Non Refundable OBC Policy

[riredsox]

No matter how much OBC I have and sometimes it's 700 or 800 dollars it always seems to get spent onboard somehow! I did get a nice Furla purse, not gaudy at all like Michael Kors but very plain. I love having the problem of spending all that money! Poor boyfriend gets a tshirt! I do upgrade my liquor package onboard.

Edited March 6, 2016 by riredsox

[jagoffee]

Ugh, so for those of us who book excursions, specialty restaurants and pay gratuities in advance we should lose our non-refundable OBCs even though we have already spent quite a bit of money?

 

Not everyone gambles and it certainly seems a huge disadvantage to those of us who want to ensure we have our spots on excursions and specialty restaurants.

 

 

That is certainly a common definition of non-refundable. A lot different than refundable for cash net a 5% service charge. I am amazed that Celebrity has allowed this for so long. I would love for AA to allow me to pay only a 5% fee to refund my non-refundable airline tickets.

 

But seriously Celebrity should find a way to allo you and others to use the OBC credit for prebooked shore excursion and specialty restaurants. It would seem like a nice middle ground. Princess makes this work.

[Jade13]

We keep reading about those with these large amounts of OBC they do not need (or want refunded). Our agent always offers us the option of OBC or a discount on the cruise. We almost always take the discount. Recently we have booked cruises with one perk, and have taken the drinks package and then had our agent pay the prepaid gratuities. There is usually also a small amount of OBC from their consortium, usually $50-$100 which is easy to use.

 

We never have $500- $1,000 Non-refundable OBC as we take the amount as a discount instead of credit we do not need.

[Redtravel]

Recently booked a cruise with no perks. TA gave us some OBC which we plan to use for tips. We are in traditional dining. Can I use the OBC for paying the tips?

[Grandmaanne7]

Recently booked a cruise with no perks. TA gave us some OBC which we plan to use for tips. We are in traditional dining. Can I use the OBC for paying the tips?

Yes, the gratuities will show up on your account daily and the amount of OBC remaining will lessen by the equivalent amount.

 

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[Oville]

We keep reading about those with these large amounts of OBC they do not need (or want refunded). Our agent always offers us the option of OBC or a discount on the cruise.

 

We never have $500- $1,000 Non-refundable OBC as we take the amount as a discount instead of credit we do not need.

 

The non-refundable OBC is not from a travel agent rather from the cruise line. I believe Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do not permit discounting their cruise fares by travel agents hence OBCs from the TAs that are refundable, a back door way to offer a discount.. If you've had a different experience please let us know. Thanks

Edited March 7, 2016 by Oville

[az_tchr]

One more time. Anything you spend on board from gratuities to dining to shops first comes from your OBC-N (from Celebrity). After you use that it NEXT comes from OBC-R (this would be either purchased or from a TA). The R stands for refundable. The N stands for not refundable.

 

BE sure and check your statement (suggest doing it at customer relations on say day #3) to make sure all OBC is shown on your bill. Also BE SURE to bring documentation from your TA and Celebrity as it is not always correctly applied.

[neverbeenhere]

So, If I understand you... First, you get a refund of OBC-R. Second, you can't get a refund of OBC-N. Third, your might be able to get OBC-N cashed out at the casino. Fourth, If you cash out OBC-N at the casino, run around the ship and tell everyone. Fifth, if I buy OBC, it might be OBC-R or OBC-N, but it should be OBC-R. Then again I might get promotional chips or credits on my sea pass card. Okay, now I get it.

[Jade13]

The non-refundable OBC is not from a travel agent rather from the cruise line. I believe Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do not permit discounting their cruise fares by travel agents hence OBCs from the TAs that are refundable, a back door way to offer a discount.. If you've had a different experience please let us know. Thanks

 

 

We always get a discount off of the Celebrity price. Some are reporting OBC amounts over $800.00 and some over $1,000.00. That sounds like more than the OBC for booking onboard or the $300.00 perk for those who do not want the drink package, so I am assuming majority is from the travel agent.