Vet benefits and shareholder benefits disallowed

[JayD]

For many years I have been using both veterans benefits and carnival shareholder benefits until my most recent booking on princess cruise lines.

I was just told that carnival Corp. is disallowing both benefits to be used on any one booking.

Does anyone know if this is true or false?

[3Sisters]

@JayD I wish I could confirm or deny this. It's hard for me to believe that Carnival Corporation wouldn't allow those two perks to be used in unison. Where did you hear this information from? I would call the cruise line to confirm this statement. Please let me know once you have an answer. I'm intrigued to hear the outcome. I would be surprised if Carnival Corporation removed this benefit. 

[SpaceCowboy9]

What I've seen for veterans' benefits is a discounted cruise- it's not a lot $10/$20 per person off the cruise fare

The shareholder benefit is usually in the form of an onboard credit

Carnival is changing the process for applying for the shareholder benefit, not the benefit itself.

[3Sisters]

@SpaceCowboy9 Thanks for clarifying that. Considering the minimal discount veterans get, I don't see why CCL would prevent guests from combining those two perks. Oftentimes you have to book through the line directly, likely via phone, in order to get all of those discounts properly added to the booking. I find booking online a bit more challenging to get the value and package I'm looking for. Customer service agents can be more knowledgeable when choosing a stateroom too. 

I had no idea that the shareholder benefit is an onboard credit. I'm surprised it isn't just deducted off of the final cruise amount. That's news to me. How is CCL changing the shareholder application process? Is it becoming more exclusive? 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@JayD In fact, I believe your statement is correct. I can not personally confirm this, but I do think the combination of these two CCL incentives is no longer applicable. The shareholder incentive is usually greater than that of the Veteran's benefit so I would utilize the one that is of greater benefit to you. You can always call the cruise line directly to confirm this change. Please let me know if you receive a direct answer from CCL confirming this information is true and accurate. 

[SpaceCowboy9]

On 12/7/2023 at 3:35 PM, 3Sisters said:

. How is CCL changing the shareholder application process? Is it becoming more exclusive? 

I have not tried it, but they have a 3rd party app that will process it for them.   I've heard there are a couple different ways to give them your info. (upload a picture or even give them access to your account (I'm not doing that)).  at some point, CCL will no longer take email or fax submission

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@SpaceCowboy9 I didn't realize it was all processed through the third-party app. The photo upload is super easy. I also wouldn't want to give access to my account. It's always best to keep those things private! I would love to earn that shareholder perk, but I haven't splurged on owning Carnival shares yet. For those who own shares, it seems the perks/benefits are well worth it. I have been considering it for quite some time actually. The fax submission already seems very outdated. In fact, I would imagine the line gets rid of that pretty soon.

[PatM]

On 12/8/2023 at 12:18 PM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@JayD In fact, I believe your statement is correct. I can not personally confirm this, but I do think the combination of these two CCL incentives is no longer applicable. The shareholder incentive is usually greater than that of the Veteran's benefit so I would utilize the one that is of greater benefit to you. You can always call the cruise line directly to confirm this change. Please let me know if you receive a direct answer from CCL confirming this information is true and accurate. 

It is now true the you can not combine veteran's benefits and shareholder benefits for a single cruise.  What we do it get the Veteran's benefit for my dh and then I mark out his name on our shareholder certificate and I claim the shareholder benefit.  Did this in January and it worked just fine.  Still got the two benefits.   Haven't used the new 3rd party app yet but will do so in the next couple of weeks.

[3Sisters]

@PatM Thanks for confirming that. That's such a shame! It's a minimal benefit to add, but I guess CCL is cutting corners where it can. That's a brilliant strategy to get those benefits, but you have to be strategic in order to get those rates. January fell in this same year which is great, but when was this rule actually enacted? CCL usually does a great job at honoring all veterans. Hopefully you can continue to stack those privileges! Let me know how it goes with the third party app. I'm curious to see if it will work!

[RoadTravelled]

@JayD Here is the link to the CCL shareholder details.  As others have said, and you can see from the link, this is an OBC for those that qualify.  We've used this multiple times with no issue and have already recouped in OBC the cost we spent on buying the 100 shares of stock.   So, a great deal.

Note in the details the sentence that says that "...Employees, travel agents cruising at travel agent rates or interline rates, tour conductors or anyone else cruising at a reduced-rate or on complimentary basis are excluded from this offer."  Perhaps this is why you can't combine the veterans reduced rate offer?  Not sure.

It used to be very simple to FAX this and get it.  Now with the app it seems more complicated.  Will try using it on our 2025 cruise that is booked and see what happens.  We've always just sent a screen shot of the stock account with the account # blocked out.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@RoadTravelled You know your stuff! Thanks for sharing those extra shareholder benefit details. I have been itching to become a shareholder for this very purpose. It's very impressive you have already been able to recoup the money you have spend on buying 100 shares. I think you nailed it on the head; the shareholder benefit can't be combined with any other reduced-rate offers. 

I'm not surprised the fax situation is not used like it was in the past. Faxes aren't as commonly used anymore. It's so much easier for the cruise companies to track the shareholder benefit through the app. It's a simplified "paper trail", just without the actual paper. We live in a digitized world today! Keep us posted if this ends up working out for your 2025 cruise!