stockholder OBC not good for Cruise Next purchase

[SeaShark]

Of course we need to recognize that this is an oft-visited topic on these boards...

 

--Cruiser finds a way to game the system

--Cruiser brags about getting over on the cruise line

--Other cruisers copy the method to game the system

--Other cruisers brag about getting over on the cruise line

--All of the bragging gets the attention of the cruise line

--Cruise line adjusts the system to eliminate the game

--Cruisers are stunned to learn that the gravy train has stopped

--lather, rinse, repeat

[BermudaBound2014]

5 hours ago, pickle11 said:

Or just sell.  Bought NCLH at $33 and then double my purchase at $10.  As of today NCLH is $25.63.  I think I might be positive.

 

This is what the stock has done since NCL released third quarter:

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

I wasn't aware of the change, either.  In the past we often have purchased Cruise Next Deposits using OBC.  I just never bothered to check which OBC was being used.  We also sometimes would pay for a couple of shorex while on board and usually had our daily gratuities added to our on board account, so it didn't really matter.  With this change in how we can use our shareholder benefit, though, I'll be sure not to prepay the gratuities and will always try to leave one or two tours to be booked and paid for on board.  That ought to use up the shareholder benefit, and I can pay for the CNDs on my credit card.  Thanks for the heads up.

I wouldn’t have thought you can use that OBC to pay the gratuities. I don’t think you have been able to use non refundable OBC for that for a long time.

[HuliHuli]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

This is what the stock has done since NCL released third quarter:

Which is consistent with what the market has done with other cruise stocks, i.e., not unique to NCLH.

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, HuliHuli said:

Which is consistent with what the market has done with other cruise stocks, i.e., not unique to NCLH.

 

Absolutely. I did not mean to imply that NCL was doing worse than the competition, all of the big 3 have decreased since Q3 reporting.  I was responding to pickle who suggested selling as an option. We all know I'm short on all 3 :).

[The Traveling Man]

39 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

I wouldn’t have thought you can use that OBC to pay the gratuities. I don’t think you have been able to use non refundable OBC for that for a long time.

I don't know, but I don't see why you couldn't use it for gratuities.  As I said, we usually have several different types of charges to our on-board account, such as Cruise Next Deposits, shorex, gratuities, specialty coffee, surcharges for dining and beverages above the limit of our Free at Sea plans, and the occasional gift shop purchase.  These are offset by shareholder benefit OBC, money back on CND purchases, and sometimes some other form of OBC.  They get commingled, but we always have a balance to pay by credit card once all is said and done.  In 28 NCL cruises, however, we never have ended a cruise with unused OBC of any type.  That includes our two most recent cruises on the Encore in September and the Epic in October.

[BermudaBound2014]

6 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I don't know, but I don't see why you couldn't use it for gratuities. 

 

Refundable/Non-refundable OBC was always confusing to me until I read an article on the topic. It was explained like this:

 

Basically, cruise lines want you to use money they gave you for things that they make money on. Example, they gave you $250 OBC. They want you to spend that on a beverage package where they make money so the $250 is diluted. Example, they may charge $3.00 for a soda, but that soda only costs the cruise line .50 cents. The $250 the cruise line gave you does not cost the cruise line $250.  If they allowed you to use it for gratuities, the cruise line would need to match the exact funds (no profit margin).  Does that make sense? 

 

 

 

 

[pickle11]

All I am is a unhappy messenger.   Remember they changed the rules for solo cruisers who do not pay the supplement.  Another promotional  purchase.  

[julig22]

8 minutes ago, pickle11 said:

All I am is a unhappy messenger.   Remember they changed the rules for solo cruisers who do not pay the supplement.  Another promotional  purchase.  

As far as I know, there has always been a disclaimer regarding solo supplement.  Having said that, as a solo cruiser, I've always gotten the full benefit, even when not paying the supplement.  But I always book a regular stateroom, not a studio - if that makes a difference.  Paid 50% supplement, got my $100 last month.  Paid no supplement, have $100 on the books for cruise next month.  "Single" clearly on the invoice.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Refundable/Non-refundable OBC was always confusing to me until I read an article on the topic. It was explained like this:

 

Basically, cruise lines want you to use money they gave you for things that they make money on. Example, they gave you $250 OBC. They want you to spend that on a beverage package where they make money so the $250 is diluted. Example, they may charge $3.00 for a soda, but that soda only costs the cruise line .50 cents. The $250 the cruise line gave you does not cost the cruise line $250.  If they allowed you to use it for gratuities, the cruise line would need to match the exact funds (no profit margin).  Does that make sense? 

 

 

 

 

I guess the long and the short of it, then, is that I need to make sure to have beau coup things like shore excursions, dining and beverage surcharges, etc. that I can pay for with OBC rather than prepay for those things and get stuck with unused OBC.

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I guess the long and the short of it, then, is that I need to make sure to have beau coup things like shore excursions, dining and beverage surcharges, etc. that I can pay for with OBC rather than prepay for those things and get stuck with unused OBC.

 

Unfortunately, I have always had to inquire before boarding what percentage is refundable vs non-refundable (and sometimes I double check onboard). The good news is that all of the big 3 cruise lines have always taken from the non-refundable purse before touching the refundable. Post covid policies maybe different. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I hope I was able to explain it a bit so it doesn't ever happen again.

Edited November 15, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[fstuff1]

25 minutes ago, pickle11 said:

All I am is a unhappy messenger.   

Remember they changed the rules for solo cruisers who do not pay the supplement.  Another promotional  purchase.  

i got the full $100 stock obc for going solo (no solo supplement) for next weeks cruise.

i booked last month.

 

or are you talking about something else?

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by fstuff1

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Unfortunately, I have always had to inquire before boarding what percentage is refundable vs non-refundable (and sometimes I double check onboard). The good news is that all of the big 3 cruise lines have always taken from the non-refundable purse before touching the refundable. Post covid policies maybe different. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I hope I was able to explain it a bit so it doesn't ever happen again.

Thanks, but as I stated previously, in 28 NCL cruises we never have been stuck with unused OBC.  We always have had enough in shorex, dining or beverage surcharges, or gift shop purchases to use up all our available OBC.  Sorry for any confusion.

[julig22]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

Thanks, but as I stated previously, in 28 NCL cruises we never have been stuck with unused OBC.  We always have had enough in shorex, dining or beverage surcharges, or gift shop purchases to use up all our available OBC.  Sorry for any confusion.

Until they changed the rules (just before covid hit), you could book your excursions (assuming you had the $50 promo) and pay onboard - so it was very easy to use up any OBC you had.  Now if you want to use OBC to pay for an excursion, you have to wait to book onboard and hope you can get the excursion you want.

[pickle11]

4 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

i got the full $100 stock obc for going solo (no solo supplement) for next weeks cruise.

i booked last month.

 

or are you talking about something else?

 

Read the fine print. They have the right.  They have given me $50 on two occasions.  The other times I got the $100.

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, julig22 said:

Until they changed the rules (just before covid hit), you could book your excursions (assuming you had the $50 promo) and pay onboard - so it was very easy to use up any OBC you had.  Now if you want to use OBC to pay for an excursion, you have to wait to book onboard and hope you can get the excursion you want.

That's true, but with the reduced occupancy on board current sailings, it's usually not a problem finding space on a tour.  If there is an excursion that we simply can't live without, we'll book and pay in advance.  Otherwise we'll just take our chances.  There always seems to be space available on some tour or other.

[ziggyuk]

There are now three areas Non-refundable credits cant be used: Gratuities, Cruise Next & the Casino.

[billslowsky]

34 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Unfortunately, I have always had to inquire before boarding what percentage is refundable vs non-refundable (and sometimes I double check onboard). 

This.  Definitely.

 

And if I'm spending $100 or more on something, I want to see them process it for me.  That's what I meant when I said you could have asked.  Trust at your own risk, unfortunately.

[BermudaBound2014]

I just read that CCL is not offering shareholder benefits if you book one of their extremely discounted fares. Thankful I haven't read this with RCL and NCL but unfortunately they all seem to follow suit eventually. Maybe one more thing to keep an eye on.

[HuliHuli]

17 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Refundable/Non-refundable OBC was always confusing to me until I read an article on the topic. It was explained like this:

 

Basically, cruise lines want you to use money they gave you for things that they make money on. Example, they gave you $250 OBC. They want you to spend that on a beverage package where they make money so the $250 is diluted. Example, they may charge $3.00 for a soda, but that soda only costs the cruise line .50 cents. The $250 the cruise line gave you does not cost the cruise line $250.  If they allowed you to use it for gratuities, the cruise line would need to match the exact funds (no profit margin).  Does that make sense?

This is precisely what I said in Post #23.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

This is precisely what I said in Post #23.

 

I believe the tenant of both of our posts was common. However; I was attempting to offer an example in layman's terms to further contribute to a broader understanding. I hope both posts help clarify the confusion around this topic, as it's brought up here often.

Edited November 16, 2021 by BermudaBound2014