I need some FCC advice!

[Sundiego]

We purchased a couple of FCC's back in March, 2012. I have one remaining with an expiration date of March 31, 2014. The fine print says I must book within 24 months of the date of issuance (3/31/2014) and the cruise must begin no more than 36 months from the date of issuance (3/31/2015). BTW, I do NOT live in a state that where the expiration is restricted by law, so all those dates DO apply to me.

 

So for my question...

 

I'm not in the market for a Carnival cruise right now so I was thinking of just cashing it in and getting my $100 back. I called Carnival and the rep put me on hold a few times and then told me that they have a 6 month grace period on the old FCC expiry dates. So I have another 6 months to either apply it to a cruise or cash it in for the $100 face value. Since I don't have much confidence in some random telephone rep, I thought I'd check with the Carnival experts here and see if anyone else has experience with this so-called 6 month grace period.

 

Thanks!

 

~Denise

[Disconnections]

I haven't heard of it and nobody mentioned it to me when I cancelled four sets of future cruise certificates.

[Lisa0719]

wish they were transferrable . . .

 

I would cancel on Monday if you don't see taking a cruise within the next year. Never trust the call center reps . . .

[mishka422]

I wouldn't trust it either. Cash them in.

 

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

[maxbroadway]

I had a FCC that expired in early February. I got mixed up on the date and thought it wasn't going to expire until the end of the month so I didn't even try to cash it back in. I just accepted that I would be out the $100.

 

I found an unexpected cheap price on the 4-day Triumph leaving on April 3 and jumped on it. I tried to submit the FCC online even though I knew it was expired just to see, but the online form didn't work at all.

 

I ultimately called the number on the FCC and told them I had been trying to submit online without success, and the rep transferred me to the promotions department. The rep in promotions took the certificate # and confirmed that it was expired but said because I was departing within 6 months that she could still submit it for the $50 OBC. She did that and in a couple of days the OBC showed up on my account. I was happy that at least I was getting half of my $100 back.

 

Well, lo and behold I checked my credit card account this morning and they had also credited my $100 FCC deposit to my account.

 

My situation doesn't match yours completely since I already had a cruise booked and paid for when I called. It's also possible I just got lucky, but at least this is evidence that the 6 month grace period isn't total fiction.

 

Good luck!!

[sweeks82]

I had FCC that had expired a couple of weeks before we booked a cruise. I had figured that I would not get OBC because they expired but I did. I had $100 towards deposit plus $100 OBC applied to my booking. The person I spoke with said that they honor FCC OBC for six months and then just the deposit amount after that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Fun, Fun 44]

We purchased a couple of FCC's back in March, 2012. I have one remaining with an expiration date of March 31, 2014. The fine print says I must book within 24 months of the date of issuance (3/31/2014) and the cruise must begin no more than 36 months from the date of issuance (3/31/2015). BTW, I do NOT live in a state that where the expiration is restricted by law, so all those dates DO apply to me.

 

So for my question...

 

I'm not in the market for a Carnival cruise right now so I was thinking of just cashing it in and getting my $100 back. I called Carnival and the rep put me on hold a few times and then told me that they have a 6 month grace period on the old FCC expiry dates. So I have another 6 months to either apply it to a cruise or cash it in for the $100 face value. Since I don't have much confidence in some random telephone rep, I thought I'd check with the Carnival experts here and see if anyone else has experience with this so-called 6 month grace period.

 

Thanks!

 

~Denise

 

 

Mine says the same thing in the fine print on back.....booked before the 24 month expiration for a cruise up to 36 months from issuance. Haven't been told the 6 month grace period option yet. Hmmmm, interesting.

 

Kat

[Sundiego]

OP here with an update of sorts.

 

I went ahead and booked a December cruise yesterday under the $50 deposit promo and got my FCC applied. My PVP told me that if I cancelled the cruise, I could reapply the FCC to another cruise as long as it sails before that original 3/31/2015 deadline.

 

Honestly, I'm not 100% confident in my PVP's comments either and probably won't find out what the *real policy* is unless we have to cancel the December cruise. With the $50 deposit and the fact the FCC's aren't sold anymore, I just decided to roll the dice and hopefully the December cruise plans will stay intact!

 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts and experiences.