Non Refundable Deposit in USA vs Australia/NZ

[F1guynz]

The price of an Owners Suite on our cruise from Southampton in September became $1000 cheaper than the price we paid for a Grand Suite.

I phoned RCI and asked how much a Grand Suite would now cost to see if it had reduced in price, otherwise we would book the OS. He couldn’t give me the current price on a GS as they were all sold out and pricing was not visible to him until one became free.

If we cancelled our current booking he could see the price if it returned into the available inventory, but the cost of cancelling was our original deposit of $400

We cancelled our current booking and the Suite did return to the general inventory for $16,000, so we went ahead and booked the OS as it was far cheaper than this new price and the original price we paid.

it irks me that in Australia/New Zealand  RCI keeps the whole deposit even though all we were doing was a cabin upgrade on the same sailing.

i asked him whether the policy in the US is different as I understood if you booked in the US on a $400 deposit you would forfeit $200 ($100 per guest) and get a $200 future cruise credit.

Is my understanding correct?

We are looking to book a Harmony B2B in 2021 and I am wondering whether we might be better to use a travel agent like MEI to manage our booking, as sales regularly come with better pricing but having to forfeit $400 each time is frustrating.

I know there are added regional complexities such as when we book here gratuities are part of the base fare cost so there will be a bit of maths involved to work out if it worth while. 

At the end of the day the cruise was $789 cheaper than our original booking and we got a $400 C&A discount which offset the $400 RCI keep so it is okay but I would have preferred an $1100 saving for what was essentially a cabin upgrade.

i did ask him if we could change our sail date as that was only a $200 cost but he said the deposit would remain non refundable so it would cost another $200 to change back. 

[Matt]

I assume this all occurred before final payment date?

[F1guynz]

5 hours ago, Matt said:

I assume this all occurred before final payment date?

Yes, the final payment date is in July.

i am just curious as to whether the same policy applies in the US when you have a price drop with a NRD booking.

The pricing is a bit random down under so you never know when the best time to book, but usually it is not when they first come out, a couple of months later is more advantageous. It was definitely much easier when you could just cancel and rebook with no penalty

 

 

[twangster]

23 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

Yes, the final payment date is in July.

i am just curious as to whether the same policy applies in the US when you have a price drop with a NRD booking.

The pricing is a bit random down under so you never know when the best time to book, but usually it is not when they first come out, a couple of months later is more advantageous. It was definitely much easier when you could just cancel and rebook with no penalty

In the US, fees are assessed to NRD bookings for changing ship or sail date.  Price drops are not charged a fee so long as you are not changing ship or sail date.

A mock booking on the US website yields these T&Cs:

Deals may vary based on your selection.

+ Taxes, fees and port expenses $120.94 USD*

*Price is per person (unless otherwise specified above), cruise only, reflects any promotional savings, and is subject to change and availability until booked. Non-refundable deposit: Non-refundable deposit booking (“NRDB”) cancelled prior to final payment due date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit minus a $100 per person service fee (the “FCC”). FCC is non-transferable and expires after 12-months from issue date. 100USD/100CAD/80EUR per person service fee applies to changes to NRDB ship or sail date.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel your reservation after a specific date, you may be subject to cancellation charges.

Room 1

(Non Refundable Deposit)

TodayMinimum Deposit

July 31, 2019   50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded) / person

August 28, 2019   75% of total price (taxes & fees excluded) / person

September 11, 2019   No refund except for taxes & fees

 

I picked a 2 bedroom GS on Indy out of Southhampton for this mock booking.  I didn't apply any C&A discounts or other, I simply clicked through with the default 2 passengers.  $900 USD deposit required for two guests.

 

 

 

[F1guynz]

You have raised an interesting issue.

When I perform a mock booking for the cruise we are going on in September it has the same statement you mentioned.

However the booking document I received straight after booking states different T&Cs.

This is why I was puzzled when we told me there was no FCC available for cancelled bookings.

I will raise with RCI as I booked expecting only a $200 penalty and $200FCC and instead they have altered the terms immediately after booking. 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, F1guynz said:

You have raised an interesting issue.

When I perform a mock booking for the cruise we are going on in September it has the same statement you mentioned.

However the booking document I received straight after booking states different T&Cs.

This is why I was puzzled when we told me there was no FCC available for cancelled bookings.

I will raise with RCI as I booked expecting only a $200 penalty and $200FCC and instead they have altered the terms immediately after booking. 

I was once told by a travel agent "No FCC" for cancelled NRDB.  Deposit was $250.  I went back and escalated it.  I got $150 FCC on both.

Truth is I am beginning to loathe FCC.  I have six I'm juggling now.  It's money, but it's a PITA to track them.  Keep detailed notes. 

When using one of those, one agency made me pay in full and promised a refund of the FCC amount.  That took over 2 months.

Another agency removes the FCC from the cruise fare on my invoice but doesn't note that anywhere, it's just a lower cruise fare.  That's got implications when you go searching for price drops later on.  

Then two cruises where I had applied FCC were cancelled by Royal and new FCC provided for the cancelled cruise.  Calculating the new FCC and accounting for the original FCC took some effort.  

Keep detailed notes.  

[F1guynz]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

I was once told by a travel agent "No FCC" for cancelled NRDB.  Deposit was $250.  I went back and escalated it.  I got $150 FCC on both.

Truth is I am beginning to loathe FCC.  I have six I'm juggling now.  It's money, but it's a PITA to track them.  Keep detailed notes. 

When using one of those, one agency made me pay in full and promised a refund of the FCC amount.  That took over 2 months.

Another agency removes the FCC from the cruise fare on my invoice but doesn't note that anywhere, it's just a lower cruise fare.  That's got implications when you go searching for price drops later on.  

Then two cruises where I had applied FCC were cancelled by Royal and new FCC provided for the cancelled cruise.  Calculating the new FCC and accounting for the original FCC took some effort.  

Keep detailed notes.  

I am writing my response to them now documenting it all with screenshots and time and date.

I suspect the problem is they use a website template for the different markets and this anomaly has slipped through the cracks.

I am happy to abide by their policy and just receive my $200FCC and trust they will fix the website to reflect the true T&Cs

 

[F1guynz]

I emailed the CEO of the Australia and New Zealand region and she has forwarded me email onto a Escalations and Guest Engagement Specialist.

Hopefully they will see things the same way I do.

I have sent them this screenshot pointing out their website indicates we should get a FCC of $200 for our initial $400 deposit.

I think I am reading the disclaimer at the bottom of the screen correctly.

 

[twangster]

27 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

I think I am reading the disclaimer at the bottom of the screen correctly.

Looks pretty much like our wording up here.

FCC = deposit minus the $100 fee as written.  

[F1guynz]

Interestingly if you get the quote in Australian dollars the working is different.

So either the policy is different between Australia and New Zealand or they missed something.

[twangster]

28 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

Interestingly if you get the quote in Australian dollars the working is different.

So either the policy is different between Australia and New Zealand or they missed something.

Update the thread as this plays out.  Should be interesting.  

[twangster]

FWIW - A North American booking a Sydney cruise on the US website yields the standard US verbiage:

• *Price is per person, cruise only, reflects any promotional savings, and is subject to change and availability until booked. Non-refundable deposit booking (“NRDB”) cancelled prior to final payment due date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit minus a $100 per person service fee. FCC is non-transferable and expires after 12-months from issue date. 100USD/100CAD/80EUR per person service fee applies to changes to NRDB ship or sail date.

[F1guynz]

Ironically, I wasn't even cancelling, but rebooking to take advantage of a lower price.

I find their whole policy wording a bit loose. E.g. "Subject to cancellation charges" but what are those charges. I think it should state you will lose the entire deposit.

I am grateful you can change cabins to take advantage of a price deduction as you can't do that with merchandise in stores or airline tickets for example, but on the other I find it frustrating that the U.S policy seems much fairer when re-pricing an existing booking as it shouldn't be necessary to cancel to modify an existing booking.

In the old days on the website there used to be an option to upgrade your cabin but that kind of functionality has been greatly reduced.

In New Zealand a Travel Agent would charge $500 to cancel and rebook which is why it is easier to deal with RCI direct, or maybe MEI now that they offer their services to Australia.

[twangster]

151 days seems a bit harsh as well but at least it states 151 days.  Our wording just says "final payment due date" like everyone knows when that is.  

[F1guynz]

I got my FCC today for $200 which is valid for 2 years.

My request for the policy clarification has also been forwarded to the team that looks after the website and repricing.

At present the disclaimer is still on the website for bookings made in NZD so hopefully it will still be there when making a future booking.

i will make sure I grab a screenshot before finalising any booking.

 

 

[twangster]

Good for you, great news.

Keep detailed notes when you use the FCC.  If you ever make future changes it’s easy to lose the accountability of the FCC.  If they cancel a future cruise booking it’s easy to lose track of the FCC in the refund process or re-issue of the FCC.  

Do the terms and conditions state Royal only by brand?

[F1guynz]

14 minutes ago, twangster said:

Do the terms and conditions state Royal only by brand?

Yes, it’s only usable on Royal.

they sent me a jpeg and the email address I can use to apply it.

it is not available to use on Easter or Christmas sailings either but is good for 2 years.

i am just going to apply it to the September cruise that I rebooked.

[twangster]

In the US, FCC is valid for one year.  It’s nice you have two years.  

[twangster]

Just an FYI as a point of reference.  I booked Ovation to NZ in 2020 as refundable on the US website.  Once I secured flights at a decent mileage redemption I was able to convert to NRB which shaved $425 USD off the price.  

No fees or cancelation required to convert.  A phone call to C&A and it was done in seconds.