Lorna Doone Posted July 3 #1 Share Posted July 3 Does anyone know what that means? Book now and confirm later. Oceania recently changed their deposit policy so if you switch a cruise or cancel even a year or so in advance you loose your deposit. Has this changed? The new policy had stopped me from booking cruises to far into the future, even though in the past when I booked way in advance I’ve always ended taking the cruises booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJL2023 Posted July 3 #2 Share Posted July 3 7 minutes ago, Lorna Doone said: Does anyone know what that means? Book now and confirm later. Oceania recently changed their deposit policy so if you switch a cruise or cancel even a year or so in advance you loose your deposit. Has this changed? The new policy had stopped me from booking cruises to far into the future, even though in the past when I booked way in advance I’ve always ended taking the cruises booked. Where are you seeing this wording? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mauibabes Posted July 3 #3 Share Posted July 3 Not quite correct, they did institute a $150 Cancellation Fee after a Deposit is made for any cruise cancellation. To me, Book Now and Confirm means you can book a specific cruise without a Deposit and HOLD it for 5 days to give yourself time to think it through and make an informed decision. You then Deposit to make it a Confirmed Booking or if you do not Deposit, it expires and there is NO Cancellation Fee charged. iF you book a cruise on board a ship, you still get to make one cruise swap without incurring the $150 pp Cancellation Fee. Lots of folks may not happy with this but O and the rest of the cruise lines are searching for ways to increase revenue and or reduce unnecessary workload caused by cruisers who book with a shotgun approach because there was no financial impact to them. Nice Option while it lasted. Hopefully this helps clarify things, if not, others will do a better job of it in future posts. Mauibabes 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility Base Posted July 3 #4 Share Posted July 3 17 minutes ago, mauibabes said: iF you book a cruise on board a ship, you still get to make one cruise swap without incurring the $150 pp Cancellation Fee. Can you confirm that 'cruise swap' option is only permissible up to 6 months prior to sailing date ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mauibabes Posted July 3 #5 Share Posted July 3 No I can not, better talk to Oceania directly, their game, their rules 😇🙏🤞 We have never had to make a swap after the Final Payment was made and at 6 months we would be getting close to FP on our bookings. It sounds like you have a pretty specific instance in mind so it’s off to O you go, forget all the misinformation or opinions you can get on the Board. Mauibabes 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJL2023 Posted July 3 #6 Share Posted July 3 6 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said: Can you confirm that 'cruise swap' option is only permissible up to 6 months prior to sailing date ? We booked a cruise onboard in February. The letter received states you can roll the deposit to another cruise (one time only) if done at least 181 days prior to sailing. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMHuntFerry Posted July 3 #7 Share Posted July 3 10 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said: Can you confirm that 'cruise swap' option is only permissible up to 6 months prior to sailing date ? Here are the T&Cs from a FCC purchased in June: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna Doone Posted July 3 Author #8 Share Posted July 3 I saw the book now and confirm later on an Oceania facebook ad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted July 3 #9 Share Posted July 3 I am a cruise fan, not an O fan (although O is always in the mix). But, I strongly support the concept of non-refundable deposits! Why? Too many cruisers will book cruises, and pay refundable deposits, with the knowledge that they will not take some or most of what they book. We have actually met O cruisers that have told us they book 2 or 3 cruises, all sailing at the same time, and do not make up their mind until near final payment. This is not just an issue with O, but happens a lot with other lines. HAL often has $99 deposit sales, and we know folks who quickly book at least half a dozen cruises in order to secure their desired cabin. It is only around final payment that they cancel most of their bookings. Just look at the situation with airlines. You want a refundable airline fare, you are going to pay a big premium. I think that strategy also works for cruise lines. Some of the better lines do charge large deposits and impose penalties very far in advance. Those that book are serious players and have no intention of cancelling unless there is great cause. I look at some decent O itineraries more than a year in advance, they are are already near-full or into wait list status. If you call O they will urge you to get on the wait list because even they admit that many will cancel their bookings as it nears the penalty and final payment period. Even a line like MSC had moved to non-refundable deposits for their vary popular Yacht Club. Even though their deposits are quite low, it has been enough disincentive for faux bookings. Hank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 4 #10 Share Posted July 4 I had an OCA tell me over dinner that they have had some people book onboard and looking at their account they see that they have over 25 cruises booked, most of them overlapping. This is one of the reasons they went to the penalties for cancelling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FetaCheese Posted July 4 #11 Share Posted July 4 8 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said: Here are the T&Cs from a FCC purchased in June: @AMHuntFerry. Thanks for posting doc. I note in above FCC T&C's 2 changes in policy: 1. Cert does not expire (my FCC purchased last September onboard said Cert was fully refundable up to 1 year, if desired). 2. Above Cert is refundable within 30 days of purchase. My conclusion: Pax are locked in to select cruise after 30 days of purchase, after which time, and without expiration, O retains pax deposit. Then after cruise selection, CXL penalties apply, (minimum $150pp up to 181 days, after which time, penalties increase). An O revenue enhancement. I'm eager to hear others' analysis of new policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1985rz1 Posted July 4 #12 Share Posted July 4 14 hours ago, FetaCheese said: @AMHuntFerry. Thanks for posting doc. I note in above FCC T&C's 2 changes in policy: 1. Cert does not expire (my FCC purchased last September onboard said Cert was fully refundable up to 1 year, if desired). 2. Above Cert is refundable within 30 days of purchase. My conclusion: Pax are locked in to select cruise after 30 days of purchase, after which time, and without expiration, O retains pax deposit. Then after cruise selection, CXL penalties apply, (minimum $150pp up to 181 days, after which time, penalties increase). An O revenue enhancement. I'm eager to hear others' analysis of new policy. Personally I don't see a problem. The only real change is the the certificate is fully refundable within 30 days, rather than a year. I don't see that as a revenue enhancement unless you think that most people who purchase the certificate ask for a refund many months out. It's a reasonable policy to allow refunds for 30 days to give the pax a month to see if he/she has buyer's remorse. That should be more than sufficient, and the money is not lost after 30 days, just held for use on a future cruise, with no expiration date. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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