A question regarding any remaining On Board Credit at the end of a cruise

[russianrex]

Please forgive my ignorance if this seems like a silly question. It's just that we received contradictory advice after speaking with 2 different Seabourn representatives via telephone.

 

We will be taking our first ever Seabourn cruise to Antarctica later this year. After reading various forums, we were wishing to pre-book a kayak excursion whilst in Antarctic waters. However, many people have warned us that a large percentage of these trips are cancelled by the cruise line due to inclement weather conditions. For this reason we were contemplating booking more than one excursion in the hope of increasing our chances of success.

 

My question is: If the cruiseline cancels the excursion, we were told the amount will be credited to our on board account. As we we then only have 1 or 2 ports before we disembark, we may end up with a substantial OBC and nowhere to spend it.

 

Will Seabourn refund this OBC amount back to our credit card? (One operator said yes, the other said no!) Or does it need to be used prior to the end of the cruise?

 

Thanks.

 

P.S I understand that "included" OBC is forfeited if not used at the end of the cruise. I am just interested in OBC from refunded /cancelled excursions.

[sfvoyage]

P.S I understand that "included" OBC is forfeited if not used at the end of the cruise. I am just interested in OBC from refunded /cancelled excursions.

 

It doesn't matter what the refund was from (e.g. excursions, spa treatment, etc.); it only matters if the remaining OBC is redeemable or not. All redeemable OBC can be cashed out (i.e. credited back to your credit card, or cash refund). All non-redeemable OBC is forfeited at the end of the cruise.

 

For example, if you have $400 in non-redeemable OBC and $300 in redeemable OBC, for a total of $700. If you have only spent $500 on board and thus have $200 remaining balance at the end of your cruise, you can get it all back in cash or credit card refund. If, however, you have only spent $200 on board and thus have a $500 remaining balance, you will only get $300 back and forfeit the other $200.

[russianrex]

It doesn't matter what the refund was from (e.g. excursions, spa treatment, etc.); it only matters if the remaining OBC is redeemable or not. All redeemable OBC can be cashed out (i.e. credited back to your credit card, or cash refund). All non-redeemable OBC is forfeited at the end of the cruise.

 

How do I know what is "redeemable"?

[frantic36]

I have had excursions cancelled on me whilst onboard due to insufficient numbers or poor weather conditions. It goes into your OBC account but it is refundable credit. They always use nonrefundable credit first before using refundable. Therefore if there is any refundable credit remaining it is paid back into your credit card account that you have registered.

 

If you choose not to do an excursion when you receive the tour tickets they will tell you how long you need to cancel prior to the excursion in order for it to be refundable. This is just if you cancel because you have changed your mind.

 

I know this payment back to the card happens after the cruise but I can't remember how long it takes. I don't think it was that long after.

 

I hope this helps.

Julie

[sfvoyage]

How do I know what is "redeemable"?

 

You can search on this term and get your answer, as this topic has been discussed at length on this board.

 

Essentially, anything funded directly or indirectly via Seabourn is non-redeemable. Anything funded by a 3rd party (e.g. your TA, family and friends) is redeemable.