Onboard credit - what can it be used for?

[Cruisin' Family]

We know the onboard credit can be used for spa treatments and onboard shopping.    What else can we spend our onboard credit on ?.    We will sailing on Regal next week.   Thanks ! 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Cruisin' Family said:

We know the onboard credit can be used for spa treatments and onboard shopping.    What else can we spend our onboard credit on ?.    We will sailing on Regal next week.   Thanks ! 

Ship excursions and possibly purchasing/upgrading to Princess Plus or Premium packages

[Rick&Jeannie]

Consider it to be "free cash".  *Anything* that you can purchase onboard will use the OBC before it starts to go against your credit card. 

[skynight]

Ship excursions pre-cruise as well as onboard. Any onboard purchase including upgrades to premium or plus package as mentioned if you don't already have one of these packages. Casino slots or table play can be charged to your on board account and will net against any credit balance (OBC). Note on the casino. If you charge play to your on board account and it nets against OBC you must play. If you try to use the casino as an ATM by taking a few slot pulls or making one or two table bets and then cashing out your casino account may be locked. The only item that you can not use OBC for is the purchase of future cruise deposits, FCDs. These are charged directly to your credit card.

Edited November 18, 2023 by skynight

[alanstarr]

11 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Consider it to be "free cash".  *Anything* that you can purchase onboard will use the OBC before it starts to go against your credit card. 

 

But probably not daily gratuities, right? (If you don't have one of the Plus packages.)

[thinfool]

1 minute ago, alanstarr said:

 

But probably not daily gratuities, right? (If you don't have one of the Plus packages.)

Not correct. All expenses are displayed on the cabin TV, including grats.  Any OBC is credited to your onboard account....and that includes grats.  You will receive, overnight on your last night, a statement of what you owe which should match the amount that you can see on TV.

[alanstarr]

Just now, thinfool said:

Not correct. All expenses are displayed on the cabin TV, including grats.  Any OBC is credited to your onboard account....and that includes grats.  You will receive, overnight on your last night, a statement of what you owe which should match the amount that you can see on TV.

Cool! I travel mostly on NCL, and OBC can't be used for daily service charges or gratuities added on at a restaurant/bar. That's good news for my cruise next month on the Sapphire, thanks!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, alanstarr said:

Cool! I travel mostly on NCL, and OBC can't be used for daily service charges or gratuities added on at a restaurant/bar. That's good news for my cruise next month on the Sapphire, thanks!

 

Nonrefundable OBC that is. That's why we get our TA to give us a rebate check now instead of the nonrefundable OBC they tried to give us for booking the cruise with them until we found out about NCL's issue for using it to pay their daily service charge.

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Nonrefundable OBC that is. That's why we get our TA to give us a rebate check now instead of the nonrefundable OBC they tried to give us for booking the cruise with them until we found out about NCL's issue for using it to pay their daily service charge.

Not that I would use a TA who does this, but I believe a TA rebate should be Refundable OBC.  Not their group booking OBC - that is Non-Ref.  A TA rebate to OBC should be replacing a cash discount off the fare or replacing a gift card to use for something else.  I only book with TA's who give a direct cash discount off the fare as I don't want a ton of OBC to deal with.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

Not that I would use a TA who does this, but I believe a TA rebate should be Refundable OBC.  Not their group booking OBC - that is Non-Ref.  A TA rebate to OBC should be replacing a cash discount off the fare or replacing a gift card to use for something else.  I only book with TA's who give a direct cash discount off the fare as I don't want a ton of OBC to deal with.

Our TA gives us cash discounts off the fare for PCL and HAL bookings. For NCL and Celebrity, they offer by default nonrefundable OBC, which I believe is part of the deal they have with those two cruise lines. But we're good with getting the applicable NCL or Celebrity OBC for booking with them in the form of a rebate check in the mail about a week or two before the cruise. However, that wasn't the case until we asked our TA if it was possible. 

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Our TA gives us cash discounts off the fare for PCL and HAL bookings. For NCL and Celebrity, they offer by default nonrefundable OBC, which I believe is part of the deal they have with those two cruise lines. But we're good with getting the applicable NCL or Celebrity OBC for booking with them in the form of a rebate check in the mail about a week or two before the cruise. However, that wasn't the case until we asked our TA if it was possible. 

Thanks for clarifying.  I presumed you were posting about PCL.  Yes, I have heard that some non-CCL lines are more problematic to get a true cash discount or rebate.

[Guest Michael4650]

Basically OBC will show on your folio as a credit and any thing you spend on the ship will be deducted from that credit 

[Musky Ike]

2 hours ago, Michael4650 said:

Basically OBC will show on your folio as a credit and any thing you spend on the ship will be deducted from that credit 

Except for future cruise deposits. 

 

Sorry, I see Skynight already covered this.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Musky Ike

[oregonian123]

Hi, can anyone point to a link from Princess that discusses the OBC given by Princess? What can it be used for? Thanks.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, oregonian123 said:

Hi, can anyone point to a link from Princess that discusses the OBC given by Princess? What can it be used for? Thanks.

Question has been answered in this thread, but try this: 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/plan/fcc-onboard-cruise-credits#onboard-credit

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Steelers36

[skynight]

10 hours ago, oregonian123 said:

Hi, can anyone point to a link from Princess that discusses the OBC given by Princess? What can it be used for? Thanks.

No Link.

Your booking begins with any OBC provided through Princess. You can see these amounts by logging into your Princess booking and selecting 'payments.' Any amount that is posted can be used pre-cruise to book excursions. You can not use OBC pre-cruise for booking anything else, example specialty dining.

Once on board it is simple basic debit (+) & credit (-) accounting. Assuming you have OBC your on board account begins with a credit balance. Any* on board expense is added to your on board account as it occurs and nets against your account balance. If your account is linked to another such as your spouse then there is a summary account which nets the individual accounts to achieve a single balance. The on board accounting system uses non refundable OBC first and then refundable OBC. 

A few examples of on board purchases that will net against your account are:

On board shop purchases. Beverages or beverage purchases in excess of the plus /premier limits. Specialty or casual dining purchased on board. Daily gratuities**. Wifi**. Room & Ocean Now Service**. Special food that has a charge. Excursions purchased on board. Bingo. Casino play charged to your on board account***.

 * Future Cruise Deposits (FCDs) are excluded. These are charged directly to your credit card.

** These items are included in the Plus & Premier fares. If you have the standard fare then there is a daily/pp gratuity charge, a charge for wifi internet, and a one time charge for Ocean Now as well as a $5 charge for each phone call order to room service.

*** Casino play, slots and tables can be charged to your on board account and will net against any credit balance. However, you must play, win or lose. You can not use the casino as an ATM. Example, charging $100 to your on board account, taking a couple of pulls on the slot and then cash out. If you do this your casino account will be locked. 

[beshears]

I have never had a large amount of OBC, until my PVP just told me I should receive $175 or $200, or inviting new guest. If I don't use this OBC on the ship, do I lose it, or get it back from Princess or what?

[skynight]

2 hours ago, beshears said:

I have never had a large amount of OBC, until my PVP just told me I should receive $175 or $200, or inviting new guest. If I don't use this OBC on the ship, do I lose it, or get it back from Princess or what?

This is the Refer a Friend program. From what I read it is non refundable. Take a look at the Princess FAQs:

https://www.princess.com/html/global/cc/referral-reward/faq.html

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, beshears said:

I have never had a large amount of OBC, until my PVP just told me I should receive $175 or $200, or inviting new guest. If I don't use this OBC on the ship, do I lose it, or get it back from Princess or what?

All OBC from Princess is Non-Refundable unless it was in lieu of a refund for a service such as incorrectly being charged for Specialty Dining.

[oregonian123]

On 11/18/2023 at 8:19 PM, Steelers36 said:

Question has been answered in this thread, but try this: 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/plan/fcc-onboard-cruise-credits#onboard-credit

 

Thank you. This is helpful.

[oregonian123]

On 11/19/2023 at 6:01 AM, skynight said:

No Link.

Your booking begins with any OBC provided through Princess. You can see these amounts by logging into your Princess booking and selecting 'payments.' Any amount that is posted can be used pre-cruise to book excursions. You can not use OBC pre-cruise for booking anything else, example specialty dining.

Once on board it is simple basic debit (+) & credit (-) accounting. Assuming you have OBC your on board account begins with a credit balance. Any* on board expense is added to your on board account as it occurs and nets against your account balance. If your account is linked to another such as your spouse then there is a summary account which nets the individual accounts to achieve a single balance. The on board accounting system uses non refundable OBC first and then refundable OBC. 

A few examples of on board purchases that will net against your account are:

On board shop purchases. Beverages or beverage purchases in excess of the plus /premier limits. Specialty or casual dining purchased on board. Daily gratuities**. Wifi**. Room & Ocean Now Service**. Special food that has a charge. Excursions purchased on board. Bingo. Casino play charged to your on board account***.

 * Future Cruise Deposits (FCDs) are excluded. These are charged directly to your credit card.

** These items are included in the Plus & Premier fares. If you have the standard fare then there is a daily/pp gratuity charge, a charge for wifi internet, and a one time charge for Ocean Now as well as a $5 charge for each phone call order to room service.

*** Casino play, slots and tables can be charged to your on board account and will net against any credit balance. However, you must play, win or lose. You can not use the casino as an ATM. Example, charging $100 to your on board account, taking a couple of pulls on the slot and then cash out. If you do this your casino account will be locked. 

Thank you. This is helpful.

 

 

yu