What does Princess normally charge for deposit

[lorri111]

This might seem a stupid question, but we have always used a FCD to purchase a cruise so I have no idea what is usually charged as deposit if not using a FCD -15%, 20%? The reason I ask is I am trying to work out the comparative value of trying to retain a FCD on a cruise Princess just cancelled or have it back as FCC. The $100 FCD was always a great thing (especially with any OBC thrown in) but now interest rates are so low it has lost some of its value - money is getting nothing in bank so not much downside to paying deposit upfront (except waiting for it to be refunded if that cruise is also cancelled). Are there any general rules on what normal deposit is?

[Steelers36]

It varies - it is higher than the norm for World Cruises and long segments.  There can be a couple of deposit due dates along the way to Final Payment Date (FP Date).  

 

Most cruises are the same percentage.  Depending in promotions, you might have the $100 cash option in lieu of FCD and not have to pay the full normal deposit. 

 

Best thing to do is go online to Princess.com, login, and price the cruise you want to take.  Select a cabin as if going to do a booking and you will get a detailed quote, including the amount of deposit asked for. 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Steelers36

[Aussie Gal]

The best way still is to have a $100 FCC, otherwise you will be paying out quite a bit.  It depends on the how long the cruise is and where it is going and on what ship.  We have paid out nearly $3000 deposit  for a Grand Cruise that was 38 days.  I love those F.C.C's and always try to have a few in reserve.  We have just booked a 24 day cruise on the Pacific Princess and our F.C.C.'s were our deposit ($100 each)

 

Jennie

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Princess updated and streamlined their standard deposit amounts back in December.  See the below table:

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[lorri111]

14 minutes ago, Aussie Gal said:

The best way still is to have a $100 FCC, otherwise you will be paying out quite a bit.  It depends on the how long the cruise is and where it is going and on what ship.  We have paid out nearly $3000 deposit  for a Grand Cruise that was 38 days.  I love those F.C.C's and always try to have a few in reserve.  We have just booked a 24 day cruise on the Pacific Princess and our F.C.C.'s were our deposit ($100 each)

 

Jennie

 

Yes, I came to that conclusion. I had my Sea cruise cancelled on me and was told it might be months before the FCD I booked it with turned up in my account again to use, but that with cruises you cancel yourself there is an instant return of FCD back to account. I was worried about Princess cancelling my other cruise with them and effectively loosing that FCD too till they could get around to process them, so I just cancelled that cruise (don't like the odds of getting a Med cruise next April anyway) and they said the FCD would go back in account within a day. At least that gives me options again for rebooking if something does come up. Didn't really want to have to fork out full deposit.

[Aussie Gal]

15 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

 

Yes, I came to that conclusion. I had my Sea cruise cancelled on me and was told it might be months before the FCD I booked it with turned up in my account again to use, but that with cruises you cancel yourself there is an instant return of FCD back to account. I was worried about Princess cancelling my other cruise with them and effectively loosing that FCD too till they could get around to process them, so I just cancelled that cruise (don't like the odds of getting a Med cruise next April anyway) and they said the FCD would go back in account within a day. At least that gives me options again for rebooking if something does come up. Didn't really want to have to fork out full deposit.

 Princess cancelled a cruise on us for next March just over 3 weeks ago. . I had not only a sizable deposit on this cruise but also an FCC. After two weeks, I needed the FCC's to be used on a new booking so I phoned Princess and asked the lass when we might be getting our deposit returned and the F.C.C's put back into our "Bank" with Princess..  She immediately returned the F.C.C.'s whilst I was on the phone and the money was put back into my Amex account within a few days.  That only took just over two weeks for everything to be finalised. Good luck with yours. 

Jennie

[skynight]

Believe it's always best to retain the FCD's. They are fully refundable and have OBC attached to them when used. The amounts are small and the are easy and painless to use. Interest rates don't even enter the thought process. 

[John99]

Aussie Gal -- I’m confused.  A Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) is not the same as a Future Cruise Credit (FCC).  Is the terminology used in Australia different?  

[JF - retired RRT]

15 hours ago, lorri111 said:

This might seem a stupid question, but we have always used a FCD to purchase a cruise so I have no idea what is usually charged as deposit if not using a FCD -15%, 20%? The reason I ask is I am trying to work out the comparative value of trying to retain a FCD on a cruise Princess just cancelled or have it back as FCC. The $100 FCD was always a great thing (especially with any OBC thrown in) but now interest rates are so low it has lost some of its value - money is getting nothing in bank so not much downside to paying deposit upfront (except waiting for it to be refunded if that cruise is also cancelled). Are there any general rules on what normal deposit is?

Don't forget to factor in the OBC that you would get if you use a FCD.

[lorri111]

Yes there always seems to be some confusion about FCD and FCC terms . We do use the same terms here in Australia, I think Aussie Gal was a bit confused. FCD is definitely different to FCC. I cancelled our cruise yesterday and asked for FCD to be put back in Princess account and extended for 2 years and it happened overnight. Luckily I thought to check my husbands account as it turned out his FCD had been returned but not extended so I had to make another call. I guess I should have thought to specify I was asking for us both as we were both on the cancelled cruise but I didn't think of it, assumed it would be automatic. Sigh.

[caribill]

10 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Don't forget to factor in the OBC that you would get if you use a FCD.

 

If you accept the offer to take the deposit back as a $100 FCC (refundable if not used within a year) plus a $100 bonus FCC (not refundable), then you will have received a bonus of $100.

 

If instead you had it restored as a $100 FCD, then the OBC you would get when it is applied to another cruise ranges from $15 to $150 depending on length of cruise and cabin category. Only if you would have used the FCD on a voyage of more than 16 days would you receive more than $100 as OBC. So unless you would have used it on that longer cruise, you do not lose anything by accepting the $100 bonus FCC.

[trbarton]

On 9/23/2020 at 8:18 PM, lorri111 said:

This might seem a stupid question, but we have always used a FCD to purchase a cruise so I have no idea what is usually charged as deposit if not using a FCD -15%, 20%? The reason I ask is I am trying to work out the comparative value of trying to retain a FCD on a cruise Princess just cancelled or have it back as FCC. The $100 FCD was always a great thing (especially with any OBC thrown in) but now interest rates are so low it has lost some of its value - money is getting nothing in bank so not much downside to paying deposit upfront (except waiting for it to be refunded if that cruise is also cancelled). Are there any general rules on what normal deposit is?

I just booked a cruise on line, 13 days from Australia around New Zealand, & the deposit was $400.  I used a FCC & that only cost me $100. To me a great bargain since I get  back $100 in OBC so I’m happy. 
 

Tom😀

[lorri111]

39 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

If you accept the offer to take the deposit back as a $100 FCC (refundable if not used within a year) plus a $100 bonus FCC (not refundable), then you will have received a bonus of $100.

 

If instead you had it restored as a $100 FCD, then the OBC you would get when it is applied to another cruise ranges from $15 to $150 depending on length of cruise and cabin category. Only if you would have used the FCD on a voyage of more than 16 days would you receive more than $100 as OBC. So unless you would have used it on that longer cruise, you do not lose anything by accepting the $100 bonus FCC.

The offer was only money paid to be returned as FCC plus 25% bonus FCC - so as I see it I would only have got $25 extra

[JF - retired RRT]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If you accept the offer to take the deposit back as a $100 FCC (refundable if not used within a year) plus a $100 bonus FCC (not refundable), then you will have received a bonus of $100.

 

If instead you had it restored as a $100 FCD, then the OBC you would get when it is applied to another cruise ranges from $15 to $150 depending on length of cruise and cabin category. Only if you would have used the FCD on a voyage of more than 16 days would you receive more than $100 as OBC. So unless you would have used it on that longer cruise, you do not lose anything by accepting the $100 bonus FCC.

Excellent breakdown.

[TeaBag]

On 9/23/2020 at 11:04 PM, Aussie Gal said:

The best way still is to have a $100 FCC, otherwise you will be paying out quite a bit.  It depends on the how long the cruise is and where it is going and on what ship.  We have paid out nearly $3000 deposit  for a Grand Cruise that was 38 days.  I love those F.C.C's and always try to have a few in reserve.  We have just booked a 24 day cruise on the Pacific Princess and our F.C.C.'s were our deposit ($100 each)

 

Jennie

We were also on this cruise Mar 23 2021 and you were the roll call starter).  I'm interested that you have your deposit back already.  No sign of ours and I;m not impressed as it was Princess' iniative to cancel this cruise to use the ship elsewhere.  The $15 OBD they gave us is an insult.  

 

Funny, we have booked the same itinerary (Singapore to Rome) on Pacific Princess but ours is 27 days so I guess we're not on the same sailing.  We don't have FCC's as we have not sailed with Princess for 20 years.  We paid $1080 CDN deposit for the Pacific.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by TeaBag

[Aussie Gal]

5 hours ago, TeaBag said:

We were also on this cruise Mar 23 2021 and you were the roll call starter).  I'm interested that you have your deposit back already.  No sign of ours and I;m not impressed as it was Princess' iniative to cancel this cruise to use the ship elsewhere.  The $15 OBD they gave us is an insult.  

 

Funny, we have booked the same itinerary (Singapore to Rome) on Pacific Princess but ours is 27 days so I guess we're not on the same sailing.  We don't have FCC's as we have not sailed with Princess for 20 years.  We paid $1080 CDN deposit for the Pacific.

 

 

We received the deposit back last weekend and the lass gave me my F.C.C. whilst I was on the phone to her. Our cruise on the Pacific isn't until March 2022 when we leave from Sydney and finish in Tokyo.  We are still looking for a similar cruise from Singapore to either Italy or the U.K. for 2022.  The World Cruise from Sydney to Sydney in 2022 on the Coral does have a 30 day segment from Dubai to Dover with some good ports in between. It is fully booked and being a World Cruise, to book a Club Class Mini which we normally have, works out at over $1000 a day for us, which is a lot to pay for Princess.  So we will just wait and see what is available when the new itineraries are published.  I must admit that the $15 F.C.C. was a huge insult considering Princess cancelled the cruise and so many people had made arrangements for Private Tours etc. We had our airfares to Singapore but used F.F. points though we did lose money as there was a cancellation fee. 

I gather your Princess Cruise is next year.  We aren't ready to cruise as yet, too risky visiting ports etc. and I doubt if we could get to Singapore anyway as our International Borders have been  closed since March and we have heard that probably they won't be open to some time next year. Even our Domestic Borders are closed between our States so we really cannot go anywhere at the moment.   We are all waiting on a good vaccine.

Jennie

Edited September 26, 2020 by Aussie Gal

[dog]

I put a cruise on hold today for Dec. 2021. My FCC covers the cost of the cruise fare.

The additional amount I owe is a deposit of  $459, which is

due by this Tuesday, and this is the exact amount of the port taxes & fees.

 

Lost connection with agent, and have emailed asking why I am having to pay balance now.

[Aussie Gal]

3 hours ago, dog said:

I put a cruise on hold today for Dec. 2021. My FCC covers the cost of the cruise fare.

The additional amount I owe is a deposit of  $459, which is

due by this Tuesday, and this is the exact amount of the port taxes & fees.

 

Lost connection with agent, and have emailed asking why I am having to pay balance now.

What a great position you are in with the FCC covering the cost of the cruise.  Wish I had some that were worth quite a few dollars!  I didn't buy enough when we were on our cruise in early February this year. We had no idea that Covid would stop every type of travel in the months ahead.  We still cannot travel from home in Metropolitan Melbourne to regional Victoria, let alone the rest of Australia! 

 

Jennie

[dog]

23 minutes ago, Aussie Gal said:

What a great position you are in with the FCC covering the cost of the cruise.  Wish I had some that were worth quite a few dollars!  I didn't buy enough when we were on our cruise in early February this year. We had no idea that Covid would stop every type of travel in the months ahead.  We still cannot travel from home in Metropolitan Melbourne to regional Victoria, let alone the rest of Australia! 

 

Jennie

Jennie, I am talk g about a Future Cruise Credit- my money refunded as a voucher for a cancelled cruise. 
I think you are referring to Future Cruise Deposits which you buy on-board to use as a deposit. 

[TeaBag]

Hi Jennie

Have you looked at the Azamara Journey sailing for May 2022?  I think it's Singapore to Athens.  We had just about booked the one for 2021 when they cancelled all the itineraries in favor of shorter Greek sailings.  bah.  So we booked the Pacific Princess instead. We just have to see Petra before we're too old to know we're on a cruise LOL. I wonder if it will sail or even if we will be on it having had our vaccine.  Both big ifs!  We would be on the Journey except we have the Eclipse booked Honolulu to Vancouver May 4 2022.  However, we will be going nowhere if we don't have the vaccine

Edited September 27, 2020 by TeaBag

[Aussie Gal]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Jennie, I am talk g about a Future Cruise Credit- my money refunded as a voucher for a cancelled cruise. 
I think you are referring to Future Cruise Deposits which you buy on-board to use as a deposit. 

Silly me, I didn't realise that you received your payment for your cancelled cruise in F.C.C.'s.  We had that happen to us when we were on a Japan cruise back in 2014 on the Diamond and we hit two typhoons.  We had the choice of staying on board and going out to the Yellow Sea and wait out the typhoon or disembarking.  We stayed on board and we received our full fare back in F.C.C.'s which we thought was a wonderful gesture on behalf of Princess as they cannot control the weather.  We still had fun, great meals and good entertainment, we just missed out on some wonderful ports.

Jennie

 

[Aussie Gal]

46 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Hi Jennie

Have you looked at the Azamara Journey sailing for May 2022?  I think it's Singapore to Athens.  We had just about booked the one for 2021 when they cancelled all the itineraries in favor of shorter Greek sailings.  bah.  So we booked the Pacific Princess instead. We just have to see Petra before we're too old to know we're on a cruise LOL. I wonder if it will sail or even if we will be on it having had our vaccine.  Both big ifs!  We would be on the Journey except we have the Eclipse booked Honolulu to Vancouver May 4 2022.  However, we will be going nowhere if we don't have the vaccine

No I haven't taken a look so will do that.  I would like it a bit later in the year now in 2022 as we have just booked the Pacific for the 24 day cruise from Sydney to Tokyo in March, 2022.  I dearly would love to return to Japan as we do have unfinished business there which I have explained in the post above.  We too want to get to Europe before we are much older. This year has been a wasted year for us as Peter has turned 81 and I am now 79!!!!  Don't feel that age at all and am fit but who knows for how long.  We have been to Petra and to me it is probably the most exciting place I have visited and we have been to most of the "must sees" in this world.  I was just blown away after that long walk into it. I would have loved to have visited there again,  the itinerary on the Grand was fantastic especially as I wanted to revisit Malta which was another great place to visit. Where are you boarding the Pacific and what month?

Jennie

 

[SeaLaRae]

On 9/24/2020 at 6:55 AM, skynight said:

Believe it's always best to retain the FCD's. They are fully refundable and have OBC attached to them when used. The amounts are small and the are easy and painless to use. Interest rates don't even enter the thought process. 

Hopefully, Princess will continue to have FCD’s.  It is the only way we book.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, SeaLaRae said:

Hopefully, Princess will continue to have FCD’s.  It is the only way we book.

 

They will. It is a great marketing tool.

 

Other cruise lines have their versions, but the Princess version is the best I have seen.