OBC to pay for gratuities

[ccm02339]

Good morning,

I am wondering if anyone has had success in using the $150 per person OBC from go big,better, best to apply to paying for gratuities?

Thank you

[Orator]

Good morning,

I am wondering if anyone has had success in using the $150 per person OBC from go big,better, best to apply to paying for gratuities?

Thank you

 

Yes you can use OBC for gratuities. I have used it many, many times. They will just deduct it from your account.

[wallie5446]

Good morning,

I am wondering if anyone has had success in using the $150 per person OBC from go big,better, best to apply to paying for gratuities?

Thank you

 

It is a fact, not a 'left to chance' thing.

 

The $150 credit is applied to your on board charge account, ie; your Sea Pass card. So you start out with that amount, as you 'charge' on your Sea Pass those amounts will be deducted. The grat is posted to your Sea Pass account daily and also deducted from any credits you have. No need to hope for 'success'. :D

[DrivesLikeMario]

Exactly right! ;) Nothing to chance. It's what OBC is made for! ;)

[sound_guy0918]

Unless you pre-paid gratuities for Select Dining (which is no longer required, but was when we booked...)

[Luvcrusn]

Good morning,

I am wondering if anyone has had success in using the $150 per person OBC from go big,better, best to apply to paying for gratuities?

Thank you

 

I've often used it for gratuities. You can use OBC for pretty much anything onboard, spa, specialty dining, bar bills, wine packages, shopping, etc.

[carolslc]

Yep. We always use OBC for gratuities first.

[Luvcrusn]

We also use it for shore excursions

[varoo]

Good morning,

I am wondering if anyone has had success in using the $150 per person OBC from go big,better, best to apply to paying for gratuities?

Thank you

As others have said, most definitely yes.

You can use it to pay for any expense that gets charged to your onboard account.

 

Each OBC will appear as a credit on your account.

Your expenses (including daily charges for gratuities) will appear on your account as debits, and they offset each other, leaving you with either a credit or debit balance on your account.

 

You can check your account from the menu on the TV screen in your cabin whenever you like.

The charges for gratuities usually don't start showing up on the screen until you are at least a day or 2 into the cruise, and your OBC may not show up immediately either, so don't be concerned if you look at your account the first day when you board the ship and don't see them there.

 

The only shipboard expense I can think of that cannot be charged to your onboard account is a deposit for a future cruise.

 

 

[fshagan]

This is good to hear.

 

Some cruise lines have different types of OBC, and you can't use the most common type for daily service charges. You can end up with unused, non-refundable OBC and owe hundreds of dollars on your account at the end of the cruise.

[cb at sea]

Anything charged to your account goes against any OBC you have. No worries. It's just that you cannot specify HOW to use it. It's merely a credit.

[wallie5446]

This is good to hear.

 

Some cruise lines have different types of OBC, and you can't use the most common type for daily service charges. You can end up with unused, non-refundable OBC and owe hundreds of dollars on your account at the end of the cruise.

 

Do the other cruise lines really make it this hard to use any credits?

[AlibearNS]

Do the other cruise lines really make it this hard to use any credits?

 

Can't remember which cruise line it was, possibly NCL, but one cruise we thought our free OBC was paying the gratuities and it wasn't! I checked at reception and was told definitely not. I was quite shocked to have a bill I hadn't anticipated and only 24 hours to spend, spend, spend the non refundable.

So glad Celebrity don't have the same rule as we intend paying the gratuities out of our perks this time around.

[fshagan]

Do the other cruise lines really make it this hard to use any credits?

 

Yep, NCL. They haven't allowed OBC they give you as a perk to be used for the daily service charge for quite a few years now.

[HappyCruiserKimmie]

Can't remember which cruise line it was, possibly NCL, but one cruise we thought our free OBC was paying the gratuities and it wasn't! I checked at reception and was told definitely not. I was quite shocked to have a bill I hadn't anticipated and only 24 hours to spend, spend, spend the non refundable.

So glad Celebrity don't have the same rule as we intend paying the gratuities out of our perks this time around.

May I know if Celebrity auto charges the daily gratuities to your sea pass card? Do I have to specifically mention that to the customer service upon boarding?

 

Thanks!

[denatravels]

May I know if Celebrity auto charges the daily gratuities to your sea pass card? Do I have to specifically mention that to the customer service upon boarding?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

It's automatic

 

 

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[cruisestitch]

They do it automatically

[HappyCruiserKimmie]

They do it automatically

Thanks Denatravel & cruisestitch.

 

My friend who booked the same cruise as mine recently was told Celebrity no longer allow gratuities to be a separate item and is now included as part of the full cruise fare. She booked through the Australia office, so I wonder if it's the same for all other countries.

 

That said, my friend don't be able to use OBC to pay for gratuities but will have to pay it out of pocket.

 

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[cruisestitch]

Yes, Australia does have different procedures regarding the gratuities, which now must be prepaid and not taken from OBC.

[wtang]

Does anyone know if the extra OBC given by my TA as a perk for booking with them can be used for gratuities? The TA said I may not see the OBC on my ship account until 24 hours after the ship sails. But she assured me it will show up. However she also said to bring a printed copy of the booking confirmation, which shows her extra OBC perk, just to be sure. I think I will do that.

[HappyCruiserKimmie]

Does anyone know if the extra OBC given by my TA as a perk for booking with them can be used for gratuities? The TA said I may not see the OBC on my ship account until 24 hours after the ship sails. But she assured me it will show up. However she also said to bring a printed copy of the booking confirmation, which shows her extra OBC perk, just to be sure. I think I will do that.

yes you can, provided you haven't paid the gratuities as part of your full payment.

 

I've asked the same on other thread in Cruise Critics, apparently Celebrity will automatically deduct the gratuities from your OBC daily during sail.

 

I'm planning on doing the same in this trip

 

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[HappyCruiserKimmie]

Anyone who's familiar with shopping in Vancouver & Toronto?

 

Was told shopping in Canada is much cheaper compared to Australia & Malaysia.

 

Wonder what are the places for general shopping in Vancouver & Toronto? Should I spare more shopping time in Vancouver or Toronto?

 

Any advice?

 

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[wtang]

yes you can, provided you haven't paid the gratuities as part of your full payment.

 

I've asked the same on other thread in Cruise Critics, apparently Celebrity will automatically deduct the gratuities from your OBC daily during sail.

 

I'm planning on doing the same in this trip

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks for replying! That's good to know. Since I'm sure the gratuities plus whatever spending we'll be doing onboard will exceed my OBC amount, does anyone know if I can go to the bursar desk and add cash to my onboard ship account? I would prefer to add cash to my account so a big charge doesn't end up hitting my credit card at the end of the cruise.

[Algebralovr]

Thanks for replying! That's good to know. Since I'm sure the gratuities plus whatever spending we'll be doing onboard will exceed my OBC amount, does anyone know if I can go to the bursar desk and add cash to my onboard ship account? I would prefer to add cash to my account so a big charge doesn't end up hitting my credit card at the end of the cruise.

 

Yes, you can add cash to your account at any time. Just go to Guest Services (On Deck 3 if you are on a S-Class Ship) and tell them you wish to deposit cash on your account.

 

If you want to use the casino, make sure to hold back cash for that, though.