On Board Credit - OBC

This is one of the confusing little secrets of the cruise industry.

On Board Credits or OBCs are essentially inducements offered by cruise lines or travel agents to encourage you to book a cruise. They are essentially a discount off your final bill for purchases made onboard the ship - (normally they can not be cashed out).

They are not offered on all cruises, especially popular ones. Basically the less cabins sold on a ship, the larger OBCs that will be offered, and they are usually proportional to the length of a cruise and the type of a cabin you are booking.

An inside cabin on a short cruise might only attract a $25 OBC while a balcony suite might get you $100 OBC. Two week cruises can see these get as high as $400 or more.

If you are dealing with a travel agent it's always worth asking if they can offer an OBC. These are sometimes at their discretion.

The OBCs work in the cruise lines favour as you still have to pay for the full purchase price of the item or service provided but the company only has to cover the cost price.

Regardless OBCs are a great way of making your cruise holiday even better value.

TIP: When onboard your cruise investigate the 'future cruise' program offered by most cruise lines. This generally allows you  to pay a small amount (e.g. $100) to secure a future cruise. These normally have attached to them OBCs such as $200 for cruises over 'X' days. Then when you come to book your next cruise, you have that OBC added to your booking, even if they are not offering OBCs on that particular cruise.