New Suite Deposit Calculation Policy

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

But that would mean they would be losing $100 pp if they canceled,  per cruise, prior to this change. Do you really think people were willing to throw that much money away?  I highly doubt it. In the days of fully refundable deposits probably.  But after the cancellation cost was put in place? I find that unlikely. 

A recent booking they option was book NRD and lose $100 pp if we had to cancel or book refundable and pay an additional $4k.  We  don’t book cruises we don’t intent to take so we booked NRD knowing we would lose $100 pp if we had to cancel.  

To me that beats the heck out of paying $4k extra in the fare when I take the cruise.  

[abbydancer2003]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

A recent booking they option was book NRD and lose $100 pp if we had to cancel or book refundable and pay an additional $4k.  We  don’t book cruises we don’t intent to take so we booked NRD knowing we would lose $100 pp if we had to cancel.  

To me that beats the heck out of paying $4k extra in the fare when I take the cruise.  

Agree, and my view is even if I have to cancel occasionally (which I have once or twice) I've saved a boatload more money that the few hundred dollars in change fees.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

FYI, there will still be the option of paying a $100 change fee to move ship/sail date with these new deposits instead of forfeiting the entire deposit. The gentleman who originally spoke to Royal Caribbean about this verified this by doing a mock booking this morning.

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/22/2023 at 9:03 PM, ldubs said:

 

I wonder how many bookings are dropped just prior to final payment.  

I suspect it is much larger than we can imagine.    I've often looked at Suite Sold Out cruises and suddenly about 3-4 days before the final payment lots of Suites  open up.

[sixpackeddie]

What is the final payment date? 30 days prior to the cruise?

[Guest CoolPapaC]

90

[jelayne]

90 days pre cruise.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Final payment for our September cruise on Equinox is due tomorrow. So far there are only 2 sky suites available.  It's been that way for quite a while.

[Lastdance]

I asked my TA to change a cruise for me yesterday that had a $200 total deposit; she never completed it yesterday, at least to my knowledge, so waiting to hear the story before I gasp!  Yes, it was for a suite that I planned to book, as I do for all my bookings regardless of category.  I have a suite on Beyond this December, along with one for 2025 on Oceania.  I also have an SV on Ascent, so glad there is not a change in policy for that one yet!  I believe that companies are trying to find that ceiling where customers are going to make a substantial change regarding their opportunity choice, but only time will tell!  Of course there is always insurance...we enjoyed our SV recently, so not an issue at all, especially loved the shower.  

[neverlaysup]

On 5/22/2023 at 9:03 PM, ldubs said:

 

I wonder how many bookings are dropped just prior to final payment.  

That's a great question, I wonder if someone at Celebrity has that answer and would be willing to share it!

[bnurick]

$RCL sees what we all see, 5% on us treasuries, so they are increasing their cash to earn the float. They would be happy to take $900pp or $900+pp, invest those monies and if you want to change later, deduct a $100pp change fee. This is the real driver IMO, corporate cash management.

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/23/2023 at 12:06 PM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I think Celebrity would apply the deposit to the total cruise cost for each guest combined, not break it down to guest 1 and guest 2.

 

YOu are correct.  I did a mock booking today.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

As long as the majority of the deposit can be transferred I'm good with the new deposit amounts. Looking to upgrade our March cruise but the only way we could afford it is with a NRD. If we can transfer most of the deposit to our December 2024 cruise I'm good with that.  Beyond that point, we will either not be cruising or it will be a problem for our estate. 😉

Edited June 2, 2023 by CHEZMARYLOU

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

As long as the majority of the deposit can be transferred I'm good with the new deposit amounts. Looking to upgrade our March cruise but the only way we could afford it is with a NRD. If we can transfer most of the deposit to our December 2024 cruise I'm good with that.  Beyond that point, we will either not be cruising or it will be a problem for our estate. 😉

From my perspective, the main thing was that the 100.00 change fee still applied, rather than the whole deposit.  My view on deposit amounts is pay now or pay later, it doesn't matter to me.  The main thing was the change fee.

 

That said, I recognize that the deposit amount does matter to some people, and this is not meant to dispute that.  It's just my perspective.

 

 

[twins_to_alaska]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:00 PM, phoenix_dream said:

But that would mean they would be losing $100 pp if they canceled,  per cruise, prior to this change. Do you really think people were willing to throw that much money away? 

I was quite willing to throw $100 away for a cruise I was 90% sure I'd be taking. I only cancelled once due to a health issue. I'm not as willing to throw away $500+ 🙂 so I'll be booking closer to cruise date now.

[twins_to_alaska]

And reading the rest of this thread looks like I wouldn't be throwing away the whole deposit and could just pay $100 change fee to change.

[Bo1953]

On 6/2/2023 at 5:58 PM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

As long as the majority of the deposit can be transferred I'm good with the new deposit amounts. Looking to upgrade our March cruise but the only way we could afford it is with a NRD. If we can transfer most of the deposit to our December 2024 cruise I'm good with that.  Beyond that point, we will either not be cruising or it will be a problem for our estate. 😉

LOL - which one would you prefer, cruising or estate issues???

 

bon voyage

[CHEZMARYLOU]

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

LOL - which one would you prefer, cruising or estate issues???

 

bon voyage

When that time comes I won't be here to make a choice😀

[phoenix_dream]

On 5/23/2023 at 8:36 PM, jelayne said:

A recent booking they option was book NRD and lose $100 pp if we had to cancel or book refundable and pay an additional $4k.  We  don’t book cruises we don’t intent to take so we booked NRD knowing we would lose $100 pp if we had to cancel.  

To me that beats the heck out of paying $4k extra in the fare when I take the cruise.  

I totally agree with you.  I was responding to the idea that a lot of people were just booking various cruises and then dropping many of them prior to final payment.  That is what I just don't see happening.  It's one thing to book a cruise like you said, with the idea that losing $100pp is a lot better than paying several thousand dollars extra.  But I find it hard to believe (and I know I can't prove it one way or the other) that people are booking multiple cruises and then only taking one or none, thereby losing hundreds of dollars at a time.  

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I totally agree with you.  I was responding to the idea that a lot of people were just booking various cruises and then dropping many of them prior to final payment.  That is what I just don't see happening.  It's one thing to book a cruise like you said, with the idea that losing $100pp is a lot better than paying several thousand dollars extra.  But I find it hard to believe (and I know I can't prove it one way or the other) that people are booking multiple cruises and then only taking one or none, thereby losing hundreds of dollars at a time.  

Couldn’t they have been booking the “just in case” cruises with a fully refundable deposit?  

[zitsky]

How does this affect repricing?  I’ve never done it but thought about it.

 

I am close to booking a Sky Suite for January 2025 and I would expect price will fluctuate.  I am not too concerned about it as I have a large amount of OBC and price is acceptable to me.

 

Edit:  Also wouldn’t trip insurance cover the deposit if you buy Cancel For Any Reason?

Edited June 21, 2023 by zitsky

[paulh84]

45 minutes ago, zitsky said:

How does this affect repricing?  I’ve never done it but thought about it.

 

I am close to booking a Sky Suite for January 2025 and I would expect price will fluctuate.  I am not too concerned about it as I have a large amount of OBC and price is acceptable to me.

 

Edit:  Also wouldn’t trip insurance cover the deposit if you buy Cancel For Any Reason?

 

Before or after final payment? You have to evaluate the potential loss. The increased premium to include Cancel For Any Reason coverage plus the typical cap of 75%  coverage can easily make eating the cost of the deposit the better option.

[ShawninFL]

I really don't see the big deal in the change to a 10% deposit.  Even if you're booking a $15,000.00 per person suite.  It's still only a $1500.00 deposit per person.  You'd still have another $13,500.00 per person due by final payment.  In my opinion you can afford that level of vacation, you should certainly not bat an eye at the deposit.

[wrk2cruise]

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

How does this affect repricing?  I’ve never done it but thought about it.

 

I don't think it would have any effect on repricing.  Say your cruise went down $1000 I guess your deposit would be $100 less.   The extra payment would just be applied to your final payment.   If for some reason you had to cancel I believe the $100 would be refunded but the 10% of the current fare would be forfeited

 

Edit: that specific case is not listed in the FAQ document

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/5_15_23_Suite_Percentage_Deposit_FAQs.pdf

Edited June 22, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[zitsky]

30 minutes ago, ShawninFL said:

I really don't see the big deal in the change to a 10% deposit.  Even if you're booking a $15,000.00 per person suite.  It's still only a $1500.00 deposit per person.  You'd still have another $13,500.00 per person due by final payment.  In my opinion you can afford that level of vacation, you should certainly not bat an eye at the deposit.

I like how you think!