When is last day to cancel booking?

[2CoolCanucks]

I have heard that people who book a cruise have a ‘final date’ before which they can cancel their reserved cruise, get refund of downpayment , etc. Does anyone know how many weeks in advance of the actual cruise sail date people can do this?

Not asking for any specific cruises, but am just wondering in general,  if it is six weeks prior to sail date, 8 weeks prior, etc. 
And is this date different for various cruise lines? 

Thanks in advance. 
 

[Cruiser_1977]

Below are a few examples of cancellation policies. If you book a non-refundable deposit, don't expect to get it back regardless of when you cancel. 

 

For Princess:

Since a cancellation likely means a diminished opportunity to sell space on other cruises/cruisetours, the cancellation fees in the schedules below apply regardless of whether Your space is resold. You hereby agree that losses sustained by us in the event of Your cancellation would be very difficult or impossible to quantify, and that the fees set forth in our cancellation policy represent a fair and reasonable assessment as liquidated damages. The amount of cancellation fee varies based on length of sailing for cruise/cruisetour and timing of cancellation for cruise/cruisetour and Cruise Plus package, as illustrated in the schedules below.

Sailings 5 days or less
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s) Assessed	Cancellation Fee
75 days or more	None	None
45 to 74 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
29 to 44 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
15 to 28 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
within 14 days	All Items	100% of Total Charges

Sailings 6 to 24 days (including World Cruise Segments)
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s)* Assessed	Cancellation Fee
90 days or more	None	None
57 to 89 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
29 to 56 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
28-15 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
14 days or less	All Items	100% of Total Charges
*Items: Cruise, Cruisetour, Cruise Plus Package, pre-purchased gift(s)/special services. ^For those passengers booking a reduced deposit promotion, the initial cancellation fee amount will not exceed the deposit required/paid.

Sailings 25 days or more (including Full World Cruise & World Cruise Segments)
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s)* Assessed	Cancellation Fee
120 days or more	None	None
90 to 119 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
64 to 89 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
43 to 63 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
42 days or less	All Items	100% of Total Charges
*Items: Cruise, Cruisetour, Cruise Plus Package, pre-purchased gift(s)/special services. ^For those passengers booking a reduced deposit promotion, the initial cancellation fee amount will not exceed the deposit required/paid.

 

For Royal Caribbean:

Cancellation of Cruise or CruiseTour. Cruises that are cancelled prior to the sail date, and CruiseTours that are cancelled prior to the first day of the CruiseTour, may be subject to a cancellation charge. The amount of the cancellation charge shall be determined as shown in the table below and shall vary depending on how far in advance of the sail date (or first day of the CruiseTour) the Operator receives notice of cancellation.

FOR 1 TO 4 NIGHT CRUISES (including Holiday sailings) IF CANCELLATION IS MADE	CANCELLATION CHARGE
75 days or more prior to the first day of the Cruise	No charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
74 to 61 days	50% of total price
60 to 31 days	75% of total price
30 days or less	100% of total price (No refund)

 

FOR 5 NIGHTS OR LONGER CRUISES (including Holiday sailings and Cruisetours) IF CANCELLATION IS MADE	CANCELLATION CHARGE
90 days or more prior to the first day of the Cruise	No charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
89 to 75 days	25% of total price
74 to 61 days	50% of total price
60 to 31 days	75% of total price
30 days or less	100% of total price (No refund)

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, 2CoolCanucks said:

I have heard that people who book a cruise have a ‘final date’ before which they can cancel their reserved cruise, get refund of downpayment , etc. Does anyone know how many weeks in advance of the actual cruise sail date people can do this?

Not asking for any specific cruises, but am just wondering in general,  if it is six weeks prior to sail date, 8 weeks prior, etc. 
And is this date different for various cruise lines? 

Thanks in advance. 
 

Varies by cruise line and by length of itinerary.

[2CoolCanucks]

Thank you Jenny and Flatbush. 
I was wondering when the best time would be to check out for cancellations of a particular cruise when right now,  the cruises I am interested in are sold out. 

Both are for May  2020.

One is a Carnival and the other is an RCI.  Both sold out. 
So I was wondering how to possibly buy a cancellation should one arise and how to go about doing that. 
I was thinking that possibly “sold out” could include people who have made reservations, but could still cancel, freeing up a reservation for me. 

Just not sure how to get that... 

Thanks!! 

 

2 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

Below are a few examples of cancellation policies. If you book a non-refundable deposit, don't expect to get it back regardless of when you cancel. 

 

For Princess:

Since a cancellation likely means a diminished opportunity to sell space on other cruises/cruisetours, the cancellation fees in the schedules below apply regardless of whether Your space is resold. You hereby agree that losses sustained by us in the event of Your cancellation would be very difficult or impossible to quantify, and that the fees set forth in our cancellation policy represent a fair and reasonable assessment as liquidated damages. The amount of cancellation fee varies based on length of sailing for cruise/cruisetour and timing of cancellation for cruise/cruisetour and Cruise Plus package, as illustrated in the schedules below.

Sailings 5 days or less
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s) Assessed	Cancellation Fee
75 days or more	None	None
45 to 74 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
29 to 44 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
15 to 28 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
within 14 days	All Items	100% of Total Charges

Sailings 6 to 24 days (including World Cruise Segments)
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s)* Assessed	Cancellation Fee
90 days or more	None	None
57 to 89 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
29 to 56 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
28-15 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
14 days or less	All Items	100% of Total Charges
*Items: Cruise, Cruisetour, Cruise Plus Package, pre-purchased gift(s)/special services. ^For those passengers booking a reduced deposit promotion, the initial cancellation fee amount will not exceed the deposit required/paid.

Sailings 25 days or more (including Full World Cruise & World Cruise Segments)
Days prior to Cruise or Land Package Departure	Item(s)* Assessed	Cancellation Fee
120 days or more	None	None
90 to 119 days	Cruise fare	Deposit^ Amount
64 to 89 days	All Items	50% of Total Charges
43 to 63 days	All Items	75% of Total Charges
42 days or less	All Items	100% of Total Charges
*Items: Cruise, Cruisetour, Cruise Plus Package, pre-purchased gift(s)/special services. ^For those passengers booking a reduced deposit promotion, the initial cancellation fee amount will not exceed the deposit required/paid.

 

For Royal Caribbean:

Cancellation of Cruise or CruiseTour. Cruises that are cancelled prior to the sail date, and CruiseTours that are cancelled prior to the first day of the CruiseTour, may be subject to a cancellation charge. The amount of the cancellation charge shall be determined as shown in the table below and shall vary depending on how far in advance of the sail date (or first day of the CruiseTour) the Operator receives notice of cancellation.

FOR 1 TO 4 NIGHT CRUISES (including Holiday sailings) IF CANCELLATION IS MADE	CANCELLATION CHARGE
75 days or more prior to the first day of the Cruise	No charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
74 to 61 days	50% of total price
60 to 31 days	75% of total price
30 days or less	100% of total price (No refund)

 

FOR 5 NIGHTS OR LONGER CRUISES (including Holiday sailings and Cruisetours) IF CANCELLATION IS MADE	CANCELLATION CHARGE
90 days or more prior to the first day of the Cruise	No charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
89 to 75 days	25% of total price
74 to 61 days	50% of total price
60 to 31 days	75% of total price
30 days or less	100% of total price (No refund)

 

much

[crzndeb]

Since neither are at final payment yet, you will find people will cancel right before final payment, so they can get their money back, if they booked a refundable deposit. I would check right around 100 day mark before cruises and look every day.

Sometimes travel agents will release blocks of cabins they are holding sooner.

 

I had a friend cancel a cruise with about 3 hours left before final payment.

Edited December 12, 2019 by crzndeb

[donaldsc]

Totally depends upon the cruise line.  

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

51 minutes ago, 2CoolCanucks said:

Thank you Jenny and Flatbush. 
I was wondering when the best time would be to check out for cancellations of a particular cruise when right now,  the cruises I am interested in are sold out. 

Both are for May  2020.

One is a Carnival and the other is an RCI.  Both sold out. 
So I was wondering how to possibly buy a cancellation should one arise and how to go about doing that. 
I was thinking that possibly “sold out” could include people who have made reservations, but could still cancel, freeing up a reservation for me. 

Just not sure how to get that... 

Thanks!! 

 

much

If you are talking about 7 day or longer cruises, both Carnival and RCI have a 90 day final payment date.  I do not think you can plan to “buy a cancellation”—- but at three months before sailing date there should be a few cancellations; that is when you should check again.

[leaveitallbehind]

Also understand that a cruise currently showing "sold out" prior to final payment typically may not, in fact, be sold out.  Many travel agencies reserve a block of rooms as a "group" for different itineraries, which have a date by which they must be sold or returned to the cruise line inventory.  That timing is always prior to final payment and there are frequently unsold staterooms that then are returned to the cruise line.  So keep checking between now and final payment for staterooms to appear on the cruise line website - chances are they will show up for your itineraries of interest. 

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[marco]

As a rule, unless there's a "no refund of deposit".  A refund of deposit up to the time final payment is due is usually refundable.  After that date, check with the specific cruise line you're sailing with.  This is a good reason to us a TA...let them do the research.

[MCC retired]

Check your cruise online every morning .

Cancelations and TA returning unsold inventory , happen anytime.

Don’t expect a great rate or promo .

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, 2CoolCanucks said:

Thank you Jenny and Flatbush. 
I was wondering when the best time would be to check out for cancellations of a particular cruise when right now,  the cruises I am interested in are sold out. 

Both are for May  2020.

One is a Carnival and the other is an RCI.  Both sold out. 
So I was wondering how to possibly buy a cancellation should one arise and how to go about doing that. 
I was thinking that possibly “sold out” could include people who have made reservations, but could still cancel, freeing up a reservation for me. 

Just not sure how to get that... 

Thanks!! much

Again, it really depends on cruise line AND itinerary. Though you're not talking about premium/luxury lines (but others may have the same question related to that industry segment), do know that most longer/exotic itineraries on these ships can be sold out (actually "sold to individuals" and not "held by TAs") within weeks of being announced. And if there are cancellations pre-final pay and/or earlier "penalty" deadlines, those spaces are eaten up by "wait listers" and "quiet upgrade events." Any cabins that are left may be in quite undesirable locations. And, on a long cruise, that can really suck.

Of course, if you want to play that waiting game, hopefully you are using a top selling TA for your chosen line since they may be first in line to be informed of any available deals. Know as well that many "preferred partner" TAs of any particular cruise line may have unpublished access to "close-in" and/or "quiet" sales of empty cabins. You'll often see these deals on less desirable "dime a dozen" cruises (e.g., short Caribbean cruises where there's a flooded market of available ships/itineraries).

Edited December 12, 2019 by Flatbush Flyer

[SRF]

21 hours ago, crzndeb said:

Sometimes travel agents will release blocks of cabins they are holding sooner.

 

Most cruise lines, those blocks have to be booked or released a LONG time before sailing.  6 months plus.

 

 

[SRF]

21 hours ago, 2CoolCanucks said:

Thank you Jenny and Flatbush. 
I was wondering when the best time would be to check out for cancellations of a particular cruise when right now,  the cruises I am interested in are sold out. 

Both are for May  2020.

One is a Carnival and the other is an RCI.  Both sold out. 
So I was wondering how to possibly buy a cancellation should one arise and how to go about doing that. 
I was thinking that possibly “sold out” could include people who have made reservations, but could still cancel, freeing up a reservation for me. 

Just not sure how to get that... 

Thanks!! 

 

Another way is to go through a TA to get on a waiting list.

 

We booked a cruise for October 2020 in a higher class cabin than we wanted, as the class we wanted was sold out.

 

Our TA put us on the wait list for the lower cabin, and when someone canceled or released the room, we got the downgrade.

 

 

[2CoolCanucks]

Wow!! Thank you everybody for all these helpful answers!!! I appreciate it so much and will do my best to put as many of these suggestions into use. Thanks again!

 

[leaveitallbehind]

10 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Most cruise lines, those blocks have to be booked or released a LONG time before sailing.  6 months plus.

 

 

 

Not challenging or nit picking your answer, but while it will vary by cruise line and certain itineraries, the return to inventory date is typically closer to final payment than that - around 4 months from sailing.  (So as most cruise lines are typically at 90-days for final payment on 7-night itineraries, that would have the return around 30 days prior to that - but again that can vary).

[SRF]

On 12/13/2019 at 11:07 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Not challenging or nit picking your answer, but while it will vary by cruise line and certain itineraries, the return to inventory date is typically closer to final payment than that - around 4 months from sailing.  (So as most cruise lines are typically at 90-days for final payment on 7-night itineraries, that would have the return around 30 days prior to that - but again that can vary).

 

Thanks.