Is the non refundable deposit program ON?

[LMaxwell]

That's a good question. If so, I can see price drops happening less often. But if not, I can see a lot of angry folks when the refundable fare drops below (or equal to) what they paid for non-refundable, but not by enough to make it worth paying the penalty to switch.

 

Another poster in another thread mentioned that there is a $100pp penalty for switching, and another $100pp fee for rebooking, making the penalty for 2 people $400, rather than $200. This would make the non-refundable deposit even less attractive. I'm actually surprised so many people are willing to try it. I'd rather pay the higher fare and be glad if I get surprised with a price drop than to pay money I know I can't ever get back. I wouldn't shop at a retail store with no return policy either. I just like knowing I can change my mind I guess.

 

 

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I wonder if Royal will start selling Cancel for Any Reason insurance that is paid for at booking in full and can not be refunded. This type of insurance is typically among the most expensive levels of coverage. I wonder if Cancel for Any Reason would get you the full amount back since the nonrefund is part of the booking policy. Hmm, really not sure. Never have booked a nonrefund fare anywhere before.

 

On Carnival I always pay slightly more for a refundable fare versus one that has a cancellation penalty, because we are not retired, have folks getting up in age, both work full time, kids, etc., so plans change. If I change my plans 3 or 4 months before saildate I am not comfortable losing a deposit or paying penalties. But Carnivals refundable rates are only like $20-30 more per person than the non-refund rates so it's not a big gamble to pay to avoid the potential of losing a deposit.

[Peachy59]

It was a simple way to raise prices and make everyone think they are getting a "discount".

 

I guess It's good for the stock price...

 

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Exactly!

[molly361]

Here are the terms and conditions- I "think" you only lose the $100 pp if you change or cancel

 

Full Terms and Conditions

A booking made under the non-refundable deposit cruise fare rate (an “NRD Booking”) requires the payment of a non-refundable deposit at the time of booking. The deposit is not refundable at any time after it has been paid. Payment of full deposit and full name are required for each guest at the time of booking.

If the guest cancels an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, the cancellation terms of the cruise ticket contract apply, and Royal Caribbean will issue a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit paid minus a $100USD per person service fee to the guest named on the cancelled NRD Booking (the “FCC”). The FCC is applicable only towards the purchase of a Royal Caribbean cruise that departs no more than 12-months after the issue date of the FCC (the “Expiration Date”). Any amount remaining after the Expiration Date will be void and forfeited. The FCC is non-transferable, non-refundable, and not redeemable for any other form of compensation, credit, or cash. For NRD Bookings that require a deposit of $100USD or less, no FCC or any other compensation or credit of any kind will be issued.

Each time the guest changes the ship or sail date of an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, payments made towards the NRD Booking will be applied to the balance of the modified booking and a $100USD per person service fee will be charged to the modified booking.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada. Prices are subject to availability, subject to change without notice, capacity controlled, and may be withdrawn at any time. Royal Caribbean reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice. ©2017 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ships registry: Bahamas.

[Ourusualbeach]

Here are the terms and conditions- I "think" you only lose the $100 pp if you change or cancel

 

Full Terms and Conditions

A booking made under the non-refundable deposit cruise fare rate (an “NRD Booking”) requires the payment of a non-refundable deposit at the time of booking. The deposit is not refundable at any time after it has been paid. Payment of full deposit and full name are required for each guest at the time of booking.

If the guest cancels an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, the cancellation terms of the cruise ticket contract apply, and Royal Caribbean will issue a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit paid minus a $100USD per person service fee to the guest named on the cancelled NRD Booking (the “FCC”). The FCC is applicable only towards the purchase of a Royal Caribbean cruise that departs no more than 12-months after the issue date of the FCC (the “Expiration Date”). Any amount remaining after the Expiration Date will be void and forfeited. The FCC is non-transferable, non-refundable, and not redeemable for any other form of compensation, credit, or cash. For NRD Bookings that require a deposit of $100USD or less, no FCC or any other compensation or credit of any kind will be issued.

Each time the guest changes the ship or sail date of an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, payments made towards the NRD Booking will be applied to the balance of the modified booking and a $100USD per person service fee will be charged to the modified booking.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada. Prices are subject to availability, subject to change without notice, capacity controlled, and may be withdrawn at any time. Royal Caribbean reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice. ©2017 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ships registry: Bahamas.

 

That's how I read it as well. A single $100 fee per person.

 

Don't forget that there is no fee to make changes to your reservation even a non refundable deposit reservation as long as you do not change the ship or sail date. To me this would suggest that you can still get price drops or change cabin categories to take advantage of a cheaper category.

[Green Recruit]

Yesterday I called RC and took 2 of our bookings that were made on board awhile ago and requested the price drop for the NR deposit. The difference in price was significant, we are definitely not changing these AND we received another $200 OBC! For us it was a no brainer but RC told me that any other change will now result in the $100 PP charge. I'm curious if that also applies to another price drop. Confusing to say the least... :cool:

 

Teri

Edited July 2, 2017 by Green Recruit
Spelling

[OCSC Mike]

That's how I read it as well. A single $100 fee per person.

 

Don't forget that there is no fee to make changes to your reservation even a non refundable deposit reservation as long as you do not change the ship or sail date. To me this would suggest that you can still get price drops or change cabin categories to take advantage of a cheaper category.

 

Hoping you're right on all counts. I'm going to call shortly about a price drop for our Alaska cruise next June that we booked on-board last month (obviously prior to these wonderful new rules).

[molly361]

Thanks Ellen, we all know how accurate the information from the RCL reps is! :D:rolleyes:

 

You're welcome Lorraine- Hope you and Russell are doing well-

[OCSC Mike]

I'm going to call shortly about a price drop for our Alaska cruise next June that we booked on-board last month (obviously prior to these wonderful new rules).

 

Just got off the phone and spoke with two different people (had to be transferred from C&A to the cruisetour department of the certified vacation planners since we booked on-board). According to both agents, nothing changes whatsoever other than the original deposit becomes non-refundable and that would only kick in if we changed the ship and/or date. I was told we could change cabins and/or even drop the pre-tour (which was important b/c we're still considering a non-RCCL pre-tour). Also, even though the online deposit was showing as $500 ours remained at the $200 from booking on-board. I must have asked to be reassured of everything 4-5 times before agreeing to the switch. We not only got the price drop (several hundred dollars) but we also got the current non-refundable promo of $100 OBC on top of the $200 OBC from NextCruise. So provided that all that info was correct, it seemed to be a no-brainer and there was almost no risk involved in this case.

[ColoradoGurl]

If the guest cancels an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, the cancellation terms of the cruise ticket contract apply, and Royal Caribbean will issue a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit paid minus a $100USD per person service fee to the guest named on the cancelled NRD Booking.

 

Each time the guest changes the ship or sail date of an NRD Booking prior to the final payment due date, payments made towards the NRD Booking will be applied to the balance of the modified booking and a $100USD per person service fee will be charged to the modified booking.[/font][/color]

 

 

With the above two terms, I can see how one might end up charged $400 (instead of $200). Let's say someone realizes they can't go on their cruise right before final payment date, but they aren't ready to rebook, so they cancel the cruise, get charged the $200 penalty and get the remaining $300 FCC (as per the first paragraph). I guess they'd each get $150 since the rule also says that the names now both have to remain the same on the booking and that the credits will only be issued to the names on the booking.

 

Then, they get their act together, find a new sail date that they can use their credit on, and are now charged another $100 per person (as per the second paragraph).

 

Unless the two paragraphs are just reiterating the same thing, it does seem like they are giving themselves an opportunity to charge a total of $400 in penalties rather than just $200.

 

If this is the case, then obviously people should find a new cruise date to move to rather than cancelling and THEN finding the new cruise.

 

Also, no more swapping out passengers for those who book non-refundable.

 

 

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[cockney1]

Our deposit for booking on board with our last Celbrity cruise for our next Alaska cruise was $150 and was our onboard purchase! So we could not loose and were told that we had the option to cancel or move to another cruise. They cannot guarantee we would still have a drink package included but for us seems like a good deal. The price we paid we have not been able to better from any other cruise agent or Celebrity. Happy bunnies. 😅.

 

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[deliver42]

I e-mailed my TA this morning to see if he could get my Symphony switched to a non refundable, and he did. Saved me almost $400.00.

[Beachammo]

Talked to a C&A manager (very nice) about the non-refundable $100 PP fee. She said four things trigger the fee.

 

1) Changing the sailing date on the reservation.

2) Changing the ship on the reservation.

3) Cancelling the reservation.

4) Removing a passenger(s) from the cabin.

 

You can get a lower price for your existing cabin at anytime with no fee. You can change cabins up or down on the same itinerary without triggering the $200 fee. You can add a passenger to your cabin.

 

Plus she stated no additional $200 fee to apply any credit to a new or exsisting reservation. So if you have a $500 deposit on a non-refundable 2 paxs reservation and cancel.....Royal keeps $200 and then you can apply the $300 to an existing reservation or you have to spend it on a new reservation in the next 12 months.

 

That's all my notes from the conversation.

 

BeachAmmo

 

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[lr657]

Talked to a C&A manager (very nice) about the non-refundable $100 PP fee. She said four things trigger the fee.

 

1) Changing the sailing date on the reservation.

2) Changing the ship on the reservation.

3) Cancelling the reservation.

4) Removing a passenger(s) from the cabin.

 

You can get a lower price for your existing cabin at anytime with no fee. You can change cabins up or down on the same itinerary without triggering the $200 fee. You can add a passenger to your cabin.

 

Plus she stated no additional $200 fee to apply any credit to a new or exsisting reservation. So if you have a $500 deposit on a non-refundable 2 paxs reservation and cancel.....Royal keeps $200 and then you can apply the $300 to an existing reservation or you have to spend it on a new reservation in the next 12 months.

 

That's all my notes from the conversation.

 

BeachAmmo

 

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Thank you for sharing, This information helps answer several questions. I'm still curious about a JS only being able to be booked with a NRD. That's not what their policy said when it was released.

[Biker19]

That sounds reasonable, well maybe not anyone who needs to rant about the change. Of course who knows if this will have the effect RCI was looking for.

[lr657]

You're welcome Lorraine- Hope you and Russell are doing well-

 

Thanks Ellen, we're doing well and hope you both are too. We're going to have to book a cruise that you are actually planning on taking so we can sail with you again! ;)

[Clarea]

... 4) Removing a passenger(s) from the cabin. ...

One more reason to have a no show if you book for two and one can't go.

[ColoradoGurl]

Thanks!

 

Talked to a C&A manager (very nice) about the non-refundable $100 PP fee. She said four things trigger the fee.

 

1) Changing the sailing date on the reservation.

2) Changing the ship on the reservation.

3) Cancelling the reservation.

4) Removing a passenger(s) from the cabin.

 

You can get a lower price for your existing cabin at anytime with no fee. You can change cabins up or down on the same itinerary without triggering the $200 fee. You can add a passenger to your cabin.

 

Plus she stated no additional $200 fee to apply any credit to a new or exsisting reservation. So if you have a $500 deposit on a non-refundable 2 paxs reservation and cancel.....Royal keeps $200 and then you can apply the $300 to an existing reservation or you have to spend it on a new reservation in the next 12 months.

 

That's all my notes from the conversation.

 

BeachAmmo

 

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[NJ&Ozzie]

Just got off the phone and spoke with two different people (had to be transferred from C&A to the cruisetour department of the certified vacation planners since we booked on-board). According to both agents, nothing changes whatsoever other than the original deposit becomes non-refundable and that would only kick in if we changed the ship and/or date. I was told we could change cabins and/or even drop the pre-tour (which was important b/c we're still considering a non-RCCL pre-tour). Also, even though the online deposit was showing as $500 ours remained at the $200 from booking on-board. I must have asked to be reassured of everything 4-5 times before agreeing to the switch. We not only got the price drop (several hundred dollars) but we also got the current non-refundable promo of $100 OBC on top of the $200 OBC from NextCruise. So provided that all that info was correct, it seemed to be a no-brainer and there was almost no risk involved in this case.

 

Hi,

We have five cruises booked from May 1st onboard bookings during a WOW sale. Would that mean if we called our TA & changed them to NRD bookings, we would get an extra $100 obc for doing this? Would we lose our obc from RC from the WOW sale?

 

This is pretty confusing!

Thanks,

NJ

[luvpoodle]

RC told me to change my browser, that was Greek to this old lady but I figured it out. Now instead of Google I use Firefox when I look at rc and it works great.

I did see non refundable cruise prices today.

 

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[OCSC Mike]

Hi,

We have five cruises booked from May 1st onboard bookings during a WOW sale. Would that mean if we called our TA & changed them to NRD bookings, we would get an extra $100 obc for doing this? Would we lose our obc from RC from the WOW sale?

 

You'd have to ask about combining the WOW OBC with the NRD OBC but I was able to combine the NRD OBC with my NextCruise OBC and as the agent read down the list of what could be combined it seemed like most things could.

 

The one part you didn't mention is that I'm fairly certain you'd also have to get a new price (the current one) if you switched to a NRD. Maybe you left it out b/c you already knew that but just making sure you didn't think you got the $100 OBC just by switching your deposit to non-refundable.

[Ourusualbeach]

Thanks Ellen, we're doing well and hope you both are too. We're going to have to book a cruise thazt you are actually planning on taking so we can sail with you again! ;)

 

 

That was slipped in there nicely, well done!:D (Sorry Ellen, I just couldn't resist)

[SherriZ366]

With the above two terms, I can see how one might end up charged $400 (instead of $200). Let's say someone realizes they can't go on their cruise right before final payment date, but they aren't ready to rebook, so they cancel the cruise, get charged the $200 penalty and get the remaining $300 FCC (as per the first paragraph). I guess they'd each get $150 since the rule also says that the names now both have to remain the same on the booking and that the credits will only be issued to the names on the booking.

 

Then, they get their act together, find a new sail date that they can use their credit on, and are now charged another $100 per person (as per the second paragraph).

 

Unless the two paragraphs are just reiterating the same thing, it does seem like they are giving themselves an opportunity to charge a total of $400 in penalties rather than just $200.

 

If this is the case, then obviously people should find a new cruise date to move to rather than cancelling and THEN finding the new cruise.

 

Also, no more swapping out passengers for those who book non-refundable.

 

 

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A good question to get clarified is "Wouldn't a future Cruise Credit from a non-refundable booking be treated the same as any other Future Cruise Credit? -- e.g. we had hot water problems on a cruise and RCI gave us a Future Cruise Credit of 25% of what we paid for the cruise that we had water problems on.

[SherriZ366]

Talked to a C&A manager (very nice) about the non-refundable $100 PP fee. She said four things trigger the fee.

 

1) Changing the sailing date on the reservation.

2) Changing the ship on the reservation.

3) Cancelling the reservation.

4) Removing a passenger(s) from the cabin.

 

You can get a lower price for your existing cabin at anytime with no fee. You can change cabins up or down on the same itinerary without triggering the $200 fee. You can add a passenger to your cabin.

 

Plus she stated no additional $200 fee to apply any credit to a new or exsisting reservation. So if you have a $500 deposit on a non-refundable 2 paxs reservation and cancel.....Royal keeps $200 and then you can apply the $300 to an existing reservation or you have to spend it on a new reservation in the next 12 months.

 

That's all my notes from the conversation.

 

BeachAmmo

 

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That seems to answer my question Future Cruise Credits -- a few posts below as I did not see you post first.

[molly361]

Thanks Ellen, we're doing well and hope you both are too. We're going to have to book a cruise that you are actually planning on taking so we can sail with you again! ;)

 

Indy 11/18/17

 

That was slipped in there nicely, well done!:D (Sorry Ellen, I just couldn't resist)

 

HEY, I was all set with the OA for November until the Indy bargain popped up.:halo::eek:

[icsys]

On or off the program still sucks will they allow us to take the deposit and switch it to another date or are we locked into that original sailing date with no hope of ever getting a refund? Why is it that all companies related to travel are trying to nickel-and-dime us to death?

Welcome to MY world.