Military and shareholders OBC no longer combinable soon.

[nasa1974]

6 hours ago, rosevew said:

How odd the benefits statement says 'The benefit is applicable on sailings through July 31, 2024' so those processing it in the USA seem to be ignoring that little fact.

 

I've gotten SOBC for two of the three cruises in 2024. Will have to try again for the third one Monday.

I don't use the form I just send an email to sbpcl@princesscruises.com with my booking number, my Captains Circle number and a copy of the statement from my financial advisor that shows I own at least 100 shares of CCL stock.

[Astro Flyer]

I always use their form & quickly get the SOBC issued and that section said the form was created because they receive too many incomplete requests which creates additional work for them & slows down the process. While the form is not required for complete requests, it’s a way for people who are less experienced to submit complete requests to not slow down the issuing process.

 

[whitecap]

Quick update:  Spoke to my contact at Princess yesterday who had a conversation with the individual who authored the memos that we have all seen.  She confirmed for my contact that Shareholder OBC can only be given to one person in the cabin, Military OBC can be given to each person in a cabin that has applied.  One person can not have both Military and Shareholder.

At my request another conversation with the author took place this morning asking, "will bookings prior to June 29th and departing after September 12th, be grandfathered?"  The answer is they are currently attempting to develop a program that will grandfather those voyages, however, should your OBC drop from your account, contact should be made with Customer Service and the OBC will be reinstated.  Hope this comes to fruition.  😀

[Astro Flyer]

36 minutes ago, whitecap said:

At my request another conversation with the author took place this morning asking, "will bookings prior to June 29th and departing after September 12th, be grandfathered?"  The answer is they are currently attempting to develop a program that will grandfather those voyages, however, should your OBC drop from your account, contact should be made with Customer Service and the OBC will be reinstated.  Hope this comes to fruition.  😀

Thanks for the info…hopefully onboard staff will be educated about the correct procedure.

 

My concern would be if previous SOBC is grandfathered allowing one person to have SOBC & MOBC in their name that onboard staff might go with the new policy…one person cannot have both of them. I’ll wait for reports after 9/12 to learn how it’s working & maybe months later will have our future bookings changed to my wife being the first name listed & to reapply in her name. I’m hesitant to board a cruise & having a misinformed staff member incorrectly understand their policy.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

50 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks for the info…hopefully onboard staff will be educated about the correct procedure.

 

My concern would be if previous SOBC is grandfathered allowing one person to have SOBC & MOBC in their name that onboard staff might go with the new policy…one person cannot have both of them. I’ll wait for reports after 9/12 to learn how it’s working & maybe months later will have our future bookings changed to my wife being the first name listed & to reapply in her name. I’m hesitant to board a cruise & having a misinformed staff member incorrectly understand their policy.

 

In our case using the Personalizer, we’re going to keep an eye on all of the OBC listed under Payments for each of our booked cruises after Sep 12. If the SOBC magically disappears anytime after that date, we’ll just resubmit it again and reference when we originally booked the cruise. No need to wait until we get onboard to stress over it then.

[MissP22]

I applied for shareholder OBC on Saturday 6-24-23 for 2 cruises at the end of this year and received it for both of them today. 😀

 

We're listed as joint owners of our 100 shares of stock, so as of right now it doesn't appear to have need to put the stock in my name only.

 

My DH had previously received his military OBC for each trip also. 

[kb4683]

25 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I applied for shareholder OBC on Saturday 6-24-23 for 2 cruises at the end of this year and received it for both of them today. 😀

 

We're listed as joint owners of our 100 shares of stock, so as of right now it doesn't appear to have need to put the stock in my name only.

 

My DH had previously received his military OBC for each trip also. 

WOW, that was fast.  We applied on 6/16 and again on 6/23 and haven't received it yet!  Both were via email.  (Cruise is April, 2024)

Edited June 26, 2023 by kb4683

[Astro Flyer]

50 minutes ago, kb4683 said:

WOW, that was fast.  We applied on 6/16 and again on 6/23 and haven't received it yet!  Both were via email.  (Cruise is April, 2024)

On Thursday 6/22 we emailed the SOBC request form in my wife’s name at 3:30 and at 6:30 my TA forwarded our new booking confirmation showing that SOBC was issued to her for our Spring 2025 cruise in addition to my previously issued MOBC.

 

[nasa1974]

So Wednesday last week I requested SOBC via email for two cruises (b2b) on the Sun for October 2024. By Thursday the first cruise was approved but not the second. This morning the second cruise didn't show SOBC so I sent another email this morning for the second cruise. I now show SOBC for that cruise. I also get MOBC so we will see what happens after the 29th. Just seems like it is a roll of the dice on how quickly it gets approved.

[dreams_of_travel]

As previously posted in this thread, I submitted SOBC requests for three 2024 cruises.  Military OBC is automatic as most in this thread know.  Two SOBC posted almost immediately, but one, that is part of a back to back, and a travel agent booked cruise did not post.  I was going to resubmit the request for the missing SOBC but had procrastinated, as one does, LOL!  Before resubmitting I decided I should check the missing SOBC cruise.  Voila!  It has posted. Yay! 

 

To recap, all three of my 2024 cruises now have both MOBC and SOBC posted.  Now I (and everyone is this thread) wait to see how things shake out on/after 29 June.  *fingers crossed* that both stick.  

[Mike & Zen]

I emailed three shareholder benefit request forms in one email for cruises in Apr & May 2024, along with proof of ownership, in my name only, late Sun, 25 June.  I receive the automatic military OBC.

 

This morning, 26 June, only the first request for SOBC had been posted in my Princess account.  I decided to email the last two requests again but this time in two separate emails.  Within 20 minutes, both SOBC had been posted.

 

We now have a total of eight cruises with SOBC & MOBC in my name only sailing past 12 Sep 2023.

On or after 29 June 2023.....?? 

 

[benzimer]

I have been frustrated for a while over getting my SOBC.  We have 5 cruises booked between Sep 2023 and Mar 2024.  We both get MOBC.  I have repeatedly sent Princess the information about SOBC via email and fax.  I have called and chatted twice each.  All I have been told is it is "in process".  I repeatedly asked what the process is, what is the average time the process takes, and why can't anyone answer that.  

 

I have not received any letter in email or snail mail about this change.  I am not happy with this change that appears to be for my cruises that I have already made all the final payments and/or booked in 2022.  Hopefully, they will grandfather cruises already made and paid.  It doesn't appear that way from the lack of response I have received from Princess Customer Service.  

 

I don't appreciate being lied to.  If it was on hold due to a potential change of policy, then be honest.  If I don't hear something pretty soon, perhaps an email to the CEO will be in order.  This is no way to treat your shareholder.

[Guest ldtr]

26 minutes ago, benzimer said:

I have been frustrated for a while over getting my SOBC.  We have 5 cruises booked between Sep 2023 and Mar 2024.  We both get MOBC.  I have repeatedly sent Princess the information about SOBC via email and fax.  I have called and chatted twice each.  All I have been told is it is "in process".  I repeatedly asked what the process is, what is the average time the process takes, and why can't anyone answer that.  

 

I have not received any letter in email or snail mail about this change.  I am not happy with this change that appears to be for my cruises that I have already made all the final payments and/or booked in 2022.  Hopefully, they will grandfather cruises already made and paid.  It doesn't appear that way from the lack of response I have received from Princess Customer Service.  

 

I don't appreciate being lied to.  If it was on hold due to a potential change of policy, then be honest.  If I don't hear something pretty soon, perhaps an email to the CEO will be in order.  This is no way to treat your shareholder.

Have you checked each of your cruises?  I have found credit to be applied within a couple of days during this last 6 months, provided all of the correct  information is provided.  In most cases for US applications  you never get a response it just shows up in the booking information in the payments area. I think I got one confirmation out of 8 approvals, but they all have shown up.

 

The reason why it applies to cruises at least 3 months after the effective date is that it is before the final payment due date.  As such anyone really upset enough to cancel does have the opportunity to get refunded.

 

So far the indications are that it should be grandfathered, but no way to know for sure.

Edited June 26, 2023 by ldtr

[trbarton]

On 6/25/2023 at 10:02 AM, whitecap said:

Quick update:  Spoke to my contact at Princess yesterday who had a conversation with the individual who authored the memos that we have all seen.  She confirmed for my contact that Shareholder OBC can only be given to one person in the cabin, Military OBC can be given to each person in a cabin that has applied.  One person can not have both Military and Shareholder.

At my request another conversation with the author took place this morning asking, "will bookings prior to June 29th and departing after September 12th, be grandfathered?"  The answer is they are currently attempting to develop a program that will grandfather those voyages, however, should your OBC drop from your account, contact should be made with Customer Service and the OBC will be reinstated.  Hope this comes to fruition.  😀

So that I understand this correctly cruise’s booked btw June 30th & September 11 can’t get both credit & they are working on the credit issues before & after those dates. 
 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, trbarton said:

So that I understand this correctly cruise’s booked btw June 30th & September 11 can’t get both credit & they are working on the credit issues before & after those dates. 
 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

 

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, trbarton said:

So that I understand this correctly cruise’s booked btw June 30th & September 11 can’t get both credit & they are working on the credit issues before & after those dates. 
 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

My understanding is that if you book after Jun 30, and the cruise is before September 11 you should be able to get credit for both.  If you book after June 30 and the cruise is after September 11 then you would not.

[nasa1974]

So, to sum up all 351 posts and we really don't know what is going to happen after June 29th. Per cabin, if one person can get MOBC and CCL stock is in the name of the other cabin mate then you will get both MOBC and SOBC. If both of you in the cabin get MOBC then SOBC is not allowed if eligible. For solo cruisers eligible for both MOBC and SOBC you only get one. Not sure what happens if the 3rd or 4th person in the cabin is eligible for one or the other.

Since I now travel solo, I will have to talk to my financial advisor, if I can't get the SOBC, is it worth keeping the CCL stock since I automatically get MOBC.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, nasa1974 said:

So, to sum up all 351 posts and we really don't know what is going to happen after June 29th. Per cabin, if one person can get MOBC and CCL stock is in the name of the other cabin mate then you will get both MOBC and SOBC. If both of you in the cabin get MOBC then SOBC is not allowed if eligible. For solo cruisers eligible for both MOBC and SOBC you only get one. Not sure what happens if the 3rd or 4th person in the cabin is eligible for one or the other.

Since I now travel solo, I will have to talk to my financial advisor, if I can't get the SOBC, is it worth keeping the CCL stock since I automatically get MOBC.

Do you travel on other CCL lines.  If you do they also have the shareholder benefit.

[whitecap]

10 hours ago, trbarton said:

So that I understand this correctly cruise’s booked btw June 30th & September 11 can’t get both credit & they are working on the credit issues before & after those dates. 
 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

Tom, my understanding is this:  On June 29th the Shareholder and Military OBC benefits will change beginning with all voyages that depart after September 12th.  The new policy is one person in a cabin can be given the Military or Shareholder OBC but not both; if there are is a second person in the same cabin who is military, they can also get the Military OBC.  If there are two people in the cabin and one is military and the other a shareholder, one gets the Military OBC and the other the Shareholder OBC.  Information that has been provided to me is that they are working on a way to prevent the Shareholder OBC from disappearing from bookings made prior to June 29th but should that happen, contact Customer Service and it will be restored.  Hope that helps.

[nasa1974]

10 hours ago, ldtr said:

Do you travel on other CCL lines.  If you do they also have the shareholder benefit.

Out of my 17 cruises only 5 have been on other cruise lines. All the rest on Princess

2009 NCL (around Hawaii, 30th wedding anniversary) (sail again, probably not)

2010 HAL (Sail again if some friends said "Hey" let's try this cruise)

2011 CCL (NOPE)

2013 HAL

2023 RCL

Pretty soon I'll be elite on Princess, although that might not mean much going forward. I have 5 more cruises booked with Princess and two more booked with RCL. Meet some really nice people on the cruise this March on The Oasis of the Seas and the group will be on the 2 cruises booked with RCL. So most likely will stay with Princess and RCL. If they eliminate the SOBC (since I'm solo) I see no reason to keep the stock. If it had dividends maybe.

[Tigrou]

Is it just me who finds it odd that the only written instruction that has so far been seen for this fairly major change in policy is a memo from a woman with no job title or even department indication?

Who actually made the decision? 

 

Particularly with regard to it affecting shareholders, I would have expected it to have been discussed and agreed by a committee or board, and therefore minuted and disseminated. 

 

I have read that all shareholders and those registered for military benefits have been notified but I am both and have received nothing, and haven't yet seen anyone post that they have.  If we were going to be notified, it should have been before implementation.

 

It would have made more sense, to me at least, for it to have been part of the review of shareholder benefits earlier in the year and to have been included in the updated benefit information sheet.

 

 

[benzimer]

We booked our 5 upcoming cruises in 2022 and have yet to see our SOBC.  We are both military and the MOBC is there.  I chatted again today and no reason given for not giving us the SOBC.  So, I sent an email to both Jan Swarz and John Padgett this morning.  Stating my displeasure with Princess changing a policy without grandfathering their current shareholders and how incentivizing us to sell our stock is helpful to the company.  Maybe if more of us do that it will help.

[benzimer]

Just now, benzimer said:

We booked our 5 upcoming cruises in 2022 and have yet to see our SOBC.  We are both military and the MOBC is there.  I chatted again today and no reason given for not giving us the SOBC.  So, I sent an email to both Jan Swarz and John Padgett this morning.  Stating my displeasure with Princess changing a policy without grandfathering their current shareholders and how incentivizing us to sell our stock is helpful to the company.  Maybe if more of us do that it will help.

Jswartz@princesscruises.com

Jpadgette@princesscruises.com

[benzimer]

48 minutes ago, Tigrou said:

Is it just me who finds it odd that the only written instruction that has so far been seen for this fairly major change in policy is a memo from a woman with no job title or even department indication?

Who actually made the decision? 

 

Particularly with regard to it affecting shareholders, I would have expected it to have been discussed and agreed by a committee or board, and therefore minuted and disseminated. 

 

I have read that all shareholders and those registered for military benefits have been notified but I am both and have received nothing, and haven't yet seen anyone post that they have.  If we were going to be notified, it should have been before implementation.

 

It would have made more sense, to me at least, for it to have been part of the review of shareholder benefits earlier in the year and to have been included in the updated benefit information sheet.

 

 

We are both too and haven't seen sent to us.  The only thing that makes me believe it is real is Princess customer service inability to give me an answer for not giving me the SOBC.  The MOBC has been there for over a year on all 5 cruises we booked.  We have never had any problem prior to this for getting the SOBC with a day of sending the information.  

 

I wrote both CEO & President expressing my displeasure with not being able to get a satisfactory answer from customer service and if rumors are true why Princess is not grandfathering its currnet shareholders and incentiving us to sell our stock.

 

[benzimer]

2 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

Out of my 17 cruises only 5 have been on other cruise lines. All the rest on Princess

2009 NCL (around Hawaii, 30th wedding anniversary) (sail again, probably not)

2010 HAL (Sail again if some friends said "Hey" let's try this cruise)

2011 CCL (NOPE)

2013 HAL

2023 RCL

Pretty soon I'll be elite on Princess, although that might not mean much going forward. I have 5 more cruises booked with Princess and two more booked with RCL. Meet some really nice people on the cruise this March on The Oasis of the Seas and the group will be on the 2 cruises booked with RCL. So most likely will stay with Princess and RCL. If they eliminate the SOBC (since I'm solo) I see no reason to keep the stock. If it had dividends maybe.

You should still get it if you aren't getting the military OBC.  It appears you can't get both.  However, I haven't seen anything from Princess.  I just haven't been able to get a straight answer from customer service as to why they haven't applied my shareholders OBC to our 5 cruises - one is leaving is 70 some days and 3 are fully paid for.