Cancelling cruise after OBC

[jddc7]

Hi All,

 

We recently completed a 4 night sampler cruise on Explorer of the Seas from Sydney to Hobart Australia.

 

When we were on the cruise we decided to book our next cruise. We booked two cabins for a Pacific cruise on Voyager of the seas leaving January 19 2017.

 

One of the reasons for booking this cruise was the crew said to us if we booked this cruise we would get $200 per cabin onboard credit on the current cruise as well as the next cruise we booked on. We paid the deposit as well. I asked what happens if we decide to cancel the cruise, he said that's fine and you would get your deposit back. I then asked what would happen if we used the onboard credit and then cancelled, he said that we could still cancel and you would get the deposit back as the OBC is a gift to us.

 

After arriving back home we went over the budget and have decided we want to cancel the cruise as we are saving for a house now. I called RCI who advised this is a non-refundable booking and we were given the wrong information. I am not happy with this as I feel we have been lied to as I did ask numerous time if we could cancel and were told no issues (onboard)

 

Does anyone have any advice to give for this? Anything would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

[Pipo]

Hi All,

 

We recently completed a 4 night sampler cruise on Explorer of the Seas from Sydney to Hobart Australia.

 

When we were on the cruise we decided to book our next cruise. We booked two cabins for a Pacific cruise on Voyager of the seas leaving January 19 2017.

 

One of the reasons for booking this cruise was the crew said to us if we booked this cruise we would get $200 per cabin onboard credit on the current cruise as well as the next cruise we booked on. We paid the deposit as well. I asked what happens if we decide to cancel the cruise, he said that's fine and you would get your deposit back. I then asked what would happen if we used the onboard credit and then cancelled, he said that we could still cancel and you would get the deposit back as the OBC is a gift to us.

 

After arriving back home we went over the budget and have decided we want to cancel the cruise as we are saving for a house now. I called RCI who advised this is a non-refundable booking and we were given the wrong information. I am not happy with this as I feel we have been lied to as I did ask numerous time if we could cancel and were told no issues (onboard)

 

Does anyone have any advice to give for this? Anything would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

First time that I hear of a non-refundable cruise fare (unless it's less than three weeks from sailing). Looking forward for more comments and experiences.

[Clarea]

It's unfortunate that the OBC was misrepresented to you.

 

You can either take the OBC immediately or on the future cruise. You cannot have the OBC immediately and on the future cruise.

 

It sounds like you took the OBC immediately, in which case your deposit is non-refundable. However, you did get the benefit of that OBC as it should have reduced the final bill for your onboard account.

 

The only way to avoid losing your deposit is to keep the booking, but change it to some other ship and/or sail date.

Edited March 30, 2016 by clarea

[pharaoh]

They told me the same thing about the deposit. I explicitly asked about it, because I wasn't sure if I would be able to go on the cruise that I booked, and I wanted to make sure I could get back my deposit. They told me that if I had to cancel, I could get back my deposit AND still take advantage of the instant OBC, which seemed really strange to me, but I trusted them because they're the professionals.

 

Now I'm out my deposit and can't get it back for the dumb cruise I can't go on. Oh well.

[Clarea]

... Now I'm out my deposit and can't get it back for the dumb cruise I can't go on. Oh well.

Change the booking to something you can take, or just move it to a cruise as far in the future as you can until you figure out what cruise you can take.

[CruisingRoyally]

If I'm not mistaken from the information I read when I did my last on board booking. Wasn't the deposit amount that you paid for the cruise you booked the same amount as the OBC you received? Therefore you technically haven't lost anything by cancelling, because you would have paid the same amount on your stateroom bill at the end of the cruise.

 

I understand that you are saying that you specifically asked. However, there has to be a way for them recoup the OBC that they gave you if you cancel. Otherwise anyone could go an book 10 Next Cruises, get $500+ OBC, then go home and get all there money back.

 

My suggestion would be if you just feel you can't afford the cruise you booked now because you are looking to save, just change the booking for a later date. The Next Cruise bookings are transferable, so you could just call and have the cruise changed to something later on. Then when you feel you can afford it, pick one and change it again. Just make sure you remember the final payment due date for any changes you make so you don't lose the booking.

Edited March 30, 2016 by CruisingRoyally
missing word, and typo

[pharaoh]

I understand that you are saying that you specifically asked. However, there has to be a way for them recoup the OBC that they gave you if you cancel. Otherwise anyone could go an book 10 Next Cruises, get $500+ OBC, then go home and get all there money back.

 

I totally understand that, and I agree! Which is why it didn't make sense when they said I could get my deposit back. But that's what they said and I trusted them. Had I known it wasn't true, I wouldn't have booked. The deposit was not very big so I'm not TOO upset, but it is pretty annoying, regardless.

 

Anyway, I tried to put the amount towards another cruise I had booked, but they refused. They said I could change the date, but not the ship. I don't want to go on the ship -- I booked the Anthem in November but I don't want to sail out of NYC after taking into consideration my mother's dialysis needs, as she's the one I usually cruise with. It would be safer for us to cruise out of Florida, where we live.

 

They said they could transfer the deposit to another date on the Anthem, but if I wanted to change the ship, I would have to cancel and lose my deposit. 😡

[Clarea]

... They said they could transfer the deposit to another date on the Anthem, but if I wanted to change the ship, I would have to cancel and lose my deposit. 😡

Someone is giving you bad info. I just changed the ship and sail date on 3 bookings that I made onboard where I took the OBC immediately.

[tinkertwo]

how does this obb credit work? you put down a deposit for your next cruise and you can use the obb credit right away if you want or on the next cruise. is there a limit to the deposit you make?

I guess what i'm asking is is there a max for your obc?

[Otterman34]

Always get offers and price quotes in writing!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Pipo]

Can they re-sell the cruise to somebody else, a relative perhaps, by changing the name in the reservation and asking the deposit to the new passenger?

[Clarea]

Can they re-sell the cruise to somebody else, a relative perhaps, by changing the name in the reservation and asking the deposit to the new passenger?

One original name must remain the same on a reservation.

[ColoradoGurl]

I totally understand that, and I agree! Which is why it didn't make sense when they said I could get my deposit back. But that's what they said and I trusted them. Had I known it wasn't true, I wouldn't have booked. The deposit was not very big so I'm not TOO upset, but it is pretty annoying, regardless.

 

Anyway, I tried to put the amount towards another cruise I had booked, but they refused. They said I could change the date, but not the ship. I don't want to go on the ship -- I booked the Anthem in November but I don't want to sail out of NYC after taking into consideration my mother's dialysis needs, as she's the one I usually cruise with. It would be safer for us to cruise out of Florida, where we live.

 

They said they could transfer the deposit to

another date on the Anthem, but if I wanted to change the ship, I would have to cancel and lose my deposit. 😡

 

I would call again another day and try again, because you can definitely change the ship. I booked on board for the freedom and just changed it to the adventure. Also, I know it seems like you lost money, but you really didn't because that on board credit just reduced the amount of your bill at the end of your cruise, which you would have had to pay anyway. However, I can see how people would go spend more money on board that maybe they weren't planning to spend, in which case, you lost $50-$200, which sucks but really in the scheme of things, that's pocket change compared to what you paid for the vacation in the first place, so try not to sweat it and chalk it up to "oh well."

[ColoradoGurl]

how does this obb credit work? you put down a deposit for your next cruise and you can use the obb credit right away if you want or on the next cruise. is there a limit to the deposit you make?

I guess what i'm asking is is there a max for your obc?

 

The on board credit that they give you is equal to the deposit you pay, and is dependent upon the room category you choose. It starts at $50, which you pay/receive for booking an inside/promenade room, and goes up to a couple hundred dollars for the suites. It's a pre-set amount, so no, you can't choose to pay, say, $1,000 just to get $1,000 more dollars to spend on board. They set specific amounts based on the room. But yes, all that other stuff you said is correct.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

One original name must remain the same on a reservation.

 

I wish RCI would hire you and get you to train their phone reps.

 

Bill

[Clarea]

I wish RCI would hire you and get you to train their phone reps.

 

Bill

It's Patti and Carol they need, learned it all from them.:)

[Brit-Cruiser]

Someone is giving you bad info. I just changed the ship and sail date on 3 bookings that I made onboard where I took the OBC immediately.

 

The OP is in Australia. There & in the UK, we are subject to a whole lot of different rules that mean deposits cannot be moved to other sailings as can be done in the US.

[Clarea]

The OP is in Australia. There & in the UK, we are subject to a whole lot of different rules that mean deposits cannot be moved to other sailings as can be done in the US.

Thanks, appreciate for the clarification.

[Keith1010]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

 

Keith

[rt1092]

I usually don't come on here and bash others. But this is beyond the pale.

You booked a cruise got OBC equal to the deposit. Then you cancel and expect your deposit back.

In that world every cruiser would be booking 10's of cruises while on board. You could even use it as income. Taking the money in the casino, even if you give them 5% you still turn a 95% profit.

[jddc7]

Thanks all for your help :)

 

We will have a look at some other cruises and see if we can transfer the deposit to that

[Aussie FF]

The OP is in Australia. There & in the UK, we are subject to a whole lot of different rules that mean deposits cannot be moved to other sailings as can be done in the US.

 

I was told in January, on Radiance, that this has all changed, starting in January.

We can now change, transfer, and cancel bookings, without losing deposits or OBC or any other benefits. We also can now get price drops.:eek:

 

I booked a few cruises to test this out.:D

 

No result to report, yet.

[Clarea]

I was told in January, on Radiance, that this has all changed, starting in January.

We can now change, transfer, and cancel bookings, without losing deposits or OBC or any other benefits. We also can now get price drops.:eek:

 

I booked a few cruises to test this out.:D

 

No result to report, yet.

Is this change Jan 2016?

Edited March 31, 2016 by clarea

[molly361]

I was told in January, on Radiance, that this has all changed, starting in January.

We can now change, transfer, and cancel bookings, without losing deposits or OBC or any other benefits. We also can now get price drops.:eek:

 

I booked a few cruises to test this out.:D

 

No result to report, yet.

 

I wonder if this is for the US as well??

[Clarea]

I wonder if this is for the US as well??

I got the impression Aussie FF was saying they are getting the booking rules that the US currently has.