OnBoard Credit

[judgejaclyn]

I have been told that onboard credit canNOT be used for gratuities. Can it be cashed out for use in the casino? If yes, how do you get it? thanks

[jtl513]

You've been told wrong. OBCs are just credits applied to your on-board account, and anything charged to your account - including the $11/p/d Hotel Service Charge - may be paid with them.

 

You can draw cash against your on board account for a 3% fee, so in essence you could get 97% of the OBC for anything else you'd like to use cash for.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We get shipboard credit from 3 sources -- and have always been able to use it towards the Hotel Service Charge.

Don't know who told you that it couldn't be used towards that $11 per day per person charge - but they wrong.

[judgejaclyn]

Excellent! Thanks for the info. We are taking an Alaska cruise/tour and will only be on the ship for three nights so we were concerned we would not be able to use all of the obc.

 

thx again!

[luvs2travl]

Your OBC's are applied to your shipboard account, which is where all your ship charges go, including the daily "hotel charge" which most folks refer to as the 'auto-tip'. Any charge applied to that account (including your daily hotel charge) is payable with your OBC's and whatever other method of payment you have selected.

 

Whoever told you that OBC's could not be used or applied toward the daily hotel charge is 100% wrong! Been there - done that - many times!!! :)

[Berk987]

We've always used our onboard credit to pay for the $11/day/pp tip along with anything else we charge. Day of arrival, check with front desk to make sure you get it, sometimes they forget to add to your account. If you get it from your TA, bring a copy of your email or confirmation saying you're supposed to get it as back up.

[cruzn single]

Just used our OBC credit on May 9 sailing. We had OBC because of a booking incentive, and knew we wouldn't get any "refund" We went to front office last night of cruise when no more charges were anticipated, and I signed a form to have balance put to hotel service charge fund as additional "tip" for the wonderful crew members who share in it!

[123dwj]

Is it correct that one cannot get any refund for unused onboard credit?

[jtl513]

Is it correct that one cannot get any refund for unused onboard credit?

Strictly speaking, that's true unless they are OBCs that you purchased yourself as advance deposits. Those you will get back in cash.

 

But, as I said before, you can draw cash against your account for a 3% fee. So, if you have an excess of $50 in OBCs (I should be so lucky!) given you by a TA or HAL, go the front desk and take $50 cash out. It will cost you $1.50, so you get $48.50 of the OBC net.

[kathynorth]

I think that the OBC can only be used for on board expenses, which could include the on board gratuities. Any OBC left over after your 3 day cruise cannot be applied to the gratuity for the land portion of the tour. To use it for the land gratuities you would need to cash out as mentioned above.

 

Excellent! Thanks for the info. We are taking an Alaska cruise/tour and will only be on the ship for three nights so we were concerned we would not be able to use all of the obc.

 

thx again!

[vbmom87]

I was curious about this too, and found this thread in a search. I also wondered about using OBC for gratuties. This is what my confirmation statement says about onboard credits:

 

Onboard Credit valid towards any onboard purchase including shore excursions, spa treatments, beverages etc. Onboard credit has no cash value, is non-transferrable, non-refundable, and may not be used in the casino, or for service charges.

 

So my question is, what is meant by "service charges?"

[CruiserBruce]

On our last cruise, we had almost $400 worth of OBCs, and a little over $400 or service charges. We owed almost nothing on our room bill. The OBC paid for the service charges.

[catl331]

I was curious about this too, and found this thread in a search. I also wondered about using OBC for gratuties. This is what my confirmation statement says about onboard credits:

 

Onboard Credit valid towards any onboard purchase including shore excursions, spa treatments, beverages etc. Onboard credit has no cash value, is non-transferrable, non-refundable, and may not be used in the casino, or for service charges.

 

So my question is, what is meant by "service charges?"

Where did you get this notice? Our Guest Confirmation says nothing about restrictions on our OBCs, and in the past they have applied to anything charged to our account including the Hotel Service Charges.

[vbmom87]

Where did you get this notice? Our Guest Confirmation says nothing about restrictions on our OBCs, and in the past they have applied to anything charged to our account including the Hotel Service Charges.

 

It was on the confirmation I received from the online discount travel agency I used to book my cruise. Perhaps it is only unique to the agency I used?

 

It caught my eye because when I spoke with another agency, they told me the onboard credit could be used for the daily service fee. The other agency was offering a significant OBC and I was wondering if we could spend it all. We spend very little on board. The cruiseships don't make any money on us. ;)

[kazu]

I think once an obc is credited to your account no one is the wiser.

 

I don't think that anyone has the techonology yet to differentiate between your service fees and everything else.

 

go on day 1, check to make sure it's there and if it says obc, I think you are fine, it's a credit, as long as you spend it (and who doesn't - I unlike you, unfortunately manage to spend it or dh does) then you are off to the races - you can always check as you go along but I really don't think you have any problem at all. :):):)

[vbmom87]

I think once an obc is credited to your account no one is the wiser.

 

I don't think that anyone has the techonology yet to differentiate between your service fees and everything else.

 

go on day 1, check to make sure it's there and if it says obc, I think you are fine, it's a credit, as long as you spend it (and who doesn't - I unlike you, unfortunately manage to spend it or dh does) then you are off to the races - you can always check as you go along but I really don't think you have any problem at all. :):):)

 

Well, our OBC is just $100 for 14 days for two people, so I am not too concerned. Although I think we only spent $28 on our $7 cruise. However, if it is there, we can come up with ways to spend it. :D It just caught my attention on my confirmation.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Any shipboard credit that you get can be used to pay the $11 per person per day Hotel Service Charge -- that equals $77 per person for a week or $154 for 2 people for the week.

So $100 shipboard credit will be used up very quickly.

[vbmom87]

Any shipboard credit that you get can be used to pay the $11 per person per day Hotel Service Charge -- that equals $77 per person for a week or $154 for 2 people for the week.

 

So $100 shipboard credit will be used up very quickly.

 

Absolutely. However, one agency I looked at offered $400 in OBC. They did tell me I could use it toward the Service Charge. I ended up going with a different agency because even with that hefty OBC, the overall charge was less with the agency I booked with. However, as I mentioned above, when I got the confirmation from the agency I did use, it stated:

 

"Onboard credit has no cash value, is non-transferrable, non-refundable, and may not be used in the casino, or for service charges."

 

In my particular case, it won't matter. Even if it didn't count toward the daily service charge, we could figure out how to use $100 over two weeks. I am mainly curious about the wording on my confirmation. Why does it say that? I guess I will have to contact them to ask why they mean. When/if I get an answer, I will post it here.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have a feeling that either your agency doesn't know what they are talking about OR they are trying to convince you that it won't cover the Hotel Service Charge and get you to spend extra dollars.

[alpal1993]

Last year I secured my onboard account with cash.The last night I received a note that we had been given a 100$ by HAl for a very insignificant problem that was fixed promptly.This was a happy yet unexpected bonus.We still had money left in our cash account and all of it was returned to us.By the way we kept it and are using it for this years cruise on HAL

[RuthC]

"Onboard credit has no cash value, is non-transferrable, non-refundable, and may not be used in the casino, or for service charges."

My memory on this is vague, but my recollection is that there are some sources of on-board credit that preclude it's use for service charges.

However, the fact of the matter is that the accounting has no method to track and separate the sources of on-board credit, or uses of it. The credit and charges are placed on your account, and there's a running tally.

[vbmom87]

Onboard Credit valid towards any onboard purchase including shore excursions, spa treatments, beverages etc. Onboard credit has no cash value, is non-transferrable, non-refundable, and may not be used in the casino, or for service charges.

 

I emailed the agency I purchased with and I have my answer. Apparantly it is a generic paragraph that covers all cruiselines. Here is their response:

 

"Due to our agency selling a number of different cruise lines, each has restrictions on how Onboard Credit can be used while onboard. Please visit Holland America's website for more information on their rules and terms regarding purchases made with OBC while onboard the ship."

 

I am one of those who reads all the fine print, so I usually have questions. This wasn't the only thing I needed clarified. The agency has been very good so far about responding and clearing up any of my concerns.

[camofwilliamsburg]

We also were told no refund or cashing out of our obc. Use it or lose it. We were told the secret of putting it onto the account in the slots and then cashing out....no need to do that. We just went to the desk and asked for it the last night. They gave it to us in cash. We had left over money also on Crown Princess and were told NO by customer service via the phone prior to our cruise. We cashed out there too the last night.

[jtl513]

We also were told no refund or cashing out of our obc. Use it or lose it. We were told the secret of putting it onto the account in the slots and then cashing out....no need to do that. We just went to the desk and asked for it the last night. They gave it to us in cash.

Again this depends on the source of the OBC. If it comes from a HAL promo, or from being a CCL stockholder, there will be no refund of unused amounts. If it was purchased by you, your friends/relatives, or your TA, you will get a refund of any unused.

[traveling mama]

I have been using my HAL Visa card to get points and I now have 35,000...now how do I transfer that so I can use it for OBC? Thanks!