Thread: Now is the time to sell RCL stock???

It would seem now with the combinability rules it's not really worth owning the stock anymore. I will be Platinum after my RCL cruise next month. Just found out (I know it's been all over these boards I haven't been paying attention I guess) that my shareholder benefit is not combinable with my Loyalty reward on my February RCL cruise! Why should I bother owning the stock at this point? Anyone own stock in one of the other lines? Do you think their benefits are better? I heard some of the other lines are actually increasing benefits for loyalty and shareholders versus the way RCL seems to keep cutting back? I really am starting to feel like RCL is cutting too much. I have only ever sailed RCL (5 cruises in 5 years) but am really considering trying another line. I would like some recommendations - if I loved RCL what other line might be comparable? I would just hate to invest too much in one line where I am starting worry "what's going to go next?" Not saying I am just in for the benefits but I was sticking strictly with RCL because I thought it would be great to get them.

Ronda

The three that come to mind for me would be Princess, Holland America, and Celebrity.

While age-wise, you'll find Princess basically the same as RCCL, they don't have quite as many amenities as RCCL. At the same time, I think their food is a bit better.

Depending on your age, you may love Holland America. Their prices have been very good lately. Their food is outstanding, the service is wonderful, and their beds are among the most comfortable. You'll normally find alot of their cruises to have an older crowd, but that is also based alot on itinerary, date, and the ship. Their newer ships are very nice and attract a slightly younger crowd.

Celebrity is a RCCL company, so they basically have the same perks for past guests. Their ships are very nice, their service is great, and the food is wonderful. While they also attract an older crowd, their prices tend to be more than HAL.

Obviously, just my personally opinion, but having been on all of them, I actually like each of them for various reasons. But we're 59, so we tend to lean more towards HAL and Celebrity for our personal cruises.

Pete

I am 40 & DH is 44, we like to take the kids but they are pretty much grown 20 & 17 so they are more like bringing adult friends than kids (except for the asking for money part) So we are kind of middlers I would say not looking for the older or younger crowds, especially if the girls are not joining us. We like to party, stay up too late and have fun. The ships tend to be our favorite part of the trip. While we do enjoy seeing new places, at sea days are my favorite. We love to meet new people and still keep in touch with some folks in England we met on our Transatlantic a few years ago. Sorry if this is too much information but I am hoping it will lead to some good recommendations

Maybe I will look into Princess though I might avoid them during spring break & such. I have looked into HAL because they offer union member rates but was concerned that the age issue may be a factor.

Thanks for the great info Pete! I knew I could count on CFLers to steer me in the right direction! I have checked some of the other boards but anytime some asks a question like this people seem to get a little nasty

LOL-- we don't allow nasties here

If you like to party and stay up late I'm going to assume that Royal Caribbean is more your speed. I too hate what RCL is doing with their perks. Unfortunately I bought their stock at 35 for the perks. I can't sell it now but if it even flirts with 35 it's gone. I'm hoping with the Oasis it might go up some and then hasta la vista because I've gotten all my perks out of it now that I have been platinum. They even made it so there's no reason to buy a future cruise credit on your cruise because it's not combinable.

Patsea, I'm in the same boat (hehe sorry, bad pun intended) I looked it up today I paid about 37 ick! If it gets up anywhere near there I am going to get rid of mine too.

Ugh I am soooo sad I really want to be "Loyal to Royal" but I really feel like they are going for the quick buck and not taking care of those who take care of them. All they seem to care about is those who can afford to pay the big bucks for the big cabins not people like me who may only get a balcony but try to cruise as often as financially possible (smaller cabin = more cruises in my mind). I'm sure I'm not as smart as the big wigs there but I always thought a repeat customer who might pay less is still worth a lot more than a one time big spender???? Anyway this seems like bad business to me so if the stock ever does recover I think maybe I should get rid of it before RCL runs off all those would be loyal customers.

Carnival Corp, which owns some of the cruise lines mentioned, offers the shareholder OBC on all of the lines they own. Yes, there are some restrictions, but I've never run into any on Carnival Cruise Lines. I know there are some - there must be.

Platinum on Carnival = Free wash and fold laundry - a huge perk for me.

All of the cabins on Carnival are good sized.

I happen to own both RCCL and Carnival stock and wish I had never bought the RCCL stock. I paid more than you, but at this point I'm just going to...

Oh, never mind. One should never ask for stock advice on the Internet and I'm not even sure too many brokers in person have a clue and/or can be trusted.

One should never buy cruise line stock just for the OBC, so they say.

Having said that, if you cruise enough, I have made out like a bandit on Carnival. The OBC to me is a tax free dividend, especially since Carnival (and RCCL) cut out the real dividends.

As for age, I have been an AARP member for some time, so you can trust me *.









* Your mileage may vary, some assembly required, batteries not included. Results may or may not be typical, consult your next of kin first. CLF does not know in advance, endorse, nor necessarily understand anything I post. We maintain a complimentary but not toll free customer service line open 7x24 unless they don't feel like it, and we proudly guarantee that English is not their first language.

-------------

In closing, in a couple or weeks or so, I will be spending 28 days on a b2b Carnival Dream cruise - Mediterranean and then Transatlantic and will love it!

That's a fact!

b2b med & transatlantic oh that sounds wonderful! We did a trans a couple of years ago I really loved it!! Doing a med cruise is something I am really looking forward to some day! Not yet eligible for AARP status means we don't have the vacation time for a 28 day trip like that I am sooo jealous! I bet you will use the heck out of the free wash and fold perk during that time. I loved your disclaimer very funny I agree with not taking stock advice on the internet and would advise against taking stock advice from me seeing as I'm not rich enough to not worry about perks yet!

After thinking about zydecocruiser's response for a while I wanted to state that I am not looking for stock advice here but alternate cruise line advice. Regarding the stock I am pretty sure I have already made up my mind

Although, I was thinking that maybe all us stockholders should get together and do something about this instead of just dumping the stock! If you own at least $2,000 of a publicly traded company you are eligible to file a shareholder resolution (if you own 100 share for the benefit for the time being it is still worth more than $2,000). Here is what I have found out about it so far:

A shareholder resolution is a formal request to a company’s management on a particular issue that is subject to a vote of the shareholders as part of the company’s annual meeting process.

Not sure it would really have any effect but at least we could make our point heard! Seems like something worth looking into.

I have been a long term stockholder of both RCL and Carnival. The amount of stock I have owned has fluctuated at times based on a number of factors. I have enjoyed receiving OBC's on many occasions. In themselves, the OBC's are not enough of a reason to own the stocks.

The cruise industry, like most of the economy, is going through a rough time. I too am disappointed at the cutbacks at RCL but I understand why some of them are necessary. The various past passenger benefits from the different lines are nice but they are only part of the overall package that any of the brands have to offer. Over the past 24 years we have cruised mostly with RCL. Last month we took a cruise on Princess with their Elite status. The cruise was very nice but overall we still prefer RCL.

As for the stock, I went out an bought more of it a few months ago. That stock has already doubled in value.