Princess OBC: Not “real” money?

We are off on the Regal Princess for a few weeks in a couple of months and have a few hundred dollars of OnBoard Credit to use. But on their website this OBC is not good enough to make a restaurant reservation, and you must put an immediate, prepaid charge on a credit card (or PayPal?). So the $12K+ they took of my money plus my $300 OBC isn’t enough for a restaurant reservation?

I guess my question is: Is the Specialty Restaurant reservation charge on my credit card refundable once on board when I can then use Princess’ fake money?

I’d like to know this before I book my next Celebrity cruise.

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I don't believe it is refundable. We just wait until we are on the ship to make reservations usually as soon as we board and use our OBC to pay for them. It is a shame that Princess will not let us use our OBC for reservations. We are grateful that they will allow us to use OBC for shore excursions however. For a very short while when they started making pre-reserved shore excursions pay as you reserve, they would not let us use OBC. Luckily that has changed now.

It is "real" money if you spend it on the ship. That's sort of what the term ONBOARD credit means. You can't spend it till you are on board. Depending on how much you have and what other perks you have, it may be worthwhile for you to not purchase things on line in advance, but rather to wait and book/purchase after boarding.

OK, do you have gratuities included as a perk? If not, is your OBC more than you need for gratuities? That's the first place mine go if I didn't get gratuities as a perk. Then calculate what is left. Only a few items have a benefit to booking in advance rather than on board. Don't buy something in advance unless you get a benefit from doing so.

It is "real" money if you spend it on the ship. That's sort of what the term ONBOARD credit means. You can't spend it till you are on board. Depending on how much you have and what other perks you have' date=' it may be worthwhile for you to not purchase things on line in advance, but rather to wait and book/purchase after boarding.

 

OK, do you have gratuities included as a perk? If not, is your OBC more than you need for gratuities? That's the first place mine go if I didn't get gratuities as a perk. Then calculate what is left. Only a few items have a benefit to booking in advance rather than on board. Don't buy something in advance unless you get a benefit from doing so.[/quote']

For the first time ever, we had excess non-refundable credits at the end of the cruise. We gave it to the tip pool. You can get a form at the service desk. It can not be used to augment a tip for an individual.

We are off on the Regal Princess for a few weeks in a couple of months and have a few hundred dollars of OnBoard Credit to use. But on their website this OBC is not good enough to make a restaurant reservation, and you must put an immediate, prepaid charge on a credit card (or PayPal?). So the $12K+ they took of my money plus my $300 OBC isn’t enough for a restaurant reservation?

I guess my question is: Is the Specialty Restaurant reservation charge on my credit card refundable once on board when I can then use Princess’ fake money?

I’d like to know this before I book my next Celebrity cruise.

 

 

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Try paying with Haweater Dollars.....:D

Like was said, you have to spend the obc while onboard. If you pre reserve dining or an excursion, etc, they'll charge your cc.

We had $700 obc last cruise. We purposely spent $3 over just so we didn't accidentally leave anything on the table like we did the time before. hehe

We're cheap, cheap. :D

We are off on the Regal Princess for a few weeks in a couple of months and have a few hundred dollars of OnBoard Credit to use. But on their website this OBC is not good enough to make a restaurant reservation, and you must put an immediate, prepaid charge on a credit card (or PayPal?). So the $12K+ they took of my money plus my $300 OBC isn’t enough for a restaurant reservation?

I guess my question is: Is the Specialty Restaurant reservation charge on my credit card refundable once on board when I can then use Princess’ fake money?

I’d like to know this before I book my next Celebrity cruise.

 

 

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Why would you need an answer before booking your next Celebrity cruise?

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I like the OBC, worked great for my upcoming So. America cruise. There were a few Princess tours I wanted to do, booked, deducted from my credit. I'm on board for 30 days, I figure bottles of wine at dinner will take care of the rest! The tips were paid as part of my booking so good to go! Two weeks left, can't wait! :)

I called prior to my January cruise. I wanted to book a tour but use credits. They recently added ability to do that pre-cruise. That may be the case for specialty restaurants now, too. Call and ask if you can’t find it on-line.

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Why would you need an answer before booking your next Celebrity cruise?

 

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Confusing post ?

Confusing post ?

Refers to end of OP's post ... and, yes, THAT is confusing to me, as I don'g understand his comment.

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Refers to end of OP's post ... and, yes, THAT is confusing to me, as I don'g understand his comment.

 

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Yes, that is what I meant to say . OP's post confusing .

Try paying with Haweater Dollars.....:D

Someone with local knowledge!

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Obviously some of you don't understand the sarcasm involved

I.E.: as in taking ones business elsewhere

Why would you need an answer before booking your next Celebrity cruise?

 

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Because when Princess gives you something that they deem worthless, maybe it is time to go elsewhere.

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It is "real" money if you spend it on the ship. That's sort of what the term ONBOARD credit means. You can't spend it till you are on board. Depending on how much you have and what other perks you have' date=' it may be worthwhile for you to not purchase things on line in advance, but rather to wait and book/purchase after boarding.

 

 

 

OK, do you have gratuities included as a perk? If not, is your OBC more than you need for gratuities? That's the first place mine go if I didn't get gratuities as a perk. Then calculate what is left. Only a few items have a benefit to booking in advance rather than on board. Don't buy something in advance unless you get a benefit from doing so.[/quote']

 

 

 

Well,, you are wrong since you can use it to reserve a place on tours.

 

 

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I called prior to my January cruise. I wanted to book a tour but use credits. They recently added ability to do that pre-cruise. That may be the case for specialty restaurants now, too. Call and ask if you can’t find it on-line.

 

 

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Spoke with them yesterday and restaurant reservations are still credit card or PayPal only.

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Obviously some of you don't understand the sarcasm involved

I.E.: as in taking ones business elsewhere

Exactly.

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Because when Princess gives you something that they deem worthless, maybe it is time to go elsewhere.

 

 

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Well, it isn't worthless. It is real money to spend ONBOARD ... if you haven't yet embarked, it's not too late to go elsewhere.

Seriously, you drop $12K on a trip and you're upset over $29/person? You are abld, as mentioned above, to use your ONBOARD credit to book your dining once ONBOARD.

Each line had their own policies ... and we all are free to move on te line that suits us best.

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I know OBC can be used to pay for pre-reserved excursions bc I've done that.

Did not realize it couldn't be used for specialty dining ~~ seems to me it should be the same as excursions.

Just wondering, can OBC be used for any of the drink packages purchased ahead? I've always waited until onboard to get my Soda & More package, and then OBC is used to pay for it and you get the sticker on your card. If you pre-purchase, when do you get the sticker on your cruise card?

Basically it's been well laid out. Your onboard credit can be used before the cruise only for excursions. Restaurant reservations and all other stuff will be paid for out of your OBC only once onboard. We make our specialty restaurant reservations immediately once onboard. Celebrity now allows you to use your OBC to book their excursions but that's it. I was under the impression anything you paid for with credit card before cruise and you cancel once onboard you would get back as credit on your card but not hundred percent sure of that.

Well, it isn't worthless. It is real money to spend ONBOARD ... if you haven't yet embarked, it's not too late to go elsewhere.

 

Seriously, you drop $12K on a trip and you're upset over $29/person? You are abld, as mentioned above, to use your ONBOARD credit to book your dining once ONBOARD.

 

Each line had their own policies ... and we all are free to move on te line that suits us best.

 

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You seem to be missing the point. What we are talking about is a reservation and Princess says their OBC is worthless for buying that reservation. It is good enough to book a tour before boarding but not food. Princess already has an account set up for me. They have my credit card information AND they have credited me with OBC. Prohibiting me from using what has been credited to my account seems like they are going out of their way to take more money out of my pocket while hoping I don’t get around to using their untouchable OBC.

Do you frequent restaurants where you are required to put the meal, in full, on your credit card two months in advance?

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Yes, that is what I meant to say . OP's post confusing .

I think the OP was implying that the fact he/she did not understand ONBOARD Credit is sufficient that he/she will not be cruising with Princess in the future. :eek:

Do you frequent restaurants where you are required to put the meal, in full, on your credit card two months in advance?

Most of the hotels I stay in, I can cancel up to one (or a few) days before arrival.

What's with this sixty+ days on ships???

If you want to be outraged, why limit yourself to the price of a dinner?

Three things. I suspect but do not know for a fact that pre-boarded specialty restaurant reservations have a higher no show rate than ones that have been paid for pre-boarding. If someone makes a reservation prior to boarding and does not show up at the specialty restaurant the night of the reservation without cancelling, then no one else can use that time slot since the specialty restaurant is holding the slot expecting the reserved party to use it; and the revenue for that time slot is lost. If the reservation is paid for in advance, then the restaurant gets the money for the no-show or the cruiser will cancel in advance because they do not want to lose their $29.00/person, giving the restaurant a chance to fill the vacated slot..

Secondly, when we cruise, we make the specialty restaurant reservation when we first board. That allows us to use OBC to pay for it when we dine.

And, thirdly, some OBC is refundable if not used during the cruise; some is not refundable and must be used or lost. Check and see the terms of your OBC.