Effective Mar 2 2023: Changes to Non-Refundable Deposit Policy

[mahdnc]

Effective tomorrow, "Celebrity Cruises will retain the full amount of the required deposit paid on Non-refundable rate codes (NRD) that are cancelled outside of final payment.  Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) will no longer be issued if booking is cancelled, or the ship/ail date is changed on an NRD rate code".

 

NRD bookings made prior to tomorrow are grandfathered under the old policy although the FAQs say you have to make a request to get your deposit back as an FCC (less applicable penalties/fees).

 

Here is a link to the NRD FAQs along with a screenshot of the top half of the web page pasted below:

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by mahdnc

[CHEZMARYLOU]

According to #8 & 9 in the flyer you posted on another thread a FCC will still be issued for a ship or sailing date change.

 

8. What is a change fee and when will it be charged? A change fee of $100.00 USD per person will be charged on all bookings made if booked under a non-refundable deposit fare at the time of changing ship/sail date. Please ensure your clients are aware of the non-refundable deposit terms prior to booking.

9. Will my clients be charged a change fee each time there is a change to a ship/sail date? Each time clients change a ship/sail date, they will be charged a $100.00 USD per person change fee prior to final payment. After final payment, standard penalties will apply. 

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

According to #8 & 9 in the flyer you posted on another thread a FCC will still be issued for a ship or sailing date change.

 

8. What is a change fee and when will it be charged? A change fee of $100.00 USD per person will be charged on all bookings made if booked under a non-refundable deposit fare at the time of changing ship/sail date. Please ensure your clients are aware of the non-refundable deposit terms prior to booking.

9. Will my clients be charged a change fee each time there is a change to a ship/sail date? Each time clients change a ship/sail date, they will be charged a $100.00 USD per person change fee prior to final payment. After final payment, standard penalties will apply. 

 

They overcomplicated the explanation of this by trying to cover all of the bases.

 

There are no more FCC's related to non-refundable deposits. None. 

If you cancel your cruise you lose the full deposit paid. 

If you move your cruise to a different sail date you pay $100/pp for the change fee but you transfer the NRD to the new date. 

[stellarose]

so I guess when I cancel my trip for the summer due to my MIL's declining health I guess  no FCC.

[NevadaCruiser2023]

I'm not sure what people really expected. Non-refundable sounds pretty self-explanatory to me. If you think you might cancel, pay a bit more for a refundable deposit.  The upfront cost may hurt a bit, but it'll definitely feel better if you had cancel due to say, declining health.  

[mahdnc]

26 minutes ago, stellarose said:

so I guess when I cancel my trip for the summer due to my MIL's declining health I guess  no FCC.

 

No, the new stricter policy goes into effect with bookings made starting tomorrow.  Bookings made today are unaffected.

Edited March 1, 2023 by mahdnc

[RichYak]

9 minutes ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I'm not sure what people really expected. Non-refundable sounds pretty self-explanatory to me.

Well, one could expect it to work like airfare. I cancelled a non-refundable flight last week and can use the entire fare on a future flight.

[the penguins]

20 minutes ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I'm not sure what people really expected. Non-refundable sounds pretty self-explanatory to me. If you think you might cancel, pay a bit more for a refundable deposit.  The upfront cost may hurt a bit, but it'll definitely feel better if you had cancel due to say, declining health.  

Non refundable deposits have applied to all bookings made in the UK for years. Only Post Covid did X started to introduce the "refundable" option. If we have to cancel for medical reasons we simply claim the deposit and any other charges from our travel insurance policy. If we choose to cancel for reasons not covered by our insurance the deposit is lost. Non refundable deposits apply to 99% of all "holiday" packages. These charges are just one reason why we have an annual travel insurance policy that covers cancellation, medical and baggage for all trips upto to 30 days each in a 12 month period (longer trips are charged extra).

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

I was just waiting for this change to take place.  Royal Caribbean adopted the same policy back in June of last year.

 

Royal Caribbean also doesn't allow refundable deposit bookings on suites while Celebrity does.  Who knows how long this will last.

[Dar & Bob]

One more reason to give them a deposit on board with a reduced amount.  

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 minute ago, Dar & Bob said:

One more reason to give them a deposit on board with a reduced amount.  

I was thinking the same thing, but the only difference that this policy change makes is that you have to choose the new ship & sail date at the time of cancellation versus having 1 year to decide with the FCC.  Whether you book onboard or at home, there's really not any difference besides the upfront cost of the deposit.

[garyl62]

41 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

One more reason to give them a deposit on board with a reduced amount.  

Like @NorthStarStateCruiserI was thinking this also, but is $100 change fee new?  I thought if you kept the same reservation # you could avoid that previously.  Maybe I'm thinking about repricing and not actually making any changes.  

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Like @NorthStarStateCruiserI was thinking this also, but is $100 change fee new?  I thought if you kept the same reservation # you could avoid that previously.  Maybe I'm thinking about repricing and not actually making any changes.  

It is the same.    They $100 pp fee was always applied to both cancellations as well as changes to the reservation.  At least I was charged that for a change I made.    When I changed they just applied the remainder of the deposit and I had to again pay an additional $100 pp

[foodsvcmgr]

It’s a tough call for Celebrity and Royal, clearly the intent is to reduce the speculative multiple bookings that many people make then cancel prior to final payment.

But people who are not 100% certain of traveling may simply book with other lines with less onerous terms.

Tightening the rules while continuing to raise fares and cut back food and service may be the straw that breaks the camels back, for some at least, and on highly competitive routes with lots of other choices like the Caribbean.

[cbfb]

Everyone wants to move past Covid, and I agree, but that includes things like this. 

[mahdnc]

I don't believe Galapagos sailings have a non-refundable deposit option so they are unaffected.

[tfred]

19 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

It’s a tough call for Celebrity and Royal, clearly the intent is to reduce the speculative multiple bookings that many people make then cancel prior to final payment.

But people who are not 100% certain of traveling may simply book with other lines with less onerous terms.

Tightening the rules while continuing to raise fares and cut back food and service may be the straw that breaks the camels back, for some at least, and on highly competitive routes with lots of other choices like the Caribbean.

many land based resorts do this already. Sometimes it is "you have 3 days to cancel" after you make the reservations.  

 

other cruise lines will follow after some initial dithering.  No business is looking for this type of late minute cancel customer 

[tfred]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Well, one could expect it to work like airfare. I cancelled a non-refundable flight last week and can use the entire fare on a future flight.

not all airlines have that no change fee option.  Southwest is one thing but Delta and most legacy carriers dont allow it without some penalty

[DCPIV]

A number of folks seem to forget that you can book a refundable deposit (even if it's a good deal pricier).

 

That is like a number of hotels. You can pay a lower, nonrefundable rate in advance, or you can pay more to retain the option of cancelling for nothing. 

 

Oddly enough, though, we are currently on board and were able to rebook a cruise we booked at home a few days before sailing. We got the on board OBC bonus. We did not get the reduced deposit, but they did apply the entire deposit we already paid (no admin fee charged).

[foodsvcmgr]

United and American allow no fee changes for all classes except basic economy now.

And the issue with airlines similar to many hotels is that while there is in fact a non refundable offering, the difference is very minimal compared to Celebrity pricing of refundable vs non.

Typically I’m seeing maybe $20 savings on a $300-400 hotel room and $50-100 on a $900 airfare.

[Lastdance]

So, we will all see how this “shakes out,” but I am so glad that I booked a NRD price for my TP with only $100 pp from Sydney to Honolulu for 2024.  Airfare is so expensive, along with deposits, so a new game plan is needed.  I can afford to lose $200, but not $900.  Yep, rethinking my vacations and making my cruises coming up even more fun if possible.  Insurance is so important for traveling...modify and adjust have always been in play, so cautiously moving ahead with any new bookings.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Lastdance

[RichYak]

55 minutes ago, tfred said:

not all airlines have that no change fee option.  Southwest is one thing but Delta and most legacy carriers dont allow it without some penalty

In the past 6 months, I've cancelled flights on Delta, United, and American (last week). All gave me full credit with no penalty on non-refundable economy fares. I already used most of the American credit on a Jetblue booking.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

I was thinking the same thing, but the only difference that this policy change makes is that you have to choose the new ship & sail date at the time of cancellation versus having 1 year to decide with the FCC.  Whether you book onboard or at home, there's really not any difference besides the upfront cost of the deposit.

No, the real difference is you can outright cancel a booking made on board and only be out $200.

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

No, the real difference is you can outright cancel a booking made on board and only be out $200.

Agree and was just going to post what you said. 

[bookitdanno]

30 minutes ago, RichYak said:

In the past 6 months, I've cancelled flights on Delta, United, and American (last week). All gave me full credit with no penalty on non-refundable economy fares. I already used most of the American credit on a Jetblue booking.

True. Also true: the airlines received $54,000,000,000.00 That's 54 Billion dollars in bailout money from the US Government for the Covid Bailout. The cruise lines NADA because they are not US flagged companies.

Puts the airlines in a position to do this, while the cruise lines are trying, and will continue to try, to dig out from under massive debt incurred from 2020-2022.

Edited March 1, 2023 by bookitdanno