November 1 Begins Non-Refundable Deposits in US

[ecslady]

Does anyone know if this new rule applies only to bookings made after Nov 1, or does it apply to all bookings, even those made 12 months ago or more, under the old system?

 

This is a very important question, because I presently have a couple of cruises booked that I will hoping to move when the new itineraries come out, but may need to cancel now.

 

 

I hope someone has a definitive answer on this from X.

[Jeremiah1212]

Could someone give a $ amount of a refundable / non-refundable cruise fare from HAL or Royal? I really don't want to have to try to learn / navigate another website! or even just a guesstimate would be appreciated - does length of cruise impact the price difference? THANKS!

 

 

 

We have a 7 day on RC booked and the difference is only $80 per person and the non-refundable fare comes with $100 OBC, the refundable rate has no OBC.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Luvcrusn]

What would be the policy on this^^?

I'm sure that question will be asked multiple times. Along with what's to keep me from booking a refundable fare, then cancelling close to the date and rebooking. As I've said, we have never cancelled a booking. However life happens and circumstances change.

[suec12]

thank you Jeremiah!

[Ramona760]

I wonder if this stems from what I imagine was a mass cancellation of bookings after the Caribbean hurricane..

While I am planning up to 2 years in advance, I will not book too far into the future with a non-refundable booking.

That being said, I don't think they suffer too much to be holding hundreds of thousands of dollars (millions?) in future cruise deposits. That is in their account, not yours. Even if they have to refund a certain portion, don't they earn interest in it?

[C 2 C]

You may be able to change a booking using a non-refundable deposit but you will be charge a $100 pp similar to a certain agency's policy. This could mean a charge from both the agency and Celebrity.

 

The agency which has a president's cruise suggests booking now to avoid the new policy effective Nov 1. which implies no retroactive application of non-refund policy.

 

Due to health issues and Celebrity's habit of cancelling reservations by chartering middle segments of our back to back cruise itineraries we have cancelled or altered our cruise plans many times over the years. It happens when one books at least a dozen cruises a year.

 

We will now plan only Xciting and last "minute" (less than 3 months out) cruises.

We will adapt to their new restrictions and fees by applying our own restrictions.

[Duanerice1]

Depending on the price difference b/t refundable and non-refundable I probably won't be booking in advance. As others have said too many things can happen.

 

We've cruised probably 20 times (just a guess) and have had to cancel once. We don't book a lot, only cruises we plan to take.

 

I wonder if this will hurt profits long term. If people wait until later, prices will probably drop because sailings are not filling as fast...... Just a thought. If we are going to wait and book, we'll wait until after final payment and only book only "deals". But, we have the luxury of being close to the port and being retired. I understand not everyone can get away with 90 days notice.

[Classynfun1]

As it is, it's difficult for me to book in advance due to my job and my husband's schedule, though I do book as far as a possibly can since the cabins we prefer seem to go fast now (RS/PH). That said, if my deposits of $1800 will not be refunded, I will absolutely not book before final payment and until I know FOR SURE I can take the cruise. I understand that this means I will probably have to explore other cruise lines if suite bookings continue to be sold out in advance, but I'm not willing to risk the $ (both for the high cost of cancel anytime insurance or the deposits). Adding that provision to my insurance typically doubles the premium, so all in all booking more than 60 days out is seeming less and less worth it.

[Wiltonian]

From a UK perspective, it will be interesting to see how this affects future price trends.

It is, of course, impossible to know the scale of people doing multiple bookings (sometimes for simultaneous or overlapping cruises) and then cancelling all but one. I suspect that it might be more common among the committed and savvy people on CC than among the general clientele. Neither do we know the general US cancellation rate caused by a change of mind which currently costs nothing.

But, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be fewer bookings for cruises far out from the cruise date, simply because few are multiple-booking and fewer are doing "I might change my mind" bookings. So that _might_ mean lower prices well before cruise date.

Then, just before final payment date, there will be far fewer last-minute cancellations, so far less of a glut of newly-available cabins to be sold as a matter of urgency, so perhaps far fewer last minute bargain deals.

We shall see!

Stuart

[Ramona760]

So as we type, cruxxxs dot com

is offering "no deposits required" on their RC and Carnival cruises. for the next 3 days.. I wonder how that works..

[Gonzo70]

I too am less likely to sail with Celebrity in the future because of this. I enjoy booking far in advance (the anticipation is half the fun) and never book a cruise I do not intend to take, but sometimes important work or family obligations arise necessitating a change to my vacation schedule. If I continue to sail Celebrity it would only involve booking on short notice - and then I am more dependent on airfare still being reasonable and not having work obligations that cannot be shifted. Not so sure this will be a successful strategy for Celebrity; they were receiving lots of interest free loans (in the form of deposits far in advance of sailing) as well as losing some customers. I think a more prudent decision would be to charge a small fee for cancellations/changes - maybe give everybody one free cancellation/change per calendar and each subsequent cancellation/change incurs a $25 fee. Would stop people from booking cruises they are uncertain (or unlikely) to take, but not upset too many people who were not abusing the system.

[villauk]

You do realize that it’s been 20 years since they purchased Celebrity!

 

I may be wrong, but I believe hcat was referring to X becoming more like Royal since their CEO took over rather than the initial purchase :confused:.

[kk99]

Hi,

We cruise with both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. When Royal put its new policy in place, my TA sent me their pdf of the nonrefundable questions sent out by Royal to the travel agents. Here is the link:

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/LTYA_News/17056800_Nonrefundable_FAQ_News.pdf

Until we know for sure with any official announcement from Celebrity, it is only a guess that it will be identical to Royal Caribbean's policy.

Royal Caribbean did not apply the changes to any cruises booked prior to the official announcement date. Royal Caribbean did make all Grand Suites and higher nonrefundable booking reservations as well as guarantee cabins.

 

The price differences( in our experience) between the nonrefundable and refundable bookings were under 100 dollars a person for a Caribbean sailing in a balcony room. The differences in prices were higher for longer itineraries on newer ships for a balcony.

 

We tend to book out far in advance due to work. If the pricing is not too much different, we will still book refundable fares along with our trip insurance.

 

Otherwise, if we have more flexibility, then last minute or exciting deals will be booked by us as nonrefundable fares.

 

Royal does not charge a fee to upgrade or downgrade a cabin before final payment on a nonrefundable fare. But if you switch weeks on the same ship, or move to a different ship, then it is 100 dollars per person every time you make a change in addition to if your travel agent has a cancellation or change policy.

 

Some of the changes are probably to more accurately project revenue, keep prices higher unless it is not a popular sailing, and not see large amounts of cabins sold at last minute discounts. If they make all higher suites on Celebrity nonrefundable and require larger deposits, it may stop people from holding reservations on more than one sailing until that person decides which itinerary they want to book.

 

I find the timing of this interesting as most of the new Celebrity itineraries roll out in late November/ December time frame. We have already booked Europe for fall 2019 when it just released. We will be looking for additional cruises we want and the difference in refundable/nonrefundable initial fares for 2019-2020. I think Celebrity may price initial inventory higher on the new cruises and then see much closer to the cruise date if they need to adjust the base fares.

[gold1953]

in regards to comments about some booking cruises they may not take .. this habit was encouraged and suggested at Future Cruise Sales on board. Assuming they got credit no matter when you cruised as long as it was from the original booking . Only $200 a pop. I personally have changed a few but not last minute

[AnOnymously]

From a UK perspective, it will be interesting to see how this affects future price trends.

It is, of course, impossible to know the scale of people doing multiple bookings (sometimes for simultaneous or overlapping cruises) and then cancelling all but one. I suspect that it might be more common among the committed and savvy people on CC than among the general clientele. Neither do we know the general US cancellation rate caused by a change of mind which currently costs nothing.

But, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be fewer bookings for cruises far out from the cruise date, simply because few are multiple-booking and fewer are doing "I might change my mind" bookings. So that _might_ mean lower prices well before cruise date.

Then, just before final payment date, there will be far fewer last-minute cancellations, so far less of a glut of newly-available cabins to be sold as a matter of urgency, so perhaps far fewer last minute bargain deals.

We shall see!

Stuart

Agree.

 

It is about time there was a level playing field, too.

 

If you don't like the prospect of non-refundable deposits, then understand that the UK have suffered under that regime for a long time. It certainly focuses the mind, so that when you place a deposit you are serious about taking the cruise/holiday/car/house etc.

[Cruise Junky]

Agree.

 

It is about time there was a level playing field, too.

 

If you don't like the prospect of non-refundable deposits, then understand that the UK have suffered under that regime for a long time. It certainly focuses the mind, so that when you place a deposit you are serious about taking the cruise/holiday/car/house etc.

 

Your deposit is far smaller though for a lot of cruises. If I'm paying $1,200 I need to have my mind made up.

[Baron Barracuda]

Trying to guesstimate impact on fares.

 

On my recent sailings the low price was usually when cruise first opened for booking. Under dynamic pricing as the ship filled prices rose, sometimes dramatically, right up to final payment date. It therefore seems fair to say that early bookings and multiple bookers have the effect of creating scarcity and driving prices up. If customers cancel at final payment date and X cuts price to fill the ship it's too late for the rest of us to request adjustments.

 

With non-refundable deposits would expect cruisers to book later, and ships to fill more slowly. Low occupancy levels will keep fares down and force X to be more promotional. Logical?

[sandancer]

I wonder if you book a non refundable deposit cruise and the rate goes down (before final payment) can you still get the lower rate? Anyone know?

 

 

If they are following the booking rules same as here in the UK i.e non refundable deposits then the answer is no. No price drops allowed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cruise Junky]

If they are following the booking rules same as here in the UK i.e non refundable deposits then the answer is no. No price drops allowed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I'm pretty sure that's what they're intending. HAL has that rule on their non-refundable deposit promos. Not sure if RCL does.

[Lastdance]

See Andy’s response on the other thread that was started.....

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[AnOnymously]

I'm pretty sure that's what they're intending. HAL has that rule on their non-refundable deposit promos. Not sure if RCL does.

 

Makes sense to me, what is the point of a deposit if you can simply cancel and get it back. It surely should be a commitment to buy or lose the deposit. I have only objected to the non-level playing field that locks UK people in. The deposit I paid was £300 which on any transaction would make me think more than twice before I cancelled it and lost the article. I would ensure that I was serious about the purchase in the first place. But it might have the effect of ensuring that the price fluctuations stop. People who have paid a deposit and then see the price drop dramatically feel rightly aggrieved and think twice about getting bitten by the same dog again. I know how that feels.

[Luvcrusn]

If they are following the booking rules same as here in the UK i.e non refundable deposits then the answer is no. No price drops allowed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I don't know if I'm remembering correctly but I remember reading somewhere that part of the reason for the booking rules in UK has to do with some UK laws. Anyone know? As I said previously we have never cancelled a booking. The new policy will make us change our booking pattern and book close to a sailing instead of 2 years out.

[AnOnymously]

Personally, I do not have an issue with that. This also means that if there are any drops in pricing, it would be beneficial to cancel and re-book.

 

Of course all of the above is dependent on how much higher refundable vs non-refundable fares are.

 

bon voyage

 

Depends on how much you save. When I cancelled and re-booked it was a worthwhile drop, but others were caught and would lose nearly as much deposit as the cruise had gone down in price. I don't think that either group was happy from mine and other postings at the time.

 

Non-refundable deposits can make for angry customers if the price fluctuations are anything like the deposit.

[hcat]

I may be wrong, but I believe hcat was referring to X becoming more like Royal since their CEO took over rather than the initial purchase :confused:.

 

Correct...

[riclop]

I just received an email from my TA (large online agency) that starting November 1, Celebrity will be rolling out non-refundable deposits in the US. So we will now suffer the same decisions as our friends in the UK. We have never cancelled a deposited cruise, but since we're baby boomers, we're coming to ages where the probability of health issues has increased. We will definitely not be booking cruises two years in advance, which we've done in the past. Buying insurance would lessen the possible loss, however the cost of the premium is more that we're willing to risk as well. I guess we'll do last minute bookings going forward. Thoughts?

Will not cruise with X.