Stockholder Benefit Denied

[chisoxfan]

Ahhh, . . . good point. I still had the wording from the FAQ in my head (Onboard Booking vs Onboard credit). So I missed that slight difference when reading the *.pdf letter. Thanks.

 

It is still a poor policy - IMHO - to deny a booking made at the going rate from receiving the benefit. If I had gotten a discount from some other means, I would understand not wanting to combine the benefit. That is not the case here, hence my frustration. Oh well, . . .

 

 

I agree. Things are too complicated. If there is a shareholder benefit offered it should be x dollars for any booking available to the general public. Otherwise it really is not a benefit. I just rebooked this morning to get a credit (150 or 200 I don't remember). To do this I had to actually pay a small amount more because the rates had increased (60 bucks). I wasn't lookin for different pricing but X sends an e-mail saying "save 200 bucks" and it happens to be applicable for a cruise I booked.

 

Anyway, if I do use a shareholder benefit later (I am not sure how long I will own RCL) I will have screwed myself since the credits cannot be combined. AMEX Platinum benefit? I have no idea if this will apply since others have posted that the benefit is given by Celebrity and is treated the same as their OBC. Of course I will have to transfer my booking to a TA to get this and hopefully other benefits. It sounds like a lot of people out there (including myself) are unsure or confused regarding what benefits will or will not apply and I do not think this is a good thing in an industry that is geared towards "relaxation". JMHO.

[Lsimon]

We must pick cruises that are very popular. Most of them have sold out so there are no specials and no Celebrity provided OBC, so the shareholder benefit comes in handy. Our TA provided credit still stands and is combinable - I think this depends on how the TA is providing the credit (i.e. is it a Celebrity promotion or one the TA is funding). On one of our recent cruises we did have a book-on-board credit that was removed when they applied the shareholder credit as the shareholder credit was larger. We don't bother to book on board any longer since the shareholder credit is larger than the boo on board credit.

[C 2 C]

We don't bother to book on board any longer since the shareholder credit is larger than the book on board credit.

 

OK.. The cruises you are booking are too short!

 

A 14 day cruise gets $300 OBC if booked on board, $250 if you use the stock credit... that's enough for 3 or 4 martinis... ;)

[Lsimon]

OK.. The cruises you are booking are too short!

 

A 14 day cruise gets $300 OBC if booked on board, $250 if you use the stock credit... that's enough for 3 or 4 martinis... ;)

 

From your comment it sounds like they've reverted to the old program based on cruise length. Last time we booked on board it was to buy the passages certificates that gave a credit based on cruise price - not a great deal.

 

We do occasionally do 14 nighters, did the last 2 years on fall TA's and will next year on the Connie. Looks like you'll be getting off the Connie when we got on next Mar-26., sorry we'll miss you.

[Blue Lagoon]

I have had my shareholder benefit denied on occasions and also accepted on occasions by whatever rationale X or RCCL happens to be using on the day they review my application. However, I always apply for the shareholder benefit - simply because I might get it! :confused:

 

The wording in the fine print of the shareholder benefit form is: "Benefit is not combinable with other onboard credit offers, general loyalty offers, “dollars off” promotions and savings certificates. Guests have the option to choose between the shareholder benefit or the other offer.". The weasel words here are: "dollars off" promotions. X can deem almost anything other than the original suggested retail pricing to be a "dollars off" promotion and sometimes they interpret it that way and sometimes they don't... :rolleyes:

 

It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out the shareholder's benefit application and send it in. With every application that is rejected, the implication is that one more shareholder may be thinking about selling his/her shares. Some day RCL Corporate will wake up to this (or maybe not - read on)! :eek:

 

In all of this, I suspect that what is happening is that RCL Corporate is simply sending a message to the folks in the operating division's booking offices (at X, or RCCL, or Azamara) to apply the shareholders credit (if applicable) - without any financial compensation (a book-keeping entry to transfer the benefit costs back to RCL Corporate). This was probably some MBA's idea of a cost-cutting measure back in 2008 ie: save money by transfering the cost of the shareholder benefit to the operating division. Of course, the operating division is under pressure to maximize profits, so they use every loophole they can find to "duck" the benefit. Not at all surprising at how confused things now are! :confused:

 

In terms of the "Loyalty Program", there is a "double slap in the face". I am a Loyal X customer (Elite level) and I also hold shares (and thereby support RCL financially). What do I get for this type of Loyalty? Yes - you guessed it - CANNOT COMBINE! Methinks the MBA's that work in RCL Corporate have been drinking too much of their own Kool-Aide! :cool:

 

Cruising on regardless... :)

[gbearbuck]

I have had my shareholder benefit denied on occasions and also accepted on occasions by whatever rationale X or RCCL happens to be using on the day they review my application. However, I always apply for the shareholder benefit - simply because I might get it!

 

The wording in the fine print of the shareholder benefit form is: "Benefit is not combinable with other onboard credit offers, general loyalty offers, “dollars off” promotions and savings certificates. Guests have the option to choose between the shareholder benefit or the other offer.". The weasel words here are: "dollars off" promotions. X can deem almost anything other than the original suggested retail pricing to be a "dollars off" promotion and sometimes they interpret it that way and sometimes they don't...

 

It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out the shareholder's benefit application and send it in. With every application that is rejected, the implication is that one more shareholder may be thinking about selling his/her shares. Some day RCL Corporate will wake up to this (or maybe not - read on)!

 

In all of this, I suspect that what is happening is that RCL Corporate is simply sending a message to the folks in the operating division's booking offices (at X, or RCCL, or Azamara) to apply the shareholders credit (if applicable) - without any financial compensation (a book-keeping entry to transfer the benefit costs back to RCL Corporate). This was probably some MBA's idea of a cost-cutting measure back in 2008 ie: save money by transfering the cost of the shareholder benefit to the operating division. Of course, the operating division is under pressure to maximize profits, so they use every loophole they can find to "duck" the benefit. Not at all surprising at how confused things now are!

 

In terms of the "Loyalty Program", there is a "double slap in the face". I am a Loyal X customer (Elite level) and I also hold shares (and thereby support RCL financially). What do I get for this type of Loyalty? Yes - you guessed it - CANNOT COMBINE! Methinks the MBA's that work in RCL Corporate have been drinking too much of their own Kool-Aide!

 

Cruising on regardless... :)

 

why do you have to blame those of us that earned an MBA?:D

[The_Big_M]

In terms of the "Loyalty Program", there is a "double slap in the face". I am a Loyal X customer (Elite level) and I also hold shares (and thereby support RCL financially). What do I get for this type of Loyalty? Yes - you guessed it - CANNOT COMBINE! Methinks the MBA's that work in RCL Corporate have been drinking too much of their own Kool-Aide! :cool:

 

You're confusing two different things. For your loyalty, you're offered a loyalty program. You don't need to be a shareholder to be loyal.

 

For being a shareholder, as with any other company you are offered a financial return on the basis of your single initial purchase of those shares. In this case, they offer an extra benefit, with some conditions. If you meet those conditions, great, it's another option. If not, oh well, you're not any worse off than other shareholder.

[getaway101]

I recently applied for the stock holder credit for our upcoming Oct. TA on the Eclipse. I requested a confirmation by email and have not received anything as of yet. it has been probably 3 weeks.

Question.......will they let me know if it is denied?

[The_Big_M]

They should let you know either way - just send a request in again.

[miladi]

I e-mailed a request for shareholder benefit on 8/10 and received a reply on 8/12 confirming OBC. Send the request again.

[getaway101]

I e-mailed a request for shareholder benefit on 8/10 and received a reply on 8/12 confirming OBC. Send the request again.

 

I faxed my request in with my email address (my scanner is broke) and now I'm wondering if I had the right fax #. Does anyone know that number? The one I used was.....305-373-6699

[spearmint]

I faxed my request in with my email address (my scanner is broke) and now I'm wondering if I had the right fax #. Does anyone know that number? The one I used was.....305-373-6699

 

That is the correct fax number. I sent mine to Linda Buchanan at that number. I called my TA to find out if it was received and found out that it was, but that it wouldn't be accepted and applied unless I sent proof of continuing ownership. I did that and the application was made to both of my back-to-back cruises coming up at the end of October. Had I not gotten my TA to check, I would never have know whether Celebrity had received or applied my request. Call whomever you booked with and get them to check for you.

 

Further to the OP's concerns. The TA that I used offered OBC's for both parts of our cruise, and they are combinable with Celebrity's. It is when Celebrity offers more than one OBC that you are forced to choose which one to take.....the more expensive one, naturally. There is one exception that I know about. When Celebrity cancelled a cruise, they offered us an OBC to sign up for another route. Since this was a non-promotional OBC, they allowed us to have it, plus our shareholder OBC as well.

Bill

[TREVORSILL]

how do you know if you received your obc from stockholders benefit before the cruise. I submitted my statement but haven't heard anything-so do you take your info with you on board?

[cruisestitch]

You can call the Investor Relations department, or call the Captain's Club desk, and if you booked through a TA they should be able to confirm the credit. However, I always take my own copy of the correspondence on board with me, just in case. Once on board, it always takes a few days for the credit to appear, so don't panic if it isn't on your account right away.

[wvufan]

We must pick cruises that are very popular. Most of them have sold out so there are no specials and no Celebrity provided OBC, so the shareholder benefit comes in handy. Our TA provided credit still stands and is combinable - I think this depends on how the TA is providing the credit (i.e. is it a Celebrity promotion or one the TA is funding). On one of our recent cruises we did have a book-on-board credit that was removed when they applied the shareholder credit as the shareholder credit was larger. We don't bother to book on board any longer since the shareholder credit is larger than the boo on board credit.

 

Hi Larry and Sue:). Sometimes it works out better to take the on board credit as there may be other perks. For example, we got a three cat upgrade free on an upcoming cruise and elected to take that and the obc as opposed to the shareholder's one.

 

We got lucky on our stock-last year we were visiting friends we made while cruising and their son, who was a broker, called them and urged them to buy some RCCL stock right then. It was around $6.50 a share! We jumped on that bandwagon and have already recouped our investment. Nice to win one every now and then ;).

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl