Why the big hassle switching cruises???

[snowinthecaribean]

We had a cruise booked for November of this year but something came up and we wanted to change to a different cruise. Same month, same room just a couple of weeks later. When I call Princess I was told that I could not change the cruise because if was after the June non cancellation date. I assumed it is just a couple of key strokes to cancel one cruise and book another but Princess refused to do it without us losing our deposit.

 

Does anyone know why Princess is so stuck on this??? Is there something in their logistics that makes it impossible for them to do this after a certain date. It just seems like bad customer service in this day and age. This would have been our 10th cruise with Princess but now we have to look elsewhere.

[moki'smommy]

June non-cancelation date for a November cruise? Must be an unusual cruise. Ours could be canceled with a full refund if more than 75 days (2 1/2 months) in advance.

[fishywood]

A cruise is international travel on a common carrier. Just like the airlines.

 

Changing the date is always going to be a cancellation and rebooking. Since you are within 75 days of sailing (a number which is progressively being changed to 90 days) you have only paid a deposit. If you booked during a promotional period when deposits are non-refundable (which is what I assume the 'June non-cancellation date' is a reference to) you lose that deposit.

 

However you also have the opportunity to re-fare if the current fare is either lower or comes with different perks. Or you can take a shot at cancelling now, losing just your deposit, and gambling on a better fare or promo as the cruise date becomes closer (though obviously with less of a choice of your preferred cabin category or location).

 

But threatening to abandon Princess because your plans changed and their policy on rebooking is the same as the industry standard is silly.

 

Oh and welcome back to Cruise Critic. Please come back sooner than the ten and a half years since your previous most recent post and let us know what you decide.

[neverbeenhere]

Long cruises require a 120 day cancellation. I think it’s cruises over 30 nights. Holiday cruises also have special rules for cancellations.

 

Also travel insurance can help.

[Bill B]

It's pretty simple -

To switch cruises, you have to cancel one and book another. All cruise lines have cancellation penalties. Usually, the penalty is progressive (increasing) after certain dates before sailing. However, cruise marketing is changing and they are now selling cruises with non-refundable deposits; and, even non-refundable fares (pay 100% when you book).

 

Cruise lines pretty much gamble people won't read the 'fine print'.

[fishywood]

Long cruises require a 120 day cancellation. I think it’s cruises over 30 nights. Holiday cruises also have special rules for cancellations.

 

Also travel insurance can help.

 

Could be true if OP is on the full Circle Pacific or the long repo from London to Singapore. But both embark in late October. Only one 29 night B2B being also sold as a single cruise on Pacific Princess is in November. Unless OP also has a pre-cruise land tour thru Princess (another reason for earlier cancellation penalties).

 

But they did sorta say they were only going to lose "our deposit" not any further penalties. So the mystery continues...

[pris993]

Good luck finding a cruise line that does not follow the same policy... we have been cruising since l982... on 9 different lines... all basically did the same.... we have changed cruises without any problem, cancelled cruises without any problem all before the final payment date. LIve and learn. Happy Cruising.

[ar1950]

................... but Princess refused to do it without us losing our deposit.

 

Does anyone know why Princess is so stuck on this??? Is there something in their logistics that makes it impossible for them to do this after a certain date. It just seems like bad customer service in this day and age. This would have been our 10th cruise with Princess but now we have to look elsewhere.

 

If it was a sale with a non-refundable deposit that is noted (notation is shown again before the deposit payment is collected - gotta read what is shown) when you book. Otherwise the deposit is always refundable before final payment.

[snowinthecaribean]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

[asctony]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

Know how you feel. RCI just did it on us because we had to change the date of the cruise. Still moved the booking to another date and that cost us $100/person for the 'paper work.'

They are like the airlines now. anything to make the extra $$$$$.

[asctony]

June non-cancelation date for a November cruise? Must be an unusual cruise. Ours could be canceled with a full refund if more than 75 days (2 1/2 months) in advance.

Depends if you Non-Refundable or Refundable. This is very new with all the cruise lines.

[ar1950]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

The only way to change cruise dates is to cancel and re-book. You still haven't said if this was a cruise booked on a sale with a non-refundable deposit. If it wasn't then the deposit would be refundable before final payment. I believe every cruise line does this.

 

 

BTW, not sure what a "good customer" is. 10 cruises or 50 or 100? Frequent cruise winners at the Captain's Circle events on cruises we have been on usually have been on Princess ships for 700 or more cruise days. Those folks seem like "good customers". No offense intended, but, perspective.

[fishywood]

There is no such thing as "just a date change".

 

Again look at the airlines in comparison. Unless you have paid a substantially higher air fare for a refundable class of ticket, there is a fee to make any type of change at all.

 

So if you book a cruise during a certain promotional period with discounts and/or perks, much of the time the deposit will be non-refundable. A risk you assumed by choosing that particular promotion. Non-refundable means non-transferable, non-re-bookable, non-everything else. Perhaps in the future you should deal with a Travel Agent who you put under standing orders to only booked fares with refundable deposits.

[moki'smommy]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

The cruise line considers it to be a cancel and new booking no matter whether you think of it as a "change" or not. I don't know of any line that doesn't operate this way now. 10 years ago there were some that had a "change" policy, but that's long gone.

 

I've read of some situations where Princess allowed some people to transfer "non-refundable" deposits, saying "non-refundable doesn't mean non-transferable," but that's not the across the board interpretation.

Edited August 8, 2018 by moki'smommy

[Bill B]

The cruise line considers it to be a cancel and new booking no matter whether you think of it as a "change" or not. I don't know of any line that doesn't operate this way now. 10 years ago there were some that had a "change" policy' date=' but that's long gone.[/quote']

 

I have a Silversea cruise booked. $200 of the deposit is non-refundable. However, their policy is to waive the penalty if the pax is cancelling and booking a different cruise.

[ar1950]

I have a Silversea cruise booked. $200 of the deposit is non-refundable. However, their policy is to waive the penalty if the pax is cancelling and booking a different cruise.

 

Probably a nice perk for booking on a high end cruise line. If the OP wants to get that option I guess they would need to consider paying almost double what a Princess cruise will cost. :-/

[Skai]

Was this policy fully disclosed to you in a reasonably conspicuous manner at the time that you originally made the deposit for your cruise?

 

Do you feel that you have been a victim of deception or intentional concealment in the contract that you agreed to at the time that you originally booked the cruise?

 

If your answer is 'No' to either of these questions, one could then ask: What makes you feel so entitled as to expect a party (that you have agreed to contract with in good faith), to amend the policies that you initially agreed to, simply because "something else came up"?

[Colo Cruiser]

Just a key stroke or 2. ;)

 

After all they are a business and they have policies.

Always a good idea to check out the cruiselines policy in regards to cruise fares and cancelation guidelines.

[pilot]

Can you use the “cancel for any reason” insurance and then use then apply that credit to your new cruise?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Essiesmom]

Are you perhaps in the UK or otherwise Europe, where deposits are always non-refundable? EM

[CruiseGal999]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

 

 

It seems like you are approaching this or thinking this is like a hotel reservation. Your plans change, so you cancel hotel ... no problem, no penalty. But it isn't a hotel. For the many reasons people here on CC have outlined. CL policy. Maybe non-refundable deposit terms on your cruise. Penalties charged by CL to cover 'administrative' costs.

[donaldsc]

We had a cruise booked for November of this year but something came up and we wanted to change to a different cruise. Same month, same room just a couple of weeks later. When I call Princess I was told that I could not change the cruise because if was after the June non cancellation date. I assumed it is just a couple of key strokes to cancel one cruise and book another but Princess refused to do it without us losing our deposit.

 

Does anyone know why Princess is so stuck on this??? Is there something in their logistics that makes it impossible for them to do this after a certain date. It just seems like bad customer service in this day and age. This would have been our 10th cruise with Princess but now we have to look elsewhere.

 

Do you think that the rules on any other mass market cruise line would be any different? I doubt it.

 

DON

[peety3]

This was just a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise. I get a penalty for a straight cancellation but this was just a date change. So my question again is why the penalty for a good customer trying to re book. I know I am not explaining my question clearly but what does it cost the cruise line to cancel and re book after a certain date???

What does it cost the cruise line? MARKETING DOLLARS. They spend thousands if not millions to operate their website (huge infrastructure to deal with the very specific inventory they're selling), place ads, send emails, AND GIVE DISCOUNTS, etc. They put a value on that cost, and know that if you cancel progressively closer to a cruise, they've got to spend more to refill that spot, potentially with more aggressive discounts ("last-minute fares", etc.).

 

 

The concept is called yield management. When the ship sails, if not all the cabins are full, that represents revenue that is now permanently lost. They can't overfill the ship on the next cruise to make up for it; maritime safety regulations limit how many people they can take aboard. Their sales & marketing teams are constantly working to keep yields up.

[hm9912]

Know how you feel. RCI just did it on us because we had to change the date of the cruise. Still moved the booking to another date and that cost us $100/person for the 'paper work.'

They are like the airlines now. anything to make the extra $$$$$.

 

Need to keep the shareholders happy as they are the owners:)

 

 

Howard

[land lover]

MO, more people are traveling, and many abuses of the "system"..have changed customer service..

 

Years ago you could make changes on cruises with minimal penalty or with a good TA and reason a total refund, no insurance was needed, cash refunds after final payment, airlines on international flights gave you refunds if cost went up....etc.

 

 

Been on the travel circuit with my parents and my own kids...always have followed the trends....so have seen and experienced.........the changes.... oh the changes....some good, but most not to the benefit the customer...