DCL Onboard Credit. Do you pay for this in some way in the cost of the trip?

[RaySharpton]

I have a question about "onboard credit".

When a person makes reservations for a future cruise while on the Disney Cruise line, and DCL offers an onboard credit for this future cruise; do you end of paying for it somehow in the final cost of your cruise fee.

Or is the onboard credit given as an extra bonus?

I know that this sounds like a stupid question. It was my impression that the onboard credit, if it is offered to me, is considered like a gift or bonus from DCL to use onboard the DCL cruise that I am purchasing.

They don't add money to the final cruise fee in order to cover the cost of the onboard credit, do they?

And if you don't use the onboard credit while on your cruise, you lose it, don't you?

I ask this because it came up when I was trying to ask about a price guarantee with a travel agency when I recently found that the DCL package was more than the travel agency package. I was told that I was lucky to have the onboard credit. I know...apples and oranges. I have always planned everything by myself and getting the best deal.

I'm not trying to be any trouble to anyone, I'm just trying to understand how everything works.

I'll ask another question about transfering contracts and price guarantee in another thread after I found out about my question about onboard credits.

Thankyou in advance, Ray

 

[tchoney]

As much as the cruise cost in the first place, some would say that you actually pay for the onboard credit in the price of the cruise. However, it is actually a "gift" from DCL. It is "Free" money that they give you to spend while on the ship. You can use the money for anything you want, i.e, excursions, gift shop, drinks, anything onboard or anything at Castaway Cay.

 

[WDWLVR]

Hi Ray,

when you have an onboard credit it appears on your shipboard account to be charged against. If you have any excursions booked, order any drinks, buy any pictures etc. those go on your shipboard account as a debit. They will deduct from your onboard credit before going against your credit card on file.

To answer your other question - yes if you don't use it you lose it. I think most of us use it up well before the end of the cruise.

 

[TheWog]

it is a gift or bonus as you described, but don't worry they will get it back from you in drinks, photos, souveniers, etc....

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Fromw what you posted, it sounds like maybe DCL is rolling the cresit into the price.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that TA's do not get any special pricing from DCL. Meaning, if you called TA for a quote on certain dates, you would be quoted the same price that you would get if you called DCL direct. So, if TA's get the same price as the public, how can their packages be cheaper than Disney's? I know some TA book a block of rooms at a group rate discount, and put together their own packages based on the discounted price they got, to make the price competitive to booking directly with Disney.

But, if soemone is saying that a TA package is cheaper than a Disney package that has the stateroom credit, wouldn't it make sense that the credit is rolled into the price?

 

[staceymerrill]

we've never had DCL even come close to the pricing I've received from my TA...

After booking onboard, I just transfer the reservation to my TA, who discounts vs DCL, and I still retain the $200 onboard credit....

Note that yes, you will lose the credit if you dont use it, but if you plan on tipping, you can charge tips against your onboard account where the $200 is...

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

The reason that a TA's price may be lower is generally because they are giving up part of their commission - not because DCL is rolling the onboard credit into their price. There are also instances of group bookings that can significantly lower prices but generally the discounts you see with a TA are related to their commission - they take a part of that commission and use it to pay for a onboard credit or rebate or a discounted price on the cruise.

It is always a good idea to check with a TA (or several) before booking to make sure you are getting the best price as prices can vary significantly from source to source. That does not, however, preclude you from booking onboard; you can still get the 10% discount, the onboard credit, and then transfer to a TA where you may even save a bit more money. If you are certain you will be cruising again, re-booking onboard is seldom a bad choice since you'll most likely save money and can always cancel if you do find a better price.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Obviously you don't get something for nothing. In that way, you can say that Disney's "cost" for On-Board Credit (OBC) is already wrapped up in the price of your cruise.

However, the "cost" is spread across all reservations, and not every reservation recieves the OBC.

I'm going to hazard a guess that the average 7-day cruise consists of about 1000 reservations, and only about 10% of those reservations are receiving the $200 OBC. If those numbers are correct, then Disney has to include a $20 "charge" in the cost of every stateroom to pay for the "cost" of OBC. Therefore if Disney decided to terminate the OBC program and reduce their rates instead, then the average reservation would only get a $20 discount.

So as you can see, a $20 difference isn't going to a make-or-break dollar amount for the "average" cruiser contemplating going on a Disney Cruise. However, in Disney's efforts to target existing cruiser, offering them a way to reduce the cost of their next cruise by $200 CAN be the make-or-break difference.

And of course this all leads to the point that if OBC becomes so popular that DCL starts getting 100% repeat cruisers, then everyone will be getting the $200 OBC, and everyone will be paying the $200 OBC, and therefore to attract more non-repeat business, they might as well just discount everyone's fare by $200.

 

[RaySharpton]

First, thank you everyone for your responses. I sort of knew the answer to this, but then I got confused when I transferred my account from DCL to a travel agency. Which led to another question that I had about "price guarantee" with travel agencies.

...it is actually a "gift" from DCL. It is "Free" money that they give you to spend while on the ship. You can use the money for anything you want, i.e, excursions, gift shop, drinks, anything onboard or anything at Castaway Cay.

Thank you tchoney. This will sure help with tips, and more Konk Koolers, and maybe even a Castaway Cay human kite flying thingie...lol.

If you have any excursions booked, order any drinks, buy any pictures etc. those go on your shipboard account as a debit. They will deduct from your onboard credit before going against your credit card on file.

To answer your other question - yes if you don't use it you lose it. I think most of us use it up well before the end of the cruise.

Thank you Mary (WDWLVR). I remember you and your DIS name this time. I can still picture you at the Epcot entrance as you and your husband were leaving and I was entering. You had invited me to your DVC DIS meet.

For everyone else, I have a terrible time remembering people's names, much less a DIS name and then the real name...lol.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that TA's do not get any special pricing from DCL. Meaning, if you called TA for a quote on certain dates, you would be quoted the same price that you would get if you called DCL direct.

I know some TA book a block of rooms at a group rate discount, and put together their own packages based on the discounted price they got, to make the price competitive to booking directly with Disney.

Thankyou, Disney1fan2002. I think that this travel agency did book a block of staterooms to get a discounted price. That leads me to my second question that I was going to ask on a second thread. If you transfer a DCL cruise to a travel agency, shouldn't they give you the travel agency discounted rate?

After booking onboard, I just transfer the reservation to my TA, who discounts vs DCL, and I still retain the $200 onboard credit....

Thank you, staceymerrill for also confirming that you get to keep your onboard credit when you transfer a DCL cruise account to a travel agency.

The reason that a TA's price may be lower is generally because they are giving up part of their commission - not because DCL is rolling the onboard credit into their price.

Hi, akasleepingbeauty. Thank you for the responses. Now this bothers me. So if I transferred my DCL cruise to the travel agency, and I don't get their advertised discounted package; and I ask for it, I will be taking the money out of the "travel agent's own pocket". The travel agent offered to even the price out, but they would have to take the money out of their "own pocket".

There are also instances of group bookings that can significantly lower prices but generally the discounts you see with a TA are related to their commission - they take a part of that commission and use it to pay for a onboard credit or rebate or a discounted price on the cruise.

O.K., now I am a little confused. If the DCL cruise gave a onboard credit and when it transferred to a travel agent, this can decrease the travel agent's commission?[/QUOTE]

It is always a good idea to check with a TA (or several) before booking to make sure you are getting the best price as prices can vary significantly from source to source. That does not, however, preclude you from booking onboard; you can still get the 10% discount, the onboard credit, and then transfer to a TA where you may even save a bit more money. If you are certain you will be cruising again, re-booking onboard is seldom a bad choice since you'll most likely save money and can always cancel if you do find a better price.

I was certain that I was going to cruise again the next year, and I will do the same thing this year. Thanks for the information. Now if I can just figure out this second question about getting a price guarantee when transferring from DCL to the travel agency. I certainly don't want to take money out of the travel agent's pocket.

Obviously you don't get something for nothing. In that way, you can say that Disney's "cost" for On-Board Credit (OBC) is already wrapped up in the price of your cruise.

However, the "cost" is spread across all reservations, and not every reservation recieves the OBC.

I'm going to hazard a guess that the average 7-day cruise consists of about 1000 reservations, and only about 10% of those reservations are receiving the $200 OBC. If those numbers are correct, then Disney has to include a $20 "charge" in the cost of every stateroom to pay for the "cost" of OBC. Therefore if Disney decided to terminate the OBC program and reduce their rates instead, then the average reservation would only get a $20 discount.

So as you can see, a $20 difference isn't going to a make-or-break dollar amount for the "average" cruiser contemplating going on a Disney Cruise. However, in Disney's efforts to target existing cruiser, offering them a way to reduce the cost of their next cruise by $200 CAN be the make-or-break difference.

And of course this all leads to the point that if OBC becomes so popular that DCL starts getting 100% repeat cruisers, then everyone will be getting the $200 OBC, and everyone will be paying the $200 OBC, and therefore to attract more non-repeat business, they might as well just discount everyone's fare by $200.

Thank you, HooKooDooKu for all of the info.

I will now start another thread, and ask about my second question about "price guarantee" with a travel agency and transferring from DCL.

Sincerely, Ray