How to use up OBC

[crows nest club]

No, you can't do that any more. They got wise to it!

 

When did they stop this? Was still in force late May this year. We just transferred x amount to our cruise card, although did have a few pulls on the slots so that the amount transferred (changed usually downwards!) and then cashed out. No problems.

[satxdiver]

Between the military OBC, FCC OBC and shareholder OBC I still end up owing money at the end of the cruise. I normally do not prepay the gratuity so that takes up a big chuck of the OBC. The only time I have received any OBC back was when I cashed in some of the credit card points for $500 OBC and did not spend it all. The credit card OBC is refundable. My partner however did attempt to spend it on board before she was shut off! :eek:

[pedirn]

Hey Wayne and Trudy...was wondering why we haven't seen you on Peincess in awhile. We too have the same issue with about 2-1/2 times your OBC. Art says he thinks there will be a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue in his future. I was thinking the jewelry store. Really wish some of this credit could be applied to bother cruise.

Chris

[WAVTAM]

If you do exactly as this post suggests, they will freeze your ability to use your card at the casino for the rest of the cruise. They want to see you gamble some of it. Trust me, I have first-hand experience with this. I asked and they reinstated my privileges but they made it very clear they were "watching me". [emoji13]

 

OP here.....thanks for replays. Understand about getting refundable back with check.

Being Elite and having done 50+ cruises with Princess, we have done every restaurant , have every souvenir one needs with logo on it and have 15 unused coffee cards.

Please expand on they freeze your card. Does that mean just the casino services are froze or for the whole ship. Suppose I go the last night on board and pull credit from slot.

[JF - retired RRT]

Please expand on they freeze your card. Does that mean just the casino services are froze or for the whole ship. Suppose I go the last night on board and pull credit from slot.

 

Just the casino. Just be sure you play. We usually spend at least 15 minutes at the slot machine, watching the balance go up and down. On occasion it goes UP and we cash out fast. We also go to the casino several times over the course of the cruise. We'll put $20-30 into the account, play a while, take our lumps or our winnings :rolleyes: and cash out. Wash,rinse, repeat.

It doesn't hurt if you lose some of the OBC, it's funny money anyway.

[WISH84]

OP here.....thanks for replays. Understand about getting refundable back with check.

 

Being Elite and having done 50+ cruises with Princess, we have done every restaurant , have every souvenir one needs with logo on it and have 15 unused coffee cards.

 

Please expand on they freeze your card. Does that mean just the casino services are froze or for the whole ship. Suppose I go the last night on board and pull credit from slot.

 

 

They lock you out of the Casino Software. So you can't insert your card to put money in any machine. You'll still be able to do everything else with it, just not load up a slot machine. I've learned that if I need money and I plan to gamble, I just load more than I plan to gamble with and cash out the rest. Although I did visit with someone on my last cruise who said his card had been locked out because he had "cashed out" more than two times.

[floridalover5623]

It doesn't hurt if you lose some of the OBC, it's funny money anyway.[/size][/font]

 

Funny money?? Not mine. It equates to cold cash spendable anywhere.

 

They lock you out of the Casino Software. So you can't insert your card to put money in any machine. You'll still be able to do everything else with it, just not load up a slot machine. I've learned that if I need money and I plan to gamble, I just load more than I plan to gamble with and cash out the rest. Although I did visit with someone on my last cruise who said his card had been locked out because he had "cashed out" more than two times.

It must have been another reason since people cash numerous times during the cruise.

[WAVTAM]

OP here again............so assume I load 500 dollars into slot, do one pull ....win or lose....I can then just cash out all the rest.

[floridalover5623]

OP here again............so assume I load 500 dollars into slot, do one pull ....win or lose....I can then just cash out all the rest.

 

Correct. Either pull or don't pull, then cash out. We always wait till almost the end of the cruise when many others are also cashing out. Not that it makes much difference.

[caribill]

OP here again............so assume I load 500 dollars into slot, do one pull ....win or lose....I can then just cash out all the rest.

 

I think there is a limit of how much you can download a day, possibly $200.

[abbydancer2003]

Usually we use all our OBC on tips, a few drinks, specialty restaurant and odds and ends. We end up with a small balance to pay on our card.

 

On our last cruise, we had Sip and Sale and I'd prepaid the tips. We'd planned a shore excursion in Juneau which would have used all the OBC. Due to a very late departure in Vancouver - shore ex cancelled.

 

I finally learned about refundable vs not - and spent the non refundable on some Swarovski jewelry and a Norman Love White Chocolate bar (which was quite good). About a month and half later, we got a check for the refundable part.

[floridalover5623]

I think there is a limit of how much you can download a day, possibly $200.

 

I think that used to be the case and maybe still is but on the Emerald last Feb I had no problem with going over that amount.

[Micahs Grandad]

We have had this problem and got our money back via the casino.

 

Will have a large amount of obc for next cruise and plan to work on this regularly:)

[moki'smommy]

If anyone has this problem and happens to be on a cruise that I'm on, I'll be happy to spend it for you. :-)

[KruzPrincess]

I love spending my OBC on the ship. Of course, I pay my gratuities with it. After that, I just have fun shopping. Sometimes, I buy Christmas and birthday presents. I buy a few souveniers....shirts, magnet, etc. I go to specialty restaurants. I stock up on cosmetics and perfume. Sometimes, I buy myself a very nice gift. My camera was a very lovely gift that Princess gave me! I had some money leftover on my recent cruise and I bought a very nice little Effy ring. Last year, I had a nice OBC left and I got a lovely watch. Thank you, Princess!

Edited July 24, 2016 by KruzPrincess

[floridalover5623]

I love spending my OBC on the ship. Of course, I pay my gratuities with it. After that, I just have fun shopping. Sometimes, I buy Christmas and birthday presents. I buy a few souveniers....shirts, magnet, etc. I go to specialty restaurants. I stock up on cosmetics and perfume. Sometimes, I buy myself a very nice gift. My camera was a very lovely gift that Princess gave me! I had some money leftover on my recent cruise and I bought a very nice little Effy ring. Last year, I had a nice OBC left and I got a lovely watch. Thank you, Princess!

 

Boy, does Princess ever love you. :D

[Cruisin Oma]

I thought I read where OBC cannot be used for gratuities??? Maybe that was NCL? I know it was a ship I was on in the last year where I had the free booze package and a lot of OBC.

 

Never mind. It was NCL. OBC they give out is restricted and can't be used for daily gratuities or in the casino.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Cruisin Oma

[caribill]

I thought I read where OBC cannot be used for gratuities???

 

 

Princess says that in their literature, but so far that is not what happens in practice.

[abbydancer2003]

Princess says that in their literature, but so far that is not what happens in practice.

 

I think, as I parsed the literature it refers to casino gratuities. At least that's how I read it.

[Pierlesscruisers]

First' date=' determine whether it is refundable or non-refundable.

 

If refundable, you will get a check in the mail 4-6 weeks after the cruise.

 

If non-refundable, you need to find something to spend it on. The only thing I know that MIGHT give you cash back on non-refundable is the casino. Otherwise, find something you will enjoy on board. As people have noted, tips will eat a chunk. Then shopping, spa, specialty dining,[/quote']

 

One thing to remember is that Princess will automatically use your non-refundable before it uses your refundable.

 

The only refundable OBC that I've ever seen has been the military OBC. Does anybody know of any others that refundable?

 

Tom

[dreaminofcruisin]

One thing to remember is that Princess will automatically use your non-refundable before it uses your refundable.

 

The only refundable OBC that I've ever seen has been the military OBC. Does anybody know of any others that refundable?

 

Tom

 

We had an offer from Princess a couple of years ago 2 days before our cruise to move to a 'lower' balcony cabin. It was one of the big ones on the Caribe deck of the Emerald...so not really lower in my mind. :D And at the time we booked all the cabins were the same price...so ok... Anyway, Princess gave us some very nice Refundable OBC for making the move. The only time I didn't manage to spend my OBC! :)

[Pierlesscruisers]

We had an offer from Princess a couple of years ago 2 days before our cruise to move to a 'lower' balcony cabin. It was one of the big ones on the Caribe deck of the Emerald...so not really lower in my mind. :D And at the time we booked all the cabins were the same price...so ok... Anyway, Princess gave us some very nice Refundable OBC for making the move. The only time I didn't manage to spend my OBC! :)

 

Well, congratulations on getting that refundable credit! One or both of you must have been leading a clean life around that time! <g> My wife a couple of months ago was prowling around the Princess website and chanced upon a Panama Canal cruise in early 2017 that had a bunch of OBC associated with it and by the time we added everything up, between what we were eligible for and what was offered in the deal we were both simply amazed. I'm still wondering if there was a typo somewhere on the deal! :eek: But we're certainly not calling PCL up and asking if they're sure the numbers are right! But it appears that both of us will end up getting our military OBC refunded.

 

Tom

[abbydancer2003]

One thing to remember is that Princess will automatically use your non-refundable before it uses your refundable.

 

The only refundable OBC that I've ever seen has been the military OBC. Does anybody know of any others that refundable?

 

Tom

 

There must be some, since we don't have military, and got about 200.00 back on our last cruise. I think it was in part the stockholder OBC.

 

We also had a goodwill credit due to a baggage screw up on the previous cruise. I think that's the rest of the refundable.

[Thrak]

I will never have this problem. We get the FCC OBC and the Shareholder OBC but no military OBC and we never have a problem with "leftover" OBC. On our next cruise the daily gratuities alone will be $672 for the two of us...

 

Weird. Quoting myself. However... I posted the wrong amount for the grats on our next cruise. I was using an old number. The gratuities on our next cruise will actually be $725.

 

We will have $300 OBC ($150 each) from FCD and another $250 from Shareholder's OBC. Not enough to even cover the gratuities. We definitely won't have a problem "trying to use it up". :rolleyes:

[Pierlesscruisers]

There must be some, since we don't have military, and got about 200.00 back on our last cruise. I think it was in part the stockholder OBC.

 

We also had a goodwill credit due to a baggage screw up on the previous cruise. I think that's the rest of the refundable.

 

Nope, it wasn't stockholder OBC unless that's changed since then. The Cruise Personalizer shows the stockholder OBC on our next 2 cruises to be marked with an asterisk and according to the legend, that means they are non-refundable.

 

Tom