Close Onboard Account

[dvcdisney]

Hi. I'm very new to NCL. I have an upcoming cruise and was just trying to research some info.

 

I was wondering if it's possible to close my onboard account before the end of the cruise.

 

I will be purchasing OBC to use for my account. However, if I don't use up all the OBC, would I be able to go to Guest Services and ask them to close out my account so I can't charge anymore to the account, and get any remaining OBC as cash?

 

Just to be clear, all will be OBC purchased by me or my travel agent. None will be given by NCL.

 

I would really appreciate any help. Thank you.

[sparks1093]

I suppose you could close your account if you wished but I believe all refunds have to be done post-cruise.

[KeithJenner]

Any unused refundable OBC is refunded by cheque, I believe. I'm not aware of being able to get it back as cash.

 

It has in the past been possible to withdraw cash though the casino, for a charge of a few percent. However, I'm not sure whether that is still possible. There has been discussion about that, but I'm afraid I haven't really followed it too closely.

 

I'm sure someone will be able to give more detail on that.

[sparks1093]

Any unused refundable OBC is refunded by cheque, I believe. I'm not aware of being able to get it back as cash.

 

It has in the past been possible to withdraw cash though the casino, for a charge of a few percent. However, I'm not sure whether that is still possible. There has been discussion about that, but I'm afraid I haven't really followed it too closely.

 

I'm sure someone will be able to give more detail on that.

 

Actually that is an option if someone doesn't mind a 3% fee. Of course with the length of time NCL is taking in processing refunds it might be worth it.

[dvcdisney]

Okay. Thanks for the info.

 

If they can't give it to me in cash, can they refund it on the credit card on my account?

 

Is that even possible?

 

I don't mind the 3% fee since it's likely going to be less than $100, but I thought that since I purchased the OBC, I would be able to get the cash back.

[Hopes4]

Okay. Thanks for the info.

 

 

 

If they can't give it to me in cash, can they refund it on the credit card on my account?

 

 

 

Is that even possible?

 

 

 

I don't mind the 3% fee since it's likely going to be less than $100, but I thought that since I purchased the OBC, I would be able to get the cash back.

 

 

 

The last time I asked that question I was told all refunds would be given back to the credit card that purchased the on board credit. That's fine if it is your credit card, not so fine if it gets refunded to your TA

 

 

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[esm54687]

The refund back to the "purchasing credit card" has been a hot topic but I cannot find anything that is definitive....

 

There was a thread that asked the question because a couple were getting married and taking a NCL cruise for their honeymoon.... several different family members purchased OBCs as a wedding gift (so multiple credit cards from different people) and they wanted to know how the unused OBC would be refunded. It was an interesting thread because who's credit card would be issued a credit or was it equally spread out over all the credit cards (but what if someone gave more of a gift than someone else but received the same refund) or was it based on when the OBC was purchased that they received more, etc

 

The OP never came back to let CC know.

[pieshops]

will you pre pay the DSC Gratuities? If not they hit the account daily for thats days portion so closing your account early may be an issue. They don't just charge you for all 7 days at one time

[dvcdisney]

The last time I asked that question I was told all refunds would be given back to the credit card that purchased the on board credit. That's fine if it is your credit card, not so fine if it gets refunded to your TA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you for your post.

 

In the case of having 2 credit card purchases, wouldn't it be possible to refund it to the credit card that is on the cruise account when you check in?

[dvcdisney]

will you pre pay the DSC Gratuities? If not they hit the account daily for thats days portion so closing your account early may be an issue. They don't just charge you for all 7 days at one time

 

Yes, I have prepaid the gratuities. I understand that it would be an issue in that case.

 

I was hoping that if there's nothing to be charged on the account and I wanted to close it before the big line ups on the last night, I would be one less person to deal with.

 

I don't mind if they would refund it to the card that's on the cruise account. But I don't really want them to send me the refund. That's really annoying and I've never heard of that before. Of course, I've only been on 9 cruise (8 with DCL and 1 with RCL) and I've never had that issue.

 

I may just not bother to purchase any OBC if they're going to hold it hostage if I don't spend it. I planned to set an amount and use only what's there. But, I think I'll just keep the amount to what my TA puts in which is only $50.

[dvcdisney]

The refund back to the "purchasing credit card" has been a hot topic but I cannot find anything that is definitive....

 

There was a thread that asked the question because a couple were getting married and taking a NCL cruise for their honeymoon.... several different family members purchased OBCs as a wedding gift (so multiple credit cards from different people) and they wanted to know how the unused OBC would be refunded. It was an interesting thread because who's credit card would be issued a credit or was it equally spread out over all the credit cards (but what if someone gave more of a gift than someone else but received the same refund) or was it based on when the OBC was purchased that they received more, etc

 

The OP never came back to let CC know.

 

Thanks for your post. This is probably a better reason for the refund to go directly to the credit card on the cruise account. That way, they get the money even if they didn't spend it. To me, it's virtually cash that these guests are giving to the couple, I don't see why they can't have it if they don't spend it.

[Crown Vic]

Any unused refundable OBC is refunded by cheque, I believe. I'm not aware of being able to get it back as cash...I'm sure someone will be able to give more detail on that.

 

We ended our Norwegian Fjords/North Cape cruise on June 25. Was told that the OBC balance, which was quite large, would be refunded by cheque to our home address. As of August 5 we are still waiting. No credit card refunds. Believe that small amounts may be refundable via Guest Services. Taking cash at the casino was a favourite approach but NCL started to frown on that. We were stopped sometime ago as NCL said we were not gambling sufficiently. Seems NCL wants to hold onto the guests' money as long as possible. Do not know why. Other lines have refunded, the next day, to our credit card. Suggest keeping any refundable OBC balance to a minimum or better still finishing your cruise with a small amount owing to NCL. Your credit card will be charged immediately. Good ol' NCL...

Edited August 5, 2016 by Crown Vic

[cb at sea]

Refunds take MUCH, MUCH longer than charges...don't know why...it's a freaking keystroke...but that''s how it works! They will refund by check. I don't know how much OBC you have, but it's really not hard to use it...any REFUNDABLE OBC will be returned to you...in time...be patient!

[imnance]

On the CCL boards I have seen people talk about loading OBC to a slot machine, spinning a time or 2 and cashing out. I don't know the exact procedure or if it would work on NCL but I'm sure someone over there would be able to help.

[tinkr2]

I can not imagine they would let you close out your account, unless you had a credit card on file. I would not overpay. I wish i had the problem about not spending obc.

[kerryincork]

I wouldn't bother with too much OB credit. what I do is bring a few hundred dollars with me. I keep an eye on my account and during quite times use the cash to pay it off. That way I don't have a big credit card bill when I get home.

If you are paying by card you activate it when you check in. That's it, if there is nothing wrong with your account balance there is no need to queue at GS.

[Casino Comp Chick]

If you close your account midweek that shuts down your entire account. You will not be able to order a drink from the UBP, you will not be able to use any UDP dinners and you will not be able to log in to the Internet plan if that was your perk. You will be sent to guest services to fix the account.

I forgot to call my credit card company once and they triggered the fraud alert and my account was shut down and I only found out when I went to order a drink (I had UBP/Casino drink cards).

[dvcdisney]

I can not imagine they would let you close out your account, unless you had a credit card on file. I would not overpay. I wish i had the problem about not spending obc.

 

I would have a credit card on file, but also OBC. I don't spend that much on the cruise, so if I do put in some OBC, I would likely have some leftover.

 

The exchange rate for OBC is more favourable than charging it to my credit card, so I was hoping I can use the OBC and nothing would be charged to my credit card. However, it looks like it's more work than it's worth.

[dvcdisney]

If you close your account midweek that shuts down your entire account. You will not be able to order a drink from the UBP, you will not be able to use any UDP dinners and you will not be able to log in to the Internet plan if that was your perk. You will be sent to guest services to fix the account.

I forgot to call my credit card company once and they triggered the fraud alert and my account was shut down and I only found out when I went to order a drink (I had UBP/Casino drink cards).

 

That would not be a problem for us. We don't have UBP or UDP or internet plan.

 

All I wanted to do was purchase some OBC, use it for the purchases (ie. souvenirs etc), then near the end of the cruise, go to Guest Services and tell them I will not be charging anymore, I'd like to close my account. And I was hoping that they would give me the remaining OBC (which is purchased by me) as cash or even credit it back to my credit card on the file.

 

I'm not trying to do anything sinister...just get my money back that I haven't spent.

 

Just seems so idiotic that they don't have a system in place to refund small amounts in cash or if it's over a certain amount, it would need to be refunded to a credit card. They'll be less people annoyed.

 

Not that it matters to them because I'm not a big spender, but if I don't have the OBC on my account, I will likely not buy anything. I guess that's good for me.

[dvcdisney]

Thanks again to everyone for your posts and helpful info.

[1025cruise]

If you have a credit card on file, no need to go stand in line. Any charges above what you have OBC for will automatically be charged. What you may want to do is midway through, go ask for an accounting of your account, so you can see where you are.