Can you have OBC preloaded on your account.

[adamt]

My wife and I have paid our cruise off, and we thought it would be great to set aside a certain amount every week to "preload" onto our SS account, so we essentially get on board with all of the money we'll need.

 

Is there a way to do this before boarding, or would we have to take a cash deposit to the purser when we first get on board?

 

The thought on this being we could essentially "chip away" at our costs, instead of being hit with it in one fail swoop after debarkation.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Yes...buy cruise cash. You can load up to 500 per cabin

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

[NitsirK21]

But its not refundable so if you have to cancel you cruise or don't use it all, you don't get it back.

[springs741]

How about gift cards?

[Taylorcast]

I would say just horde the cash somewhere at home or put into a savings account until you leave, rather than putting it into cruise cash or gift cards.

 

If something happens unexpectedly (you have to cancel your cruise etc) you will be left with a bunch of gift cards that won't have use until you book your next cruise, or $ tied up in non refundable cruise cash.

 

At least if it's cash or in a savings account, you still have liquid assets....so if your refrigerator dies or whatever may happen (Murphy's law) you are not stressing about where to come up with that money

[sparks1093]

I've just started buying cruise cash for our November trip. It does help take the sting off but it isn't without risks (I would at least expect a credit if we canceled the cruise for some reason if not an out right refund).

[funat55]

I have a question related to this subject. I have three $100.00 Carnival gift cards that I want to give to my daughter for our cruise in July. How does that work? Can she apply them at the tie of check in and use them for anything on the ship? If she is gambling, can she use her pin number to grab more cash and will it come out of her on board credit? I have only used gifts cards in the past to pay for a cruise.

[rufflesmom]

All she has to do is apply the gift cards to her onboard account. Then she can use them just as though she had put cash on the account.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Just take it out at the casino last night

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

[Keys2Heaven]

My wife and I have paid our cruise off, and we thought it would be great to set aside a certain amount every week to "preload" onto our SS account, so we essentially get on board with all of the money we'll need.

 

Is there a way to do this before boarding, or would we have to take a cash deposit to the purser when we first get on board?

 

The thought on this being we could essentially "chip away" at our costs, instead of being hit with it in one fail swoop after debarkation.

 

If you have Verizon or are an AARP member, you can purchase gift cards at a 10% discount from time to time. So, $500 worth of gift cards will only cost $450 (plus shipping). There are big threads on this, and a lot of people (myself included) purchase these to apply as OBC for an upcoming cruise. And as another poster said, if you have a positive balance near the end of the cruise, you can cash out at the casino, so your funds are not lost.

[joepeka]

But its not refundable so if you have to cancel you cruise or don't use it all, you don't get it back.

 

I did not know this but find it somewhat surprising. I know with another cruise line we've been on recently, any OBC that you purchase to "pre-load" to your account will be refunded (if not spent on board) at the end of the cruise.

 

Edit: I do know about the casino workaround for refund but as I mentioned, that isn't necessary on other lines.

[vamartha]

I would say just horde the cash somewhere at home or put into a savings account until you leave, rather than putting it into cruise cash or gift cards.

 

If something happens unexpectedly (you have to cancel your cruise etc) you will be left with a bunch of gift cards that won't have use until you book your next cruise, or $ tied up in non refundable cruise cash.

 

At least if it's cash or in a savings account, you still have liquid assets....so if your refrigerator dies or whatever may happen (Murphy's law) you are not stressing about where to come up with that money

 

I have cancelled a cruise, with Cruise Cash. It is immediately refunded to the card with which it was purchased. I am talking, same day, almost instantly after cancellation. Same for cakes purchased, gifts purchased, etc. We had it all and had to cancel one week out due to family medical emergency. Every single item was immediately refunded. Cruise Cash, Cruise Bar and Cruise Photo and every single pre-purchased gift.

[patrice1]

Nothing to do with cards, but...

 

We pre-pay for everything ahead of time. Just paid for:

 

• tips
  
• massage
  
• cheers
  
• in-room liquor
  

We haven't booked any excursions, but we would pre-pay them if we did. And then we put and extra $50 on our S&S when we board to cover anything else. We don't buy photos, but you can buy them ahead with Cruise Cash, too.

 

 

We bring cash for the casino, extra tips, and pre-cruise stay near the port.

 

 

We used to pre-load our S&S, but they stopped letting us do that. We are so old we used to buy Funship dollars ahead of time to pay our entire S&S before we cruised, but they did away with that, too. As I may have indicated, we're old and have cruised for awhile!

[Taylorcast]

I have cancelled a cruise, with Cruise Cash. It is immediately refunded to the card with which it was purchased. I am talking, same day, almost instantly after cancellation. Same for cakes purchased, gifts purchased, etc. We had it all and had to cancel one week out due to family medical emergency. Every single item was immediately refunded. Cruise Cash, Cruise Bar and Cruise Photo and every single pre-purchased gift.

I wasn't aware...thanks for the info!

 

I guess in the case of canceling the cruise altogether, it would be alright, but as far as just saving money for on board purchases, (aside from booking excursions and spa in advance), I would prefer hanging onto the cash just in case another unexpected expense came up before my cruise.

[sparks1093]

I have cancelled a cruise, with Cruise Cash. It is immediately refunded to the card with which it was purchased. I am talking, same day, almost instantly after cancellation. Same for cakes purchased, gifts purchased, etc. We had it all and had to cancel one week out due to family medical emergency. Every single item was immediately refunded. Cruise Cash, Cruise Bar and Cruise Photo and every single pre-purchased gift.

 

Great info to have, thanks for posting!