Got an unexpected FCC, can anyone figure it out?

[MisterBill99]

Any FCC experts out there? I just received an FCC from Celebrity for $265.02. It says that it's for "your credit is based on the penalty amount held on your cancelled reservation."

 

The reservation number shown is for an Asia cruise I had booked for this past February, which was cancelled by Celebrity many months prior to the cruise (I actually figured that it would be when I booked it). The only money I had paid on that cruise was two $675 FCC's that I'd received for my cancelled 2020 Asia cruise, which I had cancelled on my own before Celebrity did, so there was no bonus amount included (poor decision on my part and my TA's, but that is ancient history).

 

I cannot figure out how to get to $265.02 from either $675 or $1350. Also, odd that there is only one FCC in my name and not also in my wife's name, so I'm wondering if I'm missing one. I had received the replacement $675 FCC's months ago and just applied them to an upcoming cruise, so getting the extra money now is a surprise, albeit a welcome one.

 

And yes, I am going to ask my TA (I am already dealing with a sales manager there on a different issue), but it's the huge C (not big box) agency, and I'm not sure that they'd know. Would post on a social media group, but my experience is that there may be one knowledgeable answer among a hundred useless or uninformed comments :). 

[DaKahuna]

A very, very old saying comes to mind -- 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth.' 

 

[jelayne]

That same TA just resolved a issue for us involving excess FCCs and a large refund we weren’t due.  It took them about a week because it involved a 2020 cancellation and a 2022 cancellation.  A real mess.  

[MisterBill99]

It gets even odder, because the TA I was exchanging emails with found and applied it and sent me a new invoice, and it almost seems like only a partial amount was applied by Celebrity when I did so via their website, so maybe this was the amount remaining?

[lv2cruisgrl]

I can never figure out my OBC, the past 3 cruises we get onboard and find we have more OBC then what our invoice said. So off to the spa we go to spend it!

Edited April 6, 2022 by lovrccl

[MisterBill99]

2 minutes ago, lovrccl said:

I can never figure out my OBC, the past 3 cruises we get onboard and find we have more OBC then what our invoice said. So off to the spa we go to spend it!

 

FCC is different from OBC. But if you have extra OBC, the first thing to do is figure out how much of it is refundable, because that will be refunded at the end of the cruise if you haven't used it by then. You can figure it out by looking for OBCR (refundable) and OBCN (non-refundable) or just ask at guest services.

 

Of course, it's probably more fun to spend it at the spa.

[canderson]

56 minutes ago, lovrccl said:

I can never figure out my OBC, the past 3 cruises we get onboard and find we have more OBC then what our invoice said. So off to the spa we go to spend it!

If your TA is kicking in some OBC $ from the agency, that typically won't appear until you board.  That's likely where it's coming from if you're using a TA to book.

 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, lovrccl said:

I can never figure out my OBC, the past 3 cruises we get onboard and find we have more OBC then what our invoice said. So off to the spa we go to spend it!

Before sailing our  non refundable OBC has mysteriously jumped by $50 on our last 4 cruises.  Cruise Planner started with $300 from then booked Murano for $35 each.  Had a $230 balance for 4-5 weeks then logged in and OBC was $280.  

[Maggie North]

The only thing I could think of would be the 125% refund that was promised after a cruise was cancelled, but the amount doesn't quite add up, after you received the original FCCs back. That's all I got!! Good luck getting to the bottom of it!

[MarKay525]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Before sailing our  non refundable OBC has mysteriously jumped by $50 on our last 4 cruises.  Cruise Planner started with $300 from then booked Murano for $35 each.  Had a $230 balance for 4-5 weeks then logged in and OBC was $280.  

Same thing just happened to us. Part of the OBC from our TA was non-refundable (he called it  promotional) and it showed up before our cruise. Confused the heck out of me, as in the past all had always been refundable.

[lv2cruisgrl]

4 hours ago, canderson said:

If your TA is kicking in some OBC $ from the agency, that typically won't appear until you board.  That's likely where it's coming from if you're using a TA to book.

 

Yes I understand that but sometimes it's hundreds of $$

[canderson]

47 minutes ago, lovrccl said:

Yes I understand that but sometimes it's hundreds of $$

Ah, yes... that can still be from your TA.  Some are quite generous with their %, and then it's based upon the amount of the buy for the cruise.  If you find that it's refundable OBC, and you can check that when you board, thank your TA.

 

Due to multiple repricings that were occurring right after cruising restarted to get people to book, we had so much OBC on our last cruise from X on our last cruise that our TA just sent us a check for their $1,000 contribution after the completion of the cruise. 

[cdn_tbird]

6 hours ago, lovrccl said:

I can never figure out my OBC, the past 3 cruises we get onboard and find we have more OBC then what our invoice said. So off to the spa we go to spend it!

Kinda glad to hear I'm not the only one that has found phantom OBC on our account. We booked a group rate for a 2023 cruise that didn't include OBC. When I first logged into Cruise Planner, there was no OBC (as expected) a few days later, I log in and all of a sudden $200 OBC is on my account. I checked both the TA doc & X's guest copy and there is no mention anywhere of OBC. I'm sure DW will put it to good use. 😁

[canderson]

1 hour ago, cdn_tbird said:

Kinda glad to hear I'm not the only one that has found phantom OBC on our account. We booked a group rate for a 2023 cruise that didn't include OBC. When I first logged into Cruise Planner, there was no OBC (as expected) a few days later, I log in and all of a sudden $200 OBC is on my account. I checked both the TA doc & X's guest copy and there is no mention anywhere of OBC. I'm sure DW will put it to good use. 😁

Check your invoice from Celebrity carefully.  There have been any number of deals over the last months where you get $200 of OBC along with the AI package.  Current example:

 

 

 

[cdn_tbird]

10 hours ago, canderson said:

Check your invoice from Celebrity carefully.  There have been any number of deals over the last months where you get $200 of OBC along with the AI package.  Current example:

 

 

 

That's what I thought at first, but there is absolutely nothing in the guest copy that shows any kind of OBC or other promotion that could account for it. In the guest copy I have for other cruises there is a clear OBC section that breaks down the OBC right after the Booking Charges section.

 

As far as I'm concerned, I'm just going to chalk it up as the cruise fairy was generous and sprinkled a little OBC dust on our account. 😄