The Royal Caribbean Group – the company that owns Royal Caribbean International – is one of the biggest travel companies in the whole world. And you could become a part owner if you decided to invest in shares in the company.
You’d then also be able to enjoy Royal Caribbean stockholder benefits whenever you cruised with the company. They’re not really of enough value to justify investing unless you cruise very regularly, but they are a nice bonus to have as a perk of being an owner of stock.
So let’s take a look at what the Royal Caribbean shareholder benefits are, and what you need to do to claim them.
Let’s be clear on shareholders and discounts…
Owners of Royal Caribbean stock do not get a direct discount on their cruise fares. Instead, stockholders are able to claim onboard credit for their cruise, which varies depending on the length of the sailing. This could qualify as a discount if it saves you spending your own money on-board.
But to be clear, it doesn’t apply to everyone. You can’t just buy a single share in the company and then start claiming credit – that would hardly be fair. Instead, this offer applies to anyone who owns 100 shares of Royal Caribbean Group stock or more.
The Royal Caribbean stock ownership benefits that you can claim are:
- $1,000 onboard credit per stateroom on a world cruise
- $250 onboard credit per stateroom on sailings of 14 nights or more
- $100 onboard credit per stateroom on sailings from 6 to 13 nights
- $50 onboard credit per stateroom on sailings of 5 nights or fewer
And there’s some more good news as well – because Celebrity Cruises and Silversea both fall under the banner of the Royal Caribbean group, you can claim the same benefit when you book a sailing on those cruise lines too.
For a long time, Silversea was excluded from the agreement, but that was eventually changed.
Read more: Celebrity Cruise Stock Benefits Explained
How to buy Royal Caribbean shares
To buy shares in any company, you’ll typically need to use a stockbroker. This can be either a human being or an online platform. There are various fees involved with this, but an online platform is usually the cheapest and easiest way.
I can’t advise you which is the best, but I personally chose to buy my Royal Caribbean shares through an investing platform called etoro. I chose this one because it is one of the most popular platforms with 20 million registered users and has great reviews and low fees.
I’ve been very happy with my share-buying experience and found it really easy to do.
(eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.)
Read more: Should you invest in Royal Caribbean shares?
How to claim Royal Caribbean shareholder benefits
In order to get your Royal Caribbean stock benefits, you need to make a claim before you sail. It’s not automatically applied, so don’t assume that you can get the benefit without asking for it.
It’s handled by a completely separate team to the regular customer service department, so if you forget, don’t assume that Guest Services onboard will be able to rectify it, even if you happen to have your details with you on the ship.
Instead, you need to make a claim by providing a list of your details, including:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your booking confirmation number
- Your ship and sailing date for your cruise
- Proof of your share ownership in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Once you have this information, you can submit your claim for the benefit through an online submission form.
You used to be able to mail it in, but the only option listed on the website now is for the online submission form.
Things to know about Royal Caribbean stock benefits
There are a few terms and conditions that you need to be aware of regarding the Royal Caribbean shareholder benefits.
Firstly, it’s available on every cruise you take with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises or Silversea, except for any chartered sailings, or cruises to the Galapagos Islands.
The benefit is available ‘per stateroom’. So you aren’t able to buy 200 shares, transfer 100 to your partner, and then both claim the benefit if you’re staying in the same stateroom. However, the good news is that solo travellers only need 100 shares – you don’t need twice as many just because you’re a solo occupant.
The onboard credit isn’t available to any employees of the Royal Caribbean Group, or anyone booking a cruise on a Royal Caribbean Group Friends & Family rate.
The benefit can’t be transferred either. It has to be used by the shareholder, and only on the cruise they claim it for. You can’t claim it and then roll it over to your next cruise.
That covers most things but if you do have other questions, you can get in touch with the dedicated team at [email protected].
To conclude
It’s always risky buying stocks and shares – there’s no guarantee your stake will retain its value.
And cruise might be a huge industry, but just look at how share prices fell during the shutdown. Hopefully, nothing like that will ever happen again, but you need to be prepared to lose some of your funds if you risk buying stock.
Yet, the Royal Caribbean stock holder benefits for anyone who cruises with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Silversea on a regular basis are a nice bonus to have. If you were to claim on a 2-week cruise every year for a decade, that’s $2500 you’d get in on-board credit for free. So it may be worth it, if you’re thinking of investing anyway.
Read more: Should you invest in Royal Caribbean shares?
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Related posts:
- Who Owns Royal Caribbean?
- Royal Caribbean Suite Perks
- 15 Ways To Use Your Royal Caribbean Onboard Credit Like A Pro
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
Thank you for this. I am looking at RCL shares, but they appear to be at a peak at about $200 per share (although RCL UK is about $100 per share). If we need 100 shares to get the benefit, that is quite a big investment – or am I missing something? Which company do you have to invest in to get the OBC? The Carnival one is only £14.50 per share! Thanks.
For Royal Caribbean you need sahres in Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL). I agree they are very expensive right now! When I got my 100 Carnival shares they cost £800 so I’ve made that back in onboard credit and they’re now worth double as well. The key is to be willing to hold them for a very long time (and of course buying when the price is lower helps if possible!)
Oh it’s very interesting. I own 25 shares, so I’ll think of buying more.
how do you get the proof that you own the shares? is it a specific document from the bank?
Is there a limit to the number of time that you can claim these OBC?
Just go to the company you used to buy the shares and ask them for the documents to prove you own them. No, there is no limit to how many times you can claim.