Princess-Specific Carnival Corp & plc Shareholder Benefit FAQ

[VibeGuy]

Carnival Corporation & PLC Shareholder Benefit FAQ For Princess Cruisers

 

This post addresses the most common questions about the Carnival Corporation & plc Shareholder Benefit as it specifically applies to Princess Cruises.  Information and the benefit itself are subject to change yearly - this document was last updated March 23, 2023 with information from the 2022 annual report issued February 28, 2023, and is valid for sailings through July 31, 2024.  The latest official information is found at https://www.carnivalcorp.com/static-files/50351a91-4dc0-4f6b-bfec-684647e6129f and official information will be reviewed and updated with the dates and information from the latest Annual Report once a year.  Information not shown on the official document is based on actual passenger onboard experience with the application and validity of the credits, which are not guaranteed and subject to change at any time.  This FAQ is not investment advice and should not be used as such.  

 

1 - About The Carnival Corporation & plc Shareholder Benefit

 

1. 1.1 What is the Shareholder Benefit?

Passengers who own the required number of shares in Carnival Corporation & plc receive non-refundable Shareholder Benefit Onboard Credit (OBC) in varying amounts based on the length of the cruise and the operating currency aboard their voyage.  

 

1. 1.2 How much OBC are we talking here?

Voyage Length	USD	AUD
14+ Days	$250	A$250
7-13 Days	$100	A$100
1-6 Days	$50	A$50

1.3 How is voyage length determined?

The duration of the cruise on a single booking number determines voyage length for Shareholder Benefit OBC purposes. This matters in Back-To-Back (B2B) cruising, where one booking number bought as a 14-Day sailing receives $250, but buying the same cruise as two 7-Day sailings with a resulting two booking numbers only gets $100+$100.  As Princess often sells multiple distinct voyages bundled together as one voyage, it behooves shareholders to consider differences in Shareholder Benefit OBC during the booking process. 

 

1. 1.4 Are there restrictions on how the Shareholder Benefit OBC may be used onboard?

Officially, yes. From the official Carnival Corporation form:  “This benefit is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and, cannot be used for casino credits/charges and gratuities charged to your onboard account.”

 

In practice, Shareholder Benefit OBC appears as Non-Refundable OBC on the Voyage Folio and is depleted by all onboard charge types including daily crew appreciation/“hotel charges” and casino player bank loads.    

 

1. 1.5 Can Shareholder Benefit OBC be combined with other forms of OBC?

Yes.  Passengers report it “stacking” with OBC offered as part of booking promotions, Future Cruise Deposit bonus OBC, referral bonuses, military/veteran benefits, goodwill OBC and the late, lamented Loyalty Commend OBC. If combined with Refundable OBC, all Non-Refundable OBC is depleted first.  

 

1. 1.6 Can Shareholder Benefit OBC be used prior to boarding?

Yes, subject to the other limitations on using OBC prior to boarding.  Presently, OBC of any kind can only be used to book shore excursions. 

 

1.7 How does sailing B2B affect Shareholder Benefit OBC?

The Shareholder Benefit OBC is applied to the Voyage Folio at the start of the first voyage associated with the booking number. 

 

For example, if two 7-Day voyages are sold as a 14-Day voyage under a single booking number, the $250 Shareholder Benefit OBC is applied to the Voyage Folio on Day 1 of the first 7-Day voyage, nothing is applied to the second 7-Day voyage, and any unused balance from the first voyage is carried over to the second voyage.  

 

If a customer books a continuous sequence of multiple voyages with multiple booking numbers, the Shareholder Benefit OBC associated with each booking number is applied to the Voyage Folio at the start of each associated voyage.  

 

Specifically because the positive or negative balances of a Voyage Folio carry forward to the next voyage in a series by default, it is possible that charges to the Voyage Folio not fully covered by Shareholder Benefit OBC from the earlier voyages can be covered by Shareholder Benefit OBC applied to later contiguous voyages.  
 

2 - Shareholder Benefit Eligibility

 

1. 2.1 How much ownership of what stock is required?

100 shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) or Carnival plc (LSE:CCL) There is no difference in Shareholder Benefit between holdings in Carnival Corporation or Carnival PLC, as shares in either represent the exact same ownership interest.    Share types can be combined to reach 100 shares so long as the shareholder name is the same.  

 

1. 2.2 Can the shares be held in a tax-advantaged account such as an IRA, Roth, 401(k), 457, RRSP, etc?:

Yes, so long as you can produce acceptable evidence of ownership in your account, the specific legal form of ownership does not appear to matter. 

 

1. 2.3 Can shares be held jointly?

Yes.  Any shareholder listed on the ownership documents can submit for their booking, subject to the restrictions of one Shareholder Benefit OBC grant per shareholder-occupied cabin. 

 

1. 2.4 Can passengers from outside the US and UK request Shareholder Benefit OBC?   

Yes.  Any shareholder is eligible regardless of their residency.  Shares can be purchased on any exchange trading any of the eligible share types. 

 

1. 2.5 Can shares be held as depository receipts?

Yes.  ADRs in Carnival PLC (NYSE ADR:CUK) and EDRs/GDRs/CDIs in either Carnival Corporation or plc are eligible as they each represent ownership of shares in the underlying security. 

 

1. 2.6 Are there situations where bookings are ineligible for Shareholder Benefit OBC?

2.6.1 - Industry Discounts: Any guest sailing on an interline, industry, “friends and family”, tour conductor or similar eligibility-required discount cannot receive Shareholder Benefit OBC to that sailing.  Further, employees of Carnival Corporation or plc are ineligible. 

 

2.6.2 Casino Discounts:   It depends. Princess Players Club-provided casino full comps (where the offer includes a free cabin of any sort, regardless of paying to upgrade or add Plus/Premium) are also ineligible for Shareholder Benefit OBC.  Princess-offered casino discount bookings, however, are eligible.  Eligibility for bookings earned through shoreside casinos may or may not be eligible, depending on the booking channel. 

 

2.7 What about group/charter bookings? Group bookings and charters are generally eligible. 

 

1. 2.8 Can multiple travelers in a cabin redeem Shareholder Benefit OBC if they are each shareholders?

By policy, no. From the official notice: “Only one onboard credit per shareholder-occupied stateroom.” 

 

In practice, guests occupying the same stateroom, with different last names and different addresses on the booking, report success when each submits a separate benefit request. 

 

2.9 Does owning more shares than the minimum earn more Shareholder Benefit OBC?

No.  Any number of shares equal or greater than 100 receives the same Shareholder Benefit OBC 

 

2.10 Can I reuse the same shares for multiple sailings?  

Yes.  There are passengers who have received thousands of dollars of benefits from a single eligible shareholding.  
 

2.11 Is there a limit on how much Shareholder Benefit OBC a single shareholder can earn? 
Practically, it’s impossible to earn more than $6500 per year based on 26 14-night sailings. 

 

 

3 - Requesting Shareholder Benefit OBC

 

3.1 What is required to request Shareholder Benefit OBC?

Your request must contain:  

• • complete legal name
• • reservation/booking number(s)
• • ship name(s)
• • sailing date(s)
• • proof of ownership of Carnival Corporation or Carnival plc shares

It’s advisable to also include phone and email contact information in your submission, regardless of method.  

 

3.2 What is acceptable proof of share ownership?

• • photocopy of shareholder proxy card
• • dividend tax voucher
• • current brokerage or nominee statement with your current mailing address and your brokerage account number blacked out

 

Practically, “current” seems to mean “within 90 days”, as “the most recent quarterly statement” is routinely accepted.  

 

Screenshots of online brokerage accounts are accepted so long as they’re accompanied by enough identifying information to tie the account ownership to the shares, which may require multiple screens.  

 

Shareholders should black out all information not related to the Carnival holdings such as account numbers, balances, other shareholdings, etc.  

 

3.3 Where and how should the completed request be submitted?

It depends on which unit of Princess booked the cruise.  Refer to your booking confirmation for the correct legal entity.  

 

North American bookings:  

By mail:

Customer Solutions

24303 Town Center Drive

Suite 200 

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

 

By fax:  661 753 0180

 

By email: sbpcl@princesscruises.com

 

UK bookings:

By fax:

Princess Cruises Military & Shareholder Benefits Team

44 0 238 065 7509

 

By email: benefits@princesscruises.co.uk

 

Australia/New Zealand bookings:

By post: 

Customer Service Manager 

PO Box 1429

Chatswood NSW 2057

 

By fax: 61 2 8326 4550

 

By email:  benefits@princesscruises.com.au

 

For email submissions, include your booking number and date of departure in the subject line, and make any attachments PDF

 

Your travel agent or PVP may, but is not required to, submit on your behalf. 

 

3.4 When should I submit my Shareholder Benefit OBC request?

Officially, the notice has conflicting information. At the top of the page,  “Applications to receive these benefits should be made at least three weeks prior to cruise departure date.”  Further down the page, “no later than 4 weeks prior to your sail date”. 

 

Practically, requests are accepted by Princess up to the last business day before the sailing date and if the credit has not been applied by boarding, Guest Services can escalate to corporate to get it applied.  Bring acceptable proof of share ownership onboard if you haven’t seen the credit before departure. 
 

The regional offices differ in when they will accept a request.  The official information and the US office formerly required bookings be paid in full and the request made no more than 90 days prior to sailing.  This is no longer the case.  Passengers report the UK office is still requiring requests be within 90 days of the sale date. 

 

3.5 Can I combine multiple bookings in a single request, even if they aren’t B2B?

Yes. 

 

3.6 How will I know if my request was received?

Post and fax submissions are not routinely acknowledged.  Sometimes, email submissions are acknowledged upon receipt. 

 

3.7 What if my request is rejected?

Princess will generally reply by email if there is a problem with the submission. The most common issues are missing information in the request, or an attachment that was either not attached or won’t open. 

 

3.8 How will I learn if my request for Shareholder Benefit OBC was successful? 

Usually, a revised Booking Confirmation is sent by email that includes the Shareholder Benefit OBC.  This is not exactly consistent, however, and in the case of bookings via travel agents, may be sent directly to the agent who may not notice that the Shareholder Benefit OBC has been applied and thus generated an otherwise-identical Booking Confirmation, and thus doesn’t forward it to the customer.  
 

You can check via the website - log in, select the booking in question,  select Payments & Credits  and scroll to the bottom.  The benefit will appear there when applied. 

 

(screenshot courtesy of member Ombud)

 

3.9 How long will it take to process my Shareholder Benefit OBC request?

This varies by booking volume, request volume and available staff.  Since the restart, requests have taken anywhere from hours to weeks to be worked.  When there is a backlog, requests are prioritized by sailing date.  As of March 2023,  North American requests have been processing within a few business days, but this is, again, subject to change. 

 

3.10 If my cruise is coming up within 3-4 weeks and I haven’t seen the credit applied, is there someone I can contact about this?

Email seems to work well - even if the original submission was by fax or mail.  Include the booking number and departure date in the heading of your email.  

 

If you want to reach out by phone:  

 

North American bookings:

Tel 800 872 6779 ext. 30317

 

UK bookings:

Tel 44 0 344 338 8663

 

Australia/New Zealand bookings:

Tel 61 2 8326 4000

 

Passengers report that the Live Chat feature has also been able to assist with missing Shareholder Benefit OBC. 

 

4 - Miscellaneous:

 

4.1 How much does it cost to buy 100 shares of Carnival Corporation or plc?

Follow any of these links to see the official current share price of:

 

Carnival Corporation:

https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:CCL

 

Carnival plc US ADR:

https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:CUK

 

Carnival plc UK LSE (quote is in UK p)

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/CCL/carnival-plc/company-page 

 

Multiply by 100, and add applicable brokerage fees or commission. 
 

 

4.2 How do I purchase Carnival Corporation or plc shares?

Ask your financial professional or use an online brokerage licensed in your country of residence. 

 

4.3 Should I purchase shares in Carnival Corporation or Carnival PLC?   There’s a substantial price difference. 
Ask your financial professional. Shares in either Carnival Corporation or Carnival PLC are equally valid for purposes of  Shareholder Benefit OBC.  Your financial professional can advise you of how the benefits and harms of owning shares in either listing apply to your personal financial situation and the regulations in your country of residence. 

 

4.4 Are Carnival Corporation & plc shares a good investment?

Ask your financial professional.  Asking Cruise Critic forum posters if a cruise line stock is good is like asking a barber if you could use a haircut.   Make sure your financial professional is aware of how much Shareholder Benefit OBC you expect to receive over your investment horizon.  All stock investments involve the risk of loss up to and including the entire amount of your investment. 

 

4.5 Is Shareholder Benefit OBC treated as a dividend for tax purposes?  

Ask your tax professional.  
 

4.6 Will a 1099-DIV be issued for Shareholder Benefit OBC?

Any 1099-DIV issued will not include Shareholder Benefit OBC amounts.  

 

4.7 Will Carnival Corporation & plc keep the Shareholder Benefit in the future?

Since the introduction of the benefit decades ago, the benefit has been renewed annually.  

 

The benefit has been renewed in each of the four Carnival annual reports issued since COVID began affecting the cruise industry (2019’s report issued after the Diamond Princess was already quarantined, 2020, 2021 and 2022, issued 02/28/2023) despite the financial position of the industry as a whole and Carnival in particular.  That said, there are no guarantees and you’re under no obligation to continue to hold the stock after the benefit is discontinued.  

 

4.8 What happens if I sell my stock between the time of submission and the time the credit is applied to my sailing?

Princess has no way of determining that you have sold the stock in the intervening period. 
 
5 - Revision History & Acknowledgements:

 

5.1 Revisions

5.1.1 - V1.0 - all new

 

5.2 Acknowledgements

5.2.1 V1.0 author VibeGuy, contributors Ombud, cr8tiv1, Thrak

[mrlevin]

I would like to buy stock pre-earnings; however, benefit is listed only on sailings through July 2024.  Is this benefit extended every year?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

[Thrak]

I have reported this post to the Mods. I marked it as "This comment is okay, but I want to tell a moderator about it" and included a note asking them to please make it a Sticky as it answers many questions that are asked over and over again.

[brisalta]

4.8 is encouraging dubious behavior.

[mrlevin]

59 minutes ago, brisalta said:

4.8 is encouraging dubious behavior.

It is just stating the facts.

[VibeGuy]

3 hours ago, mrlevin said:

I would like to buy stock pre-earnings; however, benefit is listed only on sailings through July 2024.  Is this benefit extended every year?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

4.7 Will Carnival Corporation & plc keep the Shareholder Benefit in the future?

Since the introduction of the benefit decades ago, the benefit has been renewed annually.  

 

The benefit has been renewed in each of the four Carnival annual reports issued since COVID began affecting the cruise industry (2019’s report issued after the Diamond Princess was already quarantined, 2020, 2021 and 2022, issued 02/28/2023) despite the financial position of the industry as a whole and Carnival in particular.  That said, there are no guarantees and you’re under no obligation to continue to hold the stock after the benefit is discontinued.  

[VibeGuy]

2 hours ago, brisalta said:

4.8 is encouraging dubious behavior.

People ask the question.  As I explained in the request for comment thread, the only lever Carnival has is to reduce the time period before sailings within which you have to prove ownership.   I think the FAQ is painfully neutral about whether anyone should buy or hold Carnival Corporation & plc stock for any reason other than the shareholder benefit, and the shareholder benefit rules do not require you to keep the stock.  
 

 

[VibeGuy]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 it answers many questions that are asked over and over again.

And yet the very first question on the thread is thoroughly answered with references and context, inches above. 

[damiross]

3 hours ago, brisalta said:

4.8 is encouraging dubious behavior "

 

 

1 hour ago, VibeGuy said:

People ask the question.  As I explained in the request for comment thread, the only lever Carnival has is to reduce the time period before sailings within which you have to prove ownership.   I think the FAQ is painfully neutral about whether anyone should buy or hold Carnival Corporation & plc stock for any reason other than the shareholder benefit, and the shareholder benefit rules do not require you to keep the stock.  
 

 

 

 

One way to think of this is like it is a dividend. With a dividend, you have an ex-dividend date and a dividend pay date.

 

If a company announces a dividend and you own that stock before the ex-dividend date, then you get the dividend even if you sell the stock.

 

You could consider the date that you request the benefit as the period between the dividend announce date and the ex-dividend date.  

 

Does the above make sense?

 

By the way: I haven't sold my shares since I requested the shareholder benefit.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, brisalta said:

4.8 is encouraging dubious behavior.

 

3 hours ago, mrlevin said:

It is just stating the facts.

 

Perhaps replace 4.8 with: If you sell the stock you are a .... (Word omitted to avoid violating the CC posting terms. Merely envision something brown and lumpy with corn embedded in it.)

[VibeGuy]

6 minutes ago, damiross said:

By the way: I haven't sold my shares since I requested the shareholder benefit.

I’ve held mine so long the stock could go negative, claimants could pierce the corporate veil and come knocking at my door, and I would grudgingly pay my proportionate share of their losses.  
 

For everybody gaming the system there are dozens of true believers and widows and orphans who bought the stock for the former dividend yield and can’t bear to realize the paper losses just yet.   Also, individual shareholders make up a tiny fraction of the shareholder base - 15 out of 16 shares of Carnival are held by institutional investors or mutual funds, and they won’t be claiming the benefit. 

[VibeGuy]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

 

Perhaps replace 4.8 with: If you sell the stock you are a .... (Word omitted to avoid violating the CC posting terms. Merely envision something brown and lumpy with corn embedded in it.)

 Vegetable beef soup?

[ywlke]

For 2.8, anyone know if same last name but different addresses can still result in multiple OBCs for the same cabin, or do both name and addresses need to be different?

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:02 PM, ywlke said:

For 2.8, anyone know if same last name but different addresses can still result in multiple OBCs for the same cabin, or do both name and addresses need to be different?

They only allow 1 shareholder benefit per cabin.

[cruisingrob21]

You can now submit a shareholder benefit request via the "contact us" page.  Go down to "Support Request" and make selections like in the image below.

 

[Kellyansapansa]

On 4/5/2023 at 6:28 AM, cruisingrob21 said:

You can now submit a shareholder benefit request via the "contact us" page.  Go down to "Support Request" and make selections like in the image below.

 

Interesting. Does the form require you to attach evidence of your shareholding?

[Rick&Jeannie]

I don't see how that submission page can work since you have much more info to supply...

[VibeGuy]

If it triggers an email to the booking that you reply and attach your proof to, I could see it working. 

[Astro Flyer]

This morning I emailed a request at 0800 and by noon our SOBC was added to our reservation...great customer service. 👍

[ywlke]

I emailed a request yesterday around 5:30pm and I see it is added now.  I did not receive any e-mails about it though.

[Astro Flyer]

7 minutes ago, ywlke said:

I emailed a request yesterday around 5:30pm and I see it is added now.  I did not receive any e-mails about it though.

Guessing you emailed the required info & shareholder statement from your current brokerage statement, correct? That’s what we did & SOBC was quickly issued & have never received an email acknowledgment.

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[ywlke]

11 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Guessing you emailed the required info & shareholder statement from your current brokerage statement, correct? That’s what we did & SOBC was quickly issued & have never received an email acknowledgment.

 

Yes, actually the proof was a screen clip showing ownership of the stock from the online holding information page, it was not the formal quarterly statement.

[Roatanfans]

I scan my most recent statement showing my shares of CCL and attach it to an email along with my name, reservation number, ship name and sail dates.  My credits are usually posted within 24 hours.

[BayAreaCruisers4]

It should be added that the shareholder benefit only applies to the cruise portion of a land/sea tour. For example, we are going on a Princess land tour in May 2024. The land portion is 7 days, and the cruise portion is 7 days. We will only receive a shareholder benefit of $100 for the 7-day cruise.

[thinfool]

While this is truly a benefit for us, it is in fact a Marketing Tool to foster brand loyalty and is Way, way down the list for consideration of being discontinued.  My take is that it is very effective.

This is especially true in view of the fact that most of the other major cruise lines have similar if not duplicate programs.

I never worry that the program will be discontinued.

Edited September 19, 2023 by thinfool