What is the average OBC credit?

[emilymad]

We are new to Celebrity and are considering booking a 7 night Caribbean cruise in a balcony cabin. I have been looking at different online TA's and see the OBC ranges quite a bit. I am trying to figure out what is a good deal. We usually sail on RCCL so I have a better feel for the specials that are offered with them. For the particular sailing we are looking at the best I have seen is $200 in OBC. Is that a decent offer?

[librarylady19]

It would depend on the overall cost of the cruise. You should generally get more OBC for the higher categories, ie AQ or suites.

We have had OBC ranging from $80 up to $400. Often you can get OBC from Celebrity (such as the Passages OBC) as well as OBC from your TA.

Definitely shop around and compare offers.

[BBsails]

If your OBC is about 10-12 percent of your cruise fare (without taxes and fees), that's common.

 

Betsy

[emilymad]

Thanks! This is all very helpful.

 

The OBC is about 9% of the cruise fare so that doesn't seem to be too far off.

[tweeterbug]

We just booked (yesterday) a 13 day cruise with Celebrity directly and weren't offered an OBC at all. I've had an online TA offer me $50 OBC if I transfered my booking to him. I may have considered it if it were worth more but I think for $50 I'll just stay put.

[Lastdance]

We just booked (yesterday) a 13 day cruise with Celebrity directly and weren't offered an OBC at all. I've had an online TA offer me $50 OBC if I transfered my booking to him. I may have considered it if it were worth more but I think for $50 I'll just stay put.

 

:cool:Did you get a special price? That might be why the OBC is so low, but I really don't know. Supposedly, my TA has a special "trigger" on her computer just for price drops/incentives. However, I haven't received one yet and am still waiting...such a game.:confused:

[thebutlerdidit]

I have no idea what the average is. I just booked a cruise through an online TA and we got prepaid gratuities (saving us about $220 on our 10 day cruise) and a $75 OBC. I'm very happy with this. This is all new to me. We used a local TA for our first cruise and got nada. As I recall, not even a thank you note.

[gymjudge55]

I wished I had known more before I booked. Our TA told us we were getting "special" rates and an OBC of $200. I assume that is per cabin and is 5% of our cruise cost. I went on line to Celebrity and the cost was identical....no "special rate" at all. If I was not so new to cruising I would have shopped around.

[Grumpy100]

We booked our Mediterrean cruise through Celebrity when they were having a promotion and we got a $400 obc which is the most we have ever had.

We just finished an Alaskian cruise with Celebrity and we had a $200 obc.

We have anything between $85.00 obc up to $400. It also depends on which category of cabin you book.

Happy sailing:p:p:p

[tagheuer]

TA's names may NOT be mentioned on CC!:mad:

 

 

sorry, I didn't know that. its not like I'm recommending them or anything, nor do I work for them.

 

Is that the rule? I admit I wasn't going to fully read all the terms, conditions and rules before posting here.

 

Question, why are there many threads/topics about "have you ever used this travel agent"? In fact, if you search for the agent I listed there are threads on that exact topic...?

[Andy]

sorry, I didn't know that. its not like I'm recommending them or anything, nor do I work for them.

 

Is that the rule? I admit I wasn't going to fully read all the terms, conditions and rules before posting here.

 

Question, why are there many threads/topics about "have you ever used this travel agent"? In fact, if you search for the agent I listed there are threads on that exact topic...?

 

Hi Tagheuer,

 

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[Lastdance]

We booked our Mediterrean cruise through Celebrity when they were having a promotion and we got a $400 obc which is the most we have ever had.

We just finished an Alaskian cruise with Celebrity and we had a $200 obc.

We have anything between $85.00 obc up to $400. It also depends on which category of cabin you book.

Happy sailing:p:p:p

:confused:Did you book onboard, because that can make a difference too. There are just so many factors involved: time of year, TA company, status with Celebrity, Right place at the right time and etc. Specific details = details make a difference!:cool:

[Grumpy100]

:confused:Did you book onboard, because that can make a difference too. There are just so many factors involved: time of year, TA company, status with Celebrity, Right place at the right time and etc. Specific details = details make a difference!:cool:

 

No we did not nook onboard but we did use our certificate that we purchased the cruise before so that was an automatic $200 obc. Then they had another $200 promotion at the same time for booking so far ahead for Europe so we scooped it up.

[DogLover45]

We had a pleasant surprise with OBC. When we booked our cruise (directly through Celebrity), there was never any mention of OBC. I didn't know enough to ask about it and I didn't even know what OBC meant until I started reading Cruise Critic entries. (Even then, it took the longest time for me to figure out what the three letters stood for!) We booked the room and tour that we wanted and I was happy enough with the pricing. Once we were on the cruise, I checked the TV channel lists all the charges made to the seapass. On the third night, I noticed that there was an OBC listed for $150! I assumed it was a mistake and called the guest desk - only to find that it wasn't a mistake. Somehow or other, we were given this credit that we weren't expecting. And then the next day we had two other OBCs listed for $6.75 each. I still don't know how or why we were given this, but it sure was a nice surprise. We used the credit on internet access and wine.

[Shippy]

Got a sale price on an S2 catagory and $425.00 onboard credit from the internet TA.

Did one of those next,unknown cruise bookings on our last cruise. Because this is a 10 day one, we get an additional $200.00 onboard credit.

Wahoo...that will pay for our gratuities,wine with dinner and lots left over !

[4774Papa]

I tend to book long in advance with X. I have never found TAs that offered significant OBC for the cruises that I pick.

Are there certain types of cruises that tend to offer OBC through TAs?

[tgg]

I tend to book long in advance with X. I have never found TAs that offered significant OBC for the cruises that I pick.

Are there certain types of cruises that tend to offer OBC through TAs?

 

Travel agencies that book very large volume with a particular cruise line are able to offer better pricing because they get rebates based on sales volume. In addition a travel agency may have group space. (You don't have to be part of a "group" to take advantage of this. It just means that the travel agency has a block of staterooms (in various categories) that they can offer at a lower price.)

 

We have never NOT gotten significant OBC from our travel agent. She works for an agency that books lots of Azamara and Celebrity cruises. For me, prepaid gratuities for two people (on a 12 day cruise) and a $200-$400 OBC is significant.

 

You just might want to look a little harder - or talk to people on your cruises and ask who they book with.:)

[A Sixth?]

I often book with an online TA (Who advertizes here on CC) and get prepaid grats, $ 100.00 OBC from the TA and another $ 100.00 from the shareholders credit.

 

Thats for a Balcony class/Con Class cabin, seven day about $2K total.

 

That's $350.00 OBC! :p That's about 17-18%

[tallcva3344]

sorry, I didn't know that. its not like I'm recommending them or anything, nor do I work for them.

 

Is that the rule? I admit I wasn't going to fully read all the terms, conditions and rules before posting here.

 

Question, why are there many threads/topics about "have you ever used this travel agent"? In fact, if you search for the agent I listed there are threads on that exact topic...?

 

Sounds like you are promoting them now. There are 10's of thousands of TA's, Some great - Some bad - Most helpful. When a TA gives you OBC most of the time they are giving back some of their commission. I think they get about 10 to 15 percent of the cruise cost less some non commissionable items.

 

The Cruise lines are currently looking at blocking kickbacks to customers. I heard that Carnival which is also HAL and Princess. Just a rumor I heard. Apparently the on-line bulk processers are unfairly competing against the local neighbor or in town agencies by giving back a percentage of their commission. This is hurting the local agency outreach of promoting to folks that might cruise within the communities they are located. H

[Redtravel]

I have gotten all kinds of deals...Obc , free gratuities, vouchers for specialty dining, etc.. Celebrity controls the fares. Sometimes a TA will put together a group and offer a slight discount. TA often offer some small perk to get your booking. Lately, celebrity directly has offered some nice perks. Always get any offer in writing and bring it to the cruise. Although it is rare, I have had agents make promises about OBC or prepaid gratuities and not deliver. If you have the written offer on agency letterhead, you may convince guest relations that you deserve the perk. On my last booking, I got prepaid gratuities directly with Celebrity. It was more than the OBC offered by the majority of online TAs. Shop and if there isn't a big difference in perks, book directly. That way you can call and ask questions directly instead of having to filter through a TA.

[Winterpeg007]

Morning everyone:

I too keep hearing about these OBC and can NOT help but thinking, Look at the final price that you pay! When we booked our upcoming Bermuda Cruise, I checked all of the "on-line" TAs and what they were offering, Free gratuities, $200OBC, etc, but the bottom line is what you end up paying for the cruise. The TA who we booked with was lower than all of the above including their "freebees"!

The OBC means you are giving it back to the cruise link on their terms.

Anyway, the whole pricing on cruises needs to be fixed and it looks like Carnival is trying something, not sure if that will work but let us see.

[tagheuer]

well the online TA we used to book was the cheapest and offered the highest and best OBC by a few hundred dollars compared to everyone else, so they must be selling group rate rooms and/or giving up part of their commission.

 

Moderator/Host, I now understand the rule against naming TAs but can you explain to me why there are hundreds of posts listing the name of the specific TA I posted?

 

For example, there are many, many posts which state "Have you used _________ TA"?

 

Same goes for shuttle services, etc.

 

So why are all of these people allowed to post whether they have had good/bad experiences with specific, named TAs but I get in trouble for listing one once?

 

I want to make sure I understand the rules.

 

Thanks.

 

Here are just a few examples of the posts I am talking about:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29679324&highlight=bestpricecruises#post29679324

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=27295928&highlight=bestpricecruises#post27295928

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=31539695&highlight=bestpricecruises#post31539695

[ORV]

well the online TA we used to book was the cheapest and offered the highest and best OBC by a few hundred dollars compared to everyone else, so they must be selling group rate rooms and/or giving up part of their commission.

 

Moderator/Host, I now understand the rule against naming TAs but can you explain to me why there are hundreds of posts listing the name of the specific TA I posted?

 

For example, there are many, many posts which state "Have you used _________ TA"?

 

Same goes for shuttle services, etc.

 

So why are all of these people allowed to post whether they have had good/bad experiences with specific, named TAs but I get in trouble for listing one once?

 

I want to make sure I understand the rules.

 

Thanks.

 

Here are just a few examples of the posts I am talking about:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29679324&highlight=bestpricecruises#post29679324

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=27295928&highlight=bestpricecruises#post27295928

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=31539695&highlight=bestpricecruises#post31539695

 

Uh, you also can't question why they do something. Didn't you read that in the term & conditions also? You need to contact them through email.