Russiamomm

Right. But I wouldn’t bother with “refusing” the OBC from the CN. It’s all a marketing ploy. The “OBC” you get for the CNs is applied against the cost of the CNs. Net cost would be $1000 regardless, which would be paid for with the purchased credit you bought in advance. Just not worth the argument with the the CN folks. It’s all a shell game. Just don’t believe the myth that you have to spend the OBC you got on other stuff. You don’t. You will be charged $1000 net.

The only warning I’d give you is that technically the Amex offer does not apply to purchases made onboard, which would include the purchase of the CruiseNexts. I don’t know how they determine if a purchase was made onboard, vs. through NCL.com. I don’t think I’d take the chance. I had the same dilemma last month. I ended up buying $1000 of OBC through NCL.com for my cruise that month. It is refundable credit that can be used to buy the CNs. I got the $200 credit on the Amex card. In my case, I also have a NCL MC, which I prefer to use for onboard expenses because I get 3 points for every dollar spent. The purchased OBC can be cashed out on the last full day of the cruise. So I waited and cashed out the credit that morning, then purchased the CNs, which were charged to the NCL card. Net effect was that I got the $200 and an additional 3% when I purchased the CNs.

Just to add that IF the thermal spa is indeed the most important feature for you, I would take one of the Breakaway sailings. The spa on the Pearl is much smaller. I also echo the sentiment of looking into the repositioning cruises. If you can afford the time, they are fantastic and will likely be cheaper with only one flight across the pond.

You can. But the triple up offer is only for balcony and above.

It does. Amex has no way of distinguishing what was purchased.

Those are the terms, but in reality Amex does not know what the charges are for. They just look for charges directly to NCL. I know it works if you pre-book and pay for these things. What I don’t know is if there is a different code for onboard expenses that would disqualify the charges.

❤️. Thank you! I see no need to be confrontational. In most cases. 😂

Will do that next month. I thought four would be plenty since I was getting back on a ship in six weeks. I didn’t expect to book two cruises in that time period, much less having a triple up offer pop up! Live and learn. Just hoping this one gets extended or they have another one before final payment in February! And yeah, I really hate the way they market these things. But it’s a good product. I always try to keep some in the bank. But my calculus was wrong this time. 😢

Correct. You can cash it out the morning of the last full day - not before. I was there when they opened at 9:00. Then I went next door to the CruiseNext desk and bought my four CNs. I didn’t want to buy them earlier because I wanted to get the 3x points for charging them to the NCL credit card. I didn’t want to use the purchased OBC to pay for them.

Yup. I bought two $500 certificates. Worked like a charm. Just wish I could have cashed it out earlier. I thought about taking an advance at the casino, but didn’t want to pay the 3% fee, so I waited. Luckily I did pretty decent in the casino on that trip and didn’t need the cash. 😃

One more note. It was a bit of a juggle. I knew I wanted to buy four CruiseNexts, but I didn’t want to use the OBC for it. The account on file was my NCL MC. I wanted to use that for the CNs to get the three points. So I grabbed a Starbucks, cashed out the OBC and then went to the CN desk to buy my CNs. It’s all kind of a game to me, 😂

Don’t wait until disembarkation morning. I went first thing on the last full day of the cruise. I was first in line. I think they open at nine.

Yes! I did that last month for my Alaska trip. The Amex offer came in literally five days before we got onboard. We had paid for everything, including gratuities, for that one and for our December trip. I ended up buying $1000 of OBC for the Alaska cruise. You have to wait until the last day, but they give it back to you in cash. I cashed out just about $900. Nearly wiped them out.😂. So, yes, it works to buy OBC. They will not re-credit back to the card. In fact they will not let you off the ship until they’ve paid you back. As we were waiting to disembark they called several names telling them to go to the OBC desk before disembarking.

I’ve never used an outside TA. I book through CAS and have always made my payments directly on the site. Maybe there is a difference. Wish I was more help!

Those are the official rules, but that’s not the way it works in practice. Do it yourself. Go to your account and make a payment. The option is there to use a CN. I did it this summer for a cruise that had been booked for months. Trust us, it works. Just try it.

I used the card just before the Alaska trip. I charged $1000 to it then. My husband also has a card and got last month’s offer. We used his card to pay the deposit, so we got the $200 on his card for that. I guess we shouldn’t be greedy. We’ve gotten $400 benefit in less than a month between us. 😂

Thanks. I have two cruises booked for May. Hoping another offer pops up before final payment. 😃

Has anyone who got the last offer (6-8 weeks ago) gotten another one? I already used the last one and would love another one!

As I’ve said twice before, I have never seen this on NCL. I don’t believe they do it.

Same. I could use another one!

I’ve never seen this on an NCL ship.

I’ve never seen that on NCL.

Wish I had some left to apply to my May cruises! Kicking myself for only buying four last month, 😢

Absolutely! I started my career in tax. Ended it in banking!

😂. Great idea! The Penny-Pinching Sailing Accountants!