100 Shares of Carnival Stock Perk

[LCTXcruiser]

Good evening all!

My husband and I were considering buying 100 shares of stock in Carnival because you can get an onboard credit.  Do you all know, is this an ongoing perk (in other words, do you get it every time you cruise with them), or is it a one time perk?  Also are there any restrictions?  For example, if you get a cruise that is discounted or a carnival players cruise offer does it still apply?  Any info would be helpful.  Thank you all so much!  I always know I can depend upon good advice from the cruisers on this site!

[journeymore]

It is not a one time thing. I don’t know if it’s combinable with casino etc. 

[Purvis1231]

19 minutes ago, LCTXcruiser said:

Good evening all!

My husband and I were considering buying 100 shares of stock in Carnival because you can get an onboard credit.  Do you all know, is this an ongoing perk (in other words, do you get it every time you cruise with them), or is it a one time perk?  Also are there any restrictions?  For example, if you get a cruise that is discounted or a carnival players cruise offer does it still apply?  Any info would be helpful.  Thank you all so much!  I always know I can depend upon good advice from the cruisers on this site!

At this point it is every cruise. Right now if you have a cash it might be a good investment. If bought many years ago at $30.00 per share so I have lost money. 

[TomCruise48]

This perk is subject to renewal annually by the board of directors.  It has a long history of being renewed, but with the current situation, there is no guarantee that it will be renewed in the future.

[TNcruising02]

If you are considering buying Carnival stock, I think now is a good time. I bought back in March when it was $27 a share, but ended up buying more at lower prices and selling for a nice profit.  So, I always keep 100 shares that ended up costing me nothing.  I'll keep at least 100 as long as they keep offering the OBC.

[ontheweb]

43 minutes ago, TomCruise48 said:

This perk is subject to renewal annually by the board of directors.  It has a long history of being renewed, but with the current situation, there is no guarantee that it will be renewed in the future.

Theoretically they could vote not to renew it, but it is basically a marketing tool that costs them next to nothing so I would expect their board of directors to keep renewing it annually.

[Bgcruising]

One credit per cabin for this perk, by the way. If two people in one cabin own 100 shares each only one gets it.

[PhillyFan33579]

50 minutes ago, TomCruise48 said:

This perk is subject to renewal annually by the board of directors.  It has a long history of being renewed, but with the current situation, there is no guarantee that it will be renewed in the future.

Like this poster stated, this is a renewable perk that isn’t guaranteed to be renewed next year. From a stockholder perspective I don’t think this perk should be renewed for the next few years, but I assume a lot will depend on what happens this Spring before a decision is made on whether to renew this perk. 

[ontheweb]

10 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Like this poster stated, this is a renewable perk that isn’t guaranteed to be renewed next year. From a stockholder perspective I don’t think this perk should be renewed for the next few years, but I assume a lot will depend on what happens this Spring before a decision is made on whether to renew this perk. 

Why as a stockholder (I am one also), would you want it not renewed? It costs them next to nothing and is a marketing tool to bring in bookings.

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Why as a stockholder (I am one also), would you want it not renewed? It costs them next to nothing and is a marketing tool to bring in bookings.

Because I don’t think Carnival, or any cruise line, is in position to give away any money right now. When I used this perk multiple times In the past I always used it for gratuities, which cost Carnival $100 for every cruise I took. You multiply this by the large number of people getting this perk and you are looking at a significant amount of money. In the past I would agree with you that $100 was next to nothing for Carnival, but that is not going to be the case for a long time in the future. 

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Because I don’t think Carnival, or any cruise line, is in position to give away any money right now. When I used this perk multiple times In the past I always used it for gratuities, which cost Carnival $100 for every cruise I took. You multiply this by the large number of people getting this perk and you are looking at a significant amount of money. In the past I would agree with you that $100 was next to nothing for Carnival, but that is not going to be the case for a long time in the future. 

The idea is to get you to book one of their ships in the Carnival family. Once you do that the $100 is nothing. And others do buy alcohol, excursions, gift shop items, specialty dining, etc.

 

And in a time when some may be iffy about going on a cruise, taking away a perk may very well have a negative effect on bookings.

[PhillyFan33579]

Just now, ontheweb said:

The idea is to get you to book one of their ships in the Carnival family. Once you do that the $100 is nothing. And others do buy alcohol, excursions, gift shop items, specialty dining, etc.

 

And in a time when some may be iffy about going on a cruise, taking away a perk may very well have a negative effect on bookings.

I can only speak for myself, but I have never booked cruises for any perks related to being a shareholder or based on my loyalty status. Right now I don’t have any cruises booked on Carnival, even though Carnival is the only cruise line that I have reached the highest loyalty level. I currently have 7 cruises booked on RCI and Celebrity, where I am no where close to reaching the highest loyalty level (and likely never will) on either cruise line. 

[my kids mama]

Can someone clarify the amount of OBC you get as a shareholder? 

[Bgcruising]

13 minutes ago, my kids mama said:

Can someone clarify the amount of OBC you get as a shareholder? 

 

I think its $50 for less than 7 days, $100 for a 7 or more then $250 for a 14 or more. 

[LCTXcruiser]

Thank you all for your response!  I knew my cruise buddies would have the answer!

[my kids mama]

2 hours ago, Bgcruising said:

 

I think its $50 for less than 7 days, $100 for a 7 or more then $250 for a 14 or more. 

Thank you! 

[Calnev1]

5 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

At this point it is every cruise. Right now if you have a cash it might be a good investment. If bought many years ago at $30.00 per share so I have lost money. 

 Well, I bought many years ago at about $32 a share.   And I have definitely NOT lost money, as the shareholder benefit OBC I have collected over the years, plus the dividends the stock used to pay (ha ha), have easily exceeded the cost of the 100 shares.

 

And if you want to see exactly what the current shareholder benefit is, you can see the official Carnival document right here:  https://www.carnivalcorp.com/static-files/50351a91-4dc0-4f6b-bfec-684647e6129f 

 

Finally, Carnival pays this benefit regardless of any other deals or offers that you may get from Carnival.  For example, even if you have a free cruise from the Player's Club, you can still use this benefit!

Edited October 31, 2020 by Calnev1

[Bgcruising]

7 hours ago, Calnev1 said:

And I have definitely NOT lost money, as the shareholder benefit OBC I have collected over the years

 

I bought another 100 shares and will sell my original 100 when it reaches its original purchase price.

 

Also, those that have bought and the stock has dropped, you haven't lost anything until you sell. Your investment will go up and down, but there are only two prices that matter. The one you bought at and the one you sell at.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I read back in April that Carnival discontinued the shareholder credit "indefinitely", but I don't recall if it was news or someone's post.

[Bgcruising]

31 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I read back in April that Carnival discontinued the shareholder credit "indefinitely", but I don't recall if it was news or someone's post.

 

That was the dividend, not the credit. 

[Earthworm Jim]

13 hours ago, ontheweb said:

The idea is to get you to book one of their ships in the Carnival family. Once you do that the $100 is nothing. And others do buy alcohol, excursions, gift shop items, specialty dining, etc.

 

And in a time when some may be iffy about going on a cruise, taking away a perk may very well have a negative effect on bookings.

 

If it was true that the benefit of additional bookings far outweighed the cost to Carnival for the $100 OBC, Carnival would offer it to everybody, stock owners or not. If it made them more money, they'd want more people doing it.

 

And the cost to Carnival isn't "nothing". It's $100 (or $50) per cruise. Those passengers are getting something they normally would have paid Carnival $100 for for free. Considering more frequent cruisers are the ones more likely to own stock for the benefit, the average cost to Carnival may be a couple of hundred a year for each 100 share stockholder if they average 2  seven day cruises a year.

 

If a shareholder owns 100 shares they recently bought at $13, Carnival is paying out maybe $200 a year in OBC on a $1300 investment. That's 15%. That's a very significant chunk of the stock's value.

 

But, if those small 100 share investments collectively represent a significant portion of all Carnival stock holdings (no idea if that's true), discontinuing to shareholder benefit could lead them to sell and damage the stock price. So there is that angle to consider. My guess is they keep the shareholder benefit but increase the number of shares needed to get it. Make it around 300 shares, which would require a similar investment to get the benefit to what it used to when the stock was trading in the $40 range. 

Edited October 31, 2020 by Earthworm Jim

[Calnev1]

1 hour ago, Bgcruising said:

 

That was the dividend, not the credit. 

Yes, the stock dividend is gone, since Carnival is currently hemorrhaging money.  But the shareholder benefit OBC is alive and well through July 31, 2021, as you can see in the link in post #17 above.

[Calnev1]

11 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

If it was true that the benefit of additional bookings far outweighed the cost to Carnival for the $100 OBC, Carnival would offer it to everybody, stock owners or not. If it made them more money, they'd want more people doing it.

 

And the cost to Carnival isn't "nothing". It's $100 (or $50) per cruise. It's essentially paying your ~$100 gratuities for you, and that's money that has to come straight out of Carnival's pocket into the staff's. Considering more frequent cruisers are the ones more likely to own stock for the benefit, they average cost to them may be a couple of hundred a year for each 100 share stockholder if they average 2  seven day cruises a year.

 

If as shareholder owns 100 shares they recently bought at $13, Carnival is paying out maybe $200 a year in OBC on a $1300 investment. That's 15%. That's a very significant chunk of the stock's value.

 

But, if those small 100 share investments collectively represent a significant portion of all Carnival stock holdings (no idea if that's true), discontinuing to shareholder benefit could lead them to sell and damage the stock price. So there is that angle to consider. My guess is they keep the shareholder benefit but increase the number of shares needed to get it. Make it around 300 shares, which would require a similar investment to get them benefit to what it used to when the stock was trading in the $40 range. 

I agree that Carnival might increase the number of shares necessary to qualify for the benefit.   But I would bet significant money that Carnival will NOT terminate the benefit any time soon.  I think the benefit helps build loyalty.  It has certainly helped make me loyal . . . I have cruised many lines over the years, but when looking at future cruises I now always look at Carnival options first.  And cruise lines will be very dependent on their loyal customers in the immediate post-COVID era, as I doubt they will be attracting many new-to-cruising customers for awhile.

 

As for offering the benefit to everyone, not just stockholders, I am not sure what you mean.   There are of course many cruise sales that offer extra OBC, but the shareholder benefit is above and beyond that.  It makes you think you are part of the Carnival family, an benefitting from that.  An illusion, maybe, but I think it works.

 

And there is an argument that Carnival stock is a pretty decent buy now, since it currently sits around $14 a share and the CDC has lifted its no sail order.   If I didn't already have a fair amount of money invested in Carnival future cruise credits and gift cards, I might invest in more Carnival stock.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Calnev1

[Earthworm Jim]

1 minute ago, Calnev1 said:

And cruise lines will be very dependent on their loyal customers in the immediate post-COVID era, as I doubt they will be attracting many new-to-cruising customers for awhile.

 

 

I think that's true, but it also presents the cruise lines with a problem: The loyal customers probably have a good chunk of money as a FCC, since most of us had at least one 2020 cruise cancelled. That means until those FCC credits are used up, those loyal customers returning will generate less desperately needed income when they cruise.

[Calnev1]

3 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

I think that's true, but it also presents the cruise lines with a problem: The loyal customers probably have a good chunk of money as a FCC, since most of us had at least one 2020 cruise cancelled. That means until those FCC credits are used up, those loyal customers returning will generate less desperately needed income when they cruise.

All true.   But the loyal customers who come aboard will maybe spend more money than they usually do.   In fact, my wife and I just booked a suite on an Alaska Carnival cruise for next August, and we almost never go higher than a balcony.  Why the suite?   Well, we could use our FCC and our gift cards AND afford to pitch in some extra $$$.

 

In any event, there are not many good options for the cruise lines going forward.  But if  they fail to keep their loyal customers (. . .  and I would be unhappy if Carnival ditched its shareholder benefit), they will certainly be doomed.