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What is the difference between L&S, cruise with confidence and booking refundable.


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I usually book a cruise refundable and take advantage of price decreases that happen later without having any change fee.  Booking refundable allows the option of cancelling with a refund before the final payment date.  Usually, the price difference between refundable and non-refundable isn't that much.  When it gets closer the final payment date I switch to non-refundable when I am more certain about going on the cruise.

Now, I am looking at a cruise for next year to replace one that was cancelled in April 2020.  "Cruise with confidence" allows a FCC but not a refund IF I book non-refundable and IF I cancel.  L&S allows some limited changes but booking refundable allows ANY change.  The price difference between refundable and nonrefundable is $400 for the cruise I'm looking at.  

Am I wrong in thinking that booking refundable is still the best option since the cruise is April 2021?  It was a pity that L&S wasn't available when the April 2020 cruise was cancelled.

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The key to understanding Cruise With Confidence and Lift & Shift is the timing.

  • When you book refundable, you get back 100% of what you paid in (including deposit money) if you cancel; but only up to final payment date. After final payment, penalties start to accrue, and the closer to sail date the less you'll get back
  • Also with refundable booking, you can make the choice to move that booking to another sailing at the new sailing's current rate, once again at any time up to final payment
  • Cruise With Confidence is like "gap insurance" for the time after final payment; under CWC, you can get full credit for the cruise, without any penalties, if you choose to cancel the booking entirely anywhere between final payment date and 48 hours before sail date
  • Lift & Shift is similar, in that you can reschedule your sailing for an equivalent one up to a year out, +/- 4 weeks from the original sail date, between final payment and 48 hours from your sail date
    • Unlike moving the booking before final payment, you have your current price preserved and do not have to pay whatever the difference is with current rates for the future sailing, as long as you book the same cabin class and category
    • But using L&S is less flexible than moving to a different booking before final payment; you have to pick an equivalent sailing, and can't change to just any alternate itinerary you've found. If there is no equivalent in the coming year, you cannot Lift & Shift

Hope this helps!

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@JLMoran  Thanks ... I vaguely understand most of that.  I'm hung up on the price difference between refundable and nonrefundable--- $400 for the cruise I'm looking at.  I haven't seen that much of a price difference before.  I usually don't change too much once I book a cruise but I like to reprice it.   Booking refundable allows any option before the final payment date but getting a refund seems to be horrendous.

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5 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

I'm hung up on the price difference between refundable and nonrefundable--- $400 for the cruise I'm looking at.

There is sometimes an even bigger difference between refundable and non-refundable.  IMO, if you don't mind getting back FCC, then with CWC, non-refundable is the way to go.  It's cheaper.

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@Dad2Cue, to be clear -- you don't have to book nonrefundable to use either CWC or L&S. I just used Lift & Shift on my refundable booking for an Iceland & Greenland cruise with celebrity. It stayed refundable after doing the Lift & Shift, and I still have the option to cancel with a full refund if I do it before the new final payment date. So you can keep your booking refundable all the way through final payment date (which I realize is a break in pattern for you), or do your usual thing and make it non-refundable just before then.

Also, with a non-refundable booking you can still reprice the cruise without any penalties. As long as you stay on the same cruise and in the same cabin category, you can still take advantage of any price drops. I've done that in the past even after changing from a refundable to nonrefundable booking.

The "refundable" part here is just the deposit money; the rest of the cruise fare is always refundable before final payment. The only thing you can't get refunded as  cash with non-refundable bookings is the money you paid for the deposit, but even that still gets returned to you; it's just a future cruise credit instead of cash / credit card refund.

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The difference between refundable fares and non-refundable fares can vary wildly.  

For a studio balcony on Odyssey the difference was substantial, much greater than $400 and that's for one person (it was over $800 IIRC).  For other sailings sometimes they are the same price but you have to ask before finding that out.  

$400 stated on its own doesn't mean a lot.  Is that $400 on an $8,000 cruise? Is it $400 on a $1,000 cruise?  Is that per person or the total for a family of six?

When booking distant cruises refundable is always a strong contender because of uncertainty.  Who knows with certainty what they'll be doing two years from now?  

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

There is sometimes an even bigger difference between refundable and non-refundable.  IMO, if you don't mind getting back FCC, then with CWC, non-refundable is the way to go.  It's cheaper.

I don't mind the FCC I currently have.  I don't really want or need any more FCC given all the uncertainties at the present time.  Then again, refunds seem uncertain too.  I like L&S and CWC but is that enough to book non-refundable?

@twangster  $400 on a $3500 cruise for 2 people ... not per person.

@JLMoran I thought a reprice on a non-refundable booking involved a $100/person change fee as a way to discourage small price adjustments except when an upgrade is involved.  I can't keep all the rules straight anymore.

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5 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

@JLMoran I thought a reprice on a non-refundable booking involved a $100/person change fee as a way to discourage small price adjustments except when an upgrade is involved.  I can't keep all the rules straight anymore.

The $100/person change fee typically only applies if you change ships or sail date. If I remember right, @Lovetocruise2002 got hit with it one time because she and her family were originally booked in two cabins, but then were able to upgrade to a single suite for all four of them. Want to say it's because the one original cabin got counted as a full cancellation and they had to pay the penalty for the two people who moved into the new cabin with the others.

Other than that, you can even upgrade to a better cabin without penalty as long as you're still on the same sailing.

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Also keep in mind that L&S is only available until August 1st. So you could be able to L&S an April 2021 you book right now to April 2022 but that's only if the itineraries are available. CWC last until April 2022 where if you cancel you won't be assessed the standard penalties. I have reprice/upgraded nonrefundable cruises and paid no fees, I went from a balcony to a Jr. suite and paid the difference. If is more than 14 months away I always do refundable...my advice in the current climate is just do refundable.

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59 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

 I thought a reprice on a non-refundable booking involved a $100/person change fee as a way to discourage small price adjustments except when an upgrade is involved.  I can't keep all the rules straight anymore.

@JLMoran is correct.  I usually book non-refundable and I have re-priced many times, the $100pp change fee is not involved in that.  The only time you get charged the $100pp change fee is when you cancel completely or change ship/sail date.  I have only happen once like @JLMoran described, it was when I went from two connecting cabins to one, because ultimately, that involved "cancelling" one cabin.  A re-price, you are not changing ship/sail date.

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