How Do People Get So Much OBC?

[AZ Ocean Lover]

I'll read through threads where people have excessive amounts of OBC that they have to use on a cruise and I often wonder how they get so much. We haven't taken anything longer than 7 day cruises but we have the CCL stock and occasionally we'll get a $100 on a promotion and when we go through a TA we've received a small OBC gift but no where near what some people post.

 

Some people seem like they have a hard time spending all of their OBC. What am I missing? Do I need to look for a better TA?

[CruiserBruce]

If you look at those threads, there is frequently some hints. Stock ownership, TA promotions, problems with previous cruises...

[geocruiser]

We mostly do seven night Caribbean cruises in a obstructed balcony, Most time our OBC is something like this.

$100. CCL stock credit

100. Military credit

$50. each, total $100 for two. from future cruise credit.

$50 to $100 from our TA

$25 each for being Elite (over 21 cruises) ($50. total)

Total for cruise $400 to $450 for the two of us.

 

On our cruise in Jan 2018 we have $400. plus pre- paid tips

[WatchHill]

Like you, we have CCL stock [try to book longer cruises for greater OBC], DH has military, we also have FCC's that give us additional monies. Our TA does look at possible group amenities that include some sort of OBC and we keep an eye out for Princess promo deals that may offer additional benefits. We once had an issue on a cruise, well documented, and Princess offered us not only an applied price reduction for booking another cruise, but a nice OBC to sweeten the deal. Booking a higher cat. cabin sometimes gives you a larger OBC.

 

With some cruises, we have a small OBC, others much more. We have a 14 night coming up in June and have $1150 OBC which is a record for us. That won't cover the few Princess tours we've booked. ;)

 

Darcy

[cruzrbachoua]

$25 each for being Elite (over 21 cruises) ($50. total)

 

wow did not know you get obc for being elite...is that in the brochure on the site and a missed it? or something that just happens as a surprise?

[katisdale]

We tend to take longer cruises which increase the potential for additional OBC but also have higher tips etc. We both served in the Air Force so we both get those credits (thank you Princess), have the 100 shares of stock, keep future cruise certificates to make booking deposits, and use a TA that gives a credit as well.

[Kartgv]

Some OBC is issued by Princess, if you are eligible: Military Credit, Stockholder Credit, Future Cruise Credit purchased onboard a previous cruise. Beyond that, it's all about which TA you use and the timing. Some can/will discount from cruise line prices (depends also on the cruise line) and some won't; some offer OBC, usually up to 10% of the base cruise price, some don't. There are sometimes trade-offs, such as additional cancellation fees (we've seen $50 per passenger) to get the additional perks. Some people feel that they're not 'in control' of their booking when they use a TA, but we've never found that to be a problem.

 

We just booked a September cruise through an online TA and have $950 OBC plus free gratuities. We don't plan on doing ship's excursions on this one, and don't drink enough to use this all up. We also don't buy much in the shops, so will probably have credit left. We had over $400 left after an August/September British Isles/Trans-Atlantic, and it was refunded in cash about 4 weeks after the cruise.

[geocruiser]

wow did not know you get obc for being elite...is that in the brochure on the site and a missed it? or something that just happens as a surprise?

 

It was on our 21 or 22 cruise that we received it when on board. I did go down to the Captain Circle hostess to get a copy of it to give to my TA. I could not find it on Princess's web site. The credit goes from $25. to $100. according to how many cruise you have over 21 cruises.

[Colo Cruiser]

No such animal as excessive OBC. :D

[Hav2cruise]

We just did a 10 day cruise where we had 1600.00 on board credit and it still cost us an extra 1300.00

We had fun though

Tom

[Astro Flyer]

wow did not know you get obc for being elite...is that in the brochure on the site and a missed it? or something that just happens as a surprise?

Princess has Loyalty credit at the following levels but the amount doesn't appear in our cruise account until boarding the ship & is issued by the Captain's Circle rep. Also it's issued per cabin & not per elite level passenger so my wife & I only receive one loyalty credit. I've read posts that say when both passengers in a cabin have a different surname they'll each receive it.

 

21 to 31 is $25

32 to 41 is $50

42 to 51 is $75

52+ is $100

 

We've had as much as $1600 of OBC & we always use the total amount of OBC when deciding on booking a cruise. That's particularly true when deciding whether to book as a B2B or as a single cruise. When considering the total amount of OBC, I've had both ways be best for different cruises.

 

When we received the $1600 that was by booking as a B2B (14 & 17 day cruises) so our total cost was less than booking as a single 31 day cruise.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[cr8tiv1]

Don't forget the referral credits. $25.00 per new person you referral...and they book...and they also get $25.00. I finally made it to the $50.00 elite OBC. Going on a cruise with too much OBC....not!

[Astro Flyer]

It's important to check the total price...for a future cruise our booking through my TA resulted in a lower net price than with a big box store reservation. The big box store increased the Princess price by hundreds of dollars & offset their higher price by giving more OBC.

 

So the total cost with less OBC from my TA was still cheaper than with the big box store so it's always good to check multiple booking options for the best price.

[geocruiser]

Princess has Loyalty credit at the following levels but the amount doesn't appear in our cruise account until boarding the ship & is issued by the Captain's Circle rep. Also it's issued per cabin & not per elite level passenger so my wife & I only receive one loyalty credit. I've read posts that say when both passengers in a cabin have a different surname they'll each receive it.

 

 

 

We've had as much as $1600 of OBC & we always use the total amount of OBC when deciding on booking a cruise. That's particularly true when deciding whether to book as a B2B or as a single cruise. When considering the total amount of OBC, I've had both ways be best for different cruises.

 

When we received the $1600 that was by booking as a B2B (14 & 17 day cruises) so our total cost was less than booking as a single 31 day cruise.

Hi,

 

We each received $25. on a seven night cruise. It was listed for each of us. We have the same name. Was this a mistake?

[Astro Flyer]

Hi,

 

We each received $25. on a seven night cruise. It was listed for each of us. We have the same name. Was this a mistake?

 

Based on my experiences & those of other passengers who've posted their experiences, it was a lucky mistake that benefited you. :D

 

Any chance the $25/pp was from another source such as from a TA or another Princess promotion? Checking my January statement on the Star, our Loyalty credit is listed as a $50 (our correct amount) "Gift Credit" but nothing for my wife.

 

Loyalty credit has been like the free minibar...only one per cabin. Although I've never found a written Princess statement about Loyalty credit. It's like a secret benefit they don't share with passengers.

[geocruiser]

Based on my experiences & those of other passengers who've posted their experiences, it was a lucky mistake that benefited you. :D

 

Any chance the $25/pp was from another source such as from a TA or another Princess promotion? Checking my January statement on the Star, our Loyalty credit is listed as a $50 (our correct amount) "Gift Credit" but nothing for my wife.

 

Loyalty credit has been like the free minibar...only one per cabin. Although I've never found a written Princess statement about Loyalty credit. It's like a secret benefit they don't share with passengers.

 

It was loyalty credit. The only written material that I have seen about this was from the Captain Circle hostess on Regal Princess this March. She gave me a copy to give to my TA, which I did. I wished I made a copy of it.

[SantaFeFan]

We booked during a Princess promotion that offered $400 in OBC for certain category rooms. Then our large volume TA offered another $475 on top of that based on the amount paid for the rooms, for a total of $875 between the two. Princess also offered one specialty dining voucher for everyone in the room. With just two of us, this works out to about an additional $50 benefit. This certainly isn't the norm. Most past cruises have only offered up to $150 max between the TA and the cruise line, and even that has been spotty.

 

Sometimes luck happens. ;)

[Astro Flyer]

It was loyalty credit. The only written material that I have seen about this was from the Captain Circle hostess on Regal Princess this March. She gave me a copy to give to my TA, which I did. I wished I made a copy of it.

 

Thanks...hopefully your experience will be implemented fleetwide because I've always thought it should be per qualified passenger & not per room. Both of us have reached those levels so to me it would be equitable to issue it per person.

 

Would it be possible to have your TA give you a copy of the written policy you received from the Captain's Circle hostess? It would be greatly appreciated if you could post it here so other passengers could benefit by having a written Princess statement that Loyalty credit is per person & not per cabin.

[MoreyCreek]

How does one receive the Military Credit after you have booked and paid for the cruise in full? I was not aware of this credit when I booked our cruise.

[thinfool]

How does one receive the Military Credit after you have booked and paid for the cruise in full? I was not aware of this credit when I booked our cruise.

 

Call Princess.

[Timbles]

How does one receive the Military Credit after you have booked and paid for the cruise in full? I was not aware of this credit when I booked our cruise.

 

At Princess site, scroll all the way down the main page, under "Cruise Deals" there is a link for Military Benefit Program, there you will find a pdf to fill out and instructions. Once you get the credit applied you never have to go through the process again, it will be in your profile.

[zogrand]

Here's a link to the Military Credit info -

http://www.princess.com/military_benefit_program/

[AZ Ocean Lover]

OP here. Thank you all for the information.

[Astro Flyer]

How does one receive the Military Credit after you have booked and paid for the cruise in full? I was not aware of this credit when I booked our cruise.

 

Click this link to go to the Princess webpage for this great benefit & it includes a link to the application form. In the US once you qualify it's automatically added to our cruises.

 

http://www.princess.com/military_benefit_program/#.VPn5bIY76rU

[Times Prince]

Another, irregular sources of OBC are "move-over" offers, which usually include a refundable OBC, and OBC given due to some issue (e.g. major itinerary change or equipment failure).

 

We had a cruise where the combination of a generous move-over OBC, CCL shareholder benefit, booking OBC, FCC OBC, and TA OBC for a 12 day cruise, combined with Princess paid gratuities ended with us getting $500 back at the end of the cruise - and we spent freely. We don't expect that to ever happen again, partly because the rules changed to lower benefits since.

 

Our experience with the Loyalty OBC (>21 cruises) is the OBC is per cabin.

 

The other factor that influences use of OBC include how one spends the money onboard. If you don't take Princess excursions, don't drink or gamble much, and have pre-paid gratuities, then it can be an interesting exercise using OBC under the "use it or lose it" rules. But, as my wife says: "they have a jewelry store onboard, don't they?" ;)