Future Cruise Credits (FCC) why should I buy them

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I bought a $100 FCC on my last cruise and am now applying it to my upcoming cruise. I am still not quite sure what the significance of a FCC is (yeah silly me for buying something I don't really understand...sucker).

 

Would someone kindly explain FCCs to me? Why should I buy them? Seems to me I am just giving Princess money that would be better spent sitting in my bank account earning interest (yes, I realize $100 doesn't earn much interest).

 

Thanks,

FBG

[IECalCruiser]

I bought a $100 FCC on my last cruise and am now applying it to my upcoming cruise. I am still not quite sure what the significance of a FCC is (yeah silly me for buying something I don't really understand...sucker).

 

Would someone kindly explain FCCs to me? Why should I buy them? Seems to me I am just giving Princess money that would be better spent sitting in my bank account earning interest (yes, I realize $100 doesn't earn much interest).

 

Thanks,

FBG

The $100 you paid for your FCC is all you need for a deposit on a cruise. That is a significant reduction in deposit for more expensive cruises. In addition, you will receive between $15 and $150 in on board credit (OBC) depending upon the length of cruise and category booked.

 

 

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[geoherb]

And if you book your cruise a long time before the final payment date, that $100 per person is your deposit. You'd generally have to put down a larger deposit.

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

Thanks for the explanations.

[Thrak]

A slightly more comprehensive answer:

 

The $100 you paid counts as your total deposit. If there are two of you booking then you need to use two FCC for the cruise but both you and your travel companion - friend, roommate, spouse, etc. - get the $100 deposit. On some cruises this is a huge benefit.

 

Then there is the OBC you get from using the FCC. The amounts you get are:

Future Cruise Length Per Person Shipboard Credit:

17 + Days $125 Inside, $125 Outside, $150 Balcony, $150 Suite

11 - 16 Days $75 Inside, $75 Outside, $100 Balcony, $100 Suite

7 - 10 Days $25 Inside, $25 Outside, $50 Balcony, $50 Suite

3 - 6 Days $15 Inside, $15 Outside, $25 Balcony, $25 Suite

 

 

Thus, even though we are booked in an inside cabin for our upcoming Panama Canal cruise, my wife and I are still receiving $125 each ($250 total) OBC for the cruise. It's like getting FREE MONEY.

 

 

 

These are the reasons I will never again be without a couple of FCC on hand for each of us. We are now down to one each but will purchase more in November when onboard.

 

 

 

NOTE: We allowed ourselves to run out of FCC a while back (stupid n00b mistake) and booked a BVE to purchase more. You can buy them only when onboard but it can be done on a BVE despite what some may have posted here on CC. I know because we did it.

[waltd]

They are good for 2 years and if you call Princess prior to the two years they will push out the expiration date. The FCD is also refundable at the end of the two years if you do not use them.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Does anyone know if only one FCC is needed for a solo occupancy booking? TIA.

[cruisehappy001]

Does anyone know if only one FCC is needed for a solo occupancy booking? TIA.

 

Yes only one needed! I know because I just booked my first solo cruise and it worked with one FCD! :D

 

Book and enjoy your cruise!!!

 

Mark

[Whimsy]

The FCC's are an excellent investment if you plan on cruising again. As you can see from the above post you get a nice amount of on board credit and are able use them as a booking deposit. I cannot get that type of return on my $100 sitting in the bank and I keep booking cruises so I think it's an excellent deal!

 

 

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[eyegirl]

Can you buy FCC on a cruise (going in a few weeks), then use it toward a future cruise that is ALREADY BOOKED (going in 2015)?

 

thanks

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Can you buy FCC on a cruise (going in a few weeks), then use it toward a future cruise that is ALREADY BOOKED (going in 2015)?

 

thanks

 

No, once the cruise is booked it's to late. That's why people buy them in quantity & have them available for cruises in the future.

[PunkiC]

We usually buy two each on every cruise and seem to use them up almost immediately. We are such cruise junkies. We are out now but then we have three future cruises booked. We will pick up more later in the month.

 

We also have FCC on Cunard which works exactly like Princess, except that the deposit is $300 each and the OBC is $300 each. We usually book balconies on 14+ day cruises. That brings our OBC on our next Cunard cruise to $1,350.00 even before any special offers from our TA or Cunard. Military=$250 x 2, Stockholder=$250 and FCC= $600. We can't afford to stay home. ;)

[AE_Collector]

It becomes your deposit which is needed when you book your next cruise.

 

Many people think they are all set when they buy a FCC. Until their next cruise is two cruises back to back or they have a cruise booked and another one comes along before they go on the one that is booked. Then they realize that they should have been maintaining more than one FCC each and they are on here asking how they can get more. For the most part, they can't.

 

We hate the flying part and love the cruising part so we almost always do multiple B2B's. We are maintaining six FCC's each now just to be sure we don't run out. Princess pays the same rate of interest as most bank accounts! "0%"

 

Terry

Edited September 6, 2014 by AE_Collector

[eyegirl]

No, once the cruise is booked it's to late. That's why people buy them in quantity & have them available for cruises in the future.

 

:( i'll call my TA on Monday to see if she can re-book for me. It's a 28 night cruise next year, so we would gets LOTS of OBC...I'd hate to lose out on that!

 

Thanks for the responses

[Host CJSKIDS]

No, once the cruise is booked it's to late. That's why people buy them in quantity & have them available for cruises in the future.

 

 

That's not totally true. Someone I know that is traveling on a sailing with us just added one two days ago to a booking that he has had for a while.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

That's not totally true. Someone I know that is traveling on a sailing with us just added one two days ago to a booking that he has had for a while.

 

That's interesting. Did they just recently change their ruling?

[travlnblueberries]

That's interesting. Did they just recently change their ruling?

 

We just called them two days ago to ask this question. We are leaving on the Coral in a few weeks but we already booked the new ship Regal for February. They told us we could get fcc on coral and still use it towards our already booked cruise.

[jackieo]

We use FCCs for our cruises . However we are due to book a cruise with three of us in one cabin. If we all use our FCCs will we all get the OBC ? Just wondering ........

[rkmw]

We just called them two days ago to ask this question. We are leaving on the Coral in a few weeks but we already booked the new ship Regal for February. They told us we could get fcc on coral and still use it towards our already booked cruise.

 

if you read the fine print down the bottom of the letter it states

 

this offer is available to new future bookings only and is non transferable

Edited September 6, 2014 by rkmw

[rkmw]

We use FCCs for our cruises . However we are due to book a cruise with three of us in one cabin. If we all use our FCCs will we all get the OBC ? Just wondering ........

 

in the fine print it says ship board credit not applicable to upper berth passengers

[Thorpe]

I had 2 cruises booked for the same time in different parts of the world. One using a FCC and one paying a normal deposit. Once I worked out which one I was going to do, ---- it was the one without the FCC. Princess cancelled the cruise with the FCC and applied the FCC on the other cruise. Just meant I got the OBC and the fare was credited an extra $100 to the already paid deposit.

Made me happy. Hope that made sense :)

[patperry]

Most people aren't aware of this, but you can also purchase your FCC after you disembark. I had purchased 2 FCC's on my last cruise. After getting home decided to book another back to back, I called my princess vacation planner and purchased two more FCC's. I believe the time limit to do this is 30 days but it might be as much as 60 days.

 

 

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[EightFurryPaws]

We were on the Crown, October 2013. In the Future Cruise Sales there were forms that you were able to complete. The forms asked what already booked cruise you had that you would like to add a FCC.

 

I was surprised because I had never seen it before, but it was there.

[Colo Cruiser]

Does anyone know if only one FCC is needed for a solo occupancy booking? TIA.

 

Yes 1.

[rkmw]

We were on the Crown, October 2013. In the Future Cruise Sales there were forms that you were able to complete. The forms asked what already booked cruise you had that you would like to add a FCC.

 

I was surprised because I had never seen it before, but it was there.

 

they must be making up new rules which is why they call them a Future Cruise Credit for new bookings only