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

[Coral]

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.

 

That is my understanding also. They no longer get the lower deposit - they must now pay the full deposit but they get the shipboard credit.

 

You can get around this by having your friends book when your agent is running a $100 deposit special.

[calikak]

That is my understanding also. They no longer get the lower deposit - they must now pay the full deposit but they get the shipboard credit.

 

You can get around this by having your friends book when your agent is running a $100 deposit special.

 

Oh good, so I'm not going crazy! I knew I'd heard that someplace, I'm glad I'm not making it up in my head! :)

[japester]

Calikak,

No, you're not crazy. :)

I hadn't heard that specific resoning, but it sure makes sense. How many people on CC have complained about having problems with the coupons being sent in on time? I've read lots of posts about it in the past.

 

drpack,

Sounds like you might have misunderstood me. The Future Cruise Credit is what you and I get when we're about the ship. Yes, my confirmation letter said the same thing. But the tri-fold coupon that you give your future cruise companions says absolutely nothing about deposits. It only mentions the onboard credit.

 

Again, I say that along with enforcement of no hard liquor brought on board, no jeans on formal night, no kids in the adult pool and no smoking in non-smoking areas---I'm sure Princess will be just as consistent with the new Share the Wealth coupons. :rolleyes:

 

Jape

[Commodore Suzy]

Under the old program, share the wealth coupons (it could be ANYONE you wanted to share with not just family or friends) gave the same $100 per person deposit AND shipboard credits. There are a lot of these old share the wealth coupons floating around in the hands of passengers, and they don't expire, but the "fine print" no longer applies. The reduced deposit for friends no longer applies.

 

Under the new program--changed because Princess was having that problem with the friends' bookings canceling due to being underfunded-- the friends get the shipboard credit sharing perk, but DO NOT get the lower deposit. So, the way that works is that your friends need to put down the regular deposit when they book, then you mail in the share the wealth coupon, and they get the free shipboard credit when they sail.

 

You can stand there kicking and screaming and saying "my coupon says low deposit" until you're blue in the face, but just realize that's not the case and they're being nice and still ACCEPTING the old coupons we all have in our files. (This comment is not directed at anyone who posted... it's just the visual I get when my clients mail me their share the wealth coupons with the low deposit wording highlighted, circled in red, etc.) :D

--

 

And, I wanted to add something to what Jape said - and a warning.

 

There is another thing were TAs can have 'cruise night' booking sales where everyone that books during the sale week only has to put down $100 per person deposit. So, if having a low deposit is of upmost importantance to you, making bookings during a sale is a good thing. You don't need to have a future cruise deposit/share the wealth coupon to put only $100 per person down during a sale. Each agency gets 6 per year, and then sometimes Princess wants us to promote, say, Caribbean, so they give us a special ones good for only specific Caribbean sailings and not "all" sailings like a normal cruise night sale.

 

However, please realize that the cruise night sale / low deposit promotion code is NOT COMBINABLE with the future cruise deposit / share the wealth code. A booking can have one OR the other.

 

If you've made a booking under a TA's cruise night sale, securing a low deposit, and you mail in a share the wealth coupon on that same booking, Princess will just throw the coupon away because the booking will reject the share the wealth coupon code in their system. Believe me, I know ALL about this, as I learned the hard way.

 

 

When you book your own cruise by applying a future cruise deposit, and then you want friends or family to go along with you and GET THE SHIPBOARD CREDIT for sharing the wealth, they need to make the full, normal deposit on their cabin. Tell the TA that you want to reject the cruise night sale offer and put on the full deposit. Then mail in the share the wealth coupon.

 

Of course, it's their call whether they want the low deposit or the shipborad credit. I personally always want the free money!

[calikak]

Thanks, Suzy--as always, helpful info! :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Sorry, guess I am looking at a friends and family coupon from one of our older FCC's that are still good. Didn't realize they had changed these rules, must have been in the last year?????????

[japester]

However, please realize that the cruise night sale / low deposit promotion code is NOT COMBINABLE with the future cruise deposit / share the wealth code. A booking can have one OR the other.

 

If you've made a booking under a TA's cruise night sale, securing a low deposit, and you mail in a share the wealth coupon on that same booking, Princess will just throw the coupon away because the booking will reject the share the wealth coupon code in their system. Believe me, I know ALL about this, as I learned the hard way.

 

Hmmm. When we booked, I was very specific when I asked the TA if her special ($100 deposit and $50pp OBC) would combine with the coupon (also $50pp OBC). She called Princess while I was there in the office and verified it was okay. Now, my emphasis was entirely on the OBC (I didn't think the reduced deposit would cause any problems), and my in-laws put their deposit down the next day. I will check their paperwork and ask them again how much they put down.

 

As I understand it, the four of us each put $100 down (me and the missus used our two FCC's and the in-laws gave a $200 check) and we all got $100 OBC each ($50 from the TA and $50 from FCC/Share The Wealth).

 

I'll make sure and post again here.

 

Jape

[Opinions]

If one books online with a Future Cruise Credit will Princess automatically credit you with your $100 deposit and your On Board Credit...Or does one have to deal with a TA directly.

[japester]

Okay, I'm back. And this is definitely interesting.

 

First, Opinions question. No, you do not have to deal with a TA when using FCC or the Share the Wealth coupons. I think it probably makes it easier (since TA's deal with these so often), but it is not required.

 

Now for Suzy's warning. I'm glad you mentioned this glitch, Suzy, because I called our agent and found out there was a problem. Here's the details:

 

We had two FCC's on file and the two coupons. We went to book a cruise for us and the in-laws, expecting to get $50pp OBC. Our TA said they were running a special where everybody puts $100 down and gets $50pp OBC. Since I was worried about the deals cancelling each other out (like Suzy mentioned), my TA called Princess and asked specifically. She got the okay. The in-laws gave them $200, we used our FCC's, and everybody got $100pp OBC.

 

Fast forward to today. I called the TA to verify and found out my booking still had $200 OBC but in-laws' booking had dropped to $100 OBC. She called Princess, and they said they had indeed dropped the Share the Wealth credit. Here's the weird part: Princess put the additional OBC back on. So we are back to the original deal of $200 OBC per cabin.

 

I told my TA why I called (that another TA had repeated problems with this), and she said this was an isolated incident with her. Normally it goes through fine, and this one situation was resolved with a 5 minute call.

 

?????

 

The only thing I can add is that perhaps this wasn't the same exact deal you were referring to, Suzy? Since it was a deposit/OBC deal (not just a deposit deal), perhaps it wasn't technically a 'cruise night' booking sale?

 

Of course, no matter how many printouts and receipts I get, I don't count my OBC as being "for real" until I see it while on board. ;)

 

Did I muddy the waters further?

 

Jape

[calikak]

Jape, thanks for posting that info...maybe Princess has changed their minds again, or maybe as you suggest it's a different deal than Suzy was talking about? This is one of those times I wish we had a Princess rep who posted here to explain the policy to us.

[japester]

Just to be safe, I had my TA print up both mine and my in-laws' Booking Confirmation. They show a $200 OBC for each cabin, which means we got the reduced deposit plus OBC offer from the TA plus the Share the Wealth OBC from the coupon on the same booking for the in-laws.

 

I think the bottom line is that there are no hard and fast rules with Princess (or any other cruise line) other than those imposed by various governments. All internal workings are subject to the personal interpretation of whomever you are talking to.

 

Jape

[Commodore Suzy]

Jape - First, I think you booked under a "special" cruise night sale that had shipboard credits as part of it. Usually only the special ones, not the normal ones, have that feature as possible.

 

Second, I think you're right about the "hard and fast rules" comment. What I explained is the normal rules. However, Princess has another department called Customer Service? Customer Support? (I get the two 'customer' departments mixed up.) If you're a squeaky enough wheel they have the power to grant almost anything they want. Because you squeaked, I think you got it. Maybe there was another promotion they could pull in or something that gave as much shipboard as the share the wealth so they adjusted your friends' booking to be that. Who knows?

 

All I know is that I'm VERY squeaky on behalf of my clients, and if there is nothing else good going out there I've hit a solid wall on the 'not combinable'. I'm glad it worked out for you though. :)

 

Beth.... I trained my Princess rep on this procedure, the referral program, and a couple other things. Since the sales reps aren't in the trenches deailing with these type of details, I don't think she'd have more to add. ;) [she sees the forest, I see the trees.] She's a great source of getting the new itineraries when they are announced though! And she, at times, listens to me squeak. LOL!

 

Cheers!

[calikak]

Beth.... I trained my Princess rep on this procedure, the referral program, and a couple other things. Since the sales reps aren't in the trenches deailing with these type of details, I don't think she'd have more to add. ;) [she sees the forest, I see the trees.] She's a great source of getting the new itineraries when they are announced though! And she, at times, listens to me squeak. LOL!

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks, Suzy, that's helpful info! About having a rep posting here, I just meant like on some other travel-related message boards out there not specific to cruising (not sure if we're allowed to mention them here or not), I've seen, for example, hotel companies that have a staff person whose job it is to help answer these kinds of questions on the message board. It helps keep the confusion among us customers to a minimum because they can explain all the weird rules and why a particular promotion can't apply to a particular booking. Of course, that assumes that the rules don't change...;)