Can the OBC be used for the casino or gratuities?

[cdm289]

My TA was told by Carnival that the $600 cannot be used for gratuities or the casino.  Has anyone had experience using an OBC for either? 

 

We also have a $50 OBC for booking and then a $100 OBC for being shareholders.  Do different type of OBCs have different restrictions?

[rufflesmom]

Some OBC do have some restrictions.  The OBC for booking and being shareholders can be used for anything.  I have had both in the past with no restrictions.  Also OBC for price reductions do not have restrictions.  Don't know about any other OBC.

 

[BroadwayGirl]

Assuming you’re talking about the 600 obc for the cancelled cruises. Will be interested in knowing if this is true that it can’t be used fir gratuities as well be in the same boat most likely after Monday

[bury me at sea]

It certainly cannot be used to prepay gratuities. 

 

If you don't prepay gratuities they will be added to your S&S account and the OBC will be applied.

 

As far as I know there are no restrictions as to what it can be used for on board other than for booking a new cruise.

[UGACamper]

I think the key is that you can't prepay gratuities.  The OBC can be applied to your final bill, which would include gratuities at that point. 

[glrounds]

I had a $250 OBC for my 25% of 25th cruise, a $50 OBC for early booking and $45 OBC for something else (still don't know what that was) and I used it for all my onboard expenses that included gratuities. As a matter of fact, I couldn't spend enough (not a big drinker) and had to put dollars into my casino account and then draw out in cash to get all of my OBC. No problem. Did my 25th cruise with NO ONBOARD charges to my credit card ! Happy camper. 🙂

 

[xDisconnections]

8 hours ago, rufflesmom said:

Some OBC do have some restrictions.  The OBC for booking and being shareholders can be used for anything.  I have had both in the past with no restrictions.  Also OBC for price reductions do not have restrictions.  Don't know about any other OBC.

 

That’s not entirely accurate.

 

Based on the terms and conditions of the Shareholder Benefit, the onboard credit cannot be used towards casino charges or gratuities posted to your shipboard account. In fact, it actually states “This benefit is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and, cannot be used for casino credits/charges and gratuities charged to your onboard account.“ Most promotions have this same exclusion.

 

With that said, it is currently not implemented to be used in the way it was designed. The onboard credit is generally able to be used towards any charges posted to your folio as it operates under a credit system. It currently is only set up to use non-refundable onboard credit first and is not able to decipher which purchases can go against certain types of onboard credit. This is the same on other brands as well, including Princess. The only type of credit that can decipher the purchases to my knowledge is Cruise Cash (open) vs Cruise Cash Bar on Carnival Cruise Line.

 

This can be changed at any time with or without notice to follow the rules of the benefit you agreed to. More details can be found here:  

Edited March 28, 2020 by xDisconnections