Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Non refundable deposits might backfire on RCI

Luckybee

By Luckybee,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

skiiergirl

skiiergirl

Posted
Posted
I like this way better. It's incentive for doing non refundable. You get price drops up until 48 hours to sailing. The only incentive for booking early with royal is the $100 obc which can be obtained from any of the random sales as well as a cheaper price up front. But you aren't guaranteed the best price up until sail date. I would consider the non refundable if this was the case. I won't even think about booking it just for the OBC and small reduction in price.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

(y)(y)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

Posted
Posted
Yes, I agree with you. This info is very enlightening and I wonder if RCCL thought about this scenario.

 

Also agree, the rolling eyes and the posters comment was kind of snarky. I often wonder why people have to respond in such a mean way.

 

 

Football season is coming up and they have nothing to look forward to. :evilsmile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SRF

SRF

Posted
Posted

Bottom line is, RCCL will try this for a while and see how it works. If there are issues, they will adjust the program to make it work the best.

 

Basic business practice. Just like the all guests in a cabin must buy the same level drink package. If it hurts income, it WILL get changed. If it helps revenue, it will be expanded.

 

No matter what anyone on this board thinks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted
Bottom line is, RCCL will try this for a while and see how it works. If there are issues, they will adjust the program to make it work the best.

 

Basic business practice. Just like the all guests in a cabin must buy the same level drink package. If it hurts income, it WILL get changed. If it helps revenue, it will be expanded.

 

No matter what anyone on this board thinks.

You left out a very important part of the sentence.... they will adjust the program to make it work best FOR THEM.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
marci22

marci22

Posted
Posted
Does the FCC have to be used (as in cruise booked and taken) or does the cruise just have to be booked.

 

I have a credit left (for a problem on a past cruise) for a family member and the rep who was applying the credits for the others told me I could book his cruise up until the 1 year expiration date and that he didn't have to actually take it before the year was over.

 

I'm sure it depends on who you get on the phone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ILCTCRUISER

ILCTCRUISER

Posted
Posted
Bottom line is, RCCL will try this for a while and see how it works. If there are issues, they will adjust the program to make it work the best.

 

Basic business practice. Just like the all guests in a cabin must buy the same level drink package. If it hurts income, it WILL get changed. If it helps revenue, it will be expanded.

 

No matter what anyone on this board thinks.

Agreed. It is a business after all. Sometimes, its policy changes befuddle a lot of us, sometimes not.

 

It is in business to make money and it will do what it can to increase revenue and lower cost....until it gets enough pushback to reconsider any initiatives it puts in place to accomplish those goals. Each one of us will decide how to deal with NRFs: we get to vote with our wallets. Some will purchase NRFs; others won't. One wants to believe that at some point in time the decision makers within RCL will add up the numbers and tally up the score. If NRFs help them reach their goal, the bottom line, they have no reason to reconsider the policy. If NRFs work against them, then maybe a change will be made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RFerrington

RFerrington

Posted
Posted
i went from 1 or 2 cruises a year to 7 the year i retired, and took everyone of them. I book 5 to 7 cruises, when the itineraries first are released, and plan on taking every one of them. If something comes up, family wedding as an example, i don't think i should be penalized, just because i booked more cruises.

 

^like^

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FLSteve11

FLSteve11

Posted
Posted

Out of curiosity, how do Travel Agency group bookings work with suites and NR deposits? If they are blocking a bunch of rooms, are they being exempted from the penalties if they get released back to RCL if they're unsold? Or do they generally not do group bookings of suites (and choose not to do NR pricing on the rest)?

 

It seems on some cruises the availability problem is from many rooms being blocked off by agencies, rather then individual people booking multiple rooms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
Out of curiosity, how do Travel Agency group bookings work with suites and NR deposits? If they are blocking a bunch of rooms, are they being exempted from the penalties if they get released back to RCL if they're unsold? Or do they generally not do group bookings of suites (and choose not to do NR pricing on the rest)?

 

It seems on some cruises the availability problem is from many rooms being blocked off by agencies, rather then individual people booking multiple rooms.

As far as I know, the terms for TAs holding group space have not changed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
frisbeewife

frisbeewife

Posted
Posted

If I remember correctly, the only time I had to cancel a cruise was with Carnival and they gave me 2 years from the cancellation date to use the credit. I forfeited $50 per person and the rest was a FCC. At least 2 years from the cancellation date seems more reasonable than 1 year. But at that time I had absolutely no plans to cruise on Carnival so I ended up giving the credit to a friend who cruises Carnival anywhere from 2 to 4 times a year and she gave me the cash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ravensbad

ravensbad

Posted
Posted
If I remember correctly, the only time I had to cancel a cruise was with Carnival and they gave me 2 years from the cancellation date to use the credit. I forfeited $50 per person and the rest was a FCC. At least 2 years from the cancellation date seems more reasonable than 1 year. But at that time I had absolutely no plans to cruise on Carnival so I ended up giving the credit to a friend who cruises Carnival anywhere from 2 to 4 times a year and she gave me the cash.

 

Carnival's NRD policy in general seems a lot better than Royal's... $50 per person fee instead of $100, allows price drops until 48 hours before vs. no price drops, and 2 years to use the credit from date of cancellation vs. only one year. Plus, I have noticed that generally (on the inside cabins I normally look at) the difference between Carnival's early saver rate and their refundable rate is only around $40 per person, while all the Royal ones I have checked have been $70+. So their NRD option is better, and if you want to go the refundable route it doesn't cost you that much more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gaylemh

gaylemh

Posted
Posted
If I remember correctly, the only time I had to cancel a cruise was with Carnival and they gave me 2 years from the cancellation date to use the credit. I forfeited $50 per person and the rest was a FCC. At least 2 years from the cancellation date seems more reasonable than 1 year. But at that time I had absolutely no plans to cruise on Carnival so I ended up giving the credit to a friend who cruises Carnival anywhere from 2 to 4 times a year and she gave me the cash.

 

I'm surprised that it was transferable. I believe any credits or certificates from Royal are non-transferable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
frisbeewife

frisbeewife

Posted
Posted
I'm surprised that it was transferable. I believe any credits or certificates from Royal are non-transferable.

 

I was surprised too. But my friend called her "representative" at Carnival (she cruises enough that she has a designated person) and they told her what I had to do. I just applied it as OBC to a cruise she already had booked and it worked out fine.

 

This is off-topic, but I'm starting to be ready to expand beyond Royal and see what other cruise lines are like. I do have a cruise this October on Carnival (yes - booked with our Carnivalholic friends) and I'm considering using Celebrity or HAL for a Baltics cruise in a year or two. Royal's just so convenient when you live 45 minutes from Port Canaveral.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted (edited)

August 15, 2017 - 208 days from cruise.

 

I am looking at a 'spring break' cruise on Allure. March 11, 2018 Western Caribbean. Laura's birthday cruise. :D

 

Backstory

Laura booked this onboard Jewel on Nov 19, 2016. Booked a D8 with BOGO 50% and a $100 deposit. She accepted the $100 OBC for her existing sailing. It also includes a $250 D+ C&A Balcony Discount. Price was $2,783. We elected not to transfer this to our TA because we hope to use it as an award cruise and want to keep it with Royal. On or about June 17, 2017 this sailing was eligible for BOGO 60% and the base price had gone down. Requested price reduction and current price is $2,178. :D

 

Let's book it now.

Luckily I can find a D8 in pretty much the same location. The new price with a fully refundable deposit of $500 and no OBC is $2395. If I go with a NRD of $500 and $100 OBC, the price is $2,152. The NRD price is a net savings of $343, with a risk of losing $200. Seems like a no brainer.

 

The point of all this is that there is savings to be had by choosing the NRD. So if you are confident of you decision to cruise, take the lower price. The reward outweighs the risk if you do have to change plans.

 

Decision Time

So it looks like I can save $126 if I request a price adjustment and make the deposit non refundable. I'm still not sure if I have to give them $400 to make the deposit whole. I probably won't call because this is supposed to be an award cruise and won't cost anything anyway.

Edited by John&LaLa
typos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...