Do You Usually

My budget allows me to cruise once every two years, so, I always buy the FCD. I like to know its there when an itinerary comes out that I want to book.

Just let the Concierges know that you'd like to meet with the FCC and approximate date/time. They will call you once it is setup.

Thanks for the information.

My budget allows me to cruise once every two years, so, I always buy the FCD. I like to know its there when an itinerary comes out that I want to book.

It's so convenient and like you said once the itinerary is available you can book.

We used to but we don't anymore as we are finding we are booking cruises late after final payment so the FCD would not be used. Out last FCD we bought 4 years ago and is on a cruise we have booked for this coming December, which we may or may not go on (health issues).

We bought four on the Westie, and stupidly, didn't notice we were buying them in US dollars. When we went to book our Alaska cruise, I couldn't use them because I was using a Canadian credit card. Boo! For the Westie cruise, we used FCDs we had bought on the Maasdam last year, and the FCC on board (who actually was the same FCC as we had on Westie this year), reminded us to buy Canadian ones. Go figure!

We will convert the US ones to Canadian when we are on the Volendam next month.

We did get the welcome home email, but it was about 3 weeks late.

We used to but we don't anymore as we are finding we are booking cruises late after final payment so the FCD would not be used. Out last FCD we bought 4 years ago and is on a cruise we have booked for this coming December, which we may or may not go on (health issues).

I believe you can use them after final payment, and get the OBC - we just couldn't because they were in the wrong currency.

What benefit do you get for putting the deposit in advance?

Sounds like an excellent idea in principle, however I just can't plan that far ahead.....maybe when I retire :)

We used to but we don't anymore as we are finding we are booking cruises late after final payment so the FCD would not be used. Out last FCD we bought 4 years ago and is on a cruise we have booked for this coming December, which we may or may not go on (health issues).

They certainly don't work for everyone.

Thanks for the quick reply

We bought four on the Westie, and stupidly, didn't notice we were buying them in US dollars. When we went to book our Alaska cruise, I couldn't use them because I was using a Canadian credit card. Boo! For the Westie cruise, we used FCDs we had bought on the Maasdam last year, and the FCC on board (who actually was the same FCC as we had on Westie this year), reminded us to buy Canadian ones. Go figure!

 

We will convert the US ones to Canadian when we are on the Volendam next month.

 

We did get the welcome home email, but it was about 3 weeks late.

Oh boy. You think the Future Cruise Consultant would have thought about that too. Stuff happens and at least you can convert them.

I always make sure that we have 4 FCD ready to use - never know when we might book a cruise and if we don't then we will get our money back.:D

 

One nice thing - buying one of these seems to generate a "Thank you for sailing with us" email from HAL, which doubles the OBC (on board credit) you get from purchasing it in the first place. If you book onboard, you do not get the double OBC.

During each cruise, we buy Future Cruise Deposits, but have never received a "Thank you for sailing with us" message from HAL.

Thanks for commenting iflyrc5, Scrapnana, and erewhon.

Erewhon and Scrapnana: We did two"Open Booking" FCD and received a "Thank you for Sailing" but this was our first cruise on HAL so I wonder that is why some get it and others do not. We will buy more "Open Booking" FCD on the Westerdam and see what happens.

About 3 or 4 years ago HAL changed their rules. When HAL first started their program, if you didn't get your money back if you didn't use the FCD within 4 years.

Ahhhh this explains it, thanks! We've been away for about that time. Looking forward to getting back to HAL this December.

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Always. You can also purchase FCD for other people/family members. We bought 14 FCD for our family that will probably be joining us next year on an AK cruise. If they don't use them then, or within 4 years, they are refundable. But meanwhile, if they do use them, they get the benefit of the onboard credit. Win.

Always. You can also purchase FCD for other people/family members. We bought 14 FCD for our family that will probably be joining us next year on an AK cruise. If they don't use them then, or within 4 years, they are refundable. But meanwhile, if they do use them, they get the benefit of the onboard credit. Win.

What a wonderful thing to do and a big WIN!

Thanks for commenting iflyrc5, Scrapnana, and erewhon.

 

Erewhon and Scrapnana: We did two"Open Booking" FCD and received a "Thank you for Sailing" but this was our first cruise on HAL so I wonder that is why some get it and others do not. We will buy more "Open Booking" FCD on the Westerdam and see what happens.

I doubt it has anything to do with being your first cruise. We always get the "welcome back" email. Even if we didn't, our PCC would make sure we get it. ;)

Since the FCD is refundable and we don't have to make a decision on which cruise when we purchase it, I really don't know why anyone would choose not to get one (or two or three). ;)

We still have one for Celebrity too, just haven't found a cruise we want with them yet. But we know we'll use it eventually.

We have never purchased FCD. Do you have to then book your cruise through a HAl representative. We use a big box travel group to normally book our cruises. We will be sailing this week and would love to know before then as we might take advantage of this.

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What do you get in terms of spending onboard with the FCC? Days/cabin type or both? Appreciate dollar amounts.

We have never purchased FCD. Do you have to then book your cruise through a HAl representative.

If you used a TA to book the cruise you are on, then that TA will be given the FCD you are purchasing, unless you specify you want it left with HAL. If you went through HAL for the current cruise, the FCD will be left with HAL. It's very easy to go through a TA later, and they will get access to the FCD to use.

The only time there could be a difficulty would be if a TA has been assigned your FCD, and you want to use a different TA.

Leaving it with HAL is the best way to go.

We have never purchased FCD. Do you have to then book your cruise through a HAl representative. We use a big box travel group to normally book our cruises. We will be sailing this week and would love to know before then as we might take advantage of this.

 

 

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No, you don't have to book any cruise. That's the joy of the FCD. You simply buy it and then select your cruise later and book with whomever you wish. The FCD lowers your deposit and gets you a bit of OBC. It's a win, win. You do buy them from the HAL rep on board, but quite often they have forms you just fill out and you get your FCD :)

What do you get in terms of spending onboard with the FCC? Days/cabin type or both? Appreciate dollar amounts.

Thank you so much RuthC, Kazu, and ScriptOhio for providing the additional information requested.

Thank you for your fast responses to my question. I cannot think of anything negative about purchasing these. We know we will book more HAL cruises so this does make sense.

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