TA OBC If Not Used - Refundable?

[HBDave]

We've sailed mostly on Celebrity Cruises in the last 10 years. With Celebrity, any OBC provided by our Travel Agent that is left at the end of our cruise is refunded to our credit card on file. We'll now be sailing on Princess again and want to know how Travel Agent OBC is handled. Is it considered non-refundable or would any unused balance be returned to our credit card on file? Thanks!

[Rick&Jeannie]

I would think that this is a question for your TA...

[HBDave]

1 minute ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I would think that this is a question for your TA...

Thanks, I checked with her prior to our previous Celebrity Cruises and she didn't know. So I'm thinking it might be up to the Cruise Line. 

[Coral]

I think it depends on if it is group amenities (not-refundable), Princess perks (not-refundable) or if it is money that she is providing that is part of her commission that she is gifting  (which would probably be refundable). I use an agent who discounts off of the cost of the cruise price at final payment so I don't worry about having OBC to deal with.

 

Princess probably will not refund your credit card. They will send a check that may take 6 weeks.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Coral

[SCX22]

Currently on the Majestic Princess and all of the non-refundable OBC clearly reads "non-refundable" in on the folio statement.

 

Guest Services can refund unused refundable OBC in cash on the spot that is valued at $100 or less.  Anything over $100 will have to be mailed to you in a check to your address on file once you return home.

[trbarton]

1 hour ago, HBDave said:

We've sailed mostly on Celebrity Cruises in the last 10 years. With Celebrity, any OBC provided by our Travel Agent that is left at the end of our cruise is refunded to our credit card on file. We'll now be sailing on Princess again and want to know how Travel Agent OBC is handled. Is it considered non-refundable or would any unused balance be returned to our credit card on file? Thanks!

With any OBC that I won’t use I load the $ amount onto my account in the casino & cash it out. It’s easy to do & I’ve never had any problems with refundable & non refundable credit. 
 

Tom😀

Edited June 24, 2023 by trbarton

[skynight]

There isn't a single answer. It really depends on how the T.A. obtained the OBC. 

Go to your booking on the Princess site. Select the payments tab.  Under credits it will show your OBC and indicate if it is refundable or not refundable. Many times T.A. OBC is actually passed through from Princess, or it may be from a T.A.s group booking. These are almost always non refundable.  

[HBDave]

Thank you everyone. My current booking is not apart of a Group Booking and the TA OBC is not applied to my account until the day of embarkation. I believe this is done because the OBC is coming directly from the TA. I guess the question now is... I see on the post above that they do flag Non-Refundable QBC on the Folio Statement. Has anyone ever seen it either say Refundable or not flagged at all and was that handled differently?

 

The reason I'm asking these questions is I'll be getting a considerable amount of OBC from my TA, but not until we board. If it's refundable, I may book several Port Excursions in advance. If it's not refundable, then I could wait until boarding to book them using the TA OBC.

 

[skynight]

If it is refundable it will be flagged as such. You can use any OBC currently posted to your account to pre-book excursions. If the OBC will not be posted to your account until you board then it will net against any on board expenses including any excursions booked on board. Refundable or non refundable really has nothing to do with booking excursions. Also note Princess' on board accounting system charges on board expenses daily to your folio. When doing so it applies the non refundable OBC first and then the refundable.

It would appear that you will have gifted OBC. While I can't say for sure, gifted OBC  is generally refundable. Only your T.A. will know for certain because it depends on how they gift it.

Your last two sentences are confusing. Any excursions booked in advance will either be charged to your credit card or be paid for by applying OBC that is already showing in your account. 

[HBDave]

Sorry for the confusion...

 

If the OBC is non refundable, than I'd prefer to wait to book the additional shore excursions until I board and use the non-refundable OBC.

 

If the OBC is refundable, I'd prefer to book the shore excursions in advance and use the refundable OBC refund towards my CC bill after the cruise.

 

My last Princess Cruise was a long time ago and in the last 10 years we've been sailing Celebrity exclusively. Celebrity is very good about how they handle OBC. With Celebrity, I could book the shore excursions in advance (to ensure they don't sell out) using my CC and once onboard the Shore Excursion Desk would credit my CC for the shore excursion cost and use the TA OBC for payment. This was for OBC that was added to our account during embarkation..