Change Destinations On A Booked Cruise

[TNewton]

Hello!  I live in the U.S. and booked a mediterranean cruise recently with Royal Caribbean. I have paid some on it but it is not completely paid for. The booking is for September 2025. I am beginning to be really concerened about the cost of airfare which seems to be rising daily for international flights. My question is, will Royal Caribbean allow me to use the money I have put toward that cruise to a different cruise that leaves out of a U.S. port? Thank you! 

[LTR]

I think you just get refunded back to your original form of payment when you cancel the booking.

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, TNewton said:

Hello!  I live in the U.S. and booked a mediterranean cruise recently with Royal Caribbean. I have paid some on it but it is not completely paid for. The booking is for September 2025. I am beginning to be really concerened about the cost of airfare which seems to be rising daily for international flights. My question is, will Royal Caribbean allow me to use the money I have put toward that cruise to a different cruise that leaves out of a U.S. port? Thank you! 

Welcome,

They do allow you to change cruises, but it will incur a $100pp change fee. So, you could call/have TA change the booking, and they will usually deduct this fee from the overall cost. 

[Dad2Cue]

6 hours ago, TNewton said:

My question is, will Royal Caribbean allow me to use the money I have put toward that cruise to a different cruise that leaves out of a U.S. port? Thank you! 

You can use the same deposit and keep the same reservation number and change to any cruise you wish.  There will be a $100 per person change fee if your original cruise was booked non-refundable.  If you booked refundable there won't be a change fee. 

The cruise itself ... as in "Mediterranean Cruise" has no bearing on the cruise you change to. You can change to a Caribbean Cruise or any other cruise.  When I did this same thing, the cost of my new cruise was much less than the cost of my Mediterranean Cruise so my balance due was less.  There was an additional line item on my new cruise receipt with the same reservation number that reflected the $200 change fee.  I hardly noticed the $200 change fee since my balance due decreased.

I did this a few years ago so things might have changed.  I did it during the Covid era when policies weren't very stringent.   I recently asked a NextCruise rep when I booked a TransPacific cruise to Australia for next year. She said I could still do this with the $100 pp  change fee added on to whatever cruise I changed to.

You can't cancel your original cruise and book a new cruise and use the money you have already paid --- it has to be "changed" and not cancelled.

[FionaMG]

Just to add to what the other posters have said, be aware that if you booked with a non-refundable deposit and you cancel outright you would lose the entire deposit and not just the $100 pp change fee. For this reason, it's very important to make sure that whoever handles the switch for you fully understands that you are changing an existing booking as opposed to cancelling one and making a completely new one.

[HeWhoWaits]

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

it's very important to make sure that whoever handles the switch for you fully understands

"I want to modify my reservation on booking number 12345678." NEVER use the word "cancel" at any point in the conversation.

[Gadget Hackwrench]

You can also try asking the captain once on board to reroute the ship to the port you would rather visit.

[TNewton]

Thanks so much, everyone!