It's official...no more fcc

[debkjw]

Seems like this is a bad move for Carnival. What carnival offers has really declined since I started cruising 2005. I went on a cruise in Feb the conquest and just went again in september. This last cruise no surf and turf. 2 production shows. One day only entertainment was the marriage show and no comedy shows that day. of course they have stopped the steel drum player on the carribean cruises. The past guest party with free drinks has been scaled down due to new requirements to get invited. No captains party. entertainment staff only had 3 people plus the cruise director. comedy shows for 4 days and they have no other entertainment to take their places. We had 1 juggler and 1 magician with 2 production shows for evening entertainment, the the last day the legends. no more midnight buffets with ice carvings. they did have a mexican buffet. I will still travel carnival if the price is right but with their higher price cruises I will use another line. I will be looking at other cruises with other lines now.

debkjw

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

LOL. Was it ever about the gift? Not for me anyway. It was always about my comfort zone. Carnival is my vacation home. I have given away more thermoses, picture frames, and coolers than I need.

 

I have always purchased the FCC's. Who wouldn't? So now I have to book a cruise while on a cruise? (impossible with my job and besides, who wants to spend their vacation researching the next one?)

 

The way I look at it is if I can get a comparable price on another line without using the FCC. (and face it, on a 7 day cruise it is only $100 per cabin,) it might be worth getting out of the comfort zone to try something different.

 

Yes I hate that I am missing out on the savings but really, when I consider my S&S bill and subtract $100, does it really make that much difference? Is it worth going elswhere when I know for sure I will enjoy my Carnival vacation?

 

The response for discontinuing the FCC was slated as economic. I would venture to guess it was no longer economicly feasable as they were taking their discounted rate and then getting further reductions in revenue due to the program. Bottom line is it must be overly successful to the customoer but not the business. Well, business is business.

 

My main concern though, as most have probably seen recently, is that this is just just one change among many, and it does seem to be that Carnival is throwing far too much at the wall at one time to see what sticks to make their business successful. This is too much for their consumers to bear at times without being given an explaination of rhyme or reason. I would hate to see the business decline further because of a lack of understanding from their loyal customers, or even the new customers that do their research before chosing a line for their first cruise.

 

Am I happy about the change? Of course not! Will it be the one thing that makes me change my mind about Carnival? Nope.

 

 

I will agree with you that this one thing won't make people change their minds about cruising with Carnival. However, when you add all the changes together, that is what will drive people away.

[going2cruz]

At least the Carnival stock is up-$36.85...so I got lots of OBC and should still get back my original investment....If they kill that I'm definently selling my stock..Dennis

 

 

 

Cahill’s like a politician, he's looking under every rock for a dollar.....our investor stock credit will be next.

[big_duck]

Cahill’s like a politician, he's looking under every rock for a dollar.....our investor stock credit will be next.

 

You are confusing Carnival Corporation for Carnival Cruise Line.

 

Cahill has no control over the Stockholder benefit, thank goodness.

[Sargent_Schultz]

The Sarge has already spoken saying what a brilliant move this is.

 

Really? Where? :rolleyes:

[bethm214]

Yeah Fire, but I wonder if my stock-holders OBC is next??.......Dennis

 

That is my exact concern. I booked a cruise last night and was told by the Carnival person Wanda (love her, BTW) that they were disappearing before the end of this month. I bought the one I am using now in March and it is totally the reason why I am booking again so soon and a 7 day over a shorter option. I had planned to buy 4 on the cruise I just booked - 2 for hubby and 2 for me. But now that option is gone. Also, we have never owned the stock, and had done all the research to buy it within the next day or two, so we could use the credit on this next cruise in December, but now I am afraid to buy it. Since it is already at a relative high point, I feel like there is very little incentive to invest $3600 into CCL at this point. That means their decision has cost CCL over $4000 just from me within the next 2 months. Wow.....what a shame....

[bobmal99]

Try this..

 

 

no.more.fcc.pdf

 

 

could someone tell me exactly what it says? I tried to open it but just get a bunch or red and blue bars.

[jetskier]

ncl does you buy a 250 fcc they give you 100 obc for the cruise you are on and when you book the next cruise whenever with in 4 years it counts 250 and is your deposit. "unless you are in a suite"

 

I am booked in a suite on my upcoming NCL cruise and had no problem applying the certificate to it as a deposit. We have four folks going and only used the certificate to book it with no additional deposit.

 

Dave

[hannahsmomtoo]

Since my sailing is 4 days before the "end date" do you think I will still be able to get one?

[nbsjcruiser]

I assume they must be able to fill their ships without giving away any freebies. If that's the case, you will see fare increases as well. As long as they can fill 'em up that's what they'll do. Some long term customers may walk but my guess is there are plenty of new cruisers to fill in the blanks.

 

Yes there are lots of new cruisers out there and it appears (as confirmed to me by my TA) that targeting the first timer is their policy but its a short sighted one. We went on the Fantasy in 2001 and had a great time. We then did a bunch of RCI and a couple years ago decided to try Carnival again. So we did 3 Carnival cruises in a row and gave it, I believe, a fair shot.

 

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. The food in the MDR was so below the quality of the Fantasy that I was shocked. No more live entertainment on deck, just that big friggin TV blaring out concerts or CNN all the time - I can stay home for that. No more steaks in the MDR. Sorry, flat iron steak is not a steak to be served in a MDR, in fact I wouldn't put it on my BBQ. The quality of the shows in the theatre is along the lines of something you'd see at a high school variety show and it was the same bloody show on all 3 ships and no professional entertainers in the theatres was really a turn off.

 

Now, I treat nickels like manhole covers so the price was very appealing which is why I gave it 3 chances. As the third cruise was approaching I felt something I had never experienced before - I actually was not looking forward to it after 2 very lack lustre cruises. The third was no better.

 

My point is this: as a founding member of the Royal Order of Cheapskates, when I turn down a savings of $200-$300 to cruise on another line because I'd rather pay the extra knowing I'm getting quality for my money, then there's something really sub-par going on. This withdrawing of the FCC is just another nickel and dime affair by Carnival to save a few pennies at the expense of returning customers.

 

Short-sighted and dumb and the only way they'll change their ways is for people to talk with their wallets.

[bucket_O_beer4john]

I was just on John Heald's Facebook page reading through posts people had made regarding the removal of the FCC's. As I was reading, he was replying to almost everyone of them, saying that he had just heard about it, so he did not know any details. He also said that he would collate all the answers and shoot the info up to the beards. This may be an excellent chance to make your voice heard.

[nbsjcruiser]

I was just on John Heald's Facebook page reading through posts people had made regarding the removal of the FCC's. As I was reading, he was replying to almost everyone of them, saying that he had just heard about it, so he did not know any details. He also said that he would collate all the answers and shoot the info up to the beards. This may be an excellent chance to make your voice heard.

 

Best way to have your voice heard is to move to another cruise line and make sure Carnival knows it. To me complaining about this is like fighting for scraps at the rich man's table. Make enough noise and maybe, just maybe he'll grace you with a few scraps. Let them go pound sand somewhere. People have been complaining on this board for 2 years now about lack of live entertainment on deck, low quality food and cut backs in the MDR among a myriad of other things. So, show them you mean business, take your vacation dollars elsewhere.

 

Its the only way they'll truly listen.

[bucket_O_beer4john]

Best way to have your voice heard is to move to another cruise line and make sure Carnival knows it. To me complaining about this is like fighting for scraps at the rich man's table. Make enough noise and maybe, just maybe he'll grace you with a few scraps. Let them go pound sand somewhere. People have been complaining on this board for 2 years now about lack of live entertainment on deck, low quality food and cut backs in the MDR among a myriad of other things. So, show them you mean business, take your vacation dollars elsewhere.

 

Its the only way they'll truly listen.

 

And now with my post they know why I will be trying another cruise line. Seems much more effective than just vanishing....

[Jumbiecruiser]

Yes there are lots of new cruisers out there and it appears (as confirmed to me by my TA) that targeting the first timer is their policy but its a short sighted one. We went on the Fantasy in 2001 and had a great time. We then did a bunch of RCI and a couple years ago decided to try Carnival again. So we did 3 Carnival cruises in a row and gave it, I believe, a fair shot.

 

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. The food in the MDR was so below the quality of the Fantasy that I was shocked. No more live entertainment on deck, just that big friggin TV blaring out concerts or CNN all the time - I can stay home for that. No more steaks in the MDR. Sorry, flat iron steak is not a steak to be served in a MDR, in fact I wouldn't put it on my BBQ. The quality of the shows in the theatre is along the lines of something you'd see at a high school variety show and it was the same bloody show on all 3 ships and no professional entertainers in the theatres was really a turn off.

 

Now, I treat nickels like manhole covers so the price was very appealing which is why I gave it 3 chances. As the third cruise was approaching I felt something I had never experienced before - I actually was not looking forward to it after 2 very lack lustre cruises. The third was no better.

 

My point is this: as a founding member of the Royal Order of Cheapskates, when I turn down a savings of $200-$300 to cruise on another line because I'd rather pay the extra knowing I'm getting quality for my money, then there's something really sub-par going on. This withdrawing of the FCC is just another nickel and dime affair by Carnival to save a few pennies at the expense of returning customers.

 

Short-sighted and dumb and the only way they'll change their ways is for people to talk with their wallets.

 

Carnival continues to separate themselves from the competition but not in a good way. Norwegian and Royal continue to build brand new ships with amazing new features while Carnival takes a 15 year old ship and packs it with more passsengers while claiming that it's a new ship. Royal continues to upgrade every ship in their fleet with some of the Oasis class features while Carnival plays smoke and mirrors with their 2.0 upgrades.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/Flyers/12028421_Revit_QuickReference_Guide.pdf

 

Face it, Carnival has shown that they are going for the bottom of the bunch when it comes to cruising. They want first time cruisers now more than ever and they don't care about retaining the current customer. This will soon backfire on them. Carnival should be building new ships now to replace the Fantasy class ships. They are so outdated compared to their competition. I can't believe that Mickey Arison has allowed this to happen.

[going2cruz]

That is my exact concern. I booked a cruise last night and was told by the Carnival person Wanda (love her, BTW) that they were disappearing before the end of this month. I bought the one I am using now in March and it is totally the reason why I am booking again so soon and a 7 day over a shorter option. I had planned to buy 4 on the cruise I just booked - 2 for hubby and 2 for me. But now that option is gone. Also, we have never owned the stock, and had done all the research to buy it within the next day or two, so we could use the credit on this next cruise in December, but now I am afraid to buy it. Since it is already at a relative high point, I feel like there is very little incentive to invest $3600 into CCL at this point. That means their decision has cost CCL over $4000 just from me within the next 2 months. Wow.....what a shame....

 

 

You were told the investors credit disappearing?

[big_duck]

That is my exact concern. I booked a cruise last night and was told by the Carnival person Wanda (love her, BTW) that they were disappearing before the end of this month. I bought the one I am using now in March and it is totally the reason why I am booking again so soon and a 7 day over a shorter option. I had planned to buy 4 on the cruise I just booked - 2 for hubby and 2 for me. But now that option is gone. Also, we have never owned the stock, and had done all the research to buy it within the next day or two, so we could use the credit on this next cruise in December, but now I am afraid to buy it. Since it is already at a relative high point, I feel like there is very little incentive to invest $3600 into CCL at this point. That means their decision has cost CCL over $4000 just from me within the next 2 months. Wow.....what a shame....

 

Your decision to no buy Carnival stock has cost them nothing. A Corporation gets zero income from the day to day trading of stocks.

[Melismass]

LOL. Was it ever about the gift? Not for me anyway. It was always about my comfort zone. Carnival is my vacation home. I have given away more thermoses, picture frames, and coolers than I need.

 

I have always purchased the FCC's. Who wouldn't? So now I have to book a cruise while on a cruise? (impossible with my job and besides, who wants to spend their vacation researching the next one?)

 

The way I look at it is if I can get a comparable price on another line without using the FCC. (and face it, on a 7 day cruise it is only $100 per cabin,) it might be worth getting out of the comfort zone to try something different.

 

Yes I hate that I am missing out on the savings but really, when I consider my S&S bill and subtract $100, does it really make that much difference? Is it worth going elswhere when I know for sure I will enjoy my Carnival vacation?

 

The response for discontinuing the FCC was slated as economic. I would venture to guess it was no longer economicly feasable as they were taking their discounted rate and then getting further reductions in revenue due to the program. Bottom line is it must be overly successful to the customoer but not the business. Well, business is business.

 

My main concern though, as most have probably seen recently, is that this is just just one change among many, and it does seem to be that Carnival is throwing far too much at the wall at one time to see what sticks to make their business successful. This is too much for their consumers to bear at times without being given an explaination of rhyme or reason. I would hate to see the business decline further because of a lack of understanding from their loyal customers, or even the new customers that do their research before chosing a line for their first cruise.

 

Am I happy about the change? Of course not! Will it be the one thing that makes me change my mind about Carnival? Nope.

 

Joking about the gift of course! But Im not joking about trying other cruises lines! For many reasons!

[willyguy]

Best way to have your voice heard is to move to another cruise line and make sure Carnival knows it. To me complaining about this is like fighting for scraps at the rich man's table. Make enough noise and maybe, just maybe he'll grace you with a few scraps. Let them go pound sand somewhere. People have been complaining on this board for 2 years now about lack of live entertainment on deck, low quality food and cut backs in the MDR among a myriad of other things. So, show them you mean business, take your vacation dollars elsewhere.

 

Its the only way they'll truly listen.

 

Well their is always and answer too just don't tip with no workers their that want to work on a ship for no pay they will do something about it.

[ccarpenter1963]

Well their is always and answer too just don't tip with no workers their that want to work on a ship for no pay they will do something about it.

 

Yeah, just hurt the little guy trying make a living. Nice. :rolleyes:

[jonbgd]

Well their is always and answer too just don't tip with no workers their that want to work on a ship for no pay they will do something about it.

Thats about as smart as the Occupy people that shut down the port of Oakland:rolleyes:

[firefly333]

Yeah Fire, but I wonder if my stock-holders OBC is next??.......Dennis

 

Wasnt it just last week in another stock thread where we were wondering why Carnival pulled the email addy for getting stock OBC.

 

who knows.. I dont... but it is wierd that they removed how to contact them just recently to get stock OBC.

 

Look for yourself.. the email is gone now.

[sail2sea]

I buy them on all cruise lines

 

The ones on NCL are $250 and you get $100 immediatly Than the $250 can be used for any deposit except a suite

 

Norwegian's program is the best dollar wise. I may start to consider it on my Dawn cruise.

 

BTW we did the early Alaska season May 2012 on the Radiance

How was end of season??? Did you do a review???

 

I almost went with the 5/25 sailing but later moved it to 8/31. The 8/31 was the last NB sailing and it was awesome. It was cold and rainy but lots of animals. Salmon and bears were all out. We saw no less than 20 bears. Leaves were getting colors. The only thing i didn't like was the days were short. May would have longer days.

 

I don't have reviews. But there is a cc poster did a review on the exact sailing on Royal's board. They have got some really clear Mount McKinley pictures.

[jonbgd]

Norwegian's program is the best dollar wise. I may start to consider it on my Dawn cruise.

I almost went with the 5/25 sailing but later moved it to 8/31. The 8/31 was the last NB sailing and it was awesome. It was cold and rainy but lots of animals. Salmon and bears were all out. We saw no less than 20 bears. Leaves were getting colors. The only thing i didn't like was the days were short. May would have longer days.

.

I agree...... with NCL is only costs $150 onboard your cruise and than when you book the TA's can still give OBC;)

 

Didnt have much wildlife in May but the NB was awesome. Next time we wil do it as group probably late June early July with a cruise tour. But we will do a cruise late August or Sept for sure.

 

We have another FCC with RCCL that we are looking to use,. We have one for Carnival and have to be more selective now since we cant get anymore.

[azrayne]

To secure the room and the rate you can assign the room to one person and just pay a single deposit. The total double rate is not due till final payment. We always secure our rooms this way for the first few months we book.

 

Vince,

 

You must have missed it, there is no single deposit any longer because of people like you. It's now at least a double deposit no matter if there is only 1 booked. Thanks a lot! You now will have to pay for both you up front, while I technically can pay almost the entire cost of a cruise.

[cathyz]

Wasnt it just last week in another stock thread where we were wondering why Carnival pulled the email addy for getting stock OBC.

 

who knows.. I dont... but it is wierd that they removed how to contact them just recently to get stock OBC.

 

Look for yourself.. the email is gone now.

But if you know the one to use, it still works. I emailed my request in a couple weeks ago and got a confirmation response in a couple of days.