Booking onboard and then canceling, what happens?

[BigB0882]

Next summer we will be heading back to Alaska with Celebrity and want to have picked out our next cruise so we can book on board and take advantage of their offers for doing so. My only concern is what happens if you do this and then have to cancel the cruise later? Do they charge you a cancellation fee to cover the OBC that they gave you on the cruise? If there is no penalty then what is stopping everyone from booking a cruise they never intend to take to get the extra OBC?

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Next summer we will be heading back to Alaska with Celebrity and want to have picked out our next cruise so we can book on board and take advantage of their offers for doing so. My only concern is what happens if you do this and then have to cancel the cruise later? Do they charge you a cancellation fee to cover the OBC that they gave you on the cruise? If there is no penalty then what is stopping everyone from booking a cruise they never intend to take to get the extra OBC?

 

Yes to a cancellation fee.

 

If you take the OBC immediately when you book the future cruise and then later cancel that future cruise, the OBC amount you already took becomes a cancellation penalty deducted from your future cruise deposit return.

 

When you book any cruise with a reduced deposit there's another thing to keep in mind. Final payment now is 90 days. Cancelling 89 to 64 days before sailing is the period when the deposit amount is the cancellation penalty. If you cancel in that time frame, Celebrity will also keep the full usual deposit, not just the reduced amount you actually paid as your deposit.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Cruising Is Bliss

[jb008]

You can book onboard and defer the OBC to the time of the future sailing. That will avoid a cancellation fee in the event you cancel before final payment is due. I just cancelled 3 deposits I'd made onboard in January and the refunds hit my credit card within ~72 hours.

 

The onboard bookings are also moveable, so if you know you want to go but don't have the travel date completely locked you're still OK. The modified reservation will still show as booked onboard and should carry the onboard bonus OBC, and generally carry the same Perks (with some exceptions, like if you moving the future booking a large amount of time forward, e.g., 2016 to 2017).

[Can'tstopcruising]

You can book onboard and defer the OBC to the time of the future sailing. That will avoid a cancellation fee in the event you cancel before final payment is due. I just cancelled 3 deposits I'd made onboard in January and the refunds hit my credit card within ~72 hours.

 

The onboard bookings are also moveable, so if you know you want to go but don't have the travel date completely locked you're still OK. The modified reservation will still show as booked onboard and should carry the onboard bonus OBC, and generally carry the same Perks (with some exceptions, like if you moving the future booking a large amount of time forward, e.g., 2016 to 2017).

 

 

We have a future booking that we have moved around a lot. I can't even remember when we booked or how many changes we have made.

Because we didn't know what we wanted at the time, we kept the booking with Celebrity because we didn't want to encounter TA problems with multiple changes.

 

On board, we were given x dollars OBC for that cruise. Then we were charged the same amount as a deposit. When we cruise, we will pay the balance. If we should cancel, we will forfeit the deposit which equals the OBC we already spent!

[Cruise Raider]

If you book a specific sailing and then cancel it -- the deposit you paid should be fully refundable provided you haven't already spent it as OBC on your previous cruise as others have stated.

 

Now, if you book an open passage -- meaning you take out a future cruise credit and not assign it to a specific cruise -- these are not refundable -- at least that is the way it has been in the past. Someone will correct me if they changed that policy. It is now why I always book a future cruise -- even if I have to move it to something else later down the road. You may lose some perks if you do this .... some have, some haven't.

[Lastdance]

I just love all the updated rules; keep 'em confused is a great tactic for making more money...better know them before you book!!!

 

 

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[BigB0882]

Thanks everyone. I think we will have to decide whether to use the OBC on the current cruise or apply it going forward to the next cruise. At least if we do cancel and forfeit that it isn't as if we really lost anything since we did spend it on the ship.

[WEGL81]

In reality, the rules are pretty simple.

 

1) Take OBC on current cruise =Reduced deposit. Cancel and lose deposit.

2) Defer OBC to booked cruise = Cancel and refund.

3) If cancel inside the cancellation window, forfeit whatever deposit was made.

 

There's really no risk to either 1) or 2). In case 1) you lose your deposit but you've already spent that money anyway. In case 2) you get a refund. The only risk is if you cancel too close to the cruise date inside the cancellation window.

 

These policies are also why so many cabins open up right after final payment date, which is basically the cancellation window. Many people just "hold" cabins with these reservations until they get within 90 days and determine if they can really go or not, because there is little or no risk of losing any money. X encourages this through these policies because it allows them to show a high future bookings rate.