On Board Credit

[kpoppa]

We are booked on the Mercury for the 8-17-08 cruise to Alaska in a Sky Suite. After booking, I learned that there is usually some sort of OBC on most cruises.

 

I subsequently checked with the agent at CruiseAlaska.com, and was told that there was NO OBC available on this cruise.

 

Is it normal that there be NO OBC at all on this cruise, particularily in the Sky Suite class?

 

Who determines How Much, if any, OBC is available to the pax?

 

I appreciate your advise in advance.

 

kpoppa

[Karynanne]

OBC is usually offered (when a reservation is made) by your travel agent. Another form of OBC, is Royal Caribbean shareholders benefits. If you hold a minimum of 100 shares of Royal Caribbean stock, then you get a benefit of OBC. This is done by the shareholder sending in their proof of stock holding, their confirmation number, and sailing info.

 

A third type of OBC is if you have a Celebrity Visa or AMEX credit card. If you have adequate number of points accured, then this can be redeemed for the OBC also.

 

Hope this helps.

[PurpleCow]

It's generally a travel agent perk. Sometimes it's offered and sometimes not. The amount depends on the cost and/or length of the cruise and also on the credits that the agent has with the cruise dompany. A long time and prolific agent will generally have more perks to offer.

[SusieV]

There have been a lot of threads on this lately, and as soon as someone asks for travel agent recommendations, they get pulled or edited.

 

My two cents? I have a travel agent who provides me with good service, AND gives me onboard credit for every sailing, even in the lowest inside cabin.

[hajekfam]

And there are some promotional prices that are not combinable with onboard credits such as shareholder credit. For example, Celebrity had a special promotion earlier with reduced deposits and an onboard credit. If you booked with that promotion, it was not combinable with other onboard credits.

[BBsails]

hajekfam, can you explain this sentence in your post below?

 

"And there are some promotional prices that are not combinable with onboard credits such as shareholder credit."

 

We have both shareholder credit and the fuel surcharge refund as OBC. Are there restrictions as to how they can be used?

[cruisequeen10]

I have cruised 20+ cruises and have never received a ship board credit from my TA. A couple of years ago I received a shipboard credit from NCL because it was their Latitudes cruise. If the TA give you a shipboard credit, it is usually taken from their commission. These days, the TA's don't make that much in commission, so there is nothing to give.

[hajekfam]

hajekfam, can you explain this sentence in your post below?

 

"And there are some promotional prices that are not combinable with onboard credits such as shareholder credit."

 

We have both shareholder credit and the fuel surcharge refund as OBC. Are there restrictions as to how they can be used?

 

Since you have already booked your cruise and have been given the onboard credits, there are usually no restrictions on how they can be used on board. I was talking about a special offer that comes up such as the triple star promotion this past Feb for new bookings which stated that it was not combinable with other credits such as shareholders (I think that the fuel surcharge credit would have been allowed as it was a refund of something that you already paid out and they were crediting your money back to you the same as if they changed the itineray or had a problem and gave a credit).