Onboard Credit

[Mrs Soap]

Hi all,

 

just wanting to confirm that onboard credit cannot be used for gratuity at the end of the cruise?

 

Also I presume that we need to use it onboard....Ie cant  be used if we pre pay for say spa activities?

 

TIA

 

Kylie

[CruiserBruce]

OBC can be used for ANY charge against your shipboard account.

[Mrs Soap]

thanks CruiserBruce.... I thought that as well but perhaps that may not be the case if its a special booking offer?

 

"Onboard spending money expires at the end of the Eligible Cruise and may not be used in the casino or on gratuities or any other specified fees or items."

 

this is quoted from the HAL website

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, Mrs Soap said:

thanks CruiserBruce.... I thought that as well but perhaps that may not be the case if its a special booking offer?

 

"Onboard spending money expires at the end of the Eligible Cruise and may not be used in the casino or on gratuities or any other specified fees or items."

 

this is quoted from the HAL website

What is the OBC for? Never had any charge against room accounts not covered.

[Mrs Soap]

We received it as a promo when booking our cruise for next near ( westerdam/alaska) ...

 

I thought great that will almost cover our tipping at the end but when reading the t&cs this is what was said...

[KAKcruiser]

They have always taken the gratuities from the nonrefundable shipboard credit.  You never know when that could change, though.

[Mrs Soap]

Mariner Early Booking Bonus is based on Promo(s) DG*

 

perhaps its only particular to this promo? But as KAK cruiser has said things change...perhaps there are so many people with OBC due to many cancelled cruises they particularly want that money now going to services on board??

 

just thinking out loud 🙂 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, Mrs Soap said:

Hi all,

 

just wanting to confirm that onboard credit cannot be used for gratuity at the end of the cruise?

 

Also I presume that we need to use it onboard....Ie cant  be used if we pre pay for say spa activities?

 

TIA

 

Kylie

HAL claims that some promotional OBC and shareholder benefit OBC Cannot be used for gratuity. In practice they treat it like cash and the only thing you can't do is take it out at the casino, or have it refunded at the end. They have always applied it to all of my onboard folio expenses. You are correct you cannot apply it to prepaid services. I have seen some people report buying pre-paid services (dining, spa, shorex, etc) and then having it cancelled and rebilled onboard so that it posts against the non-refundable credits. I have never done this myself because the spa people usually find me and use it all up and then some. 

[Mary229]

Perhaps this is a OBC issued by a travel agent with special restrictions.  My shareholder OBC has always paid my gratuities 

[blueexpedition29]

I have always had OBC applied towards gratuities.  What you CANNOT do is use OBC for   "additional" gratuities.    For example, if you have any remaining, you CANNOT tell them to apply it for additional gratuities for the crew in general or any specific individual. 

 

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

59 minutes ago, blueexpedition29 said:

I have always had OBC applied towards gratuities.  What you CANNOT do is use OBC for   "additional" gratuities.    For example, if you have any remaining, you CANNOT tell them to apply it for additional gratuities for the crew in general or any specific individual. 

 

 

This.

HAL no longer refers to the automatic daily tips as ‘gratuities’. They call it ‘crew appreciation’. In current HAL-ese, the word gratuities applies to something else. On our Alaska cruise in May, promotional OBC covered ALL of our crew appreciation, or whatever they’ve decided to call it today.

[blueexpedition29]

3 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

This.

HAL no longer refers to the automatic daily tips as ‘gratuities’. They call it ‘crew appreciation’. In current HAL-ese, the word gratuities applies to something else. On our Alaska cruise in May, promotional OBC covered ALL of our crew appreciation, or whatever they’ve decided to call it today.

good point and i agree 

[Mrs Soap]

11 hours ago, blueexpedition29 said:

good point and i agree 

Thanks! I think that may clear this up!

[debdiva]

So that's the disadvantage to the Have It All package. Shore excursions were filling up fast, so I booked more before the cruise than I usually do. I was thinking the OBC from my TA could go to Crew Appreciation or whatever it is called this week. Otherwise, WiFi is in package, dining is in package, beverages are in package. Maybe we'll go to Canaletto...

[Traveling Dot]

WiFi is only the basic, so you may want to upgrade to the better one and use the obc for that.

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by Traveling Dot

[Mrs Soap]

20 hours ago, Traveling Dot said:

WiFi is only the basic, so you may want to upgrade to the better one and use the obc for that.

 

thankyou yes I noticed that...think we will

[oceanmom]

On 6/3/2022 at 6:37 AM, blueexpedition29 said:

I have always had OBC applied towards gratuities.  What you CANNOT do is use OBC for   "additional" gratuities.    For example, if you have any remaining, you CANNOT tell them to apply it for additional gratuities for the crew in general or any specific individual. 

 

 

Pre-Covid, I was always able to use both refundable as well as non-refundable OBC for "additional gratuities for the crew in general". In fact, one time the night accounting office figured out how much of our OBC was non-refundable and put that all into the crew pool of gratuities and refunded the refundable OBC to my credit card. I made that request on the night before the last night of the cruise. I hope that hasn't changed.

[AFNavigator]

23 hours ago, Traveling Dot said:

WiFi is only the basic, so you may want to upgrade to the better one and use the obc for that.

 

The Have It All package includes the mid-tier "Surf" internet package.  Basic is "Social", mid is "Surf" and top is "Premium".

 

Previously posted (thanks VMax1700):

 

Taken from the HAL website.  Ignore the prices, but the descriptors are current (AFAIK).

source: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq.shipboard-life.can-i-use-the-internet-mobile-phones-or-webcams-on-board.html

Available Packages:

Social: Per day package, $14.99. (Access the most popular social websites and applications. May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.)
Surf (most popular): $24.99. (Surf your favorite sites including e-mail, news, sports and more. May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.)
Premium: $29.99 (From e-mail to streaming, receive the highest volume of data. Supports audio/video calling and streaming where coverage allows.)

 

By the way, "WiFi" service is available free to anyone on the ship for use of the Navigator App.  "Internet" access is the pay service being discussed here.

[Daniel A]

I have the HIA package and a ton of OBC.  If I upgrade the drinks part of the HIA to the Elite Beverage Package once onboard, will the OBC cover that upgrade?

[grammi]

I’m thinking I’ll use mine for daily laundry service. Coming off 7 days land pre cruise it would be a pleasure to not have stinky bags and be able to pack less. 

[Mary229]

52 minutes ago, grammi said:

I’m thinking I’ll use mine for daily laundry service. Coming off 7 days land pre cruise it would be a pleasure to not have stinky bags and be able to pack less. 

I am doing a similar itinerary to yours but continue on 10 days past HAL.  Laundry is on the top of my agenda once I get to the ship. Be sure to check with your steward for the last day you can send out laundry.  They have a laundry bag that holds quite a bit for $20

Edited June 19, 2022 by Mary229

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I have the HIA package and a ton of OBC.  If I upgrade the drinks part of the HIA to the Elite Beverage Package once onboard, will the OBC cover that upgrade?

Yes. Virtually anything charged to your room account will use the OBC. Only casino cash is sometimes an issue.

[ASB&Cruiseluvr]

Just confirming - does the stockholder OBC from Carnival apply to all its brands?  I normally sail HAL, but we have one shorter Carnival cruise booked as well.

[crystalspin]

15 minutes ago, ASB&Cruiseluvr said:

Just confirming - does the stockholder OBC from Carnival apply to all its brands?  I normally sail HAL, but we have one shorter Carnival cruise booked as well.

Yes.

[ASB&Cruiseluvr]

7 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Yes.

Thanks for the reply.