Who has the best FCC?

[remydiva]

I love the FCC on Princess...buy, use them and think they are a great 'bang for your buck'.

 

A friend and fellow CCer is currently on a RCI cruise and has never bought a FCC and wants to know if theirs is as good as Princess. :confused:

 

From what she told me, it wouldn't appear so...her understanding was that $100 bought you $100 OBC and a $100 discount but didn't mention whether or not you still had to pay the full deposit.

 

anyone clarify? and what about the 'other cruise lines'...how do their FCC programs compare?

[PescadoAmarillo]

RC's program is similar to Princess, but only to a point. On RC, you can purchase Next Cruise Certificates (NCCs) for $100 each, but when you actually make a deposit on a specific cruise, you use the NCC to get the OBC, but still have to make the full deposit- the NCC itself is not enough.

 

We've only been on 5 cruise lines, but of those, we think Princess's is, by far, the best.

[whatcruiseisnext]

You might want to check on the other cruiselines boards. those who use them would know more about them!

[Wayfairers]

educate me.... what is FCC?

[1 HappyCruiser]

I could never quite understand why people make such a big thing about the $100 deposit. It's not like you not going to have to pay the complete price sooner or later when final payment is due. The difference between the $100 and full deposit is hardly worth getting excited about considering what else could you do with you money in the interim?

[dobiemom]

I could never quite understand why people make such a big thing about the $100 deposit. It's not like you not going to have to pay the complete price sooner or later when final payment is due. The difference between the $100 and full deposit is hardly worth getting excited about considering what else could you do with you money in the interim?

Me too. I don't care about the deposit... I want the OBC! Another good thing about Princess FCC: if you don't use it in 4 years, you get you money back. Not so with all cruise lines.

[1 HappyCruiser]

If the difference between $100 and the full deposit is going to make a determination if you can afford the cruise or not, maybe you should be considering a cheaper vacation.

[butternut1]

educate me.... what is FCC?

FCC - Future Cruise Credit

[CruiserBruce]

Don't know if this is true on all cruise lines, but for longer cruises, say 14 days+, the deposit is usually a bigger percentage of the fare. As we haven't taken a cruise less than 10 days in over 10 years, the FCC requirement of only $100 can be a significant decrease in the deposit.

[Mscruiselover]

Carnivals FCC is good for 2 yrs (previously was 5 yrs), $100 OBC 7 days or more, 12 days or more $200 OBC, lower OBC for shorter cruises.

[catergirl]

FCD actually, which is future cruise deposit. the OBC, on board credit you receive because of the deposit you made $100. per person and only while on a princess ship, is a bonus for making the deposit. the OBC varies with length of cruise and cabin type. the FCD is good for i believe 4 years and is even refundable. when you make the deposit it goes into your 'account' and you do not have make a reservation then. you can make the reservation for a cruise with whichever TA, travel agent you like. the nice part is if it is an expensive or longer cruise that $100. is a lot less to put down at first and if you change your mind or something comes up you can cancel with no penalty and it goes back in your account. i believe there is a limit on how many times you can cancel though.

 

PS stocks in CCL, carnival cruise line also give you OBC for every cruise, with princess, carnival, costa, HAL, and cunard :D

[Wayfairers]

FCC - Future Cruise Credit

 

Thanks butternut1! We rarely book more than a few months in advance. So, how does FCC work? It appears that you put down a deposit for a cruise while on board and then get $100 credit for use on that or another future cruise - is that correct?

[catergirl]

Here's how Princess figures the $ benefits

 

Free internet minutes for Platinum and Elite:

7 day cruise ......... 150 minutes ... (worth $75)

10+ day cruise ......... 250 minutes ... (worth $100)

21+ day cruise ......... 500 minutes ... (worth $175)

 

Carnival stock OBC

cruise of less than 6 days = $50

cruise of 7-13 days = $100

cruise of 14 days or more = $250

 

Future Cruise Credits when used to book cruise

7-9 days = $25pp (inside cabin) ..... $50pp (outside cabin)

12-15 days = $75pp ............."............. $100pp "

16+ days = $125pp .......... " ............ $150pp

[Wayfairers]

PS stocks in CCL, carnival cruise line also give you OBC for every cruise, with princess, carnival, costa, HAL, and cunard :D

 

Thanks for the info catergirl... didn't read your post before I asked for more detail. How much OBC do you get when you own stock in CCL? Assuming it is $x OBC/each stock?

 

You were answering my questions as I typed! Thanks!! So will just one share of stock get me the discount?

[DesrtDrmr]

Thanks for the info catergirl... didn't read your post before I asked for more detail. How much OBC do you get when you own stock in CCL? Assuming it is $x OBC/each stock?

 

You were answering my questions as I typed! Thanks!! So will just one share of stock get me the discount?

 

 

 

One has to have at least 100 shares to get the OBC.

[butternut1]

if the difference between $100 and the full deposit is going to make a determination if you can afford the cruise or not, maybe you should be considering a cheaper vacation.

wow!! Just wow!!!!!!!!!

[whitecap]

If the difference between $100 and the full deposit is going to make a determination if you can afford the cruise or not, maybe you should be considering a cheaper vacation.

To me its not that the $100 is the difference between being able to cruise or not it is the fact that you purchase the FCC for $100 and Princess as a thank you for doing so, Gives you $100 in OBC and Allows you to use the FCC as a deposit. Doesn't mean that you couldn't put down a bigger deposit if you so choose to. And if this procedure makes it easier for someone to be able to experience the wonderful world of cruising, I think its great!! :D

[caribill]

you purchase the FCC for $100 and Princess as a thank you for doing so, Gives you $100 in OBC and Allows you to use the FCC as a deposit.

 

OBC is not always $100. It is $25 to $150 as shown in post #13.

[whitecap]

OBC is not always $100. It is $25 to $150 as shown in post #13.

You are correct however I was quoting the figures being used by the writer of the post.

[Zubsin]

On NCL when you buy the FCC your OBC gets credited to your CURRENT trip not the future trip so it is slightly different than Princess.

 

As far as OBC for owning 100 shares of stock...you can buy both CCL and RCCL shares. Both companies require 100 shares and both companies credit more OBC the longer the cruise for whichever line you cruise that they own (Expect Xpedition)

 

Now IF you want to own shares for OBC you are NOT suppose to get both the OBC for buying FCC & your OBC as a shareholder benefit.....BUT I have gotten both credits in the past even though when I send off my SHAREHOLDER benefit I mentioned that I might not be eligible for the OBC since I already had the FCC OBC....but they gave it to us anyway which I thought was super nice of them.

 

Donna

[sail7seas]

I like the $100 deposit as we book most of our cruises a year in advance. It's nice that HAL doesn't hold hundreds of our dollars for all that time. I also like getting the OBC. It's 'free' money. Just by getting the FCD's while aboard and using them when we get home, HAL gives us cash. If we booked the same cruise, it would be the same fare but we wouldn't get the OBC if we didn't get the FCD's.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We keep Princes, Holland, Carnival at all times

[Putterdude]

We are kind of hooked on Princess and that FCC seems to be about as good as it gets. We always have 2 or 3 each in the bank...it's kind of like getting money for old rope.;)

[firefly333]

I would put RCL's FCC at the very bottom because its not combinable with hardly anything.

 

Carnival's FCC you can use it and still get stock OBC.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Princes has the best