Thursday, August 16, 2007

On Board Credit (what is it and how do I get it)

On board credit is when there is a positive balance amount added to your account. There are a few ways that this can happen. Some group cruises come with a OBC as the perk. Travel Agents may have a credit added to accounts as a gift or a way to "refund" on cruises when the price goes down. OBC may be part of a sale on certain cruises and or cabin selections. And owners of certain cruise line stock programs may qualify for OBC. For the stock owners, it usually requires ownership of 100 shares or more of stock and the program, while renewed every year, is not guaranteed to continue forever. The amount is usually based on the length of the cruise and also usually can not be combined with other on board credit offers. There are avid cruisers with lines such as Carnival (and its other brands) and Royal Caribbean that have had stock for years and received the price they payed a few times over in OBC. Unfortunately, at today's prices it would cost in the range of $4000-$5000 to purchase 100 shares now. At $50-$150 per cruise you need to be in it for the long haul to get your moneys worth. If you are addicted and have a favorite cruise line, its not a bad investment.

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