Buying shares

[thinfool]

Do understand this perk can be taken away at anytime...and it has just been in the 8 or so

Actually the Shareholder Benefit has been in place, never revoked, for far longer.

years that they have added the benefit, right now Princess is letting people stack many perks, the day will come when they will start limiting stacking

Basing an assertion on the action by a competitor has little value and completely ignores the marketing strategy of CCL

as RCI did in 2008

Carnival (not Princess) never suspended or modified the Shareholder Benefit during the great recession, unlike RCI, which did.

, buy it for an investment, not for OBC. Interesting thing is that RCI stock back then was always lower than Princess

There is no such thing as Princess stock.

. At its high last year it is was over double what princess was/is. Most people having an opinion here purchased their stock at 30 or less a share....follow the stock, look at its performance make an educated decision and by all means don't limit yourself to one cruise line for a few extra dollars that r not guaranteed.

CCL's shareholder benefit is considerably better than RCL and CCL is outperforming RCL in dividend ratio. So you are right....between the two, CCL is the better choice.

[Redwing55]

$ 100 obc on an investment costing $ 4800 gives a return of only 2%. Not a great reason to own the stock.

 

Since we cruise about 4x a year and accumulate about $ 600 in obc we have good reasons to be stockholders.

 

But it would be fair to include the dividend. And 2% is tax free. With the dip the stock took with the Belgium issue, it might be good to get in. Truly, if one cruises every year, it's a pretty good deal vs it sitting in a money market, CD or other fixed savings. True, stock prices can go down, but over a decade I suspect the odds strongly favor the stock.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Actually, it is better than a dividend as it is tax free (at least in the US).

 

Plus you still get the quarterly dividend which normally comes to another $120/year!

 

Tom

[cruiseintoheaven]

Oh how I wish I hadn't broken my crystal ball and lost my lucky rabbits foot - we bought as a Christmas gift to each other when it was.....ok, high - no other word for it. But, we cruise at least 2x per year, and hopefully have a good 20-30 years left of cruising (or anything for that matter:). At the end of the day, better gift than neckties and Pyrex dishes [emoji3]

[sunshine426]

lbfluffy, as the others have said it has been worth it for us as well. First, you must buy 100 shares to qualify for the obc and be able to demonstrate you own it with a stock statement. You could then sell it immediately if you wanted to after receiving the credit, shortly before you cruise.

 

But we choose to keep the 100 shares as for us the cost of the stock when we bought was a little over 3k and now it is up to $4800 for our 100 shares. We have sailed with Princess 5 times over the last 4 years and have received over $1000 in obc and for our Hawaiian trip in October will get another $250 to use on board.

 

The stock also pays a dividend each year which adds to your return.

 

Obviously, the stock does fluctuate so there is risk and the cost today is greater than it was when we bought it. However, if you plan to sail often with Princess, I believe it is a good investment.

 

Doug

. Hi Doug!! Change your cruise to the Ruby Hawaii sailing.. We need to taste some wines with you!! And no cpr this cruise😂

[WisCruiser2]

You actually buy shares of Carnival Cruise Corp stock (CCL) to receive OBC. Attached is the form you need to submit..

 

The request form says that it is only good for cruises through July 31, 2016. Is the OBC benefit going away?

[Kenswing]

The request form says that it is only good for cruises through July 31, 2016. Is the OBC benefit going away?

No, the benefit is still there.. I think they renew it every year at the annual meeting..

 

There might be a new form out but I'm sure the old one will still work..

[lbfluffy]

CCL Stock price is down a bit since last years highs.

May be a good time to buy 100 shares as an investment that pays dividends and cruise OBC's. (Carnival Corp has many cruise lines to ask for the OBC).

 

You sure could do a worse investment.

We bought it when it first went public. CCL stock split twice and just kept gaining value as CCL purchased several cruise lines and built them all new ships. Finally sold our stock , stayed away for a few years , then bought back in 4 years ago. Still a solid investment with benefits.

 

Thank you.

[LeeW]

My company allowed self-directed investments, so it was a nobrainer to move $3000 (at the time CCL was $30) in and invest. Even with the dividends at 25 cents a share the gain bought another 25 shares before I left the company (much better that their normal 401 investments). When I cashed out I didn't roll it into another IRA, so had to pay some taxes, but money was still enough to buy back in with 100 shares. And we also have gotten over $1000 in tax-free OBC just on Princess. Haven't tried other lines owned by CCL, but you pretty much get the same on all the US lines and more on the UK lines.

 

The real advantage of Princess is that all the OBC is stackable. We get military, stockholder, future cruise credit, booking specials and loyalty on each cruise. If you buy RCCL, they don't allow you stockholder and Crown&Anchor benefits - if you get a balcony discount they take away your shareholder benefit.

[swedish weave]

$ 100 obc on an investment costing $ 4800 gives a return of only 2%. Not a great reason to own the stock.

 

Since we cruise about 4x a year and accumulate about $ 600 in obc we have good reasons to be stockholders.

 

Two percent isn't too bad if you have money in a savings account that is paying less than one percent.

 

The OBC is an added bonus.

 

Another factor to consider is you can buy 100 shares for about $8.00 broker fees and it costs about the same to sell, so if the stock price doesn't change, you are getting the $100 or $250 OBC for about $16.00 cost. Pretty good return, isn't it ??

[easyboy]

If you cruise a fair bit its a good investment. The shareholder credit is a good deal. We have received around $2000 in cruise credits. 100 shares will never make me wealthy. When we bought they were just under $25. The share price didn't do much for a few years. The last couple it has climbed. The dividend has gone up a little and pays now $30.00 per quarter, if I remember correctly. For our investment of about $2500.00 we have recouped the cost through cruise credits and dividends. I don't really care what the stock price does, but it is nice its around $48.00, but I won't sell until I decide to stop cruising. Would I buy now at $48.00, based on our planned cruising I would.

simple, yet convincing, points.

[hansi]

You actually buy shares of Carnival Cruise Corp stock (CCL) to receive OBC. Attached is the form you need to submit..

 

This is the form you submit AFTER you have bought the shares. Shares can be bought through your stockbroker or online. I have held 100 shares since 2008 and bought them at around GBP20 per share. As we are prolific cruisers, I reckon we have had about $5000 OBC since as well well as annual diviidends of about GBP 60 per year. You can't lose, unless the shares take a dive, and even then you would have made lots of OBC if you cruise regularly.

[lbfluffy]

Thanks for your help. My husband bought 101 shares. Hope we did ok.

Edited March 28, 2016 by lbfluffy

[Micahs Grandad]

But it would be fair to include the dividend. And 2% is tax free. With the dip the stock took with the Belgium issue, it might be good to get in. Truly, if one cruises every year, it's a pretty good deal vs it sitting in a money market, CD or other fixed savings. True, stock prices can go down, but over a decade I suspect the odds strongly favor the stock.

 

The dividend is not tax free. We cruise 3-4x a year and it is a great deal for us but if we only cruised say one 7 day cruise a year not sure I would keep the stock.

[Pierlesscruisers]

The dividend is not tax free. We cruise 3-4x a year and it is a great deal for us but if we only cruised say one 7 day cruise a year not sure I would keep the stock.

 

You are correct that the dividend is not tax free, however, the 2% being referred to is the OBC, not the dividend. That is, in effect, tax free.

 

Tom

[Just_a_cruiser]

I've been very happy with my purchase of this stock.

[mmckm]

My stocks are in a Self directed RRSP and the dividends are tax free when held there in Canada.

[hansi]

Tax free here in the UK too

[VibeGuy]

I am not giving tax or investment advice, but the OBC is "special business consideration" and not a taxable dividend under the US tax code.

 

Thus, unlike dividend income where the $400/year I take in OBC would require a pretax yield of $471, or ordinary income where I would have to make more like $625 to net 400 in spending money onboard, the OBC of $400 is a net value of $400. This pushes my return on the stock much, much higher than the dividend yield or price appreciation alone would indicate.

 

My cost basis is around $2450. I've earned around $360 in dividend income. I've taken out a shade under 3200 in untaxed OBC. The current market value is $4910. My quick math calls that an annual yield of 15.5%. I'm satisfied.