Onboard credit for gratuities?

[sparlkes]

Hi everyone.  I just booked a short cruise in Feb, and got onboard credit for each of us with the Black Friday sale.   Can I use that toward gratuities?  One agent I spoke to said yes, and one said no.   I get a different answer every time I call!   

[Alakegirl]

It’s yes

[cruisestitch]

Because this gets asked so often I've compiled a list of things to spend OBC on. The only thing I know of now that you CAN'T buy with OBC is a deposit on a Future Cruise. You need a credit card for that.  Also, there may be some card game in the casino with a cash only buy-in.   If they do a fundraiser, like selling t-shirts to “save the reefs” and the like, expect to need cash for that.  Otherwise, here you go:

 

 

*Acupuncture

*Airport transfers

*Alcove Rental (some ships)

*Apple products etc. and Ilounge classes

*Art Auction Purchases

*Babysitting

*Barber Shop services 

*Behind the Scenes Tours

*Beverages -- Alcoholic, carbonated soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, bottled water — if not in your package, also beverages above your package limits

*Bingo and Deal or No Deal

*Bottles of wine

*Casino

*Chef’s Table

*Corkage charged if you bring your own bottles of wine to the MDR

*Duty free liquor and cigarettes

*Extra cost entrees and other items in Main Dining Room and specialty restaurants

*Extend Your Stay program

*Fitness classes

*Flowers

*Gelato

*Gift shop souvenirs, purses, watches, cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, etc.

*Gratuities, and extra gratuities

*Guests dining with you in Luminae (applies to Suite Passengers only)

*Guest entertainers' CD's and DVD's

*Hair and nail salon

*Hollywood hot glass experiences (some ships)

*Internet if not in your package, also Internet upcharges 

*Laundry/pressing/drycleaning

*Liquor Tasting events

*Luggage Valet

*Martini Flights

*Medical Center

*Mini bar

*Portrait photo sessions

*Pay-per-view movies

*Persian Gardens passes

*Personal Training Sessions

*Photos & cameras

*Room service up charge items, and late night delivery fee

*Ryde spinning classes

*Shore Excursions

*Shuttle to town (some ports)

*Spa -- massages and treatments

*Specialty restaurants

*Teeth Whitening

*Telephone calls using ship's system

*Transfer to another passenger's account

*Voyage in Review DVD

*Wine and liquor tastings

*Zumba

[prmssk]

Yes, guest services (or your concierge if in a Suite) has a form you can fill out where you can indicate who you want to direct tips.

[jelayne]

I assume you are asking about the daily gratuity and yes you can use it for gratuities.

The OBC will show on your On Board account and anything you purchase will be charged against that amount.  In a day or 2 the daily gratuity will be charged against your account on a day by day basis, until the OBC is used up.  After the OBC is exhausted anything you purchase on the ship will be charged to the credit card your have attached to your booking.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, sparlkes said:

Hi everyone.  I just booked a short cruise in Feb, and got onboard credit for each of us with the Black Friday sale.   Can I use that toward gratuities?  One agent I spoke to said yes, and one said no.   I get a different answer every time I call!   

Yes you can use it for Tips.    The way things work on the ship.    If you don't have ppd tips then each day they charge it to your seapass.    All charges whether spa, tips, internet etc are first applied against NR OBC and when all the Non-Refundable will be applied against any Refundable OBC and once that is used up will be applied against your CC on file.

 

You can also use it to leave additional tips by going to the Customer Service desk and ask for a form.

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[mc_reeve]

It has been a while since I have cruised on Celebrity but we have one coming up in 2023 with lots of onboard credit.  It is my understanding that if we are to use it to book specialty restaurants or excursions, we have to wait until we are onboard to use onboard credit to do so.  Purchasing an excursion or specialty restaurant package before the cruise means paying for it with a credit card.  Is my previous recollection of this policy still correct?

[39august]

If the OBC is from Celebrity, you can use it prior to boarding. It will show up in your reservation under "manage my reservation". Very easy to do. 

[cruisestitch]

14 minutes ago, mc_reeve said:

It has been a while since I have cruised on Celebrity but we have one coming up in 2023 with lots of onboard credit.  It is my understanding that if we are to use it to book specialty restaurants or excursions, we have to wait until we are onboard to use onboard credit to do so.  Purchasing an excursion or specialty restaurant package before the cruise means paying for it with a credit card.  Is my previous recollection of this policy still correct?

No it isn’t.  

[davekathy]

On 11/15/2022 at 1:25 PM, sparlkes said:

Hi everyone.  I just booked a short cruise in Feb, and got onboard credit for each of us with the Black Friday sale.   Can I use that toward gratuities?  One agent I spoke to said yes, and one said no.   I get a different answer every time I call!   

As others have said yes. Any OBC from Celebrity is non refundable. Make sure to use it or you will lose it. 

[chilliano]

Our booking came with a nice OBC and pre-paid gratuities.  We didn’t use all of the OBC, so on the last night, we got one of the forms and left extra for staff.  You can designate to go to the restaurant or housekeeping staff in general or also list specific staff.  We did both, e.g., our principal waiter and the restaurant staff pool, etc.