Can't Use My Future Cruise Credit?

[raz455]

Greetings!  I have tried to find an answer to this but, alas, I have failed.  Here is my quandary - I am attempting to book a cruise in December of 2020 but when I get to the Payment page, it does not provide an option to use my Future Cruise Credit.  Has anyone else had this challenge?  Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.  

Happy Cruising!

[Astro Flyer]

When I experienced that situation I called them to use our FCDs because they don’t currently have a way to use FCDs when booking online with Princess.  

 

As I recall, I saved the reservation before calling Princess to use our FCDs to complete our reservation.  I usually book through my TA who uses our FCDs to make our reservation.

[Colo Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

When I experienced that situation I called them to use our FCDs because they don’t currently have a way to use FCDs when booking online with Princess.  

 

As I recall, I saved the reservation before calling Princess to use our FCDs to complete our reservation.  I usually book through my TA who uses our FCDs to make our reservation.

Thats odd, when I am signed in and book a cruise online it gives me the option to apply the FCD's during the payment process.

 

OP if it's after hours I would book it online and do a courtesy hold then call Princess when they are open to have the FCD applied.

You could also just call Princess if its during the times they are open.

[Astro Flyer]

8 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thats odd, when I am signed in and book a cruise online it gives me the option to apply the FCD's during the payment process.

 

OP if it's after hours I would book it online and do a courtesy hold then call Princess when they are open to have the FCD applied.

You could also just call Princess if its during the times they are open.

Thanks for the update Keith...my experience was over a year ago & because the OP had the problem figured it was the same as my experience.

Edited December 31, 2018 by Astro Flyer

[Colo Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks for the update Keith...my experience was over a year ago.

Frank,     I will say sometimes for (my other half) second passenger it will not populate name etc sometimes during the booking process.

It always seems to be quirky.

 

I think its a glitch with their booking system.  With the FCD's it works but every now and then over the last week it would not give the option when I was checking out quite a few cruises.  😉

[masterty]

Happens to me frequently. When I purchase an FCD and later try to use it the FCD will show up as it should as deposit option. Once used and the reservation is later canceled the canceled FCD will not usually re-appear as a deposit option. I often book multiple cabins or dates for a single planned trip knowing I will be canceling the reservations I do not want.
My workflow now is to book any tentative itinerary using the FCD's that appear during booking then if needed use the hold feature for the rest and follow up with a representative to apply FCD's that are not listed online. 

[satxdiver]

I always book with a FCD.  I pick the cruise and stateroom and then select the option to put it on hold.  I then call Princess giving them the booking number, ship and date and request they secure it with one of my FCD (I always have at least 2 and many times 3).  You then can shop for a better deal with a TA and transfer the booking to them.  Incidentally if you become unhappy with the TA you can request Princess to take the booking back.  It requires something in writing to have this happen.  I have done it. 

[Hlitner]

We simply book with one or our favored cruise agencies.  Not only do they make sure the FCC is applied, but they give us OBC in the range of 10% (or more) of the cruise fare.  We think that booking directly with a cruise line is like throwing away money.

 

Hank

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

We simply book with one or our favored cruise agencies.  Not only do they make sure the FCC is applied, but they give us OBC in the range of 10% (or more) of the cruise fare.  We think that booking directly with a cruise line is like throwing away money.

 

Hank

Agree - 115% (I get 15% off the commissionable portion of the fare which can work out to more than 10% overall).

[nukesubsailor]

9 hours ago, masterty said:

 I often book multiple cabins or dates for a single planned trip knowing I will be canceling the reservations I do not want.
My workflow now is to book any tentative itinerary using the FCD's that appear during booking then if needed use the hold feature for the rest and follow up with a representative to apply FCD's that are not listed online. 

Doesn't your booking of multiple cabins or dates that you know you will eventually cancel result in other cruisers not getting the cabin they want or paying a higher price because the cruise line thinks the cruise is selling very well?  In my opinion, your inability to make up your mind in a timely manner is potentially causing disappointments for others.  Maybe Princess will read your post and take measures to stop such a practice.

[masterty]

1 hour ago, nukesubsailor said:

Doesn't your booking of multiple cabins or dates that you know you will eventually cancel result in other cruisers not getting the cabin they want or paying a higher price because the cruise line thinks the cruise is selling very well?  In my opinion, your inability to make up your mind in a timely manner is potentially causing disappointments for others.  Maybe Princess will read your post and take measures to stop such a practice.

Meh. Maybe....? But....you imply I know which one I will cancel. If I had a crystal ball I would not need to book multiple cabins. Club class, no club class, inside, mini or S7. I often simply do not know what other family or friends are going on which itinerary as each booking first becomes available, or what sale event will come along next. I book my favorite 2 or 3 options, sometimes a group of neighboring cabins, re-fare when needed and then finally cancel or pass along to family or friends the unwanted.

Edited December 31, 2018 by masterty

[Jase0581]

I ran into this same issue when doing my last booking.  The problem was a website glitch, it wouldn’t bring up the option to use the FCD on a cruise that was after the book by expiration date.  Had to call Princess to apply it.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, masterty said:

Meh. Maybe....? But....you imply I know which one I will cancel. If I had a crystal ball I would not need to book multiple cabins. Club class, no club class, inside, mini or S7. I often simply do not know what other family or friends are going on which itinerary as each booking first becomes available, or what sale event will come along next. I book my favorite 2 or 3 options, sometimes a group of neighboring cabins, re-fare when needed and then finally cancel or pass along to family or friends the unwanted.

Your multi-booking practice is precisely why many of the best cruise agencies now charge their own cancelation fee.  There has also been a lot soul searching at the major cruise lines about how to deal with your type of practice.  For now, several lines have implemented various forms  of non-refundable deposits.  HAL has been playing with this for a few years and will generally offer a lower price for those that book with non-refundables.  While your strategy has some merit from the point of view of the cruiser it is somewhat of a nightmare for the cruise lines (and other passengers trying to book the same cruise).  Your type of practice has also caused other difficulties when cruise lines decide to deliberately overbook a cruise (by using guarantees) with the assumption that there will be numerous cancelations.  Sometimes the algorithms have it wrong and the cruise line must scramble to find some passengers willing to give up the cruise for certain "considerations."

 

Hank 

[masterty]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Your multi-booking practice is precisely why many of the best cruise agencies now charge their own cancelation fee.  There has also been a lot soul searching at the major cruise lines about how to deal with your type of practice.  For now, several lines have implemented various forms  of non-refundable deposits.  HAL has been playing with this for a few years and will generally offer a lower price for those that book with non-refundables.  While your strategy has some merit from the point of view of the cruiser it is somewhat of a nightmare for the cruise lines (and other passengers trying to book the same cruise).  Your type of practice has also caused other difficulties when cruise lines decide to deliberately overbook a cruise (by using guarantees) with the assumption that there will be numerous cancelations.  Sometimes the algorithms have it wrong and the cruise line must scramble to find some passengers willing to give up the cruise for certain "considerations."

 

Hank 

If find it hard to beleive that if a cruise company cared they could simply look at the member numbers or first and last name to determine how many if any are double triple booked. The practice is defiantly allowed and would be very simple (if the cruise company actually cared) to cease by not allowing the same passenger number to exist on more than one room. I am smelling a little hyperbole by a few. 

[XBGuy]

OP, are you signed in to your Princess account prior to starting the booking process?

 

I have never had a problem applying FCDs when booking a cruise from the Princess web site.  It may be that I've been lucky.  I'm willing to go along with that.  However, I always sign in before I click on the "Plan a Cruise" link.

[Colo Cruiser]

I would rather get my 8% to 12% discount up front and off the price of the cruise.

I don't need to be lured with OBC.

My TA gives me the discount right away and does not need to add fluff by offering OBC and reducing the actual discount.

They do have some group OBC that is on top of any Princess promo (3 for free etc)

[Hlitner]

Just now, Colo Cruiser said:

I would rather get my 8% to 12% discount up front and off the price of the cruise.

I don't need to be lured with OBC.

My TA gives me the discount right away and does not need to add fluff by offering OBC and reducing the actual discount.

They do have some group OBC that is on top of any Princess promo (3 for free etc)

We sometimes get both :).  But keep in mind that we cruise on many different lines (15 to date) and each line has their own pricing policy.  So while Princess has some of the most liberal pricing policies in the industry, other lines like Seabourn or Celebrity strongly "discourage" any cruise/travel agent from discounting the cruise price.   We know of one travel agent (we no longer use this agency) who used to openly discount cruise and tour prices below the norm.  Eventually they had to stop that practice since their future ability to handle bookings for certain companies was placed in severe jeopardy.

 

One of our favorite cruise agencies will offer multiple prices for the same cruise based on various perks options, etc.  One day we noticed a cruise (which we were booking) could be booked at about $1000 off....or one could get a $700 OBC.  When we talked to our agent she asked us which option we preferred and I quickly said give me the bigger discount.   I then asked her why on earth anyone would pay $1000 more to get a $700 OBC and her response was "you would be surprised."  A few years ago we booked a long HAL cruise which included their drink package.  A few weeks later we noticed the price had dropped nearly $12,000 (for our category) and we called our cruise agent to get it repriced.  As she was waiting on hold with HAL she mentioned that we would lose the drink package if we took the lower fare :).  We both had a big laugh (i.e. $12000 for a drink package).

 

Hank

[majortom10]

15 hours ago, raz455 said:

Greetings!  I have tried to find an answer to this but, alas, I have failed.  Here is my quandary - I am attempting to book a cruise in December of 2020 but when I get to the Payment page, it does not provide an option to use my Future Cruise Credit.  Has anyone else had this challenge?  Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.  

Happy Cruising!

When did you purchase your FCD because I believe you have to book using it within 2 yrs of purchase date. Perhaps you are trying to book a cruise for Dec 2020 which is beyond that timescale.

[sewgood]

Last time I booked with Princess I was unable to use my FCD.

I worked out it was because it was a grand Adventure cruise of 36 days.

Is your cruise a Grand Adventure one or part of a world cruise?

Or like other people have said, it may just be a glitch.

[Colo Cruiser]

9 minutes ago, sewgood said:

Last time I booked with Princess I was unable to use my FCD.

I worked out it was because it was a grand Adventure cruise of 36 days.

Is your cruise a Grand Adventure one or part of a world cruise?

Or like other people have said, it may just be a glitch.

Princess would not apply it?     Why not?

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Princess would not apply it?     Why not?

FCD cannot be used as the deposit for a World Cruise or for some other long cruises.

[Colo Cruiser]

Just now, Aus Traveller said:

FCD cannot be used as the deposit for a World Cruise or for some other long cruises.

Not even segments?

 

[sewgood]

Colo Cruiser it states on our Australian purchased FCD:

FCDs are not applicable to full World Cruises or any World Cruise Segments. For full World Cruises or World Cruise Segments the FCD offer is a reduced deposit of 5% of the cruise fare and a discount of 3%.

 

It may be different with FCD bought in US dollars or by Americans.

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Not even segments?

 

On checking this, it appears that the terms have changed re World Cruises. The T&C now state that the FCD can be used for a WC or a segment thereof. The passenger has a reduced deposit, but there is no OBC applicable on WCs and the length of time for cancellation and 'refund' of FCD is longer than on other cruises.

[Astro Flyer]

Found this statement on the July 2018 FCD form:  “Reduced deposit and onboard credits do not apply to bookings 45+ days”.

 

https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/FutureCruiseDepositForm.pdf