Very Important Caveat Regarding Your FCC When Canceling A Cruise

[Love my butler]

Many people are not aware that you only have 1 year to book your cruise and redeem your Future Cruise Credit.  The exact wording is:

 

All future cruise credits must be redeemed within one year from issue date and can be used for sailings departing on or before December 31, 2022.

 

Many people mistakenly believe they have until the end of 2022 to book and use their FCC.  The moment you cancel your cruise, the 365 day countdown begins.  Knowledge is power.

[bluesea777]

One thing though …. will NCL be able to post new cruises/itineraries to the end of 2022 before the one year is up????

 

 

[GettotheSun]

35 minutes ago, Love my butler said:

Many people are not aware that you only have 1 year to book your cruise and redeem your Future Cruise Credit.  The exact wording is:

 

All future cruise credits must be redeemed within one year from issue date and can be used for sailings departing on or before December 31, 2022.

 

Many people mistakenly believe they have until the end of 2022 to book and use their FCC.  The moment you cancel your cruise, the 365 day countdown begins.  Knowledge is power.

Really good point. On first read, I misread it and thought you had until Dec 2020 to book but as you outlined that is not correct.

[Regguy]

Wow -- I missed this completely.  Great catch.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Thank You!

[zeppgirl]

I missed that as well...so that doesn't give us such a big window anymore.  Even if we rebook for next summer, it would have to be really early summer and that means we would have to wait until right before our cruise to rebook- otherwise we would not be able to go any other time:(

[luv2kroooz]

Does it talk about being able today be your FCC if still outside the penalty?

 

Example, I cancel March 15 2020 and get my FCC, book a new cruise with my FCC on March 10, 2021 for a cruise departing December 10 2022. Can I cancel the December 10 2022 cruise on February 21 2021 and apply my FCC to a cruise departing September 15 2022, effectively allowing me more than one year to book?

[dbrown84]

So I guess it's best to wait until 48 hours, or 72 to be safe, to cancel so you can push your window out the farthest

[SC LTC]

2 hours ago, zeppgirl said:

I missed that as well...so that doesn't give us such a big window anymore.  Even if we rebook for next summer, it would have to be really early summer and that means we would have to wait until right before our cruise to rebook- otherwise we would not be able to go any other time:(

What do you mean? Wait until right before our cruise to rebook what cruise are Referring to?

[GlamorousGirl]

Does anyone know, if I already have another cruise booked that’s not paid off could I apply it to that instead of booking a new one? I’m going to go ahead with the cruise I have next week but am thinking of cancelling the Europe one I have in May. I am afraid of taking a flight right now a lot more than getting on a ship.

[zeppgirl]

so I checked with my MIL because they will be canceling her Hawaii cruise for next month.  She called NCL and they told her she had a year to book the cruise but could book it up until 2022.

[Lineaway]

So I am also reading this that you have a year to book but you just have to actually go on the cruise up to Dec.  2022.  Doesn't that sound right????  The devil is always in the details.  

[goksucats]

Our Alaskan Cruise on the Joy for May 23rd of this year was partially paid with Cuba credits from last summer for our diverted Sun cruise to the Bahamas.  NCL gave us a future credit for half the cost of the cruise to stay on the cruise, but had to be used by the end of this year.  Will be curious to see how this one is handled by NCL.  If we end up cancelling, will have the FCC for the July/August 2019 Cuba diversion still to use (allegedly by the end of this year.. but they will have to give us more time), plus the FCC for the remaining balance we paid for this cruise in May.  Geez...

Edited March 10, 2020 by goksucats

[julig22]

11 minutes ago, goksucats said:

Our Alaskan Cruise on the Joy for May 23rd of this year was partially paid with Cuba credits from last summer for our diverted Sun cruise to the Bahamas.  NCL gave us a future credit for half the cost of the cruise to stay on the cruise, but had to be used by the end of this year.  Will be curious to see how this one is handled by NCL.  If we end up cancelling, will have the FCC for the July/August 2019 Cuba diversion still to use (allegedly by the end of this year.. but they will have to give us more time), plus the FCC for the remaining balance we paid for this cruise in May.  Geez...

I have a cruise in May that was heavily discounted and has lots of promos attached to it because of the changes to the Star itinerary and dates.  If that cruise doesn't go, I stand to lose all the benefits I got because of something NCL chose to do in December. So even if I get FCC for the cruise, I've lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 in excursion credits and OBC.

Edited March 10, 2020 by julig22

[bbixler18]

14 hours ago, Love my butler said:

Many people are not aware that you only have 1 year to book your cruise and redeem your Future Cruise Credit.  The exact wording is:

 

All future cruise credits must be redeemed within one year from issue date and can be used for sailings departing on or before December 31, 2022.

 

Many people mistakenly believe they have until the end of 2022 to book and use their FCC.  The moment you cancel your cruise, the 365 day countdown begins.  Knowledge is power.

Yes, knowledge is power...so are you 100% you are interpreting this statement correctly?  I read this as you have to book a cruise using (redeem) this FCC within one year from issue date AND it can be used for sailings departing on or before the end of 2022.  Redeeming the FCC and sailing are two different actions.

Edited March 10, 2020 by bbixler18

[bbixler18]

5 hours ago, Lineaway said:

So I am also reading this that you have a year to book but you just have to actually go on the cruise up to Dec.  2022.  Doesn't that sound right????  The devil is always in the details.  

Yes, I believe that is correct.  The Peace of Mind policy applies to all non-chartered sailings from March 10, 2020 through September 30, 2020 so if it was as OP suggested, in reality the policy would only last until September 28, 2021 and not December 31, 2022.  That date is a result of needing to cancel 48 hours before the September 30, 2020 cruise and then you would have one year to use the FCC.

[poffles]

9 hours ago, GlamorousGirl said:

Does anyone know, if I already have another cruise booked that’s not paid off could I apply it to that instead of booking a new one? I’m going to go ahead with the cruise I have next week but am thinking of cancelling the Europe one I have in May. I am afraid of taking a flight right now a lot more than getting on a ship.

 

From what others are saying ... yes you can.  Others have said they have called NCL to ask and were told it can be for any booking new or existing.  I expect after today we will hear from many others if this is the case as the fun will begin once the cancellations start.

[esm54687]

1 hour ago, bbixler18 said:

Yes, knowledge is power...so are you 100% you are interpreting this statement correctly?  I read this as you have to book a cruise using (redeem) this FCC within one year from issue date AND it can be used for sailings departing on or before the end of 2022.  Redeeming the FCC and sailing are two different actions.

I think the OP is saying exactly what you are saying.....    many people were under the impression you had until Dec 2022 to redeem the FCC which is why they pointed it out. 

[FredT]

And here is something else to consider.  Another thread just above this one is noting that NCL is RAISING the prices of all future cruises by huge amounts.   Why? (To do so seems counterproductive)   Well, we ALL now have FCC's that HAVE to be used within a year.  Raise the "base" price of the cruises we want to take, and NCL ends up making the SAME amount of money from you that they would if you were a "new" booking.   

 

 

Just food for thought.

[bbixler18]

51 minutes ago, FredT said:

And here is something else to consider.  Another thread just above this one is noting that NCL is RAISING the prices of all future cruises by huge amounts.   Why? (To do so seems counterproductive)   Well, we ALL now have FCC's that HAVE to be used within a year.  Raise the "base" price of the cruises we want to take, and NCL ends up making the SAME amount of money from you that they would if you were a "new" booking.   

 

 

Just food for thought.

Has to be used within a year?  Are you sure about that?  I read it as you have to book within a year but the cruise you book can be anything up to departing 12/31/2022.

[FredT]

Just now, bbixler18 said:

Has to be used within a year?  Are you sure about that?  I read it as you have to book within a year but the cruise you book can be anything up to departing 12/31/2022.

I think we are both saying the same thing.....   You have to "use" your FCC within 12 months for a cruise within 2 years.....  The point is the same.  This is like a store raising the price of an item 50% just before they advertise "25% sales!!!!!"   Except here, the poor schlub who as the FCC  has absolutely NO choice but to use it (or loose it) 

[mdsgu]

11 hours ago, GlamorousGirl said:

Does anyone know, if I already have another cruise booked that’s not paid off could I apply it to that instead of booking a new one? I’m going to go ahead with the cruise I have next week but am thinking of cancelling the Europe one I have in May. I am afraid of taking a flight right now a lot more than getting on a ship.

YES.  I spoke with my TA yesterday about doing just that if we cancel our May 2020 cruise.  She said we could our FCC toward our 2021 Baltic cruise.

[kk in ct]

Has anyone successfully applied the FCC they received to another cruise they already have on deposit?  We’re thinking of trying to book one while trying to go through the cancel process to secure one of the few rooms left available that we’re interested in but don’t want to do so if we can’t use the credit for it later. Unfortunately their FAQ doesn’t answer this. Hopefully someone here has already attempted this today. 

[LisaLisa87]

I called this morning to cancel, and the rep was very clear on this point. I think they've been instructed to point this out.

 

In addition, this info was in the cancellation email I received after the call:

 

As per your request, we have canceled your current reservation and will be issuing a future cruise credit in the next seven days. Please be reminded that all future credits are valid one year from the issue date and applicable to all published sailings through December 31, 2022.

Edited March 10, 2020 by LisaLisa87

[Zippeedee]

1 hour ago, FredT said:

And here is something else to consider.  Another thread just above this one is noting that NCL is RAISING the prices of all future cruises by huge amounts.   Why? (To do so seems counterproductive)   Well, we ALL now have FCC's that HAVE to be used within a year.  Raise the "base" price of the cruises we want to take, and NCL ends up making the SAME amount of money from you that they would if you were a "new" booking.   

 

 

Just food for thought.

The prices are crazy right now, but booking with the FCC doesn't mean you can't ride the price drops down all the way to final payment. If they stay as they are now the bonus will be a half-empty ship. No lines!