Prepay gratuities with obc

[nalatrixie74]

I have 4 cabins reserved for my husband and our kids on the Allure in Nov. I called to get the gratuities paid. I wanted to use our obc for each cabin and then pay the difference.  The 1st person I spoke with,  I told him what I wanted. He pulled up my reservation and started talking about gold members benefits, then said 'oh, I see you're platinum,  these are the benefits '.... I stopped him and I said I just want to take care of gratuities.  He gave me the total,  I said 'ok, please apply my obc 1st and then I'll pay the difference.  'We don't do that ' he said. I said,  'ok, once we're onboard we'll have to take care of that.'  He said they won't do that. I knew that couldn't be true,  so I called back.  The next person I spoke with said we can't prepay,  but once onboard we can use obc. I'm frustrated that I have to wait.  Once onboard we plan on the kids taking care of their own accounts minus us paying gratuities for them. I'm guessing we will just go to guest service and pay the difference for the kids cabins to even out their accounts. 

[Clarea]

Your OBC will automatically cover the automatic gratuities.  Nothing to do at Guest Services.

[Beeks92868]

When we were booking we added gratuity and then used the obc and deposit as first payment so in essence that’s what we did

[nalatrixie74]

There will be a balance we owe on top of the kids obc to meet gratuities. We just want to have their account balances at zero so they can be responsible for what is on there during the cruise. 

[vacationlover_mn]

One nice thing about the daily bill they show on your stateroom tv, is that they show your OBC as a credit, then all of your individual charges separately.  At the end of the cruise, they then charge your cc the balance.

[Paulette3028]

11 hours ago, nalatrixie74 said:

I have 4 cabins reserved for my husband and our kids on the Allure in Nov. I called to get the gratuities paid. I wanted to use our obc for each cabin and then pay the difference.  The 1st person I spoke with,  I told him what I wanted. He pulled up my reservation and started talking about gold members benefits, then said 'oh, I see you're platinum,  these are the benefits '.... I stopped him and I said I just want to take care of gratuities.  He gave me the total,  I said 'ok, please apply my obc 1st and then I'll pay the difference.  'We don't do that ' he said. I said,  'ok, once we're onboard we'll have to take care of that.'  He said they won't do that. I knew that couldn't be true,  so I called back.  The next person I spoke with said we can't prepay,  but once onboard we can use obc. I'm frustrated that I have to wait.  Once onboard we plan on the kids taking care of their own accounts minus us paying gratuities for them. I'm guessing we will just go to guest service and pay the difference for the kids cabins to even out their accounts. 

It seems to me that the 'kids' are grown ups.  It is nice that you are covering their tips for sure.  When we sail we always have OBC on our account that will cover our tips (mostly). We get some from previously booking the cruise when we had sailed before, or from our TA.  If I wanted to make it they covered my tips,  I would figure out the daily amount of tips and multiply by number of nights.  You can buy OBC to add to the accounts for enough money to cover the tips.  Then when all the OBC's are used the balance that will be left on the cabin account is theirs to pay.  Seems easy enough to do....

[brillohead]

You could just give each "kid" cash for the difference between their OBC and their total gratuities for the week.  They can either apply that cash to their account at Guest Services, or they can use the cash how they wish and have the difference stay on their credit card for their room account.  

No need for you to call, and no need for you to stand in line at Guest Services.  

[nalatrixie74]

Yes the kids are adults.  I'm just trying to make it the least complicated for them as possible.  I was also wanting this charge done and out of the way. But as pp said we can just give them the difference and let them decide what they would like to do.  I'm just throwing a lot of information at them and trying to make it not confusing.  But we have cruised many times,  so hopefully they picked up alot through our travels and I'm worrying for nothing.  Thank you for all of your thoughts!  

[El Abuelo]

If each of the cabins sets up payment for expenses incurred onboard, how does the OP ensure those gratuity charges are paid with OP’s OBC without going to guest services?  It seems to me by default each cabin will be charged separately. 

[nalatrixie74]

1 minute ago, El Abuelo said:

If each of the cabins sets up payment for expenses incurred onboard, how does the OP ensure those gratuity charges are paid with OP’s OBC without going to guest services?  It seems to me by default each cabin will be charged separately. 

Each cabin has their own obc, just not enough to cover it all. 

[LeeW]

When we wanted to pay another cabin's gratuities I just called and bought OBC for them.  Their account had the OBC added and then the gratuities were subtracted each day.  Very easy, but you cannot actually apply OBC to gratuities until you get onboard.  We were treating family to cruise of their choice and also covered their gratuities.

 

Or on the cruise if you have enough OBC in your cabin just go down to the front desk during the cruise and have them move it over to the other cabins.  Or use your credit card to add credit to their account.  Just know how much you want to pay - say $14.50 per person per day in each cabin.

[blueridgemama]

Can you buy OBC on line in the cruise planner or do you have to call?

[nolesrule]

The least complicated way of handling it would send each kid a check in the amount you want to cover.

 

Money is fungible. It doesn't matter if you give them some money or reduce the money in their onboard account. Either way they end up with the same amount of money in the end.

[Clarea]

23 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

Can you buy OBC on line in the cruise planner or do you have to call?

 

Call.

[cruiseguy1016]

We are in the same situation. We have adult kids traveling with us. I just called my TA last week and asked her to prepay the gratuities for the kids. She did it with no questions asked.

[brillohead]

42 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

We are in the same situation. We have adult kids traveling with us. I just called my TA last week and asked her to prepay the gratuities for the kids. She did it with no questions asked.

That works for your situation, but the OP wants to use the OBC that came with the booking of each cabin.  If the OP prepays the full amount of the gratuities in advance, there is no way for them to take advantage of the OBC.  

 

[Merion_Mom]

19 hours ago, nalatrixie74 said:

There will be a balance we owe on top of the kids obc to meet gratuities. We just want to have their account balances at zero so they can be responsible for what is on there during the cruise. 

 

You could do this:

 

Move all of the OBC to your cabin when you board.  (Yes, you have to do this at Guest Services).  But call your TA now (or RC if you booked directly) and prepay their gratuities.

 

Result:  They have only their own expenses on their SeaPass accounts.  You have the OBC to spend or cash out.  

[Casino Comp Chick]

I don’t know if I am following correctly, can you use OBC given to you from Royal Caribbean (when booking) towards gratuities?

[Paulette3028]

Just now, Casino Comp Chick said:

I don’t know if I am following correctly, can you use OBC given to you from Royal Caribbean (when booking) towards gratuities?

Sure.  The OBC (and any other combined OBC's) will be on your account and the daily gratuity fee will be assessed and the OBC(s)will be used to counter the charge.  Simple as that....when the OBC (s) are  used up....the fees will accumulate for you to pay at the end

[Casino Comp Chick]

19 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

Sure.  The OBC (and any other combined OBC's) will be on your account and the daily gratuity fee will be assessed and the OBC(s)will be used to counter the charge.  Simple as that....when the OBC (s) are  used up....the fees will accumulate for you to pay at the end

Great thank you. NCL never allows their obc to be used so this is great news.

Thanks again!

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Great thank you. NCL never allows their obc to be used so this is great news.

Thanks again!

That's crazy... gratuities and purchases are all getting charged to your account, what does it matter what you use to pay the on-board charges?

 

[molly361]

2 hours ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

Great thank you. NCL never allows their obc to be used so this is great news.

Thanks again!

I'm guessing in time rcl won't allow it either

[Casino Comp Chick]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

That's crazy... gratuities and purchases are all getting charged to your account, what does it matter what you use to pay the on-board charges?

 

 

They purposely exclude them, they show it on the app or your tv as it being applied against your OBC and then on the last night it reverses out, I have read many times people have lost OBC and wound up with a bill at the end because they did not have enough legitimate spending to offset their NCL Nonrefundable obc given as a perk. It has never happened to me because I always spend money in the ship shops.