Cruise and "On board spend" allowance

[beegeebee]

Never having been on a cruise (except when King George asked if I would mind terribly but he would like me to go to the Far East on the S.S. Lancashire and, the wife is currently trying to get me to try a cruise (think she may be thinking of the 'man overboard' trick), I do wonder what this on board spend being promoted by most of the cruise lines is intended to be used?
A little help from friends would be most gratefully received. B.

[Buenchico]

For the rich, travelling on the biggest and best liners, 'on board spend' can be used in the expensive shops, such as these on the new Queen Elizabeth:
http://www.cruises.co..._queen_elizabeth.html

For the impecunious, on smaller ships, it can be used to pay their bar bills. Here's the current bar tariff on P&O's Ventura:
http://www.cruises.co...0-ventura_prices.html

Chris

[Buenchico]

PS: Many cruise companies operate a 'cashless' system on board. You're given a 'cruise card', which is used to pay for goods and services. As your post recognises, many cruise offers ensure that your card is provided with a credit balance already on it (although, of course, you can top up the balance yourself).

[beegeebee]

Thanks guys most appreciative for the rapidity of the replies. So taking the debit and credit cards off her, could help a little? B.

[johntywino]

Have been on several cruises giving onboard credit....All onboard transactions go onto the card and at the end of the cruise the onboard credit amount is taken off your bill and you pay the rest with your credit card....Without,say, £200 onboard credit the cruise would be £200 cheaper (as with some cruises in Gills adverts at present) but DO REMEMBER that if you only spend say £150 on board you have LOST £50!

[sddsddean]

Not necessarily John. I've had On Board Credit (OBC) left over on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises and had it credited to my credit card. As said, all ships use an account system and things on ships are pricey. This summer, cruising out of Southampton it was great to find some bottled bitter beer (Old Speckled Hen and London Pride) which you can get in Tesco for about £1.50 a bottle. They charged $7 plus 15% service charge. An average bottle of wine will be around $25 (+ 15%), so you can soon rack up the spending. Get any OBC you can!!

[auntiebertie]

On board credit can be spent on anything on board-drinks, shore excursions, tips, speciality restaurants, t-shirts, spa appointments, jewellery........basically any thing that costs money.
The godfather of all cruise sites is boards.cruisecritic.com - select your line and read away for all information you will ever need.
ps: it is pretty difficult to fall over so don't be worried about your wife upping your life insurance just before you go!