Is agency OBC available for use Pre-cruise?

[jimmieg]

Phoned in yesterday to buy a package upgrade for a B2B in August.  Final has been paid.

Anyway, I was just expecting Celebrity OBC to be available, with agency OBC not available until boarding.

Amount available was more than I expected.

So, is all OBC available for use Pre-cruise purchases these days?

[canderson]

Typically not.  As you say, it typically doesn't appear until the start of your cruise.

That said, if you suddenly find a bump in your OBC, it may be an exception.  In any case, yes, if it's in your cruise planner, you can use it!  Was the amount the $ that you expected from your TA?

 

[Jim_Iain]

Agency OBC is not available until you board the ship.   Really shouldn't make a difference as it is usually refundable so just charge what you want on your credit card and if you don't use your Agency OBC it goes back on your CC which would offset your charge.

 

Sometimes an agency gives a NR OBC (as part of a promotion)  and that would usually be available per-cruise.  Best to check with your agent.    Also if you had a price reduction match after final payment it is usually applied as a NR OBC.

[jimmieg]

48 minutes ago, canderson said:

Typically not.  As you say, it typically doesn't appear until the start of your cruise.

That said, if you suddenly find a bump in your OBC, it may be an exception.  In any case, yes, if it's in your cruise planner, you can use it!  Was the amount the $ that you expected from your TA?

 

Kind of in between - several hundred $$ involved between Celebrity promotion, agency credits, group credits and a 4th source I don't remember at this moment. That's why I was uncertain. I asked the very nice girl (in Manila?) the source of the OBC, she just said "it's everything." 

Note: I didn't complain. We will see.

Note 2: This could be avoided if Celebrity website indicated OBC's (as well as perks) available without making a dummy excursion booking to see what populates payment field.🤔

Edited May 29, 2022 by jimmieg

[Arizona Wildcat]

Not sure why it would be complicated.  We received OBC from Celwbrity and more from ours being a group booking.  They are both OBC that is non refundable.   Have never seen - but certainly possible - TA OBCR appear before the first business day following boarding.

[MarKay525]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sometimes an agency gives a NR OBC (as part of a promotion)  and that would usually be available per-cruise.  Best to check with your agent.   

This happened on our last cruise - didn't know why the OBC went up pre-cruise and wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth before we boarded.

Once onboard, between Guest Services and a few emails to my TA, I was able to get it all sorted out. We were accustomed to refundable OBC from the TA, but had no trouble "spending" the NR from their promotion.

If it shows up in your Planner, you should be able to spend it pre-cruise.

Edited May 30, 2022 by MarKay525

[canderson]

IIRC, non-refundable OBC coming from a TA is actually a passthrough from Celebrity, so technically not TA OBC.

 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

IIRC, non-refundable OBC coming from a TA is actually a passthrough from Celebrity, so technically not TA OBC.

 

But they take credit for it.  Lately part of the OBC from  one of the TAs we use is showing up after final payment in the Cruise Planner and is non refundable.