OBC for carnival shares owners

[leerathje]

8 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I think our record was eight times in a year.  We have received thousands in OBC under this program.  Much much more then we paid for the stock.

 

😲😲 Oh my!

 

L.

 

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I think our record was eight times in a year.  We have received thousands in OBC under this program.  Much much more then we paid for the stock.

When you did world cruises, did you book it as segments and take OBC for each or as one cruise with just the maximum OBC of $250?

[rkacruiser]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

When you did world cruises, did you book it as segments and take OBC for each or as one cruise with just the maximum OBC of $250?

 

Speaking for myself, I booked the entire world cruise as a complete cruise and not individual segments just to attempt to gain more possible OBC.  Planning and preparing for a world cruise is complex enough without other considerations such as OBC.  Honestly, I never even considered doing that.  

[Horizon chaser 1957]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

When you did world cruises, did you book it as segments and take OBC for each or as one cruise with just the maximum OBC of $250?

On world cruises, segments aren’t released for booking until they have exhausted the odds of selling cabins for the full cruise. We have booked the last half of the 2022 world cruise, but might not find out if they have space for us until after the cruise begins. Segments also cost more per day, as a rule.  Not only is there no guarantee that you would be given space on all the segments, but the additional cost would eat up your extra OBC and then some!

[KirkNC]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

When you did world cruises, did you book it as segments and take OBC for each or as one cruise with just the maximum OBC of $250?

For the reasons already described plus the fact that world segments are priced higher (if you bought segments you would pay quite a but more) its doesn't work.  Its funny but on the world you get one $250 credit where we have done 6-8 B2B strung together and received $1,500-$2,000 and the cruise is shorter then the world cruise.  

[KirkNC]

I would add that the same issue exists for the world cruise versus B2B for Mariner perks.   If you are a five star Mariner you get 2 free Pinnacle, 1 free day pass to the spa and $30 Internet credit.  So on the WC you get exactly that but if you string 6-8 B2B’s together you get those benefits for each booking so every 2-3 weeks you get the perks all over again.  It’s even worse for President Club as they get 10 free Pinnacle per booking.  

[PORT ROYAL]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

When you did world cruises, did you book it as segments and take OBC for each or as one cruise with just the maximum OBC of $250?

We did the Math.

When it came to booking segments, our PCS assisted with the pricing, held the stateroom for a complete voyage while we did the Math, then ticked off each segment.  Think there were a total of 8 segments, one of which was a 7 nighter, all others attracted the $250.00 for Stakeholder Benefit.  And 8 Cunard Fare OBC.  In addition there were  8 sets of published Diamond Benefits.  

 

 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

On world cruises, segments aren’t released for booking until they have exhausted the odds of selling cabins for the full cruise. We have booked the last half of the 2022 world cruise, but might not find out if they have space for us until after the cruise begins. Segments also cost more per day, as a rule.  Not only is there no guarantee that you would be given space on all the segments, but the additional cost would eat up your extra OBC and then some!

OK, I figured the extra cost would eat up the OBC, but I thought I would ask just to be sure.

[sambamama]

Right after I bought my stock, it tanked and it took years to get back to what I paid for it.  But I've gotten back what I've paid for it in onboard credit over the years.  I've done 2 14 day cruises over the years, although recently it has been only one.  I did have the satisfaction of buying three shares at $8 each earlier this year when Carnival stock fell rock bottom.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

OK, I figured the extra cost would eat up the OBC, but I thought I would ask just to be sure.

Always a good plan. Booking is expensive, but asking is free.😉

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, sambamama said:

Right after I bought my stock, it tanked and it took years to get back to what I paid for it.  But I've gotten back what I've paid for it in onboard credit over the years.  I've done 2 14 day cruises over the years, although recently it has been only one.  I did have the satisfaction of buying three shares at $8 each earlier this year when Carnival stock fell rock bottom.

 

I have done well by being a "buy and hold" investor of cruise lines stock.  Turbulent seas at times that are then followed by good "sailing" weather.  And, then, again.  We are obviously still in that second "again".  With common sense as well as some knowledge of the leisure industry, it's not too difficult to withstand the troughs that the industry periodically can suffer.  

[LP Dad]

On 5/5/2020 at 8:58 AM, LP Dad said:

If someone had invested 5000 USD in the market 5 years ago today, current net values are as follows, depending on what was purchased:

 

Amazon                   27 301

American Express     6342

Vanguard 500             6720

Caterpillar                   7809

Carnival                       1732

 

This assumes dividend reinvestment. I am relying on a publicly-available calculator, which only has last week's prices. I used 5000 as that was the approximate investment required to qualify for shareholder OBC (at the time).

 

CCL investors, those have been expensive free drinks.

 

LPD

 

 Just for fun, I re-ran the numbers for today. I didn't include dividend reinvestment because I used a different calculator this time. (If this has a material change on the numbers, please cite it, thx.) I used the same five investments and went back five years, so the cost of acquisition date is now +/- Dec. 30th 2015.

 

A 5000 investment would be worth:

 

Amazon                      24 305

American Express        8585

Vanguard 500                9039

Caterpillar                   13 253

Carnival                          1988

 

Someone in the thread said that he had received "thousands" in OBC, in which case he might be a (very rare) winner in having purchased CCL stock. (Unless he had invested in Amazon.) Others, taking one or two or even several cruises, all on CCL lines, every year, would have been better off financially investing in many other stocks.

 

If people want to judge their return on the OBC as a percentage of their investment in CCL, that may be comforting. In my view, it's also interesting to look at the missed opportunities for capital appreciation elsewhere.

 

LPD

Edited December 30, 2020 by LP Dad
misquoted other poster

[kazu]

1 hour ago, LP Dad said:

 Just for fun, I re-ran the numbers for today. I didn't include dividend reinvestment because I used a different calculator this time. (If this has a material change on the numbers, please cite it, thx.) I used the same five investments and went back five years, so the cost of acquisition date is now +/- Dec. 30th 2015.

 

A 5000 investment would be worth:

 

Amazon                      24 305

American Express        8585

Vanguard 500                9039

Caterpillar                   13 253

Carnival                          1988

 

Someone in the thread said that he had received "thousands" in OBC, in which case he might be a (very rare) winner in having purchased CCL stock. (Unless he had invested in Amazon.) Others, taking one or two or even several cruises, all on CCL lines, every year, would have been better off financially investing in many other stocks.

 

If people want to judge their return on the OBC as a percentage of their investment in CCL, that may be comforting. In my view, it's also interesting to look at the missed opportunities for capital appreciation elsewhere.

 

LPD

 

Interesting.  My stocks that I bought for investment purposes have done very well - even better than amazon.

My purchase of CCL stock cost nowhere near $5,000 even taking the foreign exchange into consideration.  And yes, we have recouped our investment in tax free OBC in US Dollars (versus our Canadian) which was the purpose of the purchase.

I make no bones about it.  My purchase was not for investment so much as the added OBC I would receive on board.  It has added up exponentially.

I’m fine with that for the minimal amount I put into CCL.  My other stocks more than pay the way for the “loss” I’ve had 😉 

[rkacruiser]

I bought CCL soon after it became public and I did so because I believed--based on my experiences with cruising that began in 1970--in the product and the industry.  I did it as an investment.  I did NOT do it just to get OBC which, I don't recall, if that was even available at that time.  I have held "through thick and thin".  Remember the 2008/2009 time period?  Re-invested dividends always and have purchased additional shares when the pricing seemed right.

 

2020 has been a difficult year to determine if "the thin" has become to thin to continue holding CCL and RCI.  I have relied on Warren Buffet's philosophy of "buy quality and hold onto it". 

 

Has all of my investment decisions proven to be great?  As JCP's stock kept falling, as a loyal JCP customer, I bought a few shares.  I liked their merchandise.  I bought their merchandise.  Others, unfortunately, didn't.  I was able to "abandon ship" and received a small tax benefit before the end came.    

 

My first two investments were AT&T and Anheuser-Busch.  A-B was a major winner for me until I had to sell.  AT&T has been a disappointment:  too many spin-offs and then--back to Ma Bell--.  My estate attorney and Executor are going to have "fun" determining the worth of those shares.   CCL will prove to be the better "winner" of those two companies, I think.  

[LP Dad]

I'm impressed that a previous poster has both the insight to pick stocks that have done "even better than Amazon" , but also the ability to differentiate between "stocks for investment" and stocks for the "added OBC".

 

Amazon is up 12, 040% since its IPO. A $1 million investment would be worth over $12 Million. But her stocks have appreciated even more!

 

If her preferred stocks are up even more than 12, 000%, shouldn't she have put less into CCL, and more into her favourites?

 

I like making my points, but I like others making them even more.

 

LPD

 

 

[drowelf]

We have played both CCL and RCL for both the OBC and investments over the years. We always keep the base 100 shares of each and have owned a considerably more shares at times over the last decade. Bought a bunch at the lows back in March and dumped them sometime over the summer just before the other big trough. Probably should have kept the RCL, as its gone up another 50% since we sold it, but oh well. If my investment crystal ball worked all the time, we would be sailing more and I would have been retired years ago, instead of the semi-retirement I'm currently not enjoying very much since we can not travel. 

 

We've gotten a couple of $1000s in OBC, but made more from the investments side over the last 2 decades. 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, drowelf said:

We have played both CCL and RCL for both the OBC and investments over the years. We always keep the base 100 shares of each and have owned a considerably more shares at times over the last decade. Bought a bunch at the lows back in March and dumped them sometime over the summer just before the other big trough. Probably should have kept the RCL, as its gone up another 50% since we sold it, but oh well. If my investment crystal ball worked all the time, we would be sailing more and I would have been retired years ago, instead of the semi-retirement I'm currently not enjoying very much since we can not travel. 

 

We've gotten a couple of $1000s in OBC, but made more from the investments side over the last 2 decades. 

 

Well said.  If one is comfortable with whatever investment decisions one has made, then, good wishes for a Happy New Year and that one will be prosperous for you.