Amex and open deposits.

[turtlemichael]

The 2026 World Cruise has been announced to guests currently on the 2023 WC. A friend on board wants to make an open deposit as he is unsure yet whether he will do the 2026 cruise at least in part because prices are yet to be advised. There is no problem with making an open booking, but my friend has been advised by Silversea that Amex will not accept a charge which does not have a definite item i.e. you have to book a defined cruise. You can't charge an option to an Amex card. He'll have to use another credit card. This surprises me as I recalI using Amex for this purpose in the past. Is anyone aware of this practice by Amex?

[carefreecruise]

Most likely you will have to go back to your friend. There has to be more to the story and you don't have all the correct info. 

[drron29]

We have always paid with Amex for open deposits without problem.

Might have changed but I don’t think so.

[jpalbny]

I've certainly done this in the BC era.

[turtlemichael]

5 hours ago, carefreecruise said:

Most likely you will have to go back to your friend. There has to be more to the story and you don't have all the correct info. 

There is no more to the story. I’m not clear what information you think is incorrect.

[carefreecruise]

51 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

There is no more to the story. I’m not clear what information you think is incorrect.

Just walked over to the cruise consultants desk aboard a Silversea ship and he said no problem using AMX card to book onboad future cruises. Even ones new World Cruises.

[turtlemichael]

There is no question that you can use Amex to book a future cruise. The issue is whether you can use Amex for an open booking. I'll pass on to my friend what is being said here. Thanks all.

[Stumblefoot]

6 hours ago, jpalbny said:

I've certainly done this in the BC era.

Damn you’re old.

[Mr Luxury]

3 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Damn you’re old.

I thought it meant Before Crystal.

[Ice Bear]

I sailed on my first Silversea cruise in July 2022. I wanted to make Open Bookings. Silversea required each itinerary to be designated. I was advised I could transfer each “Open Booking” before the deadline. The Future Cruise Consultant designated the cruises. A significant Issue arose when I tried to transfer the first “Open Booking” — it created extra work for my travel agent. The credit card was never referenced. This may be specific to the Silversea ship. Or, perhaps the Future Cruise Consultant’s Sales Target required the “Open Booking” itineraries to be identified? 

[SusieQft]

The future cruise consultant told me they do open bookings for $1000pp, and you lose that if you don't book within 6 months.

 

Then he said it was better to book something as far out as possible, which would have a lower deposit, and well over 6 months until final payment is due.  Then you can transfer the deposit to your preferred cruise before final payment.

[mchell810]

14 hours ago, SusieQft said:

The future cruise consultant told me they do open bookings for $1000pp, and you lose that if you don't book within 6 months.

 

Then he said it was better to book something as far out as possible, which would have a lower deposit, and well over 6 months until final payment is due.  Then you can transfer the deposit to your preferred cruise before final payment.

 

The $1000 open booking is not lost after 6 months; it is refunded if you haven't selected a cruise.  Ofc you would have lost the opportunity for the onboard booking discount; perhaps that was the confusion.

 

[SusieQft]

5 hours ago, mchell810 said:

The $1000 open booking is not lost after 6 months; it is refunded if you haven't selected a cruise.  Ofc you would have lost the opportunity for the onboard booking discount; perhaps that was the confusion.

That could be (and would make a lot more sense), but he very clear about it not being refunded because I asked twice. They did not make any written announcement of an open deposit option,  and he said they did not promote this.

[les37b]

On 5/22/2023 at 2:57 AM, turtlemichael said:

The 2026 World Cruise has been announced to guests currently on the 2023 WC. A friend on board wants to make an open deposit as he is unsure yet whether he will do the 2026 cruise at least in part because prices are yet to be advised. There is no problem with making an open booking, but my friend has been advised by Silversea that Amex will not accept a charge which does not have a definite item i.e. you have to book a defined cruise. You can't charge an option to an Amex card. He'll have to use another credit card. This surprises me as I recalI using Amex for this purpose in the past. Is anyone aware of this practice by Amex?

 

I have only once done an open booking on board, but that was with Amex and there wasn't a problem doing so. All other bookings made have had a cruise attached which also wasn't a problem.

 

Sounds more like an RCI thing than Amex.

[les37b]

4 hours ago, SusieQft said:

That could be (and would make a lot more sense), but he very clear about it not being refunded because I asked twice. They did not make any written announcement of an open deposit option,  and he said they did not promote this.

 

Then that is something that has definitely been changed as it was certainly spelled out (March 2019) that if I didn't transfer the deposit into a booking, my discount option would be lost and I'd receive a refund in full. (ie no penalties)

[SusieQft]

I suppose it is possible that he did not understand my question.  It would be nice if they would put the policy in writing.  Too late for us now, we disembarked without pur hasing the option.

Edited May 26, 2023 by SusieQft

[mchell810]

13 hours ago, SusieQft said:

That could be (and would make a lot more sense), but he very clear about it not being refunded because I asked twice. They did not make any written announcement of an open deposit option,  and he said they did not promote this.

 

9 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Then that is something that has definitely been changed as it was certainly spelled out (March 2019) that if I didn't transfer the deposit into a booking, my discount option would be lost and I'd receive a refund in full. (ie no penalties)

 

This has been my exact experience: when the option wasn't used I received the full $1000 refund.

I suspect the Future Cruise Consultants prefer to book an actual cruise even if it's far off and will be changed (perhaps it's a question of commission/recognition).

[carefreecruise]

On 5/26/2023 at 8:40 PM, mchell810 said:

 

 

This has been my exact experience: when the option wasn't used I received the full $1000 refund.

I suspect the Future Cruise Consultants prefer to book an actual cruise even if it's far off and will be changed (perhaps it's a question of commission/recognition).

Open bookings are not the way to go. You only have 6 months to use them and can't be used on voyages with promotions or discounts. Much better way is to find a low cost voyage and use it as an open booking. You then have 2 years to move it and take full advantage of promotional voyages offered. 

[mchell810]

8 hours ago, carefreecruise said:

Open bookings are not the way to go. You only have 6 months to use them and can't be used on voyages with promotions or discounts. Much better way is to find a low cost voyage and use it as an open booking. You then have 2 years to move it and take full advantage of promotional voyages offered. 

 

Which method to use really depends on one's situation.  Yes the open booking has just a 6 month window, but you risk nothing.  If you choose that far off booking, you can keep pushing it off to something else; however, there is some risk involved.  If one should cancel, $250 of the deposit is converted to a future cruise credit which does have a long life.  This if fine if you plan to sail again, but if you aren't sure you will sail with SS, or life interferes so that you can't that $250 will ultimately be lost. 

 

I have used both methods but each person has to decide what works for them.