How I Get Up To $250 In Free Onboard Credit

What if your cruise line paid you to sail?

I regularly get up to $250 in onboard credit. Not from loyalty perks. Not from booking a suite. And not because of this blog.

It’s because I own a tiny slice of the company.

Most cruisers have no idea this is even an option. It’s completely legitimate, surprisingly simple, and you don’t need to be wealthy to do it.

So, how does owning a small piece of a cruise line turn into free spending money onboard?

The Benefits of Buying Cruise Line Shares

Buying cruise stock can be a good way to invest your money if you believe that the cruise line’s value will grow, but it also gives you perks when you cruise with that company.

Those cruise perks are usually free onboard credit to enjoy with your cruise. You can claim this perk every time you cruise; it’s not a one-off benefit. 

Depending on which shares you buy, you might be able to enjoy those perks across several different cruise lines.

So, you can quickly earn back the cost of your share investment just by cruising multiple times. I’ve invested in Carnival shares, and I’ve already earned back the amount I paid for the shares in on-board spend with my cruises with P&O Cruises.

It didn’t take long, and I still have the shares too.

While investing in cruise shares could be a way of earning money, if the cruise line were to grow in value, you have to remember that the value could drop too, but you will at least get that onboard credit amount every time you sail.

Cruise Discounts

You won’t get a discount on a cruise if you own stock in the company – you do still have to pay full price. However, you will technically get a discount on the total cost of your cruise, since you’ll earn free onboard spend to put towards your drinks, your speciality dining or other parts of your cruise on the ship.

Cruise Lines That Offer Cruise Stock Perks

Let’s take a look at each cruise company that offers stock perks, how much you can get on each sailing, and which cruise lines it covers.

1. Royal Caribbean Group (RCL)

If you own at least 100 shares in the Royal Caribbean Group, you can enjoy shareholder perks of onboard credit every time you sail.

Royal Caribbean Group shares give you onboard credit with:

• Royal Caribbean International
• Celebrity Cruises
• Silversea Cruises

There are a couple of exceptions – you won’t get the credit if the ship is chartered, and it doesn’t apply on cruises to the Galapagos Islands.

As a rough guide, Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) shares have traded between about $153.87 and $365.78 over the past year.

That means buying the 100 shares typically needed to qualify for shareholder perks would cost somewhere in the region of $15,000 to $36,500, depending on the price when you invest.

Share prices move daily, so always check the latest price before making any decisions.

Of course, share prices move daily, so you’ll need to check the latest share price before making any decisions.

Read more about the Royal Caribbean shareholder benefits:

• Royal Caribbean Shareholder Benefits Explained
• Celebrity Cruise Stock Benefits Explained

2. Carnival Corporation (CCL or CUK)

If you own at least 100 shares in Carnival Corporation & PLC, you can enjoy shareholder perks every time you sail.

Exactly how much you get depends on the brand you’re sailing with and where you are cruising, as the ships have different onboard currencies.

Carnival Corporation shares give you onboard credit with:

• Carnival Cruise Line
• Princess Cruises
• P&O Cruises
• P&O Australia
• Holland America Line
• Seabourn
• Cunard
• Costa Cruises
• AIDA Cruises

As a rough guide, Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) shares have traded between about $15 and $33 over the past year, according to recent market data.

That means buying the 100 shares often needed to qualify for shareholder perks would likely cost somewhere in the region of $1,500 to $3,300, depending on the price when you buy.

Shares move daily, so always check the latest share price before purchasing.

Note that Carnival has two stocks – CCL and CUK. CCL is under the New York Stock Exchange, and CUK is under the London Stock Exchange. You can buy either and receive the exact same on-board credit. The Motley Fool advises that you should buy the cheapest one.

Read more about the Carnival Corporation & PLC shareholder benefits:

• Carnival Shareholder Benefits
• P&O Cruises Shareholder Benefits
• Cunard Shareholder Benefits
• Holland America Line Shareholder Benefits
• Princess Cruise Shareholder Benefits

3. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has the same offer – as long as you own 100 shares in the company, you’ll enjoy onboard spending on any cruise line under that umbrella.

NCL shares give you onboard credit with:

• Norwegian Cruise Line
• Oceania Cruises
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises

As a rough guide, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) shares have traded at roughly $14 to $29 over the past year.

So to buy the 100 shares needed to qualify for shareholder onboard credit, you’d likely be looking at somewhere between $1,400 and $2,900, depending on the price when you invest.

Share prices change daily, so always check the latest price before purchasing.

Read more: NCL Shareholder Benefits Explained

Where to Buy Cruise Stock

To buy stock in a cruise line, you’ll typically need to use a stockbroker. These can either be a human, who can talk to you about your options, or it can just be an online platform.

There will be fees involved with either approach, but using an online platform tends to be cheaper.

I can’t tell you which is the best option, because I haven’t used them all. But I used a platform called eToro to buy my shares in Carnival, and I had no problems.

(eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.)

I chose it because it’s one of the most popular platforms – it has over 20 million registered users – and the reviews are mainly very positive. There are low fees for buying shares, too. Overall, I was really happy with the experience.

• Buy Royal Caribbean Group shares with eToro
• Buy Carnival Corporation & PLC shares with eToro
• Buy Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings shares with eToro

Claiming Cruise Stock Perks

How you actually claim your perks varies depending on your cruise line, but it’s usually pretty easy.

Claiming Royal Caribbean Group Shareholder Perks

You can claim your free onboard credit using a simple online platform. Make sure you have details of your shares and your cruise booking to hand, and fill in the form three weeks before your cruise, or earlier.

• Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises shareholder perk claims
• Silversea shareholder perk claims

Claiming Carnival Shareholder Perks

To claim your shareholder perks on a cruise line owned by Carnival, you’ll need to download an app called Stockperks – it’s available on Android and iOS.

Follow the instructions on the app to claim your onboard credit. Make sure you put your claim in at least four weeks before your cruise. You can’t do it too soon, though. I tried to submit mine 5 months before, and I got this message…

Claiming Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Shareholder Perks

To claim your onboard credit with an NCLH cruise line, you’ll need to download this form and then email it to one of the following addresses:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

Make sure you get your request in at least 15 days before you sail – though I’d suggest putting the claim in sooner than that.

Disclaimer

I’ve mentioned this briefly already, but for absolute clarity, nothing in this guide constitutes financial advice. I’m not a qualified financial advisor. If you decide to buy shares in any of the cruise lines in this guide, you should be prepared for the fact that you could lose your investment.

Hopefully, you won’t, but I have to state that. Investing in Carnival was my own personal choice, and I know that there’s a chance I could lose that money, although, as I say, I’ve already earned back the value in onboard credit anyway.

Final Word

Buying cruise shares isn’t for everyone. It requires upfront money, and like any investment, there’s risk.

But if you cruise regularly, it’s worth knowing this option exists. For some people, it turns into hundreds of dollars in onboard credit over time.

It’s not a loophole. It’s not a hack. It’s simply a shareholder perk that most cruisers overlook.

So if you sail often, the real question is – should your cruise line be paying you back?

Related Posts:

• How To Get A Free Cruise (15 Ways To Do It)
• How to Text on a Cruise Ship for Free
• Carnival Cruise Suite Perks