Using Future Cruise Credit

[lavapalava]

I'm being optimistic and planning ahead for a cruise next Easter, to replace this year's one that did not take place. We opted for FCC instead of a refund, and I've been looking at various options of cabin and perks to make best use of the FCC, however, am getting increasingly frustrated at the number of things the FCC does not seem to cover.

 

Initially, port taxes/fees were out - that's ok given we will receive a refund for this element of our cancelled cruise. so can just reapply them.

Then it became apparent that we would have to pay a deposit again - this is frustrating, since the FCC was calculated on the total that included a deposit, however, we've got a Future Cruise booking, so can potentially use that.

Now I'm being told by the travel agent that the FCC will cover the basic fare only i.e. not for any of perks! This, for me, is a step too far  - it is going to be very difficult to use the FCC without having to pay a considerable 'cash' lump sum to get the perks that we regard as standard for our cruise.

Of course, the terms and conditions that were listed with the FCC codes do not go into any detail that help clarify what it can be used for.

 

At this point, if the FCC is as restrictive as it appears, I will be changing my option to a 100% refund.  We were prepared to take the benefit of the higher value FCC (alongside the risk that is associated with it) which would tie us into another Celebrity cruise, but it's really not worth it if we cannot use the FCC to cover the full cost of the cruise.

 

Has anyone else come across this problem or been successful at applying FCC to a wider range of cruise costs?

[621emerson]

Can you change a FCC to a cash refund?  I am not too happy with credit as you have to sail by 12/21.

[az_tchr]

2 minutes ago, 621emerson said:

Can you change a FCC to a cash refund?  I am not too happy with credit as you have to sail by 12/21.

Maybe.  A FCC for a cancelled cruise can be turned into a refund.

I have 2 FCCs.  Only 1 cruise planned.  Hard to use both. Thus will cash out one.

[BigAl94]

In my opinion FCCs are a massive con. Look at the pricing - you will have to fork out a lot on top of the FCC  and that's if the brand survives. Take the cash and walk away.

[Roger88]

I would rather go for a refund than credits. I mean I never heard of situations when people were refunded real money due to cancelled cruise purchased for those credits. If its possible then I wont be afraid of booking with the credit. Otherwise, its better to get a real refund

[621emerson]

I cancelled the cruise scheduled for 3/30/20 on 3/12/20.  Celebrity had not cancelled yet and we were told we would get a FCC.  They cancelled on 3/13/20 and then they were offering cash refund.  Just received the FCC yesterday and will try through my TA but I am not very hopeful.

 

[cheeseheads4ever]

If we had booked and had that option as tempting as it may be to get 125% FCC and not be able to use on perks or have perks included it would make me really hesitate to book with Celebrity so far in advance. If this the FCC are as restrictive as some say above this would be very deceitful on Celebrity’s part. But time will tell.

[TxKroozer]

The FCC is based upon the Base Fare you paid you paid for the cruise at 125%. When you use the FCC it is then only applicable to your Base Fare of the new cruise.  Giving you 125% allows you to consider a cabin upgrade from Inside to Balcony or cruise in the Summer when fares are higher versus non peak times.  If you paid for perks on your cancelled cruise those are refunded so purchasing them again is a wash.  Same for Port Taxes. Choosing the refund at 100% of the Base Fare is your option.

[lavapalava]

9 hours ago, TxKroozer said:

The FCC is based upon the Base Fare you paid you paid for the cruise at 125%. When you use the FCC it is then only applicable to your Base Fare of the new cruise.  Giving you 125% allows you to consider a cabin upgrade from Inside to Balcony or cruise in the Summer when fares are higher versus non peak times.  If you paid for perks on your cancelled cruise those are refunded so purchasing them again is a wash.  Same for Port Taxes. Choosing the refund at 100% of the Base Fare is your option.

The FCC  I received was the total fare less port taxes only, and I had 2 perks booked on the previous cruise that I would want to replicate on a new booking, but am being told that these would not be covered by the FCC.

 

My original question was whether other people have had similar feedback when trying to use FCC, or if they have been able to apply this to perks when they are selected when making a new booking (not added on through cruise planner). 

[TxKroozer]

2 hours ago, lavapalava said:

The FCC  I received was the total fare less port taxes only, and I had 2 perks booked on the previous cruise that I would want to replicate on a new booking, but am being told that these would not be covered by the FCC.

 

My original question was whether other people have had similar feedback when trying to use FCC, or if they have been able to apply this to perks when they are selected when making a new booking (not added on through cruise planner). 

I have used FCCs from other issues while on other cruises fro RCCL and they are never allowed to be used for anything other than towards Base Cruise fares. What I haven’t done yet, but it likely may be the case is using some of an FCC for one cruise Base Fare and if not all used varying the leftover to use on another. They will a lot the FCC towards 125% of each persons booking and then apply it to the new cruise Base Fare per person. So for example, if your cruise was book under a second person 40% off sale, the FCC will have more allocated to the first passenger and less to the second passenger. So applying it to a future cruise will require a similar pricing or sale to get full benefit.

[lavapalava]

An update on my question, I contacted Celebrity through Twitter and the response was that the FCC could be used for perks bookings.

The response to my email to customer services is less conclusive, but I have the Twitter response to rely on!

[Pickels]

On 5/5/2020 at 1:19 PM, 621emerson said:

Can you change a FCC to a cash refund?  I am not too happy with credit as you have to sail by 12/21.

RE: have to sail by 12/21:  not true, you have to book a cruise by 12/21.