Non-refundable deposits

[Ken the cruiser]

Can you "refare" a Princess booking that has a nonrefundable deposit without losing the NRD if a better promotion and/or fare reduction comes along as long as you keep the same booking number and nonrefundable status? 

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Can you "refare" a Princess booking that has a nonrefundable deposit without losing the NRD if a better promotion and/or fare reduction comes along as long as you keep the same booking number and nonrefundable status? 

It has been posted many times that this can be so if speak with Princess or have your TA handle it.  At least with a FCD as deposit.  You have FCD's, yes?

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by steelers36

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, steelers36 said:

It has been posted many times that this can be so if speak with Princess or have your TA handle it.

 

Where in this thread does it say that?

[Ken the cruiser]

31 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

It has been posted many times that this can be so if speak with Princess or have your TA handle it.  At least with a FCD as deposit.  You have FCD's, yes?

 

Yes. We used FCDs on all of our current Princess bookings. So, if we book any Princess cruise using a FCD as a nonrefundable booking, we can refare that booking as many times as we like up until the final payment due date and not lose anything as long as the FCD has not expired. If that is the case, that then answers my question.

 

Of course, that doesn't answer the question if you didn't book the cruise with a FCD.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yes. We used FCDs on all of our current Princess bookings. So, if we book any Princess cruise using a FCD as a nonrefundable booking, we can refare that booking as many times as we like up until the final payment due date and not lose anything as long as the FCD has not expired. If that is the case, that then answers my question.

This has been my understanding.  Have not had the situation personally as all of our bookings have been RD, except for a mistake I made once earlier this year and booked a NRD in error.  After inquiring with Princess, they allowed that we could cancel and get our FCD back.  I did not take them up on the offer as I was proceeding with the booking and Final Payment.

 

They are not going to jeopardize goodwill with repeat customers in cases like you outline (re-faring).

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

This has been my understanding.  Have not had the situation personally as all of our bookings have been RD, except for a mistake I made once earlier this year and booked a NRD in error.  After inquiring with Princess, they allowed that we could cancel and get our FCD back.  I did not take them up on the offer as I was proceeding with the booking and Final Payment.

 

They are not going to jeopardize goodwill with repeat customers in cases like you outline (re-faring).

Sorry, I guess I'm a little sensitive on the subject after dealing with a HAL nonrefundable issue. If all goes according to plan we will always have a net of at least 8 FCDs on hand (4 for each of us) once we disembark a Princess cruise. As we are finding with the various cruise lines we sail, each line has their own set of rules and CC is a great tool to help "thread" our way through them. 😉

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yes. We used FCDs on all of our current Princess bookings. So, if we book any Princess cruise using a FCD as a nonrefundable booking, we can refare that booking as many times as we like up until the final payment due date and not lose anything as long as the FCD has not expired. If that is the case, that then answers my question.

 

Of course, that doesn't answer the question if you didn't book the cruise with a FCD.

I think you might be more satisfied if you wrote Princess Customer Relations and offered up a couple or three scenarios and see how they respond.  There is an element of case-by-case basis to this, but re-faring or moving to a different date is different than an outright cancellation.

[dog]

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yes. We used FCDs on all of our current Princess bookings. So, if we book any Princess cruise using a FCD as a nonrefundable booking, we can refare that booking as many times as we like up until the final payment due date and not lose anything as long as the FCD has not expired. If that is the case, that then answers my question.

 

Of course, that doesn't answer the question if you didn't book the cruise with a FCD.

 

I posted on another thread in this forum answering your question, however, this does not always hold true. Every Princess rep may not give you this answer. I was told recently that in my case: If I booked a non refundable cruise with a FCD and cancelled before final payment my FCD would go back in to my account and I would not lose it. It was a courtesy and they do not put that in writing.

As far as refaring as many times as you want, I believe that has to do with the "Terms and Conitions" you booked under. Sometimes my TA has had to cancel my booking to do this. Sometimes I lost my perks to do this.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, dog said:

 

I posted on another thread in this forum answering your question, however, this does not always hold true. Every Princess rep may not give you this answer. I was told recently that in my case: If I booked a non refundable cruise with a FCD and cancelled before final payment my FCD would go back in to my account and I would not lose it. It was a courtesy and they do not put that in writing.

As far as refaring as many times as you want, I believe that has to do with the "Terms and Conitions" you booked under. Sometimes my TA has had to cancel my booking to do this. Sometimes I lost my perks to do this.

Dog, you're referring to what happens when you cancel a cruise. My concern is what happens when you want to refare a cruise that was booked with a NRD when it makes economical sense to do so.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[dog]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

12 minutes ago, dog said:

 

 

 

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by dog

[dog]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Dog, you're referring to what happens when you cancel a cruise. My concern is what happens when you want to refare a cruise when it makes economical sense to do so.

 

10 minutes ago, dog said:

As far as refaring as many times as you want, I believe that has to do with the "Terms and Conitions" you booked under. Sometimes my TA has had to cancel my booking to do this. Sometimes I lost my perks to do this.

 

Refaring will depend on the terms/conditions of each particular booking. They are not all the same, as I mentioned in my previous answer. dog

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Dog, you're referring to what happens when you cancel a cruise. My concern is what happens when you want to refare a cruise that was booked with a NRD when it makes economical sense to do so.

With respect, I think you are over-analyzing this situation.  If you can cancel and re-book, retaining/transferring the FCD or deposit, then a re-fare is no issue since it is less intrusive or less work from a booking standpoint as the booking reference stays the same.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, dog said:

 

 

Refaring will depend on the terms/conditions of each particular booking. They are not all the same, as I mentioned in my previous answer. dog

Thanks dog. These are the terms and conditions listed on your confirmation. Correct?

[voljeep]

9 hours ago, dog said:

I was told recently that in my case: If I booked a non refundable cruise with a FCD and cancelled before final payment my FCD would go back in to my account and I would not lose it. It was a courtesy and they do not put that in writing.

just like all things Princess ... case by case basis ...

[dog]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks dog. These are the terms and conditions listed on your confirmation. Correct?

 

If you look on the Princess website try to do a mock booking. You will see terms/conditions for the promotion if there is one ie: 3FF. These are at the bottom of the page and also show in a pop up box after you have selected a cabin. And some of the cruises have banners on them, click on it and the terms/conditions will pop up. You do not have to book to see this. If calling Princess or a TA get them to confirm the terms/restrictions before you give a deposit.

And your receipt after booking should have this information on it as well.

Edited September 30, 2019 by dog

[dog]

59 minutes ago, voljeep said:

just like all things Princess ... case by case basis ...

 

Well, I am ok with that. My Panama Canal cruise was listed as NRD only. It took 3 different agents telling me there was no refundable fare for this particular cruise. I asked for a Supervisor who made an exception for me. Glad I got it booked 2 weeks ago. Price went up $500 pp this morning.

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, dog said:

 

If you look on the Princess website try to do a mock booking. You will see terms/conditions for the promotion if there is one ie: 3FF. These are at the bottom of the page and also show in a pop up box after you have selection a cabin. And some of the cruises have banners on them, click on it and the terms/conditions will pop up. y/ou do not have to book to see this. If calling Princess or a TA get them to confirm the terms/restrictions before you give a deposit.

And your receipt after booking should have this information on it as well.

Cool. I just checked this out and you are correct. This will be a big help. Thanks!

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

 

Well, I am ok with that. My Panama Canal cruise was listed as NRD only. It took 3 different agents telling me there was no refundable fare for this particular cruise. I asked for a Supervisor who made an exception for me. Glad I got it booked 2 weeks ago. Price went up $500 pp this morning.

Just curious, dog, how many cruises/days have you sailed with Princess so far?

[dog]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just curious, dog, how many cruises/days have you sailed with Princess so far?

Next is 15....mostly 10-14 day cruises. 30+ on various cruiselines.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, dog said:

Next is 15....mostly 10-14 day cruises. 30+ on various cruiselines.

I was just curious. It sounds like you book directly with Princess which helps when you need to get an issue resolved that is not to your liking. 

[dog]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I was just curious. It sounds like you book directly with Princess which helps when you need to get an issue resolved that is not to your liking. 

I do both. My long time TA has missed out on a few of my bookings lately with only working 3 days a week, but she has been very willing to go after price drops when I alert her and she has been persistent and willing to make a few calls to resolve things on my behalf. I prefer booking with her.  dog

[Steelers36]

34 minutes ago, dog said:

I do both. My long time TA has missed out on a few of my bookings lately with only working 3 days a week, but she has been very willing to go after price drops when I alert her and she has been persistent and willing to make a few calls to resolve things on my behalf. I prefer booking with her.  dog

If your TA is off work and you cannot book with her website, you can always book on Princess and transfer to TA who will then re-price with your discount.

[dog]

4 hours ago, steelers36 said:

If your TA is off work and you cannot book with her website, you can always book on Princess and transfer to TA who will then re-price with your discount.

 

Yes, done it a few times---form to fill in and fax to Princess is required. A phone call no longer will be accepted.

[lolane1]

On 9/4/2019 at 6:56 PM, joepeka said:

We recently booked a 2021 cruise under the Landmark promo which had a non-refundable deposit. However, our TA determined that the promo had a refundable deposit option: for $110 more ($100 additional cruise fare, $10 additional initial deposit) the deposit would be refundable. For us it was worth the additional $110 to be able to recoup the deposit should something happen prior to final payment and we had to cancel.

 

I also called under a promotion for a European cruise for next summer and inquired about a refundable fare.  It costs slightly more, but I got the promotion with a refundable deposit.