How do you tell how much OBC is left?

[phabric]

On your Personalizer under Payments you can see your total OBC.

When you purchase excursions using OBC, they take it off from your OBC if you want

How do you know how much OBC is left?

 

[cr8tiv1]

When I pre-purchased an excursion the amount of OBC was the same as when I boarded.  They do not "debit" your account until you take the excursion.  

 

It's all a numbers' game.  You have this much credit...and you subtract/debit what you spend.

 

Most accounting takes place overnight.  An exception is purchases from the shops.  That has shown up almost immediately.

Edited October 13, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[Rick&Jeannie]

46 minutes ago, phabric said:

On your Personalizer under Payments you can see your total OBC.

When you purchase excursions using OBC, they take it off from your OBC if you want

How do you know how much OBC is left?

 

I have NEVER found a good way (or even a bad way) to get a running total of what my OBC remaining balance is...and don't get me started on their "creative" approach to accounting that is used on your folio account printout/display!

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, phabric said:

On your Personalizer under Payments you can see your total OBC.

When you purchase excursions using OBC, they take it off from your OBC if you want

How do you know how much OBC is left?

 

Since you are referencing your Personalizer, I assume you are referring to checking excursion reservations and OBC in advance of the cruise - not onboard.

 

Select any available excursion to book. Select a time and select all guests in cabin and click on "ADD TO CART". Click on "PAY NOW". You will get a list of the new excursions to book - one for each passenger you selected. Click on "PAY NOW". 

 

You will then see an EXCURSION RESERVATIONS SUMMARY for each passenger. It will show "Reservations in Cart" (the new ones you just entered), "Previously Made Reservations" (the total for reservations already booked), "Previous Payments Received" (the total credit card payments you've already made for excursions), and "Onboard credits applied" (the total OBC already applied to excursions). It will also show the "Subtotal" due for each passenger and the "Total Balance Due" if you want to book these new excursions.

 

If you click on "Show Credits" under "Onboard credits applied", it will show you all of your OBC.

 

Two ways to calculate remaining OBC separately for each passenger:

1. Subtract "Onboard credits applied" from "Total" under "Show Credits". The difference is the remaining OBC available.
2. Subtract "Subtotal" payable from "Reservations in Cart". This difference is the amount of OBC to pay for this excursion.

 

Now that you have completed your calculations, select "Remove" besides each excursion in the list. Note that you have not reserved any new excursions and you have not charged anything to your credit card or to your OBC.

Edited October 13, 2023 by NavyVeteran

[Ken the cruiser]

That is a great question, of which I have yet to find the answer to. The only way we’ve been able to “estimate” how much we’ve spent prior to embarkation day is to add up our precruise excursion purchases listed in the Travel Summary. Of course, when we get low and are in the process of prepaying for some more excursions, the Pay Now process will let you know that it can only put so much OBC towards paying the amount due and you’ll have to use some other option to pay for the rest.
 

Other than that crude process, I know of no other way, but I would be nice if there was an easier one.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

Since you are referencing your Personalizer, I assume you are referring to checking excursion reservations and OBC in advance of the cruise - not onboard.

 

Select any available excursion to book. Select a time and select all guests in cabin and click on "ADD TO CART". Click on "PAY NOW". You will get a list of the new excursions to book - one for each passenger you selected. Click on "PAY NOW". 

 

You will then see an EXCURSION RESERVATIONS SUMMARY for each passenger. It will show "Reservations in Cart" (the new ones you just entered), "Previously Made Reservations" (the total for reservations already booked), "Previous Payments Received" (the total credit card payments you've already made for excursions), and "Onboard credits applied" (the total OBC already applied to excursions). It will also show the "Subtotal" due for each passenger and the "Total Balance Due" if you want to book these new excursions.

 

If you click on "Show Credits" under "Onboard credits applied", it will show you all of your OBC.

 

Two ways to calculate remaining OBC separately for each passenger:

1. Subtract "Onboard credits applied" from "Total" under "Show Credits". The difference is the remaining OBC available.
2. Subtract "Subtotal" payable from "Reservations in Cart". This difference is the amount of OBC to pay for this excursion.

 

Now that you have completed your calculations, select "Remove" besides each excursion in the list. Note that you have not reserved any new excursions and you have not charged anything to your credit card or to your OBC.

I just tried your suggested process, but I didn’t see the “Previously Made Reservations” or the “Previous Payments Received” options. I will note we’re booked through a TA and I’m using a iPad to access my Personalizer if that makes any difference.

[cr8tiv1]

There is the mathematical way @NavyVeteran

 

There's there the Princess way by just making a debit and credit column 

 

Then there is my way:  I don't care, I'm spending all of my OBC one way or the other.  The game comes down to how little I can go over and have charged to my credit card at the end of the cruise. 

 

Best:  Less than $2.  

Get Covid:  Used up all of my non-refundable OBC

 

I try very hard not to give Princess any reason to keep my OBC.

[phabric]

I made a pretend excursion booking.

I purchased $1,000 OBC under Onboard Services which I can not use until onboard.

Can you help me to see what I have left of OBC?

 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by phabric

[Ken the cruiser]

40 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just tried your suggested process, but I didn’t see the “Previously Made Reservations” or the “Previous Payments Received” options. I will note we’re booked through a TA and I’m using a iPad to access my Personalizer if that makes any difference.

Disregard. Thanks to @phabric I now see what you’re saying @NavyVeteran.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, phabric said:

Here is a pretend excursion booking made.

Can you help to tell me what OBC I have left?

Click on the “Show Credits” link to see the total OBC you started with. Then follow the@NavyVeteran suggestion and do the math to figure out how much OBC you will have left after the purchase.

[phabric]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Click on the “Show Credits” link to see the total OBC you started with. Then follow the@NavyVeteran suggestion and do the math to figure out how much OBC you will have left after the purchase.

That insert is the old post without Show the Credit.

I did another post #8 with Show Credits.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, phabric said:

That insert is the old post without Show the Credit.

I did another post #8 with Show Credits.

 

I see it. But I’m lost. I’ll sit back again over here in the peanut gallery and let @NavyVeteran try to explain it. 

[cr8tiv1]

Easier yet....Send @NavyVeteran all your information.  He has nothing better to do than crunch the numbers for you.  He's a pro with numbers.  It's like watching this abacus inside his brain work. Fascinating.

[NavyVeteran]

52 minutes ago, phabric said:

I made a pretend excursion booking.

I purchased $1,000 OBC under Onboard Services which I can not use until onboard.

Can you help me to see what I have left of OBC?

 

 

You have $644.50 in Previously Made Reservations, and you paid $519.65 in Previous Payments Received, so you have used $124.85 in OBC. Not counting the Gift Credits, you have a total of $392.50 in OBC, so you have $267.65 in remaining OBC (not counting the Gift Credits).

 

I don't know why Princess charged your credit card that much. I suspect one of two reasons:

• You did not initially have all of that OBC, and you booked excursions before all the OBC was posted.
• You booked excursions using all of the OBC, and then cancelled some of the excursions. Princess did not refund your credit card, because the total excursions cost was still more than the amount paid by credit card.

 

Just now, cr8tiv1 said:

Easier yet....Send @NavyVeteran all your information.  He has nothing better to do than crunch the numbers for you.  He's a pro with numbers.  It's like watching this abacus inside his brain work. Fascinating.

I have several other things to do, and I won't be doing the arithmetic for everyone on the Roll Call. Anyone (other than Renee😜) should be able to figure it out using these examples.

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Then there is my way:  I don't care, I'm spending all of my OBC one way or the other.  The game comes down to how little I can go over and have charged to my credit card at the end of the cruise. 

 

Best:  Less than $2.  

Get Covid:  Used up all of my non-refundable OBC

 

I try very hard not to give Princess any reason to keep my OBC.

I would not suggest deliberately getting Covid in order to use up you non-refundable OBC and to get it reimbursed by insurance. I'm sure you can find more fun ways to spend your OBC. If not, I'll be happy to spend it for you.😉

[cdngrl]

Thank you phabric for asking my same question.

 

I used my credit card to purchase excursions before I got my shareholders OBC. After, I purchased more excursions using OBC.

 

Princess has cancelled our Israel stops so I thought the refund would go back to my credit card. Only one excursion refund is showing on my bank statement.

 

I wanted to find how much OBC is showing as perhaps they refunded that instead of my credit card.

 

Sigh. I’m guessing I have to call Princess. Cross your fingers for me that I get someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

[phabric]

Thanks for all the help.  Cruise is Nov 9, I will print out my account.

[MissP22]

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

There is the mathematical way @NavyVeteran

 

There's there the Princess way by just making a debit and credit column 

 

Then there is my way:  I don't care, I'm spending all of my OBC one way or the other.  The game comes down to how little I can go over and have charged to my credit card at the end of the cruise. 

 

Best:  Less than $2.  

Get Covid:  Used up all of my non-refundable OBC

 

I try very hard not to give Princess any reason to keep my OBC.

That's exactly what we do. Use up all of the non-refundable OB credit ASAP and let them charge as little as possible to my credit card, which is usually a few dollars. 

[Mary loves to travel]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:37 PM, NavyVeteran said:

Since you are referencing your Personalizer, I assume you are referring to checking excursion reservations and OBC in advance of the cruise - not onboard.

 

Select any available excursion to book. Select a time and select all guests in cabin and click on "ADD TO CART". Click on "PAY NOW". You will get a list of the new excursions to book - one for each passenger you selected. Click on "PAY NOW". 

 

You will then see an EXCURSION RESERVATIONS SUMMARY for each passenger. It will show "Reservations in Cart" (the new ones you just entered), "Previously Made Reservations" (the total for reservations already booked), "Previous Payments Received" (the total credit card payments you've already made for excursions), and "Onboard credits applied" (the total OBC already applied to excursions). It will also show the "Subtotal" due for each passenger and the "Total Balance Due" if you want to book these new excursions.

 

If you click on "Show Credits" under "Onboard credits applied", it will show you all of your OBC.

 

Two ways to calculate remaining OBC separately for each passenger:

1. Subtract "Onboard credits applied" from "Total" under "Show Credits". The difference is the remaining OBC available.
2. Subtract "Subtotal" payable from "Reservations in Cart". This difference is the amount of OBC to pay for this excursion.

 

Now that you have completed your calculations, select "Remove" besides each excursion in the list. Note that you have not reserved any new excursions and you have not charged anything to your credit card or to your OBC.

This does of course work.  
I keep track in a little spreadsheet.  
 

Yes, it would be nice if there were an easier way.  

[Mary loves to travel]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:05 PM, cdngrl said:

Thank you phabric for asking my same question.

 

I used my credit card to purchase excursions before I got my shareholders OBC. After, I purchased more excursions using OBC.

 

Princess has cancelled our Israel stops so I thought the refund would go back to my credit card. Only one excursion refund is showing on my bank statement.

 

I wanted to find how much OBC is showing as perhaps they refunded that instead of my credit card.

 

Sigh. I’m guessing I have to call Princess. Cross your fingers for me that I get someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

Yes, like you, I’d think that if I canceled an excursion I would get refunded how I paid for it:  if I’d paid with OBC, I’d get that back, if with cc, I’d get a refund to my cc.   
Nope.   Refunds go to OBC first; if and only if that’s all been refunded will you finally get a refund to your cc. 
 

 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Mary loves to travel said:

Yes, like you, I’d think that if I canceled an excursion I would get refunded how I paid for it:  if I’d paid with OBC, I’d get that back, if with cc, I’d get a refund to my cc.   
Nope.   Refunds go to OBC first; if and only if that’s all been refunded will you finally get a refund to your cc. 

There was an explanation a few weeks back that gave details to Princess’ thinking.  Short answer…Princess refills OBC  coffee first.  I always thought that if you cancel/cancelled before boarding, it was refunded to original payment.

[unicorntweety]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:05 PM, cdngrl said:

Thank you phabric for asking my same question.

 

I used my credit card to purchase excursions before I got my shareholders OBC. After, I purchased more excursions using OBC.

 

Princess has cancelled our Israel stops so I thought the refund would go back to my credit card. Only one excursion refund is showing on my bank statement.

 

I wanted to find how much OBC is showing as perhaps they refunded that instead of my credit card.

 

Sigh. I’m guessing I have to call Princess. Cross your fingers for me that I get someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

For our upcoming Nov. 26th Transpacific Hawaii cruise the excursion for Maui was cancelled and Princess credited the refund back to OBC, not our credit card; however, we never received an email from Princess for the refund transaction.  Our TA had to contact Princess and talk to a supervisor to find out what happened to the refund because, according to our updated travel summary, the refund was to be credited to original form of payment, which was by credit card for the Maui excursion and that did not happen.  Princess recently changed its process for refunds and now credits your OBC first and, once the OBC is back to original starting amount, any refund remaining will be credited to your credit card.  The supervisor was also able to tell our TA what we now have as an OBC, which I will check once onboard the ship.  

[cdngrl]

Thank you for your information. I’d rather have it refunded to the original form of payment. At least I can see it then!