AF-1 Posted June 28, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Can obc be used prior to cruise like in prepaying gratuities and excursion. Or do I have to wait to use it onboard. Thanks. Once onboard I can buy a coffee card Spa treatment Specialty dining Etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted June 28, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 28, 2016 You can not use your OBC until you are actually onboard so if you have a lot do not prepay items. On board it can be used for virtually everything except future cruise credits. It will cover gratuities, drinks, tours, the spa, gambling in the casino, etc, etc. Pay attention at the end if you have any left as to whether it is refundable or nonrefundable as the latter will be lost and you might as well spend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goofy559 Posted June 28, 2016 #3 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Can obc be used prior to cruise like in prepaying gratuities and excursion. Or do I have to wait to use it onboard. Thanks. Once onboard I can buy a coffee card Spa treatment Specialty dining Etc OBC is to be used on-board. It is a simple debit and credit system. You start out with a credit balance from the OBC and everything is charged against it - gratuities, purchases etc. If you are trying to avoid a large balance at the end of the trip, simply pre-buy your OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 28, 2016 #4 Share Posted June 28, 2016 No you cannot use OBC to pre-pay for items through your cruise personalizer. But there is no reason to: you can sign up for excursions without pre-paying, there is no discount for paying for any other items (or your gratuities) in advance. Once on board your total OBC will simply net against all charges to your shipboard account. Including everything you mentioned above, pre-reserved excursions, your daily gratuities, and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted June 28, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 28, 2016 You can not use your OBC until you are actually onboard so if you have a lot do not prepay items. On board it can be used for virtually everything except future cruise credits. It will cover gratuities, drinks, tours, the spa, gambling in the casino, etc, etc.Pay attention at the end if you have any left as to whether it is refundable or nonrefundable as the latter will be lost and you might as well spend it. Almost the only OBC that's refundable is the Veteran's OBC. Thank You, Princess!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted June 28, 2016 #6 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Almost the only OBC that's refundable is the Veteran's OBC.Thank You, Princess!! Not true. MyTA gifts me credit which is refundable. Also on my most recent cruise Princess returned funds to us from the amount paid for port fees and taxes. That also turns up as refundable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quacker Posted June 28, 2016 #7 Share Posted June 28, 2016 On our last cruise we had Refundable Veteran's and Stock Holder OBC. About two weeks after the cruise we got a check for $214. Sweet. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted June 28, 2016 #8 Share Posted June 28, 2016 On our last cruise we had Refundable Veteran's and Stock Holder OBC. About two weeks after the cruise we got a check for $214. Sweet. Don That was quick. They told me 4-6 weeks, still waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseintoheaven Posted June 28, 2016 #9 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Interesting - our stockholder OBC was listed as "non-refundable"....? Hasn't been an issue as we manage to spend ALL OBC but would be good to clarify. Also thought OBC could not be used in casino? [emoji848] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 28, 2016 #10 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Interesting - our stockholder OBC was listed as "non-refundable"....? Hasn't been an issue as we manage to spend ALL OBC but would be good to clarify. Also thought OBC could not be used in casino? [emoji848] Shareholder benefit rules: http://www.carnivalcorp.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-sharebenefit It is non-refundable. But by all accounts if you have a mix of refundable and non-refundable OBC the latter is spent first so if you finish your cruise with a credit balance you will receive a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbrig Posted June 28, 2016 #11 Share Posted June 28, 2016 What is this "leftover OBC" that everyone keeps talking about? I have yet to see it... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthnewark Posted June 28, 2016 #12 Share Posted June 28, 2016 If you buy onboard credit prior to the cruise, is this refundable if you don't use it all? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTX-AL Posted June 28, 2016 #13 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Can obc be used prior to cruise like in prepaying gratuities and excursion. Or do I have to wait to use it onboard. Thanks. Once onboard I can buy a coffee card You'll be hard-pressed not to ! Every time you turn around on the first day or two someone will be trying to sell you a coffee card !!! Spa treatment Specialty dining Etc ...VTX-Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseintoheaven Posted June 28, 2016 #14 Share Posted June 28, 2016 If you buy onboard credit prior to the cruise, is this refundable if you don't use it all? Thanks Yes - because you paid for it that would be refundable Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridalover5623 Posted June 28, 2016 #15 Share Posted June 28, 2016 What is this "leftover OBC" that everyone keeps talking about? I have yet to see it... :D We never have a positive balance at the end of the cruise. If we do buy anything on the ship it goes on the credit card and not against OBC. OBC is the first thing we have depleted on the first or second day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted June 28, 2016 #16 Share Posted June 28, 2016 We never have a positive balance at the end of the cruise. If we do buy anything on the ship it goes on the credit card and not against OBC. OBC is the first thing we have depleted on the first or second day. Would generally agree with that but on a recent flash sale I caught a double double for OBC, added shareholders, booked with FCC and got a credit from my TA. Then when we got on board Princess had refunded us some of our taxes and fees as well. When all this played out even with gratuities, drinks, a wine package, coffee cards, etc there was OBC left. Now I have to wait for a check, what fun. Interesting that they can bill your credit card in an instant but cannot credit the refund back to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted June 29, 2016 #17 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Interesting - our stockholder OBC was listed as "non-refundable"....? Hasn't been an issue as we manage to spend ALL OBC but would be good to clarify. Also thought OBC could not be used in casino? [emoji848] Sent from my iPhone using Forums We use OBC in casino on almost every cruise. Stockholder has always been non-refundable on our cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted June 29, 2016 #18 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Not true. MyTA gifts me credit which is refundable. Also on my most recent cruise Princess returned funds to us from the amount paid for port fees and taxes. That also turns up as refundable. We get OBC from our TA and it's always non-refundable. Maybe because she uses the points that Princess gives her? And yes, port charges are refundable when a port is cancelled (forgot about that) Also, on one of the cruises we did out of Houston, there was a fog delay and we missed a port...the "hospitality" credit that Princess gave was refundable. Forgot about that one. Don't know how I could forget!! We got off the ship with more OBC than we got on with.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky TGO Posted June 29, 2016 #19 Share Posted June 29, 2016 What is this "leftover OBC" that everyone keeps talking about? I have yet to see it... :D I totally agree with you. If you take my wife your OBC will be gone as your filling out the health form before you get on the ship. :eek: Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted June 29, 2016 #20 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Can obc be used prior to cruise like in prepaying gratuities and excursion. Or do I have to wait to use it onboard. Thanks. Once onboard I can buy a coffee card Spa treatment Specialty dining Etc Yes for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styme123 Posted June 29, 2016 #21 Share Posted June 29, 2016 I actually just asked Princess about this today and they said you couldn't use it to pay for gratuities. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted June 29, 2016 #22 Share Posted June 29, 2016 I actually just asked Princess about this today and they said you couldn't use it to pay for gratuities. :confused: If you call back 2 more times, you'll get 2 more incorrect answers.:rolleyes::eek: Gratuities is the first thing that goes onto our account and is deducted from the OBC. We don't usually start spending our OBC for a day or 2. Sometimes gratuities is the ONLY thing that's deducted from our OBC.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted June 29, 2016 #23 Share Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) I actually just asked Princess about this today and they said you couldn't use it to pay for gratuities. :confused: Are you asking about OBC in general or specifically the Shareholder OBC? The rules for the Shareholder OBC do state that they cannot be used for gratuities, but my understanding (from what I was told on a sister Carnival Corp line) that that rule is only referring to extra gratuities you write onto the chit at specialty restaurants, the spa, bars, room service et al. They don't want you "gifting" any leftover non-refundable OBC to your favorite crew member. But the daily gratuity amount on your stateroom charge certainly does net against any and every type of OBC. As does everything else; I have never seen my Princess stateroom account differentiate between which charges can or can't be paid by OBC (as I have on other Carnival Corp lines). Edited June 29, 2016 by fishywood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted June 29, 2016 #24 Share Posted June 29, 2016 What is this "leftover OBC" that everyone keeps talking about? I have yet to see it... :D Have you got a Mrs Gut too, she told me there's no such thing as refundable OBC so she just has to spend it all, even if she has to spend extra to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted June 29, 2016 #25 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Next cruise we've got about $125 a day OBC. Blowed if I know how we will go through it all, but I have great faith in Mrs Gut's ability in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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