New: Cash Cards Only In Lieu Of OBC...

[Bo1953]

I been using a big box TA for years. For my next upcoming cruise I'll be getting a cash card. Since I shop at the big box regularly, I'll use it.

 

In past cruises I have had OBC refunded at the end of cruise but that's rare. Probably, not seeing that OBC on my cabin TV, I'll spend less :rolleyes: Celebrity may want to re-evaluate this new practice.

 

b - I understand your position, for sure... since I will be using the same amount of 'cash' or 'credit' on board or in the store, I rather spend theirs first on-board, then whatever is left, use in store and not be forced to use it in store only... that is unless they are going to provide me with 2x - 3x cash to not get OBC.

 

I now believe that discount cabin with some OBC is a better way to go, for me personally. My spending in the store will not be diminished as I purchase there for personal and business... but I would like to get the biggest bang I can on vacation for the spouse and myself, we only do these once or twice a year... max it out!

 

Thank you all again for your input and thoughts on this.

 

bon voyage

[GottaKnowWhen]

... has anyone encountered this at our TA? Previously we received OBC, now they have gone to a cash card system which will be issued within 30 days after you return from the sailing....

 

Interesting. I am not personally affected as I have not and will not shop at a place that requires me to pay a fee for the privilege.

 

But in thinking about this situation and reading through the responses, I realized I have had a very similar deal. My first couple of cruises were booked through an airline cruise and travel subsidiary (or contractor -I never was clear on the business relationship.) In any case, I received many many branded airline bonus miles; 1 per $ spent for the cruise booking and on the ship, + 2 per $ charged on such-and-such credit card associated with the airline + 3 per $ for all spending if you booked a certain class cabin or higher, + etc. Oh, and 10,000 bonus miles just for going with them. Altogether I think I received 7 airline miles for every dollar I spent on those trips.

 

So in those cases I was getting airline miles that were only usable in purchasing a limited range of tickets/seats from that particular airline. (In retrospect, even if I spent $5000 on a cruise and got 7x5000 + 10000 bonus, that is still only 45000 miles which is worth about $450 on that airline only.) Not that different from this situation you describe with the cash card in lieu of OBC..

[kathynorth]

We've booked many cruises through this agent and received the cash card instead of OBC for our last cruise. We also prefered receiving OBC on the cruise, especially since it was refundable at the end of our cruise, but didn't seem to have any problem spending the cash card after cruise. In the long run, it didn't make any difference to us. We still benefited from what we consider to be a generous credit that was better than any other TA that we've booked with. I've met many cruisers who say a different TA from NH who advertises heavily on this website gives more OBC, but when we map out and compare final cruise costa to us they've only come out to be less one time. I suppose how frequently one shops with this store would determine whether or not its a good deal to book with them. For us, getting a larger rebate (cash card) than the OBC offered by other TA's is our preference.

[Jeremiah1212]

I would rather have OBC or prepaid grats. Although we spend a fair amount where the cash card could be used, it does eliminate some of the other value you can take advantage of by paying through other avenues. And recently I've been able to find much more attractive deals elsewhere with a combination of prepaid grats and additional OBC. On our next RCL booking I came out ahead over $200 by not going the cash card route.

[Bo1953]

We've booked many cruises through this agent and received the cash card instead of OBC for our last cruise. We also prefered receiving OBC on the cruise, especially since it was refundable at the end of our cruise, but didn't seem to have any problem spending the cash card after cruise. In the long run, it didn't make any difference to us. We still benefited from what we consider to be a generous credit that was better than any other TA that we've booked with. I've met many cruisers who say a different TA from NH who advertises heavily on this website gives more OBC, but when we map out and compare final cruise costs to us they've only come out to be less one time. I suppose how frequently one shops with this store would determine whether or not its a good deal to book with them. For us, getting a larger rebate (cash card) than the OBC offered by other TA's is our preference.

 

k - Thank you for your post... I Am sure that I would have no problem using the Cash Card either, yet it would be my preference, if the TA is providing some sort of 'cash back' I rather have the cash to spend where I like as opposed being forced to spend it in one place only.

 

Your point is good, if there is more 'cash' than anywhere else, not a problem if one is going to shop there and frequently, anyway.

 

bon voyage

Edited January 7, 2017 by Bo1953

[Bo1953]

I would rather have OBC or prepaid grats. Although we spend a fair amount where the cash card could be used, it does eliminate some of the other value you can take advantage of by paying through other avenues. And recently I've been able to find much more attractive deals elsewhere with a combination of prepaid grats and additional OBC. On our next RCL booking I came out ahead over $200 by not going the cash card route.

 

j - that is great... do they also handle X reservations with similar results?

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

Interesting. I am not personally affected as I have not and will not shop at a place that requires me to pay a fee for the privilege.

 

But in thinking about this situation and reading through the responses, I realized I have had a very similar deal. My first couple of cruises were booked through an airline cruise and travel subsidiary (or contractor -I never was clear on the business relationship.) In any case, I received many many branded airline bonus miles; 1 per $ spent for the cruise booking and on the ship, + 2 per $ charged on such-and-such credit card associated with the airline + 3 per $ for all spending if you booked a certain class cabin or higher, + etc. Oh, and 10,000 bonus miles just for going with them. Altogether I think I received 7 airline miles for every dollar I spent on those trips.

 

So in those cases I was getting airline miles that were only usable in purchasing a limited range of tickets/seats from that particular airline. (In retrospect, even if I spent $5000 on a cruise and got 7x5000 + 10000 bonus, that is still only 45000 miles which is worth about $450 on that airline only.) Not that different from this situation you describe with the cash card in lieu of OBC..

 

g - LOL, I understand fully, your position... my spouse rarely visits that place and I see the eyes roll in back of head when I say "I Am off to .... do you want anything?" LOL... Helps with re-arranging the pantry and using things in refrigerator which may spoil soon! :D

 

Of course I rarely purchase anything we would not normally eat or use, they have some great deals on clothing, ink cartridges, eye glasses and photo development, too... :)

 

Besides, quite often I see friends from my regular grocery store there and we get to connect in a way that otherwise would not happen.

 

bon voyage

[kathynorth]

k - Thank you for your post... I Am sure that I would have no problem using the Cash Card either, yet it would be my preference, if the TA is providing some sort of 'cash back' I rather have the cash to spend where I like as opposed being forced to spend it in one place only.

 

Your point is good, if there is more 'cash' than anywhere else, not a problem if one is going to shop there and frequently, anyway.

 

bon voyage

 

Lol, I guess this is what I was trying to say. I do quite a bit of hunting and comparing before booking. If all is equal I go with discount on cost precruise, then OBC, then cash card. However, the bottom line for me is I go with lowest final cost for the cruise.

[Jeremiah1212]

j - that is great... do they also handle X reservations with similar results?

 

bon voyage

 

 

They do. OBC offerings on Royal are typically very minimal from my experience. X is much higher. Their current offer is the standing two perks from Celebrity plus they cover grats. If you purchase from the correct competitive website they will typically throw in a little more OBC also. I believe it all shows up on your account as OBC so for a 7 day sailing we would have right at $500 in OBC before any additional amount they throw in.

 

 

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[Lastdance]

They do. OBC offerings on Royal are typically very minimal from my experience. X is much higher. Their current offer is the standing two perks from Celebrity plus they cover grats. If you purchase from the correct competitive website they will typically throw in a little more OBC also. I believe it all shows up on your account as OBC so for a 7 day sailing we would have right at $500 in OBC before any additional amount they throw in.

 

 

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What cabin are you quoting? I have 1000 OBC for a suite on a TA; booked onboard for 200 + 200 and 600 from my TA rep for 16 nights. My DH and I really don't drink a lot and we have MC...

 

 

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Edited January 7, 2017 by Lastdance

[Lastdance]

What cabin are you quoting? I have 1000 OBC for a suite on a TA; booked onboard for 200 + 200 and 600 from my TA rep for 16 nights. My DH and I really don't drink a lot and we have MC, but it is to Europe and not in the Caribbean. That is no longer our choice....next cruise in a suite in Europe we have all the perks and a total of 775 OBC for 10 days...

 

 

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[Jeremiah1212]

What cabin are you quoting? I have 1000 OBC for a suite on a TA; booked onboard for 200 + 200 and 600 from my TA rep for 16 nights. My DH and I really don't drink a lot and we have MC...

 

 

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That's for an SV (aft) cabin but it's the same offer for any of the regular balcony cabin categories through Aqua. I've never priced suites so I'm not sure how those are handled.

[Mr. Click]

So if I can't use the cash card for a deposit on my next cruise I guess it will buy me gas and paper towels and water etc in the store and then that money can go towards the deposit I guess.....But I will do some shopping around again for options before I book/assign my next trip. We are booked through this year, one with OBC, one with cash card so it is all about 2018 for me.

 

Either way it is better than useless United miles we got when we first started cruising and got 3000 miles for a booking

Edited January 7, 2017 by Mr. Click

[Bo1953]

So if I can't use the cash card for a deposit on my next cruise I guess it will buy me gas and paper towels and water etc in the store and then that money can go towards the deposit I guess.....But I will do some shopping around again for options before I book/assign my next trip. We are booked through this year, one with OBC, one with cash card so it is all about 2018 for me.

 

mc - It is similar for myself, as well....

 

bon voyage

[Italy52]

... has anyone encountered this at our TA? Previously we received OBC, now they have gone to a cash card system which will be issued within 30 days after you return from the sailing....

 

It is the GC I do not want as it can only be used at their warehouses or the online store... which is well within their right(s) and T & C to do so. I prefer to use the money on the sailing, personally.

 

I will commence a search for a TA whose forte is based on pricing and pay for upgrades in perks on my own as the difference in pricing may accommodates this... Yet I did prefer the OBC, which was usually generous to say the least... :)

 

Thank you all and bon voyage!

 

I did notice when making my 2018 arrangements that my TA (memb. club with a C) was issuing cash cards for their stores. Rervations made for Hal and Princess were being given OBC -- NCL and Celebrity were cash cards ..... RCI itineraries are not avail for 2018 so I can't comment on them.

[Cruise Junky]

I did notice when making my 2018 arrangements that my TA (memb. club with a C) was issuing cash cards for their stores. Rervations made for Hal and Princess were being given OBC -- NCL and Celebrity were cash cards ..... RCI itineraries are not avail for 2018 so I can't comment on them.

 

Same on the Canadian site.

[Muushka]

m - Thank you for the post. I Am not aware of any TA OBC which is not refundable, yet there could be. Just never heard of it, only X's.

 

I've found it on only TA I (almost) booked. When I found out it was OBN, I cancelled and went with C.