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I know I've seen it. I've searched for it. Can't find it.

How soon, prior to sailing, should I transfer my Royal Caribbean Visa Rewards to my  Radiance July 19 ( just shy of 2 months away) sailing? Will I have to work any further voodoo magic once on board to turn those rewards into OBC (Helllllllo laundry!)? 

Has anyone had any issues with this? Advice?

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We’ve waited as late as 1 week prior to sailing but it’s best to redeem at least 2 weeks prior.  The system has definitely improved over the past couple of years.  It used to take a while to get the process completed but now with it all being online it’s much more reliable.  If you redeem 2 weeks prior the OBC should show up nearly immediately on your account. If you redeem 3 or more weeks ahead it might not show up immediately 

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21 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We’ve waited as late as 1 week prior to sailing but it’s best to redeem at least 2 weeks prior.  The system has definitely improved over the past couple of years.  It used to take a while to get the process completed but now with it all being online it’s much more reliable.  If you redeem 2 weeks prior the OBC should show up nearly immediately on your account. If you redeem 3 or more weeks ahead it might not show up immediately 

And, this is NOT OBC that I will see on the CP, right? Where can I get verification that it is on my account? Can my TA from MEI do that?

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I redeemed points from Royal Caribbean Credit Card about three months before our Radiance cruise in May.  I called RCCL and asked if they received the OBC and she checked and yes they did and it would show up on the cruise planner about two weeks before sail date.  It did show up at the top of the home page for Cruise Planner and could have been used.

There are two types of OBC, refundable and non-refundable.

The RCCL credit card OBC is refundable. Our kids surprised us with  a $100 OBC to buy us dinner,  they are all put on your on board account, at the end of the cruise any unused OBC that is refundable is put back on the credit card you have on your  account.

The OBC that you get from RCCL (when you book your cruise) is non- refundable so if you do not use that up you lose it.  I know that would be impossible but I thought I would share it.

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10 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

No. MEI will have nothing to do with Visa OBC. When you complete the redemption process you will get an email confirming the redemption.  It WILL show up in your CP as available OBC

Based on my current experiences (cruise 2 weeks ago and another next week and calling in to the redemption center to confirm) the OBC will show up on the Cruise Planner but do not expect to see it until 7 days or less out from sailing ... so unless they happen to be having a great sale right before you sail ... not really usable ahead of time.

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10 hours ago, Jobie said:

I redeemed points from Royal Caribbean Credit Card about three months before our Radiance cruise in May.  I called RCCL and asked if they received the OBC and she checked and yes they did and it would show up on the cruise planner about two weeks before sail date.  It did show up at the top of the home page for Cruise Planner and could have been used.

There are two types of OBC, refundable and non-refundable.

The RCCL credit card OBC is refundable. Our kids surprised us with  a $100 OBC to buy us dinner,  they are all put on your on board account, at the end of the cruise any unused OBC that is refundable is put back on the credit card you have on your  account.

The OBC that you get from RCCL (when you book your cruise) is non- refundable so if you do not use that up you lose it.  I know that would be impossible but I thought I would share it.

@Jobie@WAAAYTOOO, and @jticarruthers The underlined part seems to negate the refundable RCCL OBC: 

Be sure to redeem your reward points at least seven (7) business days prior to boarding in order for your redemption to apply to your sailing. All selections are final and non-transferable to another ship or sailing date after you complete your transaction. Any MyCruise® Rewards redeemed will expire after six (6) months, if a ship and sail date are not selected. Where specified below, merchandise will be shipped to the address (not a P.O. box) provided during the redemption checkout process. Any redemptions made within one week of sailing date will need approval to be applied to the reservation by calling Royal Caribbean at (888) 305-4626.

and

14. MyCruise® Points are considered fully redeemed and used once they have been redeemed for electronic fulfillment. There are no exchanges or refunds for no-shows or unused portions of cruise arrangements obtained with the use of a Reward Redemption. Name changes, departure date changes and itinerary changes may be subject to penalties such as cancellation fees and/or rate increases as determined by Royal Caribbean. If rate increases or cancellation fees are assessed, those assessments may not be paid for using MyCruise® Points and/or the original value of a Reward Redemption. If Royal Caribbean cancels the cruise vacation you have booked, we will offer a credit of equal value of the Reward Redemption. You are encouraged to review your Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises or Azamara cruise vacation brochure to determine whether or not you should purchase travel insurance in connection with your trip.

and from my checkout page

Thank you for making your Royal Rewards redemption. You will receive a confirmation at the email address provided after you submit your request, today. Your redemption needs to be submitted a week before your saildate - excluding Merchandise and Charitable Donations. All orders will be sent to the Royal Rewards desk to be processed. If we are missing information and need to contact you, we will use the email address or phone number provided. If you have already passed 7 days before your saildate, please call our Royal Rewards desk at (888) 3054626 to ensure your Reward can be applied to your current reservation. Once points are redeemed, the transfer of points is permanent and nonreturnable. Your order will be cancelled 180 days after redemption, if not applied to an active ship and sail date. Terms and Conditions of all Rewards are provided in the Conditions for each item. The Program Rules for Royal Rewards are provided by going to www.RoyalCaribbean.com/RoyalRewards.

Edited by Baked Alaska
added point 14 from T&C and final checkout page T&C
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50 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

@Jobie@WAAAYTOOO, and @jticarruthers The underlined part seems to negate the refundable RCCL OBC: 

Be sure to redeem your reward points at least seven (7) business days prior to boarding in order for your redemption to apply to your sailing. All selections are final and non-transferable to another ship or sailing date after you complete your transaction. Any MyCruise® Rewards redeemed will expire after six (6) months, if a ship and sail date are not selected. Where specified below, merchandise will be shipped to the address (not a P.O. box) provided during the redemption checkout process. Any redemptions made within one week of sailing date will need approval to be applied to the reservation by calling Royal Caribbean at (888) 305-4626.

and

14. MyCruise® Points are considered fully redeemed and used once they have been redeemed for electronic fulfillment. There are no exchanges or refunds for no-shows or unused portions of cruise arrangements obtained with the use of a Reward Redemption. Name changes, departure date changes and itinerary changes may be subject to penalties such as cancellation fees and/or rate increases as determined by Royal Caribbean. If rate increases or cancellation fees are assessed, those assessments may not be paid for using MyCruise® Points and/or the original value of a Reward Redemption. If Royal Caribbean cancels the cruise vacation you have booked, we will offer a credit of equal value of the Reward Redemption. You are encouraged to review your Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises or Azamara cruise vacation brochure to determine whether or not you should purchase travel insurance in connection with your trip.

and from my checkout page

Thank you for making your Royal Rewards redemption. You will receive a confirmation at the email address provided after you submit your request, today. Your redemption needs to be submitted a week before your saildate - excluding Merchandise and Charitable Donations. All orders will be sent to the Royal Rewards desk to be processed. If we are missing information and need to contact you, we will use the email address or phone number provided. If you have already passed 7 days before your saildate, please call our Royal Rewards desk at (888) 3054626 to ensure your Reward can be applied to your current reservation. Once points are redeemed, the transfer of points is permanent and nonreturnable. Your order will be cancelled 180 days after redemption, if not applied to an active ship and sail date. Terms and Conditions of all Rewards are provided in the Conditions for each item. The Program Rules for Royal Rewards are provided by going to www.RoyalCaribbean.com/RoyalRewards.

This info is all about the transfer of points from the RCCL credit card.  So they are saying once you redeem them you cannot cancel or move them,& if you lets say cancel your cruise you would lose them.   Once you  redeem  the points and they are transferred to your OBC to your on board account they become refundable to you.  On your cruise you can check your account on the TV and it will have your OBC listed as either refundable or non-refundable.  We ended with $47.00 credit on our credit card at the end of the cruise.

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39 minutes ago, Jobie said:

This info is all about the transfer of points from the RCCL credit card.  So they are saying once you redeem them you cannot cancel or move them,& if you lets say cancel your cruise you would lose them.   Once you  redeem  the points and they are transferred to your OBC to your on board account they become refundable to you.  On your cruise you can check your account on the TV and it will have your OBC listed as either refundable or non-refundable.  We ended with $47.00 credit on our credit card at the end of the cruise.

Okay, I see where you're coming from. That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying!

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59 minutes ago, ellcee said:

What everyone else has said - one little difference - for my July '18 cruise I redeemed 3 weeks before and it showed on my cruise planner later that day. Weird, probably an anomaly but it happened.

That's great! I've transferred enough for laundry on our Alaska Radiance sailing and saving the rest for the UDP and DBP for our 2020 spring break Oasis cruise. I only use it for RCCL related charges (for the double points). I really like that this is refundable back to the card. Thanks for all the good info!!

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6 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

That's great! I've transferred enough for laundry on our Alaska Radiance sailing and saving the rest for the UDP and DBP for our 2020 spring break Oasis cruise. I only use it for RCCL related charges (for the double points). I really like that this is refundable back to the card. Thanks for all the good info!!

oh, laundry is a great idea for use of late-arriving OBC!! 

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On 5/24/2019 at 9:42 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

No. MEI will have nothing to do with Visa OBC. When you complete the redemption process you will get an email confirming the redemption.  It WILL show up in your CP as available OBC

I'm following this. I definitely redeemed my credit a few months ago so I can use it for my August sailing, but I don't see where the credit is showing up in my CP.  Any ideas? Would I call Visa or RC to figure this out?

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9 minutes ago, Silligan said:

I'm following this. I definitely redeemed my credit a few months ago so I can use it for my August sailing, but I don't see where the credit is showing up in my CP.  Any ideas? Would I call Visa or RC to figure this out?

Just call.. told them I want to make purchases on my cruise planner and want to used my credits.. and actually got an email showing my updated OBC within an hour or two.

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7 minutes ago, Silligan said:

I'm following this. I definitely redeemed my credit a few months ago so I can use it for my August sailing, but I don't see where the credit is showing up in my CP.  Any ideas? Would I call Visa or RC to figure this out?

1.  Did you get the email confirmation of the points redemption ?

2.  If so, you are good to go..  Don't expect the OBC to show up on your booking until 2-3 weeks ahead.  They do not post it there immediately if your sailing is a number of weeks out.  If you do not see it on there by 2 weeks prior to sailing, then you will need to start looking into it but don't panic until then.  If you have the email confirmation then I'm confident that you will be fine.  If you did not get the email confirmation then you need to contact RCCL Visa right away.

BTW, keep that email confirmation close by and I always take a copy of it with me onto the ship just to be sure (unless you use it all prior to sailing, of course).  I haven't had an issue with my RCCL Visa OBC for a number of years so I haven't needed that email confirmation for a while.  ...but back in "they day" when they didn't have it all automated I used to need it quite frequently. The process seems to be flawless in the past few years though.

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Sounds like the standard RCI rules on customer service apply .. keep calling until you get what you want.

I called in to ask about getting the points available through CP early and was told it wasnt possible, they would show up about a week before sailing but sounds like they did it for Cruisegirl. I didnt bother to push since they would just refund the $ to my card post cruise instead but it was annoying to have to pay for the drink package and then get a refund after the fact.

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I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

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10 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

I always use mine as a reduction to the cruise fare.  We almost never have a balance due onboard, so it wouldn't make sense for me to use it for OBC.  

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18 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

We used it once to get the free 4 night passenger fare on a cruise.. but usually we use the OBC for the booze package and shore excursions.

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2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1.  Did you get the email confirmation of the points redemption ?

2.  If so, you are good to go..  Don't expect the OBC to show up on your booking until 2-3 weeks ahead.  They do not post it there immediately if your sailing is a number of weeks out.  If you do not see it on there by 2 weeks prior to sailing, then you will need to start looking into it but don't panic until then.  If you have the email confirmation then I'm confident that you will be fine.  If you did not get the email confirmation then you need to contact RCCL Visa right away.

BTW, keep that email confirmation close by and I always take a copy of it with me onto the ship just to be sure (unless you use it all prior to sailing, of course).  I haven't had an issue with my RCCL Visa OBC for a number of years so I haven't needed that email confirmation for a while.  ...but back in "they day" when they didn't have it all automated I used to need it quite frequently. The process seems to be flawless in the past few years though.

Thanks! I do have the e-mail confirmation ?

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1 hour ago, AGSLC5 said:

I also have this credit card but I always use to the points to take money off the actual cost of my cruise. I am even able to combine it with Casino Discounts. Do any of you ever take the money right off the cruise fare? sounds like most people just get the OBC. 

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  ?

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16 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  ?

I do exactly what you do with taking out max amount and then paying off the bill lol. I love that its double points and I have no problem having a ton of cash I put most of it in my safe and since I mostly sail from Florida I just literally stop at the bank on my way home deposit the money and pay the bill.. Yes of course there have been times where I have loss too much and had to make up the difference but I still do like getting the points. I guess I will have to try the OBC redemption. I always used it for cruises I don't get fully comped but I could always use to gamble onboard. 

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19 minutes ago, mworkman said:

We transferred VISA OBC awhile back, were 18 days out and nothing is showing in the cruise planner yet.  I will let you know if and when it shows up.

We did ours awhile back and a couple of days ago it showed up - of course, after we purchased our excursion lol.  we are about 7 days out from our cruise.

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6 hours ago, Ndfan89 said:

Can I ask what credit card you are using? I do not have a RCI credit card.  Looks like I might need to get one.  I have four scheduled for this year and just booked Harmony for May of 2020.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/visa-signature-card yes, would help with OBC for your four upcoming cruises. Check out the details. I use only this card for RCCL transactions and it is used for nothing else. @Ndfan89 it has a high interest rate. Pay it off every transaction or it will bite you in he RCCL butt.

Edited by Baked Alaska
Further info
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Realizing this this a RCCL based site, I have been reading about affinity/travel related credit cards the past few days. No doubt there are some biased opinions out there and the credit card world is primary out there to skim money from retailers and charge exorbitant interest to consumers. Having said all that, some cards offer better travel benefits than others and the RCCL Visa is no where near the top on anyone's list of the 'best of'.

I say that in spite of having used the RCCL Visa myself for over 10 years and earned a couple of 'two for one cruises' and several OBC's of varying amounts. I am seriously reconsidering that choice of credit card. I only carry one card, generally pay it off monthly and channel most every thing I can through it for the sole purpose of travel benefits. There are cards out there with all kinds of agreements with on line reservation systems, hotels, airlines and virtually any travel expense including cruise lines. Many of these offer large 'sign up bonuses' that amounts to hundreds of dollars and some offer as much as 10x credit per dollar spent. Most all convert 10,000 points/miles into $100. Some even allow that to be converted to cash in your pocket.

Some are more biased toward airlines, some toward hotels and others for for any travel expense. Some have no annual membership, some have fairly steep annual membership though a good part of it can be offset with perks. Some are no doubt best suited for professionals that travel world wide on a regular basis. Some are a better fit for families that  do vacations once or twice a year. Most are targeted toward people with good credit scores.

Keeping all that in mind, there are some really good travel benefits to be had. Digging a little deeper, coupling some cards with online reservations as specific incentives with some hotels, rental cars and so on can seriously boost the points/miles you get.

Its kind of like people that cut coupons, if you spend a little time researching and playing the game, you can save a lot of money on travel.

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29 minutes ago, mworkman said:

13 days out..still nothing yet.

You should have gotten a "Branded Redemption Transaction Details" email when you first redeemed the points. It's supposed to show no later than 2 weeks before the cruise. On my 14th day before sailing I called the C&A number (800-772-9723) and the rep added it to the cruise planner IMMEDIATELY. Give them a call and you should be able to use it today if you so desire.

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On 5/29/2019 at 2:45 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Stephanie, we use it as OBC and gamble with it !!

We take the max amount allowed daily as cash draws against our sea pass account.  We get out bill as high as we can and then pay it off using the RCCL Visa at the end of the cruise.  We take the cash, which we have brought back to our room every night, and pay off the RCCL Visa when we get home.  Since you get double points on RCCL when using the RCCL Visa, we will get an automatic minimum of $400 OBC for our next cruise as the cruise bill will be a minimum of $20K.  The only risk here is that if you lose, you still have to make up the difference to pay off the CC b/c the RCCL Visa has an outrageously high interest rate.  Some people are uncomfortable carrying around that much cash but as long as you are going straight home where you can lock it up, it's not really a problem.  Of course, you are limited to $10K per person coming through Customs so we cannot go beyond $20K in cash.  As long as you know you can pay off the balance then this process works like a charm and it is 100 legal and ethical. Combine that money with the value of paying the actual cruises with the RCCL Visa card and you really accumulate OBC in a hurry !  We generally have between $500-$1000 OBC on every cruise and the best part is it is self perpetuating !  The more you cruise and gamble the more you earn.  ...and if you happen to win on the cruise, it's an even better deal !  That is rarely the case for us, unfortunately.  ?

I don't gamble...but I totally just took a screenshot of this reply...never know when it'll come in handy.  Thanks!

P.S.  I mean all that in a good way, it's good advice.

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