TA gifted OBC

[JFO23]

Can I use my TA gifted OBC to pay gratuities once onboard?

[hallux]

If it comes in as refundable, yes.  If it's non-refundable, no.

[JFO23]

How is refundable obc refunded?  Is it returned to your credit card?

[vince_g]

There are 2 options. You can visit the onboard credit desk on the final evening and get cash, or a few weeks after the cruise receive a check in the mail. 

[JFO23]

Thank you for the helpful information.

[ontheweb]

Is TA gifted OBC ever non-refundable?

[Cruise Wonderland]

48 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Is TA gifted OBC ever non-refundable?

 

TA offers OBC to guests usually under the following two scenarios:

 

If TA directly pays the cost to "buy" that OBC to you, then it is refundable.

 

Sometimes TA may set up a group for all the their bookings on that cruise. NCL will offer promotional amenities, such as OBC, to these group bookings. Such OBC is non-refundable.

[RocketMan275]

5 hours ago, JFO23 said:

Can I use my TA gifted OBC to pay gratuities once onboard?

Gratuities are not booked as a lump sum but are charged to  your onboard account on a daily basis.  If there are funds in your account, then those funds are used to pay the charged.

Look at your account as if it were a checking account.  The account begins on day one and if you have any OBC then the account has a positive balance.   Remember, if you buy anything on board (bar tab, souveniers, etc) if will appear as a charge to  your account. Each day, these charges accrue to your account just as if they were a check written on the account.  At the end of the cruise, if you have a negative balance, then that will be charged to your credit card. 

 

[MeHeartCruising]

48 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Gratuities are not booked as a lump sum but are charged to  your onboard account on a daily basis.  If there are funds in your account, then those funds are used to pay the charged.

Look at your account as if it were a checking account.  The account begins on day one and if you have any OBC then the account has a positive balance.   Remember, if you buy anything on board (bar tab, souveniers, etc) if will appear as a charge to  your account. Each day, these charges accrue to your account just as if they were a check written on the account.  At the end of the cruise, if you have a negative balance, then that will be charged to your credit card. 

 

 

This is no longer true.  NCL has moved to a system where there are categories of "refundable" OBC and "non-refundable" OBC.  Gratuities (aka the Daily Service Charge) cannot be paid or offset by using non-refundable OBC.  If your OBC was given to you in the refundable category (usually from a Travel Agent or gift), then that OBC can be used to offset the cost of the daily service charge/gratuities.  

 

It is confusing and on some (all?) ships, the onboard account that you can review on your TV does not handle the 2 categories well.  You cannot really make sense of where you stand overall if you have non-refundable OBC.  But you can eventually figure it out if you understand the 2 types of OBC.  You may need to go to the service desk to get clarification for you.

 

For example, on my recent British Isles cruise on the Dawn, I was given $100 non-refundable OBC because the ship skipped 2 ports due to various reasons.  This $100 did not offset my DSC.  I was not permitted to "pretend" to use it in the casino and then cash it out.  I was allowed to use it to offset ADDITIONAL gratuities I left for the staff in specialty restaurants.  I was allowed to use it to buy crap I did not want in the stores.

Edited October 14, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

This is no longer true.  NCL has moved to a system where there are categories of "refundable" OBC and "non-refundable" OBC.  Gratuities (aka the Daily Service Charge) cannot be paid or offset by using non-refundable OBC.  If your OBC was given to you in the refundable category (usually from a Travel Agent or gift), then that OBC can be used to offset the cost of the daily service charge/gratuities.  

 

It is confusing and on some (all?) ships, the onboard account that you can review on your TV does not handle the 2 categories well.  You cannot really make sense of where you stand overall if you have non-refundable OBC.  But you can eventually figure it out if you understand the 2 types of OBC.  You may need to go to the service desk to get clarification for you.

 

For example, on my recent British Isles cruise on the Dawn, I was given $100 non-refundable OBC because the ship skipped 2 ports due to various reasons.  This $100 did not offset my DSC.  I was not permitted to "pretend" to use it in the casino and then cash it out.  I was allowed to use it to offset ADDITIONAL gratuities I left for the staff in specialty restaurants.  I was allowed to use it to buy crap I did not want in the stores.

I described the process for handling daily charges.  Non-refundable and refundable are both handled using the process I described.  Even though non-refundable may not be used for certain types of charges, the process is the same.  Since this OBC is provided by a TA, the distinction between non-refundable and refundable is unimportant. 

[MeHeartCruising]

18 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I described the process for handling daily charges.  Non-refundable and refundable are both handled using the process I described.  Even though non-refundable may not be used for certain types of charges, the process is the same.  Since this OBC is provided by a TA, the distinction between non-refundable and refundable is unimportant. 

Respectfully, your original post makes it sound like the math being done is as simple as credit and charge transactions being processed daily against a single running total balance.  If the balance due is negative at the end of the cruise, then your credit card is charged that amount. 
 

In reality, IF there is non-refundable OBC on an account, then there is not one running balance but 2 running balances being tracked.  One of those is the amount on non-refundable OBC that remains.  DSC will never be deducted from non-refundable OBC, but store purchases will.   If a passenger is not aware of this, and they do no other purchases, they will lose that OBC at the end of the cruise.  It vanishes.  And all the DSC will show as a balance due.   There have been many posts here from people who thought the DSC was being paid by their OBC and only found out on the last day of the cruise that this was not the case. 
 

I agree that if the TA’s OBC is refundable, then the point is moot.  However, as stated above, it is possible for TAs to give non-refundable OBC. 

Edited October 14, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[luv2kroooz]

Best to ask your TA. Not all TA issued OBC is refundable. We just asked our TA before booking because we knew with drinks, dining and internet, the only value the OBC had to us was if it could be used against gratuities. Not interested in overpriced shore ex, or spa treatments etc. TA was honest and told us not able to be used on gratuities. For us, it is better to find a TA that offered a monetary discount off the cruise fare. Good luck.

[julig22]

6 hours ago, vince_g said:

There are 2 options. You can visit the onboard credit desk on the final evening and get cash, or a few weeks after the cruise receive a check in the mail. 

On a recent cruise where I had a positive balance in my account they called (many times!) to have me go to guest services to get the cash. They would not refund to my card, don't know if they would have sent a check.

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Since this OBC is provided by a TA, the distinction between non-refundable and refundable is unimportant. 

That's not correct.  Imagine this scenario:

• DSC for the week is $100 (work with me here)
• TA provided $100 Non-refundable OBC
• I made no other charges to my on board account 

 

In that scenario, at the end of my cruise my credit card will be charged $100 to cover the balance due on my account.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Is TA gifted OBC ever non-refundable?

Our TA gives us nonrefundable OBC as a booking perk. When we found out we couldn’t use it to pay the daily DSC, we asked if she could either make it refundable or give it to us in a rebate check before we set sail on our 38 day B2B. She is going to send us a rebate check about 30 days before the cruise. 😁

[RocketMan275]

6 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

That's not correct.  Imagine this scenario:

• DSC for the week is $100 (work with me here)
• TA provided $100 Non-refundable OBC
• I made no other charges to my on board account 

 

In that scenario, at the end of my cruise my credit card will be charged $100 to cover the balance due on my account.

Certainly but you're assuming the TA provided non-refundable OBC.  

The only time I've encountered where the OBC from a TA is non-refundable is if the TA is passing through a cruise line offer.  In that case, it is the cruise line not the TA that is providing the OBC.

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Our TA gives us nonrefundable OBC as a booking perk. When we found out we couldn’t use it to pay the daily DSC, we asked if she could either make it refundable or give it to us in a rebate check before we set sail on our 38 day B2B. She is going to send us a rebate check about 30 days before the cruise. 😁

My TA offers refundable OBC or a rebate check as well.  The rebate check is after the cruise.  That's fine with me.  It's still money.  I much prefer a rebate (or discount) over OBC.

[PATRLR]

12 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Certainly but you're assuming the TA provided non-refundable OBC.  

The only time I've encountered where the OBC from a TA is non-refundable is if the TA is passing through a cruise line offer.  In that case, it is the cruise line not the TA that is providing the OBC.

 Many (perhpas most?) don't know and quite likely don't care where their OBC comes from.   all they know is their TA told them they would get $X in OBC.   The OP (remember the OP?  This thread should be about what the OP asked) just stated "OBC".  I'd bet an overpriced Baileys that the OP doesn't know or care where it came from.  This statement of yours is misleading at best:

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Since this OBC is provided by a TA, the distinction between non-refundable and refundable is unimportant. 

The distinction is very important, it is the point others were trying to make and you seemed to be dismissing.

Edited October 14, 2022 by PATRLR

[hallux]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Certainly but you're assuming the TA provided non-refundable OBC. 

based on some of the questions I've seen posted about OBC (there were a couple threads earlier this year), I actually thought non-refundable OBC was typical.

[vinster42]

11 hours ago, JFO23 said:

How is refundable obc refunded?  Is it returned to your credit card?

 

10 hours ago, vince_g said:

There are 2 options. You can visit the onboard credit desk on the final evening and get cash, or a few weeks after the cruise receive a check in the mail. 

We were on the Star a few weeks ago. If you had leftover refundable OBC the refunded it in cash, not on your credit card. When swiping your card off the ship, it would sound an alarm if you had remaining OBC. They pulled you out of line and the gave it to you in cash, from the guest service rep who had a desk next to security.

Edited October 14, 2022 by vinster42
spelling :)

[CaliMom05]

We have both refundable OBC (from our TA) and non-refundable OBC (from NCL stock).  To view your OBC, go to your Vacation Summary page.  On our upcoming reservation, the TA purchased the OBC so it is considered refundable OBC and it's listed on our vacation summary:

 

The non-refundable OBC is also listed on our vacation summary and is clearly labeled non-refundable:

 

Only the "refundable" OBC may be used for daily service charges.  As mentioned previously, it is a bit confusing now the way they display everything on your account onboard.  You can always go to guest services and they will figure everything out for you or keep a running tally yourself - that's what I do. 

I just tell my husband to order a lobster tail at Cagney's, add a tip for our servers at dinner, and not to worry about the tax they charge while in port on our alcoholic beverages and that will all be covered by the non-refundable OBC. 

And we found out that non-refundable OBC can not be used towards any "gaming" charges such as bingo, slot tournaments, etc.

 

[cruiseinfoseeker]

4 hours ago, CaliMom05 said:

...I just tell my husband to order a lobster tail at Cagney's, add a tip for our servers at dinner, and not to worry about the tax they charge while in port on our alcoholic beverages and that will all be covered by the non-refundable OBC. 

And we found out that non-refundable OBC can not be used towards any "gaming" charges such as bingo, slot tournaments, etc.

 

My experience in May on the Joy was that the additional tips I added to our servers at dinner were NOT covered by the non-refundable OBC. In the cases where we have an additional food upcharge that portion would hit against the non-refundable, but our gratuity still would not.

 

During the cruise the amounts were broken out (for example Cagneys would show two line items "Cagneys" but no description just the amount one line the food upcharge (s) and the other the tip amount I added). However, the final bill that was emailed to me shows the restaurant visit's entire amount as one line.

 

I spent enough in other places to cover our 400+ or so non-refundable OBC, so it didn't really matter all that much to me except for the wasted time spent early on in the cruise (before I knew I was going to spend as much as I did to make the point moot) trying to make the account on the TV understandable. On day 3 I just started my own spreadsheet to break the amounts up to determine what was and wasn't being allocated to it.

 

On my next cruise I will be traveling with a frugal that will also have their own non-refundable OBC in their cabin, enough that where it is allocated will matter. For that reason I have shot out an email to CruiseNext (I believe they deal with this type thing but if it went there in error I cc'd another general dept.) requesting (1) a definite listing of what it can and cannot be used for, and/or (2) a link to the terms and conditions on the NCL website because I cannot find anything there on this.

 

If when I get an answer I will make a post for it.