Deposit question

[HMSDingy]

We've cruised with HAL before and looking to cruise next year. I noticed on the itinerary we're looking at the deposit would be roughly $800 CAD. How does this work in case of cancellation? Is it non refundable? 

[CruiserBruce]

Each fare has rules about refundable or non-refundable deposits. YOU have to read the fine print, particularly as you give no details as to what cruise you are asking about and what the type of fare you are considering.

[RuthC]

There are three types of fare, two of which are shown on the HAL site. 

The cheapest fare is non-refundable.
The middle fare is not shown, has no fringe benefits, and is called the Advantage Fare. It is refundable. You have to contact your TA/PCC/or call HAL to get the specifics on this fare. 
The Have It All (HIA) fare is the most expensive, has a variety of extras included for the higher price, and is also refundable. 

[POA1]

9 hours ago, RuthC said:

There are three types of fare, two of which are shown on the HAL site. 

The cheapest fare is non-refundable.
The middle fare is not shown, has no fringe benefits, and is called the Advantage Fare. It is refundable. You have to contact your TA/PCC/or call HAL to get the specifics on this fare. 
The Have It All (HIA) fare is the most expensive, has a variety of extras included for the higher price, and is also refundable. 

Everyone should write Ruth's response down. It's the most succinct I've seen. One note: If you see a 150th Anniversary promo, it's pretty much Have It All+. Depending on your sailing, the 150th might include better internet, better beverages (Elite vs Signature Beverage pkg) and occasionally prepaid gratuities. The HIA refundability rules are the same.

[3Shelaghs]

5 hours ago, POA1 said:

Everyone should write Ruth's response down. It's the most succinct I've seen. 

Ruth is THE cruise guru. I love her responses!

[RuthC]

9 hours ago, POA1 said:

Everyone should write Ruth's response down. It's the most succinct I've seen.

 

4 hours ago, 3Shelaghs said:

Ruth is THE cruise guru. I love her responses!

Thank you both! You have made my day. 

[Oceansaway17]

20 hours ago, HMSDingy said:

We've cruised with HAL before and looking to cruise next year. I noticed on the itinerary we're looking at the deposit would be roughly $800 CAD. How does this work in case of cancellation? Is it non refundable? 

Be careful as some promos say you MUST purchase vacation protection up front. And then later if you want to add on they say NO.

Hal is only cruise line for certain promos who do this. Why I do not know but I had to say good bye to a deposit earlier this year.

I mean vacation protection is an ADD on IMHO and should not affect deposit.

Even Carnival does not have this stupid rule.

[MAVIP]

23 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Be careful as some promos say you MUST purchase vacation protection up front. And then later if you want to add on they say NO.

Hal is only cruise line for certain promos who do this. Why I do not know but I had to say good bye to a deposit earlier this year.

I mean vacation protection is an ADD on IMHO and should not affect deposit.

Even Carnival does not have this stupid rule.

But i always understood the protection HAL offers can be bought just before the 3 month cancellation period of a Flex booking starts. (I hope I wrote this in understandable english 😉 ).

[Tampa Girl]

On 5/19/2023 at 5:32 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

Be careful as some promos say you MUST purchase vacation protection up front. And then later if you want to add on they say NO.

Hal is only cruise line for certain promos who do this. Why I do not know but I had to say good bye to a deposit earlier this year.

I mean vacation protection is an ADD on IMHO and should not affect deposit.

Even Carnival does not have this stupid rule.

 

Didn't the promo specify "non-refundable"?  Could you not have gotten insurance to cover  you for non-refundable deposits?  Was your booking after the final payment date?  I am curious since I realize that the rules are different as they apply to non-U.S. citizens. so please excuse my ignorance.  

[Oceansaway17]

22 hours ago, MAVIP said:

But i always understood the protection HAL offers can be bought just before the 3 month cancellation period of a Flex booking starts. (I hope I wrote this in understandable english 😉 ).

Not to silly promo I had

[Florida_gal_50]

22 hours ago, MAVIP said:

But i always understood the protection HAL offers can be bought just before the 3 month cancellation period of a Flex booking starts. (I hope I wrote this in understandable english 😉 ).

It can, if it's a refundable fare.  The devil is in the details.

[Oceansaway17]

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Didn't the promo specify "non-refundable"?  Could you not have gotten insurance to cover  you for non-refundable deposits?  Was your booking after the final payment date?  I am curious since I realize that the rules are different as they apply to non-U.S. citizens. so please excuse my ignorance.  

It was non refundable and I was fine with that. Then fast forward almost a year but before final payment I chose to change to another cruise and was told at that time I could NOT ever get any protection plan with HAL. All I have to say is other lines under Carnival corp do not have this rule.

 

Hal has many promos and HAL when making changes, how convenient they assign a new booking number which alerts the system and new rules replace the rules you had before.

For me HAL has odd booking practices and are very sneaky so I won’t ever sail on them.  Protection plans are an add on.

[Florida_gal_50]

Good reason not to buy refundable.  When I've seen non refundable it's always noted that you need to buy insurance at that time.  I'm not sure why it would be assumed thst non refundable really means refundable.

[HMSDingy]

18 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Good reason not to buy refundable.  When I've seen non refundable it's always noted that you need to buy insurance at that time.  I'm not sure why it would be assumed thst non refundable really means refundable.

Does the price of the cruise increase if you choose the refundable deposit? When I search the cruise on the HAL website, it asks for a non refundable deposit. I don't see an option to choose refundable.

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

Does the price of the cruise increase if you choose the refundable deposit? When I search the cruise on the HAL website, it asks for a non refundable deposit. I don't see an option to choose refundable.

Yes, it does just as a refundable hotel costs more.  There are 3 prices, the non refundable, an advantage fare, and the hia fare. You can't see the advantage fare online,  a ta or pcc needs to get that for you.  It's s deep dark secret.

[HMSDingy]

1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes, it does just as a refundable hotel costs more.  There are 3 prices, the non refundable, an advantage fare, and the hia fare. You can't see the advantage fare online,  a ta or pcc needs to get that for you.  It's s deep dark secret.

Thanks for that. The I will have to either contact HAL or a TA for the advantage fare. One more question, can I use either of the deposits as a credit for a future cruise would I need to cancel?

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

Thanks for that. The I will have to either contact HAL or a TA for the advantage fare. One more question, can I use either of the deposits as a credit for a future cruise would I need to cancel?

I'm sorry I don't understand the question. I use a future cruise deposit of $100 to hold my cruise.  I purchase these on board and my cruises are usually 14 days or less.  I suspect I'm not answering your question properly. 

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

Thanks for that. The I will have to either contact HAL or a TA for the advantage fare. One more question, can I use either of the deposits as a credit for a future cruise would I need to cancel?

 

The deposit is normally refunded to your method of payment as long as you cancel before penalties begin.

[HMSDingy]

7 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I'm sorry I don't understand the question. I use a future cruise deposit of $100 to hold my cruise.  I purchase these on board and my cruises are usually 14 days or less.  I suspect I'm not answering your question properly. 

I just got off the line with HAL and the advantage fare with the refundable deposit is more expensive for the cruise I'm looking at. I'd like more info on the $100 for future cruises.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

I just got off the line with HAL and the advantage fare with the refundable deposit is more expensive for the cruise I'm looking at. I'd like more info on the $100 for future cruises.

 

You buy the FCD (Future Cruise Deposit) on board the ship.  It’s the only place they can be bought.  It just lowers your deposit amount - It doesn’t change the priced of the cruise 😉 

[Florida_gal_50]

7 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

I just got off the line with HAL and the advantage fare with the refundable deposit is more expensive for the cruise I'm looking at. I'd like more info on the $100 for future cruises.

Yes the advantage will be more than the non refundable and less than the hia.  My life is just too unpredictable so unless it's past final I will not do a non  refundable.

 

When you are on the ship you can buy future cruise deposits.  I think there is various denominations but I'm not sure.  For my cruise I usually only need to use one $100 deposit to hold it until final.  If you don't use them after 4 years they are refundable.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Florida_gal_50

[Nodakboiler]

If you have a $100 FCD and decide to book a long cruise which requires a $300 deposit, you just need to pay the extra $200. Much better than the $1750 deposit required for long cruises!

[Torquer]

Just because a fare is non-refundable does not necessarily mean it is absolutely non-refundable.  Both before and after Covid, several times we have initiated changing to a different cruise than the one we originally booked with a non-refundable fare.  HAL made the change and our deposit money was just moved over to the new cruise.  Obviously, this was before final payment, and I'm not sure if it is an official policy, but we asked and HAL was more than happy to make the change for us.  In addition, we totally cancelled two cruises we had booked in late 2020, when covid hit in March of 2020, and HAL refunded our deposit; but this was an extraordinary circumstance and I would not expect it to apply now.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

Just because a fare is non-refundable does not necessarily mean it is absolutely non-refundable.  Both before and after Covid, several times we have initiated changing to a different cruise than the one we originally booked with a non-refundable fare.  HAL made the change and our deposit money was just moved over to the new cruise.  Obviously, this was before final payment, and I'm not sure if it is an official policy, but we asked and HAL was more than happy to make the change for us.  In addition, we totally cancelled two cruises we had booked in late 2020, when covid hit in March of 2020, and HAL refunded our deposit; but this was an extraordinary circumstance and I would not expect it to apply now.

I’d be very, very careful about moving a non refundable cruise deposit.  I’ve heard at least one story on here about someone moving a non refundable cruise deposit to a refundable cruise.  That person later had to cancel the refundable cruise and I’m pretty sure it ended up being to bad so sad.  It’s at least worth asking the question before you do it.  I’m sure hal is more than happy to help you lose your money.

[CNSJ]

6 hours ago, Nodakboiler said:

If you have a $100 FCD and decide to book a long cruise which requires a $300 deposit, you just need to pay the extra $200. Much better than the $1750 deposit required for long cruises!

Future Cruise Deposits are great to have - we buy a few each cruise to have in our back pocket.  Reduces outlay for deposits and has a small OBC attached.  Of course lower deposits means you book more cruises.....🤔