Would you book Celebrity more often if not for the much higher prices for refundable deposits?

[Stockjock]

I rarely book cruises that are non-refundable, in terms of the deposit.  In fact, I don't think I've ever booked a non-refundable fare.

I've seen some cruises on Celebrity that interest me, but in order to make them refundable prior to final payment, I'd have to pay a much higher price.

What are your thoughts?  Would you be more inclined to book if all fares allowed for a refundable deposit prior to final payment?  Or are you just fine with the current structure of lower non-refundable fares and higher refundable fares?

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 minute ago, Stockjock said:

I rarely book cruises that are non-refundable, in terms of the deposit.  In fact, I don't think I've ever booked a non-refundable fare.

I've seen some cruises on Celebrity that interest me, but in order to make them refundable prior to final payment, I'd have to pay a much higher price.

What are your thoughts?  Would you be more inclined to book if all fares allowed for a refundable deposit prior to final payment?  Or are you just fine with the current structure of lower non-refundable fares and higher refundable fares?

I'd get some quotes from different travel agents on the cruises you're looking at.  Many have refundable fares lower than the price you'd pay for a non-refundable fare on the Celebrity website.

[peanut head]

6 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I rarely book cruises that are non-refundable, in terms of the deposit.  In fact, I don't think I've ever booked a non-refundable fare.

I've seen some cruises on Celebrity that interest me, but in order to make them refundable prior to final payment, I'd have to pay a much higher price.

What are your thoughts?  Would you be more inclined to book if all fares allowed for a refundable deposit prior to final payment?  Or are you just fine with the current structure of lower non-refundable fares and higher refundable fares?

The short answer, "YES!"

[peanut head]

Sorry, "YES" for refundable was for all fares without charging more.

[PKB]

I would never dream of booking a cruise without also booking outside travel insurance.  If I had to cancel and a nonrefundable deposit was involved, travel insurance claim is prudent.  

 

While the above takes care of the loss out of my pocketbook, it still galls me that Celebrity is keeping my money and adding to their pocketbook.

Edited May 8, 2023 by PKB

[Stockjock]

As an example, in the USA, all fares on MSC, with the exception of Yacht Club, have a fully refundable deposit, typically up to the final payment date, which is usually 90 days before the departure.  So I book MSC even though they are a few notches below Celebrity, as I often get a good value & I can probably get my deposit back if something changes.

If it was the same w/Celebrity, I'd book Celebrity much more often, as I prefer them to MSC, all things being equal.  But I'm not going to eat a $900 deposit if I can avoid it, and the higher fully refundable fares make some/many of their cruises non-completive from a pricing perspective.

We just had a situation where the GF's step-brother died unexpectedly at only 54 years of age.  She had to take a chunk of time off to be with her sister and unfortunately we had to cancel an upcoming Princess cruise, as she didn't have enough time off from work to do both and an upcoming Celebrity cruise this summer.  Because we were outside of the final payment window, we got a full refund.  But on Celebrity, we might have been SOL and lost our deposits.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Stockjock

[mrgabriel]

I put cruise fares into the same category as air fare. We usually do our due diligence before booking so have no problem with a non-refundable deposit. 

[PTC DAWG]

I always book non refundable..at this point, I haven’t had to cancel one yet. 

[Macdl]

We always book non refundable but understand that if we had to cancel we would get cruise credit or change the date with $100 booking fee

[jean87510]

We always book non refundable.  The $100 pp to change to another sailing is more to our liking then the $900. 

[Lena11033]

I've started booking non refundable - a lot of times in Canada I feel like we get messed around with prices so like to save money where I can. 

[Boo's Mom]

I always book the nonrefundable. 

It's only the loss of the deposit. 

I have never had to cancel a cruise. 

 

A long time ago I purchased cruise insurance, a few times. 

I no longer do that. 

 

 

[jelayne]

We book non refundable.  We only book cruises we plan to take and have travel insurance should we be forced to cancel for illness, death in family, etc. The fares have gotten so high even with a NRD I know we would not be cruising if we had to pay the refundable rate.  

[SPacificbound]

I book a cruise for the itinerary, not the cruise line. I also always book with a refundable deposit. The way I look at it is, I would just as soon pay it up front and have final payment be a little less.

[ConnMom]

I like to keep my options open, so I have always been willing to pay a small amount more  for a refundable deposit; however, the refundable cost has become so expensive that I  have little interest in booking in advance.  Celebrity has been our favorite cruise line for many years, but the current deposit policy might encourage us to consider some other cruise lines or a different type of vacation.

[ISABELLA]

3 hours ago, Macdl said:

We always book non refundable but understand that if we had to cancel we would get cruise credit or change the date with $100 booking fee

 Not anymore. NRD - if you cancel, you will loose full deposit.

[mac_tlc]

I have always booked non-refundable. Die to life, we have lost a couple $100 charges, but over our cruising life are far far ahead. 
 

I would book more Celebrity cruises if :

 

a) they hadn’t changed their deposit policy to make the entire deposit at risk instead of just $100, and;

 

b) their Retreat prices hadn’t become ridiculous. 
 

mac_tlc

[Ken the cruiser]

We always book a Celebrity cruise with a refundable deposit, especially if we book it onboard to use as a potential “place holder” cruise, like we just did on the Eclipse cruise we’re currently on for two April 2025 cruises. However, our Celebrity vacation planner told us a long time ago to switch it to nonrefundable just before final payment, if it makes economical sense to do so. Funny thing, though, since we book our cruises when they first become available, the NRD price is usually more than when we booked it with a refundable deposit. Go figure.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We always book a Celebrity cruise with a refundable deposit, especially if we book it onboard to use as a potential “place holder” cruise, like we just did on the Eclipse cruise we’re currently on for two April 2025 cruises. However, our Celebrity vacation planner told us a long time ago to switch it to nonrefundable just before final payment, if it makes economical sense to do so. Funny thing, though, since we book our cruises when they first become available, the NRD price is usually more than when we booked it with a refundable deposit. Go figure.

I booked a cruise and paid a bit extra for it to be fully refundable (when I booked, the difference wasn't too bad).  Even though I'm now paid in full, we're not yet at final payment.

However, I think the price of the cruise has increased to the point that it wouldn't make sense to switch to NRD, unless I'm missing something.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Stockjock

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I booked a cruise and paid a bit extra for it to be fully refundable (when I booked, the difference wasn't too bad).  Even though I'm now paid in full, we're not yet at final payment.

However, I think the price of the cruise has increased to the point that it wouldn't make sense to switch to NRD, unless I'm missing something.

If you’ve done the math and it doesn’t make sense to switch, I wouldn’t either. 

[emmas gran]

In the UK all deposits are Non refundable unless you are making an Insurance claim!!

[Mark_T]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Would you be more inclined to book if all fares allowed for a refundable deposit prior to final payment?

Booking is not really the measure though, it should be actually sailing...

 

If non-refundable deposits are reducing multiple booking with the intent to only sail a lesser number, then it is in Celebrity's interest to discourage that practice.

 

If it stops people booking at all then it is not in their interest.

 

This is mostly a USA market question though as it isn't even an option in most other markets.

[chemmo]

Coming from the UK our cruises are always non refundable but if you are Elite or above you can swap your cruise at no cost and for others they can swap for an administration fee of £75. This has meant on the odd occasion we have had to change a cruise we can without needing to use our insurance.

 

Much as I understand people’s frustration with none refundable deposits I do understand why the cruise line introduced it. I remember cruising a few years ago when we would chat to people on Celebrity and find they had booked 4/5 cruises during high season with the intention of only taking one which they felt would suit them best at final payment date. Cruises would be nearly fully booked then at final payment lots of cabins would open up. 
 

5 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

 

 

If non-refundable deposits are reducing multiple booking with the intent to only sail a lesser number, then it is in Celebrity's interest to discourage that practice.

 

If it stops people booking at all then it is not in their interest.

 

Agree.

[MISTER 67]

Every cruise we have booked with Celebrity has been with the non-refundable deposit and we don’t take out insurance either. I know we are gambling but we live in Florida and only take cruises to the Caribbean as we refuse to fly. We are in our late 70s in good health and have seen enough of other parts of the world and are happy just being on a beautiful ship with good food, service and entertainment. Right now we are ahead of the game and down through the years Celebrity has been very fair as we have done well with some very nice on board spending money and future cruise credits along with some cabin upgrades at no extra costs. We might get burned one of these days but we refuse to pay a higher rate for a refundable deposit. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by MISTER 67

[rodndonna]

Like others we only book non-refundable (on any cruise line).

 

The difference in price for us makes no sense compared to the level of risk. Paying hundreds more on every cruise to risk losing a deposit on maybe one cruise every 10? (We've never lost a deposit yet)

 

Maybe if makes sense if you typically book and cancel/change often, but if not, the math never seems to make sense to me.

 

Another thing is try to book when you can get low deposits, like purchasing FCD on board (deposit is then limited to $100pp) or when there are sales which are for low deposits. Not sure about Celebrity, but HAL has had  short term sales with deposits as low as $25. I do know with Celebrity there is an agency here in Canada where their price was the same as booking Celebrity on-line but the deposit was greatly reduced ($50 Can) for our last booking. We were using FCD so it didn't really matter for us but it was there.