-O

[az_tchr]

1 hour ago, Wine-O said:

Those aren't your taxes on your cruise fare.  For example, when you do a dummy booking, it shows cost of the cruise plus taxes/port charges to be, for example, $118.52, added onto your cruise fare.

 

You can bet that if someone pays pays $1000 for a cruise, and another pays $12,000 for a cruise, they don't pay the same tax, but they do pay the same port charges.  Ergo, the taxes on your cruise fare are bundled in with the cruise fare.   You don't see it as a separate line item, but your TA does, that's why they deduct it from the commission-able rate, because they don't get paid commission on the taxes.  🍷  

Actually the port fees and taxes (a head tax assessed by some ports) has always been listed separately on my invoices and is also only the X website.  In my experience is has been the same $$ amount for an inside or a Royal Suite per person.

My TA usually offers close to 10% in OBCR. We often also get group space at a lower rate and additional perks.  Again you want a TA that responds in person - even today - within a few days.  A couple of them have terrible customer service.  Most do a great job.  Check out reviews online remembering that if someone had a problem they gripe.  Good service is far less frequently rewarded with a good rec.

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, az_tchr said:

Actually the port fees and taxes (a head tax assessed by some ports) has always been listed separately on my invoices and is also only the X website.  In my experience is has been the same $$ amount for an inside or a Royal Suite per person.

My TA usually offers close to 10% in OBCR. We often also get group space at a lower rate and additional perks.  Again you want a TA that responds in person - even today - within a few days.  A couple of them have terrible customer service.  Most do a great job.  Check out reviews online remembering that if someone had a problem they gripe.  Good service is far less frequently rewarded with a good rec.

 

I agree, the taxes and port charges are the same, no matter what category you choose. I compared my invoices, and I have them all, and on similar cruises the charge was very close to the same be it a 2B balcony or a Jr. Suite, on the Equinox. Since nobody believes anything any body post, if it is not the same belief of the reader, I did a mock booking.

February 15, 2021 11 day Caribbean cruise on the Reflection. Cheapest inside cabin was $1099 p.p. plus $316.04 taxes and fees. Highest price suite was $5859 p.p. plus $316.04 taxes and fees.

Maybe somebody should point this out to the cruise lines so they could bring in more money during these tough times.

Edited April 4, 2020 by grandgeezer
wrong date on Reflection

[garyl62]

In my experience the taxes and port fees listed as an additional expense upon booking is usually the same regardless of cabin.  I have also seen a breakdown of fees from my TA that included a slightly lower cost of the cruise fare than I expected, then a line for taxes on that fare, and when those two charges were combined they equaled the fare posted online by Celebrity.  After those charges were sub-totaled the typical $60-240 taxes and port fees were added on to make the final total charge.  It may be that's what Wine-O is describing. 

 

Regardless and back to my original post, it's good to know I can hold out for a OBC-R for close to 10% of the cost of the cruise minus whatever the taxes end up being.  

Edited April 4, 2020 by garyl62

[Fouremco]

5 hours ago, Wine-O said:

You can normally get 10% OBC from a good TA after taxes and port charges.  Note that taxes are wrapped into the cruise fare you pay, and your port charges show as a separate line item.  🍷

 

4 hours ago, Wine-O said:

Those aren't your taxes on your cruise fare.  For example, when you do a dummy booking, it shows cost of the cruise plus taxes/port charges to be, for example, $118.52, added onto your cruise fare.

 

You can bet that if someone pays pays $1000 for a cruise, and another pays $12,000 for a cruise, they don't pay the same tax, but they do pay the same port charges.  Ergo, the taxes on your cruise fare are bundled in with the cruise fare.   You don't see it as a separate line item, but your TA does, that's why they deduct it from the commission-able rate, because they don't get paid commission on the taxes.  🍷  

While I understand the logic of your posts, Celebrity states quite clearly in its Cruise/Cruisetour Ticket Contract that the cruise fare does not include any taxes:

 

‘Cruise Fare’ or ‘CruiseTour Fare’ includes the amount due for the Cruise or Cruise Tour, whether such amounts are owing and/or have been paid by the Passenger, but does not include amounts due for other products or services such as air transportation, photographs, gratuities, telephone calls, or medical services which can be purchased separately, nor does it include government or quasi-governmental taxes and fees, whether assessed on a per passenger, per vessel, per berth or per ton basis, nor any fuel surcharges, security surcharges or similar assessments made by airlines, trains, buses, hotels or other third parties which are subject to change and are due and payable by Passenger upon request. For CruiseTours that include air travel, airfare is included in the CruiseTour Fare.

[https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Celebrity-Cruise-Ticket-Contract.pdf]

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

For our TA it depends on which cruise line we book with that determines the form of compensation:

 

Celebrity = 10% nonrefundable OBC

HAL = 10% cruise fare discount

Oceania = 11% rebate check + OBC

Princess = 10% cruise fare discount

Silversea = 10% rebate check

Disney = 10% cruise fare discount

RCCL = 8% nonrefundable OBC

[az_tchr]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

I agree, the taxes and port charges are the same, no matter what category you choose. I compared my invoices, and I have them all, and on similar cruises the charge was very close to the same be it a 2B balcony or a Jr. Suite, on the Equinox. Since nobody believes anything any body post, if it is not the same belief of the reader, I did a mock booking.

February 15, 2021 11 day Caribbean cruise on the Reflection. Cheapest inside cabin was $1099 p.p. plus $316.04 taxes and fees. Highest price suite was $5859 p.p. plus $316.04 taxes and fees.

Maybe somebody should point this out to the cruise lines so they could bring in more money during these tough times.

The cruise lines have this as a separate line because it is a passenger tax - levied by the ports per passenger - not a tax by Celebrity.  TAs do not receive any commission on this item.  It goes from you to Celebrity to the ports.

[Wine-O]

1 hour ago, az_tchr said:

The cruise lines have this as a separate line because it is a passenger tax - levied by the ports per passenger - not a tax by Celebrity.  TAs do not receive any commission on this item.  It goes from you to Celebrity to the ports.

 

Precisely.  The flat fee called taxes & port charges is what everyone on the cruise pays.  It differs by itinerary.  On a TA, sometimes it's only around $118 per person.

 

This is completely different from the tax you pay on the actual cruise price, as it is wrapped into that figure.  Naturally, it varies based on how much you actually paid for your cruise.  🍷

[HS2BS]

Those who have canceled a cruise in the last few weeks and took the fcc as the means of reimbursement, also find that taxes and fees are not included in the fcc. The are returned to the original form of deposit.

 

Hal

[Fouremco]

45 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

This is completely different from the tax you pay on the actual cruise price, as it is wrapped into that figure. 

So you keep saying, in spite of Celebrity stating in its cruise contract that your cruise fare includes no taxes. If you are going to argue to continue to contradict what Celebrity has said, could you at least provide some proof?

[Wine-O]

Oh, please, give me a break.  Been doing this for years.  My TA itemizes my taxes and port charges. Those are the fees everyone on the cruise pays.    Then they take the cruise fare and deduct the taxes paid on that, and that give them the commission-able fare.  You don't see that break down, only TA's do.    They give 10% OBC on that fare.   Celebrity seems to make it simple for some folks.  They combine fare + tax = cruise fare (they don't break it down), then they add on port charges/tax, to which they pay direct to the ports.  Maybe they do it different in Canada, but I doubt it.

 

Check with a reputable travel agent and have them explain it to you, if you don't believe me.  The Celebrity website sometimes is all about a lot of yada, yada, yada.  🍷

[Lane412000]

Obviously, I have much to learn about asking or receiving OBC or other credit from the TA. We have booked owner's and penthouse suites for years on Celebrity (recently Summit PH) or Oceania OS and have never received OBC from the TA. Booked in a PH for July 2020 Baltic sailing on Silhouette (thinking it will be cancelled), but have not been offered additional OBC or other credit from the TA other than what Celebrity is providing (think $300 for the cabin).  Sometimes, we may receive a card for a bottle of wine or champagne, but that has been it.  I guess that I need to learn the secret for receiving these things?

[Wine-O]

12 hours ago, Lane412000 said:

Obviously, I have much to learn about asking or receiving OBC or other credit from the TA. We have booked owner's and penthouse suites for years on Celebrity (recently Summit PH) or Oceania OS and have never received OBC from the TA. Booked in a PH for July 2020 Baltic sailing on Silhouette (thinking it will be cancelled), but have not been offered additional OBC or other credit from the TA other than what Celebrity is providing (think $300 for the cabin).  Sometimes, we may receive a card for a bottle of wine or champagne, but that has been it.  I guess that I need to learn the secret for receiving these things?

 

Yeah, booking those high-priced Suites, you are really missing out.  You only have 60 days from the time of booking to transfer to a TA.  You really should start shopping around for a good TA that will afford you OBC.  We had so much OBC last year, both from Celebrity and our TA that we purchased an iPad with 256G memory.  🍷

[Lane412000]

44 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

 

Yeah, booking those high-priced Suites, you are really missing out.  You only have 60 days from the time of booking to transfer to a TA.  You really should start shopping around for a good TA that will afford you OBC.  We had so much OBC last year, both from Celebrity and our TA that we purchased an iPad with 256G memory.  🍷

I always book with a TA, but never realized that they had the opportunity to offer you so much OBC. If I booked a 14 day PH cabin for $30,000, you guys are telling me I should be receiving a minimum of $3,000 in OBC?   

[Pinboy]

13 hours ago, Fouremco said:

So you keep saying, in spite of Celebrity stating in its cruise contract that your cruise fare includes no taxes. If you are going to argue to continue to contradict what Celebrity has said, could you at least provide some proof?

Merci mon ami--- 

Seems you are correct according to the Celebrity Cruise Contract

"nor does it include government or quasi-governmental taxes and fees "

On our previous cruise we met a very nice lady while sharing a table in the " OV Buffet " .

After the " Where you from, how cold is it up there, how many cruises have you taken, etc " questions, she said she is a TA.

About OBC's  " Everyone pays the same price to Celebrity, however, the TA can take whatever they want off their commission ".

I don't know if that's true , but, she did seem credible .

 

 

 

[Wine-O]

1 hour ago, Lane412000 said:

I always book with a TA, but never realized that they had the opportunity to offer you so much OBC. If I booked a 14 day PH cabin for $30,000, you guys are telling me I should be receiving a minimum of $3,000 in OBC?   

Yes, but once they deduct taxes, fees, and port charges which are not commissionable.  I would guess the OBC could be in the arrange of $2K, and it would be OBC-R, refundable, so if you didn't use it, it would be refunded to your credit card.  🍷

 

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

Merci mon ami--- 

Seems you are correct according to the Celebrity Cruise Contract

"nor does it include government or quasi-governmental taxes and fees "

On our previous cruise we met a very nice lady while sharing a table in the " OV Buffet " .

After the " Where you from, how cold is it up there, how many cruises have you taken, etc " questions, she said she is a TA.

About OBC's  " Everyone pays the same price to Celebrity, however, the TA can take whatever they want off their commission ".

I don't know if that's true , but, she did seem credible .

 

Yes, that is true.  Large TA's that are categorized as such by the cruise line get around 15%, so if you are doing a massive amount of business, they will give you 10% incentive from their commission, and still make money.  🍷

 

[nyc2pdx]

Gosh I am losing out...I don't get any OBC with my TA.  But I have absolutely no idea who is good and who is not.

[jelayne]

On 4/4/2020 at 4:54 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

For our TA it depends on which cruise line we book with that determines the form of compensation:

 

Celebrity = 10% nonrefundable OBC

HAL = 10% cruise fare discount

Oceania = 11% rebate check + OBC

Princess = 10% cruise fare discount

Silversea = 10% rebate check

Disney = 10% cruise fare discount

RCCL = 8% nonrefundable OBC

That’s surprising we always gotten refundable OBC for both Royal & Celebrity.