OBC question

[Marga.Anders]

I am in the process of booking a cruise with RC and have some agencies bidding against each other with onboard credit. 

 

Now I was under the impression I could use this in my Royal Caribbean account online to purchase a drink package for example. I did so in the past when booking with OBC directly with RC. 

 

But apparently I can't do this with the OBC from the agent. So can someone explain to me how this works? When will I get it and how can I use it? I can buy a drink package on ship but the price would be much higher. 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Marga.Anders said:

I am in the process of booking a cruise with RC and have some agencies bidding against each other with onboard credit. 

 

Now I was under the impression I could use this in my Royal Caribbean account online to purchase a drink package for example. I did so in the past when booking with OBC directly with RC. 

 

But apparently I can't do this with the OBC from the agent. So can someone explain to me how this works? When will I get it and how can I use it? I can buy a drink package on ship but the price would be much higher. 

Most OBC from travel agents will show up on the second day of you4 cruise in your on board account. 

 

You could use it to pay your gratuities on board.  It should also be refundable so if you don’t use it then it would be credited back to your credit card at the end of the cruise. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Marga.Anders]

I have never had agents bidding against each other with OBC before. Apparently I missed a good bargain last time 😞

They are saying that when there is a price drop, the OBC will also lower. Is this normal? Seems a bit unfair to me, because then the agent benefits more from the price drop than I do, right?

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, Marga.Anders said:

I have never had agents bidding against each other with OBC before. Apparently I missed a good bargain last time 😞

They are saying that when there is a price drop, the OBC will also lower. Is this normal? Seems a bit unfair to me, because then the agent benefits more from the price drop than I do, right?

The agents are giving you that OBC out of their commission.  If the price goes down they get less commission hence less OBC for you.  

 

An agent does not not benefit from a price drop except for creating goodwill with their clients. 

[Marga.Anders]

That makes sense! Thank you!

[Wine-O]

11 minutes ago, Marga.Anders said:

I have never had agents bidding against each other with OBC before. Apparently I missed a good bargain last time 😞

They are saying that when there is a price drop, the OBC will also lower. Is this normal? Seems a bit unfair to me, because then the agent benefits more from the price drop than I do, right?

There's a website you can go on and get TA's to compete for your cruise business.  Most large TA's get 15% commission from the cruise line, after taxes and port charges.  They will give you 10% of that for your business.  

 

A lot of people don't realize that the cost of the cruise includes the tax, then port charges are added in.  The TA's will deduct that tax from the cruise price and give you 10% OBC.  They don't get commission on tax/port charges.  🍷

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

They don't get commission on tax/port charges. 

As well as the non commissionable cruise fare (NCCF) which is roughly $200 per person on a 7 day cruise. 

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

As well as the non commissionable cruise fare (NCCF) which is roughly $200 per person on a 7 day cruise. 

 

Ken, are the NCCF costs related to anything "real", or does RC just pull those out from the same place as the fake percentage discounts?

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Ken, are the NCCF costs related to anything "real", or does RC just pull those out from the same place as the fake percentage discounts?

It’s a $ amount per day.  They are actually pretty standard. 

 

Does not vary with cabin category but does vary by ship.  Usually around $25 to $35 per day. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Marga.Anders]

That website is actually how I got into this 'mess'.  So confusing and also confusing to see which travel agent is reliable and good with follow-up and customer service.

[Clarea]

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It’s a $ amount per day.  They are actually pretty standard. 

 

Does not vary with cabin category but does vary by ship.  Usually around $25 to $35 per day. 

 

I had read someplace that at one time they were related to port fees.  Not governmental taxes.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

I had read someplace that at one time they were related to port fees.  Not governmental taxes.

Not really sure.  It’s just a way for Royal to reduce the commission that they pay to travel agents. 

[h20skibum]

Was surprised that our TA OBC was available as soon as we boarded for the cruise we are on now.  
 

Before, we had to wait a couple days.  

[katiel53]

4 hours ago, Marga.Anders said:

That website is actually how I got into this 'mess'.  So confusing and also confusing to see which travel agent is reliable and good with follow-up and customer service.

Wow, I sure don't consider it a "mess".  I have used that site for many years and have used different agencies and so far, have never had a problem.  I have gotten great prices when the agency(ies) have group rates as well as OBC.  

 

There are reviews of a sort on the website itself and that's how I decided to use the agencies I have used.  To me, a little time and patience has saved me a lot of money and I have gotten great service.  It's far from a "mess" for me.

[JeffT237]

We have always use a TA for cruises and go with the agency that gives us the most OBC and we compare with multiple agents.  For us it has worked out well, you do lose some control with the reservation but it has never been an issue.  In our experience the OBC from the agent can not be used until the second day of the cruise, while the OBC we've received from RC is available for use pre-cruise on the cruise planner.  And we do use the website that others have discussed and have had no issues with any of the agencies we've worked with.