possible to use OBC to pay perk taxes?

[luckyinpa]

the answer has to be no but i wanted to ask here. assume you get obc from a TA. if you take the free drink pack and wanna pay the 20 per day tax on it. is there any way to use the OBC for it? i assumed no because you need to pay for it at the time of booking but i dont know how this works obviously. 

 

reason i ask is a TA is giving a crazy amount of obc for haven (1000) and i know i could use it for grats on board and stuff i buy on board, but didnt thik you can use it for pre cruise purchases

[Sauer-kraut]

No, you can't.  Its not OBC until you are on the ship and the gratuities for the perks are included in your cruise fare.  Have fun getting spa passes, treatments and extra charge entrees in the specialty restaurants!

[erdoran]

You might be able to use it for the inflated DSC for Haven, and you MIGHT (not sure) be able to use it for tips for butler & concierge.  Some folks also recommend withdrawing it at the casino and taking the 3% hit to do so.

[njhorseman]

7 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

wanna pay the 20 per day tax on it

It's a gratuity/service charge, not a tax, and no you can't use OBC to pay for it because it has to be paid up front with your cruise fare .

[njhorseman]

19 minutes ago, erdoran said:

You might be able to use it for the inflated DSC for Haven, and you MIGHT (not sure) be able to use it for tips for butler & concierge.

If it's refundable OBC, which OBC from a TA usually is, then it can be used toward anything on board including the DSC and gratuities for the butler and concierge. In the past we were also able to use nonrefundable OBC for butler and concierge gratuities, but I don't know whether that is still the case.

[don't-use-real-name]

This needs some further discussion:

 

OBC - On Board Credit can't be used - until well - you are on board the ship.

 

So nothing pre-cruise can be paid for in advance with it.

 

There are two types of the OBC -

More commonly NON-Refundable given by NCL - a TA - or some promotional venue

And then the Refundable type that is purchased usually by cash/gift up front.

NCL is supposed to use up all the NON-Refundable OBC in payment of on board accounts except DSC

After that the refundable OBC comes into play and any left over is refundable to the guest

The only thing that can not be paid for directly is the DSC (Daily Service Charge) -

if this were done the Non-refundable OBC that NCL gives would be used to pay NCLs own levied DSC -

Not going to happen -

All other bills on account can be paid with any of the OBCs

 

Non-refundable OBC can be refunded by playing in the ships Casino with a token service charge.

 

Any CORRECTIONS to this - Please post away and Thank You !  

 

Just read the last post by njhorseman - any OBC can be used to pay the Cabin Steward Butler

Concierge or other crew member personal gratuities aka TIPS.

Edited August 17, 2019 by don't-use-real-name

[bonvoyagie]

DURN - I believe that TAs usually purchase the OBC from NCL and therefore it is Refundable

[Hotspring]

39 minutes ago, bonvoyagie said:

DURN - I believe that TAs usually purchase the OBC from NCL and therefore it is Refundable

I have heard from my part time TA SIL that the cruise lines offer extra OBC credits to motivate the TA to push their cruises over others.  They do this separate from what they offer their direct customers who already appear to be in their pocket rather than considering other cruise lines.   Therefore, the outrageous but nice OBC that Costco and private TA offer are likely non-refundable but spendable for Spa treatments, pedicures, specialty dining, shore excursions.

 

In these days of internet booking the TA commissions are razor thin, they are certainly not enough to wily nily pay purchase $1,000 OBC from a cruise line to to earn a few bucks.

 

[newmexicoNita]

11 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's a gratuity/service charge, not a tax, and no you can't use OBC to pay for it because it has to be paid up front with your cruise fare .

Very true. You really can't use something until you use it. There are ways to use any OBC or as has been suggested go to the casino, play the slots for a few minutes and then cash in your OBC if it is a refundable type which this would be. 

[njhorseman]

16 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

DURN - I believe that TAs usually purchase the OBC from NCL and therefore it is Refundable

 

15 hours ago, Hotspring said:

I have heard from my part time TA SIL that the cruise lines offer extra OBC credits to motivate the TA to push their cruises over others.  They do this separate from what they offer their direct customers who already appear to be in their pocket rather than considering other cruise lines.   Therefore, the outrageous but nice OBC that Costco and private TA offer are likely non-refundable but spendable for Spa treatments, pedicures, specialty dining, shore excursions.

 

In these days of internet booking the TA commissions are razor thin, they are certainly not enough to wily nily pay purchase $1,000 OBC from a cruise line to to earn a few bucks.

 

It's not uncommon for part of a travel agency OBC to be refundable and part non-refundable . Big producers sometimes get incentive non-refundable OBC from NCL to pass along to their clients in addition to any refundable OBC the travel agency purchases for the client.

[bonvoyagie]

I agree that it could be a mix - esp if it is say 1000.00 - now that could also be a combination of a booking perk of say 600.00 and the rest from the TA. I don't use a large TA so perhaps they are also applying some of the discount they get from blocking out rooms. My TA is a small one person agency who would be using his own profits to buy OBC - he has done this for me when I have sent new clients his direction and they book cruises with him - and it was refundable and did not show up on our account until day 2 of the cruise.

[Turtles06]

20 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

OBC - On Board Credit can't be used - until well - you are on board the ship.

 

Some cruise lines, including Celebrity, now allow OBC, despite the name, to be used for pre-cruise purchases (shorex, specialty dining, etc.). It’s a nice policy, and I wish NCL would adopt it. 

[luckyinpa]

reading all the above replies made me more informed. its amazing the differences in TAs (which i all emailed a 2nd time for confirmation of pricing)

 

1. wanted exact same price as NCL but said their 1000 in credits was in the price (i'm assuming this means he makes 1000 on the cruise)

 

2. exact price as ncl with 1100 obc extra

 

3. NCL price minus 1100 obc means you get the price up front (best deal obviously with no obc to spend)

 

so i gotta say it seems like for a haven booking you should look at the competing TAs to see what they can give you. 

[CruisingNole]

On 8/18/2019 at 4:12 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Some cruise lines, including Celebrity, now allow OBC, despite the name, to be used for pre-cruise purchases (shorex, specialty dining, etc.). It’s a nice policy, and I wish NCL would adopt it. 

 

Royal has always allowed this. You can use it for drink and dining packages, excursions, etc. But only OBC that THEY provide. OBC from a TA can only be used onboard.

[CruisingNole]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

 

 

so i gotta say it seems like for a haven booking you should look at the competing TAs to see what they can give you. 

 

It still blows my mind that NCL loyalists utilize a "PCC" which is essentially a TA employed by NCL that gives you none of the benefits you get by using a real TA. Like you just said you saved $1,100 that you would not have saved had you booked through NCL directly. It's essentially free money. Enjoy!

[luckyinpa]

i did not book the cruise yet

 

also i want to put a plug in for a princess TA who went above and beyond. i found out when you cancel a cruise, even if YOU pay for the entire thing. your cabinmate gets the credit in their name!  who knew? probably a lot of people dont

 

my princess TA was able to get my cabinmates credit put on my account so i could enjoy it on a future cruise. so 'sometimes' a cruiselines TA can be worth going thru. but my bet is my story is rare. and i doubt a 'public' TA could do what she did for me. 

[CruisingNole]

12 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

i did not book the cruise yet

 

also i want to put a plug in for a princess TA who went above and beyond. i found out when you cancel a cruise, even if YOU pay for the entire thing. your cabinmate gets the credit in their name!  who knew? probably a lot of people dont

 

my princess TA was able to get my cabinmates credit put on my account so i could enjoy it on a future cruise. so 'sometimes' a cruiselines TA can be worth going thru. but my bet is my story is rare. and i doubt a 'public' TA could do what she did for me. 

 

In that case, you should totally pay the extra $1,100 and book with NCL.