Puchasing OBC Prior to Cruise

Just wondering if those who say the OBC has to be spent have ever purchased OBC or had it purchased for them?

If it is OBC that was either purchased by the cruiser for themselves or given as a gift to the cruiser, if it is unspent, it is refunded. If refunded, you cannot get Mariner Day credits.

I'm the same as you. Just because people pre pay some things doesn't make them better at budgeting. Would love to see Hal give that kind of an obc deal. I'd buy in that case.

I prepay by buying OBC and I am darned good at budgetting. As are many others, I am sure.

Hi,

Stupid question ...:confused:

Tell me how do you buy OBC prior to cruise. Is it same as the shipboard credit on my account page where one may buy other stuff to be delivered to stateroom?

I was thinking of buying some OBC so that at least gratuities are covered + little extra

Hi,

 

Stupid question ...:confused:

Tell me how do you buy OBC prior to cruise. Is it same as the shipboard credit on my account page where one may buy other stuff to be delivered to stateroom?

I was thinking of buying some OBC so that at least gratuities are covered + little extra

Sign into your HAL account and bring up your reservation. There is a section where you can purchase gifts and indulgences. You may purchase your OBC there.

We are on the koningsdam in June. I pre booked some specialty dinners online and had to pay with my cc (not obc). Hal wrote to me that they were no longer offering the cirque dinner we had purchased and would get a refund. I said I would prefer it as obc and they refused. The refund took more than a week to appear and it costs me money as my cc is not usd, so the bank exchange rate is lower on the way back in than it was on the way out. Very annoying.

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If the difference is more than a few dollars, I would call and mention you should not be penalized cash because HAL changed their policy. They accepted your initial charge and should see to it that is returned to you in full.

If it's only $2-$3 I'm not sure I'd bother but I get your point.

My advice to our Canadian friends would be to not buy OBC at this time. I really think the US Dollar cannot keep up its high value, and soon will go down. The same amount of OBC should cost you less in the future.

But my financial advice is of limited value, I bought silver many years ago at $30 per oz, now more than 30 years later it is worth about $15

Thank you sapper1, it is settled now.

NorthernJoey

If the difference is more than a few dollars, I would call and mention you should not be penalized cash because HAL changed their policy. They accepted your initial charge and should see to it that is returned to you in full.

 

If it's only $2-$3 I'm not sure I'd bother but I get your point.

If you pay HAL 98 US dollars for a prepaid Cirque and then cancel, they will reimburse you 98 US dollars. The money loss comes when the credit card applies the lower conversion rate plus their fee for an out of the country transaction. HAL has no control over that.

If I buy $100 US cash at the bank for $140 Canadian and then turn around 30 seconds later and convert it back to Canadian I am considered to be selling US cash and am paid several percentage points less than I just paid when I bought it. That is how the banks make money and it also discourages currency speculation.

I would not expect HAL to compensate me for factors out of their control.

Thank you sapper1, it is settled now.

 

NorthernJoey

Hope you enjoy your beer :)

Sapper, I am not sure why you are spelling out what I have already explained like a 2 year old. I said that I have lost money due to the bank charges on the credit card. The reason I have lost money is because Hal has canceled ie Hal sold me something it should not have. Furthermore, with some flexibility in their policy they could have refunded in obc.

It's quite normal in life for the actions of one party to result in losses thru a third party, it's why the insurance industry exists.

Anyway, the amount is small but my point was more that Hal was in fact rather slow at refunding their own mistake, it was almost 2 weeks. Interesting, we still can't book some of their new speciality restaurant offerings nor any spa treatments, so maybe they are still not sure what will be available on the koningsdam

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Sapper, I am not sure why you are spelling out what I have already explained like a 2 year old. I said that I have lost money due to the bank charges on the credit card. The reason I have lost money is because Hal has canceled ie Hal sold me something it should not have. Furthermore, with some flexibility in their policy they could have refunded in obc.

It's quite normal in life for the actions of one party to result in losses thru a third party, it's why the insurance industry exists.

Anyway, the amount is small but my point was more that Hal was in fact rather slow at refunding their own mistake, it was almost 2 weeks. Interesting, we still can't book some of their new speciality restaurant offerings nor any spa treatments, so maybe they are still not sure what will be available on the koningsdam

 

 

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Sapper went to great lengths to provide a clear answer to another poster. She actually quoted the comment the other poster made, to provide context to her post and the information she was providing.

Not true, Sapper replied to another poster who was answering my post. So was simply spelling out what I had already made quite clear . Sapper did not differentiate that the cancellation was made by Hal and not me. So I am disagreeing with sappers sentiment

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