Onboard Credit

[Venicegal]

If I give my son and daughter-in-law an onboard credit as a gift and they don't use it all will they be given a cash refund or do they have to use it all? Thanks!

[maxout]

It would just be absorbed against automatic charges such the $11/day Hotel Service Fee or against any other charges they have made. I suppose if you did end up with a positive balence at the end of the cruise it would show up as a credit on the card used for onboard charges, if no card was used (cash deposit) then cash would be returned.

[CtheW0rld]

i don't know how generous you are going to be, but there are plenty of things to spend it on. service charges are 11 per person per day, spa, gambling, drinks, excursions, specialty dining, etc.

[Krazy Kruizers]

One time we had a little bit coming back to us -- it was given to us in cash -- didn;t break the bank.

 

But another time with so many pre-tours cancelled once we got on the cruise (by HAL) we had a lot of shipboard credit left over and it was credited to our credit card.

[bcd2010]

This is exactly what I did on our Hawaii trip on January (gave my sons OBCs) - both had money left over from their OBCs and went to the front desk on disembarkation doy to collect the extra in cash.

[Typhoon1]

Any remaining credit will be returned at the end of the cruise, your statement will show a credit.

 

Just stop by the front desk and pick it up. It is paid in cash.

[CoolChile]

This isn't what the OP is talking about, but it's closely related. I happened to ask Karen who deals with shareholder credits (SBCs) at HAL what would happen if one didn't use up the SBC they had as a result of owning CCL stock. (Now, you can be assured my qx'n was purely hypothetical ;)).

 

She informed me that any unused portion would go 'poof.' No refunderoonie, in HAL-speak.

 

I made up my mind then and there that if that were about to happen, I would up my daily quota of martinis immediately.

[CruiserBruce]

It seems that OBC granted from/by HAL- that is, stockholder OBC, FCC OBC, is not refundable if there is any leftover. It seems that if that OBC generated by HAL is actually the cruiser's funds rebated by HAL (such as the fuel surcharge a few years ago), then any leftover will be refunded.

 

If there is OBC generated by others besides HAL- TA, family or friends, or even the cruiser themselves, then any leftover will be refunded.

 

The OP referred to OBC generated as a gift by the OP to their son and daughter -in-law.

[luvcruisn']

Good to know about the stockholder credit being non-refundable. So far, I haven't had a problem using up my credits, but I do check my balance at the front desk partway through a cruise so I know if I have any credit left. On one cruise, I was never given a $50.00 onboard credit that I was supposed to get through my travel agent as part of my booking. It was given to me several weeks later after I returned home in the form of a cheque refund. The travel agent had to check with Holland America regarding the credit, as it had to do with a group booking contract with HAL, and it did take HAL several weeks to approve the credit.