Refundable Fare

[togo]

Anyone know if  refundable fares are still offered?  I can't seem to find any information on this other than it appears only non refundable fares are offered now.

[Last Lion]

And does non refundable mean your deposit turns into a FCC?

[FionaMG]

46 minutes ago, togo said:

Anyone know if  refundable fares are still offered?  I can't seem to find any information on this other than it appears only non refundable fares are offered now.

I guess you mean refundable deposits. Yes, they are but you have to go all the way through to almost the end of the online booking process to see how much the supplement is. It varies depending on the ship and sailing date; there is no standard amount.

If you work with a travel agent they will be able to get both prices for and save you the hassle.

[togo]

Yes, I meant deposits.  thank you.  I'll try that.

[FionaMG]

37 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

And does non refundable mean your deposit turns into a FCC?

With a non-refundable deposit, any change to the ship or sail date will incur a $100 per person penalty. The remainder of the deposit will count towards the fare on the new sailing.

If you cancel completely I believe that the new rules mean you lose the whole deposit. That's the way it's always been on this side of the pond but I think it's a change to the previous situation in the North American Market. Perhaps someone Stateside can confirm this.

[BrianB]

During the restart different rules were tweaked to give people more confidence to book. One of those was the ability to cancel for any reason up to 48hrs prior to the sailing. Then a FCC would issue.

But alas, those days are over and we’re back to the old ways. I’m in the US. Changing ship or sail date results in the $100 change fee…if done more than 48hrs from the original booking. Cancelling a non-refundable deposit results in the loss of deposit pre-final payment date…and then the additional scheduled percentage loss after that date.

However, as a note…there is no change fee if I change cabin categories on the same ship and sail date. If I go from a reserved suite category down to a balcony…then there is no fee and the deposit just switches over to the new cabin.

[togo]

So, is it your understanding that even if I were to cancel and attempt to reschedule say 6 months ahead, I would still lose the entire deposit or be charged the $100 per person fee to change and apply the deposit to a new cruise?

[teddy]

We've moved a couple cruises recently, both of which were booked with non-refundable deposits.  In each case, we paid a change fee of $100 pp to move the cruises.  The deposits were moved to the new cruise.

For example, we moved a cruise from March of 2024 to March of 2025 (two guests on the booking).  When we booked the cruise for 2024, we paid a non-refundable deposit of $500.  When we moved to one in 2025, we paid an additional change fee of $100 pp ($200 total).  The deposit transferred.

Our travel agent did all the heavy lifting for us.  All we did was ask her to move the cruise.

[togo]

Interesting.  I wish they were more clear in the explanations.

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, togo said:

So, is it your understanding that even if I were to cancel and attempt to reschedule say 6 months ahead, I would still lose the entire deposit or be charged the $100 per person fee to change and apply the deposit to a new cruise?

If you book refundable there would be no fee to make a change as long as it's prior to final payment. 

The refundable option appears once you select the cruise and put in all the passenger info. It's on the same page where you select dining time and prepaid gratuities and travel assurance.

It will increase the total price that you are committing to pay for the cruise by booking refundable. Sometimes the difference between that and the non-refundable price is large and sometimes it is small. You will be locking in at that price in exchange for them holding onto your deposit. If you change your mind, you get the full deposit back as long as it's prior to final payment.

[togo]

Right, I was able to find that.  But in my case, it is for a transatlantic in 2024 and for a refundable deposit, it's an extra $500.  I wonder if i'm better getting nonrefundable then if i have to cancel, just taking the $200 change fee to put towards another cruise?  If that is how it works?

 

[togo]

*and put the deposit towards another cruise if that's even possible

[WAAAYTOOO]

Personally, I think $500 difference in cruise fare for a refundable deposit on a Transatlantic is awesome.  I would jump right on that !  Then you have the flexibility to change your mind.  Undoubtedly, the cruise fare will eventually go up more than $500.  

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, togo said:

Right, I was able to find that.  But in my case, it is for a transatlantic in 2024 and for a refundable deposit, it's an extra $500.  I wonder if i'm better getting nonrefundable then if i have to cancel, just taking the $200 change fee to put towards another cruise?  If that is how it works?

 

You lose the $200. It's the remainder of your deposit that goes towards another cruise. So if your deposit was $250 pp = $500 for two guests, Royal will keep $200 if you change and the remaining $300 will go towards the new cruise.

So, if you are wavering and not fully committed to the cruise you're currently looking at, you have to ask yourself if you're willing to give up those $200 if you change your mind. Or whether the additional cost for the refundable deposit is worth it, in your opinion, for the complete freedom it gives you to change to another cruise without penalty as long as it's before final payment date.

Note that you can also book refundable for now and then change to non-refundable once you are absolutely committed. But before you do that you need to do a price check because it's entirely possible that, by the time you are able to say you're definitely going, the non-refundable price will actually be higher than your refundable rate.