By Adam H. Graham | Published on March 7, 2024
You may have seen deals that include onboard credit and wondered what that entails. Onboard credit — otherwise known as OBC or "cruise cash" — is a promotion that offers cruisers a dollar amount to use toward onboard spending. It is loaded automatically onto your SeaPass® card, the personal onboard expense account you'll use for all your onboard expenditures, and credits are automatically applied to all purchases made on board. Think of it as a gift card from Royal Caribbean.
Though the timing of promotions varies, the credit is issued before you cruise and can be spent on the My Royal Cruise portal even before you board. And here's the really fun part: it can be applied toward a wide array of goods and services, including massages and celebratory bottles of bubbly. But there's a motto for how to treat your cruise credit: Use it or lose it! Credits are nonrefundable and nontransferable, so read on for our list of seven of the best ways to use your onboard cruise credit.
Splurging on a bottle of your favorite bubbly or top-shelf tequila is an excellent way to use your credit. If simply nursing a dark 'n' stormy or a pineapple guava sangria at sunset is more your jam, then treating yourself — and perhaps your significant other or friends — to a round of cocktails at one of the ship's bars is a generous act that won't be forgotten. Daiquiris, caipirinhas and margaritas made with agave syrup are only a few of the creations you can sample.
Drinks Packages are a smart way to use up cruise credit, too. Guests can opt for unlimited fountain soda and Coca-Cola® products by purchasing a Classic Soda Package. Add on a Refreshment Package and you'll also get mocktails, premium coffees and teas, milkshakes, Evian bottled water and fresh-squeezed juices with the next level. Or upgrade to the Deluxe Beverage Package for unlimited beer, wine, premium cocktails and 40% discounts on select bottles of wine and Champagne.
Dining packages are a fantastic way to spend cruise credit. You can purchase the Three Restaurants package to dine at three different venues or the Unlimited Dining Package, which allows you to visit multiple specialty restaurants every night of your sailing.
Onboard credit can be used for individual meals, too. Hankering for some seafood while sailing in the Caribbean? Use your credit for yellowtail sashimi sushi, shrimp tempura or the famed champagne lobster rolls at Izumi Japanese Cuisine. If you're a meat lover, consider ordering a bone-in rib-eye steak at Chops Grille℠. If you want to really go gourmet, book a seat at Chef's Table and sample, for example, the smoked tomato soup and scallop carpaccio with yuzu vinaigrette. Those with a sweet tooth have no shortage of places to satisfy their sugar desires. Trade in your credit for some petits fours and violet cassis macarons at La Patisserie or surprise your family with cupcakes, pastry, donuts or cookies from various venues on board.
Booking shore excursions is another great way to spend your onboard credit — not to mention deepen your travel experience. Excursions you can spend your credit on include everything from snorkeling, scuba diving, birdwatching and rainforest ziplining to touring archeological sights and embarking on standard city tours at most ports of call.
If you start to experience crowd fatigue mid-cruise, consider using your onboard credit to book Private Journeys — a customized tour just for you and your crew — so that you can get more personalized experiences onshore. Sample Private Journeys include a Basque cooking class with a chef in Bilbao, Spain; an Alaskan glacier tour by Hummer; a seaplane excursion to a private Puerto Rican island with a catamaran ride; or a simple yet romantic boat tour of Capri, Italy's Blue Grotto.
If you're a big spender keen to roll the dice and poker-face your way through a hand of Texas Hold 'em, spend your cruise credit at the Casino Royale℠, found on every ship. Your credit can be used for everything from slot machines and craps tables to roulette, baccarat and blackjack tournaments. There are also nightly cash prizes and special one-off events that the resident pit boss can tell you about. It's possible to turn that credit into cash, allowing you to spend even more when hitting the shore.
Ready to book a cruise for your next vacation? Check out these fabulous cruises.