Royal Tightens Cancellation Policy

Royal Caribbean became the second major cruise line to crack down on its cancellation policy, when it announced this week an earlier deadline for cruisers to get back their deposit.

Starting on March 7, guests booked on cruises four nights or less will have to cancel 75 days in advance to get their full fare back, while guests booked on cruises five nights or longer will have to cancel 90 days in advance.

Previously, Royal gave cruisers on sailings of four nights or less 60 days and those on sailings of five nights or more 75 days to cancel and get a full refund.

And in the new policy, penalties for cancelling get harsher as the sailing date moves closer.

The new system will only give a guest 50% of their fare back if they cancel 56 to 29 days in advance, and 75% if they cancel 28 to 15 days in advance. Anything canceled less than 15 days in advance can’t be refunded.

Norwegian announced similar changes in December.

In the past, Norwegian customers could cancel a five-day sailing 45 days from the departure date and only forfeit the deposit. Now travelers have to cancel 57 days in advance to do the same, as cancelling 45 days from departure would cause a 50% penalty.