Refundable or non-refundable deposit? Which one have you chosen for your next cruise, and why?

[mdepsmom]

I'm about to pull the trigger and book B2B Med cruises for May 2022.  They can't be booked under CWC given the current sail-by date of 4/30/22.  Refundable deposits would cost me about $430 more, total.  I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying the extra $ for refundable deposits, to avoid losing $400 (two cruises x 2 people) if I booked non-refundable and had to cancel. Is it a no-brainer to book only refundable right now? I realize there are no crystal balls and who knows what next May will look like.  I'd really just like to hear what type of deposit you chose, and why.  Thanks much!

[soremekun]

Non-refundable is fine for me as long as L&S is offered.  No one knows how long it will continued to be offered though.

[not-enough-cruising]

I ALWAYS book refundable.

 

$430 is not a bad differential, and I would not think twice about it. 

[Jimbo]

Book refundable, next year before final payment if the cruise is a go and you still want to go then change it to non-refunadable, chances probably pretty good prices will be lower then what you are paying now.

 

Plus, who knows what cruising will even be like a year from now.......you might not even like the way the "NEW"  Normal cruises will be.

 

For my Wife and I right now ANYTHING  we are booking moving forward is definitely REFUNDABLE.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Jimbo

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I'm also on Team Refundable, at least for now.  There are way too many variables for me to feel comfortable otherwise.

[Ourusualbeach]

21 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Book refundable, next year before final payment if the cruise is a go and you still want to go then change it to non-refunadable, chances probably pretty good prices will be lower then what you are paying now.

Or in my experience the prices for a non refundable will be higher than what the refundable rate is today and they eon5 be able to reprice. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, mdepsmom said:

I'm about to pull the trigger and book B2B Med cruises for May 2022.  They can't be booked under CWC given the current sail-by date of 4/30/22.  Refundable deposits would cost me about $430 more, total.  I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying the extra $ for refundable deposits, to avoid losing $400 (two cruises x 2 people) if I booked non-refundable and had to cancel. Is it a no-brainer to book only refundable right now? I realize there are no crystal balls and who knows what next May will look like.  I'd really just like to hear what type of deposit you chose, and why.  Thanks much!

Always refundable except when they were covered under CWC.  Easy if you have a TA with group rates as those are refundable and nearly always cheaper than Royals non refundable rates. 

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Fully refundable for our booking. We didn't want anymore FCC and we wanted the availability to cancel if maks were required and shore excursions were exclusive to RCL only. We don't know if we'd cancel for these two reasons, but at least we have that available to us if we decide to cancel.

[cynt]

Refundable! Until we see what this new cruise normal looks like better safe than sorry.

[firefly333]

46 minutes ago, mdepsmom said:

I'm about to pull the trigger and book B2B Med cruises for May 2022.  They can't be booked under CWC given the current sail-by date of 4/30/22.  Refundable deposits would cost me about $430 more, total.  I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying the extra $ for refundable deposits, to avoid losing $400 (two cruises x 2 people) if I booked non-refundable and had to cancel. Is it a no-brainer to book only refundable right now? I realize there are no crystal balls and who knows what next May will look like.  I'd really just like to hear what type of deposit you chose, and why.  Thanks much!

Ooops that's just book by date, extended so far. But wouldn't surprise me if sail by date extended.

Edited March 10, 2021 by firefly333

[Cigar King]

I never see this option.  There is just a deposit.  I am likely missing something.  Does this apply to all bookings?  I'm usually in a suite.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I never see this option.  There is just a deposit.  I am likely missing something.  Does this apply to all bookings?  I'm usually in a suite.

Full Suites do not have a refundable option. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[Sunshine3601]

If we learned anything from this pandemic, it should be to book Refundable whenever possible.   As other said, I won't book refundable if still protected by CWC but if booking a cruise further out than CWC then I go refundable.   

[Nemomof3]

We have always done nonrefundable but the most recent one we booked we paid an extra $121 for refundable. Our cruise is after cwc ends.

[BecAus]

I currently have three cruises booked with RCI - all non-refundable.  

Unfortunately, as an example, the booking I have in December (out of Brisbane - Queensland only cruise) was $5,000 more to make it refundable - obviously can't justify that.

I don't know about other Aussie's experiences here on CC but it doesn't seem to be as common as it is in the US/UK to use a TA - I haven't used one in over a decade after a couple of bad experiences with them.

 

As with most people I try to make any travel arrangements refundable where possible, obviously even more so after the unexpected experiences we've had over the last year, but at the price point I mentioned above it is just not feasible in that case.

 

My next booking is the TP from Hon - Syd in September which I don't think will happen (certainly not with passengers at any rate).   Qantas doesn't think it will happen as they've just cancelled my flight last week so I have no way of getting there now anyway.

The rest of my family are booked to go on a fishing charter next September so will probably look at L&S that one if it is an option, waiting for those itineraries to be released, next week I believe.

 

 

 

[Cigar King]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Full Suites do not have a refundable option. 

Thanks

[Tree_skier]

I will always book refundable.  The exception is I just booked a CLS on Allure.  That was a NRD as there is no option on that.

[mac_tlc]

Most future ones are Suites, so non-refundable. I have a couple refundables only because the differential is very small. I have a low threshold in order to get refundable. If I’m booking, I’m going. 

[mek]

It will probably be a long time before I book cruises in advance.  Once cruising resumes I will have to make sure they are still something I'm interested in and even if they are I will probably book after final payment, so refundable/non refundable won't matter.

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, mek said:

  Once cruising resumes I will have to make sure they are still something I'm interested in and even if they are I will probably book after final payment, so refundable/non refundable won't matter.

That would have been a good strategy even before the pandemic. 

[Iamcruzin]

I have always booked a refundable deposit and will continue to do so in the future. If the cruise lines stop offering a refundable deposit I won't book anything until after final payment when I know for sure that the trip is a go. I can't predict the future on a good day. Who knows what's going to happen now.  I also book refundable for car rentals and hotels. Airlines are a different story because I know I will need to fly at some point so I'm not put off by taking a credit.