What to do with OBC?

[jelayne]

5 minutes ago, canderson said:

Except, as I understand it, in Luminae, where the pool is localized to Luminae crew.

I have been told the same regarding Blu.

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, canderson said:

Except, as I understand it, in Luminae, where the pool is localized to Luminae crew.

We got mixed opinions on that from various folks, to include some senior Luminae staff that said it wouldn't go directly to them but rather to the Pool, so I didn't want to mention that. But my DW did write on the form she wanted the extra dining room gratuities ($680) to go to the Luminae servers and also mentioned the Retreat Concierge said it was OK, and we hoped for the best.

 

BTW we were on a B3B and had a lot of nonrefundable OBC left. So this large tip was to cover all 21 days of our cruise.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[davekathy]

I make sure all the OBC shows only under my wife's name. If it isn't I request GS transfer all the OBC to my wife. Now it's her problem of getting rid of it. 

[canderson]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I make sure all the OBC shows only under my wife's name. If it isn't I request GS transfer all the OBC to my wife. Now it's her problem of getting rid of it. 

Am guessing that you are joking?  Have never seen OBC assigned to a person, only to a cabin.  Nice idea, though!

[davekathy]

6 minutes ago, canderson said:

Am guessing that you are joking?  Have never seen OBC assigned to a person, only to a cabin.  Nice idea, though!

Dead serious. We always have had OBC show under one or both our names (viewed on the staterooms TV) and I do request GS transfer all of mine to my wife. I hate shopping and if I don't transfer the OBC to my wife then I have to go in the ships shops and use my Seapass card for her purchase(s). My BP covers all my onboard expenses. 🍻

Edited October 5, 2021 by davekathy

[Edward51]

50 minutes ago, the penguins said:

You can't bet red/black, odds/evens with promotional chips you have to play inside only.

However you can convert most promotional chips to cash with very little risk if you follow this basic system:

1) draw $50 in promotional chips - no fee for this.

2) bet the minimum $5 in $1 chips with each chip covering 4 numbers. You have covered 50 numbers roughly 50 % of the table. 

3) take any winnings and keep them separately.

4) continue to bet the promotional chips in the same way - every time you win you only need 4 chips to make the 5.

5) once the promotional chips have gone cash out and walk away.

6) repeat daily as necessary. 

7) don't chase loses.

We use this system on every cruise, it gives us a lot of fun for very little risk.

On another thread it was said  you could put $25 from the OBC on to a slot machine. Have a couple of pulls then cash out and the cashier will give you cash. Don't know if this works as it sounds to easy.

 

 

 

Way to complicated .  We are now on the Edge.  Had $900 in non-refundable OBC.  We now have $900 cash.  Put your card in the slot machine.  Your pin is your birth month and day.  Go to “personal banker”, then “transfer funds” then “room charge”.  Input amount of OBC.  You will see this amount appear on the slot machine.  Press cash out, collect ticket, bring to cashier.  

 

If I missed something, see the cashier and they will explain it.  There is no service charge.

 

Now we can use it with cash tips, or keep it to spend at home.

 

 

 

 

[Team Stag]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

I make sure all the OBC shows only under my wife's name. If it isn't I request GS transfer all the OBC to my wife. Now it's her problem of getting rid of it. 

There is so much brilliance to this approach....

[davekathy]

11 minutes ago, Team Stag said:

There is so much brilliance to this approach....

Yep. Win, win. My wife is happy and I'm extremely happy I don't have to go shopping. 😁

[jmfdr]

No question about what to do with non-refundable OBC--I'd get a massage.

[Guppy99]

6 hours ago, crusin'k said:

Thanks everyone.  I forgot to mention that this is the first leg of a b2b (both legs are 11 days).  That's why I was hoping they might let us transfer some to the second leg (at least to pay gratuities.

I would bet that it is already divided between the two legs. It's really two cruises and you have received OBC consistent with the cost of each cruise. Unless they are closing out your bill after the first cruise, then it will carry over to the second leg. That would no e the case if one cruise was in Jan and the next one was in March.  

[davekathy]

8 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

I would bet that it is already divided between the two legs. It's really two cruises and you have received OBC consistent with the cost of each cruise. Unless they are closing out your bill after the first cruise, then it will carry over to the second leg. That would no e the case if one cruise was in Jan and the next one was in March.  

Wrong. Nothing, other than you carries over from the first leg to the second leg. The first leg account is closed prior to TAD. The second leg account starts on TAD. 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Edward51 said:

Way to complicated .  We are now on the Edge.  Had $900 in non-refundable OBC.  We now have $900 cash.  Put your card in the slot machine.  Your pin is your birth month and day.  Go to “personal banker”, then “transfer funds” then “room charge”.  Input amount of OBC.  You will see this amount appear on the slot machine.  Press cash out, collect ticket, bring to cashier.  

 

If I missed something, see the cashier and they will explain it.  There is no service charge.

 

Now we can use it with cash tips, or keep it to spend at home.

 

 

 

 

Thsnjs sounds great - amazed X allow it. But our way is much more fun. Perhaps we will do 50/50 on our next cruise.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Am guessing that you are joking?  Have never seen OBC assigned to a person, only to a cabin.  Nice idea, though!

Shareholder OBC is assigned to a person.

[davekathy]

Just now, the penguins said:

Shareholder OBC is assigned to a person.

We aren't shareholders. 

[marieps]

7 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Because this gets asked so often I've compiled a list of things to spend OBC on. The only thing I know of now that you CAN'T buy with OBC is a deposit on a Future Cruise. You need a credit card for that.  Also, there may be some card game in the casino with a cash only buy-in.   If they do a fundraiser, like selling t-shirts to “save the reefs” and the like, expect to need cash for that.  Otherwise, here you go:

 

 

Acupuncture

Airport transfers

Alcove Rental (some ships)

Apple products etc. and Ilounge classes

Art Auctions

Babysitting

Barber Shop services (Edge only)

Beverages -- Alcoholic, carbonated soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, bottled water

Bingo

Bottles of wine

Casino

Chef’s Table

Duty free liquor and cigarettes

Extra cost entrees and other items in Main Dining Room and specialty restaurants

Extend Your Stay program

Fitness classes

Flowers

Gelato

Gift shop souvenirs, purses, cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, etc.

Gratuities, and extra gratuities

Guests dining with you in Luminae (applies to Suite Passengers only)

Guest entertainers' CD's and DVD's

Hair and nail salon

Hollywood hot glass experiences (some ships)

Internet

Laundry/pressing/drycleaning

Luggage Valet

Martini Flights

Medical Center purchases (but not treatments)

Mini bar

Portrait photo sessions

Pay-per-view movies

Persian Gardens passes

Personal Training Sessions

Photos & cameras

Room service up charge items, and late night delivery fee

Shore Excursions

Shuttle to town (some ports)

Spa -- massages and treatments

Specialty restaurants

Teeth Whitening

Telephone calls using ship's system

Transfer to another passenger's account

Voyage in Review DVD

Wine and liquor tastings

Zumba

I cut and pasted your list into my "Cruise" folder on my desk top the first time I saw it.  Luggage Valet is a draw for me, but it's not open yet!!

 

[canderson]

33 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Shareholder OBC is assigned to a person.

Ours has always just shown up assigned to the cabin.  And of course, if the shares are held jointly, who would they assign it to anyway?  It's also never broken down that way on the invoice that shows OBC.

 

Granted, we haven't sailed with X since 2014, but any time I bought a bottle of wine, or my wife went into the shops and came away with something, it's all come out of the same bucket.  There has never once been a question as to whose bucket it was coming from.  "SeaPass card please".  "Thank you, sir", or "Thank you, ma'am".  Between us, we just spend it until it's gone. 

 

You can also book things online pre-cruise using OBC.  How do they know which of us is accessing the account?  There's only one login and 100% of the OBC is available and in one bucket at that point.

 

What am I missing?  How (and when???) can you assign part of the OBC to one rather than the other?  Is this done shipboard now, or ???  I see no mechanism for that on the web site.  Granted, I can see an upside for setting up something like that.  If we still had young kids, they could break the bank at the gelato counter.  That argues strongly for being a way to do it, but we've never had a reason, and so perhaps never even noticed it.

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, canderson said:

Ours has always just shown up assigned to the cabin.  And of course, if the shares are held jointly, who would they assign it to anyway?  It's also never broken down that way on the invoice that shows OBC.

 

Granted, we haven't sailed with X since 2014, but any time I bought a bottle of wine, or my wife went into the shops and came away with something, it's all come out of the same bucket.  There has never once been a question as to whose bucket it was coming from.  "SeaPass card please".  "Thank you, sir", or "Thank you, ma'am".  Between us, we just spend it until it's gone. 

 

You can also book things online pre-cruise using OBC.  How do they know which of us is accessing the account?  There's only one login and 100% of the OBC is available and in one bucket at that point.

 

What am I missing?  How (and when???) can you assign part of the OBC to one rather than the other?  Is this done shipboard now, or ???  I see no mechanism for that on the web site.  Granted, I can see an upside for setting up something like that.  If we still had young kids, they could break the bank at the gelato counter.  That argues strongly for being a way to do it, but we've never had a reason, and so perhaps never even noticed it.

What?? You haven’t cruised with =X= since 2014. What are the main cruise lines you cruise with if I might ask? 

[canderson]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

What?? You haven’t cruised with =X= since 2014. What are the main cruise lines you cruise with if I might ask? 

We cruised with X many times up until 2014 (Elite +), but moved to river cruises for some years.

[Ken the cruiser]

55 minutes ago, canderson said:

We cruised with X many times up until 2014 (Elite +), but moved to river cruises for some years.

Just curious. We never have tried river cruises, figured they were too relaxed for us, but have evolved from HAL and Oceania and have enjoyed 3-5 week cruises on Celebrity and Princess these past few years. 😎

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, canderson said:

Ours has always just shown up assigned to the cabin.  And of course, if the shares are held jointly, who would they assign it to anyway?  It's also never broken down that way on the invoice that shows OBC.

 

Granted, we haven't sailed with X since 2014, but any time I bought a bottle of wine, or my wife went into the shops and came away with something, it's all come out of the same bucket.  There has never once been a question as to whose bucket it was coming from.  "SeaPass card please".  "Thank you, sir", or "Thank you, ma'am".  Between us, we just spend it until it's gone. 

 

You can also book things online pre-cruise using OBC.  How do they know which of us is accessing the account?  There's only one login and 100% of the OBC is available and in one bucket at that point.

 

What am I missing?  How (and when???) can you assign part of the OBC to one rather than the other?  Is this done shipboard now, or ???  I see no mechanism for that on the web site.  Granted, I can see an upside for setting up something like that.  If we still had young kids, they could break the bank at the gelato counter.  That argues strongly for being a way to do it, but we've never had a reason, and so perhaps never even noticed it.

Sounds like you need to book another Celebrity cruise. 😁 Our last Celebrity cruise was September 2019.  Only talking about onboard spending and not pre cruise spending in the Cruise Planner. I don't know or care what the logics behind why our OBCs (multiple cruise) were assigned to one or both of us. But that's exactly how they showed when we would bring our onboard accounts up on the staterooms TV. Quick call to GS and moments later all in my wife's Seapass card account. The OBCs have always been from future cruise(s) bookings while onboard. Also the OBCs for the old bundled perks option and from a TA. One credit card (in my name only) during booking and check in at the terminal.

 

BTW, we also experienced this on our RC cruises. Again way above my pay grade. As long as the OBCs are there and I can transfer them is all I care about. 

[canderson]

Guess we'll find out soon enough!

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, canderson said:

Ours has always just shown up assigned to the cabin.  And of course, if the shares are held jointly, who would they assign it to anyway?  It's also never broken down that way on the invoice that shows OBC.

 

Granted, we haven't sailed with X since 2014, but any time I bought a bottle of wine, or my wife went into the shops and came away with something, it's all come out of the same bucket.  There has never once been a question as to whose bucket it was coming from.  "SeaPass card please".  "Thank you, sir", or "Thank you, ma'am".  Between us, we just spend it until it's gone. 

 

You can also book things online pre-cruise using OBC.  How do they know which of us is accessing the account?  There's only one login and 100% of the OBC is available and in one bucket at that point.

 

What am I missing?  How (and when???) can you assign part of the OBC to one rather than the other?  Is this done shipboard now, or ???  I see no mechanism for that on the web site.  Granted, I can see an upside for setting up something like that.  If we still had young kids, they could break the bank at the gelato counter.  That argues strongly for being a way to do it, but we've never had a reason, and so perhaps never even noticed it.

We only noticed it when our only OBC was shareholders and  we forgot to pre pay the tips which were then  added to our account daily.  On my side of the account the tips reduced the Shareholder amount, whereas on the "bosses"  side the account went up. No big deal just added the comment for accuracy. 

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, davekathy said:

We aren't shareholders. 

Nice little perk. Our 100 shares cost $2200 at the end of our last cruise total OBC  from them was $4400. Not sure if they would be such a good buy now as current share price is around $90 and, not surprisingly, no dividends being paid. 

[Janet524]

23 hours ago, crusin'k said:

The price of our December 2021 cruise on Silhouette dropped after final payment (yippee).  So in keeping with Celebrity's "Best Offer Guarantee" we were issued $610  OBC + an additional $100 OBC from our TA.  We have no idea how to spend that much OBC!  

You can give it to me! 😜

[gerelmx]

On 10/5/2021 at 9:11 AM, cruisestitch said:

Because this gets asked so often I've compiled a list of things to spend OBC on. The only thing I know of now that you CAN'T buy with OBC is a deposit on a Future Cruise. You need a credit card for that.  Also, there may be some card game in the casino with a cash only buy-in.   If they do a fundraiser, like selling t-shirts to “save the reefs” and the like, expect to need cash for that.  Otherwise, here you go:

 

 

Acupuncture

Airport transfers

Alcove Rental (some ships)

Apple products etc. and Ilounge classes

Art Auctions

Babysitting

Barber Shop services (Edge only)

Beverages -- Alcoholic, carbonated soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, bottled water

Bingo

Bottles of wine

Casino

Chef’s Table

Duty free liquor and cigarettes

Extra cost entrees and other items in Main Dining Room and specialty restaurants

Extend Your Stay program

Fitness classes

Flowers

Gelato

Gift shop souvenirs, purses, cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, etc.

Gratuities, and extra gratuities

Guests dining with you in Luminae (applies to Suite Passengers only)

Guest entertainers' CD's and DVD's

Hair and nail salon

Hollywood hot glass experiences (some ships)

Internet

Laundry/pressing/drycleaning

Luggage Valet

Martini Flights

Medical Center purchases (but not treatments)

Mini bar

Portrait photo sessions

Pay-per-view movies

Persian Gardens passes

Personal Training Sessions

Photos & cameras

Room service up charge items, and late night delivery fee

Shore Excursions

Shuttle to town (some ports)

Spa -- massages and treatments

Specialty restaurants

Teeth Whitening

Telephone calls using ship's system

Transfer to another passenger's account

Voyage in Review DVD

Wine and liquor tastings

Zumba

 

You miss a nice Watch or jewelry