Royal’s Non Refundable Deposit (NRD) program no longer gives FCC

[mac_tlc]

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Interesting.

 

Could that be less on official policy and more at a CR's discretion ? All listed documentation I have seen, including on my old cruise documents, only points to what I would consider a standard definition of "Non-Refundable". That the $100pp change fee is just that, for changing dates and/or ships. Nothing about a "change" including "Cancel" such that you can cancel minus the $100. Even the Cancellation schedule, which is still the same pre & post pandemic, implies that you will loose your NRD.

 

BTW, Yes, Unfortunately, like many of us, I was forced to do the whole FCC re-book thing during the pandemic also. But hey, in the end I parlayed everything into a good portion of a B2B 24 night total Arctic Circle and Iceland & Ireland.😁 that we just returned from about a month ago.

 

 

I’m currently on the Amtrak auto train heading to VA, so my typing and searching skills may not be perfect. 
 

Here is Celebrity’s NRD policy, which is what Royals used to be before the latest change, apologize if the font is a bit big. It’s clear that a portion of the NRD is given as an FCC in the event of a cancellation before final payment.

 

Non-Refundable Deposit - Policy

 

Full Terms and Conditions
 

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. Deposit made toward Guarantees and Grand Suites and higher categories are non-refundable and subject to NRD Booking terms. 

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 (*NRD Amount) 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 Celebrity cruise and expires 12-months after the issue date (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 (*NRD Amount) 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 (*NRD Amount) per person service fee will be charged to the modified booking.

[RobInMN]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Here is Celebrity’s NRD policy, which is what Royals used to be before the latest change, apologize if the font is a bit big. It’s clear that a portion of the NRD is given as an FCC in the event of a cancellation before final payment.

Yes, I understand what the current Celebrity policy is, and I also understand you are saying that the RC policy used to be the same. However, quoting the current Celebrity policy is not evidence of a past RC policy. 

That said, I did some Googling, and found references to the NRDs being started in July of 2017, and at that time, some of the articles stated that you could cancel and get the deposit minus the $100 change fee as FCCs.

https://oasisoftheseasallureoftheseas.com/non-refundable-deposit-program-for-royal-caribbean-international/

and a blog post at the site we are not allowed titled "Royal Caribbean announces new non-refundable deposit program" from May 09, 2017.

 

To answer some of the mystery as to when you have that option, they also said that NRDs would be available on cruises booked longer than 6 months out. So cruises within 6 months do not have that option. Not sure if that is still the case or not.

 

[Starry Eyes]

7 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I don't think GTY rates offer refundable deposit.

A CSR recently asked me if I wanted refundable when I booked a gty.  

[ARandomTraveler]

Booking refundable and getting insurance would have avoided this issue. If there was any chance you guys couldn't make the trip (and there's ALWAYS a possibility), you shouldn't fork over money you're not willing to lose without reading the refund policy first.
 

Never assume it's gonna be the same as it was last time. Policies always change, especially in the last couple of years as companies have constantly updated and changed their policies. 

 

Booking refundable shouldn't be looked at as being more expensive. It should be looked at as the real price, and the non refundable rate is the risky discount rate that you should take only if you're willing to forfeit some of your money. 
 

Also, insurance. 

[mac_tlc]

11 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Yes, I understand what the current Celebrity policy is, and I also understand you are saying that the RC policy used to be the same. However, quoting the current Celebrity policy is not evidence of a past RC policy. 

That said, I did some Googling, and found references to the NRDs being started in July of 2017, and at that time, some of the articles stated that you could cancel and get the deposit minus the $100 change fee as FCCs.

https://oasisoftheseasallureoftheseas.com/non-refundable-deposit-program-for-royal-caribbean-international/

and a blog post at the site we are not allowed titled "Royal Caribbean announces new non-refundable deposit program" from May 09, 2017.

 

To answer some of the mystery as to when you have that option, they also said that NRDs would be available on cruises booked longer than 6 months out. So cruises within 6 months do not have that option. Not sure if that is still the case or not.

 

 Ok, so how about this. A third party description of the change to RCCL NRD program as of 6/1/22 that removes the FCC option. it’s not very easy to get a written description of an official policy that no longer exists. Even Royals IT department has successfully removed the old policy from their websites. 
 

https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-makes-a-policy-change-from-june-1st/73082

 

mac_tlc

[Peachy59]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:29 AM, mac_tlc said:

 Ok, so how about this. A third party description of the change to RCCL NRD program as of 6/1/22 that removes the FCC option. it’s not very easy to get a written description of an official policy that no longer exists. Even Royals IT department has successfully removed the old policy from their websites. 
 

https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-makes-a-policy-change-from-june-1st/73082

 

mac_tlc

Wow! Thank you for that link. I was just about to book a suite for a year out when I checked the cancellation policy and was confused there was no mention of charging $100 pp and applying the rest to another reservation. We decided not to book. I hope everyone takes note of this change.

[sm3ds]

If you paid a 900 dollar deposit and need to change to another date do they apply 700 to the new cruise and then you owe and additional 200 at time of booking?

[The Grumpus]

1 hour ago, sm3ds said:

If you paid a 900 dollar deposit and need to change to another date do they apply 700 to the new cruise and then you owe and additional 200 at time of booking?

Pretty sure that's correct if you booked prior to 5/31/2022.  I believe after that they keep the entire amount if booked under a non-refundable deposit.  

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, The Grumpus said:

I believe after that they keep the entire amount if booked under a non-refundable deposit.  

The move to another sailing is the same after 6/1 ($100pp penalty), you only lose the entire deposit if you completely cancel (which used to be an FCC).

[Mikamarii]

We just booked onboard. My cruise docs say that the deposit is non refundable and that 100pp will be charged for ship or sail date changes. 

[Joseph2017China]

The poster said they booked 3 rooms for family members.....and only one room can't go, not all three.  So, they are out $500 for one couple and by "choice" they are out $1000.00 for the other two.  

 

NRD means just that.  It is a risk you take.  It is not the cruise company's fault, and certainly, they should not play favoritism for a person because they used them for 20 years. 

[DandDM]

I have a B2B booked for next year and am considering moving to a different cruise.  Both are booked with NRD and am outside final payment date.  A lot of good info in this thread, but a couple questions:

 

1) The reservation is held by a TA.  As I'll be cruising in a couple weeks, may look to book another cruise on board, assume that I cannot transfer the NRD through Next Cruise (less $100), and instead would need to do through a TA?

 

2) Could I potentially move both deposits (less the change fee) to one cruise, or must I move each to a new cruise?

 

Have months before I need to do this and haven't found any substitute cruises yet (and may not even decide to change), so just looking for additional info at this point!

 

Thanks!

[The Grumpus]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

The move to another sailing is the same after 6/1 ($100pp penalty), you only lose the entire deposit if you completely cancel (which used to be an FCC).

Thanks for the clarification, I didn't realize that. I guess the rule to follow then should be, move to another sailing and don't cancel unless absolutely necessary, or book refundable sailings. 

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, The Grumpus said:

Thanks for the clarification, I didn't realize that. I guess the rule to follow then should be, move to another sailing and don't cancel unless absolutely necessary, or book refundable sailings. 

One other option, which depends on the deposit and fare amounts, is to make the final payment and then cancel within the first few days after that - you should get a 75% refund.