Calculation of OBC incentives offered by Carnival

[VentureMan_2000]

On March 6, Carnival put out a letter offering guests a $200 OBC for folks who chose to keep their booking of March 6 thru May 31 (6+ day cruises).

 

So I went with that option and kept my booking.  I would now have an additional $200 OBC, along with my $100 OBC I received when I booked the cruise.

 

Fast forward to March 30, Carnival cancelled my May 1st cruise.  I received a letter from Carnival offering guests a $600 OBC for folks who chose to keep their booking as a FCC.  OK, so I think I will go with that option and kept my booking as a FCC. 

 

Now, I know what my expectation is for calculating the OBC... I expect to see $900.

 

How do y'all think Carnival will calculate my OBC ?

[ypcat]

It will be $600 plus any OBC that is on the new booking.

[Wanna_Cruize]

Here's what it states in the new cancellation form: 

 

GUESTS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY BOOKED ON THESE VOYAGES AND CANCELED THEIR BOOKING

If you contacted Carnival previously to accept an earlier offer to cancel and received a Future Cruise Credit with an Onboard Credit, please note the following:

If you select Option 1 - 100% future cruise credit plus onboard credit

• The higher onboard credit will be applied to your new booking if booked by December 31, 2020.

[tony_g51181]

I was wondering the same because I was booked on a march 26th cruise which was canceled and then I took the 300.00 obc option and then booked for May9th which is now canceled so hoping for 600.00 but prob not! lol wishful thinking.

[VentureMan_2000]

5 minutes ago, tony_g51181 said:

I was wondering the same because I was booked on a march 26th cruise which was canceled and then I took the 300.00 obc option and then booked for May9th which is now canceled so hoping for 600.00 but prob not! lol wishful thinking.

Interesting...

I would think that you would get both ($300 + $600) since they are two different bookings.  I have a June 8 Alaska cruise that I fully expect to be cancelled... and I would expect an additional $600 OBC if I select a FCC in lieu of a refund.   

[VentureMan_2000]

Ahhhh... I see my answer in the small print:

 

*The Future Cruise Credit (FCC) is based on the cancellation fees retained by Carnival for this voyage, including Fly2Fun air if applicable. FCC and Onboard Credit (OBC) are combinable with all Carnival-offered fares, are non-transferable, non-refundable, cannot be used as a deposit or applied to a chartered sailing, have no cash value, and must be redeemed on a Carnival Cruise Line sailing departing by 12/31/2022. The FCC/OBC may only be used toward one (1) booking in the same currency in which the above voyage was originally paid. FCC cannot be used for taxes, fees & port expenses, Carnival Vacation Protection, onboard charges or gratuities and any unused portion will be forfeited. New OBC offer replaces any previous OBC offer and applies to new booking if made by 12/31/20. The booking guest shall be responsible for payment of the difference between the amount of the FCC and the amount of the new booking if higher. After you have booked your cruise, please use this link to provide us with the new booking information so we can process your FCC.

[VentureMan_2000]

1 minute ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

 

... and must be redeemed on a Carnival Cruise Line sailing departing by 12/31/2022. The FCC/OBC may only be used toward one (1) booking in the same currency in which the above voyage was originally paid.

 

Any lawyers out there that understand contract speak?  What the heck does this mean ?

Is Carnival saying that I cannot apply the FCC and OBC to cruises I already booked ?  

And that any unused FCC from a single booking is forfeited ?  That is, you cannot use all accumulated FCC from cancelled cruises towards future cruises until depleted ?

[firefly333]

35 minutes ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Any lawyers out there that understand contract speak?  What the heck does this mean ?

Is Carnival saying that I cannot apply the FCC and OBC to cruises I already booked ?  

And that any unused FCC from a single booking is forfeited ?  That is, you cannot use all accumulated FCC from cancelled cruises towards future cruises until depleted ?

It says you can apply it to one booking. ... some have wanted to split the fcc between 2 bookings. I have read various posts saying left over fcc is applied to that booking as additional obc.

 

Your mileage may vary, but the part you asked about clearly says it can only be applied to one booking, nothing about forfeiting remaining. ... 

[travelgirl29]

My booking had a $200 obc already, nothing to do with Covid-19. I just got notification that I can do the FCC with $600. I am assuming that I get $800 now?  On the letter I got it said if you had an offer different than the $600 you would get whichever one was higher. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Using the form above, I wonder if you could apply one person's FCC to one booking, and the other person's FCC to a different booking?

 

[Denverdonkeys]

7 minutes ago, travelgirl29 said:

My booking had a $200 obc already, nothing to do with Covid-19. I just got notification that I can do the FCC with $600. I am assuming that I get $800 now?  On the letter I got it said if you had an offer different than the $600 you would get whichever one was higher. 

you will get $600 plus the OBC of the new booking/rate (if any).

 

I had $100 from my TA, that is lost. that is fair since I never cruised, I think the TA should get it back (although not sure how that works honestly).

 

IF carnival gave you an OBC due to a price drop, then your FCC is worth more, because they didnt refund part of the cruise fair paid. You basically were buying OBC. So that is even then, since you didnt use the OBC you will get a higher FCC for the future cruise.

 

The fine print has changed several times. originally the FCC allowed for up to $500 to be converted to OBC on a new booking. I hope this holds for us because we were booked on a spring break trip and that is a more expensive season than we might end up going.

 

The thing that stinks is that if you panned ahead, which we did, we have cruises booked like 18-24 months out. it gives us the best price (if the price goes down, we can get OBC or refund), and are choice of cabin and type (we are a family of 5 and either get 1 suite or 2 rooms connected ideally). well now to rebook for later this summer or the holidays, we are closer in and prices are higher. that stinks, but is not carnival's fault.

 

Royal was giving people 125% FCC, carnival went with OBC. I think I prefer the OBC, even though our $600 is not 25% of our fair paid (for others it might be higher). I was in a suite, so finding a nicer room to upgrade to is hard to do (and not worth it). I will take the OBC and have fun with it.

 

[Host Carolyn]

I'm leaving this for now. I do not dispute the accuracy of some of these are calculations and know that it is difficult to get in touch with Carnival, your PVP or even your agent now but I hope that each of you will rely on information directly from the cruise line or it's representative in making these decisions about your cruise and which option is best for or applies to you. People on the boards are being very helpful sharing information with all good intentions but please double check everything yourself for your own booking. I speak this as a cruiser and former TA!

[tree.critter]

1 hour ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Interesting...

I would think that you would get both ($300 + $600) since they are two different bookings.  I have a June 8 Alaska cruise that I fully expect to be cancelled... and I would expect an additional $600 OBC if I select a FCC in lieu of a refund.   

 

Unless his bookings were less than 6 days, those were given $300.

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, Denverdonkeys said:

Royal was giving people 125% FCC, carnival went with OBC. I think I prefer the OBC, even though our $600 is not 25% of our fair paid (for others it might be higher). I was in a suite, so finding a nicer room to upgrade to is hard to do (and not worth it). I will take the OBC and have fun with it.

 

I hadn’t looked at it like that.  We have a porthole cabin booked on a 7-night sailing out of San Juan and originally received $102 off using a casino rate.  There was a $70 price drop just a few days ago after paying in full, so we are getting $670 OBC on a cruise that now costs a total of $987 for two, including port fees and taxes.   I also used two Amex offers for $100 each, so my out of pocket cost for the cruise is $857 with $670 OBC.  Definitely higher than 25%.  

[ZoeyVictoria]

I have been trying to keep up with both lines (and occasionally NCL) and I can’t keep it straight, especially with all of the changes.  

[Liljo22]

5 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Interesting...

I would think that you would get both ($300 + $600) since they are two different bookings.  I have a June 8 Alaska cruise that I fully expect to be cancelled... and I would expect an additional $600 OBC if I select a FCC in lieu of a refund.   

It will only be the $600.  The original cruise would never have happened and they would move the dollars you paid to FCC so any perks of the previous cruise are voided.  You will get additional OBC if its offered as a perk to book.  Right now they are running a booking that gives $500 OBC for summer cruises.  If you were to book under that option, you would get the $600 plus the $500 for this booking.  

Edited March 30, 2020 by Liljo22