Gratuities, Onboard Credit, Alaska

[sette1lm]

Probably shouldn't lump all this together but whatever.

 

I am about to book my first cruise since 2018 and I'm super excited, we are doing an Alaskan cruise. My husband and I are each 33 years old and have done 5-7 cruises each, all with Carnival, this cruise will be just the two of us:

 

• We have about $400 in onboard credit that we can get from my credit card, can this go towards gratuities?
  • Do I just not want to prepay them? That way they will end up on my sail and sign card and the onboard credit can go towards them?
• We are getting a deal with booking where I think we each get $100 onboard credit and with my credit card I can get $400, this would get us to a total of $600 in onboard credit for a 6 day Alaskan cruise. I am good at spending money but that seems like a lot even for me. Could we reasonably use this? Are there fees and stuff I'm forgetting about that this could go towards? 
  • I am thinking about doing the Chef's Table (we did it before pre-COVID and I don't care that much about losing the Galley Tour) but I don't think you can see until you book if there are still spots left, so that could fall through
  • My husband and I each will get a few drinks each day/night. I like the Alchemy bar at night and those drinks cost more
  • If we book excursions onboard could we use credit for that? I haven't even started looking into excursions yet so no idea on what we will do or pricing
    • I normally book those ahead of time, is it a total pain to do it on the ship?
• We have never done an Alaskan cruise before, I've only ever done cruises out of Miami. Any tips or differences to an Alaskan cruise would be appreciated.
  • This cruise would be on the Spirit, I'm excited that some of our favorites are on this cruise like the comedy club, alchemy bar and blue iguana cantina. 
• I have read all the COVID rules around vaccinations and testing but for anyone that has cruised recently, were there changes that were a disappointment to you or things that were maybe better now with new rules?  

[hapytobehr]

On board credit can be used for gratuities as I have read that on these boards.

 

$600 of on board credit can be spent very easily.

 

Also bear in mind that Alaskan shore excursions are VERY expensive.  You can use the on board credit for those and believe me, it will easily use up the $600.

 

We are leaving for our Alaskan cruise in 24 days and the excursions cost us more than the cruise.

 

Not much has changed with the COVID protocols except for anyone who is vaccinated AND boosted can test 3 days before.  If you are vaccinated but not boosted, you need to test 2 days before.

 

Also I understand that masks on board are no longer enforced but suggested.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[skrufy]

13 minutes ago, sette1lm said:

Probably shouldn't lump all this together but whatever.

 

I am about to book my first cruise since 2018 and I'm super excited, we are doing an Alaskan cruise. My husband and I are each 33 years old and have done 5-7 cruises each, all with Carnival, this cruise will be just the two of us:

 

• We have about $400 in onboard credit that we can get from my credit card, can this go towards gratuities?
  • Do I just not want to prepay them? That way they will end up on my sail and sign card and the onboard credit can go towards them?
• We are getting a deal with booking where I think we each get $100 onboard credit and with my credit card I can get $400, this would get us to a total of $600 in onboard credit for a 6 day Alaskan cruise. I am good at spending money but that seems like a lot even for me. Could we reasonably use this? Are there fees and stuff I'm forgetting about that this could go towards? 
  • I am thinking about doing the Chef's Table (we did it before pre-COVID and I don't care that much about losing the Galley Tour) but I don't think you can see until you book if there are still spots left, so that could fall through
  • My husband and I each will get a few drinks each day/night. I like the Alchemy bar at night and those drinks cost more
  • If we book excursions onboard could we use credit for that? I haven't even started looking into excursions yet so no idea on what we will do or pricing
    • I normally book those ahead of time, is it a total pain to do it on the ship?
• We have never done an Alaskan cruise before, I've only ever done cruises out of Miami. Any tips or differences to an Alaskan cruise would be appreciated.
  • This cruise would be on the Spirit, I'm excited that some of our favorites are on this cruise like the comedy club, alchemy bar and blue iguana cantina. 
• I have read all the COVID rules around vaccinations and testing but for anyone that has cruised recently, were there changes that were a disappointment to you or things that were maybe better now with new rules?  

You can use all your OBC to pre pay and buy anything you would like. Can't tell you how to pay gratuities, we pay from our OBC out of this sail and sign card when on board. No fees are charged. Alaska is a different kind of cruise. Generally, ( time of year ) it can rain be cool, misty, foggy, and pleasant, bring rain gear with you. Excursions are very expensive, book them early, they sell out quickly. Go through the Alaska board, lots of good info. On line google ( you tube also) packing for Alaska, more good info. Also dining is ultra casual, not many people dress for elegant night Alaska is a one of a kind place, enjoy.

[heidiatmn1]

You can now use your on board credit before you cruise. When you check out on the carnival website it will ask if you’d like to apply your credit. Alaska excursions are $$$$ so you should have no problem!

[pe4all]

10 hours ago, heidiatmn1 said:

You can now use your on board credit before you cruise. When you check out on the carnival website it will ask if you’d like to apply your credit. Alaska excursions are $$$$ so you should have no problem!

This!  I would definitely use some of the obc for the excursions, which cost us waaaay more than the cruise did when we did CCL Alaska!

[jsglow]

Alaska absolutely rocks.  Have fun.

 

And I see you're from Michigan so I don't have to give you my lecture about NOT showing up with matching his/her coats! 😆

[skrufy]

4 hours ago, pe4all said:

This!  I would definitely use some of the obc for the excursions, which cost us waaaay more than the cruise did when we did CCL Alaska!

Blew right through one thousand dollars OBC on Alaska excursions for our cruise next year. 

[pe4all]

56 minutes ago, skrufy said:

Blew right through one thousand dollars OBC on Alaska excursions for our cruise next year. 

Between the Tracy Arms excursion and helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier/dog sledding on glacier,  and railroad excursion so did we. (3 of us). But worth every penny

[lukeca]

I'm doing my first Alaskan cruise as well! We were originally scheduled on the Spirit but our cruise was changed to the Splendor.

 

We had credit from Covid cancellations, like others have said, you can use it for excursions now ahead of time. We pretty much used all ours for excursions and a little bit for the spa. I have noticed that some of the excursions seem to fill up pretty fast so I don't think I would wait until you are on board to book them, especially since you can use your credit ahead of time.

 

Technically OBC is not allowed to be used for Gratuities, it's in the fine print. So it will not allow you to pre-pay gratuities with OBC. However, others have said they have never had an issue using OBC to pay for it at the end of the trip. As you said, it just goes to your sign and sail account and that uses up the OBC first.

[sette1lm]

6 hours ago, jsglow said:

Alaska absolutely rocks.  Have fun.

 

And I see you're from Michigan so I don't have to give you my lecture about NOT showing up with matching his/her coats! 😆

 

I haven't logged onto this account in awhile, we moved to California three years ago. 

 

Do people actually wear matching coats? 

[jsglow]

16 hours ago, sette1lm said:

 

I haven't logged onto this account in awhile, we moved to California three years ago. 

 

Do people actually wear matching coats? 

Yep.  You'll occasionally see it among the southerners who need 'winter' coats for the trip.