Question on canceling or moving the date?

[ann4576]

We are booked on the Independence of the Seas for Oct 13th. We've only paid the deposit so far and the final payment isn't due till July. Well, today we found out that we are going to be grandparents! Due date is October 16th. So, of course, we aren't going to be able to go on this cruise. My question is, can we change to a different cruise date with the existing deposit or are we going to loose our non-refundable deposit? Can we get a future cruise credit with the deposit? I've emailed them but I'm impatient and I'm hoping someone here will have an answer. 

[neverbeenhere]

I can’t help you on the deposit question as we use a travel agent and that person takes care of these kind of issues.
 

But, I am here to inform you that the grandchild will be born November 2nd, so you could go on the cruise and still be back in time for the birth. 

 

enjoy your cruises and grandchild!!!

[ARandomTraveler]

You'll lose $200 ($100 per person) if you move to a different date. When you move to a different date, you'll have to pay the $200 to get your deposit back to $500. 
 

If you cancel altogether, they won't offer you a future cruise credit, you'll just lose the whole deposit. 

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

You'll lose $200 ($100 per person) if you move to a different date. When you move to a different date, you'll have to pay the $200 to get your deposit back to $500. 
 

If you cancel altogether, they won't offer you a future cruise credit, you'll just lose the whole deposit. 

Depending on when the cruise was booked....

 

If it was booked prior to June 1, 2022 then if you cancel there is a $100pp fee and the rest is issued as a FCC.  If it was booked after June 1, 2022 then yes, cancelling outright is a loss of the entire deposit. 

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

I can’t help you on the deposit question as we use a travel agent and that person takes care of these kind of issues.
 

But, I am here to inform you that the grandchild will be born November 2nd, so you could go on the cruise and still be back in time for the birth. 

 

enjoy your cruises and grandchild!!!

Ha ha, our grandchild (first child ) was born exactly on his due date

 His mum is a planner and so far he's been a textbook baby 😁 👶 💕 

[Giantfan13]

We also had to cancel a cruise wishing to move it to a different ship. Our TA and RCCL told us, we had to pay the $100 PP charge and there is no charge for moving the rest of your deposit to another reservation. No more FCC, you have to use the rest of the deposit on another cruise or lose it. Everything else stays the same even the booking number, and any OBC but if the deposit for the new cruise is more than what is left from what you move, you will have to add the rest to make it up.

 

Cheers

Len

[Ourusualbeach]

19 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

We also had to cancel a cruise wishing to move it to a different ship. Our TA and RCCL told us, we had to pay the $100 PP charge and there is no charge for moving the rest of your deposit to another reservation. No more FCC, you have to use the rest of the deposit on another cruise or lose it. Everything else stays the same even the booking number, and any OBC but if the deposit for the new cruise is more than what is left from what you move, you will have to add the rest to make it up.

 

Cheers

Len

Depends on when the cruise was booked.  See post 4. 

[vjmatty]

18 hours ago, ann4576 said:

We are booked on the Independence of the Seas for Oct 13th. We've only paid the deposit so far and the final payment isn't due till July. Well, today we found out that we are going to be grandparents! Due date is October 16th. So, of course, we aren't going to be able to go on this cruise. My question is, can we change to a different cruise date with the existing deposit or are we going to loose our non-refundable deposit? Can we get a future cruise credit with the deposit? I've emailed them but I'm impatient and I'm hoping someone here will have an answer. 

 

Unfortunately RC is very harsh when it comes to minor changes such as sail date, even when staying with the same ship, same itinerary, etc.  The only thing you can change without penalty is the room category.  Doesn't make much sense since the money still goes to RC, and few other cruise lines have this policy, even with non-refundable deposits, but I guess they don't like change lol.

[fac429]

Legend has it that if you call and ask them to move your sailing- and in particular if you're moving to a more expensive cruise (either because of itinerary or cabin)- you may be able to speak with a supervisor that can waive the $100/pp change fee.  But you have to ask VERY NICELY, you may be on hold for hours, and there's no guaranty it will work.  

[ARandomTraveler]

ABR, always book refundable 

[Spurschick]

2 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

ABR, always book refundable 

Refundable is normally way more than the penalty to change/cancel so for those that end up going they end up paying far more than they could/should have.

[ARandomTraveler]

14 minutes ago, Spurschick said:

Refundable is normally way more than the penalty to change/cancel so for those that end up going they end up paying far more than they could/should have.

I look at that as the regular price, and the non-refundable price is the discounted price you get for taking a risk of losing your flexibility. I've never found my cruises to be more than $300 more to book refundable, and I travel during prime times (holidays and summertime).
 

I don't feel like $300 is too much to pay for the flexibility, but I do feel like $300 is not enough savings to take away my flexibility. I guess it just depends on what you value more. My travel plans have changed before (I moved a cruise date 3 times last year). I don't like being locked into anything with a penalty if I can avoid it.

[Spurschick]

3 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I look at that as the regular price, and the non-refundable price is the discounted price you get for taking a risk of losing your flexibility. I've never found my cruises to be more than $300 more to book refundable, and I travel during prime times (holidays and summertime).
 

I don't feel like $300 is too much to pay for the flexibility, but I do feel like $300 is not enough savings to take away my flexibility. I guess it just depends on what you value more. My travel plans have changed before (I moved a cruise date 3 times last year). I don't like being locked into anything with a penalty if I can avoid it.

I fully understand what it is. I am saying the price difference doesn’t justify it to me. If I’m not sure I want to go on a cruise I just don’t book I. If I book it then I have every intention of going and take out travel insurance in case something unforeseen crops up.

[ARandomTraveler]

3 minutes ago, Spurschick said:

I fully understand what it is. I am saying the price difference doesn’t justify it to me. If I’m not sure I want to go on a cruise I just don’t book I. If I book it then I have every intention of going and take out travel insurance in case something unforeseen crops up.

I do both, but sometimes stuff comes up that just makes it more convenient to change the date of the trip by a week, or a month or whatever. I often book 2 or even 3 plane tickets when I travel, knowing that I might want to leave a day earlier, or at night instead of in the morning. With Southwest, I can keep all 3 flights right up until I get on my flight, at which point I cancel the other 2. 
 

The travel insurance is for when the refundable flexibility goes away once the 90 days hits. I'm not gonna lock myself into a date a year ahead of time, when lots of things can come up that might make me want to stay home that week. And for a savings of just $300? It's just not enough money to lock myself in.

[firefly333]

6 hours ago, Spurschick said:

Refundable is normally way more than the penalty to change/cancel so for those that end up going they end up paying far more than they could/should have.

You need to find a ta. Mine gives me refundable group rates.  Doesnt cos more, it's a little less. 

[poocher]

6 hours ago, Spurschick said:

I fully understand what it is. I am saying the price difference doesn’t justify it to me. If I’m not sure I want to go on a cruise I just don’t book I. If I book it then I have every intention of going and take out travel insurance in case something unforeseen crops up.

I agree.  On our next cruise, refundable rate was $500 more than non refundable for our JR suite.  In my mind, it made no sense to pay a guaranteed extra $500 to potentially save $500 if we had to cancel.  And with the change fee being $200 for us, it makes even less sense.  Helps of course that we are retired 👵🏻

Edited February 28, 2023 by poocher

[vjmatty]

9 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

ABR, always book refundable 

 

I don't think you can book refundable on JS and above

[vjmatty]

6 hours ago, Spurschick said:

Refundable is normally way more than the penalty to change/cancel so for those that end up going they end up paying far more than they could/should have.

 

There was a time you could switch from refundable to non-refundable at final payment, which we've done in the past when both of us were working.... is that no longer the case?

[poocher]

Our TA quoted the option 🤷‍♀️.

[poocher]

Just now, vjmatty said:

 

There was a time you could switch from refundable to non-refundable at final payment, which we've done in the past when both of us were working.... is that no longer the case?

I believe it is but then it also defaults to current price which might negate the savings.

[vjmatty]

3 minutes ago, poocher said:

I believe it is but then it also defaults to current price which might negate the savings.

 

 

Right.... which wasn't a problem because prices usually went down before sailing.  Now they seem to only go up.

[Spurschick]

16 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

There was a time you could switch from refundable to non-refundable at final payment, which we've done in the past when both of us were working.... is that no longer the case?

By the time you reach final payment and can try to reprice the fares are way more than you get booking early. I have cruises for 2024 booked that are already 3x more that the rate I booked at.

[Spurschick]

16 hours ago, firefly333 said:

You need to find a ta. Mine gives me refundable group rates.  Doesnt cos more, it's a little less. 

The group rates are fine if the ta actually is able to book a group rate for that specific sailing. They are not always available. 
 

I am talking about every day refundable vs non refundable rates not group rates as they are different. Oh fwiw I don’t need a TA 😉

Edited March 1, 2023 by Spurschick

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, Spurschick said:

The group rates are fine if the ta actually is able to book a group rate for that specific sailing. They are not always available. 
 

I am talking about every day refundable vs non refundable rates not group rates as they are different. Oh fwiw I don’t need a TA 😉

It was just a suggestion. Dont get so defensive. Makes no difference to me. 

 

I've found I cant get my D+ balcony discount the way rcl runs sales. I was just saying for me it's cheaper and he always has had a group rate for any dates I wanted. Some want control. I'm for saving my pocketbook.  ... though right now a little down on cruising. I really dont care, just here for fun. Good luck. 

[Spurschick]

13 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

It was just a suggestion. Dont get so defensive. Makes no difference to me. 

 

I've found I cant get my D+ balcony discount the way rcl runs sales. I was just saying for me it's cheaper and he always has had a group rate for any dates I wanted. Some want control. I'm for saving my pocketbook.  ... though right now a little down on cruising. I really dont care, just here for fun. Good luck. 

You misunderstood 

I wasn’t being defensive at all. I’m just saying that group refundable rates are not always available. There are lots of sailings that are closed to group rates.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Spurschick