So exactly how much money do you have tied up right now with bookings?

[TMLAalum]

Out $1100-

$900 NRD for 8/23/2020 Jewel sailing. Will likely bail before final payment and transfer to another cruise- wish it could be on a Celebrity ship.

$200 NRD for 9/9/2021 Celebrity cruise.

[NancyIL]

For our cancelled May Brilliance Transatlantic, we were refunded $2476 for our airfare, and are waiting for RCI to refund our $2120 cruise fare. 

 

For 4 upcoming cruises: $2900 in deposits ($2000 non-refundable and $900 refundable). The four 2020 cruises had trip insurance, plus ~$250 in airfare, as well as airline miles used for a flight. The trip insurance is a sunk cost, but we can redeposit the airline miles without a fee, and the airfare will be refunded or usable as a credit.

 

 

 

 

[parrotfeathers]

Final payment for me isn't until August so I will just see what happens.  But I still have a NRD.  But I'm not paying in August either and I know the consequences.  But it's only $200.  Compared to others I am getting off light.

 

So glad I "forgot" to do the insurance at time of booking.

Edited April 18, 2020 by parrotfeathers

[mac_tlc]

10 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Ok so my point is and was, people like yourself are giving up their flexibility and cancellation options because they don’t want to consider the extra $101.50/person as part of the real price of the cruise. You’re taking the discount in exchange for a risk that it turns out, doesn’t sound like it was worth it. I don’t know, I’m just saying if it were me, I’d pay the extra cost for refundable, even if it made my cruise fare twice as high, AND/OR would have bought the cancel for any reason insurance to cover the non refundable part, OR, would have settled myself to be ok losing all the non refundable money. 
 

I don’t think you’re ok with it, because if you were, you wouldn’t be chasing that non refundable money by paying final payment on a cruise in hopes it gets cancelled so you can get your cash back. Right now, if you cancel your cruise, you still get an FCC for the deposit that you can use on the 2021 cruises. The ONLY reason you have for trying to gamble on the August one, as you said yourself, is hoping to get your cash back if they cancel. Not worth it, but that’s just me. 
 

Just trying to help you think this through on the final payment thing.

I am fine with losing $100pp, which is the normal deal. I am also OK with getting an FCC for the amount, spread over 8 people. Since I have a month before any action needs to be taken, I'm just evaluating my options. Plus, I'm a retired engineer and have to have something to put into a spreadsheet. 

 

8 of the 9 cruises I have booked are in GS or above, so no other options.

 

mac_tlc

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by mac_tlc

[molly361]

Around $3500 in deposits,(all refundable most in groups)  $800 coming in a FCC and $700 for a refund

Edited April 18, 2020 by molly361

[molole]

Almost $8000

[depplep]

$500

[ellasmomanddad]

16k from ncl- 3 balconies 9 people

1000 on royal For a deposit.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

23 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

“Hopefully” is the key word here. I say cancel now. Sucks to give money away when there’s a possibility you might get it back. But if it were me I’d rather just wipe my hands of it now. 

 

For those with a NRD deposit for a Suite it's not a small amount that would be lost. Many do book Suites and don't have Cancel for Any Reason insurance. CFAR insurance is expensive, based on age, only available per trip and return is 75%. 

[John&LaLa]

34 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

But it was available, if you booked another room.
 

I see what you’re saying though, you’re just pointing out that because you wanted a suite, you didn’t have the option to pay extra to make the deposit refundable. And also that you were okay with that risk. 

 

Just curious, do you book 15-20 cruises a year?

Those $203's add up fast 😉

[hancogran]

48 minutes ago, xcell said:

My refundable deposit was $73 for a cabin -- that's a no-brainer.

That's great!  I just priced out a cruise for next June and the difference between refundable and non refundable was $760 ! 😲 

[sowhat]

 On my last cruise, Jewel of the Seas sailing from Dubai.
They cancel all ports of call, we received a full  refund in cash from guest services before leaving the ship and the use of the ship for free

On a side note , what do you think about this  .
CEO and Chairman Richard Fain saw a $14.4 million payday and layed off his work force by 26%

[tiggy85]

Waiting on my refund of $174.12 (port fees/taxes) for the April 25th cancelled Summit Cruise - Aft CC cabin 7208 😢. It was a casino offer that luckily they let me move to March 2021. *I did not prepay gratuities*

 

Flights: bought non-refundable fares but got 100% refunded due to the airlines changing my arrival and departure times by more than 1 hour.

 

Hotel: 100% refundable. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by tiggy85

[ARandomTraveler]

2 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

For those with a NRD deposit for a Suite it's not a small amount that would be lost. Many do book Suites and don't have Cancel for Any Reason insurance. CFAR insurance is expensive, based on age, only available per trip and return is 75%. 

What you’re saying sounds kind of contradictory- pointing out that people who book suites, which are the most expensive option on the ship, would think paying for CFAR is “expensive.” 
 

Yes CFAR only pays 75%, but 75% cash is better than a piece of useless FCC paper that forces a person to cruise within a certain time frame etc. 

 

I don’t book suites because I don’t think they’re worth the extra money, but I spent the money on CFAR insurance. It’s a trade off I guess. 
 

When I booked my trip and bought my insurance, I knew going in that my potential loss would be 25%. The minute I made my purchases, I considered myself to have immediately lost that 25%. That’s why when I lost $700 on my airfare by making an insurance claim, I didn’t feel like I lost anything at all. That $700 was spent on peace of mind and I got what I paid for, and now I’m getting $3,000 of cash back, which will go right back into my vacation account to use on another cruise in the future, when I decide to go, not when some expiration dates tells me I have to. And I don’t have to worry about any bankruptcy or running out of time. Wiped my hands of it. 

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, hancogran said:

That's great!  I just priced out a cruise for next June and the difference between refundable and non refundable was $760 ! 😲 

I saw one on the Allure for end of 2021 the refundable was $1137 more.  Then I looked at a 4 night Mariner and the difference was $4  Crazy!!!  

[xcell]

5 minutes ago, hancogran said:

That's great!  I just priced out a cruise for next June and the difference between refundable and non refundable was $760 ! 😲 

 Yeah I was suprised as well, considering it was a Christmas Cruise I totally jumped on it.

Edited April 18, 2020 by xcell

[ARandomTraveler]

12 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Just curious, do you book 15-20 cruises a year?

Those $203's add up fast 😉

Not yet, I have a $65,000 Stanford tuition bill to pay for the next 4 years, but hopefully when that’s done I’ll up my cruising game 😁 $4,060 in fees will seem like a steal after that tuition bill is gone. But I can see why people who take that many cruises take the gamble, the odds are definitely in your favor that it pays off. 

[ellasmomanddad]

3 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Not yet, I have a $65,000 Stanford tuition bill to pay for the next 4 years, but hopefully when that’s done I’ll up my cruising game 😁

I’m cringing. Glad we have the hope scholarship program in GA.

[mac_tlc]

3 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Not yet, I have a $65,000 Stanford tuition bill to pay for the next 4 years, but hopefully when that’s done I’ll up my cruising game 😁 $4,060 in fees will seem like a steal after that tuition bill is gone. But I can see why people who take that many cruises take the gamble, the odds are definitely in your favor that it pays off. 

OUCH! and definitely non-refundable 😉

[suzyluvs2cruise]

34 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

 

 

Never Mind...

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by suzyluvs2cruise

[zonacruiser25]

Just over $2K between cruise deposits and air.  We will loose the air (Norwegian) and the NRD on each cruise.  Then we will have FCC.  Maybe is our Allure cruises cancel we could get some refund.  FCC will work since I know we will cruise but not likely till 2021.  Watching, waiting and just guessing for now like everyone else!  Keeping safe and trying to laugh!

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Same! I kept a spreadsheet of every cruise I was considering taking over a 2 year period and the highest fee to get the refundable fare only cost $203 total for two people. All you have to do is check the box at the end of the reservation and pay $203. $203 for complete flexibility over your reservation in case you want to change anything or cancel. $203!!!!!! Why would anyone ever give up that kind of flexibility to save $203 bucks?

 

I always pay the higher price for flexibility, and frankly, would still pay it even if the fee was $1,000. I also buy cancel for any reason insurance, which cost me another $251, so for $454 I bought myself peace of mind that was worth every penny and I had zero stress going through this coronavirus uncertainty knowing I had a backup plan!

While some cruises are only $200 or so for a refundable fare  some I quoted out were 1500-2000.  This is for a family of four.

 

For us, I weigh the refundable vs. Nonrefundable price every time.   Sometimes it’s a couple hundred, sometimes it’s in the thousands.   It really is highly dependent on cruise and situation.  I have found the farther out the cruise is,  the difference is smaller.  The closer the cruise is to taking off the higher the difference.   This is a general rule of thumb for the cruises we booked but there have been many exceptions.

Edited April 18, 2020 by rimmit

[gdwest]

TTTwo cancelled before final payment. Ovation cancelled March 17 for July 10, 2020 sailing..$4500

and  3 staterooms on Harmony for June 21, 2020 sailing cancelled on March 21...$10,000 for a grand

total due from RC of $14,500. $0 received for either..not even excursion/drink packages.

[jeremyosborne81]

With six people in our group, our cruise is scheduled for February 2021 out of Singapore.

We have $3,446 currently applied to our three cabin balance, but Final Payment isn't until November 6. So we'll see.

[Missusdubbya]

Only $800aud for me luckily. This time last year would have been in the thousands.

 

I am sorry for those with so much cash outstanding, I really hope you receive it all back.