US T/A's

[gordylad]

I've used both US and UK T/A's.

 

If we book a cruise using a US T/A and say cancel and rebook if a better offer comes up do you still lose your deposit or do they let you transfer to the new deal without penalty?

 

Thanks

[robtulipe]

If for the same cruise, date and ship, before the final payment date you don't have to cancel and rebook. It is simply a change to the new deal as to price, cabin category and any offers. If upgrading to a suite from a lower category you will have to pay the increased deposit. It is rare to have deals for new bookings only before the final payment date since one can cancel, without losing their deposit. If for a different sailing before the fianl payment date it is necessary to cancel and rebook but you should be able to transfer your deposit to the new booking.

On the same sailing after the final payment date when one is in the penalty stage, it depends on the offer. Typically you can upgrade to a higher total cost offering if it is not for a new bookings only deal. You typically can't change to a lower cost than your current booking and get a refund of the difference even if it is a higher cabin category. I've seen it where the cruiseline have provided an exception to this or even provided a slightly higher than the deal price for a superior category so the cost is just above what was paid already.

It is also sometimes possible to cancel the current booking, incurring the after final payment date penalty, like the deposit loss and re booking if the money saved warrants doing so.

Also you may have to take into consideration whether the US TA has change and cancellation fees and any cruiseline promotion offering you have with your current booking.