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Non-refundable deposits


Jaybardin
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Apparently Princess deposits are now non-refundable. This came as a rude surprise to my wife and I when we recently tried to reschedule a Panama Canal cruise in order to accommodate some friends we wanted to cruise with. We have been cruising with Princess for many years, and always felt comfortable making deposits on cruises we were interested in because they were fully refundable. Usually we took the cruise but occasionally events made us change plans. In the past that was no problem. Apparently that has changed, and I really wish Princess had made the change clearer. I have no problem with non-refundable deposits so long as the rules are clear, especially when you change the rules. We are out $700 because the cruise consultant (we deal directly with Princess) said nothing about it, and I failed to read the small print on the emailed receipt until it was too late.

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Princess deposits are generally still refundable. I currently have 3 cruises booked in 2019 and all three have refundable deposits. Princess has run some sales this past year, with non-refundable deposits. I suspect that you booked under one of those sales and did not notice the conditions.

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Under the current Sip + Sail promotion deposits are refundable. Hopefully that, or a similar rate, is what the new date was rebooked under.

 

The erroneous assumption made that all Princess deposits are non-refundable just because a single specific promotion did have that under its T&C pretty much says all that needs to be said about doing one's research before booking.

Edited by fishywood
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Most deposits are refundable. Some promos have non-refundable deposits. As you are now aware you must read all the details of the promo before you book. The details are clearly disclosed on the Princess web site.

In the past when I changed a cruise booking, our T.A. was able to transfer the non refundable deposit by speaking with whoever they had to speak with at Princess. It can happen.

 

As an aside note, you can normally receive additional OBC, category upgrades, cabin gifts like wine or specialty dining, discounted fares if you work with a T.A. instead of directly with Princess.

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Sorry this happened to you. We have a list of items that we check with each booking. When is the deposit due? When is final payment due? When do penalties start i.e. when do you start losing any money (this one would cover nonrefundable deposits)? Are there any "fees" if you cancel (covers anything from a TAs office for booking your cruise? And when you receive the booking confirmation, you have to read every line to make sure it is all correct, names, cabins, dates, amounts, OBC provided, and the terms and conditions. If there is an error you can get it fixed right away.

 

 

 

Some of these same questions are important regarding travel insurance, you can insure the nonrefundable deposit.

 

 

Other lines also have bookings with nonrefundable deposits, HAL even has booking with entire amount nonrefundable. Know the terms and conditions.

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sorry but the princess insurance cannot "cancel a cruise for any reason". We always purchase the insurance and one year my husband ended up having to go on a business trip (I went on the cruise with a friend). When we cancelled his half of the trip they would not refund his monies - which is why I invited a friend to join me.

 

Seems they have specific items you can cancel for

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sorry but the princess insurance cannot "cancel a cruise for any reason". We always purchase the insurance and one year my husband ended up having to go on a business trip (I went on the cruise with a friend). When we cancelled his half of the trip they would not refund his monies - which is why I invited a friend to join me.

 

Seems they have specific items you can cancel for

 

Actually you can - you just get a future cruise credit instead of money back.

 

You need to read the fine print. If it is a covered reason, you get your money back, non covered reason - money towards another cruise.

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Apparently Princess deposits are now non-refundable. This came as a rude surprise to my wife and I when we recently tried to reschedule a Panama Canal cruise in order to accommodate some friends we wanted to cruise with. We have been cruising with Princess for many years, and always felt comfortable making deposits on cruises we were interested in because they were fully refundable. Usually we took the cruise but occasionally events made us change plans. In the past that was no problem. Apparently that has changed, and I really wish Princess had made the change clearer. I have no problem with non-refundable deposits so long as the rules are clear, especially when you change the rules. We are out $700 because the cruise consultant (we deal directly with Princess) said nothing about it, and I failed to read the small print on the emailed receipt until it was too late.

 

Check with Princess and see if you can't move the deposit to another cruise as long as it is under the same " non refundable deposit promotion" ie non refundable deposit to a non refundable deposit. Ask nicely! They won't refund it but might move it to a new booking.

Edited by Jdleong
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We had family that was going to join us on our Hawaii cruise in February, the current promotion is the Sun Drenched "sale" which has a non refundable deposit.

 

They didn't book it as they weren't willing to risk losing the deposit. I'm sure that are going to book with another cruise line. I wish Princess wouldn't have so many of these types of promotions. There are many that simply won't book a non refundable deposit cruise.

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sorry but the princess insurance cannot "cancel a cruise for any reason". We always purchase the insurance and one year my husband ended up having to go on a business trip (I went on the cruise with a friend). When we cancelled his half of the trip they would not refund his monies - which is why I invited a friend to join me.

 

Seems they have specific items you can cancel for

 

 

You can cancel for any reason. However, you only get cash back if you are cancelling for a reason covered by the insurance company. For all other reasons you are given a refund in the form of future cruise credit from Princess that is good for one year.

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is that in the basic policy, or do you need to upgrade to the Premium/Platinum coverage?...which we ( and prolly a whole lot others ) get for platinum/elite status , but only pay the basic coverage price...

 

It is the same for premium coverage. Cash back for an insurance covered reason, otherwise future cruise credit from Princess for all other reasons.

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Check with Princess and see if you can't move the deposit to another cruise as long as it is under the same " non refundable deposit promotion" ie non refundable deposit to a non refundable deposit. Ask nicely! They won't refund it but might move it to a new booking.

Our travel agent was able to transfer a non refundable deposit to another cruise we had already booked. It was only $200 but still was nice to be able to move it.

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Some interesting responses, thanks. When I booked and when I called to cancel nothing was said about a special promotion situation. But perhaps so. But either way the agent should have mentioned it before I booked, because it would have been a red flag for me.

 

The question of insurance has been mentioned. I always got the Princess insurance and actually had to use it a couple of times, taking advantage of the free upgrade to the premium level to get "cancel for any reason" coverage. One time my wife lost her passport enroute the ship and we got a full credit toward a future cruise.

 

I do not use a travel agent because I have been traveling internationally for so many years that generally I can get what I want more easily myself, and am willing to forgo the occasional perk for the freedom of not having a middleman. That said, for many people a TA makes a lot of sense (and in this case might have saved me $700!).

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Almost all of the cruise lines are going to non-refundable deposits for at least some of their special promotions. I haven't had to move a non-refundable Princess deposit but I have had to move a Celebrity one and lost $200 because of it even though it was the same ship and same itinerary. That was a huge bummer and makes me not want to book with them in the future. I understand why the cruise lines are doing this, but I wish they'd offer some flexibility if you're just changing the sail date.

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Apparently Princess deposits are now non-refundable. This came as a rude surprise to my wife and I when we recently tried to reschedule a Panama Canal cruise in order to accommodate some friends we wanted to cruise with. We have been cruising with Princess for many years, and always felt comfortable making deposits on cruises we were interested in because they were fully refundable. Usually we took the cruise but occasionally events made us change plans. In the past that was no problem. Apparently that has changed, and I really wish Princess had made the change clearer. I have no problem with non-refundable deposits so long as the rules are clear, especially when you change the rules. We are out $700 because the cruise consultant (we deal directly with Princess) said nothing about it, and I failed to read the small print on the emailed receipt until it was too late.

It's your fault for not reading.

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  • 1 year later...
On 8/18/2018 at 10:43 PM, RDC1 said:

Princess deposits are generally still refundable. I currently have 3 cruises booked in 2019 and all three have refundable deposits. Princess has run some sales this past year, with non-refundable deposits. I suspect that you booked under one of those sales and did not notice the conditions.

 

JMHO

It appears that even as of today, Princess, even on their "3 for free" promo is taking the non-refundable deposit route, for their bookings as far out as May of 2021.

To me it appears that, at least for their promos (to this date) are going to be non-refundable deposits!

 

For us, if that's the case, we are done. Have been with Princess for 25 + years. Many, many wonderful voyages/memories so we have done more than our share, guess its time to step aside and leave the adventures for others.

 

Again, IMHO, all the cruise lines are getting even more greedy. I guess its time to find another venue for our travels after our last 6 bookings we still have are done. Lots to do out there...

 

I myself really cannot understand why they would be going this route, but then again, I am only the consumer...

The good times are not going to last forever for these cruise lines, or for the paying public, someday the tides will turn, no pun intended. Maybe we (wife and I) need to take a sabbatical and wait for those tides to turn.

They are saturating the market with all these new mega ships, ruining the ports with so many more people, quality has diminished greatly, troubled ports and they still want more, the list is endless.

 

Its all about The Money and always has been, especially for the cruise lines!

A good book to read for an eye opener would be "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea". It tells about entrepreneurial genius and bare-knuckle capitalism that mate with cultural kitsch as the cruise lines dodge U.S. tax, labor and environmental laws to make unimaginable profits. A true (read) story...

 

Just imagine the whole deposit thing alone. Take every deposit for every person for every ship for every sailing (every week) and most often hold it for a year or two. Even if they were to take a simple interest (let alone invest all that deposit cash) the $ numbers are a staggering, shear profit for the cruise lines just to hold onto whether you cancel or not.

Not to even mention the topic of how much cruise fares have increased the past 5+ years is another story...

 

Well that felt good, was fun, rant over, eat me up now! 

9d1622f2-13d9-4fa4-a401-221b28983cad-3dbf8688-ff64-4b7b-82dc-942003a0e289-v1.png

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We recently booked a 2021 cruise under the Landmark promo which had a non-refundable deposit. However, our TA determined that the promo had a refundable deposit option: for $110 more ($100 additional cruise fare, $10 additional initial deposit) the deposit would be refundable. For us it was worth the additional $110 to be able to recoup the deposit should something happen prior to final payment and we had to cancel.

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1 hour ago, finucane said:

 

JMHO

It appears that even as of today, Princess, even on their "3 for free" promo is taking the non-refundable deposit route, for their bookings as far out as May of 2021.

To me it appears that, at least for their promos (to this date) are going to be non-refundable deposits!

 

For us, if that's the case, we are done. Have been with Princess for 25 + years. Many, many wonderful voyages/memories so we have done more than our share, guess its time to step aside and leave the adventures for others.

 

Again, IMHO, all the cruise lines are getting even more greedy. I guess its time to find another venue for our travels after our last 6 bookings we still have are done. Lots to do out there...

 

I myself really cannot understand why they would be going this route, but then again, I am only the consumer...

The good times are not going to last forever for these cruise lines, or for the paying public, someday the tides will turn, no pun intended. Maybe we (wife and I) need to take a sabbatical and wait for those tides to turn.

They are saturating the market with all these new mega ships, ruining the ports with so many more people, quality has diminished greatly, troubled ports and they still want more, the list is endless.

 

Its all about The Money and always has been, especially for the cruise lines!

A good book to read for an eye opener would be "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea". It tells about entrepreneurial genius and bare-knuckle capitalism that mate with cultural kitsch as the cruise lines dodge U.S. tax, labor and environmental laws to make unimaginable profits. A true (read) story...

 

Just imagine the whole deposit thing alone. Take every deposit for every person for every ship for every sailing (every week) and most often hold it for a year or two. Even if they were to take a simple interest (let alone invest all that deposit cash) the $ numbers are a staggering, shear profit for the cruise lines just to hold onto whether you cancel or not.

Not to even mention the topic of how much cruise fares have increased the past 5+ years is another story...

 

Well that felt good, was fun, rant over, eat me up now! 

9d1622f2-13d9-4fa4-a401-221b28983cad-3dbf8688-ff64-4b7b-82dc-942003a0e289-v1.png

I booked today. A Panama Canal cruise, not offered on the 3FF promotion. My TA could not book it with a refundable deposit. I called Princess and was assured by 2 agents and 1 supervisor my FCD would go back into my account if I cancelled before final payment. Supervisor said they do this as a good will gesture, but  do not put it in writing. I am not ok with that, so

she was also able to change my booking to a refundable deposit which my TA and 2 Princess agents could not for this particular cruise. I pay $200CAD more, but Princess offered lower prices on this cruise then my TA re: the nonrefundable fare.

It is worth making the call to Princess and ask for a supervisor. I am Platinum 14 cruises, which they mentioned a few times not wanting to lose my business. I hope others will phone Princess and express their issues with these non refundable deposits. I'm moving to booking last minute in the future.

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1 hour ago, finucane said:

 

JMHO

It appears that even as of today, Princess, even on their "3 for free" promo is taking the non-refundable deposit route, for their bookings as far out as May of 2021.

To me it appears that, at least for their promos (to this date) are going to be non-refundable deposits!

 

For us, if that's the case, we are done. Have been with Princess for 25 + years. Many, many wonderful voyages/memories so we have done more than our share, guess its time to step aside and leave the adventures for others.

 

Again, IMHO, all the cruise lines are getting even more greedy. I guess its time to find another venue for our travels after our last 6 bookings we still have are done. Lots to do out there...

 

I myself really cannot understand why they would be going this route, but then again, I am only the consumer...

The good times are not going to last forever for these cruise lines, or for the paying public, someday the tides will turn, no pun intended. Maybe we (wife and I) need to take a sabbatical and wait for those tides to turn.

They are saturating the market with all these new mega ships, ruining the ports with so many more people, quality has diminished greatly, troubled ports and they still want more, the list is endless.

 

Its all about The Money and always has been, especially for the cruise lines!

A good book to read for an eye opener would be "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea". It tells about entrepreneurial genius and bare-knuckle capitalism that mate with cultural kitsch as the cruise lines dodge U.S. tax, labor and environmental laws to make unimaginable profits. A true (read) story...

 

Just imagine the whole deposit thing alone. Take every deposit for every person for every ship for every sailing (every week) and most often hold it for a year or two. Even if they were to take a simple interest (let alone invest all that deposit cash) the $ numbers are a staggering, shear profit for the cruise lines just to hold onto whether you cancel or not.

Not to even mention the topic of how much cruise fares have increased the past 5+ years is another story...

 

Well that felt good, was fun, rant over, eat me up now! 

9d1622f2-13d9-4fa4-a401-221b28983cad-3dbf8688-ff64-4b7b-82dc-942003a0e289-v1.png

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and I am not trying to beat you up. And I agree having to deal with non-refundable deposits will definitely have to be taken into consideration when I plan future travel. However, I also try to see it from the other side. I imagine that there are many people that book multiple cruises knowing full well that they are going to cancel some of them (I've seen posts of people talking about doing just this). The cruise line can't sell these cabins to a new customer while they are being held by another customer. If held until the last minute the cruise line might have to sell these cabins for less than the original reservation. And of course they're all about the money - this is a business after all 🙂.

 

There are a lot of land based businesses (specifically thinking about those that provide services for weddings) that have non-refundable deposits too. Ultimately it's all about their bottom line. 

 

We, as consumers, have the choice on where to spend our disposable income and should let that speak for us. Eventually someone will have to listen.

 

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