How do Princess calculate the FCC being offered?

[nickdrury]

Our cruise out of Singapore on 1 March was cancelled and the notification from Princess gave us a 50% FCC which we have used for a cruise next January to the Antarctic.

Our Asian cruise was arranged via our travel agent and the fare paid to them was £5,200 so we were expecting a FCC of £2,600. We were actually allowed only £2,260 and when this was queried we were told via the agent that it was after the deduction of port taxes etc.

The original notification from Princess clearly said "each guest will also receive a 50% Future Cruise Credit equal to the cruise fare paid on this voyage" and no mention was made of any deductions.

I contacted Princess direct to understand what has happened and eventually had an email back stating " The Future Cruise Credit set up in our system does not match that which you have mentioned in your previous email, however I can confirm that it does match the Cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises. Please speak with your travel agent with regards to the specific amount.  I am sorry if you feel our gesture of the Future Cruise Credit is misleading or confusing, that's not our intention however the Future Cruise Credits will remain based on the cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises only" 

This implies that Princess base the FCC on the amount of the fare actually received by them which presumably is net of commission paid to the agent - this in not reasonable or in line with their original offer. The travel agent says they do not know why there is a difference and they can only repeat what they are told by Princess.

I understand this approach has been used for all FCCs and whilst we are, of course, grateful for the gesture it is a pity Princess are being so opaque. 
 

 

[dog]

1 hour ago, nickdrury said:

Our cruise out of Singapore on 1 March was cancelled and the notification from Princess gave us a 50% FCC which we have used for a cruise next January to the Antarctic.

Our Asian cruise was arranged via our travel agent and the fare paid to them was £5,200 so we were expecting a FCC of £2,600. We were actually allowed only £2,260 and when this was queried we were told via the agent that it was after the deduction of port taxes etc.

The original notification from Princess clearly said "each guest will also receive a 50% Future Cruise Credit equal to the cruise fare paid on this voyage" and no mention was made of any deductions.

I contacted Princess direct to understand what has happened and eventually had an email back stating " The Future Cruise Credit set up in our system does not match that which you have mentioned in your previous email, however I can confirm that it does match the Cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises. Please speak with your travel agent with regards to the specific amount.  I am sorry if you feel our gesture of the Future Cruise Credit is misleading or confusing, that's not our intention however the Future Cruise Credits will remain based on the cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises only" 

This implies that Princess base the FCC on the amount of the fare actually received by them which presumably is net of commission paid to the agent - this in not reasonable or in line with their original offer. The travel agent says they do not know why there is a difference and they can only repeat what they are told by Princess.

I understand this approach has been used for all FCCs and whilst we are, of course, grateful for the gesture it is a pity Princess are being so opaque. 
 

 

The taxes, port fees get refunded to the credit card you paid with

that is how I got mine. 
Pre paid excursions, drinks, specialty dining etc will be refunded to your credit card. 
that was how I got mine, separately from the tax/ fee refund

 

FCC shows up in your Circle Account in your Personalizer on the Princess website. 
 

 Compare your booking receipt to your refunds with your travel agent again. 
 

 

[rebeccac]

1 hour ago, nickdrury said:

 

The original notification from Princess clearly said "each guest will also receive a 50% Future Cruise Credit equal to the cruise fare paid on this voyage" and no mention was made of any deductions.

 

 

 

The port fees and taxes are not considered part of the "cruise fare".  Look at your original booking details to find out the amount of the actual cruise itself and not any of the other add ons and that should work out with the amount of FCC you did get.  

[gmjc2]

5 hours ago, nickdrury said:

Our cruise out of Singapore on 1 March was cancelled and the notification from Princess gave us a 50% FCC which we have used for a cruise next January to the Antarctic.

Our Asian cruise was arranged via our travel agent and the fare paid to them was £5,200 so we were expecting a FCC of £2,600. We were actually allowed only £2,260 and when this was queried we were told via the agent that it was after the deduction of port taxes etc.

The original notification from Princess clearly said "each guest will also receive a 50% Future Cruise Credit equal to the cruise fare paid on this voyage" and no mention was made of any deductions.

I contacted Princess direct to understand what has happened and eventually had an email back stating " The Future Cruise Credit set up in our system does not match that which you have mentioned in your previous email, however I can confirm that it does match the Cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises. Please speak with your travel agent with regards to the specific amount.  I am sorry if you feel our gesture of the Future Cruise Credit is misleading or confusing, that's not our intention however the Future Cruise Credits will remain based on the cruise fare paid to Princess Cruises only" 

This implies that Princess base the FCC on the amount of the fare actually received by them which presumably is net of commission paid to the agent - this in not reasonable or in line with their original offer. The travel agent says they do not know why there is a difference and they can only repeat what they are told by Princess.

I understand this approach has been used for all FCCs and whilst we are, of course, grateful for the gesture it is a pity Princess are being so opaque. 
 

 

Do I understand that Princess cancelled the cruise and not you?  If so you should have been given a total refund not 50% FCC! Did you choose to take the FCC? 

[dog]

4 hours ago, dog said:

The taxes, port fees get refunded to the credit card you paid with

that is how I got mine. 
Pre paid excursions, drinks, specialty dining etc will be refunded to your credit card. 
that was how I got mine, separately from the tax/ fee refund

 

FCC shows up in your Circle Account in your Personalizer on the Princess website. 
 

 Compare your booking receipt to your refunds with your travel agent again. 
 

 

what happened with the cruise fare? Did you get a refund on your credit card for that?  Or did you get that in FCC too?  Or did your TA apply it towards your Antarctica cruise?

 

does your TA charge you a fee?

[voljeep]

4 hours ago, rebeccac said:

 

The port fees and taxes are not considered part of the "cruise fare".  Look at your original booking details to find out the amount of the actual cruise itself and not any of the other add ons and that should work out with the amount of FCC you did get.  

exactly the same as when we took our move over offer - free cruise plus 100% of "cruise fare" as refundable OBC

 

not port taxes

not Princess insurance

 

cruise fare only

 

side note - Princess did pick up the additional port fee, insurance cost, and grats when we moved from a 5 day to a 7 day...

but I had to pay the additional 2 days of the PBP

[nickdrury]

5 hours ago, dog said:

The taxes, port fees get refunded to the credit card you paid with

that is how I got mine.  Via the TA we had a refund for the fare, flights and hotel
Pre paid excursions, drinks, specialty dining etc will be refunded to your credit card. 
that was how I got mine, separately from the tax/ fee refund  Pre paid excursions were refunded direct by Princess

 

FCC shows up in your Circle Account in your Personalizer on the Princess website. Agreed and matches what they gave us
 

 Compare your booking receipt to your refunds with your travel agent again. 

 

My issue is that the FCC does not equal 50% of the fare I paid 
 

 

 

[nickdrury]

5 hours ago, rebeccac said:

 

The port fees and taxes are not considered part of the "cruise fare".  Look at your original booking details to find out the amount of the actual cruise itself and not any of the other add ons and that should work out with the amount of FCC you did get.  

 

Agreed port fees etc are shown as being part of fare but FCC was supposed to be 50% of the fare paid - no mention of excluding taxes in calculation

[nickdrury]

2 hours ago, gmjc2 said:

Do I understand that Princess cancelled the cruise and not you?  If so you should have been given a total refund not 50% FCC! Did you choose to take the FCC? 

 

Princess cancelled about 10 days before departure date - we did get fares, flights and hotel back - still waiting for settlement of incidental expenses which they requested we submitted direct to them. The 50% FCC was offered and we have spent it on a cruise next January. My issue is that the FCC given is not 50% of the fare we paid for the cancelled cruise

[XBGuy]

I just looked at the Travel Summary for the one Princess cruise that I currently have on the books.  Here is the invoice portion.

 

 

It itemizes "Vacation Protection" and "Taxes, Fees and Port Expences" separately from "Cruise Fare."  

 

To my way of thinking, Princess is completely transparent "Cruise Fare" is the only the amount that is paid to Princess for passage.  It is not the total that includes those other costs that they collect and pass on to other entities.

 

To me, it is quite clear what Princess means when it references "Cruise Fare," and what amount they will use for calculation of the Future Cruise Credit.

[dog]

So here is an example

total price paid via TA to Princess

$5200

 

FCC received: 100 percent of fare:

$2170 pp(2 passengers)

 

refunded to credit card was remainder of total paid which is equal to taxes/ fees 

 

FCC does not include taxes/ fees. That goes back to your credit card

Edited April 8, 2020 by dog

[ROWSE]

What will happen with the line item for EZ air?

 

Travel agent called Princess when May 4, cruise was first cancelled on us, and they stated EZ air would be part of the

150% FCC (our amount promised for our choice of Option 1).  

 

Other posts I read act like the EZ air price will be like the taxes and fees and put back on our credit card and not part of the FCC.  

 

If it indeed turns out to be part of the FCC deal, do you suppose then it could go toward the EZ air we booked on our next cruise?  OR will they say FCC can't be used for EZ air?  

 

It is all clear as mud to me!

 

[dog]

56 minutes ago, ROWSE said:

What will happen with the line item for EZ air?

 

Travel agent called Princess when May 4, cruise was first cancelled on us, and they stated EZ air would be part of the

150% FCC (our amount promised for our choice of Option 1).  

 

Other posts I read act like the EZ air price will be like the taxes and fees and put back on our credit card and not part of the FCC.  

 

If it indeed turns out to be part of the FCC deal, do you suppose then it could go toward the EZ air we booked on our next cruise?  OR will they say FCC can't be used for EZ air?  

 

It is all clear as mud to me!

 

In your cruise personalizer log in, go to account, it tells you what each type of credit can/ cannot be used for.   I would try to get credit card refund. 

[dog]

1 hour ago, dog said:

In your cruise personalizer log in, go to account, it tells you what each type of credit can/ cannot be used for.   I would try to get credit card refund. 

FCC can be used for cruise fare. Not for transfers, air fare etc 

[ROWSE]

11 minutes ago, dog said:

FCC can be used for cruise fare. Not for transfers, air fare etc 

Thank you for directing me to where to find that.  I read what you wrote above, but I am assuming in normal

circumstances they don't include the airfare on the FCC at all and refund that back.

This situation is far from normal so thought maybe

it will also be different.  If they keep my EZ air money in the first place it would seem right that I could use it on

the next cruise toward EZ air as well. 

I will definitely be asking for the refund of that to the credit card if that is not the case, if and when we ever do have

any movement towards refunds. 

 

[caribill]

19 hours ago, nickdrury said:

Our cruise out of Singapore on 1 March was cancelled and the notification from Princess gave us a 50% FCC which we have used for a cruise next January to the Antarctic.

 

 

 

15 hours ago, gmjc2 said:

Do I understand that Princess cancelled the cruise and not you?  If so you should have been given a total refund not 50% FCC! Did you choose to take the FCC? 

 

If I understand the OP correctly, nickdrury received the 50% FCC in addition to a total return of 100% of full fare for the cancelled cruise as a refund, not an FCC. The 50% FCC was a bonus for having the March 1 cruise cancelled by Princess  on short notice.

 

Or was the offer 100% of the full fare as FCC plus the 50% bonus FCC?

[dog]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

 

If I understand the OP correctly, nickdrury received the 50% FCC in addition to a total return of 100% of full fare for the cancelled cruise as a refund, not an FCC. The 50% FCC was a bonus for having the March 1 cruise cancelled by Princess  on short notice.

 

 

This is my understanding too. Does OP think he should get taxes/ fees back twice?

need to see all the numbers to help. 
total paid

cruise fare

taxes/ port fees

other charges

 

and would he be eligible for Option 1 or 2, announced on March 12 th?

[Cruising Forever!]

This is an interesting topic.

 

We were supposed to be on one of the cruises cancelled.  We took Option 2 which gives us (once we get it) 100% refund of payments plus a 25% FCC (future cruise credit).

 

It was my expectation that the 25% FCC would basically be like a 25% OFF coupon (I work in retail sales) works.  My sister (her and her husband were booked for the same cruise) insists that this is incorrect and that the 25% FCC is valued at 25% of your canceled cruise's cost.  Who is right here?

 

For instance, in my scenario, I book a new cruise and the total cost is $1000.  I apply the FCC and it takes 25% off or $250 off.  So my cruise is then $750.  

 

In my sister's scenario, our cancelled cruise was $4000.  So our 25% FCC is worth $1000 which is applicable to a future cruise.  If this is the case, my "$1000" cruise in the scenario above is free (except for taxes, port, etc)?

 

I hope I've explained it correctly here.

[voljeep]

your sister is correct - 25% of "cruise fare only" - so if the cruise fare was $4k before the port taxes, insurance, … then the FCC would be $1k

 

congrats !! … I guess

[XBGuy]

7 minutes ago, voljeep said:

your sister is correct - 25% of "cruise fare only" - so if the cruise fare was $4k before the port taxes, insurance, … then the FCC would be $1k

 

congrats !! … I guess

 

Also, again, it is "cruise fare," not "total cost."  So, if the "total cost" in your example included things like Vacation Protection (insurance) or Fees & Taxes. you have to subtract those out before multiplying by 25%.

[Cruising Forever!]

6 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

Also, again, it is "cruise fare," not "total cost."  So, if the "total cost" in your example included things like Vacation Protection (insurance) or Fees & Taxes. you have to subtract those out before multiplying by 25%.

 

Interesting!  I'd have to look again at my docs and see what the actual breakdown was.  I know my cruise plus air (booked with Princess' EZAir) was $4800... but I'm sure part of that was taxes, port fees, etc.  Still, it should be a lot of money.  Thanks!

[Cruising Forever!]

1 hour ago, Cruising Forever! said:

 

Interesting!  I'd have to look again at my docs and see what the actual breakdown was.  I know my cruise plus air (booked with Princess' EZAir) was $4800... but I'm sure part of that was taxes, port fees, etc.  Still, it should be a lot of money.  Thanks!

Oh wait... I'd have to deduct the airfare, too.  I get the air back in the refund but not as part of the FCC.  That's fair.

[Kaylacool]

If you have used a future cruise deposit when you made your original bookings for your deposit are these 'credited' back to you to reuse.  I've had 2 cruises cancelled by Princess that I'm waiting on refunds/fcc for so keen to know if we also receive our Futrue Cruise deposits credited back to us?

[caribill]

1 hour ago, Kaylacool said:

If you have used a future cruise deposit when you made your original bookings for your deposit are these 'credited' back to you to reuse.  I've had 2 cruises cancelled by Princess that I'm waiting on refunds/fcc for so keen to know if we also receive our Futrue Cruise deposits credited back to us?

 

Some have posted that instead of the FCC being restored to their account, it was simply refunded.

[dog]

6 hours ago, Kaylacool said:

If you have used a future cruise deposit when you made your original bookings for your deposit are these 'credited' back to you to reuse.  I've had 2 cruises cancelled by Princess that I'm waiting on refunds/fcc for so keen to know if we also receive our Futrue Cruise deposits credited back to us?

My FCD were included in the FCC that I received in March.  In the past they were placed back into my account in the Personalizer. When I go to book I will bring this to their attention since the FCD did not expire until March 2021.