Maximum pre purchase OBC?

[Mscruisin]

Just curious, when you checked in, did you give a US credit card to charge your onboard charges to, or was it a Canadian Credit card. If it was a Canadian credit card, then this defeats the whole purpose of you purchasing your own "onboard credit" to use on the ship. I would highly dispute the way NCL handled this and it any event, it certainly wasn't in your best interest, that is for sure. Sounds like NCL may be on to us smart Canadians.

 

I gave my Canadian credit card but I had already bought $1500 at a rate of 1.11 which was charged and billed ahead of the cruise to my credit card in Canadian dollars. It did show up after 3 days on my sail and sign account after I questioned them at guest services. I assumed and was told at guest services that the OBC could be used for anything including withdrawing funds at the casino.

[f1mauro]

Just off the Getaway this past Sunday. Purchased $2000US OBC at $1.11 exchange rate about 2 months before my cruise. As expected, after reading previous posters' horror stories, it did not show up on my on board account when I checked my on board account on day 1. My credit card statements showed the transactions went through and I paid it off before the cruise.

 

I went to guest services after day 1 and showed proof on my cellphone that they were indeed purchased. The service rep had no record of it then made a couple calls and told me it would be in my account the next morning. By late afternoon day 2 still no money in the account. Back to guest services and another rep said she had no idea what was going on as they had no record of it on file. I showed her that I was billed and paid my credit card and told the night before I would receive the missing funds. After making some calls she assured me the money would be in the account by the next morning.

 

Finally received the obc by day 3, went to the Casino and cashed out at 3% no questions asked.

 

The funny part is the other family who we travelled with on this cruise purchased their obc about a week before the cruise and it was waiting in their on board account as soon as they boarded. So it seems to be hit and miss with pre purchased obc. Remember to bring along any necessary documentation for proof of purchases made just in case!

[calgaryhhr]

We you charged the 3% "convenience charge" at the casino when you withdrew your money?

 

Yeah, we were charged 3% when getting cash at the casino.

[Ontario cruise duo]

I gave my Canadian credit card but I had already bought $1500 at a rate of 1.11 which was charged and billed ahead of the cruise to my credit card in Canadian dollars. It did show up after 3 days on my sail and sign account after I questioned them at guest services. I assumed and was told at guest services that the OBC could be used for anything including withdrawing funds at the casino.

 

In my opinion, you have a definite dispute on your hands with NCL. Most of my onboard credit that I purchased prior to our cruise (save and except for the initial $200 which I bought when I booked our cruise) did also not show up until approximately day 3 after I inquired about its whereabouts, and I believe once it showed up I started to withdraw it daily from the casino with the 3% convenience charge. They should credit your Canadian credit card with the charges they put against it and use your onboard credits that you purchased to offset your onboard charges. Very strange indeed. I would not let this rest until you get the satisfaction you deserve. As you are aware, there is probably a 33 cent difference in the dollar and that can add up very quickly!

[calgaryhhr]

Just off the Getaway this past Sunday. Purchased $2000US OBC at $1.11 exchange rate about 2 months before my cruise. As expected, after reading previous posters' horror stories, it did not show up on my on board account when I checked my on board account on day 1. My credit card statements showed the transactions went through and I paid it off before the cruise.

 

I went to guest services after day 1 and showed proof on my cellphone that they were indeed purchased. The service rep had no record of it then made a couple calls and told me it would be in my account the next morning. By late afternoon day 2 still no money in the account. Back to guest services and another rep said she had no idea what was going on as they had no record of it on file. I showed her that I was billed and paid my credit card and told the night before I would receive the missing funds. After making some calls she assured me the money would be in the account by the next morning.

 

Finally received the obc by day 3, went to the Casino and cashed out at 3% no questions asked.

 

The funny part is the other family who we travelled with on this cruise purchased their obc about a week before the cruise and it was waiting in their on board account as soon as they boarded. So it seems to be hit and miss with pre purchased obc. Remember to bring along any necessary documentation for proof of purchases made just in case!

 

We purchased $3000 in three separate transactions over two days about 10 to 14 days before our cruise and it was in our account upon boarding. There were 30 individual $100 receipts on the counter in our cabin.

 

Maybe ordering well beforehand causes the transactions to somehow get lost in their system.

[casofilia]

Could I suggest that anyone who purchases anything online in advance of boarding asks for a copy of their Amenity Invoice each time you do. Then take a copy of the last one on board in case there is anything to discuss.

 

Mike

[Ontario cruise duo]

We purchased $3000 in three separate transactions over two days about 10 to 14 days before our cruise and it was in our account upon boarding. There were 30 individual $100 receipts on the counter in our cabin.

 

Maybe ordering well beforehand causes the transactions to somehow get lost in their system.

 

Wow, that was different than my situation. I purchased $200 when I initially booked in February, 2015 for my November 29th, 2015 cruise. That showed up as 1 certificate in our stateroom upon arrival and also indicated as a credit on the tv when reviewing my account. The other $2400 was purchased 4 to 6 weeks before, and that is what they had no knowledge of, until I provided them with documented proof from head office, which I called to get from head office approximately 1 week before sailing. I took that with me as well as confirmation of the charges booked to my Canadian charge card (didn't need to produce that though). Guest services said it was a "good thing" that I had proof as it facilitated the process quicker and my account was successfully credited $2400 in less than 24 hours.

[Ontario cruise duo]

Could I suggest that anyone who purchases anything online in advance of boarding asks for a copy of their Amenity Invoice each time you do. Then take a copy of the last one on board in case there is anything to discuss.

 

Mike

 

Exactly, that is what it is called "Amenity" invoice. Could not think of the correct wording that NCL uses. Thanks

[RobTheGob]

Just curious, when you checked in, did you give a US credit card to charge your onboard charges to, or was it a Canadian Credit card. If it was a Canadian credit card, then this defeats the whole purpose of you purchasing your own "onboard credit" to use on the ship. I would highly dispute the way NCL handled this and it any event, it certainly wasn't in your best interest, that is for sure. Sounds like NCL may be on to us smart Canadians.

 

Using a Canadian CC at check-in doesn't "defeat the whole purpose" of purchasing OBC. When it comes right down to it - there is little difference between giving a CAD vs USD CC at check-in. I've read that there are some NCL reps that won't check you in if you don't supply a CC.

 

Now - applying charges to the CC vs using the OBC definitely defeats the purpose of pre-purchasing OBC! It's hard to say if this will get sorted out for Mscruisin.

[Ontario cruise duo]

Using a Canadian CC at check-in doesn't "defeat the whole purpose" of purchasing OBC. When it comes right down to it - there is little difference between giving a CAD vs USD CC at check-in. I've read that there are some NCL reps that won't check you in if you don't supply a CC.

 

Now - applying charges to the CC vs using the OBC definitely defeats the purpose of pre-purchasing OBC! It's hard to say if this will get sorted out for Mscruisin.

 

In my suggestion of using a US charge card to check in, was that, if by chance there was a charge to your account at the end of your cruise to post to your account, as happened previously to a cruiser, once they were to get their refund from NCL in the form of a US cheque, they could then put their US cheque refund towards their US charge card. Solves part of their problem (at least in my eyes it does).

Edited December 23, 2015 by Ontario cruise duo

[RobTheGob]

In my suggestion of using a US charge card to check in, was that, if by chance there was a charge to your account at the end of your cruise to post to your account, as happened previously to a cruiser, once they were to get their refund from NCL in the form of a US cheque, they could then put their US cheque refund towards their US charge card. Solves part of their problem (at least in my eyes it does).

 

Yes - that is probably true.

 

I'm the kind of person that monitors this kind of transaction carefully - so it's hard to know if this could happen to me without some kind of indication before getting off the ship.

 

I plan to hound guest services relentlessly if my OBC doesn't show up when I've requested it to... Time will tell.

[Mscruisin]

After 2 hours on hold waiting to be connected to someone I finally got a guy who put me on hold again and talked to the accounting department. They could see that the OBC was purchased before leaving for the cruise and that in fact the OBC hadn't been applied properly. It was probably due to the OBC not showing up until day 3. Anyways they are refunding my credit card for the full amount and charging me the $4.89 that I owed if the OBC had have been applied on the ship. They also gave me a number to call if I incur any extra fees from this as it was their mistake. They also said the refund to my credit card will probably show up in about 5 days because of the holidays. Hopefully this works out as I was told or I will be calling back. Had me concerned for awhile.

[RobTheGob]

After 2 hours on hold waiting to be connected to someone I finally got a guy who put me on hold again and talked to the accounting department. They could see that the OBC was purchased before leaving for the cruise and that in fact the OBC hadn't been applied properly. It was probably due to the OBC not showing up until day 3. Anyways they are refunding my credit card for the full amount and charging me the $4.89 that I owed if the OBC had have been applied on the ship. They also gave me a number to call if I incur any extra fees from this as it was their mistake. They also said the refund to my credit card will probably show up in about 5 days because of the holidays. Hopefully this works out as I was told or I will be calling back. Had me concerned for awhile.

 

That sounds good - hopefully it works out properly!

 

These days - virtually all CC's have differences between sell/buy and most CC's also have foreign currency conversion charges. So the fees may add up.

 

Thanks for the update!

[Scoobs9]

When pre purchasing OBC with NCL, there is a spot that asks what "day" you would like to receive it. I asked for day 1 for my OBC. Did you notice this when purchasing yours? Just curious if this is the reason for the delay (i.e.. if you don't stipulate a date, maybe they default to half way through the cruise or day 3).

[casofilia]

When you book online the first day that is available is Day 2. :)

 

Mike

[Mscruisin]

After 2 hours on hold waiting to be connected to someone I finally got a guy who put me on hold again and talked to the accounting department. They could see that the OBC was purchased before leaving for the cruise and that in fact the OBC hadn't been applied properly. It was probably due to the OBC not showing up until day 3. Anyways they are refunding my credit card for the full amount and charging me the $4.89 that I owed if the OBC had have been applied on the ship. They also gave me a number to call if I incur any extra fees from this as it was their mistake. They also said the refund to my credit card will probably show up in about 5 days because of the holidays. Hopefully this works out as I was told or I will be calling back. Had me concerned for awhile.

It's been 2 weeks and no sign of a refund to my credit card. I tried calling the number that the guy had given me if. It wasn't a phone number. It is a fax number. I am going to call back to the first number and talk to them again. Very frustrating. My next step is to dispute the charge with my credit card company if this doesn't get me anywhere. I wish I had never bought the OBC in the first place.

[chasbr]

was hoping to get a good rate on booking a cruise. i called to book a cruise in Canadian funds and they were offering a 7 percent break only on the cruise price, meaning i would pay about 33 percent exchange rate. Has Ncl stopped their great exchange rate or this the good rate only for onboard credits? Just got off a cruise and a passenger i met paid only 7 percent exchange rate for obc, and i assumed they paid the same rate for the cruise purchase. Thanks Brad

[casofilia]

I suggest people keep an eye on the bank rates v NCL rates these days especially now that NCL only allow the CAD discount on the cruise itself.

 

My bank BMO will sell USD at 1.4033 today. More expansive for the cruise fare but better for the extras.

 

Mike