Pre-purchasing Onboard Credits - Princess

Got to laugh. Finally got a response from an email to Princess to ask where on personaliser I could purchase OBC and it said couldn't be done, had to call up call centre for it. Just as well I thought to ask Cruise Critic! It did confirm though that $31.25AUD = $25USD.

 

 

Well, it's some good news I guess. Keep that email for the exchange rate. And get the OBC ONLINE. :p

I am on the Diamond in March. The ship is in USD. If I buy $200 OBC and only spend $150 on the ship. The last night or morning of the cruise can I get the balance $50 USD back in cash??? Or must it be credited to my card or sent in a cheque. Will I have a cash option?

 

Thanks you

I am on the Diamond in March. The ship is in USD. If I buy $200 OBC and only spend $150 on the ship. The last night or morning of the cruise can I get the balance $50 USD back in cash??? Or must it be credited to my card or sent in a cheque. Will I have a cash option?

 

Thanks you

 

No cash back unless you have a cash account when on board. They will send a cheque if you have a card linked to the account, it may take up to 6 weeks.

After our Alaska cruise with Princess last June we had a credit balance left on our account. I expected it to be deposited onto my nominated credit card, but Carnival Australia actually mailed me a cheque. It took 3 or 4 weeks to arrive. There was no indication of the exchange calculation or even any mention of the USD amount they converted, just a remittance advice showing the AUD amount.

I did a rough calculation and they seemed to use an exchange rate similar to the one applicable at the cheque date. It was certainly way better than the 100 USD for 110 AUD rate that they gave me when I purchased the onboard credits. Yay.

 

Great result and confirms a few issues here.:D

I have just rang princess cruises. They said I could take AUD to set up my cash account that would be in USD. Princess said they convert from AUD to USD on the morning of the cruise but could not tell me the rate they use or where they get the currency exchange rate from that morning.

 

Has anyone done this. Set up there cash account using AUD that the ship converts to USD when boarding the ship. What rate did they use for example the exchange rate of the day or the rate princess cruise has to buy OBC for that cruise?

 

Thank you for all your help

My email response from Princess says if the OBC left at end of cruise is "excessive" it will be refunded by cheque to home address, but if minor will be refunded in cash on the spot.

I have just rang princess cruises. They said I could take AUD to set up my cash account that would be in USD. Princess said they convert from AUD to USD on the morning of the cruise but could not tell me the rate they use or where they get the currency exchange rate from that morning.

 

Has anyone done this. Set up there cash account using AUD that the ship converts to USD when boarding the ship. What rate did they use for example the exchange rate of the day or the rate princess cruise has to buy OBC for that cruise?

 

Thank you for all your help

 

Set up the account using your card for your check in process and then if you have a bit of OBC, change it to cash when on board. At the end of the cruise go to settle the account, if it is in debit, give them the card, if in credit then cash out.:D

I bought OBC on one credit card and the unused portion went back onto the card I had registered on the ship. This was only a few months ago on RCI.

 

Do you know what the exchange rate RCI used when buying OBC

Do you know what the exchange rate RCI used when buying OBC

 

For RCI OBC you need to call, 1800 754 500.

 

The current rate is $0.718 USD or $34.80 AUD for $25 USD.

I am on the diamond princess to Asia in March the accounts will be in USD. I have just rang Princess could not get to speak to Australian office was put straight though to America. They could not answer this question said it depends on the passenger service desk of each individual ship at the time of sailing. My question

 

They said I could take AUD the morning of the cruise to open a cash account for the cruise instead of putting my debit card in. I have to open the account with $300 USD and the customers service desk will convert the AUD to USD but they could not tell me what rate they will use. I can buy OBC at $100USD for $110 AUD do they use this rate or do they use the exchange rate of the day???

 

I already have on board credit and know what I am going to spend as I have done this same cruise 2 years ago. I do not intend to spend any of the $300USD that I open the account with. Will I get this $300USD back in cash either AUD that I put down or USD. I do not care. I do not want a cheque sent back to my home address as I am travelling into Asia for a couple of months and with the AUD dropping money is getting tight from when I booked all this 18 months ago. The American office could not tell me how I would get my money back and would not transfer me to Princess Australia. I was on the phone for an hour with waiting for answers only to be told it depended on the policy of the ship on the day.

 

I already have $700 on board credit and they insist I need another $300 USD the day of boarding. To open cash account. They said a$300 USD hold would be put on my debit card the day of boarding if I did not use cash and they could not tell me when the hold would go off my account. I was getting so flusgrated with the American girl. $300 USD is about $500 AUD from the banks and that is a lot of money for me not to have access to for my Asian holiday

 

Thank you. Sorry this has been so long. Has anyone opened a onboard account with AUDWhen it has been an American ship operating in USD

Thanks

 

Judy

 

My quest

On the Emerald next year $125Aus for $100US. It's been that for months. I'd buy before it changes.

 

Heartily second that. I'm on the Golden in November, and that's the rate for me.

I am on the diamond princess to Asia in March the accounts will be in USD. I have just rang Princess could not get to speak to Australian office was put straight though to America. They could not answer this question said it depends on the passenger service desk of each individual ship at the time of sailing. My question

 

They said I could take AUD the morning of the cruise to open a cash account for the cruise instead of putting my debit card in. I have to open the account with $300 USD and the customers service desk will convert the AUD to USD but they could not tell me what rate they will use. I can buy OBC at $100USD for $110 AUD do they use this rate or do they use the exchange rate of the day???

 

I already have on board credit and know what I am going to spend as I have done this same cruise 2 years ago. I do not intend to spend any of the $300USD that I open the account with. Will I get this $300USD back in cash either AUD that I put down or USD. I do not care. I do not want a cheque sent back to my home address as I am travelling into Asia for a couple of months and with the AUD dropping money is getting tight from when I booked all this 18 months ago. The American office could not tell me how I would get my money back and would not transfer me to Princess Australia. I was on the phone for an hour with waiting for answers only to be told it depended on the policy of the ship on the day.

 

I already have $700 on board credit and they insist I need another $300 USD the day of boarding. To open cash account. They said a$300 USD hold would be put on my debit card the day of boarding if I did not use cash and they could not tell me when the hold would go off my account. I was getting so flusgrated with the American girl. $300 USD is about $500 AUD from the banks and that is a lot of money for me not to have access to for my Asian holiday

 

Thank you. Sorry this has been so long. Has anyone opened a onboard account with AUDWhen it has been an American ship operating in USD

Thanks

 

Judy

 

My quest

 

Judy,

 

It sounds like having a cash account may not be the right thing for you as there is a risk that Princess will not refund any credit on your account back to you in cash.

 

Also you say you will be travelling in Asia for a couple of months. Are you intending to use your debit card at hotels? Even if you have prepaid your accommodation most hotels these days require a card to guarantee any expenditure during your stay, and they are likely to put holds on your funds as well.

 

I would recommend getting something like a 28 Degrees Mastercard, which has no foreign transaction fees and converts foreign currency at close to current forex rates. Use that card for your account on Princess and when you check in to hotels then, if you wish, change to your debit card to actually pay the bill, if any. That way any holds will be "invisible".

 

Hope this helps. :)

Edited February 3, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

Thank you for you help. Just a senior day yesterday. The Aussie dollar going down. I sat down worked out all my predicted expenses and how I was going to pay for everything and it was all good. I will have a great and much needed holiday. Thanks

Thank you for you help. Just a senior day yesterday. The Aussie dollar going down. I sat down worked out all my predicted expenses and how I was going to pay for everything and it was all good. I will have a great and much needed holiday. Thanks

 

Glad you have it sorted. The main thing is not to stress or it will suck any fun out of the cruise experience.:D

Thank you for you help. Just a senior day yesterday. The Aussie dollar going down. I sat down worked out all my predicted expenses and how I was going to pay for everything and it was all good. I will have a great and much needed holiday. Thanks

 

That's good to hear. Hope you have a wonderful time.

Can someone clarify something about this for me.

 

I'm just about to buy some more OBCs for upcoming cruise (onboard costs in USD) as I seem to still be able to get the .90 rate for it.

 

I have two credit cards:

- One I use for local transactions as I get reward points - I'm thinking of buying the OBC using this card.

- One I use overseas as it doesn't charge fees for that and this is the card that will be attached to our onboard account for the cruise.

 

If I buy more OBC than I use the credit balance on the account is transferred to my credit card. Is this definitely the credit card attached to the account at that time, or do they insist on crediting it to the original card used to buy the OBC?

 

Does anyone know the answer to this?

 

My email response from Princess says if the OBC left at end of cruise is "excessive" it will be refunded by cheque to home address, but if minor will be refunded in cash on the spot.

 

Reporting back post-cruise.

 

We had quite a bit of OBC left. Stupidly I forgot to print a copy of our account on the last night, although I had checked it online. It was around US $690, from memory.

 

It didn't go back on to the credit card, the cheque arrived in the post today - not quite four weeks after we disembarked in Hong Kong.

 

It looks like we got an exchange rate of around .75 which I'm very happy about since we bought the OBC at .90. A good return on our investment!:D :D

Edited May 23, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

Reporting back post-cruise.

 

We had quite a bit of OBC left. Stupidly I forgot to print a copy of our account on the last night, although I had checked it online. It was around US $690, from memory.

 

It didn't go back on to the credit card, the cheque arrived in the post today - not quite four weeks after we disembarked in Hong Kong.

 

It looks like we got an exchange rate of around .75 which I'm very happy about since we bought the OBC at .90. A good return on our investment!:D :D

 

Not a bad way to go, cover costs and the left overs generates some cash.

Not a bad way to go, cover costs and the left overs generates some cash.

 

Exactly. The refund should cover a good part of our Hong Kong stopover. :D

Good deal.

It certainly was. It only works with a USD cruise though.

 

Princess have changed the OBC rate for USD, it's now .80 I think. Still not too bad given the current rate of .72.

It certainly was. It only works with a USD cruise though.

 

Princess have changed the OBC rate for USD, it's now .80 I think. Still not too bad given the current rate of .72.

 

Yes, still worth the cost if you need to cover some spending and maybe get some left over.:D

No cash back unless you have a cash account when on board. They will send a cheque if you have a card linked to the account, it may take up to 6 weeks.

The point here is that OBC gifted to you IS INDEED regarded as a cash payment. You (or someone you know) are putting CASH on the shipboard account.

 

I had gifted myself more OBC than I expected to use on my Princess cruise last year ($110 AUD to $100 USD was too good to pass up). At the end of my cruise (Rome to Rome 4 weeks), they were more than ok with returning the excess gifted OBC to me in USD cash (just over $500 USD). I expected a bit more OBC left over, but damn it was thirsty weather. Anyways, was a good way to have cash exchanged, for use on a further 5 days holiday on land before flying home.

 

One word of advise when doing 'gifted' OBC. Make sure you take a copy of the OBC purchase confirmation letter sent by Princess. This is usually sent to the travel agent. You can get a copy off them. Or if purchasing by phone, give them your email address to send you a copy. Take a copy of this with you on the cruise - just in case.

 

The OBC I 'gifted' myself WAS NOT on my on board account on embarkation. Luckily I had my confirmation letter which I took down to guest services. Took them a few hours to correct the 'oversight'.

The point here is that OBC gifted to you IS INDEED regarded as a cash payment. You (or someone you know) are putting CASH on the shipboard account.

 

I had gifted myself more OBC than I expected to use on my Princess cruise last year ($110 AUD to $100 USD was too good to pass up). At the end of my cruise (Rome to Rome 4 weeks), they were more than ok with returning the excess gifted OBC to me in USD cash (just over $500 USD). I expected a bit more OBC left over, but damn it was thirsty weather. Anyways, was a good way to have cash exchanged, for use on a further 5 days holiday on land before flying home.

 

One word of advise when doing 'gifted' OBC. Make sure you take a copy of the OBC purchase confirmation letter sent by Princess. This is usually sent to the travel agent. You can get a copy off them. Or if purchasing by phone, give them your email address to send you a copy. Take a copy of this with you on the cruise - just in case.

 

The OBC I 'gifted' myself WAS NOT on my on board account on embarkation. Luckily I had my confirmation letter which I took down to guest services. Took them a few hours to correct the 'oversight'.

 

Similarly, we had done the same last year but they baulked at allowing it to be taken as Cash at both the guest services and the casino. That is why I pushed it through the casino into the machines and then cashed out. Policies may vary on ship to ship though.

It is a regular occurrence for any gifted OBC not to appear until the next day or so.

It is a regular occurrence for any gifted OBC not to appear until the next day or so.

First time I had bought OBC for myself. I just expected a card in the room first day. Guess I was too worried, seeing it was largish $ amount put into OBC to cover all on board expenses, including grats for 4 weeks (2 peeps in a mini)+ after cruise spending dosh. Had half a panic attack, expecting every possibility of it going missing between Feb purchase through Sydney office and turning up Rome 4 months later.

 

(Oh, and I liked Emerald. She will be a fine addition to the local fleet).

Edited May 28, 2016 by GandM-nq

First time I had bought OBC for myself. I just expected a card in the room first day. Guess I was too worried, seeing it was largish $ amount put into OBC to cover all on board expenses, including grats for 4 weeks (2 peeps in a mini)+ after cruise spending dosh. Had half a panic attack, expecting every possibility of it going missing between Feb purchase through Sydney office and turning up Rome 4 months later.

 

(Oh, and I liked Emerald. She will be a fine addition to the local fleet).

 

Glad it worked out for you, It is good to hear the Emerald is a nice ship. I liked the Diamond princess, but was not as impressed with the Caribbean princess despite them being sister ships (with just a few modifications).