refundable deposit

[Markanddonna]

I just hate laying down a nonrefundable deposit for a cruise more than eight months away.  What are your suggestions to avoid this?  I've never traveled on Celebrity but have about 25 cruises under my belt.

[wrk2cruise]

1) Wait until closer to the  sailing date and take your chance on price

2) Pony up for the refundable deposit

3) Accept the risk of NRD knowing that if you cancel or change ship/sail date you will be charged a $100 pp admin fee and the rest returned to you as FCC.

 

Generally if I know I want to take the cruise baring any unforeseen circumstances I'm willing to risk $200 to save $500+ knowing I can use the FCC as I will cruise again.

[jelayne]

The entire deposit isn’t non-refundable, only $100 pp any more will be a FCC.

I base the decision on the savings vs the potential loss of $200..  I recently looked at a cruise where the fare with a refundable deposit was only $150 total more than the non refundable so if we book that we would do the refundable.

We currently hav 2 booking where the cost for a refundable deposit was &1100 more, we went with non refundable deposit. 

[Jeremiah1212]

Book with a TA under a group rate. 

[LB_NJ]

42 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Book with a TA under a group rate. 

 

I lucked into this once, happened to call and they had a group rate on the cruise I was calling about.  How do you find a TA that has a group rate on the specific cruise you are interested in?  

[DCPIV]

If you travel often, you can look into an annual travel insurance policy.  If you do that, you can insure your deposit, typically for a fairly nominal fee (since the deposit is a relatively small amount).

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, LB_NJ said:

 

I lucked into this once, happened to call and they had a group rate on the cruise I was calling about.  How do you find a TA that has a group rate on the specific cruise you are interested in?  

 

You'll have to ask around or on Facebook for specific recommendations, but all of the big high volume booking agencies will have groups on nearly every sailing. You should get all All Included, a refundable deposit and extra OBC on top of their lower group rate. 

[jcpc]

Couldn't you book a refundable deposit and then as the cruise gets closer check pricing to see if there is a non-refundable deposit that would be a better deal.  If there is, wouldn't you be able to cancel your refundable deposit reservation and make a new reservation with a non-refundable deposit?  But, doing this would not guarantee you would get the exact same cabin as you originally had booked as it may not be put right back into inventory so if the cabin you've booked with a refundable deposit is a "must" then this option might not work for you.

[jelayne]

If you book with a refundable and want to switch to a non refundable later there must be a identical category cabin available or you can't change the deposit.