Non Refundable Cruise Deposit

[cathylene]

We are trying to book 3 cabins for a family cruise for June 2019. My travel agent just told us that the rooms have all non refundable deposits. I am very upset with this news and wonder how some of you are reacting. I understand that all the cruise lines are doing this.

Thanks,

Cathy:(

[macaroni]

You can reserve refundable deposit cabins at a little higher rate...we just did it..

[gerelmx]

You need to read the new rules for the 2 options in deposits, this post may help you

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2568832&highlight=deposit

[Keith1010]

Good there are options.

 

Some lines don't have an option.

 

Keith

[hcat]

OP s TA seems not up to date on Celeb deposit issue. Do TAs prefer non refundable?

 

Rates will be higher for the refundable rates..Not sure if incentives or included perks differ...

[Tiggertastic]

It's been this way in the UK for years, we only book what we definitely are going to go on and travel insurance is the back up

 

 

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[Cruise Raider]

It's not actually all cruise lines that are doing this but some are trying it out ... I am sure if it is successful, they will continue on with it. For those that book far in advance, it is probably worth it to book the refundable fare and pay a little more. I suppose that since it is refundable, you can cancel it when it gets closer and book the non-refundable fare if it is cheaper at that time.

We're not really happy with the non-refundable promotions especially considering they charge you $100 pp just to transfer your deposit to a different cruise. We'll just be booking our cruises after final payment date instead. Too many things can come up when you book a cruise 2 years in advance. We recently had all intentions to go on a cruise last Sept but our niece was getting married so we needed to cancel the cruise. She wasn't even going out with this guy when we booked the cruise and they knew each other for nearly 2 years before the wedding. Stuff happens, plans change and I guess we've been spoiled by not having this non-refundable deposit in place.

[fshagan]

We are trying to book 3 cabins for a family cruise for June 2019. My travel agent just told us that the rooms have all non refundable deposits. I am very upset with this news and wonder how some of you are reacting. I understand that all the cruise lines are doing this.

Thanks,

Cathy:(

 

X has two deposits now, and added a non-refundable one that offers you a lower cruise price for locking it in. It's a discount for using a non-refundable deposit. A lot of people would book 2 or 3 cruises at the same time and just back out of the extra ones before final payment, forcing the unsold cabins to be put back on the market.

 

If your TA did not explain that to you, run, don't walk, to get a new TA. You don't know what else they don't know.

[CEOofVacation]

I would pay a few dollars more to book the refundable option. Not all cruise lines have non-refundable deposit. Since I just booked with Oceania and Cunard, I can safely say they both refund deposits, subject to deadline of final payment and a month before final payment respectively.

[ISLANDFAN]

X has two deposits now, and added a non-refundable one that offers you a lower cruise price for locking it in. It's a discount for using a non-refundable deposit. A lot of people would book 2 or 3 cruises at the same time and just back out of the extra ones before final payment, forcing the unsold cabins to be put back on the market.

 

If your TA did not explain that to you, run, don't walk, to get a new TA. You don't know what else they don't know.

 

Reminds me of the old game of "I'll reserve dinner at 3 restaurants on Monday and decide which one to go to on Saturday.

This attitude has now caught up to those folks who played the shell game with the cruise lines! Of course the cruise lines are going to make changes to their deposit policy to correct this behavior. Especially when projections are for the industry to excel in the next few years!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Reminds me of the old game of "I'll reserve dinner at 3 restaurants on Monday and decide which one to go to on Saturday.

This attitude has now caught up to those folks who played the shell game with the cruise lines! Of course the cruise lines are going to make changes to their deposit policy to correct this behavior. Especially when projections are for the industry to excel in the next few years!

 

While we don't play the shell game, I will admit to booking a cruise while on board as a place holder. This has been encouraged by Celebrity via both the on board booking agents and the CVP's.

[h & m]

We are trying to book 3 cabins for a family cruise for June 2019. My travel agent just told us that the rooms have all non refundable deposits. I am very upset with this news and wonder how some of you are reacting. I understand that all the cruise lines are doing this.

Thanks,

Cathy:(

 

Hi Cathy

 

I see you already have some helpful answers, but often the terms and conditions in Australia are different from those in North America. I don't know if this new non-refundable deposit scheme has been introduced in Australia yet.

 

The other difference is generally TA's here in Australia will charge a non-refundable deposit when booking through them, which is different from anything the cruise line may charge.

 

Can I suggest you contact Celebrity Cruises in Australia to get an answer, better still get something in writing from them. Contact numbers are 1800 754 500, or 02 4331 5400.

 

I've had a quick look at the Celebrity website, but it flick over to the US site when looking for terms and conditions.

 

Good luck

 

Hilary

Edited December 10, 2017 by h & m
sp

[riclop]

We are trying to book 3 cabins for a family cruise for June 2019. My travel agent just told us that the rooms have all non refundable deposits. I am very upset with this news and wonder how some of you are reacting. I understand that all the cruise lines are doing this.

Thanks,

Cathy:(

Not all, just wait for a new promotion.

[woody14h]

Be very wary of non cancel-able deals. Death, disability, etc. No refund.

[gerelmx]

Here in MX still refundable deposit and 75 days for final payment.

I worry that for my next reservation the policies will change.

My problem is the traveler's insurance. I can not buy it until 1 year before departure.

[karena1]

I have a cruise on Equinox booked for April 2019 and even with the lowest price, it does not say it is non-refundable. Wonder why some have the option and other don't? I would totally do the non-refundable if the price would go even lower than it already is.

[Cruise Junky]

I have a cruise on Equinox booked for April 2019 and even with the lowest price, it does not say it is non-refundable. Wonder why some have the option and other don't? I would totally do the non-refundable if the price would go even lower than it already is.

 

I don't think Non Refundable deposits kick in until May 2019

[Dimarie40]

If booking in Australia we have always had non refundable deposits just like the UK. It’s only if you book through a US agent or actually live in the US, then your deposit is refundable. I have heard that may be changing however.

[koolforkatz]

We have a cruise booked for June 2019 and one for November 2019. Neither one had the non-refundable deposit option. It's all very confusing.

 

Booking that far in advance, though, I wouldn't do non-refundable if given the option.

[h & m]

If booking in Australia we have always had non refundable deposits just like the UK. It’s only if you book through a US agent or actually live in the US, then your deposit is refundable. I have heard that may be changing however.

 

Sorry to disagree, but we have booked several cruises directly through Celebrity Australia (Royal Caribbean too), and never had to pay a non-refundable deposit.

 

Celebrity Australia do have an earlier date in their cancellation schedule, about 150 days before the cruise, if cancelling after that then the deposit is not refunded.

 

This is directly from the Australian terms and conditions:

 

 

 

 

3. Paying for your cruise

Deposits

We will require a deposit to secure your booking within 7 days of making your booking (or full payment if booking within 70 days of departure). On some cruises the deposit may be required on the day of booking or within 1–7 days of making the booking. After this time if your deposit has not been paid then your booking will be automatically cancelled.

Deposit amounts vary by cruise duration as follows:

Deposit per person

• 1–6 nights AU$200
  
• 7–14 nights AU$400
  
• 15+ nights & Cruisetours AU$800
  

From time to time Celebrity Cruises may run a promotional offer that will incur a non-refundable deposit. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the relevant promotion for further details.

A non-refundable service fee of AU$50 per person must be paid on top of your cruise deposit to secure your flights and airfare for international departures. Some airfares may require full payment at time of booking, which may be non-refundable. If airfare payment is due prior to the cruise payment schedule, you will be advised at the time of booking. Airline taxes are subject to change until airfares are paid in full.

When using your credit or debit card to pay us directly for your cruise, please be aware that we may process that transaction via a bank outside of Australia and your card issuer may choose to charge you a foreign processing fee. We advise you to check the terms and conditions of such foreign transactions with your card issuer in advance of making a payment to us.

Any promotional Air Offers will incur an additional deposit which may vary per itinerary. For example: ‘Fly Free Promotions’ deposits will be non-refundable and due at time of cruise deposit. This additional deposit could be up to AU$2,000 per person. Please contact our office or your travel agent to obtain details of the deposit due at the time of booking. An air processing fee may be applicable to reservations cancelled outside of cruise penalties. This will be advised to you at the time of booking

[Tapi]

I just booked the Edge for November 2019. The refundable deposit price was about 5% higher than the non-refundable deposit price. Being that far out, the slight price difference is worth it to have a refundable deposit, IMHO.

 

 

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[koolforkatz]

I just booked the Edge for November 2019. The refundable deposit price was about 5% higher than the non-refundable deposit price. Being that far out, the slight price difference is worth it to have a refundable deposit, IMHO.

 

 

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Was this a Caribbean itinerary? There was no non-refundable option for the TA. Maybe because there are no perks attached to it.

 

 

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[Tapi]

Was this a Caribbean itinerary? There was no non-refundable option for the TA. Maybe because there are no perks attached to it.

 

 

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Yes. It’s for the first Caribbean sailing; a 9 night itinerary.

 

 

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[A Sixth?]

Booked a number of cruises on our October/ November Silhouette b2b2bs and was guaranteed that my deposits were 100% refundable and that as of beginning of November there wasn’t any notice of changes.

 

Often book onboard, sometimes cancelled or change. So what :*

[macaroni]

Booked a number of cruises on our October/ November Silhouette b2b2bs and was guaranteed that my deposits were 100% refundable and that as of beginning of November there wasn’t any notice of changes.

 

Often book onboard, sometimes cancelled or change. So what :*

 

We had a booking made on our last cruise June- that I just changed from 2019 to 2020...If I wanted the lower non refundable rate I had to add to my deposit...if I kept it at the higher refundable rate I did not need to.....