Why book refundable deposit?

[Reel Love]

11 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

@Reel Loveany time before final payment, you can change to the prevailing rate and offer and a NRD at that time.  
 

We had one booked at refundable and when we saw a really good price, we  updated it to a NRD and saved $1100.  

Thank you so much 😊

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Reel Love said:

Thank you so much 😊

To. Change refundable to NRD there has to be at least 1 available cabin in that category offering a NRD rate and you pay the prevailing rate.

[Reel Love]

9 hours ago, jelayne said:

To. Change refundable to NRD there has to be at least 1 available cabin in that category offering a NRD rate and you pay the prevailing rate.

Thank you jelayne 😊

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 11/10/2022 at 11:10 AM, jelayne said:

To. Change refundable to NRD there has to be at least 1 available cabin in that category offering a NRD rate and you pay the prevailing rate.

And if you got a one-category loyalty upgrade fare reduction - such as an A1 cabin at the A2 fare, then there has to be an available cabin in the lower class in order to continue to get the lower class fare (since if there is no lower class available there in no published fare for that class.)

[LuAnn]

On 11/9/2022 at 7:38 PM, Algebralovr said:

@Reel Loveany time before final payment, you can change to the prevailing rate and offer and a NRD at that time.  
 

We had one booked at refundable and when we saw a really good price, we  updated it to a NRD and saved $1100.  

That is great..but I suppose that you might run into the prevailing rate being higher as it gets closer to final payment? I always book way ahead so not sure what prices normally gook like as the final payment grows near? Is booking refundable jacking up the over all price of the cruise or are you just putting more $$ towards the deposit than on a NRD? Thanks for any clarification. 

[wrk2cruise]

The refundable price is additive to the total cruise fare.   The deposit amount is the same.

[Algebralovr]

On 11/22/2022 at 6:24 PM, LuAnn said:

That is great..but I suppose that you might run into the prevailing rate being higher as it gets closer to final payment? I always book way ahead so not sure what prices normally gook like as the final payment grows near? Is booking refundable jacking up the over all price of the cruise or are you just putting more $$ towards the deposit than on a NRD? Thanks for any clarification. 

Yes, this is the risk you take.   If the prevailing rate is higher than when you booked, you would not want to adjust. 

We had booked our Feb 2023 cruise as a refundable deposit when it was first released. The price never went any lower for refundable s. We saw non-refundable  a slight bit lower but chose not to change it.  

 

Often in earliest days of release, the difference is very small.  Not always but often. 

 

I just consider it a form of insurance. 

[intr3pid]

On 11/10/2022 at 9:37 AM, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

People with several cruises booked for consecutive weeks, . 

This is actually one of the very practical reasons why to do refundable deposits - particularly when on board.

 

When a new season is released two years out with several consecutive sailings, you don't know yet which dates you can sail.  But you want a certain room or category, and there is a risk it might sell out.   If you happen to be (or will be) on board, you can get that room or category across several sailings for the refundable $100 per person. 

 

A few months or even a year later, you know your dates.  Now, you can cancel anything you don't need and convert the refundable to NRD.

 

The difference between the NRD price later and that in the beginning is the premium you are paying to hold that cabin or category.  You can compare this premium with the cost of losing $100 per person across several sailings (that you will no longer need) to measure its value to you.

[Oceangoer2]

We have had to cancel a NRD cruise, $200 penalty incurred.  Forgot that the balance of the deposit is FCC.  May not use that due to family health.  If I book another cruise refundable and the FCC is applied along with additional $$s and then I cancel that cruise...would the entire deposit come back to me in cash refund or would part of that refund still be an FCC??  I know the people who know will help me with this.  TIA.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Oceangoer2

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@Oceangoer2If you cancel you would get the FCC back as a FCC. The rest of the deposit would be refunded provided you are outside of the final payment date.

[terrydtx]

On 11/9/2022 at 2:55 PM, patty1955 said:

We had a non-refundable deposit. We changed to completely different cruises. Neither time were we charged the penalty

We have done the same and out TA has always been able to get Celebrity to waive the $100 penalty. I see no reason to ever book a refundable deposit doesn't make sense.

[AlibearNS]

We are considering canceling a non refundable cruise before final payment. Reading here and as I understand it, we would pay $100 each penalty to cancel and get the remaining $700 as a FCC? Is there any time constraint on using the FCC? If it’s 12 months do we have to sail within that time or simply apply to a new cruise before the expiry? Thanks for any help 

[adolfo2]

On 11/9/2022 at 10:13 PM, Reel Love said:

Silly question but can you change a booking with refundable deposit to a non-refundable and lower the final cost?  Or if you try to do that will they change your booking to current rates? (current cost is almost $1800 Canadian/cabin higher right now than what we paid).  Cruising June 2023 and booked back when cruising was just re-starting and we felt more comfortable at that time with refundable. 

IMHO you would be changed to prevailing rate 

[wrk2cruise]

8 hours ago, AlibearNS said:

We are considering canceling a non refundable cruise before final payment. Reading here and as I understand it, we would pay $100 each penalty to cancel and get the remaining $700 as a FCC? Is there any time constraint on using the FCC? If it’s 12 months do we have to sail within that time or simply apply to a new cruise before the expiry? Thanks for any help 

 

Here are the T&C from a very recent promotion which states FCC is valid for 12 months after issue.  Usually this means you have that amount of time to apply it to another sailing.

 

https://www.thecelebritycommitment.com/terms-conditions/

 

"Non-refundable deposit bookings (“NRDB”) cancelled prior to final payment due date
will receive a future cruise credit (“FCC”) in the amount of the deposit minus a $100 per person service fee. This FCC is non-transferable
and expires 12-months from the issue date."