CARNIVAL SHARES (P&O

[Tablelamp]

Can anyone give me any information please.  A4e they worthwhile, ie: Cost v Benefits.

[pete14]

5 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

Can anyone give me any information please.  A4e they worthwhile, ie: Cost v Benefits.

 

If you type shares in the search box at the top right of the homepage and scroll down the results, you will find all you need to know. Benefits have not changed but the cost of the 100 shares you need to qualify for benefits has fallen recently. 

[kruzseeka]

Well we've certainly done well out of them.  Discounting variations in the value of the shares - they do go up and down and you have to be prepared for that - we get something like £120 p.a. in dividends plus £150 obc per 14n+ night cruises.  If you did two cruises, that's about £420 return on the year. 

Currently shares are at a much lower level to buy than their peak when they were around £5,000 (at a guess 12  months ago but you can look that up) and are now about £3,500 for 100 shares (minimum to qualify for benefits).  We bought several years ago and did better still but we didn't buy gambling on share value but the benefits for cruising.

A return on current values with the example above is very good as a %.

You can only have one claim per cabin so no point in a couple buying 100 each.  

After you have made full payment for your cruise, you have to claim through Share Holders benefits at Southampton HQ providing proof of current ownership of the shares so you need a statement dated after your payment date.  

I would say in consideration of where prices have risen to (and dropped!) it could be worth considering buying some especially if you do quite a bit of sailing with Carnival brands.  

On the P&O Faq's if you look at share holding benefits it gives you the detials.

We bought ours through our bank but others buy through brokers associated with P&O. It may make providing proof of share holder is a little easier this way.  I'm sure some advice will follow.

[Harry Peterson]

 

This link will help you:

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/before-you-sail/more-info-share-holder

 

All a question of timing, really. As you can see from the chart below, if you'd bought at the high of £50 around a year ago (when they were still being tipped to go higher) you'd be around £1500 down selling now.  On the other hand, if you'd bought a year before that you'd be in profit.

 

The rule is never to buy shares for the perks they offer - it can easily be wiped out by a capital loss on the shares themselves.

 

Only you can decide........

 

 

 

[Balaena]

Bought mine for £1700 in 2008, with dividends and OBC have scooped a return of approximately £7000. Generally do between 6 to 8 cruises a year.

Bal

[yorkshirephil]

For us it has been a good investment, we have had well above the purchase price in dividends and OBC and still have £3560 of shares. 

[eddie11]

This is the second time in  a few days you have asked this question.

 

The facts on cost and current benefits are set out quite clearly.  Only you can decide if you think it works for you as an investment and if any risks are worthwhile.

[Jammy Bun]

Like Balaena, I bought a long time ago, and whilst we no longer cruise with any Carnival brands, I've kept hold of the shares because the dividends have been just about OK.  If you enjoy P&O cruises then it might be worth investing, if you can afford it.

[Ranchi]

TOK here is the miserable g*t. We have shares. They have done us well. We did have two lots (when we used to book two cabins for offspring. I decided to sell mine at £27 thinking ‘that’s a nice profit I’ve made.’ May be you should stop reading here as I clearly know nothing about shares. 

The benefits OBC is not guaranteed. It is voted on annually -but it has been voted to maintain it every year. The OBC is posted in $ so there may be some benefit to a weak£. 

The dividends are very good ~£140 pa at present for 100 shares. The dividend is not guaranteed and was £0 for a spell about 10 years ago. 

Having said that, they have been very good for us. I don’t see OBC being changed and also don’t foresee dividends falling right off. 

The only other fly in the ointment is...when is your next cruise?

Carnival state you need to apply for OBC 2?weeks before sailing. (Having said that, we booked a very late  cruise one year and didn’t expect to get the OBC but it came through on time. )

Enjoy !

Edited August 24, 2019 by Ranchi
Correction

[Ataraxia]

The on board credit is decided on four currencies. The US dollar, the euro, the pound, and the Australian Dollar. The exchange rate has nothing to do with it. 

 

[yorkshirephil]

5 hours ago, Ataraxia said:

The on board credit is decided on four currencies. The US dollar, the euro, the pound, and the Australian Dollar. The exchange rate has nothing to do with it. 

 

Correct, currently we get £150 on a Carnival ship with Sterling as the on board currency, whereas we get $250 on a dollar ship for 13 nights and above. Many years ago the sterling value for 13 nights and above was £125 but Carnival re valued the sterling value to £150. If they were to do the same now the sterling value would be approx £205.

[BrianI]

Just received an email from P&O giving me £150 OBC for my next cruise. One hour later I received another email from my cruise travel agent attaching a revised P&O invoice showing the extra credit.

Very impressed by the speed. 

 

Brian