Deposit required when booking future cruise onboard?

[twoatsea]

We sail in less than 2 weeks - :D. And since we will be traveling for a total of 6 weeks, I am going to put a credit on our VISA to cover our estimated travel expenses, because we will not be home to pay the bill when it is due.

 

While onboard the Independence, we will book a balcony cabin for Fall 2010, & a balcony cabin for Spring 2010.

 

Anyone know if the deposit required for each cruise is always the same, or does it vary?

 

Anyone know what the deposit is? And, is that per cabin, per person, per cruise, per type of cabin, etc?

 

Thanks

[39august]

I believe RCI is still requiring only $100 pp deposit on cruises booked while on board.

[billsgal]

yes, that was the deposit required for a 14 day cruise when we booked onboard NV less than two weeks ago.

[cruiseguy1016]

The deposit will be $100 per person.

[twoatsea]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. One more item to check off of my To Do List!

[Ashland]

The deposit will be $100 per person.

Hmmm..That did not seem to be the case on board INDY last week only offering an OBC....:confused:

[pscruzinboyz]

Hey OP, ever thought of just having everything Auto-Debit......That is what i do.....NO WORRIES IN CASE YOU MISS THE DUE DATE!

If it is a few hundred $ or a few Thousand, All of the payment will come out on the due date you specify. The best thing is to pay it off every month and then there is no interest. This way you can just keep the money in your bank and not the CC company.

Just a suggestion!

 

Mike

[ksadonnab]

I believe RCI is still requiring only $100 pp deposit on cruises booked while on board.

 

 

Ok - since the cabins are based on double occupancy is the required deposit $200?

[kc320]

Ok - since the cabins are based on double occupancy is the required deposit $200?

 

 

If you put both names on the reservation at the time of booking..yes..but I believe you can book in 1 name & then wait until you get home to add the other name..especially if you are waiting for your new billing date or something on your credit card...

[cruiseguy1016]

We just did this two weeks ago on Majesty. We booked two rooms. The deposit is $100 PER PERSON. One room has two people in it so the deposit for that room was $200 ($100 X two people=$200). The other room has only one person in it. The deposit for that room was $100.

[sailingawaysoon]

Our deposit in September 2009 for going on the Oasis in September 2010 was $100 per person. We also received $100 onboard credit for doing it at that time. There are different incentives. Once I learned how inexpensive the deposit is if you book while on the cruise, we aren't doing it any other way because we always cruise at the same time each year. Oh, they put the $200 deposit on our seapass card...fyi.

[pcur]

The Loyalty Ambassador on the Rhapsody gave me a great tutorial on Future Cruise bookings. She said:

 

1. Always pick a cruise to book, even if you haven't made up your mind. This way you get the $100 deposit, the obc, AND you can get a refund if you cancel before final payment. If you just get a Next Cruise certificate, then the deposit is forfeited. Always pick a cruise.

 

2. If you change your mind/decide on another cruise be sure to TRANSFER the booking and reservation # to the real one. Don't cancel and then book the new one. My TA forgot one of ours was a Future Cruise booking and had to talk them into giving us back our OBC!!

 

3. Only book with one person in the cabin if you don't want to pay for the double occupancy to begin with. Hold the cabin with the $100 deposit in one person's name. The second person will get the same rate later on, because your rate is held at the price you booked on the ship.

[cruiseguy1016]

Our deposit in September 2009 for going on the Oasis in September 2010 was $100 per person. We also received $100 onboard credit for doing it at that time. There are different incentives. Once I learned how inexpensive the deposit is if you book while on the cruise, we aren't doing it any other way because we always cruise at the same time each year. Oh, they put the $200 deposit on our seapass card...fyi.

 

Really?? The loyalty ambassador on Majesty would not do that. She said she needed a credit card.

[pcur]

Really?? The loyalty ambassador on Majesty would not do that. She said she needed a credit card.

 

Sometimes the staff that assist with future bookings aren't completely trained properly. I've booked future cruises on three ships: Rhapsody, Independence, and Mariner. On all three they put the deposit on whatever credit card you used for your seapass account. If you pay cash on your shipboard account, then they would need a credit card. But, if there is already one on your account in their system, then they just use that one.

[Rellyrooly]

Really?? The loyalty ambassador on Majesty would not do that. She said she needed a credit card.

 

Yes, we needed our CC too. They would NOT put it on our sea pass card and we were on Mariner, FYI

[kc320]

We have never been able to put any future cruise on our Seapass...they always wanted a credit card...and fyi...you CAN get your deposit back on a nextcruise...once it's converted to a cruise..if you have to cancel you will get your full deposit back...but I agree..it's better to transfer it to another sailing even if it ends up not being one you really are going to take just to keep the OBC inplace..

[critterchick]

The $100 deposit is good only on JS and lower categories, by the way. Full suites have to pay the full deposit at the time of booking.

 

The Loyalty Ambassador on the Rhapsody gave me a great tutorial on Future Cruise bookings. She said:

 

1. Always pick a cruise to book, even if you haven't made up your mind. This way you get the $100 deposit, the obc, AND you can get a refund if you cancel before final payment. If you just get a Next Cruise certificate, then the deposit is forfeited. Always pick a cruise.

 

2. If you change your mind/decide on another cruise be sure to TRANSFER the booking and reservation # to the real one. Don't cancel and then book the new one. My TA forgot one of ours was a Future Cruise booking and had to talk them into giving us back our OBC!!

 

3. Only book with one person in the cabin if you don't want to pay for the double occupancy to begin with. Hold the cabin with the $100 deposit in one person's name. The second person will get the same rate later on, because your rate is held at the price you booked on the ship.

 

She is fab, isn't she? Unless the rules have changed in the last year, she is incorrect about the Next Cruise deposit forfeiture. We have cancelled several cruises made with NC certificates and have received the full deposit amount back. It may be that they've upgraded their capabilities to deny the NC credit, but they've said from the beginning that it was nonrefundable, and we've never had an issue getting it back. Of course you need to put down the full deposit when you book the actual cruise.:)

 

Really?? The loyalty ambassador on Majesty would not do that. She said she needed a credit card.

 

I think that they will ask if you want to use the credit card that's linked to your Seapass account, but then it's a separate charge to the card, not part of your onboard account. We didn't have to show our card to the LA, but there's a separate $200 charge on the card statement that corresponds to the booking.

[PamUK]

I think it depends where you are from. We booked a 2011 cruise whilst on the Brilliance last week but because we are from the UK they didn't take any deposit from us but we had to contact RCI within 1 month to confirm the booking and pay the deposit otherwise the reservation is cancelled. I confirmed the cruise yesterday and had to pay a deposit of £300 GBP for two people, and, if we cancel the cruise we lose the deposit. I wish we could do it as if we were from the US, but, different countries, different regulations to follow:rolleyes:

[cruiseguy1016]

The $100 deposit is good only on JS and lower categories, by the way. Full suites have to pay the full deposit at the time of booking.

 

 

 

She is fab, isn't she? Unless the rules have changed in the last year, she is incorrect about the Next Cruise deposit forfeiture. We have cancelled several cruises made with NC certificates and have received the full deposit amount back. It may be that they've upgraded their capabilities to deny the NC credit, but they've said from the beginning that it was nonrefundable, and we've never had an issue getting it back. Of course you need to put down the full deposit when you book the actual cruise.:)

 

 

 

I think that they will ask if you want to use the credit card that's linked to your Seapass account, but then it's a separate charge to the card, not part of your onboard account. We didn't have to show our card to the LA, but there's a separate $200 charge on the card statement that corresponds to the booking.

 

Nope, my Sea Pass was secured by my RCI Visa. I told her that that was the card that I was going to use for the deposit. I had to go back to my cabin and get the credit card.

[Kellie Poodle]

I used to book a Next Cruise open booking or even a particular sailing until they changed the rules about combining discounts. It's now a choice of $100 OBC or a $200 balcony discount, so why should I give RCI my money in advance?

 

Am I missing another reason to book on board? Are there benefits I don't know about?

[cruiseguy1016]

I used to book a Next Cruise open booking or even a particular sailing until they changed the rules about combining discounts. It's now a choice of $100 OBC or a $200 balcony discount, so why should I give RCI my money in advance?

 

Am I missing another reason to book on board? Are there benefits I don't know about?

 

The $100 deposit as opposed to $250.

[critterchick]

Nope, my Sea Pass was secured by my RCI Visa. I told her that that was the card that I was going to use for the deposit. I had to go back to my cabin and get the credit card.

 

I have the number and security number memorized (:eek:) but haven't had to recite it. I'm surprised that she made it that tough on you, since there's not usually anything that says you have to have the cc with you. So everybody she booked would have to go fetch the card. PITA.

 

I used to book a Next Cruise open booking or even a particular sailing until they changed the rules about combining discounts. It's now a choice of $100 OBC or a $200 balcony discount, so why should I give RCI my money in advance?

 

Am I missing another reason to book on board? Are there benefits I don't know about?

 

The $100 deposit as opposed to $250.

 

Or $450 for a longer cruise....