FCD benefits reduced?

[CruisingAndDiving]

On 1/18/2020 at 7:49 AM, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Thanks for the additional info!  I guess they're trying to encourage booking onboard over buying FCDs.  I really dislike waiting for the FCC to be available, wasting my valuable vacation time.  If they consistently book appointments, I wouldn't mind so much but the same FCC who doesn't make mistakes wouldn't take appointments at all so one had to wait for them to be free.

We have a couple of FCD's booked under the old system, and like everyone else, are hoping they are honored as intended under contract.

 

I agree they need a better system in place (appointment system) for doing all of this onboard.  

 

Oh, and as others have said, I got hard copies of ours delivered to the stateroom while still onboard.

[OVgirl]

55 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Thats funny, as my PCC has been encouraging me (in Dec) to book while onboard and she could work it later on.  Typical HAL - different stories and rules.

Hopefully we can get the right info regarding this. Booking onboard and getting the extra OBC sounds like a winner to me.

[OVgirl]

Oops, double post. Sorry.

Edited January 19, 2020 by OVgirl

[Molson99]

We ALWAYS bought FCD because it was a good deal, and made SURE to book on board!! this certainly will cut down on our business, and give us time to check out other lines and options. bummer. One of the perks that kept us coming back to HAL every year!!

[DaveOKC]

24 minutes ago, Molson99 said:

We ALWAYS bought FCD because it was a good deal, and made SURE to book on board!! this certainly will cut down on our business, and give us time to check out other lines and options. bummer. One of the perks that kept us coming back to HAL every year!!

Same here - not a smart move on HAL's part, IMO.  It will hurt our business with them.  I sure liked them, first for the OBC but also for the flexibility of cancelling and rebooking.

 

[kazu]

32 minutes ago, Molson99 said:

We ALWAYS bought FCD because it was a good deal, and made SURE to book on board!! this certainly will cut down on our business, and give us time to check out other lines and options. bummer. One of the perks that kept us coming back to HAL every year!!

 

If HAL is going to insist you book on board to get decent OBC the question becomes...what guarantees are there if the FCC screws up?

And what happens if you want to change the cruise?

I ask the first question because a friend of mine (who is a very knowledgeable cruiser) booked on board and yes, she asked all the right questions.  When she got her confirmation, it was a NON-REFUNDABLE fare which she said she didn’t want.

It did get fixed but it took some time.  I’ve seen some excellent FCC’s but back in the days when there was an Atrium bar on the Vista ships, the FCC was right beside so you could easily hear what was going on (another thing I don’t like).  And I heard a LOT of misinformation from two different FCC’s.  

 

[Molson99]

we were able to change the cruise when a better sale came up, no problem. or you can cancel, and your FCD was on record to use another time.

[Alberta Quilter]

43 minutes ago, Molson99 said:

we were able to change the cruise when a better sale came up, no problem. or you can cancel, and your FCD was on record to use another time.

 

You're right but the change in FCD benefits may change how some of us book our cruises.  So the question becomes: if you book a cruise onboard, and later change your mind and want to cancel it and book another one, would you get the same OBC that you would have gotten if you booked cruise #2 onboard.  I suspect the answer is no.  Would you even get the paltry FCD OBC?  I don't know.

[kazu]

20 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

You're right but the change in FCD benefits may change how some of us book our cruises.  So the question becomes: if you book a cruise onboard, and later change your mind and want to cancel it and book another one, would you get the same OBC that you would have gotten if you booked cruise #2 onboard.  I suspect the answer is no.  Would you even get the paltry FCD OBC?  I don't know.

 

That’s my question too.  I will ask and request it in writing 😉 

I suspect you would get the paltry OBC but frankly, if that’s the way HAL is going it doesn’t thrill me.  We book later - after talking to friends and looking at itineraries closely.  I have better things to.do no board than do that.

 

I won’t do anything until I see it on board, but I assure you I will send an email to HAL if this is how it goes.  I’m hardly going to give them $ up front if all I get is $50.  Not worth it.

If Orlando or whomever thinks this is going to help their brand, they are sorely mistaken.  JMO.

[zelker]

On 1/17/2020 at 8:06 PM, SilvertoGold said:

Some thoughts:

 

So, ZPM is likely gone, too?

 

As for OBC, HAL has been offering some with proms lately.  Hmm.  

 

I noticed a big box Canadian company that used to give OBC on a sliding scale in respect to how much you spent on the cruise.  Now, I notice that the credit amount (as a gift card) is for spending in their stores, not on HAL.  

This new formula for the FCC "punishes" pax for booking higher categories.  Everyone is now equal.  How good is that? 🙂

 

Same thing with the same big box store here in the US.  We have used them since 2004 but with this new policy, I told one of their supervisors that I have communicated with about other things that not only would we be taking our business elsewhere, but we would also stop paying extra for the Executive membership.  I think it stinks that they are now forcing customers to only spend the so-called perks in-store or online rather than being able to get cash back from the old gift card they issued or issuing refundable OBC, depending on which cruise line it was.  

[zelker]

double post

Edited January 20, 2020 by zelker

[mcrcruiser]

We own 4 FCCs under the old contract amount of OBC  .If they decided to reduce these we will use these & buy no more . We also will never have nom refundable deposits 

Edited January 20, 2020 by mcrcruiser

[wyobean]

26 minutes ago, zelker said:

  I think it stinks that they are now forcing customers to only spend the so-called perks in-store or online rather than being able to get cash back from the old gift card they issued or issuing refundable OBC, depending on which cruise line it was.  

I am confused about this. If you have a membership you obviously spend money at their store or with them online. The amount of “money/OBC” you are given is the same whether you spend it on the ship or at/through the store. I just don’t get the big deal....oh, and I live 5 hours from the nearest one but, I order online so I am looking for other reasons why it is such a problem.

[bennybear]

10 minutes ago, wyobean said:

I am confused about this. If you have a membership you obviously spend money at their store or with them online. The amount of “money/OBC” you are given is the same whether you spend it on the ship or at/through the store. I just don’t get the big deal....oh, and I live 5 hours from the nearest one but, I order online so I am looking for other reasons why it is such a problem.

Is it the Same though?   Being from Canada we appreciated the OBC in US currency.  Now the gift card will likely be in Canadian funds.   

[zelker]

13 minutes ago, wyobean said:

I am confused about this. If you have a membership you obviously spend money at their store or with them online. The amount of “money/OBC” you are given is the same whether you spend it on the ship or at/through the store. I just don’t get the big deal....oh, and I live 5 hours from the nearest one but, I order online so I am looking for other reasons why it is such a problem.

 

We live 5 minutes from one but when we have $1-2K in refundable OBC from one cruise, we liked getting that back in the form of a check or credit to our credit card.  There are just two of us, we're retired, and to spend that much in the store or online would easily take us 2 years.  Don't like feeling beholding to where I do business.

[wyobean]

We are retired also. But, if we lived 5 minutes from one we could easily spend that much on gas. We would never have that much in OBC. We sail in inside cabins so $400-$500 from them even on our long cruises is about tops. I get the Canadian’s reasoning. Totally enjoyed the savings when we took our trip up there last year...sorry!

[canadianbear]

What would HAL do if they were inundated with everyone wanting their certificates credited back?  Would that be enough to keep them the way they were?  

[Alberta Quilter]

1 hour ago, canadianbear said:

What would HAL do if they were inundated with everyone wanting their certificates credited back?  Would that be enough to keep them the way they were?  

 

I doubt it.  And I also believe that FCDs purchased prior to the change would be honoured, not that anyone has stated so, though.  HAL would have a revolt, as you suggest, if they did not grandfather the pre-change FCDs.  Until we hear otherwise, I think it's in our best interest to keep our FCDs and use them wisely.

[Alphen]

9 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

You're right but the change in FCD benefits may change how some of us book our cruises.  So the question becomes: if you book a cruise onboard, and later change your mind and want to cancel it and book another one, would you get the same OBC that you would have gotten if you booked cruise #2 onboard.  I suspect the answer is no.  Would you even get the paltry FCD OBC?  I don't know.

In the old system, we booked a cruise on board and later switched this cruise to another one, so in fact cancelled one and  transfered FCC/FCD to the new cruise; in all documentation, the newly booked cruise appeared as "booked on board". The same benefits we had on the cancelled cruise, also applied to the newly booked one.

[Alberta Quilter]

4 hours ago, Alphen said:

In the old system, we booked a cruise on board and later switched this cruise to another one, so in fact cancelled one and  transfered FCC/FCD to the new cruise; in all documentation, the newly booked cruise appeared as "booked on board". The same benefits we had on the cancelled cruise, also applied to the newly booked one.

 

Thanks for letting us know that.  Hopefully, that will stay the same after these recent changes.

[DaveOKC]

5 hours ago, Alphen said:

In the old system, we booked a cruise on board and later switched this cruise to another one, so in fact cancelled one and  transfered FCC/FCD to the new cruise; in all documentation, the newly booked cruise appeared as "booked on board". The same benefits we had on the cancelled cruise, also applied to the newly booked one.

Glad to hear this.  Thinking we may have to book onboard in the future - not good IMO.

[MAVIP]

5 hours ago, Alphen said:

In the old system, we booked a cruise on board and later switched this cruise to another one, so in fact cancelled one and  transfered FCC/FCD to the new cruise; in all documentation, the newly booked cruise appeared as "booked on board". The same benefits we had on the cancelled cruise, also applied to the newly booked one.

In the conditions of the last FCD we bought in October: "If the booking made on board is cancelled outside the cancellation period, you will retain the FCD for use on another cruise, but will lose the additional Onboard Spending Credit (promo VPM) applied to the original booking for booking while on board............The cancellation policy outlined above also applied to Euro and British pound sterling bookings made and deposited with a FCD on board one of our ships as long as the cruise is cancelled at least 120 days or 90 days prior to departure based on the itinerary or your final payment date, whichever comes first."  and followed by the text about cancellation of bookings not made on board and paid with a FCD. Those can be used for another cruise with a length of at least 50% of the original booking. (I needed a magnifying glass 🙂 ). 

 

And....the ZPM code in USA/Canada is a Welcome back present with another code in our country. "Is" and I hope not "was".  And if I understood the answers well, when making our last booking in December, we can cancel once without losing the OBC (my conclusion was and is:  but lose the VPM and that is correct in my eyes.)

[Woofbite]

17 hours ago, zelker said:

Am I misunderstanding something?  My credit card info still shows: 

 

Your reward is distributed annually once your February billing statement closes. Your reward is distributed in the form of a credit card reward certificate, unless your annual reward amount is greater than $10,000, in which case Citi and C*****  reserve the right to distribute your reward in an alternative form (e.g., a check or electronic transfer), at Citi and/or ******’s discretion. Credit card reward certificates are redeemable through December 31 of the year issued in a single transaction at any U.S. ****** warehouse, including in Puerto Rico, for merchandise or cash back.

 

 

17 hours ago, zelker said:

 I think it stinks that they are now forcing customers to only spend the so-called perks in-store or online rather than being able to get cash back from the old gift card they issued or issuing refundable OBC, depending on which cruise line it was.  

 

[zelker]

sorry Woofbite but I don't know what this specifically pertains to ... is that because you use one of their credit cards or because you have an Executive membership that gets you the 2% rebate?  we don't have one of their credit cards so can't answer anything about how that works. if you have questions, would suggest you call them to get clarification.  we're talking specifically about the perks they gave vs the new policy that took effect at the first of the year.

[sail7seas]

23 hours ago, zelker said:

 

Same thing with the same big box store here in the US.  We have used them since 2004 but with this new policy, I told one of their supervisors that I have communicated with about other things that not only would we be taking our business elsewhere, but we would also stop paying extra for the Executive membership.  I think it stinks that they are now forcing customers to only spend the so-called perks in-store or online rather than being able to get cash back from the old gift card they issued or issuing refundable OBC, depending on which cruise line it was.  

Did I  misunderstand you to be saying  HAL gift cards can only bve used in shops on board the ships  (stores) but not for  alternative  restuarants or toward   the fare for our cruises?  That is ridiculous and I so hope  I am wrong  Who would buy any if that is the case?  dumb and dumber.