On Board Credit

[vinonme2]

I will be having several sources of significant onboard credit on an upcoming Holland America cruise. 

Is there an order in which source onboard purchases are deducted from?  

Would any unused OBC be refunded to me?

 

Thank you.

[richwmn]

6 minutes ago, vinonme2 said:

I will be having several sources of significant onboard credit on an upcoming Holland America cruise. 

Is there an order in which source onboard purchases are deducted from?  

Would any unused OBC be refunded to me?

 

Thank you.

Any OBC provided by Carnival Corporation or Holland America (Stock Holder, Military, Promotion) is non refundable and is used first.

OBC provided by a Travel Agency may be non refundable if a pass thru from CCL or Holland, or refundable if provided by the Travel Agency

Any OBC you purchase is refundable and is used last. Any excess can be refunded at the end of the cruise as cash or to the method used to obtain it.

[CruiserBruce]

When you get on board, you will be able to see your account in the Navigator app. It will list refundable and non-refundable monies. HAL has always exhausted non-refundable first.

[ETski]

What can OBC be used for? 

[julia]

21 minutes ago, ETski said:

What can OBC be used for? 

Anything really...  drinks, spa, casino, shopping, excursions, gratuities, specialty dining, etc.

[kazu]

14 minutes ago, julia said:

Anything really...  drinks, spa, casino, shopping, excursions, gratuities, specialty dining, etc.

Not casino if it’s non refundable on most ships now.

[silversneakers]

14 hours ago, kazu said:

Not casino if it’s non refundable on most ships now.

Also, I don't believe shareholder benefit can be used for gratuities.

 

[Native Floridian 26]

2 hours ago, silversneakers said:

Also, I don't believe shareholder benefit can be used for gratuities.

 

Any confirmation of this?

[silversneakers]

5 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

Any confirmation of this?

Look at the Shareholder Benefit doc online.

[Native Floridian 26]

7 minutes ago, silversneakers said:

Look at the Shareholder Benefit doc online.

Yes, I see that.  What is said and actually done may be different.  We've used OBC on Carnival, Princess, etc. and this document applies to all Carnival Corp brands.

 

Anyone have current experience on whether the shareholder credits can be used for tips?

[CruiserBruce]

40 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

Yes, I see that.  What is said and actually done may be different.  We've used OBC on Carnival, Princess, etc. and this document applies to all Carnival Corp brands.

 

Anyone have current experience on whether the shareholder credits can be used for tips?

Yes, it can be used for tips charged to your account.

 

Historically, the only controversial issue has been casino charges.

[Dthomas1]

I have OBC and plan on using that for tipping my steward, cleaner etc.

[Native Floridian 26]

I believe the verbiage has been on the Carnival Corp form all along, it's just not been enforced.  We haven't sailed any Carnival brands in a while, so appreciate the confirmation that the OBC will be used when charged for service charges.

 

[DaveOKC]

3 hours ago, silversneakers said:

Also, I don't believe shareholder benefit can be used for gratuities.

 

We have never had a problem with using them for gratuities, but again, HAL varies things like this all the time, even by ship.  Same goes for using it for gambling - sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

[Dthomas1]

On 8/13/2022 at 4:26 PM, ETski said:

What can OBC be used for? 

Anything that you would have to pay for.

[mysticsailor]

"I have OBC and plan on using that for tipping my steward, cleaner etc."

 

Whoa, someone please enlighten me, I always thought onboard credits may be used for the hotel service charge pool only, NOT for specified individual gratuities. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the other person...

[DaveOKC]

10 minutes ago, mysticsailor said:

"I have OBC and plan on using that for tipping my steward, cleaner etc."

 

Whoa, someone please enlighten me, I always thought onboard credits may be used for the hotel service charge pool only, NOT for specified individual gratuities. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the other person...

IMO, I would give the extra tips in cash to the people you want to.  I would be afraid if I tried to put it on my account, it would just go to the tipping pool.  

[vicd1969]

On 8/14/2022 at 9:48 AM, silversneakers said:

Look at the Shareholder Benefit doc online.

Like quite a few things from HAL, the wording is a bit confusing. That could just mean only gratuities related to casino services. It would have been clearer if they

had placed gratuities before the “casino credits…”. That said, part of my gratuities were paid out from my shareholder benefit in the cruises where I didn’t use my OBC for much else.