First time cruise with Cunard

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

At current, the minimum 100 shares needed to take advantage of extra OBC would be $4457. Even if you cruised every cruise 14 days or more to get the $250 OBC, you'd need to cruise 17 times to break even. 

 

Not the the best investment strategy. 

You are forgetting the dividends that you get 4 times a year as well. Put both together you are getting a far higher return than leaving that amount in a bank or savings account.

Edited October 26, 2019 by majortom10

[PORT ROYAL]

1 hour ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

At current, the minimum 100 shares needed to take advantage of extra OBC would be $4457. Even if you cruised every cruise 14 days or more to get the $250 OBC, you'd need to cruise 17 times to break even. 

 

Not the the best investment strategy. 

 

We purchased over 7 years ago, and for us it worked out as a good investment as we broke even in 3.5 years, excluding dividends.  Since then.......

[Underwatr]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

You are forgetting the dividends that you get 4 times a year as well. Put both together you are getting a far higher return than leaving that amount in a bank or savings account.

 

Not to mention that you still own 100 shares at whatever value, which can easily be liquidated..

[exlondoner]

3 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

At current, the minimum 100 shares needed to take advantage of extra OBC would be $4457. Even if you cruised every cruise 14 days or more to get the $250 OBC, you'd need to cruise 17 times to break even. 

 

Not the the best investment strategy. 

 

Presumably you'd get the occasional divi as well.

[IB2]

9 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

At current, the minimum 100 shares needed to take advantage of extra OBC would be $4457. Even if you cruised every cruise 14 days or more to get the $250 OBC, you'd need to cruise 17 times to break even. 

 

Not the the best investment strategy. 

Unless you are expecting the value of Carnival shares to fall to zero, your comment makes no sense.

[Austcruiser84]

9 hours ago, majortom10 said:

You are forgetting the dividends that you get 4 times a year as well. Put both together you are getting a far higher return than leaving that amount in a bank or savings account.

 

It depends what kind of account you have. And it would be far better long term to reinvest any dividends than to accept quarterly payment. 

 

But if people feel they are getting the best value that's all that matters. 

[Bigmike911]

14 hours ago, exlondoner said:

But, in my experience at any rate, you have to pay the usual deposit, not the low one for actually booking on board.

In the US the Future Cruise Credit of US$300 is all you have to put down until the final payments are due. They are also good for three years and are refundable if not uses. A pretty good deal, and the come with OBC too. 

[Bigmike911]

11 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

At current, the minimum 100 shares needed to take advantage of extra OBC would be $4457. Even if you cruised every cruise 14 days or more to get the $250 OBC, you'd need to cruise 17 times to break even. 

 

Not the the best investment strategy. 

I bought the CCl shares in 2010 at US$38.58, they are now US$44.57 as of Friday 26 Oct, 2019 They pay US$ 200 per year, so I have gained $1,800 in dividends, $1,100 in OBC, and $599.37 in appreciation, or $3,499 in value on an original $3,830 investments. A 91.13% return on my investment or 10.15% annualized. I would say it has been a very good investment.

[Austcruiser84]

1 hour ago, Bigmike911 said:

I bought the CCl shares in 2010 at US$38.58, they are now US$44.57 as of Friday 26 Oct, 2019 They pay US$ 200 per year, so I have gained $1,800 in dividends, $1,100 in OBC, and $599.37 in appreciation, or $3,499 in value on an original $3,830 investments. A 91.13% return on my investment or 10.15% annualized. I would say it has been a very good investment.

 

You have yet to break even after 9 years. I can see that over a very long time there is value, but unless you cruise a lot or take regular long cruises, it's a rather long time before you see much value. 

[IB2]

6 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

You have yet to break even after 9 years. I can see that over a very long time there is value, but unless you cruise a lot or take regular long cruises, it's a rather long time before you see much value. 

Well you only need to hold the shares with an online broker for five minutes to claim the benefit (of $100 to $250 depending on the cruise).  There’s a 2p spread on the shares costing £2, and an online broker will buy and sell them for you for £10 a time or thereabouts.  In the UK there’s Stamp Duty of £17 on the purchase.  So the cost of the benefit is less than £40 - and close to half that in the US without the transaction tax. 

[Underwatr]

7 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

You have yet to break even after 9 years

On the contrary, BigMike has nearly doubled his investment in 9 years.

 

$3858 invested.

$4457 current value + $1800 dividends + $1100 OBC = $7357 returned

Edited October 27, 2019 by Underwatr

[MarkBearSF]

You have yet to break even after 9 years. I can see that over a very long time there is value, but unless you cruise a lot or take regular long cruises, it's a rather long time before you see much value. 

 

First off, it's not "breaking even" when one still holds the investment and can liquidate it.

 

By my calculations, in the 12 years I've owned Carnival stock, I've earned approx $2100 in dividends and $1850 in credits. Over that time, the price has gone up and down and currently it's close to what I paid (a little less) and the decline in the shares' market value over that 12 years is roughly $350. (The cost of the initial trade and fees for ongoing custodianship are negligible)

So, for my initial investment of $4800, between dividends and OBC, I've made $3950, but suffered $350 capital loss. Over 12 years, that amounts to 6.25% total return which ain't bad. (Especially considering that for 5 of those years, I didn't take a cruise on a CCL-owned line - whereas more recently, I'm averaging about $300/year in credits with 2-4 cruises/year)

I used to poo-poo the OBC as nice, but a not factor that one should really consider when investing. However, once I actually calculated the numbers, it became clear that while the dividends and the OBC each by themselves may not be all that impressive, when combined, it makes a really nice little investment for a regular cruiser. (Unfortunately, since the benefit starts at 100 shares and doesn't increase with more, an investment that reaches that return only with a quantity of exactly 100 shares) 
...and although reinvesting dividends is often a good strategy, in this case, since the new shares won't earn additional OBC (only dividends and capital gain/loss), it's less compelling.

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by MarkBearSF

[PORT ROYAL]

12 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

You have yet to break even after 9 years. I can see that over a very long time there is value, but unless you cruise a lot or take regular long cruises, it's a rather long time before you see much value. 

 

For us it works, as the shares were paid for in less than 4 years with benefits.

Over the past 5 years we have had returned in excess of $4000.00 OBC per year, plus $100.00 per year in dividends.  

Since buying the shares the total ROI is well over $30,000.00 (OBC and Shareholder)

Plus one can liquidate shares above the price we paid.

Think the Carnival shares have been, and still are, a good investment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bigmike911]

12 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

 

You have yet to break even after 9 years. I can see that over a very long time there is value, but unless you cruise a lot or take regular long cruises, it's a rather long time before you see much value. 

I am not quite sure what you mean by 'break even'. The value these shares have returned to me in appreciation, dividends and OBC is $3499, in incremental value over my initial investment. If I sold them today I would recover my initial investment as well.

[rakkor]

Also one often forgotten benefit is available to Armed Forces Veterans, which will give $250 OBC on a 14 night cruise, which is not to be sniffed at. For UK personnel this is claimed using the Defence Discount Service ard to validate your eligibility  - https://www.defencediscountservice.co.uk/

 

The amount of on board spending money per person, is applicable for the 1st and 2nd passengers only and depends on the duration of the cruise:

Nights	On board spending money
2-6 nights	US$25 per person
7-13 nights	US$50 per person
14-21 nights	US$125 per person
22 nights+(including world cruise)	US$200 per person

[PORT ROYAL]

2 hours ago, rakkor said:

Also one often forgotten benefit is available to Armed Forces Veterans, which will give $250 OBC on a 14 night cruise, which is not to be sniffed at. For UK personnel this is claimed using the Defence Discount Service ard to validate your eligibility  - https://www.defencediscountservice.co.uk/

 

The amount of on board spending money per person, is applicable for the 1st and 2nd passengers only and depends on the duration of the cruise:

Nights	On board spending money
2-6 nights	US$25 per person
7-13 nights	US$50 per person
14-21 nights	US$125 per person
22 nights+(including world cruise)	US$200 per person

To show appreciation by Cunard, this should be doubled.

[Pennbank]

Shame they do not value the Emergency Services here in the UK and  offer the extra obc  under the Blue Light Card scheme 

https://www.bluelightcard.co.uk/

Edited October 27, 2019 by Pennbank

[Londonpride]

Absolutely, totally agree.

[57eric]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 7:59 PM, Bigmike911 said:

In the US the Future Cruise Credit of US$300 is all you have to put down until the final payments are due. They are also good for three years and are refundable if not uses. A pretty good deal, and the come with OBC too. 

Is this a change?  The OBC I currently hold are good for four years.

[Bigmike911]

36 minutes ago, 57eric said:

Is this a change?  The OBC I currently hold are good for four years.

I suspect Eric, your memory is better than mine. I have never held them to 'maturity' I have used them in the same year I bought them or the year after. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 10/26/2019 at 8:09 PM, Bigmike911 said:

I bought the CCl shares in 2010 at US$38.58, they are now US$44.57 as of Friday 26 Oct, 2019 They pay US$ 200 per year, so I have gained $1,800 in dividends, $1,100 in OBC, and $599.37 in appreciation, or $3,499 in value on an original $3,830 investments. A 91.13% return on my investment or 10.15% annualized. I would say it has been a very good investment.

 

I haven't taken the time to do the math for my OBCs, but my experience is similar to yours. I took advantage of a dip in price, maybe after Concordia, and the stock has never been lower than the price I paid, so with dividends and OBC for 2 or more cruises per year, I'm happy with the investment.

[57eric]

12 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

I suspect Eric, your memory is better than mine. I have never held them to 'maturity' I have used them in the same year I bought them or the year after. 

I make no claims about the quality of my memory.  I went to the file and pulled out a certificate!

[funinhounslow]

On 10/27/2019 at 2:01 PM, PORT ROYAL said:

 

For us it works, as the shares were paid for in less than 4 years with benefits.

Over the past 5 years we have had returned in excess of $4000.00 OBC per year, plus $100.00 per year in dividends.  

Since buying the shares the total ROI is well over $30,000.00 (OBC and Shareholder)

Plus one can liquidate shares above the price we paid.

Think the Carnival shares have been, and still are, a good investment.

 

 That is certainly an interesting way to look at a share that has lost 40% over the past couple of years...

[Underwatr]

Buy on the dips, right? 😉

[majortom10]

Or buy a few years back like we did and paid £20 a share and even after recent loss in price of shares we are still well ahead even at current £30 a share and also considering the amount of obc and dividends we have received.