SUITES BOOKED ONLY WITH NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT

[MikeandBobNC]

Like many others, I am in the process of cancelling future cruises.  I was booked on B2B on the Constellation in October in a Celebrity Suite on both cruises.  When I contacted my travel agent to cancel them, I received an email stating:

 

"There will be a $200 penalty on each deposit, and then you will get a Future Cruise credit for the remaining balance. "

 

This didn't make sense to me because I didn't think they were booked with a non-refundable deposit.  I emailed the agent back and questioned the reason for the $200 penalty and FCC.  After several exchanges I received an email stating:

 

"All suites are booked under the Non-Refundable Deposit and incur these fees from the point of purchase.  This has been Celebrity’s policy for over a year."

 

Did I miss something?  Is this an accurate statement?

 

No where on my Celebrity confirmation does it say anything about a non-refundable deposit.  Normally, I would expect to see something about NRD in the PROMOTIONS section.

 

Has anyone else experience this issue?  I truly don't feel I should incur the $200 penalty and I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort to get it back.  Also, I called Celebrity to ask if they could confirm for me if they deposits were refundable or non-refundable and they said they couldn't tell me - I would need to talk to my travel agent.  I thought this was very weird that Celebrity couldn't - or wouldn't - answer such a simple question.

 

 

 

[Noreen411]

Hi

 

We recently booked a Royal Suite and were given the option of refundable or non refundable deposits.

 

The price difference was about $4,000 but it was our choice which way to book.  
 

I don’t know if rules have changed since we booked (Early March 2020 for a sailing in 2022).

 

Noreen

Edited March 26, 2020 by Noreen411

[marycruz]

12 minutes ago, MikeandBobNC said:

Like many others, I am in the process of cancelling future cruises.  I was booked on B2B on the Constellation in October in a Celebrity Suite on both cruises.  When I contacted my travel agent to cancel them, I received an email stating:

 

"There will be a $200 penalty on each deposit, and then you will get a Future Cruise credit for the remaining balance. "

 

This didn't make sense to me because I didn't think they were booked with a non-refundable deposit.  I emailed the agent back and questioned the reason for the $200 penalty and FCC.  After several exchanges I received an email stating:

 

"All suites are booked under the Non-Refundable Deposit and incur these fees from the point of purchase.  This has been Celebrity’s policy for over a year."

 

Did I miss something?  Is this an accurate statement?

 

No where on my Celebrity confirmation does it say anything about a non-refundable deposit.  Normally, I would expect to see something about NRD in the PROMOTIONS section.

 

Has anyone else experience this issue?  I truly don't feel I should incur the $200 penalty and I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort to get it back.  Also, I called Celebrity to ask if they could confirm for me if they deposits were refundable or non-refundable and they said they couldn't tell me - I would need to talk to my travel agent.  I thought this was very weird that Celebrity couldn't - or wouldn't - answer such a simple question.

 

 

 

 

It's tricky depending on how they booked the suites.  When you look at the prices for the suites there are two prices, one being best value and one is a lower price.  I believe the best value one is the refundable suite and the one with the lower price is non-refundable. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.   We have two cruises booked on the Summit coming up and both were refundable.  When the price went down they wouldn't give it to us unless we agreed to a  non-refundable rate.

 

Hope this helps.

[MikeandBobNC]

Thanks for the replies.  I just found (and emailed to my soon to be former travel agent) a Celebrity booking that I cancelled on 2/17/2020 and received the full refund to our credit card 2 days later.  Her statement that it has been Celebrity policy for over a year is just a blatant lie.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Not sure its a lie but the "over a year" part may be a stretch.  In Spetember, 2019 we booked a RS on Connie for a Panama Canal cruise due to sail in March 2021.  The deposit was non-refundable and that was the only option.  When I question our TA about it I was told that Celebrity has gone to this because many people in the past were reserving suites only to cancel them at a later point.  I guess going the non-refundable route had cut down on that practice.  Not sure how long before September that started but I do remember a time when that wasn't the case.

[az_tchr]

57 minutes ago, MikeandBobNC said:

Like many others, I am in the process of cancelling future cruises.  I was booked on B2B on the Constellation in October in a Celebrity Suite on both cruises.  When I contacted my travel agent to cancel them, I received an email stating:

 

"There will be a $200 penalty on each deposit, and then you will get a Future Cruise credit for the remaining balance. "

 

This didn't make sense to me because I didn't think they were booked with a non-refundable deposit.  I emailed the agent back and questioned the reason for the $200 penalty and FCC.  After several exchanges I received an email stating:

 

"All suites are booked under the Non-Refundable Deposit and incur these fees from the point of purchase.  This has been Celebrity’s policy for over a year."

 

Did I miss something?  Is this an accurate statement?

 

No where on my Celebrity confirmation does it say anything about a non-refundable deposit.  Normally, I would expect to see something about NRD in the PROMOTIONS section.

 

Has anyone else experience this issue?  I truly don't feel I should incur the $200 penalty and I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort to get it back.  Also, I called Celebrity to ask if they could confirm for me if they deposits were refundable or non-refundable and they said they couldn't tell me - I would need to talk to my travel agent.  I thought this was very weird that Celebrity couldn't - or wouldn't - answer such a simple question.

 

 

 

A tiny piece. Celebrity does not get all of your booking details. Never has. TAs can and often offer additional.perks. Celebrity does not get that and other details until after final payment.

Celebrity cannot provide you what they do not have.

I never book with a NRD.  Was always given a choice and usually did a group space. I don't usually book suites.

[jelayne]

It sounds like you got a Guest Copy Booking Confirmation look for the letters NRD in the section with Cruise Fare, taxes & port fees.  We have some refundable and non refundable Suite bookings and on ours  1 line reads 4PERKSUITE NRD.

If you see those letters you were booked with a non refundable deposit.

 

I have booked Suites with both witH refundable and non refundable deposits within the past year.  In fact we booked a B2B directly with Celebrity in  late February and 1 leg has a refundable deposit and the 2nd leg is a NRD.  So your agent is not correct in saying that Suites only have a NRD. 

[wrk2cruise]

From the promotions supplied this sure looks like a refundable deposit.  Also look for this test on the Guest Invoice.  If it's not there just above the final payment date then it's definitely refundable.

 

The minimum deposit for this reservation is Non-Refundable. A change fee of 100 USD per guest will apply for ship or sail date changes.
Final Payment is due by 04 AUG 2020, 5:00 PM EST
Deposit amounts may vary by promotion. North American

 

[Roger88]

1 hour ago, marycruz said:

 

It's tricky depending on how they booked the suites.  When you look at the prices for the suites there are two prices, one being best value and one is a lower price.  I believe the best value one is the refundable suite and the one with the lower price is non-refundable. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.   We have two cruises booked on the Summit coming up and both were refundable.  When the price went down they wouldn't give it to us unless we agreed to a  non-refundable rate.

 

Hope this helps.

You are totally right. This is how it works. Sometimes people are overpaying. Best value does not neceserily mean the best suit and the lower price suite does not always mean a bad one. Best deal is the most suitable deal for most of the people. Low price suites are usually those either budget ones or super cheap ones for those who are not as "rich". Best value usually are not refundable. Low price suites are also not refundable in most cases cause they are high on demand like always

[hcat]

We have one of the bargain suite bookings on Connie for Jan 2021,   the $900 deposit we have  is  100 % refundable  until  90 days before final payment.  After that it is pro rated  by time to sail day as per the usual percentages

 

.the chart, with dates is on our Guest Copy of the Confirmation!

 

Same  cancellation details for our Jan 2022 booking on Connie..which is costing much more for AQ class..and will likely ho higher for new bookings.

Edited March 26, 2020 by hcat

[DC1979]

When I was looking at cruised last month, only non refundable suites were showing up online, but when I called in they were able to price it as refundable.  The difference was about $1500 for a 10 day Baltic cruise in a sky suite.   One other point - I went to price a cruise in December to replace the one that was cancelled in March.  Also in a sky suite.  The original booking was a refundable rate, however, the December cruise was about $3000 higher for a refundable deposit versus non-refundable, and the non-refundable rate was already about $1500 higher than my original cruise.  One difference may have been that the original booking was on the Equinox and the replacement on the Edge, but I think $3000 extra is outrageous.  

[MikeandBobNC]

Just as an update to my issue - I have asked the travel agent to release the bookings from her agency back to Celebrity so I can deal directly with Celebrity.  I don't feel my travel agent is doing all she could potentially do to resolve this.

 

Also, here is the wording from my Guest Confirmation.  I am pretty sure these are refundable deposits.

[Jim_Iain]

Have you had the opportunity to check your original booking to see if it was indeed a non-refundable booking.  I know on the NRD Bookings I have there is a code NRD next to a discount line

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I currently have two suites booked.  They are definitely refundable deposits.  Good luck ditching that travel agent.

[hcat]

Not sure what  paperwork you have received from your TA.....

Our  current confirmations from Celebrity have a grid with the cancellation percentages towards the bottom  of the page....looks like this:

 

 Cancellation Schedule             Cancellation Amount             Date

89 to 75 days prior to sailing      25% per guest                       actual date given

74 to 61 days prior to sailing      50% per guest                             "

60 to 31 days prior to sailing      75% per guest                             "

30 to   0 days prior to sailing     100% per guest                            "

 

After that grid  it lists Promotions Applied

 

It is very clear ours are fully refundable, including the suite!

[wrk2cruise]

Actually the cancellation schedule is the same on my NRD sailings.   OP had posted their promotions earlier and it's clearly a refundable reservation unless they repriced it subsequently to a NRD fare and aren't looking at the latest version of the Guest Invoice.

[twins_to_alaska]

[MikeandBobNC]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Have you had the opportunity to check your original booking to see if it was indeed a non-refundable booking.  I know on the NRD Bookings I have there is a code NRD next to a discount line

 

Hi Jim,

First I want to say I was following your blog.  I am sorry you had to endure such an encounter.

 

Here is a screen shot of my confirmation - this is why I don't these are NRD bookings

[dani negreanu]

 

Royal Caribbean has been offering only NRD for suites for the last 2 years.

[wrk2cruise]

3 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Royal Caribbean has been offering only NRD for suites for the last 2 years.

 

That's true for Royal Caribbean but not for Celebrity.   OP definitely has a refundable deposit.   In their dispute with the TA I'm sure that while Celebrity won't talk with the customer when using a TA if you press them I believe you could get them to lookup your reservation and tell you yes or no if it is refundable deposit or not.

[dani negreanu]

2 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

In their dispute with the TA

 

Could be a "cancellation fee" from the TA??

 

I'm using a big online cruising agency. I know that the "cancellation policy" states that they may impose a "cancellation fee" of 50$ pp per cruise cancelled. It was never done, but it's there...

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Royal Caribbean has been offering only NRD for suites for the last 2 years.

 

Don't care what Royal is doing.  We're discussing Celebrity here.  That is not the case with Celebrity.  I currently have two suite bookings, both are fully refundable.

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Could be a "cancellation fee" from the TA??

 

I'm using a big online cruising agency. I know that the "cancellation policy" states that they may impose a "cancellation fee" of 50$ pp per cruise cancelled. It was never done, but it's there...

With the deluge of cancellations they imposed the cancellation charge for the 1st time BUT in return we get a voucher for the $50pp in OBC on a future booking.  

I think the OP has a TA who isn’t familiar with the refundable vs non refundable deposits because they are accurately describing what happens if you cancel a NRD. Maybe a 3 way call with Celebrity would get this straightened out.

[MarLieb]

At least in my experience, as of late January 2020 you could still book suites with refundable or non-refundable deposits.  We booked a Summit cruise for December 2020, initially, with a refundable deposit, but the price for our suite with a NRD was so much lower, so I switched.  I'm kind of kicking myself now because, given current circumstances, I'm not really sure we want to go on the cruise anymore.  To reiterate what everyone else has said, I have "NRD" listed next to items on my booking charges, so it's very obvious on my invoice that I booked with a NRD.  If NRD is not on your invoice, I believe you have a refundable deposit.

[geric26]

I have a Celebrity cruise that I am cancelling. I have always booked through the TA, and always have refundable deposits.

My invoice on this one does not mention NRD anywhere, and the TA's website does not show it either. They claim that 'it has been their policy for some time'.

Celebrity have confirmed to us that the copy of the invoice that they have does indeed have NRD on it, therefore any refund will not come from them.

Looks like the TA is using the cheaper NRD option and then assuming every customer knows about it, or is just forgetting to make it clear. Having two different sets of details on the same invoice does not look good.

In these troubled times I hesitate to go after the TA, but I don't think I have an option.