No longer able to get cash in the casino for non-refundable OBC?

[cat_in_cda]

so a couple of questions from a couple of Canadians going on their first Celebrity cruise :) ...

 

We have an OBC of $300usd which we were going to use for some Excursions , specialty restaurant and some laundry ( lol this was so that I do not over-pack lol)

 

However we wanted to take some USD to spend on the islands but the exchange rate is almost 40% today .... If I go to Celebrity website I can buy OBC for $30.60 and it states "Please note that a 5% handling fee will be assessed if the credit is redeemed in the casino." ..

 

It does not state how much USD we will get as a credit ..... I hate to assume it would be $25 ... Does anyone know ?? because if so then I would only be paying 22.4% exchange and even with the 5% extra to cash in the casino it would still be under 30%

 

Also it only lets me buy up to 9 "units" of OBC ($275) ... Can I buy more ?

 

Is there a limit to how much could redeem in the Casino at an given time ... Ie: could I cash in $500 all at once ? ( assuming they let me buy $500 or more usd)

 

I do not think we would be cashing in any of the "$300 obc given to us at the time of the cruise purchase" for cash as we already had plans for sing in on board ....

 

I am just thinking it would make more sense to buy OBC from Celebrity than USD cash from our bank ....

 

Does anyone from Canada have any recent experience on this issue of buying OBC from Celebrity and then cashing it out for actual USD funds BEFORE the end of the cruise ...

 

Thanks in advance :-)

 

Cat:)

Edited December 15, 2015 by cat_in_cda

[Beanb41]

Before you runaway and buy OBC I would first check the exchange rate offered by Celebrity less 5% cash out fee and the cost of currency exchange from your bank or credit card. Generally the best rate of exchange one can get for foreign currency is that done by your credit card when converting overseas purchases. One must also remember that all transactions onboard Celebrity ships is in US dollars which is paid at the end of a cruise on ones credit card at either Celebrity exchange rate or ones credit card exchange rate ( which I would recommend). With $300 OBC you can currently withdraw some of it with the 5% penalty or service charge. That may be enough for your cash ashore. If not purchase extra before you leave home.

[cat_in_cda]

bank's rate of exchange this morning was 40.15% to purchase USD $$ ... If the OBC on the website is $25 USD and I pay $30.60 CDN then I paid 22.40% and even if I have to pay 5% more then it is still better than the Cdn Bank 40.15% ... but no where on the website does it state how much OBC I am getting for my $30.60 ( it is currently a 10min wait on the phone for Celebrity so I will try in the morning) ... I was not sure if they had a cap on how much OBC I could purchase myself and how much I could cash in the casino for the OBC I purchased .....

[Dawg74]

Hi there

 

We did the exact thing you are considering last March. You are purchasing individual units of $25 U.S. For $30.60 each. You can only buy 9 at a time online but you can do it multiple times. We bought 90 units last year which gave us 2250 U.S. I think we paid 27.40 per unit at the time. We went to the casino and took out 500 at a time to spend ashore with no problems and are hoping to do the same again this March. Hopefully the exchange rate improves in the future.

[MarkusToe]

@dawg - your OBC is refundable - no need to cash out at casino

will go back to your credit card using the actual exchange rate of your card...

[Dawg74]

@dawg - your OBC is refundable - no need to cash out at casino

will go back to your credit card using the actual exchange rate of your card...

 

I understand, but it's the Canadian exchange rate that has become so poor, we cash out in the casino as a way to get US dollars to spend off the ship.

[brfan]

I asked this question before and didn't get an answer. Does Celebrity charge the 5% fee if you have a cash account? Royal doesn't so was wondering if Celebrity also did that. If they do then if you have purchased OBC then when you do your online check in select cash account and you won't be charged the 5% at the casino. Once you get the money you want, you can add a credit card to your account, if needed, at that time.

 

Of course all the above depends on whether Celebrity has the same policy as Royal with regards to cash accounts.

[wallie5446]

I copied the below comment from another thread (kk99 - live aboard the Constellation)

 

"Casino cash changes. If someone has obc and was not a Blue Chip member or had some other waiver, if you go to the cage you will no longer get cash back minus the 5 percent charge, but you will get promo credits up to the amount of your obc you want to use to play off in a machine or on the tables. If you have leftover refundable obc, it can be credited back to your credit card. Your non refundable credit must be used by the end of the voyage. "

 

Has anyone else experienced this? Has Celebrity instituted a new policy?

 

Thanks

We are just back from 10 days on the Equinox over Thanksgiving. We went to the casino and got cash advances on our room account 3-4-5 times with no problem, well, except the 5% fee :D

 

Checked our account in the cabin on the TV and they were all taken against the OBC we had from 4 different sources. ( $300 booking, $150 Capt Club, $400 TA, $200 Visa ) Never played a table nor slot in the casino with any of it. Used it to pay for our off ship excursion's.

[canuckinindia]

Off topic but connected to the Canadian / USD point.

 

I'm from Canada and would buy these certificates from Celebrity Canada but will using them be an issue since my booking is with a large online travel agent in USD ? Gave the travel agent our Canadian address etc?

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7000-a using Tapatalk

[tangerinebunny]

I promised to come back and report: we were able to cash out our OBC-NR on Summit this past week. And since we were in a suite there was no 5% charge.

[Project_gal]

Off topic but connected to the Canadian / USD point.

 

I'm from Canada and would buy these certificates from Celebrity Canada but will using them be an issue since my booking is with a large online travel agent in USD ? Gave the travel agent our Canadian address etc?

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7000-a using Tapatalk

 

As your reservation is in US$, any OBC purchase would be in US$ as well.

[chamima]

I promised to come back and report: we were able to cash out our OBC-NR on Summit this past week. And since we were in a suite there was no 5% charge.

 

 

Thanks for coming back to let us know your experience.

I hope that will remain true and that the situation where the person couldn't do it was a one-off.

[Oville]

I promised to come back and report: we were able to cash out our OBC-NR on Summit this past week. And since we were in a suite there was no 5% charge.

 

As were we last week on the Constellation.

[eyelovcrusin]

Sorry for my naivety as I do not gamble or frequent casinos. When requesting "cash" at the casino, do they give you actual cash or are you given "chips" that you have to turn back in for cash?

[Oville]

Sorry for my naivety as I do not gamble or frequent casinos. When requesting "cash" at the casino, do they give you actual cash or are you given "chips" that you have to turn back in for cash?

 

Actual cash.

[brfan]

Actual cash.

 

There's a thread on the Royal board where a couple of their ships are no longer giving cash at the casino, just a voucher for the slots. I assume they are piloting this and it may go fleet wide. I wonder if Celebrity will follow Royal does implement this?

[helen haywood]

We were just on a B2B on Reflection. Week of November 28 and December 5. On both occasions we went to the cashier's booth in the casino. We said we had OBC we wished to cash out. It was NR but we didn't say so and she didn't ask. She said we needed to give her the exact amount we wanted because she could not access our account. She told us the 5% policy. We accepted. She asked us to put our card on a mat. She said she is not allowed to have any hand to hand contact. She put the cash on the mat and we picked it up and left the casino with it in our pockets.

[WestLakeGirl]

You don't even have to mention that you have OBC, just go to the cashier and say I'd like $200 please, and they will say, you know about the fee, and you sign a chit and walk away with your $200. The casino doesn't care if it's OBCor not.

 

Meaning you could have no OBC in your SeaPass account and they will still do this and charge the amount you ask for plus the fee to your account.

[ken_ll]

so a couple of questions from a couple of Canadians going on their first Celebrity cruise :) ...

 

We have an OBC of $300usd which we were going to use for some Excursions , specialty restaurant and some laundry ( lol this was so that I do not over-pack lol)

 

However we wanted to take some USD to spend on the islands but the exchange rate is almost 40% today .... If I go to Celebrity website I can buy OBC for $30.60 and it states "Please note that a 5% handling fee will be assessed if the credit is redeemed in the casino." ..

 

It does not state how much USD we will get as a credit ..... I hate to assume it would be $25 ... Does anyone know ?? because if so then I would only be paying 22.4% exchange and even with the 5% extra to cash in the casino it would still be under 30%

 

Also it only lets me buy up to 9 "units" of OBC ($275) ... Can I buy more ?

 

Is there a limit to how much could redeem in the Casino at an given time ... Ie: could I cash in $500 all at once ? ( assuming they let me buy $500 or more usd)

 

I do not think we would be cashing in any of the "$300 obc given to us at the time of the cruise purchase" for cash as we already had plans for sing in on board ....

 

I am just thinking it would make more sense to buy OBC from Celebrity than USD cash from our bank ....

 

Does anyone from Canada have any recent experience on this issue of buying OBC from Celebrity and then cashing it out for actual USD funds BEFORE the end of the cruise ...

 

Thanks in advance :-)

 

Cat:)

 

cat_in_cda

 

To answer your questions, I make the assumption you booked your cruise in Canadian dollars. (If anyone in Canada booked in US dollars, this will not work for you.)

 

We came off the Summit in early Dec/15 and self-funded OBC through Celebrity at a rate slightly less than the 22.4% (which is the current rate). Buy multiple units of 9 and each $30.60 Cdn gives you $25 US as a Refundable OBC. Buy as much as you want. It will go through Celebrity as one transaction and you'll get confirmation within 2 days.

 

We set up as a cash account and on day before disembarking, cashed out at Guest Relations and in cash. If you allow Celebrity to put it on your Canadian dollar credit card, you generally take a 2.5% hit (US to Can.). If you allow Celebrity to put it on your Canadian based US dollar credit card, you will take a 5% hit (US to Can., and then Can to US).

 

The bottom line - cash only from Guest Relations. Keep in mind this is your money and it will show as a Refundable OBC on your account. Do not go to Casino to redeem, you'll take a 5% hit.

 

Celebrity OBC is another story being non-refundable. Celebrity allows you to take cash against your "sign and sail card" in the casino. You have to have a credit card on file with Celebrity. You need to tell the cashier in the casino cage how much you want to take as cash (they have no access to balances in your account)and a 5% charge applies. Take out $100, you'll have a $105 charge on your account.

 

Ken

[Jade13]

Sorry for my naivety as I do not gamble or frequent casinos. When requesting "cash" at the casino, do they give you actual cash or are you given "chips" that you have to turn back in for cash?

 

 

It was cash in Millennium last month. I expected chips.

[gimletgal]

You don't even have to mention that you have OBC, just go to the cashier and say I'd like $200 please, and they will say, you know about the fee, and you sign a chit and walk away with your $200. The casino doesn't care if it's OBCor not.

 

Meaning you could have no OBC in your SeaPass account and they will still do this and charge the amount you ask for plus the fee to your account.

 

You, myself, and others have made this statement over and over on these boards. It is fact. People will still question it and will believe what they want. Basically it is an exercise in futility! :D

[helen haywood]

I agree that you don't have to tell the cashier you want to cash out some OBC. The only reason we mentioned it was if, as some have suggested Celebrity might decide to make NR OBC truly non-refundable, then there could come a time when the $200 in cash I withdrew will show as a charge on my account and my OBC will just expire at the end of the cruise leaving me paying for the $200 cash advance. If that were to ever become policy, then I'd like to think that when I mentioned to the cashier that I wanted to cash out OBC he or she would tell me Celebrity no longer allows that.

[ref9]

Ken_11:

 

Can you take out cash from Guest Relations a day or two into your cruise?

Cash from your purchased OBC's. I have bought some for dinner upgrades.

If you can, I will use it for my day trips.

 

Thanks, Blaine

[ken_ll]

Ken_11:

 

Can you take out cash from Guest Relations a day or two into your cruise?

Cash from your purchased OBC's. I have bought some for dinner upgrades.

If you can, I will use it for my day trips.

 

Thanks, Blaine

 

Blaine

 

I personally would discourage using Guest Relations as an ATM for purchased OBC's. On the last cruise the GR staff indicated that they like to refund at the end of the cruise so that the guest has had an opportunity to spend the OBC on the ship.

 

Dinner upgrades - charge to card. Remember the intent of any OBC is to use "on the ship". I can see trying to take it out at the beginning of the cruise defeats the purpose of an OBC in the first place. Take some cash with you for shore spending or casino option.

 

Ken

[floatn]

Just off Connie and had non refundable OBC. Requested cash for it at guest services - no. Went to casino and was able to get all of it converted to casino player's bank funds with NO additional fee attached.