Just in case you thought going on a cruise meant escaping the real world…not so much. As of Saturday, it’s going to be tougher to cancel a cruise if you’re booked on Carnival, the biggest cruise line in the world. Because it’s the biggest, the smaller cruise companies will likely fall in line.
It’s all wrapped up in “deposits” and “50 per cent and 75 per cent penalty windows” but here’s what it’s all about…
• Cruise lines are getting more cancellations than usual.
• Too many beds are being held by deposits and then lost at the last minute.
• Last-minute cancellations are going to cost more, just like they do in other parts of the travel industry.
How much more? If your deposit is higher than your cancellation penalty, the deposit will become the cancellation penalty.
When profits are suffering, as they are virtually everywhere, that’s the real world.
We were on one cruise and had made a deposit to be used sometime in the next 12 months. Uncertain we could make the decision in a year, the cruise sales manager said it was no problem, just to book a cruise and then cancel/change it before the 12 months were up.
Somehow we think that might not work today.