Non-refundable vs Refundable OBC

[jeffsnoy]

We just got off the Jewel yesterday and had a surprise learning experience with OBC. Our travel agent was able to get us $200 OBC per cabin ($1200 total). We had a group of 21 and booked 6 mini-suites. We were planning on using the credit to help with our gratuities. NCL gave us non-refundable credit, which can be used anywhere but the casino and gratuities. Refundable OBC can be used on gratuities. I made a mistake and did not find this out until the next to last day of the cruise. NCL employees told us to spend the money in the ship's store or get a massage. My wife & I were able to find only $50 of stuff we wanted to buy in the store. I went to the Cruise Critic web site and found a backdoor way to get the money. Cruise Critic saved my group from buying $900 of stuff we didn't want or need. Go to the casino cashier and tell them you want to cash out your OBC. They will give you the cash and charge a 3% service charge. I was happy to pay the service charge. Every employee we asked(5) told us the charge would go to our credit card but they were wrong. It cleared the non-refundable OBC to zero balance. You can then walk upstairs and apply the cash to your account to help pay for gratuities. If you have OBC make sure you know which type. Most of the time it will be non-refundable.

Edited March 27, 2017 by jeffsnoy
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[Escaping2016]

If your onboard credits are ones you purchased yourself are those considered refundable

 

 

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[peg013]

If your onboard credits are ones you purchased yourself are those considered refundable

 

 

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Yes if you or someone purchases OBC for you it is refundable and can be used for the Daily Service Charge.

 

To the OP - Your Travel Agent should have made sure all of you knew that you could not use it for the DSC. I would definitely let them know you are not pleased with sub par service from them.

[jeffsnoy]

I called them today and also sent them a copy of this post. They did not know NCL has an OBC that can't be used for the DSC.

[Kilo November]

Thanks for the heads up. We have OBC on our September Jewel cruise :)

[peg013]

I called them today and also sent them a copy of this post. They did not know NCL has an OBC that can't be used for the DSC.

You should probably use a different TA next time you book unless you want to do all your research yourself. While you should be aware of the terms and conditions of each promo you book, your travel agent should ALWAYS make sure they know the terms and conditions and make sure you know them also. I'm just glad you found out before you lost the OBC.

 

FYI - Non-refundable OBC can be used for gratuities for any person on the ship (butlers, concierge, bartenders, waiters, kids club etc) just not for the Daily Service Charge. If you want to leave someone a tip you just have to go to Guest Services and they will prepare a voucher that you will sign and they will give you a copy of the voucher to give to the person you want to tip.

 

My favorite way to spend any OBC is buying Cruise Next Future Cruise Deposits. Saves you money on your next cruise and allows you to book a cruise with no additional funds. (Except if you book the Haven)