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What can u use shipboard credit for???

southernshug

By southernshug,
in Holland America Line

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crystalspin

crystalspin

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, JesseLivermore said:

Seems a bit high for the suite X # days. Seems better to  tip certain crew at the end.  Does HAL track/frown upon if you lower that and only tip certain crew ?

Crew Appreciation is $15.50pp/day for non-suites and $17pp/day for suites including Vista Suites. So Zelker actually mistyped and will be paying $34/day. If you remove or even downpay the auto-gratuities, word has it that anything you pay to individuals has to be put into the pool anyway. So if you want to thank specific crew, you have to leave the "Hotel Fees" as they used to be called, in place. Definitely tracked.

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StLouisCruisers

StLouisCruisers

Posted
Posted

A few suggestions to use up non-refundable OBC.  On Princess recently we went to the photo department where they sell Go-Pros and accessories, very nice binoculars and even cameras.  Also we like the Citizen Eco-Drive watches, but you may like others better.  You could pick up quite a few goodies for yourself and as gifts for your kids at Christmas etc.  We bought ourselves and our 2 kids Go-Pros and that ate up a lot of the OBC we had.  

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crystalspin

crystalspin

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’m sorry to disappoint you but the vista suite may disappoint if you are used to balcony rooms.  I did a 2 week cruise on the koningsdam.  The first week I had a balcony room with a large balcony .  Second week I took a very reasonable upsell to a vista aft suite.  I’ve had balconies over that after before but the vibration was crazy on this ship. The room was barely bigger and someone stole 😛 part of my balcony because it was so small.  I wouldn’t do it again. 

We are not actually used to Verandahs, having only had one once on HAL (the Zaandam in South America) and once on NCL (N.Star through PC). Neither encouraged much use as one was too cold and one too hot-n-humid! Since COVID I have only been booking balconies, but haven't gotten to sail in one yet!

 

Also we are on the mid-ship "bump" so the ride should be smooth.

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zelker

zelker

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, JesseLivermore said:

 

Seems a bit high for the suite X # days. Seems better to  tip certain crew at the end.  Does HAL track/frown upon if you lower that and only tip certain crew ?

You misunderstood what I wrote.  We always leave the standard gratuities on and tip additional to certain crew at the end.

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JesseLivermore

JesseLivermore

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Crew Appreciation is $15.50pp/day for non-suites and $17pp/day for suites including Vista Suites. So Zelker actually mistyped and will be paying $34/day. If you remove or even downpay the auto-gratuities, word has it that anything you pay to individuals has to be put into the pool anyway. So if you want to thank specific crew, you have to leave the "Hotel Fees" as they used to be called, in place. Definitely tracked.

 

good to know for my next cruise. I didn't know about the put into the pool part. I miss the envelope cash days of yore. 

 

Edited by JesseLivermore
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crystalspin

crystalspin

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

A few suggestions to use up non-refundable OBC.  On Princess recently we went to the photo department where they sell Go-Pros and accessories, very nice binoculars and even cameras.  Also we like the Citizen Eco-Drive watches, but you may like others better. 

It is the Eco-Drives that my husband likes. I would be interested in those other things you mention!

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zelker

zelker

Posted
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7 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Crew Appreciation is $15.50pp/day for non-suites and $17pp/day for suites including Vista Suites. So Zelker actually mistyped and will be paying $34/day. If you remove or even downpay the auto-gratuities, word has it that anything you pay to individuals has to be put into the pool anyway. So if you want to thank specific crew, you have to leave the "Hotel Fees" as they used to be called, in place. Definitely tracked.

Yep, my bad.  It's $34/day in a suite.  I forgot. 

 

And as I wrote above, I was only asking about adding more to certain crew members above the standard gratuities.  We have never asked for gratuities to be removed on any cruise or cruise line in the 17 years we've been cruising.

 

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JesseLivermore

JesseLivermore

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, zelker said:

Yep, my bad.  It's $34/day in a suite.  I forgot. 

 

And as I wrote above, I was only asking about adding more to certain crew members above the standard gratuities.  We have never asked for gratuities to be removed on any cruise or cruise line in the 17 years we've been cruising.

 

 

Thx for clarifying, but according to @crystalspin even those go into a pool. What if you hand the steward cash like we did. Do they have to put those into a pool ? 

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walnut99

walnut99

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, JesseLivermore said:

 

Thx for clarifying, but according to @crystalspin even those go into a pool. What if you hand the steward cash like we did. Do they have to put those into a pool ? 

If you give any cash tips to any crew member, he or she is obligated to determine if you also kept the  prepaid amount in place.  If you did, then the tip may be kept by the crew member.  If you eliminated or reduced the automatic tip amount, the crew member is obligated to add that tip to the general tip pool.  I would assume any small tip given to the bar staff or room service deliver during the cruise is exempt from this requirement. 

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richwmn "Live from...." Rare

richwmn

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, walnut99 said:

I would assume any small tip given to the bar staff or room service deliver during the cruise is exempt from this requirement. 

Bar staff is not included in the Gratuity program. They have their gratuity added to your drink price when purchased.

Edited by richwmn
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JesseLivermore

JesseLivermore

Posted
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1 hour ago, walnut99 said:

If you give any cash tips to any crew member, he or she is obligated to determine if you also kept the  prepaid amount in place.  If you did, then the tip may be kept by the crew member.  If you eliminated or reduced the automatic tip amount, the crew member is obligated to add that tip to the general tip pool.  I would assume any small tip given to the bar staff or room service deliver during the cruise is exempt from this requirement. 

 

good to know. thanks for clarifying, so I guess the lines don't want you to target the tip. I do the same with restaurant tips, prefer cash so the owner doesn't "keep" it .

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KroozNut

KroozNut

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, JesseLivermore said:

 

good to know. thanks for clarifying, so I guess the lines don't want you to target the tip. I do the same with restaurant tips, prefer cash so the owner doesn't "keep" it .

 

It's not so much that they don't want you to 'target tip', but more that they want to encourage folks not to remove the auto-gratuities, so that none of the service staff (some very much behind the scenes) are overlooked.

So, as long as you do not remove the auto-gratuities, you can tip any one individually that you want to, and they can keep the entire tip.

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sofietucker

sofietucker

Posted
Posted (edited)

Pretty much any "free" educational event in the gym or spa will be a selling opportunity for a device or a service: makeup, "facelifts," botox, tooth whitening, electronic body treatments, etc.

 

We've used OBC for $$$$ bottles of wine that we'd never buy in the real world (don't do it! Will spoil you for life, lol).

 

The next-to-last-day 50% off sales in the shops can be a deal. Have gotten limited edition designer purses, Majorican pearls at a better price for same brand than in Palma (or their online sites), etc. But do your homework to make sure it's really a bargain--and sometimes if you stop in at slow time and chat them up, they may give you the sale price a couple days early, rather than fighting the crowds and finding your item already sold...

Edited by sofietucker
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zelker

zelker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, sofietucker said:

Have gotten limited edition designer purses ...

Ohhhhhh..... you just reminded me!  I fell in love with a Mary Frances small crossbody/phone bag with ladybugs on it on Nieuw Statendam in July but didn't buy it (and they told me they aren't allowed to discount them).  Maybe I'll get lucky and Zaandam will have it in December and I'll buy it with the insane amount of non-refundable OBC we'll have!

 

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Crew News "Live from...." Rare

Crew News

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, projecthandbag said:

Hello!  Can you use non-refundable OBC for the daily gratuity charge?  I've seen yes and I've seen no on the boards and am confused.  Thanks!

Absolutely.

 

Onboard credit is added to your account on the first day of the cruise.  As you make charges to your account, including the daily crew appreciation charge, your account balance updates. In most cases, your credit balance will become a balance owed to HAL the closer you come to the end of your cruise.

Edited by Crew News
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DaveOKC

DaveOKC

Posted
Posted (edited)

Remember that all OBC are not equal.  Some can be used anywhere, some cannot.  So you really need to be aware of the rules for your OBC and even the ship (it seems that these rules vary by ship).

Last week I had some OBC credit remaining from a casino deal and it was refunded back to my credit card ( to my surprise).

 

 

Edited by DaveOKC
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