Purchasing OBC

[cdn_tbird]

We have our first Princess cruise lined up for next year and am considering purchasing some OBC. If I do purchase it online, will it be available on my account right away or is it applied to my account after we board like it is on X?

 

TIA

 

[skynight]

Not certain what you mean by on your account right away. What are you trying to do with it pre-cruise? 

[Torfamm]

9 hours ago, cdn_tbird said:

We have our first Princess cruise lined up for next year and am considering purchasing some OBC. If I do purchase it online, will it be available on my account right away or is it applied to my account after we board like it is on X?

 

TIA

 

Are you asking if it’s available to use ahead of time or if you’ll be able to see it? It definitely shows that you have it on your travel summary, but I’ve never tried to buy OBC to make pre-cruise purchases. I just pay for those directly with a credit card.

 

I’m 100% sure if you have to wait to use pre-purchased OBC the way you do on Celebrity but I don’t believe so. Most refundable OBC on Princess can be used before sailing.

Edited May 30 by Torfamm

[NavyVeteran]

Purchased OBC as well as OBC from a travel agent will probably not be available pre-cruise. If you want to purchase something pre-cruise, just use your credit card for the purchase instead of trying to purchase OBC.

I noticed that @cdn_tbirdis from Canada. For those of us from the United States going on a US Dollar cruise, there is really no reason to pre-purchase OBC instead of settling with a credit card at the end of the cruise. For Canadians, I understand there may be a different exchange rate, but that is not something I'm familiar with. For US cruisers on an Australian Dollar cruise, you may want to pre-purchase OBC (depending on the exchange rate) to avoid the charge for using a credit card to settle your onboard folio.

[tulok]

I purchased OBC for my SIL and she was able to use it for a pre cruise purchase of UBD. I believe that it could also have been used to purchase excursions.

Yes, it showed up on her summary right away.

Edited May 30 by tulok

[phabric]

16 hours ago, cdn_tbird said:

We have our first Princess cruise lined up for next year and am considering purchasing some OBC. If I do purchase it online, will it be available on my account right away or is it applied to my account after we board like it is on X?

 

TIA

 

I am Canadian and purchase OBC under On Board Services as the exchange rate is better than the bank.

You can only purchase $1,500 US, OBC for the cabin.

 

You are not able to use the OBC purchased before your cruise.  You will receive a card in your cabin - $??? OBC has been applied to your onboard account, not sure the actual wording.  The OBC purchased will be applied to your onboard account to spend on whatever you want while on the ship.

 

The purchased OBC is refundable as you purchased it.  If there is any refundable OBC left on your onboard account at the end of your cruise, Princess will send you an USA cheque, the envelope is not from Princess so be careful thinking it is junk mail.  If you have refundable OBC under $25,  you can get cash refund at Guest Services the last day.

 

Once purchased online, it will show at the bottom on On Board Services and also on Travel Summary (take a copy of this as it will show itinerary, number of Dress to Impress nights (use to be called formal night), flights/hotel/insurance (if purchased through Princess), anything purchased - Plus, OBC, excursions, spa, etc.

 

You will get an email that you have paid the dollar amount paid in CDN.

 

ie - This is what I paid for my OBC and what I paid in CDN.

- $135 CDN = $100 US

[latebloomer56]

Our OBC from our Princess Visa didn't show in 2022 so I called. Was confirmed but told it wouldn't show until first day. The 700.00 did show but we had a lot left as most things we purchased prior to boarding. They mailed us the balance a few weeks later.

[cdn_tbird]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Yes, the exchange rate does play a part in my decision, but given that the consensus seems to be that it will be available on day 1 of the cruise, I'll just be making a smaller purchase. 

[cruizingOmi]

4 hours ago, phabric said:

I am Canadian and purchase OBC under On Board Services as the exchange rate is better than the bank.

You can only purchase $1,500 US, OBC for the cabin.

 

You are not able to use the OBC purchased before your cruise.  You will receive a card in your cabin - $??? OBC has been applied to your onboard account, not sure the actual wording.  The OBC purchased will be applied to your onboard account to spend on whatever you want while on the ship.

 

The purchased OBC is refundable as you purchased it.  If there is any refundable OBC left on your onboard account at the end of your cruise, Princess will send you an USA cheque, the envelope is not from Princess so be careful thinking it is junk mail.  If you have refundable OBC under $25,  you can get cash refund at Guest Services the last day.

 

Once purchased online, it will show at the bottom on On Board Services and also on Travel Summary (take a copy of this as it will show itinerary, number of Dress to Impress nights (use to be called formal night), flights/hotel/insurance (if purchased through Princess), anything purchased - Plus, OBC, excursions, spa, etc.

 

You will get an email that you have paid the dollar amount paid in CDN.

 

ie - This is what I paid for my OBC and what I paid in CDN.

- $135 CDN = $100 US

When was that, Recently?

[phabric]

Just now, cruizingOmi said:

When was that, Recently?

My Nov 2023 and Feb 2024 cruises.

[Martha1974]

We've purchased OBC in advance twice in the past (and will be doing so before our next Princess Cruise too). It showed up in the Cruise Summary as a purchase until we boarded and after that it showed up as refundable OBC on our on-board account - we weren't able to use it to book excursions etc in advance, but we were able to have anything we hadn't used refunded as cash before the end of the cruise so that we could tip our cabin steward (and others) in dollars (we're based in the UK and were sailing in Europe so that was much cheaper than getting USD from a currency exchange to take with us).

[tulok]

Not sure if purchasing in US is different but here is our travel summary and it shows up as OBC and we can use it. I just did for something to check it. 🤷🏼‍♀️