Buying cruise certificates onboard

[KyleClark]

If I buy CruiseNext certificates onboard and don't use the obc that comes with it, will they just apply it to the cost of the certificates?

[BirdTravels]

Just now, KyleClark said:

If I buy CruiseNext certificates onboard and don't use the obc that comes with it, will they just apply it to the cost of the certificates?

Yes. The OBC is a gimmick. You actually always use it to pay for 1/2 of the certificate. 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I’d yo mean that you paid for the true cost of the certificates, say $150 and you got #100 of OBC that is unspent do they apply that amount to reduce your cost of the certificate, the answer is no.  It is use it or lose it.  The CN staff will blow smoke and make it appear that way but it just isn’t so, or at least it hasn’t been in my experience.

[asmit4]

I'm way confused now....so they are allowing me to buy Two (250) deposits and apply them to one cruise onboard. So I give them my CC for a $500 charge. ---They then give me what? It states I get $250 in onboard credit. 

Does that mean I can use that 250 credit and only pay 250 on my CC for the deposits? 

[Buford T Justiice]

46 minutes ago, asmit4 said:

I'm way confused now....so they are allowing me to buy Two (250) deposits and apply them to one cruise onboard. So I give them my CC for a $500 charge. ---They then give me what? It states I get $250 in onboard credit. 

Does that mean I can use that 250 credit and only pay 250 on my CC for the deposits? 

 

yes.

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, asmit4 said:

I'm way confused now....so they are allowing me to buy Two (250) deposits and apply them to one cruise onboard. So I give them my CC for a $500 charge. ---They then give me what? It states I get $250 in onboard credit. 

Does that mean I can use that 250 credit and only pay 250 on my CC for the deposits? 

The easiest way to look at it is to take the cost of the certs (say $500) and immediately deduct the OBC ($250.)  Assuming no other charges, your card gets charged $250 at the end of the cruise.  It would be less confusing if they just discounted the cost of the cert but, alas, that isn't the way they do it.

[tgloersen]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. The OBC is a gimmick. You actually always use it to pay for 1/2 of the certificate. 

Exactly!

[hallux]

If you want more conversation on the topic, it was hashed out in this previous thread - 

 

[KyleClark]

I'm onboard and I just spoke to the cruisenext people.  They are using some fast talking to make it sound like you are getting a deal. I told them I want to buy 2 certificates and want the obc to be applied to the cost (I will not be using the obc) then they said we will send you home with a$1000 then. I think she meant she will give me 4 certificates if I'm not going to use the obc. I have to go back down and challenge them on making this confusing so they get an extra sale.

[davencl]

It's my experience to ignore most of the sales pitch from the cruisenext sales people.   The only thing that counts is what's in writing.  And not any handwriting from cruisenext  sales.

[IrieBajan54]

1 hour ago, KyleClark said:

I'm onboard and I just spoke to the cruisenext people.  They are using some fast talking to make it sound like you are getting a deal. I told them I want to buy 2 certificates and want the obc to be applied to the cost (I will not be using the obc) then they said we will send you home with a$1000 then. I think she meant she will give me 4 certificates if I'm not going to use the obc. I have to go back down and challenge them on making this confusing so they get an extra sale.

CruiseNext reps most likely have sales goals to retain employment. These reps remind me of scammers with the all the trickery/gimmicks.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I've generally ignored these, but am a fan of saving money.  Are these things only good for deposits for new bookings?

[JandC_Cruising]

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've generally ignored these, but am a fan of saving money.  Are these things only good for deposits for new bookings?

You can apply them to existing reservations to pay down the balance due.

We have done that a number of times.

We've booked several cruises when we didn't have any CN certificates in our accounts.  Then we've purchased CN certs on a cruise.  Within a couple of days of returning from that cruise, the certificates were in our account and then we applied them to our already booked cruise.

 

[RocketMan275]

14 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

CruiseNext reps most likely have sales goals to retain employment. These reps remind me of scammers with the all the trickery/gimmicks.

They remind me of used car salesmen. 

 

A good product does not require trickery/gimmicks to make a sale.

[ChiefMateJRK]

26 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

You can apply them to existing reservations to pay down the balance due.

We have done that a number of times.

We've booked several cruises when we didn't have any CN certificates in our accounts.  Then we've purchased CN certs on a cruise.  Within a couple of days of returning from that cruise, the certificates were in our account and then we applied them to our already booked cruise.

 

Thanks.  I may have misunderstood, as I thought you had to book a new cruise on a current cruise to buy these.  I have a cruise early next year and several bookings later on.  Can I buy two CruiseNext certs for $250 to my credit card, come home, and apply $250 to each of two future bookings?  That would seem to be a no-brainer.

[hallux]

2 hours ago, KyleClark said:

I told them I want to buy 2 certificates and want the obc to be applied to the cost

This is simply the way it works.  See this screenshot of the relevant lines on my on-board invoice from my last cruise, on which I bought more CND's.

 

You can see that they charge you for both, initially, then issue the OBC offsetting the cost of one of them.  It really can't be any simpler, but people see "get $250 OBC when you buy two" and they get confused.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We just bought 7 certificates onboard the Jade a couple of weeks ago to be applied to the 4 cruises we also booked onboard. We told the CruiseNext folks we didn’t want the “extra” OBC put into our account. They said no problem and charged our shipboard account $875 ($125 per certificate) and that was it. 

[hallux]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

We told the CruiseNext folks we didn’t want the “extra” OBC put into our account. They said no problem and charged our shipboard account $875 ($125 per certificate) and that was it.

Your net charge was exactly the same, just accounted differently, except one should have been at full charge still since you had an odd number.  Why not just leave it as it normally is done?

[fredflint]

I am a bit confused as to why they put so much pressure for the cruisenext certs they seem to save people money but they also push them all the time on the TV during shows etc. 

 

I just have the feeling if it sounds to good to be true...................................

 

I am wondering if they are trying to get more cash now and will just raise prices to make the certificates worth less?

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, hallux said:

Your net charge was exactly the same, just accounted differently, except one should have been at full charge still since you had an odd number.  Why not just leave it as it normally is done?

So, what’s the purpose of them posting the “excess” $125 per certificate to our shipboard account, other than to possibly entice us to spend it needlessly on stuff we really didn’t need.
 

One thing I did notice, though, is that when we look at our OBC available on our shipboard account using the app, it does not distinguish whether it’s refundable or nonrefundable. In fact when we went to Guest Services to get a printout of our account midway through the cruise, the printout didn’t break it out either. We had to ask the GS rep how much was refundable as we started the cruise with $450 in nonrefundable OBC, but had some refunds posted to our account early on which were placed there as refundable OBC.
 

[MeHeartCruising]

They are a good deal.  If you get past all the fancy sales pitch wording, and get past the funky way they put it on your cruise bill.  Bottom line, You invest $250 and they give you $500 to use toward future cruises. 
 

If the sales rep isn’t explaining it in a manner that works out in this way, ask them to keep explaining it to you.  
 

And do it early in the cruise so you can verify the math on your account.  Don’t wait till the last day. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[debenson0723]

48 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks.  I may have misunderstood, as I thought you had to book a new cruise on a current cruise to buy these.  I have a cruise early next year and several bookings later on.  Can I buy two CruiseNext certs for $250 to my credit card, come home, and apply $250 to each of two future bookings?  That would seem to be a no-brainer.

Yes you can. I bought 2 on the Prima (total on my cc was $250) came home and applied them to my Viva cruise booked for next year. Sometimes you can also use 2 at once ($500) as a deposit but it depends on dates, cabin size and current promotions).

[ChiefMateJRK]

49 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Yes you can. I bought 2 on the Prima (total on my cc was $250) came home and applied them to my Viva cruise booked for next year. Sometimes you can also use 2 at once ($500) as a deposit but it depends on dates, cabin size and current promotions).

Thanks.  Time for me to jump on this ship.  I finally woke up to the shareholder benefit, and will now start taking advantage of this deal.  Looking at upcoming final payment dates, I should probably buy at least two on my next cruise.

Edited December 18, 2022 by ChiefMateJRK

[Mikiejag]

You can also off load them very easily.  Several FB groups out there.  you would then get your $125 back.

[fredflint]

It is funny they push it so hard and fast, on my recent cruise there were 10 channels on the TV that were either devoted to the certificates or had multiple ads for them.  If the certificates are such a good deal for customers and cost NCL money why do they push them so hard?  Are they just trying to get cash now to keep the line afloat and plan on raising rates to negate the certificates in the future?