Is this right? - Princess advises they use Refundable OBC first before using Non-refundable OBC

[Coral]

1 hour ago, greenie082756 said:

Also, military OBC used to be refundable and now it's not. I do not agree with this change. 

I am ok with military OBC not being refundable. This is a change I would have made years ago. It is free money, as opposed to a rebate from a TA. It doesn't need to be refundable.

[JF - retired RRT]

4 hours ago, sandancer said:

Cruise critic but I have no idea when. Hopefully I’ve misread it. I’ll find out in a few weeks on our next Princess cruise. 

How would the casino or Princess know that you're cashing out your ROBC? We do it all the time. The trick is to play the slots for 5 or 10 minutes before you cash out. Yes, you'll lose some of that "free" money, but who cares?

[sandancer]

I have no idea - I was only commenting on another thread on the same subject.

[Perky1]

That happened to us for our cruise in February.  We had spent $400 and had put money in our onboard account.  We had $100 non refundable and since we spent $400 we thought we would get a full refund for our balance.  They did not, they deducted the $100 saying it was non refundable.  After phone calls and emails to no avail, I decided to contact them thru instagram as recommended by someone online.  I had my refund in a little over 2 weeks later.  I will no longer put cash on my onboard account if this is the case.

[beg3yrs]

Just like paying taxes, at the end of the cruise I'd rather owe them a little bit rather than have them owe me.

[PescadoAmarillo]

7 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

Never used to have a problem with getting refundable OBC back until now. So, I told the hubby we will get as close to zero as we can since that is obviously what they are trying to get the customers to do.

Same. In fact, we are going to buy the Plus package on board our next cruise. It’s just easier to leave the ship owing Princess than to chase any refundable OBC afterward. 

[Thrak]

13 hours ago, skynight said:

I would write a letter to John Padgett and send by the postal service. I would include copies of your on board folio and all the emails you received from customer service. Customer service is not up to the task.

From you signature it appears you are from Australia. Were you on an Australia based, Aust$ cruise? Maybe Princess, Australia has different rules than those here in the U.S.

 

We did 63 days on Grand Princess last year - the second half of that was in Australia and New Zealand. I can assure you that they used my non-refundable OBC first. I got a chunk of Refundable OBC back in a check after the cruise. It has always been the case on every Princess cruise we have taken that the non-refundable was used first.

 

We were also on the recent Total Eclipse cruise to Mexico. Our non-refundable OBC was used first and the remainder of our refundable OBC was, once again, sent to us in a check.

Edited May 28 by Thrak

[Ombud]

22 hours ago, walkingsoon said:

That is the exact opposite of my experience. Who was this e-mail from? Perhaps they just confused the two terms.

Ditto but then I usually wind up owing anyway. (I check my folio every day on the app. Better to catch errors ASAP)

[walkingsoon]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Ditto but then I usually wind up owing anyway. (I check my folio every day on the app. Better to catch errors ASAP)

 

Exactly so. While checking the folio every day I see the non-refundable credit being taken first, followed by refundable only when the other is depleted. That's how it's been for me until about a month ago on my last debark.

 

I'm afraid the OP is getting bum dope from the wrong cubicle at Princess support. This has the same validity as the butter knife fight on the Crown.

[Thrak]

I would definitely be writing to customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Keep the information civil and calm and make it complete.

 

Additional contact info:
 
Princess Cruises Executive Contacts

 

Primary Contact
Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

 

Secondary Contact
Lorna Warren
Vice President Guest Services
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
lwarren@princesscruises.com

 

Chief Executive
John Padgett
President
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
jpadgett@princesscruises.com

[cheezenip]

Here is my own experience aboard the Discovery Princess in Jan of this year where this exact situation came up with problems.

 

Background: I was on a B2B in Jan/Feb 2024 on Discovery Princess with $200 onboard credit / week due to a promo (non refundable) and a $100 gift card (refundable) which I used on the 2nd leg of my cruise.

 

Actual Experience: On the 2nd leg of my cruise, I had guest services put the $100 gift card towards my account which I confirmed would be refundable if I didn't use the entire $300 ($200 promo on week 2 + $100 gift card). I did inquire how my $300 card would be subtracted from my onboard charges (gratuities, internet, etc.) and the service person nonchalantly said it was Princess' policy to first use the non refundable credit before targeting the refundable portion. I left thinking no more of it. However, I started to check my portfolio charges at the mid point of the 7 day cruise and noticed they were taking the refundable credit FIRST. I went to guest services to explain my situation asking them to fix the error and after 20 minutes of person #1 playing around with the computer system and speaking with the manager on duty (that person spent time on the computer also), they finally told me it was a "glitch" in the accounting software and that any left over credit would be issued to me as a check to my home address because that was Princess' policy. Although I did feel person#1 did try everything to solve my problem, I left with bad vibes. The next day I went back to speak to person #2 at guest services and that individual was equally fastidiously in trying to fix the problem and she also spoke with the manager on duty (diff person) and they ended up saying the EXACT same thing about the accounting software and that I would receive a check in the mail. I left again with bad vibes but was satisfied the 2nd duo (like the 1st) did try everything on their end. The final day I wanted to try my luck and talked to a 3rd person who also conferred with the manager on duty (again a different person) and after an extended period of trying to solve the situation gave me the EXACT same message. I left naively thinking if I'm getting the same identical message from 3 diff people (whom also talked w/ their managers) that this must be true. However, I make sure I got the names of the 3 diff guest services representatives I talked to (I should have gotten the names of the managers but didn't) PLUS I printed copies of the daily charges which I brought home for record keeping purposes (got 2 copies of the final statement form the ship's machine). I ended up spending the entire non-refundable credit but didn't use any of  the $100 refundable credit from the gift card.

 

Post-Cruise Experience: To my dismay while waiting for my flight at the airport, I was emailed the final invoice which DID NOT match the final statement I made copies of from the ship's machine. I knew my $100 credit was in jeopardy. I filled out the post-survey explaining my problem and REQUESTED someone contact me to resolve my problem). I reached out to my PVP quickly and she apologized for my problem but said I needed to fill out a post cruise service ticket on the Princess website explaining my situation. I did as instructed but never heard back. I called Princess customer service on 3 different occasions and got the dreaded Philippine phone reps each time and each one gave me a different non-helpful response (1 accused me of lying and the other 2 insisting the guest service reps on Discovery were WRONG and I was not entitled to the $100 check). I then sent a request for help to 3 different Princess e-mails that I obtained from different sources explaining my situation in detail (and including a scanned copy of the last account invoice I printed out on Discovery). I heard nothing back from anyone for 3 months. This was a matter of principle now as I was determined to fight. After posting on Instagram a plea for customer assistance (Facebook and X got me nowhere), a customer service rep left a message the NEXT day. To my surprise, she called me again on Sat. during  Easter weekend and we connected. After explaining the situation, she was skeptical at first unable to verify my story. However, I offered to e-mail a copy of the last invoice onboard Discovery which would back up everything I said. She actually found my e-mail with my invoice and was surprised how different the numbers were. After an additional 20 minutes of digging around, she acknowledged there was indeed a software problem / glitch and I was telling the truth. She said she could give me a $100 credit toward a future cruise but receiving a mailed check was a DIFFERENT department's responsibility. The lady was very kind and advised me that I might encounter the same type of problems talking with the other department as  I encountered on the phone with the 3 reps fr/ the Philippine center. She explained my situation was unusual and the person from the other department has to be "willing" to dig around Princess' internal computer system which took her 15 to 20 min of investigation to verify my story. I decided to take the future credit as I wasted so much time on this problem already. She was kind enough to add alittle more $$ for my troubles (not enough but I appreciated the gesture as I wasn't asking for any additional credit).

 

Lessons learned: I will let each reader come to his / her own conclusion but I for one will strongly advise my friends to NOT give me a Princess gift card to use no matter how well-intention the gesture is. If that doesn't work, I will force myself to spend ALL my onboard credit regardless of whether it is refundable or non-refundable. It's just not worth the hassle to fight the Princess bureaucracy!!

 

Sorry for the long post but I hope this written adventure helps others.

Edited May 29 by cheezenip

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, cheezenip said:

Here is my own experience aboard the Discovery Princess in Jan of this year where this exact situation came up with problems.

 

Background: I was on a B2B in Jan/Feb 2024 on Discovery Princess with $200 onboard credit / week due to a promo (non refundable) and a $100 gift card (refundable) which I used on the 2nd leg of my cruise.

 

Actual Experience: On the 2nd leg of my cruise, I had guest services put the $100 gift card towards my account which I confirmed would be refundable if I didn't use the entire $300 ($200 promo on week 2 + $100 gift card). I did inquire how my $300 card would be subtracted from my onboard charges (gratuities, internet, etc.) and the service person nonchalantly said it was Princess' policy to first use the non refundable credit before targeting the refundable portion. I left thinking no more of it. However, I started to check my portfolio charges at the mid point of the 7 day cruise and noticed they were taking the refundable credit FIRST. I went to guest services to explain my situation asking them to fix the error and after 20 minutes of person #1 playing around with the computer system and speaking with the manager on duty (that person spent time on the computer also), they finally told me it was a "glitch" in the accounting software and that any left over credit would be issued to me as a check to my home address because that was Princess' policy. Although I did feel person#1 did try everything to solve my problem, I left with bad vibes. The next day I went back to speak to person #2 at guest services and that individual was equally fastidiously in trying to fix the problem and she also spoke with the manager on duty (diff person) and they ended up saying the EXACT same thing about the accounting software and that I would receive a check in the mail. I left again with bad vibes but was satisfied the 2nd duo (like the 1st) did try everything on their end. The final day I wanted to try my luck and talked to a 3rd person who also conferred with the manager on duty (again a different person) and after an extended period of trying to solve the situation gave me the EXACT same message. I left naively thinking if I'm getting the same identical message from 3 diff people (whom also talked w/ their managers) that this must be true. However, I make sure I got the names of the 3 diff guest services representatives I talked to (I should have gotten the names of the managers but didn't) PLUS I printed copies of the daily charges which I brought home for record keeping purposes (got 2 copies of the final statement form the ship's machine). I ended up spending the entire non-refundable credit but didn't use any of  the $100 refundable credit from the gift card.

 

Post-Cruise Experience: To my dismay while waiting for my flight at the airport, I was emailed the final invoice which DID NOT match the final statement I made copies of from the ship's machine. I knew my $100 credit was in jeopardy. I filled out the post-survey explaining my problem and REQUESTED someone contact me to resolve my problem). I reached out to my PVP quickly and she apologized for my problem but said I needed to fill out a post cruise service ticket on the Princess website explaining my situation. I did as instructed but never heard back. I called Princess customer service on 3 different occasions and got the dreaded Philippine phone reps each time and each one gave me a different non-helpful response (1 accused me of lying and the other 2 insisting the guest service reps on Discovery were WRONG and I was not entitled to the $100 check). I then sent a request for help to 3 different Princess e-mails that I obtained from different sources explaining my situation in detail (and including a scanned copy of the last account invoice I printed out on Discovery). I heard nothing back from anyone for 3 months. This was a matter of principle now as I was determined to fight. After posting on Instagram a plea for customer assistance (Facebook and X got me nowhere), a customer service rep left a message the NEXT day. To my surprise, she called me again on Sat. during  Easter weekend and we connected. After explaining the situation, she was skeptical at first unable to verify my story. However, I offered to e-mail a copy of the last invoice onboard Discovery which would back up everything I said. She actually found my e-mail with my invoice and was surprised how different the numbers were. After an additional 20 minutes of digging around, she acknowledged there was indeed a software problem / glitch and I was telling the truth. She said she could give me a $100 credit toward a future cruise but receiving a mailed check was a DIFFERENT department's responsibility. The lady was very kind and advised me that I might encounter the same type of problems talking with the other department as  I encountered on the phone with the 3 reps fr/ the Philippine center. She explained my situation was unusual and the person from the other department has to be "willing" to dig around Princess' internal computer system which took her 15 to 20 min of investigation to verify my story. I decided to take the future credit as I wasted so much time on this problem already. She was kind enough to add alittle more $$ for my troubles (not enough but I appreciated the gesture as I wasn't asking for any additional credit).

 

Lessons learned: I will let each reader come to his / her own conclusion but I for one will strongly advise my friends to NOT give me a Princess gift card to use no matter how well-intention the gesture is. If that doesn't work, I will force myself to spend ALL my onboard credit regardless of whether it is refundable or non-refundable. It's just not worth the hassle to fight the Princess bureaucracy!!

 

Sorry for the long post but I hope this written adventure helps others.

So they blame it on a computer glitch, and everyone knows their IT department is so screwed up that there is nothing anyone can do about it.  😒

 

NCL has found a different way of making sure all OBC refundable and non-refundable is spent on the ship. They do rightly use the non-refundable first, but then instead of mailing a check afterwards require the passenger with refundable OBC to come and get it refunded before leaving the ship.

[cheezenip]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

NCL has found a different way of making sure all OBC refundable and non-refundable is spent on the ship. They do rightly use the non-refundable first, but then instead of mailing a check afterwards require the passenger with refundable OBC to come and get it refunded before leaving the ship.

Whoa...

[JF - retired RRT]

10 hours ago, ontheweb said:

So they blame it on a computer glitch, and everyone knows their IT department is so screwed up that there is nothing anyone can do about it.  😒

 

NCL has found a different way of making sure all OBC refundable and non-refundable is spent on the ship. They do rightly use the non-refundable first, but then instead of mailing a check afterwards require the passenger with refundable OBC to come and get it refunded before leaving the ship.

Princess used to allow that, but it wasn't required. Then they changed the policy to refund at cust. svcs. for OBC that was $25 or less.