$600 OBC - can it be cashed out

[larkz]

I didn't see -- but may have missed -- any information on this from recent cruisers. Is it possible to cash out the cancelled/rebooked cruise promo OBC? I know Carnival has terms and disclaimers, but what is the real world experience? Is it usable in booking Carnival excursions, in the casino, as gratuities, for the soda program, restaurants, and so on?

[BlerkOne]

Of course you can use it on the ship.

[Cruisesfun65]

12 minutes ago, larkz said:

 Is it usable in booking Carnival excursions, in the casino, as gratuities, for the soda program, restaurants, and so on?

 

You can use it for all of the above. And it goes fast.

[Schoifmom]

Real world experience, the OBC is loaded to your S&S and all of your spending decreases the amount available.  Can you go to GS and cash it out?  No.  It is non-refundable OBC.  Can you use the casino trick?  YMMV.  It worked for me on the Freedom two weeks ago (I went through about $150 of my $600 this way).  Others have reported (normally on the newer ships) that it is coded differently and they have been unable to use the casino trick to cash it out.

[larkz]

What exactly is the "casino trick"?

[Schoifmom]

17 minutes ago, larkz said:

What exactly is the "casino trick"?

 

Go to a slot machine and use your S&S account to fund your player's bank.  Play for a little bit.  Go to the cashier and cash out your player's bank.

[canes20]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

 

Go to a slot machine and use your S&S account to fund your player's bank.  Play for a little bit.  Go to the cashier and cash out your player's bank.

 

Some say this no longer works, some say is still does. Go to Cherry on Top and buy gift cards, some say this no longer works and some say it does.

[kwcruise]

4 hours ago, Schoifmom said:

Real world experience, the OBC is loaded to your S&S and all of your spending decreases the amount available.  Can you go to GS and cash it out?  No.  It is non-refundable OBC.  Can you use the casino trick?  YMMV.  It worked for me on the Freedom two weeks ago (I went through about $150 of my $600 this way).  Others have reported (normally on the newer ships) that it is coded differently and they have been unable to use the casino trick to cash it out.

I had several offers for my upcoming cruise. One offered a $500 obc and one offered $500 in the casino.  I ensured that I could use the generic OBC in the casino (i.e. sign for chips), and  chose the one with the OBC because the cruise was less expensive. 

[Suncoastsailors]

3 hours ago, canes20 said:

 

Some say this no longer works, some say is still does. Go to Cherry on Top and buy gift cards, some say this no longer works and some say it does.

I went to the craps table and asked for $100 in chips. Played for a short time very conservative and then cashed out. They hold back 3%.

[Elaine5715]

52 minutes ago, kwcruise said:

I had several offers for my upcoming cruise. One offered a $500 obc and one offered $500 in the casino.  I ensured that I could use the generic OBC in the casino (i.e. sign for chips), and  chose the one with the OBC because the cruise was less expensive. 

This question is specific to the $600 OBC given for cancelled cruises 

[kwcruise]

5 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

This question is specific to the $600 OBC given for cancelled cruises 

I realize this, but it also asked, "Is it usable in booking Carnival excursions, in the casino, as gratuities, for the soda program, restaurants, and so on?" There are OBC and FunPlay credits. Regardless of how yout get them (i.e. through an offer, a cancelled cruise, etc.) they can be used for the same things. 🙂

 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, kwcruise said:

I realize this, but it also asked, "Is it usable in booking Carnival excursions, in the casino, as gratuities, for the soda program, restaurants, and so on?" There are OBC and FunPlay credits. Regardless of how yout get them (i.e. through an offer, a cancelled cruise, etc.) they can be used for the same things. 🙂

 

Correct.  It is the volume of these $600 OBC  and the awkwardness of people using it that creates the problem and misinformation.  Nongamblers hear "cash it out in the casino" so they walk up to the cage and ask for $600 in cash.  Of course, they are turned away.

[larkz]

This is for Carnival Magic in December. Guess I'll give the casino method a try. What the heck, there's at least a 5% chance I'll actually come out ahead on the slots! (Maybe that's optimistic)!

[chrpai]

We had $500 OBC on our last cruise.  I usually prepay grats but this time I didn't to use it for that.  That dropped us to $360 OBC.  It really wasn't hard to spend this on things we would otherwise normally do anyways.  I guess if I was traveling solo that I could intentionally choose to not spend money on anything but with my wife there it's not going to happen for me.

[Suncoastsailors]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:42 PM, Elaine5715 said:

This question is specific to the $600 OBC given for cancelled cruises 

Yes this what I used to get my chips, the $600 OBC. On the Carnival Miracle Sept 14-22 Alaska cruise. Just don't go back to the cashier window immediately.  

[Gillybob]

Is the $600 for cancelled cruises placed across the two S&S cards?  Or is placed on the S&S of the primary?

 

TIA

[Joe817]

9 minutes ago, Gillybob said:

Is the $600 for cancelled cruises placed across the two S&S cards?  Or is placed on the S&S of the primary?

 

TIA

From what I can determine(and believe you me, I'm no expert), our $600 OBC was shared between my wife & I, as I checked every day, both of our OBC balances and my balance was always less than hers. I assume that I was drinking more than she....and I was. 

[Joebucks]

Ever wonder why corporations come up with restrictive policies that eventually ruin good things for everyone? It's from this kind of stuff.

 

(Cue up the innocence argument)

[canes20]

1 hour ago, Gillybob said:

Is the $600 for cancelled cruises placed across the two S&S cards?  Or is placed on the S&S of the primary?

 

TIA

It was split between the original cancelled cruisers

[csm5986142]

There has been a lot of discussion here regarding this over the past few months.  Yes, the options seem to vary by ship, but people have been successful cashing out their OBC in various ways. 

However, people also complain that some individuals are offered much better cruise rate deals than others.  Carnival knows exactly how much money you spend on every cruise (or how much OBC you cash out).  If you choose to cash out funds that were meant to be used on-board, you might not be offered great rates and sales in the future.