Pay for Excursions with OBC...

[NavyCruiser]

We have generous OBC from previous cancelled cruises.

Trying to pre-book excursions for our upcoming cruise, but Carnival asked for credit card payment.

So OBC can't be used to pre-book excursions online now?

How about once onboard, charge excursion to cabin, then OBC can be used then...?

[coevan]

yes, once on board you can charge to S&S and the OBC will be deducted

[Butterbean1000]

You must be on board  to use OBC. 

[JT1962]

That is one disadvantage Carnival has over other lines. You must book on board or on the HUB app after checking in. You can usually book through the App while waiting in the terminal if you can get a WiFi signal from the ship. I would book what you were interested in as quickly as possible since many people will have lots of onboard credit from prior cancellations and will probably be doing the same thing to use the credit.

[NavyCruiser]

So OBC can pay for Gratuities once on onboard.

But can't pay for Pre-Paid Gratuities with OBC now... lol

[jperry2011]

2 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

So OBC can pay for Gratuities once on onboard.

But can't pay for Pre-Paid Gratuities with OBC now... lol

It's called OBC for a reason.

[SNJCruisers]

Carnival keeps it to the letter of the law regarding OBC.  As you know it stands for On Board Credit.  Other lines  do let you use OBC through pre-purchases, but Carnival  does not.  Gratuities, Cheers, specialty dining, and shop purchases are all other options for OBC.  Personally, third party vendors are usually  cheaper and have smaller amounts of people on each excursion.  Check out the ports of call section for specific information and recommendations from past cruisers.

[Schoifmom]

12 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

So OBC can pay for Gratuities once on onboard.

But can't pay for Pre-Paid Gratuities with OBC now... lol

 

Yes, you can use OBC to pay for gratuities once ON BOARD.  You can use OBC to pay for excursions once ON BOARD.  What you can't do is use ON BOARD credit prior to being on board (such as pre-paying gratuities or purchasing excursions) 🙂  As I understand it, some other lines allow this, but Carnival never has.  

Edited May 26, 2020 by Schoifmom

[firefly333]

10 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Personally, third party vendors are usually  cheaper and have smaller amounts of people on each excursion.  Check out the ports of call section for specific information and recommendations from past cruisers.

Idk about others but until things settle out I would book thru the cruiseline. Already there are people asking for refunds from third parties and not getting them who missed excursions due to cancellations 

 

I'm booking direct until we know we dont miss ports. Mexico has a virus outbreak, Brazil, who next. Your cruise could get rerouted. Caymans closed until sept 1st then they will reevaluate.

 

The post above has a pt about everyone having a lot of obc and booking earlier rather than lafter direct from the cruiseline. I will 

Edited May 26, 2020 by firefly333

[cellfree]

Now that the Steakhouse requires a credit card when making a reservation prior to sailing, I am assuming I need to wait until On Board to make our reservation in order to use OBC for the cost. 

[PhillyFan33579]

11 hours ago, jperry2011 said:

It's called OBC for a reason.

RCI calls it OBC, but they let you use it prior to the cruise to book excursions, purchase drink packages, etc. 

[phoneman69]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

 

Yes, you can use OBC to pay for gratuities once ON BOARD.  You can use OBC to pay for excursions once ON BOARD.  What you can't do is use ON BOARD credit prior to being on board (such as pre-paying gratuities or purchasing excursions) 🙂  As I understand it, some other lines allow this, but Carnival never has.  

So i Have to Be ON BOARD . I would love to be but i have to wait until Sept

[brymern]

what about booking things (excursion, specialty dining, etc) online with a credit card and then (once on board) rebooking with OBC and getting the original payment refunded to the credit card? will this work?

[shof515]

11 minutes ago, brymern said:

what about booking things (excursion, specialty dining, etc) online with a credit card and then (once on board) rebooking with OBC and getting the original payment refunded to the credit card? will this work?

 

it might work but be very careful with cutoff times and cancellation penalty. for shore excursions, if you cancel onboard the ship there is a penalty depending on when you cancel

[Schoifmom]

2 hours ago, phoneman69 said:

So i Have to Be ON BOARD . I would love to be but i have to wait until Sept

 

Me, too.  I feel your pain!!

[coevan]

3 hours ago, cellfree said:

Now that the Steakhouse requires a credit card when making a reservation prior to sailing, I am assuming I need to wait until On Board to make our reservation in order to use OBC for the cost. 

 

 

make reservations on board, it never sells out. we always do, as we look at the MDR menu, if we don't like it we book the Steakhouse

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, cellfree said:

Now that the Steakhouse requires a credit card when making a reservation prior to sailing, I am assuming I need to wait until On Board to make our reservation in order to use OBC for the cost. 

 

2 hours ago, brymern said:

what about booking things (excursion, specialty dining, etc) online with a credit card and then (once on board) rebooking with OBC and getting the original payment refunded to the credit card? will this work?

If you're booking the Steakhouse,  you can wait till you're on board since it rarely sells out.  If you want to go to Teppanyaki on the few ships that have it, that's another story.  The dinners always sell out because  of the limited slots and they now offer lunch on sea days.

[JT1962]

It's called OBC for a reason.

 

It makes no sense to have to wait until you board to use Onboard Credit. It is for services, meals, activities to use while onboard, but I’ve never thought of it as having to physically be onboard to make the purchase. On Royal Caribbean the app tells me I have $ xxx of Onboard Credit available and can use it for purchases months before I board.

[cellfree]

Will certainly wait to book Steakhouse until on board. I understand OBC is to be used on board, Carnival’s way, and will work within the guidelines to use our OBC. I realize there most likely will not be any lines to make a Steakhouse reservation. However the lines for booking Excursions are often “ugly” and it would be nice if that could be avoided. 

[shof515]

1 hour ago, cellfree said:

However the lines for booking Excursions are often “ugly” and it would be nice if that could be avoided. 

to avoid the lines, you can use the HUB app to book excursions when you are onboard the ship. You can also book shore excursions via the stateroom TV if the ship supports it. Depending on how popular the excursion is, there is an order form you can fill out and drop it in the mail box thingy by the shore excursion desk.

[jperry2011]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

 

It makes no sense to have to wait until you board to use Onboard Credit. It is for services, meals, activities to use while onboard, but I’ve never thought of it as having to physically be onboard to make the purchase. On Royal Caribbean the app tells me I have $ xxx of Onboard Credit available and can use it for purchases months before I board.

Onboard credit sounds exactly like what it is to me... credit used while onboard.

[Schoifmom]

1 hour ago, cellfree said:

However the lines for booking Excursions are often “ugly” and it would be nice if that could be avoided. 

 

26 minutes ago, shof515 said:

to avoid the lines, you can use the HUB app to book excursions when you are onboard the ship. You can also book shore excursions via the stateroom TV if the ship supports it. Depending on how popular the excursion is, there is an order form you can fill out and drop it in the mail box thingy by the shore excursion desk.

 

I can certainly echo the use of the HUB app to book excursions.  I once sat in the atrium watching the excursion desk lines snake all of the way around due to a port change and I had my excursion booked in a matter of less than a minute.

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, cellfree said:

However the lines for booking Excursions are often “ugly” and it would be nice if that could be avoided. 

Do your research online and know what excursions you want and have a back up in case your top choice is sold out.  Find out what time the excursion desk opens up on embarkation day and be there a few minutes ahead of time.  This way you can avoid ugly lines.

[Joe817]

4 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Do your research online and know what excursions you want and have a back up in case your top choice is sold out.  Find out what time the excursion desk opens up on embarkation day and be there a few minutes ahead of time.  This way you can avoid ugly lines.

Excellent advice SNJ! 👍

[NavyCruiser]

Sorry, been confused with using OBC on Royal Carrib to pre-book excursions & activities, since they always have fake sales prices 15 - 40% off, depends on demand, compared to onboard prices.  So we always pre-book & reserved with OBC for 2 main reasons:  1. lower prices now, compared to once OnBoard & 2.  Make sure our limited space activities, like scuba diving excursions, aren't filled up.