Can I use OBC in the casino?

I will be on the Breakaway in Feb. I have will have some OBC from my NCL MasterCard points. Will I be able to use this money in the casino?

Yes, indirectly. You go to casino cashier and ask for cash on your sail card Its a then a charge just like anything you purchase on ship. Te difference is the casino will charge a 3% surcharge If you do spend enough in the casino, CAS may take that surcharge off your bill

So I have to pay a surcharge to usemy own money?

So I have to pay a surcharge to usemy own money?

It is not your money but onboard credit and there are rules that can limit your use of the onboard credit. If they gave you cash instead of OBC, you'd be free to use it however you want.

Can both refundable and non-refundable OBC be used in the way? I have a significant amount of OBC on my upcoming cruise from an AMEX promotion and was hoping to "cash" some of it out in the casino (even with the 3%, it's worth it).

Thanks,

Margi

I was told no on the Star in 2011. Others have reported since then, that they were able to. So I wouldn't count on it, but be pleasantly surprised if they allow you to do it.

If you have purchased OBC, then it is your money and you can spend it on what you want or turn it back into cash.

If it is NCL OBC, it's their credit, not cash.

Onboard credit is just a credit to the cabin. You don't have to specify what you use it for. On the breakaway you can download money right at the slot machines. You don't even have to go to the cashier! Just think of the OBC as credit toward your bill though.

further on this, if I have an amount in onboard credit vouchers can I convert this to chips?

Sure. Just go to the casino cashier and they will take care of you.

Sure. Just go to the casino cashier and they will take care of you.

This is misinformation.

You can certainly obtain cash from the casino, either at the Cashier or by downloading to the machine, but you have no way of knowing whether it is eating-up your non-refundable OBC, or whether it's adding to your credit card charges. And to pay 3% on top isn't prudent...if you weren't intending to gamble in the first place.

The problem is that non-refundable means non-refundable. You may not have it given back to you in the form of cash, or anything which has a same-as-cash value (such as Service Charges). That OBC is only available to be used for purchases which incorporate 'margin' (that is, they cost the cruise-line less than the price-to-you). In this way you can get a $300 OBC, which only costs the cruise-line $150.

On the other hand, if they had to disburse it to crew (as DSC distributions for instance), or if you withdrew it from the casino, then suddenly it has become a real $300 cost for the cruise-line.

My advice: take your large Amex OBC, and go get a mani-pedi, or a massage, or buy a pair of jeans at the gift shop, or a new bathing suit. EDIT: I'm not sure if you can, but I can't see why you could not: buy a nice bottle of something from the Duty Free shop (or two).

:)

Stephen

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Can both refundable and non-refundable OBC be used in the way? I have a significant amount of OBC on my upcoming cruise from an AMEX promotion and was hoping to "cash" some of it out in the casino (even with the 3%, it's worth it).

Thanks,

Margi

LOL your going to lose it all anyway so u might as well hand 3% to NCL and

speed up the torture of losing.

i understand sjbdtz what you are saying about promo obc, however mine is pre-purchased gift cards and i just want to make sure if i don't spend all of it I can get it back somehow

i understand sjbdtz what you are saying about promo obc, however mine is pre-purchased gift cards and i just want to make sure if i don't spend all of it I can get it back somehow

Pre-purchased gift cards are not non-refundable OBC. They're two different things.

And I believe you can only buy $175 of pre-purchased gift cards... and if there are two of you, the DSC will eat $168 of that, so you should be fine.

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i understand sjbdtz what you are saying about promo obc, however mine is pre-purchased gift cards and i just want to make sure if i don't spend all of it I can get it back somehow

I had purchased $500 in gift cards and was told that any unused portion would be put back on the gift card to be used at a later date (similar to a Macy's gift card) with no fees assessed. The gift cards can be used for anything onboard. Pre-purchased On Board Credit is fully refundable in the form of a check mailed to you approximately a month after your cruise. It can be used for anything onboard. On Board Credit given to you by the cruise line as part of a promotion is not refundable and may not be used towards the Daily Service Charge.

Just want to make sure I understand this....

We received obc of $400 when we booked our cruise. I assume this is non-refundable, as it came from NCL. From what I have read, this may NOT be used in the casino, nor may it be used to cover the daily service charge.

Our TA is also giving us an additional $300. It is my understanding that she purchases this as a gift. So, it should be refundable and therefore available for casino usage or to cover the daily service charge.

Does anyone know how they apply the obc to offset your bill? Do they use the non refundable obc first and then apply the refundable obc?

Thanks!

Pre-purchased gift cards are not non-refundable OBC. They're two different things.

 

And I believe you can only buy $175 of pre-purchased gift cards... and if there are two of you, the DSC will eat $168 of that, so you should be fine.

 

 

 

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Ok got you just thought rather than starting another thread I should add to this. And btw I bought 500 in pre-purchased gift cards so it definitely can be done.

Pre-purchased gift cards are not non-refundable OBC. They're two different things.

 

And I believe you can only buy $175 of pre-purchased gift cards... and if there are two of you, the DSC will eat $168 of that, so you should be fine.

 

 

 

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You can buy as much in gift cards as you want. They sell them in denominations from $25 up to $500 and customized amounts up to $1000. We asked family to purchase them for us as Christmas gifts. See this link for info. http://www.ncl.com/giftcard?cid=PS_TSI_USA_PRO_GOO_N-A_N-_GENERIC_XXXXXXXX_XXXXXXXX_norwegian%20cruise%20line%20gift%20card&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=norwegian_cruise_line_gift_card&utm_campaign=G_-_Gift_Card_Test&gclid=CIeu6czO_8ECFcHm7AodD38ACQ

You can also purchase as much in On Board Credit as you wish as well. There is no limit.

You can buy as much in gift cards as you want. They sell them in denominations from $25 up to $500 and customized amounts up to $1000. We asked family to purchase them for us as Christmas gifts. See this link for info. http://www.ncl.com/giftcard?cid=PS_TSI_USA_PRO_GOO_N-A_N-_GENERIC_XXXXXXXX_XXXXXXXX_norwegian%20cruise%20line%20gift%20card&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=norwegian_cruise_line_gift_card&utm_campaign=G_-_Gift_Card_Test&gclid=CIeu6czO_8ECFcHm7AodD38ACQ

You can also purchase as much in On Board Credit as you wish as well. There is no limit.

Thanks, I wasn't familiar with gift cards. The 3% per month erosion fee after 12 months is daunting.

On the other hand, I have been told personally, by more than 1 person, that you can only buy 1 of each denomination of OBC.

I used to buy 50 x 100 obc certificates in advance, to have casino money ready, but they started disallowing it.

Can anybody else confirm if this has changed recently for them, too?

Thanks,

stephen

P.S. The gift cards are completely non-refundable, so it makes me wonder if they allow DSC to be deducted from them, or if they are 'good as cash' once applied to the account.

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Thanks, I wasn't familiar with gift cards. The 3% per month erosion fee after 12 months is daunting.

 

 

On the other hand, I have been told personally, by more than 1 person, that you can only buy 1 of each denomination of OBC.

 

I used to buy 50 x 100 obc certificates in advance, to have casino money ready, but they started disallowing it.

 

Can anybody else confirm if this has changed recently for them, too?

 

 

Thanks,

Stephen

 

 

 

P.S. The gift cards are completely non-refundable, so it makes me wonder if they allow DSC to be deducted from them, or if they are 'good as cash' once applied to the account.

 

 

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I was able to buy $2200 in onboard credit for our Breakaway cruise last month, and we purchased $2550 in onboard credit for our Jewel cruise in 2011.

They used to sell Casino Credit, but that is no longer available. (At least not for my next 2 Breakaway cruises)

As far as the gift cards go, I would advise using them to buy OBC prior to your cruise. They then turn into refundable credit and can be used for anything. Personally, we used our gift cards to buy the UBP and the UDP for our last cruise.

This is misinformation.

 

 

You can certainly obtain cash from the casino, either at the Cashier or by downloading to the machine, but you have no way of knowing whether it is eating-up your non-refundable OBC, or whether it's adding to your credit card charges. And to pay 3% on top isn't prudent...if you weren't intending to gamble in the first place.

 

 

The problem is that non-refundable means non-refundable. You may not have it given back to you in the form of cash, or anything which has a same-as-cash value (such as Service Charges). That OBC is only available to be used for purchases which incorporate 'margin' (that is, they cost the cruise-line less than the price-to-you). In this way you can get a $300 OBC, which only costs the cruise-line $150.

 

On the other hand, if they had to disburse it to crew (as DSC distributions for instance), or if you withdrew it from the casino, then suddenly it has become a real $300 cost for the cruise-line.

 

 

My advice: take your large Amex OBC, and go get a mani-pedi, or a massage, or buy a pair of jeans at the gift shop, or a new bathing suit. EDIT: I'm not sure if you can, but I can't see why you could not: buy a nice bottle of something from the Duty Free shop (or two).

 

:)

 

 

Stephen

 

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Not entirely true. On our recent dawn cruise, we were able to apply non-refundable OBC toward the gratuities for the butler and concierge, dollar for dollar. We went to the service desk, told them how much we wanted to give to each, the funds were deposited directly into their "accounts" and I was given receipts, which I enclosed with a thank you note and gave to each of them. I do believe that this is the only situation where non-refundable OBC is as good as cash.

Not entirely true. On our recent dawn cruise, we were able to apply non-refundable OBC toward the gratuities for the butler and concierge, dollar for dollar. We went to the service desk, told them how much we wanted to give to each, the funds were deposited directly into their "accounts" and I was given receipts, which I enclosed with a thank you note and gave to each of them. I do believe that this is the only situation where non-refundable OBC is as good as cash.

I do believe you got away with something you weren't supposed to...and now that it's posted here & NCL are aware of it, I don't suspect many people will get away with it in the future.

I don't dispute that it happened, but I'm certain it's because somebody forgot to close that loophole.

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I do believe you got away with something you weren't supposed to...and now that it's posted here & NCL are aware of it, I don't suspect many people will get away with it in the future.

 

I don't dispute that it happened, but I'm certain it's because somebody forgot to close that loophole.

 

 

(non refundable obc for tips)

I have read that this is allowed for butler and concierge only, we will be in our first suite soon and if I think we will have any obc left I will check with guest services a few days before the end of the cruise to see if it is possible.

Just want to make sure I understand this....

We received obc of $400 when we booked our cruise. I assume this is non-refundable, as it came from NCL. From what I have read, this may NOT be used in the casino, nor may it be used to cover the daily service charge.

 

Our TA is also giving us an additional $300. It is my understanding that she purchases this as a gift. So, it should be refundable and therefore available for casino usage or to cover the daily service charge.

 

Does anyone know how they apply the obc to offset your bill? Do they use the non refundable obc first and then apply the refundable obc?

Thanks!

I was on Epic last week. Nonrefundable onboard credit can not be used to offset the $12 daily service charge, nor can it be used for gambling. Drink purchases, etc. first reduced the nonrefundable credits; and the daily service charges used up my refundable credits.

I sailed on the Pearl in August with my sister. She had $100 OBC - $50 refundable, $50 nonrefundable, given to her by the booking agent. The nonrefundable could NOT be used for the service charge or for the casino. It had to be used for purchases. She used it toward buying one of the cruise deposits. A great deal for her, ending up paying $100 for the $250 value. :)

I just got off the epic a week ago. I did get to use the $125 promo credit from buying a future cruise cert. but was told I could not use my onboard credit in which was my own I had put on before the cruise I was pissed!! ( in the casino) they want to charge your credit card only or bring cash