Pro's vs Con's of Shipboard Credit.....GO!

[clten]

I don't understand this comment; my travel agent's credit card is never tied to my booking. (And if your bookings aren't showing up on your credit card statements, you should RUN, not walk, to a new travel agent.) A passenger may get a refund to the card on file for the account (his or her own), but one should also be able to get cash on the last night.

As dcassetta said, I was referring to the onboard credit, not the payment for the cruise. Payments made to your onboard account in advance of your cruise can be made by anyone who has your booking number (we occasionally gift OBC to nieces/nephews traveling with us ). That's the same way you get your onboard credit from your travel agent. They make a separate payment to DCL to gift you that credit.

The post I was responding to implied that if you didn't use that credit, it automatically came back to the passenger -- in cash. It doesn't - it goes back to whoever made the gift in the first place. So if you don't use your travel agent's onboard credit entirely while onboard, you lose it, the travel agent gets it back.

It's rare that it has happened (all credits would be used before they started charging the passenger's form of payment) but I do remember a post or two several years ago about individuals who were on a short cruise and didn't use their TA's OBC and were furious after the cruise to learn they didn't get the money from DCL and their travel agent wasn't giving it back to them either. Last year we were on a Hurricane Matthew and I had gifted my niece enough OBC to cover excursions for her and her husband that we had planned. I confirmed with DCL what happens with credits like this and from the travel agent once we knew we were rerouted since we wouldn't be taking any of the pricey excursions we had planned. I was assured that anything left from my gift would be refunded back to my credit card. We checked while onboard to make sure the travel agent's credit was used first!

 

[kmix78]

We received some shipboard credit...what exactly is it? Is it worth it?

Thanks

No cons as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I don't understand the 'is it worth it' question. That implies you are required to pay something for it? If you aren't paying anything for on board credit, then it's free money for use on ship.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We received some shipboard credit...what exactly is it? Is it worth it?

Thanks

Not worth it at all. I'll take that garbage off your hands.

 

[LAX]

Regarding OBC, can it be used to purchase GCs at the gift shop? If so, can't one just do that to "cash out" the OBC?

LAX

 

[bcwife76]

con - not getting enough OBC ;-)

 

[KristiMc]

Regarding OBC, can it be used to purchase GCs at the gift shop? If so, can't one just do that to "cash out" the OBC?

LAX

Yes, if you had OBC left at the end of your cruise you can go to the shops and purchase gift cards with it.

 

[LAX]

Yes, if you had OBC left at the end of your cruise you can go to the shops and purchase gift cards with it.

That's helpful info. With this, I can make sure I will have no OBC left on my onboard account.

LAX

 

[cruiser21]

We received some shipboard credit...what exactly is it? Is it worth it?

Thanks

 

[MUN]

I don't understand the 'is it worth it' question. That implies you are required to pay something for it? If you aren't paying anything for on board credit, then it's free money for use on ship.

I don't think the OP knew what shipboard credit was. He/she was trying to be cute with the thread title.

MUN

 

[msmama]

Piggybacking - if I have more than one credit is there a way to prioritize which gets used first? Obviously I want to use the TA one first!

 

[KristiMc]

Piggybacking - if I have more than one credit is there a way to prioritize which gets used first? Obviously I want to use the TA one first!

I usually have a TA credit and a credit that I have added. They have always used the TA credit first.

 

[codylamb18]

Who would have any OBC left after a cruise!? Very hard to do in my opinion. After tips, drinks, souviners, etc I'm paying!

 

[mmouse37]

I never have shipboard credit left!!! OP, think of it as a declining balance. It really is hard to earmark specific items to be used with your shipboard credit as it gets deducted in the order you purchase things.

Example...say you have $200 shipboard credit. You board the ship and book a spa appointment. The cost of that spa appointment is now deducted from your onboard credit. Next you purchase a few drinks. that amount now gets deducted from your onboard credit. That night or next day you buy things in the shop...that amount gets deducted, etc. until all your shipboard credit is used up. Any purchases going forward would then be CHARGED, not deducted to your onboard account. You would pay off your shipboard charges (account) at the end of the cruise via cash or credit card on file.

MJ

 

[Cheerio]

We get a OBC from our TA, always a pro

 

[Cheerio]

I never have shipboard credit left!!! OP, think of it as a declining balance. It really is hard to earmark specific items to be used with your shipboard credit as it gets deducted in the order you purchase things.

Example...say you have $200 shipboard credit. You board the ship and book a spa appointment. The cost of that spa appointment is now deducted from your onboard credit. Next you purchase a few drinks. that amount now gets deducted from your onboard credit. That night or next day you buy things in the shop...that amount gets deducted, etc. until all your shipboard credit is used up. Any purchases going forward would then be CHARGED, not deducted to your onboard account. You would pay off your shipboard charges (account) at the end of the cruise via cash or credit card on file.

MJ

Yes, what is this leftover credit people speak of? LOL In addition to our credit, we always have to pay to get off the ship

 

[Dug720]

Piggybacking - if I have more than one credit is there a way to prioritize which gets used first? Obviously I want to use the TA one first!

I think if there is any non-refundable OBC - like from onboard bookings - that is used first. Then they go into any OBC that is refundable (such as that which you purchased in advance or was purchased for you as a gift). I don't use a TA, so I have no idea if that is refundable or not.

 

[seashellmama]

The original poster mentioned Resort Credits as being kinda scammy, so I looked into that... and yeah. It looks like "all inclusive resorts" have a situation where you can sometimes be given "resort credit", but to use it you're charged a significant premium over the cash price (15-20%), and often with severe limitations on its use (see Itchy & Scratchy Land) . Obviously it's still "free money", but I can see where you want to know exactly what is being offered so that you weigh its real value to you appropriately.

https://hereandbeyondmag.com/travel-tips-resort-credit-101/

 

[MikeGS]

I was wondering, if we book on day of release to us, as basic castaway club members, don't we get the chance to book a day or so early. Can you still do that through a TA or do you have to book direct from the website? If we do that is there a way of still getting shipboard credit?

 

[KristiMc]

I was wondering, if we book on day of release to us, as basic castaway club members, don't we get the chance to book a day or so early. Can you still do that through a TA or do you have to book direct from the website? If we do that is there a way of still getting shipboard credit?

Platinum and Gold Castaway Club members get to book a day earlier than Silver and general public. You can use a TA to do this. On this day, you or your TA has to call to make the booking as the new dates are not released to the website until the following day.