Viking On Board Credit

[Canal archive]

Gin is definitely not my tipple makes me really dour but Scotch I’m happy to taste for as long as it’s available. On one memorable evening (which shows we didn’t lose it) we drunk the ship out of Lagavulin not everyone appreciates it but it was certainly a smooth drop. 
At one time The Scenic bar always had a cocktail of the day which of course had to be tasted it would have been rude to not to!

[Nippy Sweetie]

Lagavulin eh? Are you Ron Swanson from 'Parks and Recreation'? 😁

[Canal archive]

No but we’ve just sold our cottage/lodge in the highlands and one of our first ports of call when going there was The Whisky Castle in Tomintool for our water of life requirements.

[loriva]

On 3/23/2024 at 5:32 AM, CDNPolar said:

Because you booked through a Travel Agency and are Canadian (this may be different in the USA) you will NOT see the OBC in MyVikingJourney (MVJ) unless you book optional excursions, pay gratuities in advance, or purchase the Silver Spirits package.

 

You will see the OBC on your invoice from Viking which the TA should provide to you.  Our TA applies the OBC to our booking on first call with Viking and then the invoice that comes shows the below.

 

Ours shows up on page 2 of the Viking Invoice and there is a box for each person:

 

 

NOTE:  This shows on the invoice as SBC or Ship Board Credit, but that includes OBC.  

 

SBC and OBC have different rules for use.

 

Typically OBC will be used online if you book optional excursions, buy the Silver Spirits package, or pay Gratuities in advance.  YOU can book optional excursions on your own without the TA and they require immediate payment. If you have OBC then that credit will be applied to your checkout on MVJ.

 

Typically SBC is different and is applied on the ship for purchases when on board.

 

Ask what is the difference if you have SBC and OBC or one or the other and how they can be used.

 

These are general statements from OUR experience.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

Our invoice from Viking, through our TA, includes the following statement "Shipboard credits on this booking, if applicable, are not included in the amount above."  We've only been on one Viking River cruise previously, but credit from our TA showed up only when we boarded.  We could spend that credit for anything we wanted on board--in our case it covered the vouchers we purchased for a future (the upcoming) Viking River cruise.  (At least that is what our end-of-cruise statement showed.  Gratuities and the SSBP ended up being covered by optional tours we had booked and paid for in advance that were cancelled and refunded.)

[CDNPolar]

20 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Our invoice from Viking, through our TA, includes the following statement "Shipboard credits on this booking, if applicable, are not included in the amount above."  We've only been on one Viking River cruise previously, but credit from our TA showed up only when we boarded.  We could spend that credit for anything we wanted on board--in our case it covered the vouchers we purchased for a future (the upcoming) Viking River cruise.  (At least that is what our end-of-cruise statement showed.  Gratuities and the SSBP ended up being covered by optional tours we had booked and paid for in advance that were cancelled and refunded.)

 

Look on your Viking Invoice.  You should see the OBC there if the TA has applied it to the booking.

 

Typically any TA OBC can be used in advance and will be applied against any excursions booked in advance of the cruise.  These are generally not restricted to ship board use only.

[loriva]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Look on your Viking Invoice.  You should see the OBC there if the TA has applied it to the booking.

 

Typically any TA OBC can be used in advance and will be applied against any excursions booked in advance of the cruise.  These are generally not restricted to ship board use only.

 

No, there is nothing--only the disclaimer statement from Viking I posted.  Maybe the credits we receive from our TA are SBC only?  (As I said, nothing on the invoice from our first Viking River cruise--but credits appeared when we boarded.  Same thing on the invoice from the upcoming trip.)

[pontac]

On 3/23/2024 at 1:06 PM, CDNPolar said:

We have in the past received OBC from Viking also due to a complaint and we were told by tellus that it could only be spent on the ship, and for any cost we incur onboard.

 

I think that you are fine.  Just ensure to spend it all.

 

Just returned from our cruise. We were intending spending our OBC on wines excluded from the package We especially wanted the classed growth Chateau d'Armailhacq but were told they didn't have any left, so we bought two £100 cruise vouchers with our OBC, giving us £400 off a future cruise.

[CDNPolar]

36 minutes ago, pontac said:

 

Just returned from our cruise. We were intending spending our OBC on wines excluded from the package We especially wanted the classed growth Chateau d'Armailhacq but were told they didn't have any left, so we bought two £100 cruise vouchers with our OBC, giving us £400 off a future cruise.

 

Great way to spend an OBC!  Make it multiply!

[Squawkman]

There are two flavors of OBC - one can be used prior to embarkation for excursions, SSBP and gratuities, The other can only be use once on board. The first OBC is found on page 3 of your booking statement while the more restrictive OBC is found on page 5 under Gift Orders. We always use the same Viking agent so we have never had any OBC from a TA, but have had both flavors of OBC.

[HSBC]

6 hours ago, Squawkman said:

There are two flavors of OBC - one can be used prior to embarkation for excursions, SSBP and gratuities, The other can only be use once on board. The first OBC is found on page 3 of your booking statement while the more restrictive OBC is found on page 5 under Gift Orders. We always use the same Viking agent so we have never had any OBC from a TA, but have had both flavors of OBC.

The more restrictive OBC is found on page 5 under Gift orders:  Can I use this to pay daily gratitude?

Thanks!

[Squawkman]

7 minutes ago, HSBC said:

The more restrictive OBC is found on page 5 under Gift orders:  Can I use this to pay daily gratitude?

Thanks!

According to my Viking agent, yes. We will be taking our first cruise with the restrictive OBC later this year. I was told it could be used on anything once on board -including excursions.

[CDNPolar]

14 hours ago, Squawkman said:

According to my Viking agent, yes. We will be taking our first cruise with the restrictive OBC later this year. I was told it could be used on anything once on board -including excursions.

 

Yes!  This is our experience.  You can use this Viking OBC or SBC for gratuities.  As long as it is something you are paying for onboard as it will be attached to your cabin invoice sometime after you board.

[victory2020]

How much are gratuities on Viking? I assume TA OBC can be used for them?

[CDNPolar]

11 hours ago, victory2020 said:

How much are gratuities on Viking? I assume TA OBC can be used for them?

 

Yes, OBC or SBC can be used to pay gratuities.

 

I think that the most recent calculation I did was in CANADIAN Dollars $25 per night per person.

 

This is probably $18 USD per night per person.

[Squawkman]

9 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Yes, OBC or SBC can be used to pay gratuities.

 

I think that the most recent calculation I did was in CANADIAN Dollars $25 per night per person.

 

This is probably $18 USD per night per person.

Based on my current booked cruises, Ocean is $17 and River is $20 per person per night.

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Based on my current booked cruises, Ocean is $17 and River is $20 per person per night.

 

Really - I had not looked at there being a difference between River and Ocean.  Interesting....