New past due policy

[Jeano222]

I tried to see if anyone else had posted this. Travel agents received an email stating that as of 12/1, bookings will automatically cancel if final payment is not paid by due date, and deposit will be forfeited. This affects both individual and group bookings.

[paul929207]

One more reason to not wait till the last minute

[Woobstr112G]

I thought this was always the case. How long did they wait before this new policy.....:confused::confused::confused:

 

Bob

[Coral]

Princess was always lax on this. If there was money on the booking, they wouldn't automatically cancel the day of final payment. I have made final payment a few days late before and never had problems.

 

I won't be doing that again.

 

Thanks for posting!

[pablo222]

I tried to see if anyone else had posted this. Travel agents received an email stating that as of 12/1, bookings will automatically cancel if final payment is not paid by due date, and deposit will be forfeited. This affects both individual and group bookings.

 

One more reason to use Future Cruise Credits, so there is very

little deposit on the line.

[Jeano222]

Bob, there has always been some wiggle room with final payments. They are now cracking down, and will no longer allow it. Final payments due on weekends and/or holidays have always been given leeway, but now the system will automatically cancel it. This could be a real problem for travel agents who don't read their memos or worse don't think it will happen to them.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes its always been the policy but it has been lax in enforcement. :)

[Katie333]

Good reminder! Depending on your TA, they may or may not keep tabs on final payment dates. I suspect when cancellations start to pour in everyone will be more diligent about it.

 

I for one will continue to make sure I hit that date or even a bit in advance to be safe.

[Putterdude]

This could be a real problem for travel agents who don't read their memos or worse don't think it will happen to them.

 

Most T/As collect payment before the cruise lines "Final Payment Date" so it is probably not an issue. However, it could be for people who book directly with Princess and are not aware of the policy. Frankly, I always thought the deposit was fully refundable; the one time I booked directly with Princess (then transfered it to our TA) I don't recall any discussion about this.

[cherylandtk]

Thank you for posting the new policy. Now.....if only everyone will READ it and comply. ;)

[donna5]

I always thought the deposit was refundable. Since before final payment anything you pay is refundable.

[donna5]

Thinking more about this, I guess if it is a day after final payment the cancellation policy is forfeiting your deposit. So I guess it is nothing new, just enforcing their contract.

[oskidunker]

due to my credit card closing date.So I know there WAS some flexibility

[bighairtexan]

ahhhhhh now I understand.

I had my final payment date on my cruise personalizer/info from Princess. Then about 4 days before it was due, my TA went ahead and did the final payment to Princess. I wondered why it was done in advance. Guess he didn't want to run afoul of the policy that was going to be coming up in the future. Makes sense. Thanks for posting this. I'll be watching next time to make sure we have a day or two to spare.

[TBR]

Dear Travel Professional,

Over the past few years, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line have introduced several online tools and options for booking and servicing reservations. With availability 24/7, use of these tools by our travel agent partners has grown substantially, particularly for making payments online, as consumers have transitioned to using credit cards as their form of payment on the vast majority of bookings. In response to these trends, and in order to provide you with consistent and predictable final payment schedules for Princess Cruises and Cunard Line bookings:

 

Effective Wednesday, December 1, 2010, ALL Princess Cruises and Cunard Line bookings will automatically cancel as soon as the final payment is past due. Additionally, there will be no grace periods or extensions allowed for receipt of final payment. All Electronic Fund Transfers must be submitted and payments by check must be posted by the final payment date. This final payment policy will also apply to Group bookings.

 

In addition, new booking options will be limited to only one extension.

 

The new policies will be in effect for all voyages sailing March 1, 2011 and thereafter.

 

 

We thank you for your continued support of Princess Cruises and Cunard Line.

Sincerely,

[MiddleagedM]

If you book directly with Princess you can have it set-up so that Princess will automatically bill your credit card that was used upon initial deposit on the final due date. I have done this several times with Princess as well as other cruise lines and it has always worked well.

 

Mike

[Loonbeam]

I always follow a general rule of payment 1 calendar week before final due, just in case there are any issues. Easier to be proactive than have to clean up a mess..

[Cruzer Two]

Dear Travel Professional,

 

Over the past few years, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line have introduced several online tools and options for booking and servicing reservations. With availability 24/7, use of these tools by our travel agent partners has grown substantially, particularly for making payments online, as consumers have transitioned to using credit cards as their form of payment on the vast majority of bookings. In response to these trends, and in order to provide you with consistent and predictable final payment schedules for Princess Cruises and Cunard Line bookings:

 

Effective Wednesday, December 1, 2010, ALL Princess Cruises and Cunard Line bookings will automatically cancel as soon as the final payment is past due. Additionally, there will be no grace periods or extensions allowed for receipt of final payment. All Electronic Fund Transfers must be submitted and payments by check must be posted by the final payment date. This final payment policy will also apply to Group bookings.

 

In addition, new booking options will be limited to only one extension.

 

The new policies will be in effect for all voyages sailing March 1, 2011 and thereafter.

 

 

We thank you for your continued support of Princess Cruises and Cunard Line.

Sincerely,

 

I don't see anything in this memo that says the deposit will be forfeited. It merely says the reservation will be cancelled. Was the information about the deposit contained in another memo?

[cherylandtk]

I don't see anything in this memo that says the deposit will be forfeited. It merely says the reservation will be cancelled. Was the information about the deposit contained in another memo?

It was not in a memo, but it is in the contract. Final payment is due on the 75th day for most cruises. The cancellation penalties start on the 74th day. So if you fail to pay on the 75th day, you not only lose your booking, but your deposit, too, when the computer cancels you on the 74th day. BTW--that is the brochure deposit amount, not a reduced amount or FCC deposit amount. Other dates and penalties apply to cruises of different times or length, but the penalties all start the day after final payment is due.

[rdsqrl]

Princess was always lax on this. If there was money on the booking, they wouldn't automatically cancel the day of final payment. I have made final payment a few days late before and never had problems.

 

I won't be doing that again.

 

Thanks for posting!

Ditto, me, too. I was even toying with cancelling my MR cruise a couple years ago and so didn't make the final payment, and about 2 days after the final payment date, Princess actually called me to remind me (weirdly, because I had already transferred the booking to a TA, but whatever -- they work in mysterious ways out in Santa Clarita!). I ended up going on the cruise, since it seemed to mean so much to the folks at Princess that they actually called me personally about it! But seriously, I think I've paid late on almost all of them; I appreciate the heads-up so I'll be more timely going foward.

[piper28]

I always make sure I contact our TA to have the payment made at least a few days before the final payment date. You never know what might happen at the last minute. One of those times I'd called for that I discovered that it completely slipped my mind that my TA is in Houston, and oh, over the weekend a major huricane went through! So you never know, things happen that might cause issues. (I'll give her a lot of credit though, she was actually in that day, and had thankfully made it through the huricane without too much trouble.)

[SkystheLimit]

We have sailed with Princess many times and usually wait until the last few days to make final payment. Often, I was the one to call our TA to make the payment. This week I received an e-mail from our TA that final payment was due for our cruise in December. So, I guess this means they are serious and I appreciate ou TA being on top of things.

[AlaskaGolden]

Our TA requires final payment 15 days before the Princess final payment date. This allows for the TA to contact people who haven't made final payment. It also allows the cruisers to be a few days to a week late in making the payment without the possibility of cancellation.

 

I paid our late cruise a few days later than the TA's final payment date knowing that it was still before the Princess final payment date. The TA didn't even mention that the payment was late (because technically ti wasn't!).

[lovevacadays]

I always follow a general rule of payment 1 calendar week before final due, just in case there are any issues. Easier to be proactive than have to clean up a mess..

 

Me too. Actually, I try and pay at least two weeks prior to final payment. Life can get so busy and I can get so absent-minded that I figure I'm better off doing it this way.:D:D

[whatcruiseisnext]

new booking options will be limited to only one extension.....

 

Exactly what does this mean?