Back to the "old" OBC leftover policy

As of today's sailing, Princess has reversed their policy of treating all OBC the same. This has been the case for the last year. Now, when you board, OBC from certain sources will have a "NR" next to the OBC on your folio, meaning it's non-refundable.

My final folio from this morning from the Royal shows my FCC OBC, "loyalty" OBC and shareholder OBC marked as NR. So they are non-refundable from now on.

Thanks Pam. Hope you had a wonderful cruise! I have a couple of questions. If you have some OBC that is refundable and some that isn't which do they use first? Hopefully they use the non refundable first.

On my upcoming cruises in Feb I will have shareholder, FCC, goodwill gesture from Princess and OBC from TA. Will the OBC from TA be refundable and the rest NR? Can the NR be used for tips?

Thanks!

Oh and also onboard credit promotion. How do we know what is refundable and what is not?

Can the NR OBC be used in the casino torwards your "players bank"?

Use it or lose it... ;)

From what I understand, this brings them in line with other Carnival Corp. brands. Refundable OBC will include military and gifted.

What did your Cruise Personalizer and your Travel Summary show? I just checked both and we have five categories of OBC listed for our upcoming cruise (Passenger Relations, Travel Agent Promotion, Onboard Sales Promotion, Shore Excursion Credit, and Shareholders Benefit). Both still show that only the Passenger Relations amount has an asterisk which indicates this:

*Please enjoy using these credits onboard as they are not refundable.

Travel agents also have access to a screen that itemizes the OBC with an indication of refundable / non refundable next to each type.

It doesn't seem that a ship can change the rules if a passenger had been provided with information prior to the cruise that refunds would be available for some of the OBC. Hopefully you've spent it all!

Use it or lose it... ;)

 

From what I understand, this brings them in line with other Carnival Corp. brands. Refundable OBC will include military and gifted.

It's about time.

Mike:)

As of today's sailing, Princess has reversed their policy of treating all OBC the same. This has been the case for the last year. Now, when you board, OBC from certain sources will have a "NR" next to the OBC on your folio, meaning it's non-refundable.

This is what shows in the personalizer now for upcoming cruises as well.

The real question -- can both flavors still be used in the casino slot bank?

My next cruise will have over $500 OBC, most labeled 'non refundable'.

I see some liquor to be resold to colleagues at work, or a deck of coffee cards.

I can confirm this is the case on the Caribbean Princess today. Last week many I have spoken with were able to go down and get their OBC a refunded. And with the deals on here, they were cashing $400 out. Everyone has been told that that can lo longer be done. The OBC given is Non refundable.

Since I spent it all prio to leaving port, it didn't matter to me!

It's about time Princess plugged that money leak!

I have always assumed it was "use it or lose it" as on other lines. Unfortunately, I have never had any leftover OBC to ask for refunds.:eek::D

The day has yet to arrive when I have any OBC left! I will find a way to spend it! (Welcome home, Pam. You were missed!)

The day has yet to arrive when I have any OBC left! I will find a way to spend it! (Welcome home, Pam. You were missed!)

Exactly! I don't believe that will ever be a problem for me. :) But it was ridiculous how many people bragged about going to the casino and cashing out their OBC. Once again, those who brag will eventually change things for everyone...

While disappointing it is perfectly understandable.

Thanks Pam...hope you had a good cruise and you'll have a smooth flight home. :D

Flights yesterday in the Chicago area were severely disrupted by an intentionally set fire at the en route air traffic control center which affected many flights. I don't know your routing but there still may be some residual effects so you may consider checking with your airline. I think that your normal routing home goes through ORD so there may still be delays there due to many passengers missing flights yesterday.

This is what shows in the personalizer now for upcoming cruises as well.

 

The real question -- can both flavors still be used in the casino slot bank?

 

My next cruise will have over $500 OBC, most labeled 'non refundable'.

 

I see some liquor to be resold to colleagues at work, or a deck of coffee cards.

"Onboard Credits are essentially onboard spending money that is applied to your shipboard folio. At the end of your cruise, these credits are applied to your final balance due. You may receive these credits as a result of a special promotion from Princess or your travel agent. Following is a detailed list of applicable credits."

I am confused. I don't see any check marks or NR next to the OBCs on any of my five upcoming cruises. It just says:

 

"Onboard Credits are essentially onboard spending money that is applied to your shipboard folio. At the end of your cruise, these credits are applied to your final balance due. You may receive these credits as a result of a special promotion from Princess or your travel agent. Following is a detailed list of applicable credits."

Mine doesn't show anything either & we sail 4 weeks from today. :confused:

Mine doesn't show anything either & we sail 4 weeks from today. :confused:

We have 7 different OBC's for our upcoming cruise in 23 days and only one has a star by it with the following explanation at the bottom of the page "Payments and credits"

*Please enjoy using these credits onboard as they are not refundable.

Mike:)

Mine doesn't show anything either & we sail 4 weeks from today. :confused:

We have 7 different OBC's for our upcoming cruise in 23 days and only one has a star by it with the following explanation at the bottom of the page "Payments and credits"

 

*Please enjoy using these credits onboard as they are not refundable.

 

Mike:)

Thanks Mike...maybe the changes are so new that it's gradually being added & will eventually be noted.

We have 7 different OBC's for our upcoming cruise in 23 days and only one has a star by it with the following explanation at the bottom of the page "Payments and credits"

 

*Please enjoy using these credits onboard as they are not refundable.

 

Mike:)

Yes, I have some OBC on an upcoming cruise... the FCC OBC (marked Onboard Sales Promotion) is refundable and the promotional OBC (marked Onboard Credit Promotion) is not.

And, as Ethel says, the old system is a money leak and from Princess' standpoint it needed to be plugged. I bet they'll see improvements in their yield almost immediately!

Yes, I have some OBC on an upcoming cruise... the FCC OBC (marked Onboard Sales Promotion) is refundable and the promotional OBC (marked Onboard Credit Promotion) is not.

 

And, as Ethel says, the old system is a money leak and from Princess' standpoint it needed to be plugged. I bet they'll see improvements in their yield almost immediately!

Evidently this is still a work in process as our "Onboard Credit Promotion" is not marked as unrefundable. lol

Makes no difference to me as we have never had any credit left after about the third day.

Like Ethel, I think this was a very wise decision by Princess.

Mike:)

Honestly, with all the OBC being given with all the new promos, I am surprised that Princess is even profitable lately. Every one I know lately who is cruising is getting as much OBC as the cruise costs, literally.

I wonder if, with the new policy to use it or lose it, maybe greater OBC enticements may be given...:D

I don't know much more other than what I posted. Have never been to the casino on any ship so I haven't a clue how that works.

Military OBC is refundable as is Princess credit card points used for OBC. Promotion incentive OBC will be non-refundable.

I would have had $90 left over except I got a nasty cold and wound up going to the Medical Center where I discovered I'd been walking around with a 101 temp for probably days. Anyway, they gave me a stack of meds and I was 95% better in 2-3 days. But that ate up my OBC and then some. Yes, I'm submitting the bill to insurance so in effect, I'll get my OBC. :)

---> sitting in O'Hare waiting for my flight to LAX. Chicago's a mess.

DW makes sure that's never an issue for us.:D