RCCL relatively new NON REFUNDABLE Deposit

Generally cruise with RCCL once or twice a year. Have reached Diamond Plus loyalty. Just cruised at Thanksgiving and attempted to book on board when we learned of the new non refundable deposit which puts at risk for us $1500 as we book 3 cabins for the family.

Have enjoyed RCCL for many years but this new policy prevented us from booking for next year due to the potential financial loss and lack of flexibility in changes without penalty ($ 100 p/p for any changes)

Will have to consider other cruise lines with more flexible policies....... far too many things can happen in a years time not to have some flexibility. Such a shame since we have developed a strong loyalty......... they have literally driven us away.

Wonder how others feel about this new policy?

Generally cruise with RCCL once or twice a year. Have reached Diamond Plus loyalty. Just cruised at Thanksgiving and attempted to book on board when we learned of the new non refundable deposit which puts at risk for us $1500 as we book 3 cabins for the family.

 

Have enjoyed RCCL for many years but this new policy prevented us from booking for next year due to the potential financial loss and lack of flexibility in changes without penalty ($ 100 p/p for any changes)

 

Will have to consider other cruise lines with more flexible policies....... far too many things can happen in a years time not to have some flexibility. Such a shame since we have developed a strong loyalty......... they have literally driven us away.

 

Wonder how others feel about this new policy?

Already covered here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516587

By the way, were you booking a Grand Suite or better? If not, then you should have been given the option for a refundable deposit.

Other cruise lines are also taking this approach.

Keith

Welcome to the rest of the world, where this has been the norm from before I was born in 1971....

Even HAL has started this non-refundable deposit policy.

You have to ask for refundable deposits which will result in higher cruise fares.

Non-refundable deposit in only REQUIRED on Grand Suites or higher.

Other classes have both refundable and non-refundable deposits. In most cases, the non-refundable deposit fare is much less than the refundable deposit.

And the entire deposit is not lost when changing. Only $100 per passenger is lost if you change the ship or sailing date. You can change cabin class or rebook for lower fares, just on the same ship and sailing date, without any loss of deposit. Any other part of the deposit is issued as a future cruise credit.

Non-refundable deposit in only REQUIRED on Grand Suites or higher.

 

Other classes have both refundable and non-refundable deposits. In most cases, the non-refundable deposit fare is much less than the refundable deposit.

 

And the entire deposit is not lost when changing. Only $100 per passenger is lost if you change the ship or sailing date. You can change cabin class or rebook for lower fares, just on the same ship and sailing date, without any loss of deposit. Any other part of the deposit is issued as a future cruise credit.

Sounds similar to Carnival's Early Saver fare (except it's only $50 per person that is lost).

Welcome to the rest of the world, where this has been the norm from before I was born in 1971....

Right there with you on that.

A deposit is a deposit in many places/areas/businesses. You don't get it back (At least in Europe)

Never got a deposit back in my life.

With most every non refundable deposit that I have ever seen , on every cruise line , it is attached to some Sale Promo , that offers you something in exchange for no refund penalty .

Always sounds fair enough to me .

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Unless you are booking within a short time ahead of embarkation I don’t see why would anyone book a non-refundable cruise. The risks far outweigh the financial benefits.

Sounds similar to Carnival's Early Saver fare (except it's only $50 per person that is lost).

And with Carnival Early Saver, you are eligible for price drops up to 2 days before sailing. It’s given as OBC. Not an option with RCI.

Unless you are booking within a short time ahead of embarkation I don’t see why would anyone book a non-refundable cruise. The risks far outweigh the financial benefits.

Depends on the country. It works both ways, after all - in the UK as soon as you pay a deposit you have entered a contract which is enforceable on both sides - you can't cancel without penalty, but nor can the cruise line.

And insurance, which in the UK appears to be much cheaper than in the USA (at least if you're healthy), covers the potential loss if you have to cancel; though it covers nothing if you choose to cancel when you don't have to.

Unless you are booking within a short time ahead of embarkation I don’t see why would anyone book a non-refundable cruise. The risks far outweigh the financial benefits.

So you would not book non-refundable even if the cruise fare was $600 per person less??????

And if you change, you will only lose $100 per person.

REALLY??

So you would not book non-refundable even if the cruise fare was $600 per person less??????

 

And if you change, you will only lose $100 per person.

 

REALLY??

I haven't seen that much of a difference but I've seen enough of a difference to put RCI in the ballpark with CCL and it's close enough on some sailings that we might just pull the trigger on it since we've always wanted to try RCI. We'll see how things look when things solidify in a couple of months.

As Keith said (in his post), RCI is not the first to adopt a non-refund policy. While the details vary from line to line, it is obvious that the cruise lines are heading to a non-refundable era...and with very good cause. Yes, I am defending the cruise lines...but its common sense. For many years the North American (policies are different in Europe and down under) have allowed fully refundable deposits. And some cruisers (apparently more and more) have taken advantage by putting down low deposits on multiple cruises...often doing it for cruises at the same time. Their strategy is to lock-in a desired cabin and later take advantage of any price drops. It is a win-win for the cruise speculator...but a loser for cruise lines and serious bookers (who lose out by waiting until they are sure). The previous policy left cruise lines with many available cabins (around the final payment period) as many speculators canceled their unused reservations.

HAL has been playing with a duel booking policy that allows folks to choose between a lower cost booking with a non-refundable fare....or pay extra (often hundreds of dollars per person) for a refundable fare. HAL has also long had very high deposits on their most popular cruises...which discourages speculation (many speculators are too cheap to put down big deposits).

My suspicion is that many cruise lines will ultimately adopt the multi price idea of HAL....(lower prices for non-refundable deposits). This is actually somewhat similar to the airlines who often lower cost non-refundable fares. Those that don't like the non-refundable idea will just have to wait until they are sure...which will often mean giving up their ability to choose a specific cabin location.

Hank

As Keith said (in his post), RCI is not the first to adopt a non-refund policy. While the details vary from line to line, it is obvious that the cruise lines are heading to a non-refundable era...and with very good cause. Yes, I am defending the cruise lines...but its common sense. For many years the North American (policies are different in Europe and down under) have allowed fully refundable deposits. And some cruisers (apparently more and more) have taken advantage by putting down low deposits on multiple cruises...often doing it for cruises at the same time. Their strategy is to lock-in a desired cabin and later take advantage of any price drops. It is a win-win for the cruise speculator...but a loser for cruise lines and serious bookers (who lose out by waiting until they are sure). The previous policy left cruise lines with many available cabins (around the final payment period) as many speculators canceled their unused reservations.

 

HAL has been playing with a duel booking policy that allows folks to choose between a lower cost booking with a non-refundable fare....or pay extra (often hundreds of dollars per person) for a refundable fare. HAL has also long had very high deposits on their most popular cruises...which discourages speculation (many speculators are too cheap to put down big deposits).

 

My suspicion is that many cruise lines will ultimately adopt the multi price idea of HAL....(lower prices for non-refundable deposits). This is actually somewhat similar to the airlines who often lower cost non-refundable fares. Those that don't like the non-refundable idea will just have to wait until they are sure...which will often mean giving up their ability to choose a specific cabin location.

 

Hank

A very good point about low deposits. We haven't been cruising all that long in the overall scheme but it seems that reduced deposits (as low as $49pp on some lines) seems to be a relatively new phenomena. At least with a full priced deposit the cruise line has use of that money while the passenger is deciding (and it was probably more likely that the booking was a "real" one if the passenger were plunking down $500 versus $99). In any event non-refundable deposits do offer a bit more choice for the passenger and while they won't work for everyone for some it does.

Welcome to the rest of the world, where this has been the norm from before I was born in 1971....

Rude very rude

Rude very rude

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