Nonrefundable deposits: What changes can you make without losing deposit?

[ConnMom]

I am a longtime Celebrity cruiser, but am now reconsidering the place X will have in my future travel plans .  We have sailed as recently as May, and have always had a good experience with Celebrity, even though sharp price increases, a tsunami of tiny cuts, and  recent fairly dramatic limitations in food choice and quality have affected the wow factor for me.   My latest concern is that I have always booked with a refundable deposit, but now the price is so much higher than nonrefundable that I can't justify it. I am not certain, however, how restrictive the nonrefundable option is, and I am hoping people can help me understand it better, so I can book with some confidence and knowledge.

 

These are the questions that I have.  If I book a specific stateroom under the current sale, and  prior to final payment a new sale offers a lower cruise price or adds perks, will I be able to take advantage of the new sale benefits without paying a penalty or losing my deposit?  Likewise, can I change my stateroom selection within the same or to a new category without paying a penalty?  I understand that cancelling the cruise will forfeit my entire deposit, but am I able to change either the date or to a new ship without losing the whole deposit?  We always use travel insurance that I can use for covered cancellations, so the risk is not huge, but I wonder how flexible the policy has been for people.

 

Thanks to everyone on this forum who so generously offers their experience and knowledge every day to fellow cruisers.

Cheryl

 

 

 

 

[ICANTWAITTOCRUISE]

To my knowledge if there is a lower price you can always get it up until final payment. In fact today I saved $1100 on a transatlantic for next May.

[mauimary]

Yes you will.   We have seen a lower price and gotten it as long as you can find another comparable stateroom that is open.  Sometimes you have to act fast as we have seen it get taken right before our eyes.
We have actually changed a cruise several times with a non refundable deposit. We did not loose anything. We did have to get permission from a supervisor which we did w/o any issues.  As long as you do not cancel completely they did it. 

[wrk2cruise]

If you change ship or sales date there is a $100 pp admin fee with a NRD.  I have heard on occasion it has been waived but never for me.

[mauimary]

46 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

If you change ship or sales date there is a $100 pp admin fee with a NRD.  I have heard on occasion it has been waived but never for me.

We have had a NRD waived three times now. Did have to go up the chain of command. We were nice and polite and booked a longer more expensive cruise so maybe that helped. Most recently was last winter when switched to the Beyond on a transatlantic from a different ship and date. Of course it was more expensive since the original was booked over a year earlier.  
It can be done or else we were just lucky with the phone rep we got. We were booked directly with Celebrity. 

[twincheryl]

47 minutes ago, mauimary said:

  It can be done or else we were just lucky with the phone rep we got. We were booked directly with Celebrity. 

That is our experience as well... just get lucky with a phone rep who is trained or able to do it, or ask the person on the phone to escalate.  

[ConnMom]

Thanks so much for your responses and personal experiences.  You all make me feel more comfortable about going the nonrefundable route.  I know that the rules became more stringent a few months ago, but I have not been sure about how they have changed.  I am hoping that if we book now, we might have time to take advantage of a better sale that includes some onboard credit.  Maybe Labor Day will bring some offers.

Cheryl

[allinwonderland]

On 7/31/2023 at 2:15 PM, ConnMom said:

I understand that cancelling the cruise will forfeit my entire deposit, but am I able to change either the date or to a new ship without losing the whole deposit?

You will be charged a $100 fee to move your deposit to a different sailing (date or ship). However, that money does get applied to your overall balance total; it's not just an administrative fee.

[mauimary]

3 hours ago, allinwonderland said:

You will be charged a $100 fee to move your deposit to a different sailing (date or ship). However, that money does get applied to your overall balance total; it's not just an administrative fee.

In our case the entire NRD was moved 3x. No administrative fees were subtracted no fees were charged either. It was treated exactly as a refundable deposit. It all depends who you talk with. Like I said being polite helps seal the deal!