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Final payment to be set at 120 days in near future


LMaxwell
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so far i noticed no changes of dates for my next 2 cruises next year. maybe this is for new bookings only?

 

Already held bookings should not be impacted; your final payment date was established when you put your deposit down.

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Eventually 4 months becomes 6 months. 6 becomes 12. Then payment in full due at booking, etc. If 4 is successful balance they will go for even further out.

 

Yeah, this is going to be like airlines eventually, full payment at booking. Royal Caribbean has already moved to a non-refundable deposit model.

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Yeah, this is going to be like airlines eventually, full payment at booking. Royal Caribbean has already moved to a non-refundable deposit model.

 

You still have the option of a refundable or non-refundable rate (until final payment date at 90-120 days out) with the refundable rate being higher. Holland America too now.

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Norwegian Cruise Line is making an adjustment to its final payment schedule for all bookings beginning December 18, 2017. To align to a consistent schedule amongst stateroom categories for the majority of our itineraries, all seven-night or longer cruise bookings will now require final payment 120 days prior to sail date. One to six-night cruises will now require full payment 90 days prior to sail date for non-suite stateroom categories, while Haven and suites category stateroom bookings will continue to require final payment 120 days prior to sail date.

 

This adjusted payment schedule will further allow guests to book with confidence, as those who book early receive optimal pricing and stateroom choice.

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Norwegian Cruise Line is making an adjustment to its final payment schedule for all bookings beginning December 18, 2017. To align to a consistent schedule amongst stateroom categories for the majority of our itineraries, all seven-night or longer cruise bookings will now require final payment 120 days prior to sail date. One to six-night cruises will now require full payment 90 days prior to sail date for non-suite stateroom categories, while Haven and suites category stateroom bookings will continue to require final payment 120 days prior to sail date.

 

This adjusted payment schedule will further allow guests to book with confidence, as those who book early receive optimal pricing and stateroom choice.

 

Does this mean that cruises booked prior to December 18, 2017 are grandfathered into full payment 90 days prior, and cruises booked on or after December 18 must be paid for 120 days prior? I have a cruise booked that departs April 22, 2018 so am wondering if I now have to pay the balance of my fare in December or January.

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Does this mean that cruises booked prior to December 18, 2017 are grandfathered into full payment 90 days prior, and cruises booked on or after December 18 must be paid for 120 days prior? I have a cruise booked that departs April 22, 2018 so am wondering if I now have to pay the balance of my fare in December or January.

 

You would be grandfathered. This would be for new bookings made and deposited after the new rule kicks into effect in December.

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Already held bookings should not be impacted; your final payment date was established when you put your deposit down.

 

Does this mean that cruises booked prior to December 18, 2017 are grandfathered into full payment 90 days prior, and cruises booked on or after December 18 must be paid for 120 days prior? I have a cruise booked that departs April 22, 2018 so am wondering if I now have to pay the balance of my fare in December or January.

 

Your original payment date remains

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If you're going on the cruise, then what's the difference? It can't be the interest you are losing on the cruise amount. That would be the equivalent to a cup of coffee. The whole idea, I believe, is to lock in as many cabins as they can. If people cancel before the 120 days, it gives them more time to resell them.

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If you're going on the cruise, then what's the difference? It can't be the interest you are losing on the cruise amount. That would be the equivalent to a cup of coffee. The whole idea, I believe, is to lock in as many cabins as they can. If people cancel before the 120 days, it gives them more time to resell them.

 

If you book a cruise two years out, why don't you just pay the full amount the day you book it?

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The last few cruises we paid at 120 days but the next two in balcony/mini suite we will have the extra 30 days at 90. We may be in the minority about this change. Personally, I have no issue one way or the other as we only plan a cruise when we have the money socked away for it. We retirees (DH and I) don't plan until we have the money.

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If you book a cruise two years out, why don't you just pay the full amount the day you book it?

 

 

 

If I don’t have the money, I could charge the full amount and pay the bank interest, or I can pay NCL over time with no interest. It’s just now I have 30 days less. It doesn’t offend me as much as it seems to offend some others.

 

Cruising is the only travel choice I can think of that lets you pay over time without interest, and lets you cancel or change without penalty.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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This is actually a pretty big deal, and I'm surprised people are dismissing it.

 

The longer out the final payment date is, the less flexibility you have for cancellation.

 

Prior to final payment date, you can get a full, 100% refund for any cruise booked, which is very nice. Compare that to the airline where you have a whopping 24 hours after booking to cancel, and then the purchase is final.

 

Now that it's 120 days, you will suffer penalties if you change anything starting 4 months prior to your cruise.

 

This is even more reason not to bother booking at all before final payment, and just wait for bargains to show up closer to sail date. The only exception comes for popular or rare cruises which are likely to fill up.

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I wonder what the impact will be on trip insurance prices? Insurance only pays for what you are actually out, so if you hadn't made final payment, they were off the hook for the full amount that paid to insure. Now, there will be 30 more days for people to change their minds/have things come up, etc. It might be that "cup of coffee", too. Just a thought.

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This is actually a pretty big deal, and I'm surprised people are dismissing it.

 

The longer out the final payment date is, the less flexibility you have for cancellation.

 

Prior to final payment date, you can get a full, 100% refund for any cruise booked, which is very nice. Compare that to the airline where you have a whopping 24 hours after booking to cancel, and then the purchase is final.

 

Now that it's 120 days, you will suffer penalties if you change anything starting 4 months prior to your cruise.

 

This is even more reason not to bother booking at all before final payment, and just wait for bargains to show up closer to sail date. The only exception comes for popular or rare cruises which are likely to fill up.

 

Most people do not understand the basics of cash flow and how this is a detriment to consumers, but you seem to understand, which is a relief. I think many more cruisers who purchase insurance will have to be purchasing policies with cancel for work reason / cancel for any reason; so more expensive policies will be sold.

 

Trading flexibility with no benefit is a bad deal as a consumer. I'm very pro-consumer when it comes to cruising. I'm not anti-company or anti-profit, but this is a website for consumers and the constant, loud, championing of consumer-unfriendly policies on this site is disturbing and makes one wonder...

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