Will the ability to get both shareholder and military OBC continue?

[cruising.mark.uk]

Having recently extolled the benefits of getting shareholder OBC by owning Carnival plc shares and also receiving military OBC at the same level, I see that there is a new thread on the Princess board today saying that wef 29 Jun 23 it will no longer be possible to combine the two benefits.  I wonder if the other Carnival plc lines will follow suit?  Has anyone heard similar rumours about P&O?  If so, that will be very disappointing for those who are entitled to both (giving $500 / £300 OBC on a 14 day cruise on Princess, HAL and P&O, something from which my wife and I have benefitted many many times over the last 20 years).   I know this is something of a first-world problem, but who would turn down free money if it was available?

 

The unanswered question on the other thread at the moment seems to be whether it will be possible for one person in the cabin to have shareholder OBC and the other to have military OBC.  That would be great, but if this is a cost-saving measure, I suspect it is too obvious a loophole to survive.

[bobstheboy]

If PandO follow suite, I would sell my shares being well in profit, unless the current rises are maintained.

[Winifred 22]

2 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Having recently extolled the benefits of getting shareholder OBC by owning Carnival plc shares and also receiving military OBC at the same level, I see that there is a new thread on the Princess board today saying that wef 29 Jun 23 it will no longer be possible to combine the two benefits.  I wonder if the other Carnival plc lines will follow suit?  Has anyone heard similar rumours about P&O?  If so, that will be very disappointing for those who are entitled to both (giving $500 / £300 OBC on a 14 day cruise on Princess, HAL and P&O, something from which my wife and I have benefitted many many times over the last 20 years).   I know this is something of a first-world problem, but who would turn down free money if it was available?

 

The unanswered question on the other thread at the moment seems to be whether it will be possible for one person in the cabin to have shareholder OBC and the other to have military OBC.  That would be great, but if this is a cost-saving measure, I suspect it is too obvious a loophole to survive.

I can see that working but the non military OBC credit holder would have to own the100  shares in their own right would be my understanding. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Winifred 22

[cruising.mark.uk]

2 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I can see that Woking but the non military OBC credit holder would have to own the100  shares in their own right would be my understanding. 

I hope you are right, but I fear that will be a very easy loophole to close if the change is motivated by a desire to save money.

[Winifred 22]

Yes definitely as all my family hold 100 shares each but frequently if any two are sharing a cabin only 1 can have the OBC 

[Happy afloat]

My wife has a blue light card, myself defence discount card; the two can't be combined so I can't see them allowing a split of the type that's been suggested.

[david63]

Bear in mind that the report on the Princess forum is from the US. There are many differences between how Princess operate in the US and how they operate in the UK.

[UPGrandma]

8 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Having recently extolled the benefits of getting shareholder OBC by owning Carnival plc shares and also receiving military OBC at the same level, I see that there is a new thread on the Princess board today saying that wef 29 Jun 23 it will no longer be possible to combine the two benefits.  I wonder if the other Carnival plc lines will follow suit?  Has anyone heard similar rumours about P&O?  If so, that will be very disappointing for those who are entitled to both (giving $500 / £300 OBC on a 14 day cruise on Princess, HAL and P&O, something from which my wife and I have benefitted many many times over the last 20 years).   I know this is something of a first-world problem, but who would turn down free money if it was available?

 

The unanswered question on the other thread at the moment seems to be whether it will be possible for one person in the cabin to have shareholder OBC and the other to have military OBC.  That would be great, but if this is a cost-saving measure, I suspect it is too obvious a loophole to survive.

Where would I find that “board “?

[lebreos]

Well that seems to be penny pinching to the extreme, so if the OBC for being a shareholder is earned and the military OBC is earned they are basically saying we are giving too much away in freebies so lets reduce them...and discriminate against those who qualify for both

[cruising.mark.uk]

6 hours ago, UPGrandma said:

Where would I find that “board “?

Here: 

•  

[Bazrat]

10 hours ago, david63 said:

Bear in mind that the report on the Princess forum is from the US. There are many differences between how Princess operate in the US and how they operate in the UK.

There is a great difference in the benefits, my son who served was injured whilst on duty, would have been allowed various perks, if he was stateside one being a free cruise, so you cannot accurately compare the benefits 

[Jazzytelly]

16 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

There is a great difference in the benefits, my son who served was injured whilst on duty, would have been allowed various perks, if he was stateside one being a free cruise, so you cannot accurately compare the benefits 

Also on Princess to get the benefit the passenger has to be military or ex military and you have to show proof.  On P & O they use the Defence Discount Card which as I understand it also includes civilians that work for the MOD , imo they should use the same criteria as Princess . 
interestingly it seems on Princess in the USA , if both passengers in a cabin are military they can both get the OBC on P & O you can’t I don’t think.

[Bazrat]

19 minutes ago, Jazzytelly said:

Also on Princess to get the benefit the passenger has to be military or ex military and you have to show proof.  On P & O they use the Defence Discount Card which as I understand it also includes civilians that work for the MOD , imo they should use the same criteria as Princess . 
interestingly it seems on Princess in the USA , if both passengers in a cabin are military they can both get the OBC on P & O you can’t I don’t think.

You can also get into the theme parks for free on various days

 

[Jazzytelly]

52 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

You can also get into the theme parks for free on various days

 

My Husband is ex military and we have thought about going to Warwick Castle when they have the free days but it implies you might not get it as only so many Military places. 

[senior lady]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:00 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

Having recently extolled the benefits of getting shareholder OBC by owning Carnival plc shares and also receiving military OBC at the same level, I see that there is a new thread on the Princess board today saying that wef 29 Jun 23 it will no longer be possible to combine the two benefits.  I wonder if the other Carnival plc lines will follow suit?  Has anyone heard similar rumours about P&O?  If so, that will be very disappointing for those who are entitled to both (giving $500 / £300 OBC on a 14 day cruise on Princess, HAL and P&O, something from which my wife and I have benefitted many many times over the last 20 years).   I know this is something of a first-world problem, but who would turn down free money if it was available?

 

The unanswered question on the other thread at the moment seems to be whether it will be possible for one person in the cabin to have shareholder OBC and the other to have military OBC.  That would be great, but if this is a cost-saving measure, I suspect it is too obvious a loophole to survive.

Transfer the shares to your wife's name and then you can still claim both

[bobstheboy]

My T A has informed me I will get both Military and Shareholder OBC with a P&O. I keep reading elsewhere that this is not the case, you cannot get both.

 

Has anyone any up to date experience ? My Arvia September has been credited with both, this was credited about three months ago. I have a Azura cruise in Jan 23. Military OBC has been credited, I have not yet claimed for Shareholder OBC.

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, bobstheboy said:

My T A has informed me I will get both Military and Shareholder OBC with a P&O. I keep reading elsewhere that this is not the case, you cannot get both.

 

Has anyone any up to date experience ? My Arvia September has been credited with both, this was credited about three months ago. I have a Azura cruise in Jan 23. Military OBC has been credited, I have not yet claimed for Shareholder OBC.

Yes, we (almost) always get both military and shareholder OBC on P&O.  We have had only one exception (out of our probably 15 P&O cruises) and that is our upcoming one on Britannia.  That is the only P&O cruise we've ever booked whilst on a P&O ship and it came with additional OBC which was higher than the military OBC would have been.  And, we were told on the ship when we booked that it was not applicable to this cruise.  But shareholder OBC is and we sent off our application for that this morning and have already had a positive response saying it has been applied.

 

On all our other P&O cruises we have had no difficulty at all getting both.  I started this thread because of rumoured changes for Princess in the US (which have since come to pass) which mean the same person can no longer have both Shareholder and military OBC.  According to the Princess boards, the solution (for those who travel with a partner) is to put the shares in the name of the individual who is not eligible for military OBC.  Although there's no sign of a similar change for UK pax who book with Princess (or to similar OBC deals on other CCL lines), now we've got our shareholder OBC for our next cruise, I'm going to transfer my CCL shares to my wife so we will continue to qualify for both if the US Princess changes spread to the UK and to other CCL brands.

[lebreos]

Recently couldnt combine a welcome back on board offer for a 2025 cruise with the military OBC but Military was better, but will be able to add shareholders later as long as rules dont change. About to go on a cruise and both applied to it plus the normal offer obc.

 

[PS07TEX]

I have just applied for OBC due to holding shares.

How do you apply for Military OBC with Carnival Please?

[Harryjacobs]

8 hours ago, PS07TEX said:

I have just applied for OBC due to holding shares.

How do you apply for Military OBC with Carnival Please?

At the time of booking.  It must be over the phone to P&O call center and it must be on a select fare.

Just done both my Defence Discount OBC and Shareholder OBC for my next cruise

[PS07TEX]

36 minutes ago, Harryjacobs said:

time

 

36 minutes ago, Harryjacobs said:

At the time of booking.  It must be over the phone to P&O call center and it must be on a select fare.

Just done both my Defence Discount OBC and Shareholder OBC for my next cruise

Thank you for the reply. We booked through a travel agent and it’s with carnival. Not sure how to apply as travel agent can’t do it.

[Simonthesailor]

I succeeded in getting both but only, I was told,  by booking directly by phone to P&O (& also with Cunard). But unfortunately by doing that the discounted price you might get by booking though a TA is lost. The shareholders discount is available however you book.

[bobstheboy]

1 hour ago, Simonthesailor said:

I succeeded in getting both but only, I was told,  by booking directly by phone to P&O (& also with Cunard). But unfortunately by doing that the discounted price you might get by booking though a TA is lost. The shareholders discount is available however you book.

Not true. My TA gives me a discount, adds my military OBC, she has my Defence Discount Services membership number and nearer the cruise date, Hargreaves and Lansdown sort out my OBC for shares held. Very straightforward.

[Simonthesailor]

1 hour ago, bobstheboy said:

Not true. My TA gives me a discount, adds my military OBC, she has my Defence Discount Services membership number and nearer the cruise date, Hargreaves and Lansdown sort out my OBC for shares held. Very straightforward.

Thanks. Good to know. I will try another TA next time! Agree, easy to get obc, but again I do that direct not through H&L who have failed me on occasions.