On board spend

[Trevp]

Ok so this may be a self answering question. On our last cruise with Celebrity we spent our on board credit by booking some excursions with our on board dollars. My question is, can you only spend on board dollars onboard ? I want to use the dollars again for excursions but would like to book them now before they sell out rather that waiting till I board in June. I tried to book on the Celebrity app but it wanted to bill me rather than take it from the on board credit. So I have to wait until I walk onboard ?

[woldridge]

I am not sure how it works on the app, but if you go to your cruise on the Celebrity website under "plan my cruise" it will tell you how much OBC you have. Select your tour(s). When you check out it will ask if you want to pay using all OBC or a portion or none at all.

[ldubs]

I asked Mrs Ldubs about this.  She says she has used OBC for excursions both logging on to the cruise site and while on-board.  She doest' remember the cruise line.  Probably RCI.    

[Host Kat]

7 hours ago, Trevp said:

Ok so this may be a self answering question. On our last cruise with Celebrity we spent our on board credit by booking some excursions with our on board dollars. My question is, can you only spend on board dollars onboard ? I want to use the dollars again for excursions but would like to book them now before they sell out rather that waiting till I board in June. I tried to book on the Celebrity app but it wanted to bill me rather than take it from the on board credit. So I have to wait until I walk onboard ?

 

Howdy @Trevp 

 

Your thread has been moved to a more correct forum where it will be on topic. I hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[long time lurker]

Whether your onboard credit is available prior to sailing depends on the source of the OBC.  If it is from Celebrity it is available in your cruise planner.   If it is from your TA or another source, such as VISA points, you may not see it available until you board.

[LGW59]

8 hours ago, Trevp said:

Ok so this may be a self answering question. On our last cruise with Celebrity we spent our on board credit by booking some excursions with our on board dollars. My question is, can you only spend on board dollars onboard ? I want to use the dollars again for excursions but would like to book them now before they sell out rather that waiting till I board in June. I tried to book on the Celebrity app but it wanted to bill me rather than take it from the on board credit. So I have to wait until I walk onboard ?

If from Celebrity is is already in your planner and you can spend for on-board stuff or excursions and you can do in advance via the planner.  From a TA you won't see it until you board

[Trevp]

23 minutes ago, long time lurker said:

Whether your onboard credit is available prior to sailing depends on the source of the OBC.  If it is from Celebrity it is available in your cruise planner.   If it is from your TA or another source, such as VISA points, you may not see it available until you board.

I didn’t get it with the original booking. I saw Celebrity were offering OBC, upgrade to premium drink package and Wi-Fi after I booked. I called them to see if I could get the offer and they said yes but has to be done thru my TA. I called them and they got it added for me but I can’t see it on my account on the app. 

[Trevp]

22 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

If from Celebrity is is already in your planner and you can spend for on-board stuff or excursions and you can do in advance via the planner.  From a TA you won't see it until you board

Ah, think that answers it. I got it thru my TA after seeing Celebrity offering it and Premium drinks in a sale. So that’s why it’s not showing on my app account. So I can’t spend it till I’m onboard. Thanks. 

[garyl62]

To clarify, if Celebrity is funding the OBC you should be able to spend it before boarding, if your TA is providing you with some OBC that they are funding it won't show up before.  When you called Celebrity about the new offer they had, you were told to call your TA since you had booked through one.  It sounds like the offer was on Celebrity's part, not your TA so I'd say you should be able to use it now.  Try going online through the website into your reservation and go to "Manage Reservation" to book shore excursions, it should show up there.  I've found the app doesn't always work as well for things like this, 

[LGW59]

7 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

To clarify, if Celebrity is funding the OBC you should be able to spend it before boarding, if your TA is providing you with some OBC that they are funding it won't show up before.  When you called Celebrity about the new offer they had, you were told to call your TA since you had booked through one.  It sounds like the offer was on Celebrity's part, not your TA so I'd say you should be able to use it now.  Try going online through the website into your reservation and go to "Manage Reservation" to book shore excursions, it should show up there.  I've found the app doesn't always work as well for things like this, 

Very good point.  For me, my Planner will open on my iPhone but can do virtually nothing via it, I have to use my laptop then I have full access to my CP and can make both on-board and excursion reservations.

[81Zoomie]

On our last cruise some odd accounting happened.  We tracked our spending daily and it showed as a single account. However, on the final bill emailed once we got home, Celebrity allocated all the nonrefundable OBC to me and the refundable OBC to my DH.  This resulted in charges being categorized by who presented their card at time of purchase.  Much to our surprise, we had some nonrefundable OBC remaining because of this.

[Trevp]

I messaged my TA today as I can’t see my obc on anything so he went and checked. He told me it’s on my account but I won’t be able to spend it until I board in June. Just hope I can still get on one lol !!  Thanks everyone for your reply’s. 

[PKoo]

Hi. I am writing regarding your post about staying in cabin 1018 on the Summit a few years ago. I couldn't reply to that post but wondering if you ended up staying in that room and what the verdict was. I'm concerned about the hallway noise, particularly the elevators dinging and general talking etc. I'm dreading it. Thanks!

[cruisestitch]

I generally stay close to elevators and never on any Celebrity ship have I never heard their chime

[deliver42]

Celebrity will allow you to use OBC on line if it's theirs, but not if it's from a TA.

[rcrabb1513]

I can't speak for Celebrity but on Royal I called the Visa Rewards support number (888-305-4626) and asked where my Visa Rewards OBC was?  They verified my reward redemption and told me it would show up on my booking 2 weeks prior to departure.  I asked if it could be made available today (4 months before departure) and they said yes.  Also, while I have the Royal Caribbean branded Visa card the accumulated reward points are good for Celebrity too since both are under the same corporate ownership.   

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 4/16/2022 at 7:10 AM, Trevp said:

Ok so this may be a self answering question. On our last cruise with Celebrity we spent our on board credit by booking some excursions with our on board dollars. My question is, can you only spend on board dollars onboard ? I want to use the dollars again for excursions but would like to book them now before they sell out rather that waiting till I board in June. I tried to book on the Celebrity app but it wanted to bill me rather than take it from the on board credit. So I have to wait until I walk onboard ?

Yes you can do it either using the app or the web.  

 

On the app when you get to the final payment window you have the option of charging to CC or further down the page it will show how much remaining OBC you have available.   Just type the amount y want to use in the "Enter Amount to Redeem" Box and then hit enter.

[billc23]

18 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes you can do it either using the app or the web.  

 

On the app when you get to the final payment window you have the option of charging to CC or further down the page it will show how much remaining OBC you have available.   Just type the amount y want to use in the "Enter Amount to Redeem" Box and then hit enter.

Totally correct and I want to emphasize to be sure to scroll down to put in the amount of OBC to use. It is often not visible on a laptop size screen so you need to scroll down as Jim says. On the ship charges first are taken from your NR OBC but pre cruise the default is the credit card you have on file.

Easy to miss.