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Unused OBC

Bruin Steve

By Bruin Steve,
in Celebrity Cruises

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BrendaJ

BrendaJ

Posted
Posted

I assume that on-board credit being given by a travel agent is always refundable. I expect one problem may be that travel agents are not always transparent in telling their customers where the OBC came from. They probably just give the passenger a quote showing OBC without mentioning that part or all of the OBC was part of a Celebrity promotion. I know my agent does not distinguish how much came from her and how much was part of a promotion.

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cle-guy

cle-guy

Posted
Posted
I assume that on-board credit being given by a travel agent is always refundable. I expect one problem may be that travel agents are not always transparent in telling their customers where the OBC came from. They probably just give the passenger a quote showing OBC without mentioning that part or all of the OBC was part of a Celebrity promotion. I know my agent does not distinguish how much came from her and how much was part of a promotion.

 

This is a good recap.

 

I know many agents who email me (spam type stuff) tout "book today get all 3 perks" The perks are just the 123 I can get anywhere.

 

I tend to think, that generally, smaller agencies when they gift OBC, it is refundable as they actually buy it. Larger agencies, may be getting some extra perks from the cruise lines, and therefore the OBC can sometimes be from the ship not the TA directly, and therefore is non-refundable, while some of their bookings they may kick in OBC from themselves, which would be refundable.

 

I had my agent who I joke with, set me up reservation then next day (within 24 hours) emailed me to tell me "I worked and found you a further $700 discount!" I immediately replied and said, "I wondered when you'd realize there was a Resident rate applicable to this booking". ;)

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BBsails

BBsails

Posted
Posted

If all or part of the the OBC is deemed by Celebrity to be an incentive that is non-refundable, then you may walk away and pocket the $300 cash leaving what appears on your shipboard account print out to be a $300 (plus 5%) charge...eating up your OBC. When you check your Credit Card details, do not be surprised to find a charge for any amount of the OBC (plus 5%) you took out that Celeb determines is not refundable.

 

Has anyone actually experienced a charge on your credit card for OBC+5% for nonrefundable OBC taken through the casino?

 

Betsy

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Happy Cruiser 6143

Happy Cruiser 6143

Posted
Posted
If all or part of the the OBC is deemed by Celebrity to be an incentive that is non-refundable, then you may walk away and pocket the $300 cash leaving what appears on your shipboard account print out to be a $300 (plus 5%) charge...eating up your OBC. When you check your Credit Card details, do not be surprised to find a charge for any amount of the OBC (plus 5%) you took out that Celeb determines is not refundable.

 

Has anyone actually experienced a charge on your credit card for OBC+5% for nonrefundable OBC taken through the casino?

 

Betsy

 

No, of course not.

 

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Muushka

Muushka

Posted
Posted
I was told on my Nov cruise on the Eclipse that I couldn't cash in at the casino. Didn't attempt or push it as we used it to buy a I Pad and Apple TV.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

 

Who told you that? We did it on Eclipse in Dec.

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Dick in Falls Church

Dick in Falls Church

Posted
Posted
I have unused obc, from my travel agent on just about every cruise, and in every circumstance it was credited back to my credit card. Check your account, on the tv and it'll tell you if it's refundable or not. A majority of my cruises are group bookings and it made no difference.

 

My understanding is that some OBC provided by the TA is actually provided by Celebrity as a pass-thru. Guess that could be the rationale for not crediting back on credit card.

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fleckle

fleckle

Posted
Posted (edited)

TAs often advertise perks that actually come from the cruise line.

Book with us and we will give you A, B, C and D, when A, B, and C are perks that you will get anyway even if you do not book with them.

 

We see a lot of the 123 perks advertised on TA web sites and in their mailings.

 

I wonder if some of the confusion seen here could be caused by people believing that the OBC they received came from their TA when in fact some of it, or possibly even all of it actually came from the cruise line.

 

Edited by fleckle
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cherylroslyn

cherylroslyn

Posted
Posted
Who told you that? We did it on Eclipse in Dec.

I know right? You can cash any type of OBC in the casino. you just have to be willing to pay the 5%. No one has been charged the OBC plus 5% on a credit card, that is just people theorizing.

 

I have taken thousands of dollars in the casino over the years......you pay the fee they will give you whatever you want. Some people who are part of the Blue Chip Club, like me, dn't pay the fee. But everyone can get any type of OBC from the casino as long as you pay the fee.

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LabGuy64

LabGuy64

Posted
Posted

Curt,

 

I have a Celebrity policy question...

can you book a future cruise onboard and get Celebrity OBC then transfer the booking to another TA that will give credits out of commission as well?

 

Michael

 

 

Booking on Board now gets you an extra perk of more OBC. Currently they apply the amount of the deposit you pay to your current sailing as OBC. You CAN ask that they push it into the booked sailing if you want.

 

If you don't use the OBC on current sailing after they post it, it simply refunds to the method of payment on your SeaPass account

 

 

If you cancel, you don't get a deposit refunded as you've already spent it or got it refunded.

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pamkev

pamkev

Posted
Posted
Curt,

 

I have a Celebrity policy question...

can you book a future cruise onboard and get Celebrity OBC then transfer the booking to another TA that will give credits out of commission as well?

 

Michael

 

 

We do that all the time just make sure you do it by 60 days of booking

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cle-guy

cle-guy

Posted
Posted
Curt,

 

I have a Celebrity policy question...

can you book a future cruise onboard and get Celebrity OBC then transfer the booking to another TA that will give credits out of commission as well?

 

Michael

 

Yuuup.

 

This is why I can't figure out why anyone will leave their reservation in Celebrity's controls.

 

Move to a TA and get everything X has for you, plus anything the TA will give you and the Ta has to do all the waiting on the phone to make dining arrangements and such, not me.

 

It's truly having ones cake and eating it too.

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upwarduk

upwarduk

Posted
Posted
Yuuup.

 

This is why I can't figure out why anyone will leave their reservation in Celebrity's controls.

 

Move to a TA and get everything X has for you, plus anything the TA will give you and the Ta has to do all the waiting on the phone to make dining arrangements and such, not me.

 

It's truly having ones cake and eating it too.

 

Not in UK, very few TA's give any extra OBC, so now I book direct through Celebrity. I find if I ring Celebrity UK, I will get an immediate answer to my questions .

When I booked the final Century sailing through a TA, just because they were giving 25 CC points for early bookings, I soon regretted it. Reading the roll call, I tried to get one or two promotions, but I found to my regret that it took too long, as they emailed Celebrity and it took a MONTH for the reply. By this time the promotion was over. I will Never, Ever use that TA again!

 

I did however get $200 OBC as Century was redeployed, it's the most OBC I have ever had. I am assuming that is OBCN, as it came from Celebrity.

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LabGuy64

LabGuy64

Posted
Posted

Yes....

 

I think you have nothein to worry about, I have found wives are quite skilled at disposing of pesky OBC

 

 

I was discussing the options on spending the significant amount of OBC on our upcoming cruise with the wife. She told me not to worry, she would ensure that it was gone by the end of the cruise.
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lovemylab

lovemylab

Posted
Posted
Yuuup.

 

This is why I can't figure out why anyone will leave their reservation in Celebrity's controls.

 

Move to a TA and get everything X has for you, plus anything the TA will give you and the Ta has to do all the waiting on the phone to make dining arrangements and such, not me.

 

It's truly having ones cake and eating it too.

 

My main reason for not booking with a TA is that if the price drops I want to be able to take advantage of it. When booked with X, all I need to do is pick up the phone and it's done. With a TA, you have to go through them. If their office is closed or your TA is away from the office, you're stuck waiting. If the price goes back up, you've now missed out.

 

I used to deal with a TA and after almost missing out on a $500 price drop I haven't dealt with one since.

 

As for making dining arrangements and such, that can pretty much all be done online. Anytime I've had to call X for stuff like that the wait has been minimal.

 

Additional OBC from TAs isn't as popular outside the U.S. I've booked several cruises with TAs in the past and didn't get any additional OBC. The most I've ever received was the perks the cruiseline was offering plus a beach towel or tote bag.

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Boxerlover2

Boxerlover2

Posted
Posted
Yuuup.

 

 

 

This is why I can't figure out why anyone will leave their reservation in Celebrity's controls.

 

 

 

Move to a TA and get everything X has for you, plus anything the TA will give you and the Ta has to do all the waiting on the phone to make dining arrangements and such, not me.

 

 

 

It's truly having ones cake and eating it too.

 

 

Our TA charges cancellation fees; with my husband in the military and sudden deployments, trainings, and moves, it is better for us to sometime just keep our reservation with Celebrity, in case we do need to cancel prior to final payment is due. If we could plan way in advance or find a TA that doesn't charge us for canceling, then I'd be all for transferring our reservation.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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need2bespoiled

need2bespoiled

Posted
Posted
Our TA charges cancellation fees; with my husband in the military and sudden deployments, trainings, and moves, it is better for us to sometime just keep our reservation with Celebrity, in case we do need to cancel prior to final payment is due. If we could plan way in advance or find a TA that doesn't charge us for canceling, then I'd be all for transferring our reservation.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Find another TA who doesn't charge cancellation fees? High quality, generous (extra perk) TAs are out there who charge no extra fees.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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