caribophile Posted October 14, 2019 #1 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Just about to make our final payment on our January cruise on the Nieuw Statendam. I've thought I'd like to purchase some on board credit as well so that I'll have pretty well payed for the entire cruise experience in advance. Wondering what will happen if I have not used it all by the last day of the cruise. What is Holland America's policy in that case? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffElizabeth Posted October 14, 2019 #2 Share Posted October 14, 2019 IIRC, you do not get a refund. But I have never finished a cruise with a credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 14, 2019 #3 Share Posted October 14, 2019 6 minutes ago, caribophile said: Just about to make our final payment on our January cruise on the Nieuw Statendam. I've thought I'd like to purchase some on board credit as well so that I'll have pretty well payed for the entire cruise experience in advance. Wondering what will happen if I have not used it all by the last day of the cruise. What is Holland America's policy in that case? If you buy your own OBC it is entirely refundable. What isn’t used will be credited back to your credit card. I do buy OBC - it and most TA’s (there can be some non refundable TA OBC in some situations) are always refundable. OBC from HAL, CCL credit is non refundable. Purchased OBC is absolutely refundable. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat04 Posted October 14, 2019 #4 Share Posted October 14, 2019 43 minutes ago, kazu said: If you buy your own OBC it is entirely refundable. What isn’t used will be credited back to your credit card. I do buy OBC - it and most TA’s (there can be some non refundable TA OBC in some situations) are always refundable. OBC from HAL, CCL credit is non refundable. Purchased OBC is absolutely refundable. We are blessed to have some of both refundable and non this upcoming cruise. Does HAL deduct the non-refundable first just in case? I would be shocked speechless if we walked off the ship without some charges but we pay for so much ahead of time and have comped gratuities plus obc this time around so who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 14, 2019 #5 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Any shipboard credit that you have bought yourself will be credited back to your credit card. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 14, 2019 #6 Share Posted October 14, 2019 9 minutes ago, fatcat04 said: We are blessed to have some of both refundable and non this upcoming cruise. Does HAL deduct the non-refundable first just in case? I would be shocked speechless if we walked off the ship without some charges but we pay for so much ahead of time and have comped gratuities plus obc this time around so who knows. Yes, HAL uses the non refundable OBC first and then the refundable 😄😉 We prepay a lot too to avoid sticker shock and exchange rate at the wrong time. We’ve always had a bill until the last cruise where somehow, I did it right. We actually got a $51 credit from unused beverage cards. Not quite perfect, but I was pleased I had it that close in my guess. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towhee Posted October 14, 2019 #7 Share Posted October 14, 2019 This year we didn't use all of our refundable OBC. On the last day I went to Passenger Services and they gave me my refund in cash; I didn't have to wait for it to appear on my credit card. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 14, 2019 #8 Share Posted October 14, 2019 20 minutes ago, towhee said: This year we didn't use all of our refundable OBC. On the last day I went to Passenger Services and they gave me my refund in cash; I didn't have to wait for it to appear on my credit card. That works too 🙂. My credit was on my card in 24 hours. It wasn’t enough money to really worry about 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenseasnomad Posted October 14, 2019 #9 Share Posted October 14, 2019 HAL's policy is more than fair as regards OBC, which they award as an incentive, and OBC, which a TA/passenger purchases. Last cruise, I ended up with $97 in HAL-awarded credit. The Front Desk notified me the second-to-last day of the cruise, so the last afternoon onboard, I went shopping and found a lovely necklace and earrings that I normally wouldn't have bought. I still didn't spend all of it, so what was left I asked to be used as additional tips. We have four times the OBC (HAL incentive again) for our upcoming Christmas/New Year's cruises. I have no idea how we'll spend all of it, but it'll be fun trying. Again, whatever is left, will go toward giving the crew extra tips. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jb008 Posted October 15, 2019 #10 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I purchased an additional $500 (5x$100) in obc right through HAL's website to try to qualify for an AmEx promo that was running last fall (spend $500 or more with World's Leading Cruise Lines and get a $100 statement credit - promo not presently active and was targeted to only some AmEx flavors). We were refunded $494 and change back to my credit card and the credit posted the day after we disembarked. In case the AmEx offer comes up again, yes the $500 obc purchase directly through HAL qualified for the $100 statement credit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 15, 2019 #11 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I had some OBC left over from the purchased OBC in April on Koningsdam. Just went down to guest services and they handed me back cash! 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribophile Posted October 16, 2019 Author #12 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Thanks so much for all the answers to my question! I learned much more about OBC than I would have even known to ask. Gotta love CC peeps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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