Deposits

[carribbound]

I have read that deposits are non-refundable but are they transferable to a different Carnival cruise? I am having second thoughts this year d/t flight prices. I can almost fly to Hawaii for only $300 more. 

[Haljo1935]

Even if you have a non refundable booking, if you select another cruise then call in for Carnival to make the booking ask if you can move the deposit over to the new booking.

Some people report success doing that. You stand a better chance of them agreeing if the new cruise is not peak time, holidays, close to sold out, etc.

And again, have a cruise picked out so you can book right then - you're not asking them a general question, you're giving them a concrete cruise to apply to.

Edited August 10, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[wemjam]

I would certainly call, I have found that they will sometimes waive any penalties that might otherwise be imposed if you are upgrading to a more expensive ship/sailing.  I will say though, for years I got away with it, but more recently they have been more strict with enforcing it. 

 

I think a lot depends on how far out your cruise may be too.  If it is quite a ways out they might be more accommodating too.

 

All you can do is ask.  This is the time a good PVP is invaluable IMHO.

[Cuckoo7]

We tried to do this about a month ago and were denied by multiple entities, including the PVP we've used for several bookings.  It was a casino offer, so we even tried with them, but were told that it was use it or lose it on the deposit. 

[JHU]

19 hours ago, carribbound said:

I have read that deposits are non-refundable but are they transferable to a different Carnival cruise? I am having second thoughts this year d/t flight prices. I can almost fly to Hawaii for only $300 more. 

You can book refundable fares, although they are a bit more costly.  I never book non-refundable; life changes too quickly. 

[Lee Cruiser]

Non-refundable doesn't necessarily mean you lose it all, you just can't get a cash refund.  For early saver fares you can transfer them to another cruise less a $50 per person penalty.  We did this last year when we received one of the 50% off anniversary deals.  We decided to cancel the cruise we had booked for April 2023 under a more normal rate and re-book it under the 50th anniversary deal.  Even if we would have lost all of our deposit we would have come out several hundred dollars ahead.  After cancelling I called and had the remainder of the deposit after the $100 penalty to a cruise later that year (2022).  Never tried to get the full deposit transferred, so not sure how much luck you will have at that.