Princess No Longer Offering Low Cost Refundable Deposits ?

Perhaps I have missed some updates regarding Princess’deposit policies, but I was disappointed to realize today that a deposit for a February 2019 Caribbean cruise is 10% of the fare and is non-refundable.

We did not proceed with the booking as we are not comfortable with a non-refundable deposit of over $400. We do take trip insurance,but we have also changed travel plans because of family weddings and other life events that have come to us between booking and final payment.

With refundable deposits that Princess offered, changing plans due to other commitments was simple.

I am certain that some people have booked such a cruise with the non-refundable higher cost deposit.

i assume that people are comfortable with the situation.

I have to ask though, are there others who have been dissuaded to book a cruise with the present requirements ?

Should we wait until closer to final payment for an offer to include refundable deposits ?

How often do the $1.00 deposit offers appear for Princess cruises?

Any information or nsights would be appreciated.

You don’t show what country you are booking from, but in North America the deposit policy, especially NR deposits, is specific to whatever sale or promotion you are booking under. You can always ask for the ‘regular’ price and book with the usual refundable deposit. The price will likely be higher, but it is available. And not all sales and promotions have the NR limit, the current Sip and Sale promo is fully refundable:

https://www.princess.com/html/global/cruisedeals/sip-and-sail/

(Third to last line from the bottom of the page)

Not all Princess deposits are non refundable .

You don’t have to book the Promo Rate if you don’t wish the risk .

It is a trade off , a little risk for guests , to get

a better deal from Princess .

Sounds fair to me [emoji848]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

One of the current sales has a 10% NR deposit. If you or your TA call Princess , you can be booked with a refundable deposit. A $2000 fare will be about $2200 .

Not all are non refundable.

One of the advantages of purchasing Future Cruise Deposits on board is that it makes the deposit $100 for most cruises.

i noticed only travel agents has the low cost booking option that is not available on the priciness website. the deposit is non refundable.

The use of non-refundable deposits will likely increase throughout the industry for good cause. Look at it from the cruise line's point of view. There are many cruisers who will book multiple cruises (with small refundable deposits) with the intention of perhaps taking one. The others will be canceled (often right before final payment)! We met one fellow cruiser who told us they actually had 4 bookings for the same week because they could not make up their mind. This causes lots of problems for the cruise lines because it takes many cabins out of inventory. When folks cancel the cruise line must often drop prices or offer major incentives to sell cabins at the last minute. Some lines (including Princess) have tried to counter by overbooking some cruises and this causes even more headaches for the cruise line if not enough folks cancel.

Some cruise lines (such as HAL) will now offer lower fares (on some cruises) to those that are willing to book with a non-refundable deposit. This is similar to the airlines which still have refundable reservations...for those willing to pay more money.

Hank

One of the advantages of purchasing Future Cruise Deposits on board is that it makes the deposit $100 for most cruises.

Agreed. I can't understand why anybody who sails Princess even semi-regularly doesn't have FCD to use as their deposit. Of course it's possible to run out of FCD but I try not to do that.

Agreed. I can't understand why anybody who sails Princess even semi-regularly doesn't have FCD to use as their deposit. Of course it's possible to run out of FCD but I try not to do that.

I once ran out of these and kicked myself for doing that. I booked a couple of cruises and was told I could add it later ... which wasn't the case at all. They wouldn't budge!! Now, I buy several each time I go on a Princess cruise. I never want to run out again!

The use of non-refundable deposits will likely increase throughout the industry for good cause. Look at it from the cruise line's point of view. There are many cruisers who will book multiple cruises (with small refundable deposits) with the intention of perhaps taking one. The others will be canceled (often right before final payment)! We met one fellow cruiser who told us they actually had 4 bookings for the same week because they could not make up their mind. This causes lots of problems for the cruise lines because it takes many cabins out of inventory. When folks cancel the cruise line must often drop prices or offer major incentives to sell cabins at the last minute. Some lines (including Princess) have tried to counter by overbooking some cruises and this causes even more headaches for the cruise line if not enough folks cancel.

 

Some cruise lines (such as HAL) will now offer lower fares (on some cruises) to those that are willing to book with a non-refundable deposit. This is similar to the airlines which still have refundable reservations...for those willing to pay more money.

 

Hank

The above is the exact culprit. A few bad apples.....

Pretty lame(selfish) to lock up a number of potentially desirable cabins, w/ the understanding going in that the majority are never intended to actually be sailed by those reserving them.

On the flip side, this method has likely led to some better 'last minute'/'Drop'n'go' deals being offered(after final payment is due) -- for those capable of sailing w/ shorter notice.

Hmm, interesting. I have 3 cruises booked 2019 (2) through 2020 (1), paid my final for New England end of Oct., all for $100. I was on Emerald for 30 days in March, $100. deposit. I take long cruises, book well in advance because I like certain areas. Plaza on the older ships and Emerald Deck on the Royal class.

I have had the same TA for 15 years and she periodically has a $100. deposit special because of the volume handled. She calls me to let me know because even though I purchase FCD, I might have 3 but not 4.

As stated some are and some are not. Try looking for a cruise that has the refundable deposit.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I appreciate some of the good thoughts and suggestions in response to my original post.

We have not cruised on Princess since 2016. Although we are at Platinum level, we have been taking land vacations and have takien a recent cruise on Celebrity that friends had asked us to join them goi g to Bermuda.

I am aware of future cruise credits as we have used them in the past.

However, when we took the 2016 cruise,we had planned other vacations and we did not even think about a future cruise.

The cruise we were looking at was under the 40% sale that is a promotion being offered until September 24. Perhaps a new promotion will be in effect after that date with a refundable deposit. I could check the Princess web site for future promotions after Sept. 24.

I was not aware that I could ask for a booking without the promotion that may offer a better deposit situation for us. I could try calling Princess and check if something like that would be available to us or if it is reserved for booking through a TA.

We have always booked directly through Princess and have always been accommodated nicely.

I can understand the cruise lines’ reasons for making deposits non -refundable because people could take advantage of “holding” bookings for cruises that they might not really be planning to take.

On the other hand, people may be dissuaded from booking as we were,leaving unsold cabins to be sold at a significant discounted rate as a cruise date approaches. This would also cause a loss of revenue to the cruise lines.

In the end, we may choose not to take a winter cruise this year, but enjoy

several weeks using a friend’s condo in Florida.

We may also look into cruises offered by Celebrity as we did enjoy the cruise on the Summit this summer.

At the moment, Celebrity requires a $250 deposit per person, but it is fully refundable before final payment is made.

We are fortunate that we have choices concerning a break from the winter on Long Island, NY.

PS

I just checked the Princess site. The same 10 day Caribbean cruise for February 2020 under the Sip and Sail promo requires a 10% deposit which is refundable.

We may consider this cruise as a winter break vacation for 2020. It seems so far ahead.

For some reason, I would like to visit Barbados ,which is n this cruise’s itinerary.

That is the main reason I wanted to book the 2019 cruise.