Non Refundable Deposit - Sales / Tip / Tricks

[-The-True-North-]

$100 p.p. and I would have booked this instantly.

 

But I think I am better of waiting for the 90 day ticket sale in a year out.

[Jeremiah1212]

13 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Any way to know that TAs have group rates?

 

I used I VERY large well known TA online, and they were 100$ cheaper than the website, but no freebies only OBC.

You’ll need to ask around or shop a few TA’s. 
 

12 hours ago, rinshin said:

What change or changes causing this?  I am returning to Celebrity after considerable absence and accepted the fact that it is no longer the Celebrity of pre-2010 I am familiar with.  

The only real change is if you don’t use the certificate within 12 months, they keep the deposit rather than automatically refund. It’s really not a big deal if you plan on actually booking a cruise within 6 months. You already lost the OBC benefit after letting it sit for 6 months. 

[Lastdance]

Even Viking has a deposit of $25.  Just be very careful and read the fine print.  I have had newbies with Celebrity create havoc for me due to a cancelation, even before the 90 days where they wanted to charge me 25%.  It took my TA and myself to straighten things out and months to get my money. I lost my deposit + my $200 certificate money.  My cruise was after the 12 months.  Unfortunately, things like this happen too frequently now, where in the past things were(IMHO)much simpler. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Edited May 4 by Lastdance

[Arizona Wildcat]

Very strange.  DW and I have many cruises on X.  Always book with our TA. Have gotten group fares that are effectively less than internet from X with additional OBC and REFUNDABLE deposits.   Had a $100pp once from X and once from Princess.   Booking on the website would have had higher deposits.  And yes at final payment the regular refund rules apply.

[Arizona Wildcat]

31 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

Even Viking has a deposit of $25.  Just be very careful and read the fine print.  I have had newbies with Celebrity create havoc for me due to a cancelation, even before the 90 days where they wanted to charge me 25%.  It took my TA and myself to straighten things out and months to get my money. I lost my deposit + my $200 certificate money.  My cruise was after the 12 months.  Unfortunately, things like this happen too frequently now, where in the past things were(IMHO)much simpler. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Lastdance why not deal with a professional instead of a phone rep.with 20-40 hours of training?  As you said, read the fine print - agree AND a good TA will get things sorted if things go sideways.

Sadly things are different today.

[Lastdance]

18 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Very strange.  DW and I have many cruises on X.  Always book with our TA. Have gotten group fares that are effectively less than internet from X with additional OBC and REFUNDABLE deposits.   Had a $100pp once from X and once from Princess.   Booking on the website would have had higher deposits.  And yes at final payment the regular refund rules apply.

Elaborate on Refundable deposits.  Do you get the non-refundable price with a refundable deposit?  Sorry if I am unclear.  Maybe a group rate with refundable?

 

I have been with my TA for 10 years and she spends hours on the phone with Celebrity nowadays.  Her OBC is excellent and I have a great relationship with her, but maybe I do need to look for a new one because her frustration level is extremely high.

Edited May 4 by Lastdance

[paulh84]

3 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Elaborate on Refundable deposits.  Do you get the non-refundable price with a refundable deposit?  Sorry if I am unclear.  Maybe a group rate with refundable?

 

I have been with my TA for 10 years and she spends hours on the phone with Celebrity nowadays.  Her OBC is excellent and I have a great relationship with her, but maybe I do need to look for a new one because her frustration level is extremely high.

Some group rates come with classic beverage package, basic WiFi and are refundable at a price that is almost always less than the cruise only rate you would get booking direct with Celebrity. Our next cruise had about $3,200 price difference and one for 2026 had a $2,000 price difference. And the prices don’t go up and down so there is no need to monitor prices after you book. 

[Lastdance]

5 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

Some group rates come with classic beverage package, basic WiFi and are refundable at a price that is almost always less than the cruise only rate you would get booking direct with Celebrity. Our next cruise had about $3,200 price difference and one for 2026 had a $2,000 price difference. And the prices don’t go up and down so there is no need to monitor prices after you book. 

Are these in Europe or Caribbean?  I have been checking so many sites for great pricing, but none include gratuities and bev package for the refundable price.  We usually book suites, that come with everything except gratuities and OBC until I send to my TA.  However, I will continue to look and take note of a variety of companies.  I got burned with a big box company and actually Celebrity came to my defense during Covid.  Of course this was back when, IMHO, they cared about you in a suite or non-suite.

[cruisetonowhere10]

I have found in some cases that the no refundable deposit is actually significantly less than trip insurance (to be fair I almost always do cancel for any reason which is higher) but for an April 2025 I believe I paid $300 for 3 of us for a deposit on a 4 night cruise in a balcony so even though it was so far out I decided it was worth booking at the rate I paid and I’m foregoing trip insurance at this time because I’m willing to lose the $300 and potentially the rest given the price of insurance (I’ve been averaging policies around $500.) Everyone has a different risk tolerance.

[Travelling2Some]

8 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

I have found in some cases that the no refundable deposit is actually significantly less than trip insurance (to be fair I almost always do cancel for any reason which is higher) but for an April 2025 I believe I paid $300 for 3 of us for a deposit on a 4 night cruise in a balcony so even though it was so far out I decided it was worth booking at the rate I paid and I’m foregoing trip insurance at this time because I’m willing to lose the $300 and potentially the rest given the price of insurance (I’ve been averaging policies around $500.) Everyone has a different risk tolerance.

Yes, but there is a great deal more to trip insurance than just cancellation.  I would have to purchase insurance anyway since my primary concern in medical, not cancellation.  I think most of us can afford to loose the cost of a vacation, but uninsured medical and evacuation costs can bankrupt people!  CFAR insurance costs almost double what regular comprehensive coverage costs and only covers a max of 75 per cent of the trip. And, as I mentioned, it cannot be sold in NY State.

[paulh84]

1 hour ago, Lastdance said:

Are these in Europe or Caribbean?  I have been checking so many sites for great pricing, but none include gratuities and bev package for the refundable price.  We usually book suites, that come with everything except gratuities and OBC until I send to my TA.  However, I will continue to look and take note of a variety of companies.  I got burned with a big box company and actually Celebrity came to my defense during Covid.  Of course this was back when, IMHO, they cared about you in a suite or non-suite.

Potentially any itinerary. If you look on sites that have multiple prices shown for the same cabin (as in sometimes they will show like a dozen rates) some will say group. They don’t necessarily call out that the price is a much much better deal or what it includes. 

[-The-True-North-]

Does any purposely buy inside than do a move up?

 

Is it usually cheaper this way?

 

Inside: 809

Balcony: 995

 

Difference is 186 x 2 = 372

 

Would a move up be less than that usually? I'm reading the move up and it seem so.

[wrk2cruise]

I still don't understand why anyone does a "book later" certificate.  Just book a "named" sailing as far out in the future as you can with a refundable deposit.  Then when you decide on an actual sailing just move the reservation to that ship/sail date.  At that time you can even choose to change it to the NRD rate.   If you decide not to cruise you can cancel and get the deposit refunded without the 1 year limit.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

10 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Does any purposely buy inside than do a move up?

 

Is it usually cheaper this way?

 

Inside: 809

Balcony: 995

 

Difference is 186 x 2 = 372

 

Would a move up be less than that usually? I'm reading the move up and it seem so.

What happens if there are no balconies available in a move up bid ? 

[-The-True-North-]

58 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What happens if there are no balconies available in a move up bid ? 

I'd be fine with inside.

 

It's the itinerary I want, not the balcony.

[paulh84]

11 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

I still don't understand why anyone does a "book later" certificate.  Just book a "named" sailing as far out in the future as you can with a refundable deposit.  Then when you decide on an actual sailing just move the reservation to that ship/sail date.  At that time you can even choose to change it to the NRD rate.   If you decide not to cruise you can cancel and get the deposit refunded without the 1 year limit.

I typically do. There is no reason to spend vacation time sitting at a desk with a rep to do what I can easily do on my own. There were some posts about losing the OBC if you changed sail dates on a refundable rate. That’s the only reason I buy them since when transferring to a group rate you have to pay the remainder of the deposit anyway. 

 

12 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Does any purposely buy inside than do a move up?

 

Is it usually cheaper this way?

 

Inside: 809

Balcony: 995

 

Difference is 186 x 2 = 372

 

Would a move up be less than that usually? I'm reading the move up and it seem so.

 Not for me. If a balcony is what I want I’m not risking being in an inside over $372 no matter what the cruise length is. 

[twins_to_alaska]

I booked an inside for a Jan 2020 cruise on Equinox that I cared about the cruise but not the stateroom. Just before final payment I was able to switch to aqua with included drink package for only $10 more.

[Tyler414]

IMO Celebrity’s current deposit policy is pretty pathetic, minimum of $500 for non refundable and thousand/s extra for a refundable deposit.  Obviously there are exceptions, but very few.  You can re-book a non refundable for a per person fee of $100.

What originally caused me to book my first Celebrity cruise was their completely different web address dedicated to non refundable deposits, it had a different price structure for cruises with non refundable (a great value back then IMO).  In a sense I guess it’s similar now, in that you can pay thousand/s more for refundable.  Anyhoo. 🥂

[-The-True-North-]

30 minutes ago, twins_to_alaska said:

I booked an inside for a Jan 2020 cruise on Equinox that I cared about the cruise but not the stateroom. Just before final payment I was able to switch to aqua with included drink package for only $10 more.

Caveat being during 2020, cruise line were practically giving away cruises.

 

But for us, we are never in the room. Shower, change and sleep.

 

Personally, we rather spend $372 on an excursion or 2.

[Pinboy]

On 5/3/2024 at 5:26 PM, -The-True-North- said:

Had some questions for the Celebrity pros out there. Any tips of tricks to booking a cruise with the lowest Non Refundable deposit possible? 

" Celebrity pros " ?? Oh Boy---- Let's see what you say in a month or two.

1--- Sorry about your Leafs --- no offence, no defense, no advancement to round 2.

2--- The Non-refundable deposit amount is set by the cruise line and the cost of the cruise is lower than a Refundable deposit.

Also, if you book a Non-refundable on board, it is usually $100US per person.

They don't accept $$Canadian or Canadian Tire coupons.

3--- While on board , you can purchase a Future Cruise Certificate ( $100US per person )---You then have 6 months to book ( not take ) a cruise.

If you don't, the Certificate is cancelled and you lose your $100.

4--- With Celebrity you have the option to transfer your booking to a TA of your choice within 30 days of booking---- some of us ( we ) do, due to the benefits.

We are not allowed to recommend/explain such on CC.

 

[-The-True-North-]

11 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

" Celebrity pros " ?? Oh Boy---- Let's see what you say in a month or two.

1--- Sorry about your Leafs --- no offence, no defense, no advancement to round 2.

2--- The Non-refundable deposit amount is set by the cruise line and the cost of the cruise is lower than a Refundable deposit.

Also, if you book a Non-refundable on board, it is usually $100US per person.

They don't accept $$Canadian or Canadian Tire coupons.

3--- While on board , you can purchase a Future Cruise Certificate ( $100US per person )---You then have 6 months to book ( not take ) a cruise.

If you don't, the Certificate is cancelled and you lose your $100.

4--- With Celebrity you have the option to transfer your booking to a TA of your choice within 30 days of booking---- some of us ( we ) do, due to the benefits.

We are not allowed to recommend/explain such on CC.

 

1. Non taken. History repeats itself and Albert Einstein was talking about the Leafs on his lesson of insanity. Never expect them to go past the first round.

 

2. Yea, and it seem like celebrity has the highest deposit. Was hoping to hear of a way to lower is.  HAL has the annual $1 deposit promotion, Virgin has transferable vouchers ect. Seem like Celebrity might have this Book Later certificate, that is transferable? But I will need to research more on that.

 

3. Similar to the above, looking into the difference between the two.

 

4. ALWAYS transfer to a TA for the added perks. Not sure why the cruise line industry can't realize that they can save by offering incentives to book directly rather than paying out commissions.

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, -The-True-North- said:

1. Non taken. History repeats itself and Albert Einstein was talking about the Leafs on his lesson of insanity. Never expect them to go past the first round.

 

2. Yea, and it seem like celebrity has the highest deposit. Was hoping to hear of a way to lower is.  HAL has the annual $1 deposit promotion, Virgin has transferable vouchers ect. Seem like Celebrity might have this Book Later certificate, that is transferable? But I will need to research more on that.

 

3. Similar to the above, looking into the difference between the two.

 

4. ALWAYS transfer to a TA for the added perks. Not sure why the cruise line industry can't realize that they can save by offering incentives to book directly rather than paying out commissions.

Re #1– “ Non taken “—- I was referring to No Offence as in “ put the puck in the net “—— not meant to “ Offend “ you.

They probably had tee times booked???
Re#4– we do the same— love them Gift Cards— sure better than OBC or a bottle of wine 

 

[twins_to_alaska]

6 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Caveat being during 2020, cruise line were practically giving away cruises.

Really? Jan 2020 pre-Covid they were practically giving away cruises?