OBC. Thing of the past?

[Hawkstar33]

I was wondering if anyone is receiving any OBC these days with their bookings??  So they charge you $500 extra for all included classic Bev, and wi-fi. Saves you a few bucks, but the wifi is in and out.   Then took away pre-paid gratuities..But you can pre-pay them yourself if you want..Not seeing obc on many if any upcoming cruises, unless it is a suite of some kind.  Yet, I see and hear people using up large amounts on booze, and other items from the shops onboard, at cruise end..

[cruisestitch]

Book on board and there’s OBC

[Liao]

4 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I was wondering if anyone is receiving any OBC these days with their bookings??  So they charge you $500 extra for all included classic Bev, and wi-fi. Saves you a few bucks, but the wifi is in and out.   Then took away pre-paid gratuities..But you can pre-pay them yourself if you want..Not seeing obc on many if any upcoming cruises, unless it is a suite of some kind.  Yet, I see and hear people using up large amounts on booze, and other items from the shops onboard, at cruise end..

OBC is still offered by Celebrity, if booking on board or buy FCC.

[zitsky]

So is there any benefit to using a TA for my next cruise?  Because I understand that TAs are no longer giving OBC but Celebrity is doing that?

 

How much OBC are they giving?  Is it per day or does it depend on the cost?

Edited March 12 by zitsky

[Alakegirl]

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

So is there any benefit to using a TA for my next cruise?  Because I understand that TAs are no longer giving OBC but Celebrity is doing that?

 

How much OBC are they giving?  Is it per day or does it depend on the cost?

Not all travel agents give it but some do

[Liao]

34 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

Not all travel agents give it but some do

In my querries, few and far between are giving it.  We got $400/each from Celebrity for an upcoming TA.

[wrk2cruise]

47 minutes ago, zitsky said:

So is there any benefit to using a TA for my next cruise?  Because I understand that TAs are no longer giving OBC but Celebrity is doing that?

 

How much OBC are they giving?  Is it per day or does it depend on the cost?

 

My TA still gives me 10% of the base cruise fare minus his non commissionable cruise fare.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

So is there any benefit to using a TA for my next cruise?  Because I understand that TAs are no longer giving OBC but Celebrity is doing that?

 

How much OBC are they giving?  Is it per day or does it depend on the cost?

 

Celebrity is offering $50-500 NR OBC for booking on the ship depending on room type and length of cruise -  to get max you need a 16+ day cruise which they have almost totally  eliminated.

 

My TA is still offering OBC for either a booking or a transfer.   Runs in the range of 9-10% refundable depending on cruiseline.

Edited March 12 by Jim_Iain

[kaysha2004]

I've seen the same thing...Celebrity has gotten rid of the OBC for regular bookings, not the suite.  They've stripped away the prepaid tips in the so-called "All Included" but it's not all included.  Remember the days of the Go Big, Better Best about 8 years ago?

 

If you're only seeing a $500 charge for wifi and drinks at booking, I'd take that in a minute.  I'm a solo traveler, and the difference in price from the cruise only rate to the all included is usually $1500 to $2500 more no matter how many days the cruise is.

[BP99]

9 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I was wondering if anyone is receiving any OBC these days with their bookings??  So they charge you $500 extra for all included classic Bev, and wi-fi. Saves you a few bucks, but the wifi is in and out.   Then took away pre-paid gratuities..But you can pre-pay them yourself if you want..Not seeing obc on many if any upcoming cruises, unless it is a suite of some kind.  Yet, I see and hear people using up large amounts on booze, and other items from the shops onboard, at cruise end..

Hi,

If you like and book Celebrity cruises often (or Royal)

you may consider buying shares in RCL. We bought

shares in RCL several decades ago and get OBC on

each cruise. The amount varies based on number of

days for the cruise. Since we like transatlantic or 

transpacific (beats flying and jet lag and costs much less) 

we usually get $250 each cruise. You ONLY buy the

stock once but get the benefit over and over each cruise.

Since we bought the stock went up 3 fold also.

Since we are Elite and Diamond plus the free bonus

OBC paid for itself and the some.

During covid the stock went down 3 fold (a GREAT time

to buy for newbies) and went back after covid.

Something to consider if you plan to cruise a lot!

Almost always combinable with other OBC.

If you stop cursing you can always sell your stock!!

Bill

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

If you like and book Celebrity cruises often (or Royal)

you may consider buying shares in RCL. We bought

shares in RCL several decades ago and get OBC on

each cruise. The amount varies based on number of

days for the cruise. Since we like transatlantic or 

transpacific (beats flying and jet lag and costs much less) 

we usually get $250 each cruise. You ONLY buy the

stock once but get the benefit over and over each cruise.

Since we bought the stock went up 3 fold also.

Since we are Elite and Diamond plus the free bonus

OBC paid for itself and the some.

During covid the stock went down 3 fold (a GREAT time

to buy for newbies) and went back after covid.

Something to consider if you plan to cruise a lot!

Almost always combinable with other OBC.

If you stop cursing you can always sell your stock!!

Bill

 

The days of $250 OBC are almost long gone 😭

very few cruises are over 14 days now , transatlantic cruises were also 14 days or longer , now a lot of them are down to 12 days , it think they did that to save the $150 of OBC on longer cruises , 

we also bought shares at $35, and stupidly didn’t buy more when it was $20 a couple of years ago 

[zitsky]

Are Aqua class bookings getting any OBC from Celebrity?  And how many shares must you buy?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Just now, zitsky said:

Are Aqua class bookings getting any OBC from Celebrity?  And how many shares must you buy?

100 shares 

[capsplace]

Get the BAC Celebrity Visa credit card and cash in points from purchases (like your cruise fare) as OBC.  And if you don’t spend it all on a cruise, it’s refundable back to your card.  If you have both refundable and non-refundable on your account, Celebrity uses the non-refundable first. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

29 minutes ago, capsplace said:

Get the BAC Celebrity Visa credit card and cash in points from purchases (like your cruise fare) as OBC.  And if you don’t spend it all on a cruise, it’s refundable back to your card.  If you have both refundable and non-refundable on your account, Celebrity uses the non-refundable first. 

That CC is only good if you are the USA 

[capsplace]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

That CC is only good if you are the USA 

Didn’t know.  Good point.  The OP appears to be in the US, so if they don’t already have the card, might be a way of earning some OBC, in addition to owning RCCL stock.

Edited March 12 by capsplace

[PTC DAWG]

What does BAC Celebrity stand for? 

[capsplace]

Just now, PTC DAWG said:

What does BAC Celebrity stand for? 

Bank of America 

[capsplace]

I believe the Celebrity website has a link to apply for the card thru Bank of America.  And there might be two types of cards, one with a fee and one without.  We have the one without.

[RichYak]

9 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

That CC is only good if you are the USA 

TBH, it's not good in the USA either. The benefits are inferior even to simple cash back credit cards.

[capsplace]

[BP99]

55 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The days of $250 OBC are almost long gone 😭

very few cruises are over 14 days now , transatlantic cruises were also 14 days or longer , now a lot of them are down to 12 days , it think they did that to save the $150 of OBC on longer cruises , 

we also bought shares at $35, and stupidly didn’t buy more when it was $20 a couple of years ago 

Hi,

Yes, I also noticed that lately many TA and TP are less than 14 days. However, We are booked on Odyssey of the seas this April that is 14 days (Ft. Lauderdale to Rome) and Celebrity Edge this fall that is a TP (B2B2B) that one of the legs is 18 nights. So they do exist but rare.

Bill

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The days of $250 OBC are almost long gone 😭

very few cruises are over 14 days now , transatlantic cruises were also 14 days or longer , now a lot of them are down to 12 days , it think they did that to save the $150 of OBC on longer cruises , 

we also bought shares at $35, and stupidly didn’t buy more when it was $20 a couple of years ago 

 

30 minutes ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

Yes, I also noticed that lately many TA and TP are less than 14 days. However, We are booked on Odyssey of the seas this April that is 14 days (Ft. Lauderdale to Rome) and Celebrity Edge this fall that is a TP (B2B2B) that one of the legs is 18 nights. So they do exist but rare.

Bill

 

I doubt that OBC reduction was the objective when Celebrity determines how long to make the TA and TP sailings.  TA/TP and Trans Canal sailings are considered repositioning cruises so the length doesn't matter.  Now it is possible that the definition of a repositioning cruise is inconsistently applied at the time booking onboard OBC is awarded, but my point is that Celebrity already has a way to avoid delivering large OBC amounts for those sailings.

 

I believe that the stock ownership OBC cares only about the length of the cruise and does not make a distinction on whether it is a repositioning cruise or not.

 

Edited March 12 by mahdnc

[wrk2cruise]

But the shareholder credit is still $250 vs $100 on 14 night or longer sailings.   I agree this probably has nothing to do with Celebrity shortening all their itineraries.

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

But the shareholder credit is still $250 vs $100 on 14 night or longer sailings.   I agree this probably has nothing to do with Celebrity shortening all their itineraries.

 

Yes, I don't think shareholder OBC cares about repositioning sailings or not.  Just length.