On board spend, help please

[jrphotog]

We have £300 on board spend for our upcoming Arvia cruise.
I’m trying to book a hair appointment but it’s asking me to pay with a credit card.

As far as I’m aware you can use on board spend in the hair salon - is that not correct, or is it not possible to use on board spend for advance bookings?

 

Thanks all.

[Leomins]

Unfortunately it can’t be used for advanced bookings.

[CarlaMarie]

15 minutes ago, jrphotog said:

We have £300 on board spend for our upcoming Arvia cruise.
I’m trying to book a hair appointment but it’s asking me to pay with a credit card.

As far as I’m aware you can use on board spend in the hair salon - is that not correct, or is it not possible to use on board spend for advance bookings?

 

Thanks all.

 

All onboard credit has to be spent onboard. Anything booked prior to your cruise - excursions, spa treatments etc... will have to be paid for before you sail. 

 

You could wait until you get onto the cruise ship to try and make your appointment? That way, it would be deducted from your onboard account. You would however risk them not having any availability, or not being able to fit you in on the day you have in mind. 

 

I will just add, if you were thinking of booking an excursion then I would advise the opposite and to book and pay for it before you sail. Excursions are popular and sell out very quickly. 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by CarlaMarie

[jrphotog]

Thanks guys 🙏

[jeanlyon]

The answer is in the descrition "On Board Spend"!!

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I find this quite bizarre.

 

I 'spend' most of my on-board spend on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC usually from the comfort of my desk at home. As to the answer is in the description, the goods and or services were purchased by me for 'on-board' use or consumption.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

I find this quite bizarre.

 

I 'spend' most of my on-board spend on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC usually from the comfort of my desk at home. As to the answer is in the description, the goods and or services were purchased by me for 'on-board' use or consumption.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

You can also add Princess to the list of cruise line that let's you make pre cruise bookings against On Board Credit.

[9265359]

1 hour ago, CarlaMarie said:

You could wait until you get onto the cruise ship to try and make your appointment? That way, it would be deducted from your onboard account. You would however risk them not having any availability, or not being able to fit you in on the day you have in mind. 

 

Are you able to cancel such appointments without penalty?

 

If you can then surely an option is to book it with a credit card before boarding and then on boarding cancel it and as they now have a free spot then immediately rebook it and pay with on-board credit.

[9265359]

33 minutes ago, cublet said:

I find this quite bizarre.

 

I 'spend' most of my on-board spend on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC usually from the comfort of my desk at home. As to the answer is in the description, the goods and or services were purchased by me for 'on-board' use or consumption.

 

You are overlooking that P&O want people to treat onboard credit as 'suckers' money.

 

For stuff you actually want such as excursions then they want you to pay with 'real' money up front.

 

For the on-board credit that has been given to you 'free' ('free' in the weird sense that you have actually paid for it, but people seem to overlook that), they want you to spend it on overpriced tat in the shops, spa, bars, etc. on things you would not normally have spent - that handbag, watch, treatment, another drink, etc. that you didn't really want but felt obliged to as otherwise you lose your 'free' money, and that additional spend makes them a tidy profit.

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by 9265359

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Are you able to cancel such appointments without penalty?

 

If you can then surely an option is to book it with a credit card before boarding and then on boarding cancel it and as they now have a free spot then immediately rebook it and pay with on-board credit.

Cunning ploy. That deserves to work.🤔

[Angel57]

45 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Are you able to cancel such appointments without penalty?

 

If you can then surely an option is to book it with a credit card before boarding and then on boarding cancel it and as they now have a free spot then immediately rebook it and pay with on-board credit.

I think you can cancel and get a full refund within a certain time leading up to date of cruise ( it may be 48hrs, but not sure). I certainly cancelled a spa appointment a month before going and the refund went immediately back onto my credit card.

[9265359]

2 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

I think you can cancel and get a full refund within a certain time leading up to date of cruise ( it may be 48hrs, but not sure). I certainly cancelled a spa appointment a month before going and the refund went immediately back onto my credit card.

 

The T&Cs (My Cruise Terms & Conditions | P&O Cruises (pocruises.com)) say - 

 

Your prepaid spa booking is fully refundable on board up to 24 hours before your treatment time. If you cancel at least 24 hours before your treatment time a full refund will be issued to your debit/credit card used at time of booking. If you cancel less than 24 hours before your treatment time then you will be charged a cancellation fee of 50% of the relevant treatment or service cost. The prepaid charge will be refunded to your debit/credit card used at time of booking and the relevant cancellation charge will be applied to your on board account.

 

So provided the treatment isn't the day of boarding or the day after when you couldn't give 24 hours notice, then it appears you can book before boarding and then cancel and get a full refund as you will have given the necessary 24 hours notice.

[CarlaMarie]

A good plan. The only issue you could encounter is if they have waiting lists treatments? Once cancelled, would you be allowed to rebook or would they offer that appointment slot to somebody on a wait list? 

[9265359]

58 minutes ago, CarlaMarie said:

A good plan. The only issue you could encounter is if they have waiting lists treatments? Once cancelled, would you be allowed to rebook or would they offer that appointment slot to somebody on a wait list? 

 

If you did it in person then you could ask before cancelling - if they do then don't cancel and they don't then do!