Pre Purchase On Board Credit

[greatestvalue]

Has anyone pre-purchased OBC lately? 

 

I was looking to use an offer on my Amex card. I called to buy OBC, than expected it would be returned to the credit card at the end of the trip if I didnt use it. Or have it used on the ship before my non-refundable OBC.

 

Rep stated:  "RCL doesnt offer or have "refundable" OBC and I would lose it if I didnt use it".   

 

I questioned him, asking even if my TA gives me credit its non-refundable (which is not the case with another carrier we sail more often on, than RCL) and he said "yes.  We dont have any Refundable OBC". 

 

I dont remember this being the case last year when we sailed with RCL. 

 

Any recent experiences with Pre purchasing OBC?

 

TIA

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

40 minutes ago, greatestvalue said:

Has anyone pre-purchased OBC lately? 

 

I was looking to use an offer on my Amex card. I called to buy OBC, than expected it would be returned to the credit card at the end of the trip if I didnt use it. Or have it used on the ship before my non-refundable OBC.

 

Rep stated:  "RCL doesnt offer or have "refundable" OBC and I would lose it if I didnt use it".   

 

I questioned him, asking even if my TA gives me credit its non-refundable (which is not the case with another carrier we sail more often on, than RCL) and he said "yes.  We dont have any Refundable OBC". 

 

I dont remember this being the case last year when we sailed with RCL. 

 

Any recent experiences with Pre purchasing OBC?

 

TIA

 

 

Not surprisingly the rep did not have a clue what they were talking about. Purchased obc is refundable. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[greatestvalue]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Purchased obc is refundable. 

Thats what I thought I did last year.  I remember having to call them to purchase.  Still no way to purchase it online like you can with other lines?

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, greatestvalue said:

Thats what I thought I did last year.  I remember having to call them to purchase.  Still no way to purchase it online like you can with other lines?

To purchase the OBC in one step you need to call.  

 

 

[AspiringCindy]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

To purchase the OBC in one step you need to call.  

 

 

I didn't realize you can purchase OBC. Who do I need to call?

[Another_Critic]

33 minutes ago, AspiringCindy said:

I didn't realize you can purchase OBC. Who do I need to call?

Royal Gifts (800) 722-5443

[AspiringCindy]

4 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Royal Gifts (800) 722-5443

Thank you!!

[Cruise Gopher]

Just bumping this thread a bit to see if anyone has purchased OBC recently and then cashed it out on the ship if not used? I need to purchase some to redeem an AMEX offer but want to make sure there are no issues with getting it refunded once onboard. 

[wreckem2013]

1 hour ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Just bumping this thread a bit to see if anyone has purchased OBC recently and then cashed it out on the ship if not used? I need to purchase some to redeem an AMEX offer but want to make sure there are no issues with getting it refunded once onboard. 

If all else fails, Go to casino enter sea pass card into slot machine. Load the amount of money you want on the sea pass card to machine. Cash out of machine. Take payslip to cashier. Get your cash.

Edited December 6, 2023 by wreckem2013

[FlashFire]

Other than for someone else as a gift, what is the purpose in buying OBC? Is there a place to buy it for less than face value?

[Cruise Gopher]

9 hours ago, wreckem2013 said:

If all else fails, Go to casino enter sea pass card into slot machine. Load the amount of money you want on the sea pass card to machine. Cash out of machine. Take payslip to cashier. Get your cash.

Can I load all $1,500 to the slot machine at once and cash out? (Yes, I realize the casino will freeze my account from any further loading). 

[Cruise Gopher]

5 hours ago, FlashFire said:

Other than for someone else as a gift, what is the purpose in buying OBC? Is there a place to buy it for less than face value?

Amex often has offers where if you spend like $1,500 you get 25,000 Amex points. I just paid off two Royal Cruises and of course now the offer is showing on my card. So purchasing OBC is kind of a loophole here.

[djneph]

You can purchase OBC online, they will send you codes for redemption, then you go online and redeem it for your sailing.  It odd Royal does it that way, but on Celebrity you can enter all your sailing info and "gift" yourself OBC.

 

Everyone does it for different reasons, I do it so when I get onboard, I have a nice little cushion for expenses and if I don't use it, I get it back. I have a side hustle for fun money (trips, video games, and random crap I don't need), so leading up to my cruise I add $50 to $100 every couple of weeks.  I know I could just save it, but if it is in my account, there is a good chance I could spend it on random crap.

[vjmatty]

7 hours ago, FlashFire said:

Other than for someone else as a gift, what is the purpose in buying OBC? Is there a place to buy it for less than face value?

It usually involves some type of credit card benefit or not wanting to have a high CC balance after your vacation. Same reason why some prefer to prepay gratuities. 

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, djneph said:

You can purchase OBC online, they will send you codes for redemption, then you go online and redeem it for your sailing. 

That is for gift certificates. Not the same as calling Gifts & Gear to purchase OBC.  Redeeming gift certificates can be problematic, so it's not worth the hassle.  Much simpler to call Gifts & Gear.  

[Mum2Mercury]

11 hours ago, FlashFire said:

Other than for someone else as a gift, what is the purpose in buying OBC? Is there a place to buy it for less than face value?

We've discovered that OBC is our "sweet spot" between pay-as-you-go and the (very expensive) alcoholic drink package. 

 

That is, my husband, who enjoys drinking beer, feels bad about buying a single beer that costs almost as much as a 12-pack at home, BUT we'd lose money buying the (very expensive) drink package ... especially because I'd have to buy a package.  If I put X amount into OBC, it's kinda like "making our own drink package" for the number of drinks he's actually likely to drink ... and he's more comfortable spending money that's pre-paid.  REAL financial savings?  No, but, as I said, it's his "sweet spot".  

 

As for refunds, I had about $10 left over from the VISA card OBC on a recent trip, and it was credited back to me about two days after the cruise.  

[wreckem2013]

12 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Amex often has offers where if you spend like $1,500 you get 25,000 Amex points. I just paid off two Royal Cruises and of course now the offer is showing on my card. So purchasing OBC is kind of a loophole here.

Shhhhh. Or it will end just like the US Mint loophole from years ago.

[djneph]

8 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

That is for gift certificates. Not the same as calling Gifts & Gear to purchase OBC.  Redeeming gift certificates can be problematic, so it's not worth the hassle.  Much simpler to call Gifts & Gear.  

Just out of curiosity what are the possible problems? I have never had any and prefer to do this than have to call.  I can do the gift certificate to OBC at any hour of the day, but if there are problems with it, I may have to reconsider.

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, djneph said:

Just out of curiosity what are the possible problems? I have never had any and prefer to do this than have to call.  I can do the gift certificate to OBC at any hour of the day, but if there are problems with it, I may have to reconsider.

I don't recall the exact issue(s), but I thought I read about problems redeeming; however, that may have been with applying the gift certificate for cruise payment not OBC.