Keep your on board credits I don't want them.

I give Celebrity and their Marketing team credit with on board credits, they take your money ahead of time and force you to spend it on their product ( not saying it's a bad product). Not sure force is a total true statement either, can you cash it out in the casino ?? I will look into that.

Just seen the recent charge for a simple burger now? When sushi went to "5" and chargeable I was bummed, saying to myself I will not eat there. Last cruise I eat there twice because of my on board credits, heck I already paid for it why not. ???

I still consider myself somewhat new to cruising. My next cruise in February I am bring 22 and counting first time cruisers with me, best I not tell them about the sushi and burgers being free at one time.

Yes I know the alternative with Celebrity just keeping my money. I guess I am just giving credit where credit is due. Wonder if anyone in Marketing knows anything about IT??

You cannot withdraw the money for cash at the casino.

You can buy special chips to use for table gambling, or you can apply the money as credit to a slot machine and you can then keep any winnings.

I give Celebrity and their Marketing team credit with on board credits, they take your money ahead of time and force you to spend it on their product ( not saying it's a bad product). Not sure force is a total true statement either, can you cash it out in the casino ?? I will look into that.

 

Just seen the recent charge for a simple burger now? When sushi went to "5" and chargeable I was bummed, saying to myself I will not eat there. Last cruise I eat there twice because of my on board credits, heck I already paid for it why not. ???

 

I still consider myself somewhat new to cruising. My next cruise in February I am bring 22 and counting first time cruisers with me, best I not tell them about the sushi and burgers being free at one time.

 

 

Yes I know the alternative with Celebrity just keeping my money. I guess I am just giving credit where credit is due. Wonder if anyone in Marketing knows anything about IT??

Choice is always yours how you spend it. I do know I will not be buying their burger at the grill and I have loads of on board credit in Sept. On the good side for their marketing a couple of months ago they allowed us to use Celebrity on board credit prior to getting on board. That's a good thing.

On-Board credit from Celebrity is normally a perk for booking and you have an option to choose either OBC, pre-paid gratuities, the Classis beverage package or unlimited internet.

If OBC has no value to you them maybe one of the other options would work better for you.

Now that they are allowing OBC to be used precruise (in most cases) to book excursions, specialty restaurants, etc., it is much easier to use the OBC. We have previously used the OBC in the casino, but for this next cruise our excursions are already paid for.

I was given a beverage package, free gratuities, 4 comped specialty dinners and $500 onboard credit on my last cruise up in Alaska. Because we've sailed there a lot, there were no ship sponsored excursions I was interested in taking ....

So, what to do with all that OBC?? Usually, we would gamble and leave most of it onboard. This time, I actually bought something I actually really wanted and have used it daily since my cruise... .and iPad! :)

And, there is no longer sushi every day in the oceanview cafe like before, but the burgers there are still included with no additional cost.

OBC can be helpful. We are not big drinkers so the bev package are a waste for us, we don't eat bait (sushi), I don't eat burgers anymore so we use it for the vew drinks we want, mostly Al Bachio coffees, hair and nail appointments for DW and maybe an occasional specialty dinner if the mood strikes us. We had $455 on our last trip, 15 nights and by the end we still have over $250 left so we visited the art auction and picked up a nice print from one of our favorite artisits. I know that Park West is not a bargain but with most of the money coming from Celebrity it was a good deal for us. Next up we have $500 on a 12 night, port intensive cruise so there is only one spa day to pay for so maybe it is time for a new iPad? Would I rather have the $500 off my cruise fare? Yep, but it did not work that way so I will make the most of what they gave us.

OBC can be helpful. We are not big drinkers so the bev package are a waste for us, we don't eat bait (sushi), I don't eat burgers anymore so we use it for the vew drinks we want, mostly Al Bachio coffees, hair and nail appointments for DW and maybe an occasional specialty dinner if the mood strikes us. We had $455 on our last trip, 15 nights and by the end we still have over $250 left so we visited the art auction and picked up a nice print from one of our favorite artisits. I know that Park West is not a bargain but with most of the money coming from Celebrity it was a good deal for us. Next up we have $500 on a 12 night, port intensive cruise so there is only one spa day to pay for so maybe it is time for a new iPad? Would I rather have the $500 off my cruise fare? Yep, but it did not work that way so I will make the most of what they gave us.

You probably already know this but any refundable OBC will go right back onto your credit card. Whenever I get that, I use it as a discount on my next cruise.

Posted April 19th, 2016, 11:23 AM

Last edited by cruisestitch; April 19th, 2016 at 11:32 AM

Now that there are so many programs in placing giving non-refundable OBC, and we can no longer take this out of the casino in cash, I have come up with this list of things to spend OBC on, since we see so many questions about this on Cruise Critic:

I'll make the list alphabetical, so it will be easy to add any items I have forgotten.

Acupuncture

Airport transfers

Alcove rental (some ships)

Apple products and Ilounge classes

Art Auctions

Beverages -- Alcoholic, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, bottled water

Bingo

Bottles of wine

Casino

Duty free liquor and cigarettes

Fitness classes

Flowers

Gelato

Gift shop

Gratuities

Hair and nail salon

Internet

Laundry/pressing/drycleaning

Luggage Valet

Medical Center

Mini bar

Shore Excursions

Pay-per-view movies

Photos & cameras

Room service up charge items

Shore Excursions

Shuttle to town (some ports)

Spa -- massages and treatments

Specialty restaurants

Teeth Whitening

Voyage in Review DVD

Wine and liquor tastings

Zumba

Wait! I have to pay for a burger now???

Yep, I know it but most of the OBC we have had has been non-refundable and the upcoming trip is all non...so it is use or lose it. Now the $445 gift card I am getting from my TA for this coming trip will certainly go towards another cruise :).

Bubba Luvin, they are making the old Mast Grill into a pay venue for "fancy" burgers and that is another reason I am thankful I am not supposed to eat burgers anymore...but you can still get the basic free ones in the Oceanview Cafe.

Last cruise on Eclipse I bought a nice Michael Kors handbag with the OBC, a couple of dinners in Murano, a nice spa treatment and had some left over for additional tips (we also had pre-paid gratuities. Last day they handed us back $90. :D

You cannot withdraw the money for cash at the casino.

 

You can buy special chips to use for table gambling, or you can apply the money as credit to a slot machine and you can then keep any winnings.

Thanks, wasn't sure.

Yes....

Wait! I have to pay for a burger now???

Find an TA who books group pricing. In general, they will be able to quote pricing without all the perks, whether booze packages or OBC. Plus, you will be able to see how much your "free!!" perks are costing you.

Last cruise on Eclipse I bought a nice Michael Kors handbag with the OBC, a couple of dinners in Murano, a nice spa treatment and had some left over for additional tips (we also had pre-paid gratuities. Last day they handed us back $90. :D

If they handed you back $90, then you had refundable OBC. Most OBC these days is non-refundable. Use it or lose it. And you pay for it in the cost of the cruise.

When I booked, I had the option of paying more, getting OBC and another perk. OR I could have gotten a lower price without the perks. My agent at Celebrity said it was costing me $200 more that the true value to get the perks based on what I had chosen. You have to do the math.

If they handed you back $90, then you had refundable OBC. Most OBC these days is non-refundable. Use it or lose it. And you pay for it in the cost of the cruise.

I was surprised that any of it was ROBC. We always got NOBC previously, at least that's what I always thought since most of our OBC came from our TA. We were surprised to learn when we went to guest services the last night of the cruise to get forms to give additional gratuities to some staff that we had ROBC left. I don't believe, in this case, that we paid extra for it since $600 OBC came from our TA. We paid $1399 for a ten night in a Concierge C2 cabin including drink package and prepaid gratuities.

I

 

Yes I know the alternative with Celebrity just keeping my money. I guess I am just giving credit where credit is due. Wonder if anyone in Marketing knows anything about IT??

You need to check what OBC you have: non-returnable OBC-N or OBC-R. If you have OBC-N, you need to spend it on board, if OBC-R, if it's not spend it will go back to your card

I was surprised that any of it was ROBC. We always got NOBC previously, at least that's what I always thought since most of our OBC came from our TA.

OBC from a TA is usually refundable (assuming it is really from the TA and they're not just passing it along from Celebrity).

Mike

I was surprised that any of it was ROBC. We always got NOBC previously, at least that's what I always thought since most of our OBC came from our TA. We were surprised to learn when we went to guest services the last night of the cruise to get forms to give additional gratuities to some staff that we had ROBC left. I don't believe, in this case, that we paid extra for it since $600 OBC came from our TA. We paid $1399 for a ten night in a Concierge C2 cabin including drink package and prepaid gratuities.

1399 pp or for both?

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1399 pp or for both?

 

 

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Per person

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Just use it to pay for your gratuities (unless you had more than one perk and already have the free gratuities). The gratuities have typically been almost as much as the onboard credit you get, in my experience. You do have a little left over to spend on something else, making it a better choice than free gratuities, but do the math to make sure that's true in your case.

Per person

 

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Ok got it, still sounds like a good deal!!!

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