Non-Refundable Deposit??

[carlp]

was going to book 10 day cruise. haven't been on RCCL in a while

WHEN did they go with the "non-refundable deposit"

even tried to book with Costco Travel -same results. Is this something new or has it been like this and why did they change

[voyager70]

was going to book 10 day cruise. haven't been on RCCL in a while

WHEN did they go with the "non-refundable deposit"

even tried to book with Costco Travel -same results. Is this something new or has it been like this and why did they change

 

Been in place for several months now. Up to you if it's worth it.

[voyager70]

You can always pay a little more for a refundable deposit option.

[Clarea]

was going to book 10 day cruise. haven't been on RCCL in a while

WHEN did they go with the "non-refundable deposit"

even tried to book with Costco Travel -same results. Is this something new or has it been like this and why did they change

Non-refundable deposits started last July. Unless you are booking a Grand Suite or better, you still have the option for refundable deposit.

[Sittin'OnTheDock]

I don't think it's exactly Non-Refundable.

 

I am looking at our letter from Royal stating they were deducting $100 per person and giving us $150 per person Future Cruise Credit to be used within one year.

 

So I suppose we only are risking $200 total by cancelling because we always plan on having one more Royal cruise.

 

I don't remember the savings by using NRD. I plan to always use NRD.:)

[CanadaRob]

I'm still trying to figure out if the flexible option is better to book a long way out cruise or not. If you book it early and very little OBC is offered and they have a crazy deal(it happens every now and then) switching to an NRD at that time is possible. If I come in with an NRD and want the better deal is there still a chance depending on who answers the phone at Royal?

[LizzyDragon]

If I come in with an NRD and want the better deal is there still a chance depending on who answers the phone at Royal?

 

As long as the promotion isn’t for new bookings only, and you haven’t passed the final payment date, you should be able to get it. Doesn’t matter if the booking is NRD or not.

[Clarea]

I'm still trying to figure out if the flexible option is better to book a long way out cruise or not. If you book it early and very little OBC is offered and they have a crazy deal(it happens every now and then) switching to an NRD at that time is possible. If I come in with an NRD and want the better deal is there still a chance depending on who answers the phone at Royal?

Currently, they are giving price drops to people with NRD bookings. However, I can see they day when the rules change and they say no, because the NRD bookings cannot be cancelled without incurring a loss.

[mrb1963]

Currently, they are giving price drops to people with NRD bookings. However, I can see they day when the rules change and they say no, because the NRD bookings cannot be cancelled without incurring a loss.

 

I was hoping they might go the was of Carnival and offer price protection on NRD up to 3 days before sailing.

[Clarea]

I was hoping they might go the was of Carnival and offer price protection on NRD up to 3 days before sailing.

Royal took the restrictions of Early Saver and left out the best benefit.

[JoieNsk]

I made onboard booking, and still am thinking that either I was intoxicated with being on the cruise or the booking agent lied to me?

 

But later I read the paper they gave me, and it was saying that the deposit we made onboard was not refundable. I told the agent right away that I didn't know the date yet, and this was kind of "fake" booking we were going to turn into real one once we pick up the itinerary (they weren't out yet for the dates we were looking at). Now I see that to change the date they would charge us 100 for a person.

 

I would not assume that the agent lied to me just like that - not mentioning that the deposit in non-refundable and there is a charge for date change.

 

That means I was out of my mind making that booking :))))

 

Too late now. Never again.

[Clarea]

I made onboard booking, and still am thinking that either I was intoxicated with being on the cruise or the booking agent lied to me?

 

But later I read the paper they gave me, and it was saying that the deposit we made onboard was not refundable. I told the agent right away that I didn't know the date yet, and this was kind of "fake" booking we were going to turn into real one once we pick up the itinerary (they weren't out yet for the dates we were looking at). Now I see that to change the date they would charge us 100 for a person.

 

I would not assume that the agent lied to me just like that - not mentioning that the deposit in non-refundable and there is a charge for date change.

 

That means I was out of my mind making that booking :))))

 

Too late now. Never again.

If you made this booking recently, you may be able to change without penalty. I think they give you 30 days to make changes.

[JoieNsk]

With Royal we prefer suites, that means that our deposit is going to be non-refundable no-matter-what.

 

We do that with Disney, and there deposit is non-refundable too. But they don't charge for the date change - at least not yet.

 

I think with the changes Royal made - this is going to be the last cruise line I ever would consider. Unless the itinerary is a total killer.

 

Like right now I finally moved that non-refundable deposit to the "real" itinerary - Royal is the only one who has 3 days in St Petersburg.

[JoieNsk]

If you made this booking recently, you may be able to change without penalty. I think they give you 30 days to make changes.

 

No, that was in June 2017. And I noticed that deposit is non-refundable only couple months ago. BTW this is first time I hear about the 30 days. I swear - the agent never mentioned anything like that.

 

But thank you very much for the information.

 

I don't think I am going to fall for onboard booking trick again. But it is very good to know about those 30 days!

Edited March 6, 2018 by JoieNsk

[SRF]

You may be able to whine some.

 

But you lose $100 per person if you change sailing date or ship. If you told the agent that you were making a booked, with the intent to change it later, they SHOULD have told you this.

 

As has been mentioned, since last summer, GS and higher are ONLY NRD. This was due to people booking 5 or more cruises, then canceling most just before final payment. And holding the limited suites off the market.

[JoieNsk]

You may be able to whine some.

 

But you lose $100 per person if you change sailing date or ship. If you told the agent that you were making a booked, with the intent to change it later, they SHOULD have told you this.

 

I think she most likely did. She probably explained something else to me which I don't remember now, and that's why I booked. Because once I moved the cruise to the "real" date - yes, they charged us 200 dollars extra for changing the date for two persons. But somehow we ended up with 500 dollars on-board credit total.

 

So in the end we got 300 off (500 - 200). But I still think it was stupid of me to do this booking, as we pick the cruise not based on the cruise company - rather on itinerary. So I am not going to do it again - I don't want to be stuck with Royal if I change my mind.

 

With Disney I don't mind non-refundable deposit as much, as they don't charge for the date change.

 

On-board credit is nice of course. But only if you needed it. I guess it will pay at least the gratuities. It's 13-day itinerary, so the gratuities got to be not small. And if Royal would allow to use the on-board credit to book the activities as they used to do - I don't know if they still do - then we certainly will find good use of it.

[squadron]

I'm still trying to figure out if the flexible option is better to book a long way out cruise or not. If you book it early and very little OBC is offered and they have a crazy deal(it happens every now and then) switching to an NRD at that time is possible. If I come in with an NRD and want the better deal is there still a chance depending on who answers the phone at Royal?

 

Think you were on the Liberty roll call for Feb 4. I booked a NR at Next Cruise desk - got $225 OBC with a $100 deposit CDN. If I cancel I lose the deposit and if I take the cruise(2019) it was cheaper by $400? Will have be a dummy booking to be sure of the amt. Thought it was worth the gamble. Booking after returning home I would have required much larger deposit and if cancelling would have lost the $100 and stuck with a voucher to use within the year.

[squadron]

I made onboard booking, and still am thinking that either I was intoxicated with being on the cruise or the booking agent lied to me?

 

But later I read the paper they gave me, and it was saying that the deposit we made onboard was not refundable. I told the agent right away that I didn't know the date yet, and this was kind of "fake" booking we were going to turn into real one once we pick up the itinerary (they weren't out yet for the dates we were looking at). Now I see that to change the date they would charge us 100 for a person.

 

I would not assume that the agent lied to me just like that - not mentioning that the deposit in non-refundable and there is a charge for date change.

 

That means I was out of my mind making that booking :))))

 

Too late now. Never again.

 

 

 

I made an on board booking with the second agent I talked to and got a much better "deal". I think some agents don't know the rules and some are downright incompetent.

[little britain]

With the FCC you get when you cancel a NRD.... you have to use it within a year... but can it be applied to an existing booking or must it be a totally new booking?

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

With the FCC you get when you cancel a NRD.... you have to use it within a year... but can it be applied to an existing booking or must it be a totally new booking?

Can be applied to an existing booking.

[SRF]

I think she most likely did. She probably explained something else to me which I don't remember now, and that's why I booked. Because once I moved the cruise to the "real" date - yes, they charged us 200 dollars extra for changing the date for two persons. But somehow we ended up with 500 dollars on-board credit total.

 

So in the end we got 300 off (500 - 200). But I still think it was stupid of me to do this booking, as we pick the cruise not based on the cruise company - rather on itinerary. So I am not going to do it again - I don't want to be stuck with Royal if I change my mind.

 

With Disney I don't mind non-refundable deposit as much, as they don't charge for the date change.

 

On-board credit is nice of course. But only if you needed it. I guess it will pay at least the gratuities. It's 13-day itinerary, so the gratuities got to be not small. And if Royal would allow to use the on-board credit to book the activities as they used to do - I don't know if they still do - then we certainly will find good use of it.

 

Only the $100 per person is forfeit, and remaining deposit will apply to your new booking.

 

And you can use the OBC for anything. Once it shows up in your Cruise Planner, you can use it to pay for anything booked through the Cruise Planner.

 

TA OBC does not show up until on board.

[cruiser1956]

On the liberty sailing 2/11 the future cruise deposit was $500.00, non-refundable. Seems odd only a week before it was $100.00. We did not book, because there was a $100.00 per person to change the booking.

 

 

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[Clarea]

On the liberty sailing 2/11 the future cruise deposit was $500.00, non-refundable. Seems odd only a week before it was $100.00. We did not book, because there was a $100.00 per person to change the booking.

Was that for a Grand Suite or better?

[JoieNsk]

Only the $100 per person is forfeit, and remaining deposit will apply to your new booking.

 

And you can use the OBC for anything. Once it shows up in your Cruise Planner, you can use it to pay for anything booked through the Cruise Planner.

 

TA OBC does not show up until on board.

 

Thank you!

 

If we would be able to use OBC to book things beforehand - that would be really helpful!

 

So this is really good news that they are still doing this!

[molly361]

If you book a suite and then downgrade to a lower category on the same sailing you don't lose any money do you?