Non-Refundable Deposits

[Willow35]

I have not had to cancel a cruise before so I did not know this.  But do all cruise lines have non-refundable deposits? I had to cancel a Princess Cruise 4 months in advance and was still charged the 10% total cruise cost of almost $400.  I did go back and read the paperwork and it said non-refundable right on the paper but I failed to read it, my bad.  I also was never told when I was making the reservation with a Princess representative so that really annoyed me.  Is this the custom for all cruise lines?  It makes me leery to make any future cruise plans if we can not get our deposits back if something changes.

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, Willow35 said:

I have not had to cancel a cruise before so I did not know this.  But do all cruise lines have non-refundable deposits? I had to cancel a Princess Cruise 4 months in advance and was still charged the 10% total cruise cost of almost $400.  I did go back and read the paperwork and it said non-refundable right on the paper but I failed to read it, my bad.  I also was never told when I was making the reservation with a Princess representative so that really annoyed me.  Is this the custom for all cruise lines?  It makes me leery to make any future cruise plans if we can not get our deposits back if something changes.

 

Welcome to CC.

 

You need to read the terms of ANY contract that you agree to, including a contract with a cruise line.

 

Some deposits are fully refundable until a certain cut-off date.  And then there can be a slowly changing amount until it becomes 100%.

 

And a few lines have deposits that are not refundable from the start (either a portion of the deposit, or the full deposit).

 

Will Princess allow you to apply this amount to another cruise?

 

GC

[LHT28]

You do not say what Country you are in??

In the UK  are  all non refundable 

In North America  you need to read the fine print  BEFORE  you book

[cherylandtk]

Princess offers both fully refundable and non-refundable deposits, depending on whatever sale is ongoing at the moment. They also record bookings made over the phone, and it is their policy to state any limitations at booking.  You can ask for a review of the recording if you feel you were not told.

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, Willow35 said:

I have not had to cancel a cruise before so I did not know this.  But do all cruise lines have non-refundable deposits? I had to cancel a Princess Cruise 4 months in advance and was still charged the 10% total cruise cost of almost $400.  I did go back and read the paperwork and it said non-refundable right on the paper but I failed to read it, my bad.  I also was never told when I was making the reservation with a Princess representative so that really annoyed me.  Is this the custom for all cruise lines?  It makes me leery to make any future cruise plans if we can not get our deposits back if something changes.

 

Just like any other service industry there are multiple fares available on cruises. Some fares are refundable up to a certain time prior to sailing, and others are non refundable from the instant you pay a penny. You just have to read the fine print.

[jlp20]

Another reason why you get trip insurance. 

[pms4104]

3 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Another reason why you get trip insurance. 

And if the reason for cancellation is not a covered cause???

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

HAL has been doing this for some time.

 

Many of us just ask our TA's to ask HAL what the cost of the cruise would be with refundable deposits.  The fares are higher but if something does go wrong and we have to cancel before final payment, at least we know we will get our deposits back.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Another reason why you get trip insurance. 

On our last cruise (on HAL) we got a great price, but the whole fare was due and non-refundable. And of course we got insurance, which luckily we ended up not needing.

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, pms4104 said:

And if the reason for cancellation is not a covered cause???

 

This is one of the reasons that we get CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage.

(We have other reasons, but CFAR will cover this, too.)

 

And we *always* get third party insurance, not from cruise line.  This way, we'd get a check back, and we can use the money however we wish... a different type of trip, different cruise line, or just a land vacation.  And there's no limit to when it must be used.

 

GC

[babs135]

Cancel for any reason insurance appears to be not available in the UK, or if it is I haven't come across it.

 

OP, did you have insurance?  Depending upon why you had to cancel you might be covered.

[SRF]

To add:

 

Royal Caribbean has Refundable and Non-refundable deposits.  All full suite reservations (Grand Suites or above) are Non-refundable.  For lower cabins, you can book either way.

 

For Non-refundable deposits, $100 per person is lost if you change the Ship or the Sailing Date.   Any remaining deposit is "refunded" by issuing a Future Cruise Credit.  That can be used on another cruise within 1 year of the cancellation date.  As I remember, it cannot be used to pay another deposit, just for part of the cruise fare.

 

If you book online, the choice of Refundable or Non-refundable is not until you have almost completed the booking (after you enter passenger names).  If you call to book make sure you clearly state, and the agent repeats, that you are booking a Refundable Fare.  And the same if you use a Travel Agent.  There are reports of both Direct and TA bookings being made as Non-refundable when the person wanted Refundable.

 

You have to check the prices, as at times, there is little difference, and other times, the Non-refundable is significantly cheaper.

[zqvol]

7 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Another reason why you get trip insurance. 

 

Worthless unless you cancel for a covered reason.

[Velvetwater]

 

I could be wrong but it only seems to be Canada and the US that offer refundable deposits on certain voyages I haven't seen it at all in other countries....especially not Europe.

 

TBH I think refundable deposit in booking terms is a bit of an oxymoron by I digress. 

[GeezerCouple]

12 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

Worthless unless you cancel for a covered reason.

 

Unless one gets CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason), and this would be one of the types of reasons (there are many others).

Third party insurance will give cash back (usually at 75%), with no need to apply the refund to another cruise on the same line, and no deadlines, etc.

GC

[jlp20]

19 hours ago, ontheweb said:

On our last cruise (on HAL) we got a great price, but the whole fare was due and non-refundable. And of course we got insurance, which luckily we ended up not needing.

 

16 hours ago, zqvol said:

 

Worthless unless you cancel for a covered reason.

This is why you take your time and research what you need. Bare bones to cancel for any reason, it's up to you. Next cruise, were driving to port, no need for any airfare coverage. Years ago one of us ended up in the hospital within a week of the cruise. Got full refund within the month. If you read these boards long enough you'll see stories of people kicked off the ship do to illness (real and misdiagnosed) and had to pay through the nose to get home. Last story dealt with a couple dumped at the dock in Korea due to visa issues. They lost cost of cruise and last minute flights home. If you don't buy or get the wrong policy, nobody to blame than you.

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, jlp20 said:

 

This is why you take your time and research what you need. Bare bones to cancel for any reason, it's up to you. Next cruise, were driving to port, no need for any airfare coverage. Years ago one of us ended up in the hospital within a week of the cruise. Got full refund within the month. If you read these boards long enough you'll see stories of people kicked off the ship do to illness (real and misdiagnosed) and had to pay through the nose to get home. Last story dealt with a couple dumped at the dock in Korea due to visa issues. They lost cost of cruise and last minute flights home. If you don't buy or get the wrong policy, nobody to blame than you.

 

Curious about this type of situation.  Would regular travel insurance (not CFAR) cover this, if someone "didn't have the proper visas"? 

 

GC

[SRF]

Personally, I don't insure the cruise fare.

 

I budget it, it was already paid.  If I don't go, I will be disappointed, but not in dire financial straits.

 

I DO insurre for medical, medical and non-medical evacuation, and the other things.

 

The BIG cost of insurance, is covering the cost of the cruise.  I buy all the other coverage, just not the cruise fare, for $32 per trip (land or sea).

[jlp20]

11 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Curious about this type of situation.  Would regular travel insurance (not CFAR) cover this, if someone "didn't have the proper visas"? 

I can only respond to what I know and have read. If you bother to read your cruise contract, it's your responsibility as the pax for passports, visas etc. The ship can claim health or safety reasons to put you off the ship. As far as the cruise fare I have not heard of anyone getting any money back once the ship pushes back. The insurance is to cover the unexpected travel costs to get home (evacuation) if your put ashore. 

[GeezerCouple]

17 minutes ago, jlp20 said:

I can only respond to what I know and have read. If you bother to read your cruise contract, it's your responsibility as the pax for passports, visas etc. The ship can claim health or safety reasons to put you off the ship. As far as the cruise fare I have not heard of anyone getting any money back once the ship pushes back. The insurance is to cover the unexpected travel costs to get home (evacuation) if your put ashore. 

 

 

I was referring to what wrote about how 

"Last story dealt with a couple dumped at the dock in Korea due to visa issues. They lost cost of cruise and last minute flights home. If you don't buy or get the wrong policy, nobody to blame than you."

[emphasis added]

 

That seemed to make it sound like if they HAD gotten an insurance policy, OR if they had gotten the *right* policy, it would have been covered.

 

OTOH, presumably CFAR coverage would indeed cover something like this. 

Last I knew, "passenger failure to do the right thing" is not excluded from CFAR!   

 

GC

 

[jlp20]

4 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Last I knew, "passenger failure to do the right thing" is not excluded from CFAR!   

The insurance comes into play when fail to make it TO the cruise. Once the cruise starts, you have met that provision by  getting on the ship. Anything past that point does not meet the definition of "cancel". Should the cruise line itself have to stop the ship for whatever reason, they are known for getting pax home and compensating pax in future cruise credits. If put ashore due to illness, criminal actions or any of the myriad of reasons listed in the cruise contract, the boilerplate wording in every policy voids the entire policy. For a nice scary hour, read the entire cruise contract. Basically nothing is guaranteed and you automatically agree to every provision by simply stepping on the ship.

[SRF]

13 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

OTOH, presumably CFAR coverage would indeed cover something like this. 

Last I knew, "passenger failure to do the right thing" is not excluded from CFAR!   

 

GC

 

 

It is not cancellation if you start the cruise.

 

That would be non-medical evacuation coverage.

 

My policy does cover this.

[SRF]

7 hours ago, jlp20 said:

The insurance comes into play when fail to make it TO the cruise. Once the cruise starts, you have met that provision by  getting on the ship. Anything past that point does not meet the definition of "cancel". Should the cruise line itself have to stop the ship for whatever reason, they are known for getting pax home and compensating pax in future cruise credits. If put ashore due to illness, criminal actions or any of the myriad of reasons listed in the cruise contract, the boilerplate wording in every policy voids the entire policy. For a nice scary hour, read the entire cruise contract. Basically nothing is guaranteed and you automatically agree to every provision by simply stepping on the ship.

 

Not necessarily.  Some policies cover non-medical evacuations.

 

Read your policy and/or talk to your insurance company or agent.

[GeezerCouple]

7 hours ago, jlp20 said:

The insurance comes into play when fail to make it TO the cruise. Once the cruise starts, you have met that provision by  getting on the ship. Anything past that point does not meet the definition of "cancel". Should the cruise line itself have to stop the ship for whatever reason, they are known for getting pax home and compensating pax in future cruise credits. If put ashore due to illness, criminal actions or any of the myriad of reasons listed in the cruise contract, the boilerplate wording in every policy voids the entire policy. For a nice scary hour, read the entire cruise contract. Basically nothing is guaranteed and you automatically agree to every provision by simply stepping on the ship.

 

Trip INTERRUPTION coverage would be for anything after one leaves the front door, assuming one has travel insurance for the full trip.

 

And that INTERRUPTION coverage would be included in the CFAR (even though the "C" stands for  the word "cancellation"...  yup, *read* the policy!).

 

At least, that is what *our* policies cover.

 

GC

[SRF]

On my policy, trip interruption pays for costs such as hotel if your trip is interrupted (flights missed or delayed, etc).  It is something like $200 or $250 per day.

 

Non-medical evacuation covers getting you home from some place, like being put off the ship.