Mixed refundable / nonrefundable OBC

[davy jones]

I will have both the $300 nonrefundable OBC perk and OBC from a TA, which I am told is generally refundable.

 

Which will Celebrity deduct first for purchases?

[wrk2cruise]

They automatically use non refundable first.

[davekathy]

16 minutes ago, davy jones said:

I will have both the $300 nonrefundable OBC perk and OBC from a TA, which I am told is generally refundable.

 

Which will Celebrity deduct first for purchases?

Also you can keep track of all OBCs and the daily deductions from your stateroom TV under accounts. The OBCs will be broke out separately. 

Edited February 3, 2020 by davekathy

[davy jones]

Thanks 

[insley]

This past fall we had $400 from Celebrity and $350 from our big box TA whom we have used for 13 years. While we know that Celebrity’s OBC is non-refundable , the TA’s OBC has always been refundable. While on the cruise,  I brought up our account on the TV and both amounts were listed as non-refundable.  I was certain there was an error. Long story short,  after much discussion, Celebrity guest services called New Hampshire so I could talk to the TA.  The TA checked and said our OBC was in fact  non refundable. At one point the TA also said Celebrity dictates the type of OBC they provide. She also said it is “often” non refundable.  She said we had been lucky in the past. 

 

I was mainly upset because I would have more strategically planned to use the OBC had I not made the assumption about it always being refundable.  We had just booked two more cruises while on board and Celebrity had already transferred the bookings to our New Hampshire TA. When we returned home we asked that the two cruises be returned to Celebrity and took time to explore other options. We later transferred them to another TA that provides OBC in the form of a gift card upon completion of the cruise. 

 

It it all goes back to that old saying about what ASSUME really means. 

 

[Phxazzcruisers]

1 hour ago, insley said:

This past fall we had $400 from Celebrity and $350 from our big box TA whom we have used for 13 years. While we know that Celebrity’s OBC is non-refundable , the TA’s OBC has always been refundable. While on the cruise,  I brought up our account on the TV and both amounts were listed as non-refundable.  I was certain there was an error. Long story short,  after much discussion, Celebrity guest services called New Hampshire so I could talk to the TA.  The TA checked and said our OBC was in fact  non refundable. At one point the TA also said Celebrity dictates the type of OBC they provide. She also said it is “often” non refundable.  She said we had been lucky in the past. 

 

I was mainly upset because I would have more strategically planned to use the OBC had I not made the assumption about it always being refundable.  We had just booked two more cruises while on board and Celebrity had already transferred the bookings to our New Hampshire TA. When we returned home we asked that the two cruises be returned to Celebrity and took time to explore other options. We later transferred them to another TA that provides OBC in the form of a gift card upon completion of the cruise. 

 

It it all goes back to that old saying about what ASSUME really means. 

 

Your TA was telling you a "Story" Celebrity does not dictate wether their OBC would be refundable or not.  If the TA actually paid for the OBC it would be refundable, if they used a "special" from Celebrity and just passed it on to you it is Non refundable and should have been yours from Celebrity anyway.

[jelayne]

I have also had OBC from a TA that was non-refundable, it only was 2 occasions but I was told when I booked that it was non-refundable.  In both occasions I also had the $300 perk OBC from X.
Every time I read a post saying that if OBC comes from a TA it is refundable I just cringe.  I have occasionally posted that TA OBC can be non-refundable and invariably a number post saying if it is TA OBC it always refundable.

Edited February 4, 2020 by jelayne

[grandgeezer]

All I can say is, we've booked 46 cruises from online TAs and it's been refundable every single time. We never spend it and it's been credited back to our credit card every single time, usually within 3-4 days.

[Beanb41]

We don't have that issue with TAs who give us a slice of their commission. We take it upfront as a plain discount off the cruise fare. There are two principal reasons by discounting our cruise fare by the same amount it is done in our dollars. If the TA was to give us OBC the amount would be reduced by 40% because of currency differences. Besides on our upcoming B@B cruises we have $US850 and $US825 OBC on each cruise from Celebrity. I can see us having issues spending this as we have all the T shirts and nick nacks we want, have already prepaid via OBC for a couple of excursions and specialty dinners, and no I cant share it unfortunately

[Phxazzcruisers]

9 hours ago, jelayne said:

I have also had OBC from a TA that was non-refundable, it only was 2 occasions but I was told when I booked that it was non-refundable.  In both occasions I also had the $300 perk OBC from X.
Every time I read a post saying that if OBC comes from a TA it is refundable I just cringe.  I have occasionally posted that TA OBC can be non-refundable and invariably a number post saying if it is TA OBC it always refundable.

Jelayne, IF the TA actually sends Celebrity $$$ as an OBC for you it is always a refundable OBC.  If it is actually a perk from Celebrity that the TA passes to you it is non-refundable.  I have confirmed this with Celebrity and three different TA's.  Some TA;s try to pass off this perk and claim it is from them.  It is NOT.If your TA is honest, they will tell you the truth up front what kind of OBC you are getting.  

[insley]

22 hours ago, Phxazzcruisers said:

Your TA was telling you a "Story" Celebrity does not dictate wether their OBC would be refundable or not.  If the TA actually paid for the OBC it would be refundable, if they used a "special" from Celebrity and just passed it on to you it is Non refundable and should have been yours from Celebrity anyway.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would have appreciated that my TA be honest with me up front.  I probably would not have jettisoned that company had they been honest with me. They didn’t even “own up” when the customer service representative called me after the cruise to try to smooth things over.

[Luvcrusn]

The only reliable way to tell if the OBC from your TA is refundable or not is to check your account once you're on board. I've had my TA tell me numerous times I've used them for 15 years) that the OBC was non-refundable only to find that is was indeed listed as refundable on our account when I checked on board. I now count on it to be refundable, but am aware that it could always go the other way.