Had To Cancel BEFORE FP; Princess kept deposit

[elliair]

Of course, it is my responsibility to read fine print and not make any assumptions. "6+" has nothing to do with rules being waived, only that I do have some experience with the way Cruise Lines operate, including Princess. I have now learned to be more careful with these promotions. Thank you for your admonitions.

 

Promotions are good to a certain extent. One has to be careful with these "promotions" especially the 3 for free ones. Princess doesn't automatically give you the free meal in the Steakhouse, you have to go looking for it at guest services. I wonder how many people forget about the "free" Steakhouse meal that they are entitled to? I have more than 6+ cruises and I know all the tactics beforehand before I book. In 2 days, I know what to expect.

[AKman2495]

I was furious about what Princess was doing

 

I hate to pile on...but being furious about not refunding a NON REFUNDABLE deposit id about as ridiculous as complaining the ocean isn't smooth....

Edited January 10, 2015 by AKman2495

[Kamloops50]

July 2014, Booked 15 day RT LA-Hawaii...4/4/2015

Deposit $200.......thought it was Brokers' cost for cancellation (they offer excellent OBC for promotions) but it was Princess,nonrefundable deposit, + brokers' $200. Cancelled (work related)before final payment, yesterday,3 months out and Princess refused to give up deposit as it was a RX6 promotion!

 

Foolish of Princess, IMHO: would rather have given an ordinary deposit with usual refunding before Final Payment. Won't do that again. Broker waived their fee because I was furious about what Princess was doing (have used same Broker twice for Europe cruises). Princess will get a snail mail letter from me after 6+ cruises with them. My cabin was a coveted mini-suite that will be gone in a second which I hated to let go!

 

 

It was your fault for not checking if the deposit was refundable. Your broker should of told as well. Get a new broker or book direct.

Booked once on Regent thru a TA. Neither of us knew that it was non refundable. Regent didn't tell us when booking.

 

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Forums mobile app

Edited January 10, 2015 by Kamloops50

[critterchick]

OP has already come back and said "you were right" to those who pointed out that s/he should have read the rules more carefully. No need to keep piling on.:)

 

Promotions are good to a certain extent. One has to be careful with these "promotions" especially the 3 for free ones. Princess doesn't automatically give you the free meal in the Steakhouse, you have to go looking for it at guest services. I wonder how many people forget about the "free" Steakhouse meal that they are entitled to? I have more than 6+ cruises and I know all the tactics beforehand before I book. In 2 days, I know what to expect.

 

Interesting point. We have one of those free meals coming up on Crown and the booking invoice doesn't reflect it. I had to get Princess to send me a separate confirmation showing it. We plan to dine only in Crown Grill and Sabatini's (it's a 3-nighter) on the cruise, and I was wondering how to get the free meal accounted for once onboard. THanks!

[geoherb]

I generally book our cruises after the final payment date. Many times we're already passed the 50 percent penalty and into the 75 percent penalty by the time we book. One of the reasons we always get the Platinum Princess insurance is so that we can cancel for any reason and not lose that money.

[cactusrose]

It was your fault for not checking if the deposit was refundable. Your broker should of told as well. Get a new broker or book direct.

Booked once on Regent thru a TA. Neither of us knew that it was non refundable. Regent didn't tell us when booking.

 

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Forums mobile app

 

Call the DINE line as soon as you get on board to book your reservations. On these 3 and 4 days cruises the specialty restaurants fill up fast.

[iluvcruzin]

July 2014, Booked 15 day RT LA-Hawaii...4/4/2015

Deposit $200.......thought it was Brokers' cost for cancellation (they offer excellent OBC for promotions) but it was Princess,nonrefundable deposit, + brokers' $200. Cancelled (work related)before final payment, yesterday,3 months out and Princess refused to give up deposit as it was a RX6 promotion!

 

Foolish of Princess, IMHO: would rather have given an ordinary deposit with usual refunding before Final Payment. Won't do that again. Broker waived their fee because I was furious about what Princess was doing (have used same Broker twice for Europe cruises). Princess will get a snail mail letter from me after 6+ cruises with them. My cabin was a coveted mini-suite that will be gone in a second which I hated to let go!

 

It's unfortunate that you won't be able to go. Unlike those who enjoy calling you out on your frustration, I am guessing your broker may have missed telling you of the penalty for cancellation which is why they waived their fee. A good TA would inform you at booking and before actually cancelling. There may have been an option to transfer the deposit. Time for a new TA. But besides that, your employer may cover the deposit loss. Mine covered nonrefundable travel costs when I was required to work after the vacation was approved. It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

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[Times Prince]

I, too, have a cruise coming which has a non-refundable deposit, which we paid using FCC, limiting our exposure to $200.

 

Our TA made it very clear that this was non-refundable, and Princess makes it a requirement they verify this with the client before booking.

 

For our 14 day cruise, the cost of insurance exceeds the amount of the $100/pp deposit, and insurance can be paid at final payment, covering the major cost of the long cruise. So, possibly similar to the OP who had a 15 day cruise, we have elected to defer purchase of insurance until final payment. It is a safe bet. The OP actually saved money by just losing the cost of the FCC deposit vs. losing the higher cost of insurance which is not refunded on cancellation. The loss of the OBC from the used FCC deposit is regrettable, but does not cost anything extra (FCC cost = $100/pp, = deposit of $100/pp)

 

We have a good TA, and she does not charge a fee for cancellation or modification of cruise travel. It is good that the OP's "broker" waived their fee. Looking for another TA who offers good discounts with no extra fees would be a good idea.

[RickEk]

Promotions are good to a certain extent. One has to be careful with these "promotions" especially the 3 for free ones. Princess doesn't automatically give you the free meal in the Steakhouse, you have to go looking for it at guest services. I wonder how many people forget about the "free" Steakhouse meal that they are entitled to? I have more than 6+ cruises and I know all the tactics beforehand before I book. In 2 days, I know what to expect.

 

Hmmmm.... the one time that we booked with promotion that had a "free specialty restaurant", there was a card in the cabin when we boarded stating that fact...

[paddingtonbear]

I hate to pile on...but being furious about not refunding a NON REFUNDABLE deposit id about as ridiculous as complaining the ocean isn't smooth....

 

The ocean isn't smooth??? : (

 

Threads like these are good reminders for the unwary.

Edited January 11, 2015 by paddingtonbear

[elliair]

Hmmmm.... the one time that we booked with promotion that had a "free specialty restaurant", there was a card in the cabin when we boarded stating that fact...

 

We kept expecting that card as well but the card never showed up. When we went down to guest services, they said to call and make reservations and show up and no charge. I spoke to our TA about our upcoming cruise to Alaska in May and she said that if a card doesn't show up to let her know. I'll show up at guest services a couple of days into the cruise and see what happens if the card isn't in our room. Our excursions were there.:rolleyes:

[pris993]

I guess I have not been paying much attention, I did not know Princess had non refundable deposits, under any offers... so see this as a heads up. We have 22 cruises with Princess... never booked a non refundable deposit... of course I usually book directly with Princess.

[Astro Flyer]

I guess I have not been paying much attention, I did not know Princess had non refundable deposits, under any offers... so see this as a heads up. We have 22 cruises with Princess... never booked a non refundable deposit... of course I usually book directly with Princess.

 

The non-refundable deposits I've experienced have also been "non-transferable". A couple of years ago when these restrictions were new our TA got it waived once but not since then. Also a couple of years ago a NR-NT deposit prevented getting future price reductions but don't have any recent experience. Now we only use a NR-NT deposit when happy with the price & using a $100 FCC deposit that's all we're gambling with before final payment when we purchase trip insurance.

[windsor26]

It would not be a strange thing for those down under and in UK Unmless you use a FCC letter with refundable small deposit all the deposits for us are non refundable that is why we get insurance immediately we book

 

Thank your lucky stars that normally you get the better deal - with the anomoly of a better price is you accept non refundable deposit rules

Edited January 11, 2015 by windsor26