Ditching FCC - I can't see how it benifits CCL

[sarahleebones]

Not having the ability of purchasing an FCC would not make or break my cruising with Carnival. BUT, by not having the ability to purchase one will open it up for me to look at other options. When you have a FCC, you kinda feel like you need to use it so in turn you will book Carnival. Without having one, I will definitely be more apt to shop around. I really am surprised they have done away with this program because of this.

 

 

 

Prime example....I booked our 10 day out of NY on Carnival because I HAD an FCC. Had I not, I would have been looking at other cruiselines more seriously. By the measly 100 OBC, they coined in on us booking a vista suite for 3 pax and will more than likely have a hefty S&S bill. All in all, they will have coined in on well over $6000 for our family of 3. They also have had that 100 initial deposit for a year and a half before I booked. And really, I'm sure there are many that do not redeeem their certificates and don't bother getting a refund or just lose it, forget about it or just let it accidentally expire.

 

To me, it really was a dumb move. I would have bought an FCC on our March 2013 cruise just because I could. Would have more than likely used it for a Med. Cruise in 2014. But now, I'm starting to look at other lines and other options. Will I book Carnival - probably as they have the best bang for the buck. But I *may* end up on another line to try them out and see how I like their cruising experience.

 

Just my 2cents.

 

Carry on.

[LHP]

I am guessing that folks like me are the reason...so I will take the blame...

 

:o

 

We are the Carnival cruisers that would have sailed 7 times a year anyway....but we did take advantage of the FCC and saved usually $100 on every sailing....

 

these were designed to lure the new cruiser back....but that is not what happened...it was mainly used by those like myself that would have cruised anyway.

 

We bought 25 and have used 23.... 2 more left....

[stargate fan]

Not having the ability of purchasing an FCC would not make or break my cruising with Carnival. BUT, by not having the ability to purchase one will open it up for me to look at other options. When you have a FCC, you kinda feel like you need to use it so in turn you will book Carnival. Without having one, I will definitely be more apt to shop around. I really am surprised they have done away with this program because of this.

 

Prime example....I booked our 10 day out of NY on Carnival because I HAD an FCC. Had I not, I would have been looking at other cruiselines more seriously. By the measly 100 OBC, they coined in on us booking a vista suite for 3 pax and will more than likely have a hefty S&S bill. All in all, they will have coined in on well over $6000 for our family of 3. They also have had that 100 initial deposit for a year and a half before I booked. And really, I'm sure there are many that do not redeeem their certificates and don't bother getting a refund or just lose it, forget about it or just let it accidentally expire.

 

To me, it really was a dumb move. I would have bought an FCC on our March 2013 cruise just because I could. Would have more than likely used it for a Med. Cruise in 2014. But now, I'm starting to look at other lines and other options. Will I book Carnival - probably as they have the best bang for the buck. But I *may* end up on another line to try them out and see how I like their cruising experience.

 

Just my 2cents.

 

Carry on.

 

I completely agree with you.

 

We are sailing our ninth Carnival cruise in eight days. :D Number 10 is already booked. We'll become Platinum members on that sailing. Then we'll begin shopping around for cruises on all cruise lines. At least we still have the stock benefit...for now.

 

We have two FCCs left. Because we live in NH, our FCCs do not expire. (State law.) I hesitate to use them too quickly now that we cannot buy any more. Maybe we will save one for a long Hawaii cruise.

[NCTribeFan]

Well, I think the subject was fairly well covered when it was announced. There were several threads going simultaneously about how people were going to go to other lines.

 

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction.

 

I honestly don't think that many people bought them. The number of people on these boards is a tiny fraction of the total number of cruisers. While it may seem like everyone here bought them, that wasn't actually true, and even if we all did, like I said, it would be a tiny percentage of actual cruisers.

 

I would never book a Carnival cruise solely to use a FCC. I book for the itinerary and price. It's just that when I price cruises, I end up back on Carnival, even as a solo paying 200%.

 

The FCC are refundable, so why would anyone feel obligated to only cruise Carnival thanks to the certificates?

 

So Carnival gets your money early, when you purchase the certificate, but then they "lose" it when you have it applied, and then have to give you the OBC as well.

 

I simply don't think it was "that" much of an incentive. Just keep overall prices low (I'm soon to cruise at a lower per day price than I paid in 2006 on the same class ship, same cabin category), and Carnival will have no problem filling the ships, so why would they offer this extra incentive, especially when they've already made the ES rate available?

[LHP]

Well, I think the subject was fairly well covered when it was announced. There were several threads going simultaneously about how people were going to go to other lines.

 

I think that's a bit of an over-reaction.

 

I honestly don't think that many people bought them. The number of people on these boards is a tiny fraction of the total number of cruisers. While it may seem like everyone here bought them, that wasn't actually true, and even if we all did, like I said, it would be a tiny percentage of actual cruisers.

 

I would never book a Carnival cruise solely to use a FCC. I book for the itinerary and price. It's just that when I price cruises, I end up back on Carnival, even as a solo paying 200%.

 

The FCC are refundable, so why would anyone feel obligated to only cruise Carnival thanks to the certificates?

 

So Carnival gets your money early, when you purchase the certificate, but then they "lose" it when you have it applied, and then have to give you the OBC as well.

 

I simply don't think it was "that" much of an incentive. Just keep overall prices low (I'm soon to cruise at a lower per day price than I paid in 2006 on the same class ship, same cabin category), and Carnival will have no problem filling the ships, so why would they offer this extra incentive, especially when they've already made the ES rate available?

 

 

Personally I do not believe many will "jump" ship just because of this.

 

But what I do believe will happen is that other cruise lines who still offer this will now be closer in price and that may be a factor.....

[vwrestler171]

I will shop around more, I know for my upcoming cruise, we had to use the FCC before it expired so we didn't even look at another line. I have seen other lines doing a similar itinerary for a similar price. I might look elsewhere in the future.

[halos]

This is news to me...they stopped selling them??? :eek:

How utterly stupid is that?:eek:

 

That lousy $100 you got from them guaranteed them that you'd return.

Are they are doing so poorly that they can't afford to give you that lousy $100 even if it guarantees them a cabin sold???

 

 

Personally I do not believe many will "jump" ship just because of this.

 

 

 

But what I do believe will happen is that other cruise lines who still offer this will now be closer in price and that may be a factor.....

It won't cause people to jump but it totally allows ansd possibl;y encourages passengers to look elsewhere.....

 

I seriously do NOT understand their logic.

[triumph]

It's the same credits you get when you book on board. I had 1 of the future cruise guys on the Liberty explain it to me that it is the same plan just when you buy the FCC you can book anytime instead of while your on board. Just going to make it more difficult since most of the on board sales are not much help and it can be busy at times. Used our last 1 and had planned on stocking up again next cruise. Must not have been enough profit in dealing with redeeming the certificates at a later date even though they made that easier.

[SkyMaster]

I sailed "Paradise" just a week before it was announced that they were going to stop selling the FCC. Had I known, I'd have bought at lease 5 of 'em instead of the 1 that I did buy. Yes, I still have the Stock Holders OBC, but that extra money was very, very nice, and I'm gonna miss it. I've always sailed other lines as well as Carnival, and in fact have a cruise booked on Princess, (yes, I know it's a Carnival brand) for January, but I will miss the FCC money. To me, Carnival is still the most "Bang for the Buck" as far as cruising goes, and I'll no doubt continue to enjoy my Carnival cruises.

 

"SKY"

[Mizzouaholic]

And realistically it's not like they were really even losing $100. If you bought a tshirt or 2 and a handful of drinks your $100 credit was gone, but that $25 tshirt you got at the gift shop probably cost them less than $5 to actually make and $50 worth of drinks comes to about 7 DOD's that probably cost them less than $1 per drink in alcohol so really they were probably out $20 or so in actual cost. So i guess they'd rather take a chance on losing a customer over it.

Its not going to make me stop cruising witht hem, but i guarantee you that they will lose at least a few customers because of it. It's inevitable.

[smrn]

I bought one EVERY cruise. And I will look around at other lines. Not just because of the FCC loss, but because of the overall cutbacks. Easy come easy go...

 

Not to say that I won't cruise Carnival again...my kids love Camp Carnival, but I will see what else is out there.

[halos]

. To me, Carnival is still the most "Bang for the Buck" as far as cruising goes, and I'll no doubt continue to enjoy my Carnival cruises.

 

"SKY"

 

You do realize that each time they make a 'change' like this, it becomes much less a bang for your buck, right???

 

Before you embed that theory in your mind so strongly that you actually believe it to be true, you should take into consideration little things like the FCC credit, the OBC credit that TA's can no longer give out and do some comparison shopping.

[dominichunter]

Just off the Magic. this was the last week you could purchase them, with the old program. We bought 4. People lined up to get them. One diamond (milestone) cruiser bought 24.

Tom

[larkz]

I always suspected that Carnival made good money from the FCC on people who lost or forgot about their documents, or who found the online redemption process too difficult and just gave up, or who never took another cruise. Similar to un-redeemed gift cards and gift certificates.

 

Apparently, Carnival didn't make enough money for it to be worth their while. They're seemingly quite capable of filling their ships, and if discontinuing the FCC program causes a drop in bookings, they need only offer a few (real) sales or some other incentive program.

 

I've been waiting for the base price of the cruise to catch up with inflation, and this may be one attempt at doing so without making obvious leaps and bounds.

[NCTribeFan]

I will shop around more, I know for my upcoming cruise, we had to use the FCC before it expired so we didn't even look at another line. I have seen other lines doing a similar itinerary for a similar price. I might look elsewhere in the future.

 

No, you did not have to use it before it expired. You could've gotten a refund. At no time were you obligated to sail Carnival just because you had purchased a FCC.

 

So, people didn't bother to comparison shop just because they had one? :confused:

 

I've seen other lines doing similar itineraries for similar prices, too. I research ALL lines EVERY time I start looking for a cruise to book. Despite paying 200% as a solo on Carnival, I still end up with a lower per night rate than other lines.

 

I'm a CPA. Trust me, I comparison shop. I would actually prefer to sail other lines, but as long as Carnival gets me to the ports I want to visit, at the lowest price, I'll continue to sail them, even without an OBC.

 

And as a CPA, and a shareholder, it makes perfect sense for the corporation to do away with something that they believe isn't giving them the return they want. The "logic" has been explained and seems very simple to follow.

[klmorg]

No, you did not have to use it before it expired. You could've gotten a refund. At no time were you obligated to sail Carnival just because you had purchased a FCC.

 

So, people didn't bother to comparison shop just because they had one? :confused:

 

I've seen other lines doing similar itineraries for similar prices, too. I research ALL lines EVERY time I start looking for a cruise to book. Despite paying 200% as a solo on Carnival, I still end up with a lower per night rate than other lines.

 

I'm a CPA. Trust me, I comparison shop. I would actually prefer to sail other lines, but as long as Carnival gets me to the ports I want to visit, at the lowest price, I'll continue to sail them, even without an OBC.

 

And as a CPA, and a shareholder, it makes perfect sense for the corporation to do away with something that they believe isn't giving them the return they want. The "logic" has been explained and seems very simple to follow.

 

Amen. I have said that plenty of times on here myself. It is a BUSINESS decision! I have no problems with any of the changes they have made (notice I didn't say cut-backs;)). I understand how a BUSINESS works.

[Snowball]

I think that the new system benefits Carnival because it makes you choose to either:

 

a) Book while onboard at that day's pricing and get the OBC for booking while on a cruise; or,

b) Book whenever you see the lowest price for the cruise you want and miss out on the OBC.

 

I think the problem is that people would buy the FCC then wait for a cruise to pop up with great pricing, then they would add the FCC OBC to a cruise that already discounted priced. Now the only way for you to get the OBC and get the best pricing is if you book onboard with the early saver pricing; however, for some cruises (particularly if you want to book a popular cabin type) the best pricing is right after fares are released so unless you happen to be on a cruise when that happens you are SOL.

 

I am also disappointed that they are eliminating the FCC because I used them as outlined above, but I'm not surprised that Carnival has decided to do away with them.

[jobell]

Not having the ability of purchasing an FCC would not make or break my cruising with Carnival. BUT, by not having the ability to purchase one will open it up for me to look at other options. When you have a FCC, you kinda feel like you need to use it so in turn you will book Carnival. Without having one, I will definitely be more apt to shop around. I really am surprised they have done away with this program because of this.

 

 

 

Prime example....I booked our 10 day out of NY on Carnival because I HAD an FCC. Had I not, I would have been looking at other cruiselines more seriously. By the measly 100 OBC, they coined in on us booking a vista suite for 3 pax and will more than likely have a hefty S&S bill. All in all, they will have coined in on well over $6000 for our family of 3. They also have had that 100 initial deposit for a year and a half before I booked. And really, I'm sure there are many that do not redeeem their certificates and don't bother getting a refund or just lose it, forget about it or just let it accidentally expire.

 

To me, it really was a dumb move. I would have bought an FCC on our March 2013 cruise just because I could. Would have more than likely used it for a Med. Cruise in 2014. But now, I'm starting to look at other lines and other options. Will I book Carnival - probably as they have the best bang for the buck. But I *may* end up on another line to try them out and see how I like their cruising experience.

 

Just my 2cents.

 

Carry on.

 

We leave on our 5th cruise with Carnival on Thursday and our 6th in January. After that we have our first non-Carnival cruise with RCCL. We were loyal to Carnival because of the FCC and the fact that we were receiving a $100 OBC for being loyal to them and booking another cruise (loyal in our eyes). I no longer feel that Carnival cares about their repeat customers and now feel no shame in booking with other cruise lines.

[klmorg]

We leave on our 5th cruise with Carnival on Thursday and our 6th in January. After that we have our first non-Carnival cruise with RCCL. We were loyal to Carnival because of the FCC and the fact that we were receiving a $100 OBC for being loyal to them and booking another cruise (loyal in our eyes). I no longer feel that Carnival cares about their repeat customers and now feel no shame in booking with other cruise lines.

 

I was planning on buying two FCCs on our next cruise. Since I can't, I'll be "jumping ship" when I book our 2nd 2015 cruise.

 

Gotta love the freedom to choose, and discover! Enjoy...:D

 

(meanwhile I'll stay where I get the best bang for my cruising vacation dollar and have the most fun, and so far that's been with Carnival)

[Qchell]

We are using our first one for the upcoming cruise and I will admit that I looked exclusively at Carnival and for a 7 day cruise because we had an FCC. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity of doubling my down payment or losing the down payment. We also booked a fancier cabin because we knew we already had another $100 to put towards the cruise and would have $100 OBC waiting when we got on-board.

 

Due to limited vacation time, our work schedules, and our location we only get to cruise once a year so far. Buying the FCC pretty much ensured we were sticking with Carnival for our next cruise.

 

I know you can book your next cruise on-board and get the same OBC deal... but it's just not practical for us for a number of reasons and its going to be awhile before we even begin to qualify for any perks from being a frequent cruiser..

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Eather can I ....

[cruzinlisa]

Not having the ability of purchasing an FCC would not make or break my cruising with Carnival. BUT, by not having the ability to purchase one will open it up for me to look at other options. When you have a FCC, you kinda feel like you need to use it so in turn you will book Carnival. Without having one, I will definitely be more apt to shop around. I really am surprised they have done away with this program because of this.

 

 

I could not have said it better myself. I feel the same way. I am not saying I won't cruise CCL because they no longer offer FCCs. But if I do not have one, I won't feel obligated to book with Carnival just to use it.

[cruzinlisa]

No, you did not have to use it before it expired. You could've gotten a refund. At no time were you obligated to sail Carnival just because you had purchased a FCC.

 

So, people didn't bother to comparison shop just because they had one? :confused:

 

Well yes, you can get a refund, but that is a hassle for some people (me).;) I don't know how to get a refund, so I would have to find out how to do it, probably make phone calls, send some things in, wait for the refund, etc. Of course I am also the type that if I don't send in mail in rebates the day that I bring the item home, I will forget or lose it. :mad:

 

Comparison shop- I doubt that people are not comparison shopping. But for many people, its not a matter of what is strictly the lowest price, but an issue of BEST value for the money. The fact that I have $100 put down and $100 OBC is something that I consider in pricing. Truthfully when it comes to price Carnival is the best price, but price is not the only deciding factor for me. I imagine atleast some people feel the same.

 

I am sure that you are correct that the reason they stopped it is that it does not make financial sense to them. And perhaps that is one way to keep prices down, which is fine. But it does factor into my decision as to assessing the overall value.

[NavarreCruiser]

Like Linda Powell, (hi Linda) we have used them on almost every Carnival cruise since they started offering them. We have 6 Carnival cruises booked thru February 2013 and have one applied to each cruise.

 

We just got off the Ecstacy on Saturday at the end of a 5 day cruise that we booked on short notice, even though it was short notice we still got a good value. The primary purpose of this booking was to buy, for the last time, FCCs. We bought 12.

[foxymack]

I must admit, I am disappointed to hear this. My family will possibly shop around more as well with other cruise lines. We have cruised 3 carnival cruises and have purchsed 2 fcc each cruise for our 2 rooms we book.