Future Cruise Credits- Yes or No

[Highlander1]

We are debating whether buying Future Cruise Credits from Princess is worth the out of pocket expense. It is my understanding that the only benefits for the customer is that only a small deposit is required on future cruises rather than a substantial deposit. There are other major cruise lines (NCL) that offer additional credit for the purchase of future cruises.

 

Why would I tie myself to a particular line and give them money in advance if I am not getting anything except I won't have to put down as large a deposit, hopefully I am missing something.

[chrysalis]

The other main benefit is an OBC that comes with it.....free money = huge benefit

[nyc12345]

Princess' future cruise deposits are refundable, if you do not use them (unlike NCL). Plus you get OBC on your next cruise. ;)

 

If you find a great TA that gives you discount/OBC (like mine) for booking Princess cruises, that would be even better. :D

[Happy2cruise]

Also, to my knowledge they are combinable with other promotions....not like Celebrity:o. Have always used the Princess FCC with no problems. First time tried to use it on Celebrity was told could not do:o.

[Pam in CA]

Also, to my knowledge they are combinable with other promotions....not like Celebrity:o. Have always used the Princess FCC with no problems. First time tried to use it on Celebrity was told could not do:o.

Yes, Princess FCC OBC credits are combinable with any other OBC. On my Royal cruise just concluded, I had $550 in OBC from various sources.

 

When you purchase a Princess FCC onboard for $100, that becomes your deposit on any cruise other than a world cruise or waitlist. For using the FCC, you get an OBC ranging from $25-$150/pp, depending on the category booked and length of the cruise.

 

The FCC is a win/win. I don't know of any downside.

[Gunner22aa]

You get an OBC the size of which depends on the length of cruise you take, they are fully refundable and extendable if you don't use them in the specific time period and they become the only deposit required to book a future cruise. If you take expensive trips like we do and book very early they can save you money. Assume the next trip is 10k each. A 10% deposit is 2k. You can do the same with a 100 dollar FCC each and keep the other 1800 in the bank until final payment. We typically book up to 18 months out to get the exact cabin we want and our cruises tend to be about a month long. They save me money in the long run not to mention the OBC. No brainer for us. Cruising in three weeks and will be buying FCC just to apply to our AU cruise.

[hansi]

The other main benefit is an OBC that comes with it.....free money = huge benefit

 

and the FCC is your actual deposit, so you don't have any further deposit to pay.

 

Whoops, Pam beat me to it again!

[madjohn]

The other nice thing is that if you see a cruise you might be able to do, you can book it and apply the FCC and not put any money out. If you decide later that its not going to work, you just call, the cruise is canceled and the FCC goes back into your bank. Some people might object to this procedure but I use it to my advantage.

[thinfool]

We are debating whether buying Future Cruise Credits from Princess is worth the out of pocket expense. It is my understanding that the only benefits for the customer is that only a small deposit is required on future cruises rather than a substantial deposit. There are other major cruise lines (NCL) that offer additional credit for the purchase of future cruises.

 

Why would I tie myself to a particular line and give them money in advance if I am not getting anything except I won't have to put down as large a deposit, hopefully I am missing something.

 

You missed the one detail that makes it great....an OBC that is based on the number of days that you are sailing. That applies to each person in the cabin, so if you and your companion are both using the FCC, you can add the amounts together.

 

My wife and I had a total of $450. OBC for our Panama Canal transit last year....$100 ea for the FCC and $250 shareholder credit.

[Maddle]

We just used an FCC toward payment of a cruise that we booked after final payment date. At first I though "why bother? I have to pay the full amount right now, the reduced deposit is meaningless;" but then I remembered the OBC that comes with the FCC - so it worked out to be an additional discount on the Flash Sale price!

 

AND - if you decide you don't want to use it within the two years, you can get a refund.

 

I can't think of any downside (except I have to put up the $100 in the first place.)

 

Maddle

[OCruisers]

Our TA always calls to remind me to buy them when we are leaving to go on a cruise ... thinks it would be so dumb not to. ;)

 

LuLu

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[DrivesLikeMario]

Princess FCCs are the BEST in the cruise industry! Compared to the other cruise lines (Celebrity and RCI for example), Princess' FCCs are combinable with just about every promotion they offer.

 

The complicated booking process with Celebrity Passages (FCCs) just about drives me bananas. :mad: I know so many people that have them just wasting away because they can't combine them with the majority of their promos and if they cancel a booking they've used an FCC on, POOF! they lose their FCC for good. Believe me, you cannot go wrong with Princess FCCs and I can't recommend them highly enough! :)

[joybook]

Just a further question on FCC. If my wife and I are both on board are there benefits in us each paying for a FCC ($100 x 2 = $200)? If we both pay for a FCC and both then sail together next time do we both get the appropriate OBC or is the OBC attributable to that FCC based on a per cabin not per person. Thanks. Hope this question makes sense.:)

[rdsqrl]

Just a further question on FCC. If my wife and I are both on board are there benefits in us each paying for a FCC ($100 x 2 = $200)? If we both pay for a FCC and both then sail together next time do we both get the appropriate OBC or is the OBC attributable to that FCC based on a per cabin not per person. Thanks. Hope this question makes sense.:)

Yes, you both would get the appropriate OBC. (I know you didn't ask this, but since you said "sail together," you don't even have to do that -- FCCs belong only to the person they belong to and are not linked, so she could sail next time without you and still use her FCC as her deposit and get her OBC). FCCs are per person, just like onboard accounts are individual, so each person needs to have their own in order to get their own OBC.

[IECalCruiser]

Just a further question on FCC. If my wife and I are both on board are there benefits in us each paying for a FCC ($100 x 2 = $200)? If we both pay for a FCC and both then sail together next time do we both get the appropriate OBC or is the OBC attributable to that FCC based on a per cabin not per person. Thanks. Hope this question makes sense.:)

Both of you would get OBC for your FCC and both of your deposits would be covered. If one or both of you are veterans you can both get the military OBC. Only the CCL stock OBC is limited to one per cabin.

[pandora518]

By all means, do it. It's only $100 pp, fully refundable if you can't use it within 2 years, and - most importantly - you get OBCs when you do use it! We recently booked a spring 2014 repositioning/TA and got $100 ea from our FCCs (that made the FCCs free!), $250 for my DH's military vet status, a $200 OBC bonus for booking in advance, $100 OBC for my CCL stock ownership, and we'll get between $200-250 OBC from my Princess Visa card. That means our shore excursions and some other expenses will all be free! We buy FCCs on every cruise with either Princess or HAL, as we know we'll be cruising them again sometime.:D

[joybook]

Many thanks to those who responded to my query. Good News!!!:)