OBC

[I want to cruise]

Can OBC be used to purchase a bottle of wine and for the corkage fee at dining table? If I tell the waiter we are celebrating a birthday what does NCL do? We are using NCL bus from airport to cruise terminal, after handing over our luggage to NCL bus do we see next when it gets delivered to our stateroom? Thanks for any responses:)

[shof515]

yes you can use the obc for the corkage fee

the waiter will sing happy birthday 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Anything charged to your room is removed from the OBC before your card is charged.

[Birdie And Sue]

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

Anything charged to your room is removed from the OBC before your card is charged.

 

 

Not exactly.  All depends on what kind of charge and if the OBC id refundable or not.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Enplane. What charge would not be removed from your OBC? Any receipt you signed is put against your on board account.  No OBC is refundable. It is a credit to your on board account. Not your money to get back. The only way it would be refundable is if you put cash on to your account to pay for any charges. Any overage is your money and refunded.

[shof515]

10 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Enplane. What charge would not be removed from your OBC? Any receipt you signed is put against your on board account.  No OBC is refundable. It is a credit to your on board account. Not your money to get back. The only way it would be refundable is if you put cash on to your account to pay for any charges. Any overage is your money and refunded.

They are two types of OBC: refundable and non refundable. 

non refundable OBC is the promotional on board credit you get as a booking perk, shareholder benefits, etc

refundable OBC is where a travel agent can gift you can on board credit

 

The daily service charge is one type of charge that you can not use non refundable OBC

 

When you make a purchase on the ship, it is suppose up the non refundable OBC first, then refundable OBC. 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Daily service charge. Are you saying gratuities?  You will not get any refunds on unused OBC. Given by the cruise line or your booking agent. I have NEVER had any charges put on my charge card till all the OBC is used up. No matter how I received them.

[Birdie And Sue]

28 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Daily service charge. Are you saying gratuities?  You will not get any refunds on unused OBC. Given by the cruise line or your booking agent. I have NEVER had any charges put on my charge card till all the OBC is used up. No matter how I received them.

 

 

Do you REALLY want to open that can of worms as far as DSC/gratuities.  You WILL get a refund for any unused refundable OBC.  Its not alone how you received the OBC, it is what you charge to your account as well.  Refundabel OBC can be used for darn near anything.  Nonrefundable cannot be used for DSC (it can be used for tips though).  It is hit and miss as to whether casino charges can be offset by non-refundable OBC, the rule is no but some have reported having it used for that.  The highlighted part of your post is completely false.

[Birdie And Sue]

37 minutes ago, shof515 said:

They are two types of OBC: refundable and non refundable. 

non refundable OBC is the promotional on board credit you get as a booking perk, shareholder benefits, etc

refundable OBC is where a travel agent can gift you can on board credit

 

The daily service charge is one type of charge that you can not use non refundable OBC

 

When you make a purchase on the ship, it is suppose up the non refundable OBC first, then refundable OBC. 

 

 

 

Actually TA OBC can be either.  It depends on how they get it to pass it along to you.

You are right about how OBC is applied.  The passenger has no control over which specif purchase teh OBC is applied to though.  Dailly all charges are posted to your account.  If you have any OBC it will be sued to offset those charges.  First all charges that can be offset by non-refundable are applied and are offset by said OBC.  Then charges are run against any refundable OBC.  After that any remaining balance charge gets posted directly to your account.

 

[jamminlion]

If your refundable OBC is not all used, it it refunded to the ORIGINAL FORM OF PAYMENT. So if OBC is from your TA, it goes back to them, not to you. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Looks like I am corrected. However. I have never received any refund of any obc we did not use. We almost always get both. 99% of the time my cruise consultant gives it to me from the company or from her direct. Guess my problem is. I only had a positive balance once out of 70 cruises.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

So I guess i was a little correct. not your money.

[MeHeartCruising]

4 hours ago, I want to cruise said:

Can OBC be used to purchase a bottle of wine and for the corkage fee at dining table? If I tell the waiter we are celebrating a birthday what does NCL do? We are using NCL bus from airport to cruise terminal, after handing over our luggage to NCL bus do we see next when it gets delivered to our stateroom? Thanks for any responses:)

 

Several people have replied, but I wanted to make sure you know this...   Yes, you can purchase a bottle of wine with your OBC (regardless of it being refundable or non-refundable OBC).   There will NOT be a corkage fee if you wish to drink this wine at the dining room.  You are free to drink it anywhere on the ship once it is purchased.   The corkage fee is only charged if you bring your own wine on board the ship when you board.  And if you do bring your own wine and pay the corkage fee, you are still free to drink the wine anywhere on the ship including the dining rooms and restaurants.  Corkage fees, if needed, can also be paid with your OBC.

[I want to cruise]

Can anyone comment on the NCL bus from airport to ship? when we give our luggage to NCL bus do we not see it again till its in our cabin?

[Birdie And Sue]

10 minutes ago, I want to cruise said:

Can anyone comment on the NCL bus from airport to ship? when we give our luggage to NCL bus do we not see it again till its in our cabin?

 

Correct

[I want to cruise]

Thanks for the quick response.

[michelle-nh]

5 hours ago, jamminlion said:

If your refundable OBC is not all used, it it refunded to the ORIGINAL FORM OF PAYMENT. So if OBC is from your TA, it goes back to them, not to you. 

Not in my experience. We had $200 in OBC from our travel agent that we didn’t spend and NCL gave it all back to us in cash at the end of the cruise (recently...last month).

[bonvoyagie]

OP - Anything you purchase on the ship will be charged to your account - corkage fees, bottles of wine etc.

Special occasions need to be arranged for a little bit in advance - we have celebrated two anniversaries  on NCL ships - each time we were presented with a small layer cake and sang to at dinner. The first time we cruised our TA let them know - the second time we were at a suite cocktail party and had to leave to make our dinner reservation - we were chatting with the housekeeping manager and he asked why we had to leave - we told him the truth and he made sure that we were caked and serenaded at our dinner - he also arranged for our cabin to be decorated and a second bottle of sparkling wine.

 

Yes when you use the NCL Transfer you will meet the NCL rep somewhere in the baggage pickup area in the airport. Your luggage will travel with you on the bus and be handled by the crew at the ship and you will see it in your cabin later that night.

Make sure you keep your carry on bag with anything you will need for the first evening - including any meds etc.

 

As far as your onboard account - your promotional OBC will be on the account at the end of the first day - Promotional OBC is not refundable and what is not used will be forfeited. There is a second form of OBC and that is the kind that is purchased either as a gift from your TA or some people purchase it so they don't have to worry about a large CC bill - this OBC is refundable and you will usually get a check in the mail a few weeks after the cruise. These two OBCs are separate and unequal - however most charges will be covered by the non refundable type - beer, wine, beverage tips, things bought in the ship's store etc. The only thing that this type of OBC cannot be used for is the DSC- the daily service charge - that will have to come out of either your refundable OBC or your CC. NCL will make every attempt to use your non refundable OBC first. You can also pre-pay your DSC so it will be a non-issue onboard.

 

Also try to join your roll call and attend the M&G you will meet some of the greatest people from here on CC and some of the officers from the ship - they usually have their business cards - or a list of their contact information - they really do want to insure that you have an awesome vacation and would rather get the chance to make thing right while you are on the ship rather than reading a negative review here on CC. I also make a point to tell them when things are going great !!

[herdingdogmom]

12 hours ago, I want to cruise said:

Can OBC be used to purchase a bottle of wine and for the corkage fee at dining table? If I tell the waiter we are celebrating a birthday what does NCL do? We are using NCL bus from airport to cruise terminal, after handing over our luggage to NCL bus do we see next when it gets delivered to our stateroom? Thanks for any responses:)

I may be reading between the lines here, but bottle(s) of wine in your “checked” cruise luggage either via the shuttle or porters at the port will be tagged and held for you to pay the $15 per bottle fee via your onboard account.

Edited May 10, 2019 by herdingdogmom

[newmexicoNita]

7 hours ago, michelle-nh said:

Not in my experience. We had $200 in OBC from our travel agent that we didn’t spend and NCL gave it all back to us in cash at the end of the cruise (recently...last month).

that is a refundable OBC. Your  'TA paid for it, so it didn't don't cost  NCL anything. Most OBC seem to be offered for whatever reason through the cruise line. These are the ones that have no cash value. So, it is clear, the OP can use it for a bottle of wine. I know this gets confusing , or at least it used to get confusing for me. I now understand it, I think!!!