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Onboard Credit for stock owners


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I own more than 100 shares of Royal Caribbean (RC) stock.  That makes me eligible for "stockholder" onboard credits (OBC) that are usually slightly higher than non-stockholders.  One cannot combine  "shareholder" OBC with OBC frequently offered to non-stockholders at booking.  Can I refuse "booking" OBC and does RC offer any perk in lieu of my NOT taking the more routine OBC?      

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I thought the stockholder OBC program died a while back .. if it still is active then yes you can refuse the regular OBC and accept the stockholder OBC (presumably it would be more than the regular OBC you refuse), no there is nothing else offered in lieu of not taking the OBC since it is your choice not to take it.

Same general situation as the Crown & Anchor Balcony OBC program, most of the time the OBC available to everyone is better than the C&A OBC (or will be if you wait for the sale to switch in a week or so).

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40 minutes ago, TomCordova said:

Matt, That is really my point.  If "most" people booking get the same or similar benefit, why does Royal Caribbean promote it as a "benefit" for share holders.  I cannot see Starbucks promoting "free coffee cream" as a benefit for Starbucks share holders.  

I'd argue the reason to buy stock is because you think it's a good financial investment, not to get a discount on a cruise.

You have to realize they began offering the stock holder discount many years ago in a time when RC did not offer the kind of non-stop promotions they do today.  I remember even in the early days of this blog, when a WOW Sale came around, it was a big deal. In those days, there were often times when there was no promotion available, and thus, the stockholder discount was an option.

Should they update the stockholder discount to be combinable? Sure, you can make that argument.  But I would never tell anyone to buy RC stock for any reason other than you think it is a good investment. 

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I have had 100 shares of stock since my second cruise with Royal.  Since I usually book inside staterooms, I have gotten the OBC many times as these cabins usually don't offer any OBC when booking.  Up until a couple of years ago, when I submitted my request for stockholder OBC, I would get a response that since I already had some OBC, I would have to have that removed (either by calling Royal or contacting my travel agent) and then resubmit my stockholder OBC request.  However, for the past two or three years, my stockholder request automatically applies the difference of the the two OBC amounts without me having to do anything.  For example, if I already had $50 OBC for a 7 night sailing, I now get the $50 stockholder credit ADDED to the original $50.  Previously, I had to remove the original $50 credit and then have the stockholder credit of $100 added.  

I have gotten the stockholder credit about 90% of the time since I usually only have travel agent credits.  It has been well worth the investment for me.

 

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35 minutes ago, davelliott said:

I have had 100 shares of stock since my second cruise with Royal.  Since I usually book inside staterooms, I have gotten the OBC many times as these cabins usually don't offer any OBC when booking. 

I have gotten the stockholder credit about 90% of the time since I usually only have travel agent credits.  It has been well worth the investment for me.

Great point - a lot depends on cabin type. 

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I have received the Shareholder Benefit only once in the many requests I have submitted.  I normally receive this response: "As offers are not combinable, the requested shareholder’s onboard credit cannot be applied to reservation XXXXXXX because there is another discount or onboard credit offer already applied. If you wish to take advantage of the shareholder’s offer instead of the other offer, please contact your travel agent to have that offer removed. Once the other offer is removed, please resubmit your complete request."

As @Matt said above, "it's often not combinable with anything"  and "the reason to buy stock is because you think it's a good financial investment". In that case the Shareholder Benefit is insignificant compared to the potential share price movement.  The Shareholder Benefit is a nice bonus, but you can only get it if you got a crappy deal on your cruise (i.e. you got no OBC offer, no C&A discount, and book it during a rare sale that is combinable with the Benefit).

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  • 8 months later...
2 minutes ago, CrusinNick said:

What is the shareholder OBC breakdown?    If that is something that can be posted.

Shareholder Benefit
$250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights.
$200 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 10 to 13 nights.
$100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6 to 9 nights.
$ 50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less.

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  • 4 months later...

Usually RC add my shareholder benefit to my OBC . However with the latest reservation in 2021 they state that I am eligible for $100. for 7 day cruise.

At time of booking I was awarded an OBC $100.-

Total OBC still stands at $100.- whilst expecting total $200.-  Can anyone clarify

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have used the stock OBC many times and in the past, any OBC given during booking would be subtracted from the $100 stock benefit. For instance, I received $50 for booking a balcony on a 7 night cruise and the stock benefit was reduced to $50. I have not yet applied for the benefit since the change in June. I’ll find out on my Sept booking when I email my shareholder benefit request form.

Investment-wise, I have been happy with the performance of the stock over time. Also...In addition to the OBC benefit, the stock also pays dividends...which some other cruise lines do not. As always with any stock, future performance can not be predicted by past performance and any investment can result in loss of principal.

Happy cruising!

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Can you get shareholder OBC for cruises less than 7 nights ?  We have never even tried to use our shareholder OBC benefit b/c it was so restrictive but we are now reconsidering.  We finally have a cruise booked since the shareholder benefit changed but it is only 5 nights on Grandeur.  Don’t know if it’s worth the trouble.  

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I always submit the Shareholder Benefit request and let them say yes or no to my request.  For 12 cruises since I purchased stock I have received the benefit on 6 cruises with a total OBC benefit of $500 on those 6 cruises.  It will be interesting to see how the new program works out.

Here's the link to the new Shareholder Benefit program page.

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