I am confused. Can you use cruise next OBC for service charges still?

[Married90]

I am reading through the threads on cruise next certificates and am now very confused.   In the past I always bought 2 cruise next certificates on board and got the $250 OBC then turned around and used it towards the service charges.   Can that still be done?   I don’t spend much on board since I typically prebook  excursions and already have beverage package and dining package….  Help….

[julig22]

20 minutes ago, Married90 said:

I am reading through the threads on cruise next certificates and am now very confused.   In the past I always bought 2 cruise next certificates on board and got the $250 OBC then turned around and used it towards the service charges.   Can that still be done?   I don’t spend much on board since I typically prebook  excursions and already have beverage package and dining package….  Help….

I can't answer for sure - a simple solution is to just ask them to reverse the obc when you buy the certificates and just pay for the dsc.  That's what I did on my most recent cruise when I had no need for obc.

[Married90]

1 minute ago, julig22 said:

I can't answer for sure - a simple solution is to just ask them to reverse the obc when you buy the certificates and just pay for the dsc.  That's what I did on my most recent cruise when I had no need for obc.

What do you mean by reverse the OBC?   Did you get the money back on you CC?  I thought the OBC was non refundable.

[Russiamomm]

The OBC is non-refundable and cannot be used toward the cost of the CruiseNexts or service charges.  
 

julig - I’m really surprised they allowed you to do that.

[julig22]

41 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

The OBC is non-refundable and cannot be used toward the cost of the CruiseNexts or service charges.  
 

julig - I’m really surprised they allowed you to do that.

I was a little surprised but when I told the guy I wasn't interested in OBC, he offered.  Also offered to sell an odd amount (I still had 1, he offered to sell me 3 so I'd have doubles if that promo comes back soon).  I remember that in the past they sometimes did allow you to use OBC to buy more certificates - so you could buy 2 and get obc or buy 2 and get 2 free.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, Married90 said:

What do you mean by reverse the OBC?   Did you get the money back on you CC?  I thought the OBC was non refundable.

Well, on the invoice, it lists non-refundable OBC but  it was used against my balance for the certificates I bought.  So $750 for 3 certificates, $375 NF OBC, net total charge to my account $375 - verified at the time of purchase.  But my other OBC was not applied.  So I don't know, since others are saying it can't be used...

[All-ready2cruise]

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Well, on the invoice, it lists non-refundable OBC but  it was used against my balance for the certificates I bought.  So $750 for 3 certificates, $375 NF OBC, net total charge to my account $375 - verified at the time of purchase.  But my other OBC was not applied.  So I don't know, since others are saying it can't be used...

To me, this has always been the way the cruise next certificates worked.  I paid $250 ea. for 4 certs. = $1000 then received 500 OBC to reduce the charge to $500. When I used the cnc on a booking I rec'd $250 x 2 as a deposit on the booking to reduce the cost of the cruise by $500. 

 

"PAID by CRUISENEXT Coupon for XXXX on 2-Oct-2020 250.00
PAID by CRUISENEXT Coupon for XXXX on 2-Oct-2020 250.00"

 

 

[MeHeartCruising]

When I last purchased the CruiseNext certificates in February 2020, the agent also did the gyration to just sell me the certificates at what the net cost would be since I didn't need OBC.  He explained it would show up as 2 transactions on my bill, but the end result was that I paid $250 for 2 certificates.  Which is the same as if I had paid $500 for them and was given $250 in OBC.  Except I didn't have to spend the OBC.  It sounds like they can still do this, if they want to.

[julig22]

39 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

To me, this has always been the way the cruise next certificates worked.  I paid $250 ea. for 4 certs. = $1000 then received 500 OBC to reduce the charge to $500. When I used the cnc on a booking I rec'd $250 x 2 as a deposit on the booking to reduce the cost of the cruise by $500. 

 

"PAID by CRUISENEXT Coupon for XXXX on 2-Oct-2020 250.00
PAID by CRUISENEXT Coupon for XXXX on 2-Oct-2020 250.00"

 

 

We are talking about the OBC you get when you buy the certificates.  Some people are reporting that if they don't spend the OBC during the cruise they lose the "free money" - which means that the OBC is not applied to the purchase of certificates.  The certificates are always worth $250.

[ziggyuk]

You are no longer allowed to use non-refundable credit to pay for Cruise Next.

If the OBC from a Cruise Next is non refundable, it makes sense if it can't be used to pay for them. 

 

I don't know this to be the case as I cancelled my order last week when I discovered I could not use my non refundable shareholder OBC to pay for them.

Before covid I would use shareholder OBC & Cruise Next OBC to cover the full cost of them.

 

If people are reporting loosing the OBC if not spent it, that points to the non refundable credit being treated the same way as the shareholder OBC under the new rules..... non refundable and not to be used for Cruise Next.

Edited October 30, 2021 by ziggyuk

[MeHeartCruising]

The terms and conditions currently clearly indicate the CruiseNext OBC will be categorized as non-refundable.  See the first sentence on the page link below.  I'm not sure if or when they changed this.  It would seem that any expense on the ship that has been categorized as not permitted to be paid by non-refundable OBC would not be offset by this OBC.

 

CruiseNext Terms and Conditions (ncl.com)

 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

9 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

When I last purchased the CruiseNext certificates in February 2020, the agent also did the gyration to just sell me the certificates at what the net cost would be since I didn't need OBC.  He explained it would show up as 2 transactions on my bill, but the end result was that I paid $250 for 2 certificates.  Which is the same as if I had paid $500 for them and was given $250 in OBC.  Except I didn't have to spend the OBC.  It sounds like they can still do this, if they want to.

So, it sounds like the T&Cs for CNCs have changed since we've both purchased ( for me - Oct. 2019) & used our Cruise Next Certificates.  Maybe the Cruise First Certs are a better buy now, right?  

Unlikely that, if this is correct (no, not disputing any recent info for CNCs) the value will be the same going forward, especially as a solo cruiser. Sad, however, I understand the dilemma for NCL trying to re-up it's balance sheet. 

[MoCruiseFan]

12 hours ago, Married90 said:

I am reading through the threads on cruise next certificates and am now very confused.   In the past I always bought 2 cruise next certificates on board and got the $250 OBC then turned around and used it towards the service charges.   Can that still be done?   I don’t spend much on board since I typically prebook  excursions and already have beverage package and dining package….  Help….

 

 

It will be automatically used to partially offset the price of the certificates.

[All-ready2cruise]

8 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

It will be automatically used to partially offset the price of the certificates.

I truly hope you are correct. 

[MoCruiseFan]

2 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

I truly hope you are correct. 

I 100% am.    On your portfolio you will see two CN charges for the face value of the CN you bought (normally $250 each) immeiately followed by the credit of he value of one of them.  You are basically getting a buy one get one free deal.

 

[julig22]

47 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

I 100% am.    On your portfolio you will see two CN charges for the face value of the CN you bought (normally $250 each) immeiately followed by the credit of he value of one of them.  You are basically getting a buy one get one free deal.

 

Not what others are reporting - there are several posts about this on various threads.  I was able to get my credits returned on my recent cruise but I asked before I bought - not sure that it's standard protocol anymore.  And it you don't check, you could walk away, leaving OBC behind.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

First of all, thank you to all for sharing your (wildly varying) experiences with this.  I'm the first guy in line to save a few bucks, but this stuff is giving me a headache.  I'll admit that I've always shunned the opportunity to take advantage of these.  Either on the phone with my PCC (when I used to answer his calls) or on the ship.  It all sounds like Itchy and Scratchy bucks that may wind up worthless (and certainly non-refundable if stuff happens).  We read of folks here who will spend quadruple the price of an inside for the Haven (or more) without blinking an eye, but then we read about folks (sometimes the same?) that will wrestle with fine print and reps to try to squeeze a couple hundred bucks out of these novelties.  Am I just missing it or can I continue to ignore it without waking up and feeling stupid in the future?

[roger001]

On our last cruise, one week before it shut down, I left $68 in non refundable OBC behind.  On my previous cruises I had been able to leave tips to butler, etc on their accounts from my OBC, including non refundable.  The rule changes sometime before that last cruise.  Non refundable is really pretty much limited to purchases made through NCL stores or offers now.  I would have bought junk merchandise I didn't need to use it up last day had I know.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, roger001 said:

On our last cruise, one week before it shut down, I left $68 in non refundable OBC behind.  On my previous cruises I had been able to leave tips to butler, etc on their accounts from my OBC, including non refundable.  The rule changes sometime before that last cruise.  Non refundable is really pretty much limited to purchases made through NCL stores or offers now.  I would have bought junk merchandise I didn't need to use it up last day had I know.  

Do they use up the non-refundable OBC before any refundable OBC? I believe this is what is done by the various cruise lines owned by the Carnival Corportation.

[roger001]

26 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Do they use up the non-refundable OBC before any refundable OBC? I believe this is what is done by the various cruise lines owned by the Carnival Corportation.

They must have.  Otherwise I would have had some of it left.  It went quickly for the DSC I believe.  

[All-ready2cruise]

Non-refundable OBC can not be used to cover DSC. 

[MoCruiseFan]

It is more likely that the "others" have difficulty reading their on board account.  The OBC (credit) for buying CN in multiple of two is automatically applied to your account thus giving you the "buy one get one free" offer the the CN teams uses to upsell.

[worktocruise610]

Recently bought 2 on my cruise last month. @MoCruiseFan is correct - it is basically buy one, get one free. The "OBC" they say they're giving you is actually taking off the price of one certificate. For example, if you had a zero balance on your account and bought 2 certificates, you would see 2 charges for $250 per cert. then a credit of $250 for 1 cert. leaving a balance of $250 you owe. 

[MoCruiseFan]

On 10/30/2021 at 12:11 PM, julig22 said:

We are talking about the OBC you get when you buy the certificates.  Some people are reporting that if they don't spend the OBC during the cruise they lose the "free money" - which means that the OBC is not applied to the purchase of certificates.  The certificates are always worth $250.

You do not need to "spend" it.  It is applied to the cost of the certificates.  There is noting to "lose".

[Russiamomm]

13 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

You do not need to "spend" it.  It is applied to the cost of the certificates.  There is noting to "lose".

This is not true.  I got off the Breakaway a week ago.  I lost $193 in OBC because I didn’t know the rules had changed.  They have .  The OBC you get for CNs cannot be used to offset the cost of the certificates or the DSC.  I’m currently in a tiff with NCL on the issue but they are not budging.  The rules have changed.