In the past we have used OBC by taking it from the casino

and use it to tip extra for certain crew members. (we already have free grats as a perk) Can you still do this? Thanks!

No.

Now all you can do with it in the casino is buy chips or use it in the slots. The chips must be gambled, can't just be cashed directly.

and use it to tip extra for certain crew members. (we already have free grats as a perk) Can you still do this? Thanks!

No. Not even for the old 5% fee.

You can get promotional chips to play with and any winnings are paid with chips you can cash in for "cash". Not what you wanted to hear.:(

No. Not even for the old 5% fee.

 

You can get promotional chips to play with and any winnings are paid with chips you can cash in for "cash". Not what you wanted to hear.:(

But it was people that cashed in their OBC in the casino that prompted Celebrity to make this change.

They do, however, give you a printout of you N-OBC (non-refundable ... which has to be used onboard as the title indicates) and R-OBC (refundable ... most likely provided by your TA). Your non-refundable OBC will be used first and refundable OBC will go back to your credit card if not used in its entirety. I have read that some have had luck getting it in cash at the passenger services desk.

Seemed like a clever way to get some cash!

But it was people that cashed in their OBC in the casino that prompted Celebrity to make this change.

They do, however, give you a printout of you N-OBC (non-refundable ... which has to be used onboard as the title indicates) and R-OBC (refundable ... most likely provided by your TA). Your non-refundable OBC will be used first and refundable OBC will go back to your credit card if not used in its entirety. I have read that some have had luck getting it in cash at the passenger services desk.

I believe you can designate its use for extra gratuities. Just get an envelope and put a note in it and hand it to the crew member you are tipping.

But it was people that cashed in their OBC in the casino that prompted Celebrity to make this change.

I have read that some have had luck getting it in cash at the passenger services desk.

They will give you the R-OBC in cash if you want to go to Guest Services the last morning of the cruise before you disembark. We did this on Eclipse in December.

You can thank CC for them changing the policy. Too many on here we're giving out the little secret.

postere have to learn and understand that most times it is not advisable or in their best interest to give out info here that everyone can read. If you want to help someone tell them on board.

Dont broadcast it to the world.

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

I believe you can designate its use for extra gratuities. Just get an envelope and put a note in it and hand it to the crew member you are tipping.

You may use your nonrefundable OBC for extra gratuities. However, you must go to Guest Relations and fill out paperwork to make that happen. Notes to the crew member won't work.

Since my wife plays the slots anyway we just went to the casino and put some OBC on her card. Used the card in the machines. They also give you a 10% bonus so if you put $400 on the card you get a $40 bonus on the card. Whatever you win you get to cash out. Not as good as getting cash but she would have gambled that much anyway.

In the past we would take the money from the casino and shop in ports. Even with the 5% hit it was much cheaper than shopping on the ship.

Seems like over a year now that you cant get the N-OBC cash from the casino. We normally have $600 N-OBC from Celebrity. We also have the BEST promo. We seem to spend it all. Someone on this board said they cant spend the N-OBC they received. I told them you can give the money away. I'm sure that someone in one of the cabins or suites can spend the money or give it back to Celebrity. LOL they did not think that was funny.

Since my wife plays the slots anyway we just went to the casino and put some OBC on her card. Used the card in the machines. They also give you a 10% bonus so if you put $400 on the card you get a $40 bonus on the card. Whatever you win you get to cash out. Not as good as getting cash but she would have gambled that much anyway.

 

In the past we would take the money from the casino and shop in ports. Even with the 5% hit it was much cheaper than shopping on the ship.

Bonuses are not always available but they usually have a promotion for a limited time during the cruise.

We budget for what we will spend on slots every night, and take that cash with us. This time we put what we would have spent each night on our card from out OBC-N, and came home with all the money we would have spent gambling, plus what we won, so I felt we were ahead of the game.

Bonuses are not always available but they usually have a promotion for a limited time during the cruise.

Yes one cruise there was an electronic advertisement at the cage with the slot promo on it so we asked for it on the first night. Were told oh-no we haven't done that since the TA, so we loaded the card. Then 2 days later they ran the promo for 3 days. So now if it's not available we load it every couple of days with smaller amounts.

Or...you could luck out like I did. I took my obc gambling chips to the blackjack table. Every time I won, I moved over the winnings to a separate pile. At one point I used up all the nonredeemable chips, and then cashed in my winning pile. I was up $155.00. I felt soooo lucky! :p

Great to read here that you can get the extra cash at guest services on the last day. That is how RCI does it. And I usually have refundable OBC left as I use my credit card points for extra cash.

Since my wife plays the slots anyway we just went to the casino and put some OBC on her card. Used the card in the machines. They also give you a 10% bonus so if you put $400 on the card you get a $40 bonus on the card. Whatever you win you get to cash out. Not as good as getting cash but she would have gambled that much anyway.

 

In the past we would take the money from the casino and shop in ports. Even with the 5% hit it was much cheaper than shopping on the ship.

A couple of cruises ago, we had a ridiculous amount of non-refundable OBC. So? we put some on our cards, played the slots. You cannot cash out what you put on your card - but you “can” cash out your winnings. We were not charged 5% either - maybe because we were Suite guests? I have no earthly clue - all I do know is that we broke even $1 for $1.

No.

 

Now all you can do with it in the casino is buy chips or use it in the slots. The chips must be gambled, can't just be cashed directly.

We have $1000.00 SBC, $300. From X, $700.00 from our TA. My DH and I usually play in Texas Holdem tournaments. Can we use the $300 for the tournaments and receive anything we dont spend from myTA back on my credit card? How does X distinguish which monies are being used? Never had this problem before, as I would just go to the cashier and cash out what was on my account less the 5%.

A couple of cruises ago, we had a ridiculous amount of non-refundable OBC. So? we put some on our cards, played the slots. You cannot cash out what you put on your card - but you “can” cash out your winnings. We were not charged 5% either - maybe because we were Suite guests? I have no earthly clue - all I do know is that we broke even $1 for $1.

There is no charge for using it to gamble and also no fee to cash in winnings. Nothing to do with being suite guests.

We have $1000.00 SBC, $300. From X, $700.00 from our TA. My DH and I usually play in Texas Holdem tournaments. Can we use the $300 for the tournaments and receive anything we dont spend from myTA back on my credit card? How does X distinguish which monies are being used? Never had this problem before, as I would just go to the cashier and cash out what was on my account less the 5%.

The OBC that comes from Celebrity is nonrefundable. The OBC that comes from your TA is refundable, so you should get back your $700 at the end of the cruise or whatever part of it you have not spent. You have a wonderful TA!

The OBC that comes from Celebrity is nonrefundable. The OBC that comes from your TA is refundable, so you should get back your $700 at the end of the cruise or whatever part of it you have not spent. You have a wonderful TA!

YUP! Thanks, now I know why I got a $1.50 credit from X, on my last cruise, didn't know they credited any monies that was on SBC.

Seemed like a clever way to get some cash!

I think for too many ... :)

Besides that, when they were running the 1-2-3 Go and Go Better Best promotions, you could essentially purchase $150 x 2 of onboard credit for $15 x 2 per day. So, on shorter cruises, you could really buy money from Celebrity and make a nifty little profit. Now, times that by thousands of passengers cashing it in and you can see why they no longer will give it to you in the casino. Didn't take them to long to figure out what people were doing.

There is no charge for using it to gamble and also no fee to cash in winnings. Nothing to do with being suite guests.

Very good to know! we had no idea why we were not being charged 5% - but just went with the flow :D

Since my wife plays the slots anyway we just went to the casino and put some OBC on her card. Used the card in the machines. They also give you a 10% bonus so if you put $400 on the card you get a $40 bonus on the card. Whatever you win you get to cash out. Not as good as getting cash but she would have gambled that much anyway.

 

In the past we would take the money from the casino and shop in ports. Even with the 5% hit it was much cheaper than shopping on the ship.

In reading some of these posts, I think some people would get the wrong impression, that you can only take out winnings. For instance, if you are a slot player (just to use this as example), if you have $300 OBC, and want to use it at the machines, you are only obligated to play $300. Once you have given the casino $300 worth of play, whatever you have left, win lose or draw, is yours to keep. You just have to keep track as you spin. Same goes for the tables.

Seems like over a year now that you cant get the N-OBC cash from the casino. We normally have $600 N-OBC from Celebrity. We also have the BEST promo. We seem to spend it all. Someone on this board said they cant spend the N-OBC they received. I told them you can give the money away. I'm sure that someone in one of the cabins or suites can spend the money or give it back to Celebrity. LOL they did not think that was funny.

We use an agent who gives us the discount instead of the OBC.

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