Anyone able to use more than 2 future credits at a time?

[Sandy R]

We're going to be taking our adult children on a cruise in 2008. Since we're paying for all 3 cabins (1 for ourselves, 2 for our kids) will Princess be okay with us using future credits as deposits to cover 7 people? Anyone ever done that? We would be buying the future credits on our next cruise but won't bother if we can't use them for everyone. Thanks for any input.

 

Sandy

[DonahCBrown]

We're going to be taking our adult children on a cruise in 2008. Since we're paying for all 3 cabins (1 for ourselves, 2 for our kids) will Princess be okay with us using future credits as deposits to cover 7 people? Anyone ever done that? We would be buying the future credits on our next cruise but won't bother if we can't use them for everyone. Thanks for any input.

 

Sandy

 

Your TA or your future cruise consultant should be able to answer for certain, but when we were on our last cruise and put in our deposits, we received a "special invitation" for friends/family to extend the future cruise benefit to them and the restrictions on the offer (sail on same date as past passengers, only the first two passengers in the cabin, etc.) look okay for your situation. Given that, it should be fine, either directly, or through the invitation. You should also check the Princess Capt's Circle section on the website and see if you'd be eligible for referral credits if you structure the purchase one way or the other. ;)

[canadiansnowbird]

Since we are new to Princess. Please explain the credits? Do you get them after a cruise, or on board to apply to future cruises that haven't been booked? Are they points like RCI? Or $$$?

 

Thank you

 

Snowbird

[CruiseNut7]

Here was my experience using my FCCs when booking my next Princess sailing:

 

On our last Princess sailing my SO and I each bought two = total of 4 FCCs. Several weeks after our return I booked our next sailing and two mini-suites on the CB, one for us and one for my son and DIL. We had to use all four future credits AND had to split up our names on the bookings -my son and I listed in one cabin and my SO with my DIL in the other.

 

I've heard that some people have only had to use one per cabin, but that has not been the case with the two times we've used Future Cruise Credits.

 

The family and friends program allows the lower deposit, but they do not receive the shipboard credit from what I understand.

 

I will continue to purchase them as it's great to have the shipboard credit - they really are a no-brainer, however, I didn't like the idea that we have to use 4 to book 4 people into two cabins! :(

[Bucky3]

Interesting topic! Now I'm confused. If you book onboard, do you need to make a $100 PER PERSON deposit or is it $100 PER CABIN for 2 people?

[canadiansnowbird]

In other words these "credits" are only smaller deposits for cruises you may or may not take in the future? Correct? Are they refundable?

 

On another thread "Confused Canadian" this lady has some problems with Princess and stated that she has some credits to use by a certain date or lose them. Lose her deposit money?

 

Snowbird

[raydon]

The FCCs are used for deposit on a future booked cruise. The onboard credit is received when you sail. The initial payment is refundable if you do not use it. We received the family and friends coupons when we purchased 4 credits in April. We have booked the Syd-LA cruise in 2008 and was able to use the cruise credit as a deposit and we extended the offer to 2 other couples, who also received the lower deposit and shipboard credit. It did take a couple of calls to Princess to get it done. I guess not every family and friends coupon is the same. This is a huge benefit when booking the longer cruise as the deposit would have been 900.00 pp without the credits. That is a lot of $ to tie up for just under 2 years!

[canadiansnowbird]

Further to this FCC thread; I see that Canadians (or other non-Americans) that have their departure from non U.S. airports cannot use their U.S. $FCC on their cruises. This is the problem that the lady memtioned in my previous post.

 

Snowbird

[canadiansnowbird]

Raydon:

 

We booked our Sydney to LA cruise with our Canadian TA in August and paid $100.00 each (Canadian) deposit and received $100.00 each Shipboard credit. Cannot the shipboard credit be used for on board expenses? (drinks, trips etc)

 

Snowbird

[DrivesLikeMario]

Yes, it can be used for tips, shore excursions, spa treatments, salon, drinks, etc.

[Toto2Kansas]

We have always been given a choice. Use one FCC and then put up the other $100 on our credit card to receive the same benefits, or use two FCC's for our booking in one cabin. I do know that 'share the wealth coupons' would be better used for booking more than one cabin. That way they would get the lower deposit and the shipboard credit. I honestly have never heard of being able to use your FCC for another couple (or more) unless one of you is booked in that cabin with them.

[drpack]

Just purchased ours last month and here is the current info.

 

-Low deposit of $100 per person is all that is required to book a cruise.

-Fully refundable if cancelled before final payment is due.

-You can book through your TA or Princess directly.

-This offer can be combined with Captain's Circle or regional rates.

The FCC is valid for four years.

 

Shipboard credit is from $25 - $150 per person. Shipboard credit is for first two passengers in stateroom only.

 

7-9 days $25 PP Inside/$50 PP Outside

10-15 days $75PP Inside/$100 PP Outside

16+ days $ 125 PP Inside/$150 PP Outside

 

The offer for friends/family says that Princess will give them the same great bonus offer on the cruise that we received. They will receive the same onboard credit. It doesn't however mention if the deposit is the same. They must be on the same cruise that you use your FCC on. It is only valid for two years and for only two staterooms per FCC stateroom reserved.

[cruzzers]

DRPACK...Your information is correct. We booked a future cruise last Feb while onboard the Sea Princess. We later booked a cruise on the 10 day Coral to Panama and have since passed on our invitation coupons to 2 other couples that will be cruising with us. They got the same perks we get: $100 PP deposit and $100 PP Onboard credit for a balcony room. The stipulation was that they had to be on the same cruise with us. One of the couples were new to Princess, so I invited them to sign up for the Captain's Circle online. We all got $25 PP off our cruise booking. Our TA took care of all this for us.

[drpack]

We used or FCCs for a cruise on the new Emerald Princess in Oct 07. I wanted one of the aft covered mini-suites on the Emerald Deck so I called Princess and placed the cabin on hold. I then got a much better price from my TA. He called Princess and took over the booking. Worked out great and with the TA's onboard credit we got a total of $300 onboard credit. The cruise is 10 days so the deposit would have been $900 if we hadn't had the FCCs. I think I will buy several FCCs on my next cruise.

 

I was wondering if I found someone who used an FCC on a trip that I wanted to go on, could I use the friends/family offer I have. If so, someone could even start a thread where people could let others know they were using an FCC on a cruise.

[Pam in CA]

Interesting topic! Now I'm confused. If you book onboard, do you need to make a $100 PER PERSON deposit or is it $100 PER CABIN for 2 people?

You pay $100 per person and the deposit is good for that person who has to be sailing on the ship when you make the deposit. You cannot purchase 4 future cruise credits for yourself, for instance and try to apply them to other people. They are good ONLY for the passenger actually sailing on the ship when they are booked.

 

However, you can get around this (sort of) by booking a cruise credit for yourself and one for someone else cruising with you. Then, when you book your cruise, you can use one credit for yourself, book someone else in the cabin and they also pay only $100 at the time of booking, and the other person does the same thing for the other cabin and credit. Once onboard, you can switch cabins.

 

Clear as mud? Let's say you're a couple and you and your DW/DH are cruising on the X Princess. You each buy a Future Cruise Credit for $100 (which is charged directly to your charge card and not to your onboard account.) Then, you want to cruise with your 2 kids. You book one cabin with your FCC and one child in your cabin for $100 deposit; and your DW/DH uses their FCC to book a 2nd cabin and pays $100 deposit for child #2. Once you get onboard, you can switch cabins but for the sake of the bookings, you need to stay this way until boarding.

 

FYI... I'm not sure if Princess is still doing the Friends & Family credits.

[Bucky3]

THANK YOU! You made it crystal clear! But now I'm wondering how this works for friends & family or if they still have that. I suppose someone at Captain's Circle might know?

[Sandy R]

Thanks for all the valuable information.

 

We just returned a few weeks ago from the Sapphire Princess 28 day Asia cruise. (It was a dream cruise!!!) We purchased an FFC for myself and my DH. Just opened the envelope and it does include a "Special Invitation for Friends"... with shipboard credit corresponding to the cruise length.

 

I'm assuming the invitation includes family, too, and that we can pay for all 3 cabins... right?

 

Sandy

[Toto2Kansas]

THANK YOU! You made it crystal clear! But now I'm wondering how this works for friends & family or if they still have that. I suppose someone at Captain's Circle might know?

 

When we have booked our FCC's onboard, they always include an invite for 'friends and family' to join us on our next sailing that we use the FCC for. Remember, these are only good if someone joins you on the cruise YOU book with them, they are not good for other sailings. They are afforded the same as your booking, lowered deposit and shipboard credit.

[Lynda90]

I just pulled out the coupon info that I received in September. It states "...you'll receive a special onboard credit of up to $150 per person based on the length of your voyage and stateroom selection." But, nowhere on the letter does it mention the lower deposit. Last year the coupon stated the opposite. It allowed the lower deposit, but did not award the onboard credit. So, does anyone's newer coupon mention that both lower deposit and cabin credit are awarded? I'm talking about coupons issued in the last couple of months. Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

[Lynda90]

oops, sorry.

[japester]

We just went through this as well. The coupon wording has definitely changed. We used our Future Cruise Credits last month to book ourselves on the Grand in January, and we used the coupons to book our in-laws. The coupon only guarantees the onboard credit. The reduced deposit is not expressed or implied anywhere on there. It does say that your guests will get the "same great bonus offer" you got, but the reduced deposit and onboard credit are offers. They do not necessarily go together.

 

Having said that, our TA surprised us with a deal ($100 deposit for anybody, plus extra OBC--double the pleasure, double the fun! LOL), so we didn't have to ask Princess directly if they would allow the reduced deposit for our guests. I don't doubt that other posters on here have gotten the deposit and OBC credit using the coupons, but I propose that they changed the wording for a reason. It legally allows them, at any future time, to say, "That's not the deal. Please read the paperwork."

 

;)

 

Jape

[drpack]

I got a small information sheet with my FCC letter that says "Low deposits of $100 USD per person is all that is required to book your next cruise".

 

The letter says:

 

"This letter confirms we have received payment for deposit in the amount of 100.00 USD towards a future cruise with Princess.....

 

When your have decided on your next cruise, please contact your travel agent to arrange your booking. Your travel agent will assist you with final payment....."

 

It kind of implies that your deposit is already covered. Otherwise it would say something about arranging your deposit and final payment.

[calikak]

I thought that they had recently done away with the lower deposit as part of the share the wealth coupon, because of all the problems people were having booking. My understanding (and this could be totally wrong) was that under the old share the wealth system, your friend made a booking and put down the lower deposit and then you had to mail in the share-the-wealth coupon thingy that came with your FCC confirmation letter. If Princess didn't get the coupon within a certain amount of days (I want to say it was 3 days but I'm not sure) then they cancelled the friends' booking. And since Princess is a big company and the mail service within the company wasn't always the best, sometimes the coupons got lost, or they just didn't get there in time, and then the friends' booking would be cancelled because they hadn't made a full deposit (just the $100, not the normal full deposit amount) and it would be a big headache getting it back again, especially if their cabin had been resold or there were other issues like that. So, I thought I remembered reading that Princess had gotten rid of the low deposit thing, so it took care of the problem of bookings being cancelled for lack of a full deposit. But maybe I'm totally wrong about that? We did our last future cruise credit in May and I honstly don't remember what the letter said about bringing a friend along.

[Toto2Kansas]

Calikak, Not sure where you read that but that has not been the case with our friends and family coupons.

[calikak]

Thanks, Toto--I'm not sure where I read that, I thought somewhere around here but I guess not! :o