When you finally decide on a vacation, rarely does one's mind resort to the worst case scenario: cancelling it. Life happens, however, and it's good to be prepared for when the unexpected happens. So, what happens when you book a Princess cruise and have to cancel it?
If you've found yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to scrap your booking, we'll tell you what you need to know about Princess Cruises cancellation policy, what fees may be associated with the cancellation, and what it will take for you to receive a refund, if eligible.
Princess Cruises Refund Policy
When booking a cruise, passengers generally pay a portion of the total cruise fare as a deposit, with the remaining amount due a set number of days prior to the embarkation date (75 days for sailings 5 days or less, 90 days for sailings 6-24 days, and 120 days for sailings 25+ days). After final payment, cancellation fees apply; the closer you are to the sailing date, the higher the fees and the less money you'll get back.
For sailings departing on or after November 1, 2021, Princess Cruises' Cruise With Confidence program no longer applies, and refunds will be given according to the above schedule. Passengers canceling with the relevant windows will receive refunds as noted, less any cancellation fees, which will not be refunded as onboard credit or otherwise.
Travelers who haven't yet made their final payments are eligible to receive full refunds to their original form of payment.
Exceptions and Fine Print
Passengers whose bookings began with a nonrefundable deposit will not receive the deposit amount back. Refunds will not be given for no-shows, nor will partial refunds be given to passengers who choose to disembark a sailing early once it is underway.
If you purchased Princess Vacation Protection, it will not carry over if you cancel and a new booking is made.
Are My Other Travel Arrangements Refundable?
Under the Cruise With Confidence guidelines, if you booked Flexible Air flights through Princess' EZair program, you will receive a refund, minus any cancellation fees, the cost of which will be added to your total future cruise credit. If you booked Restricted Air, the airline will decide whether it will issue you a flight credit.
In either case, if you've booked your own airfare, you will have to contact your airline. Whether or not you will receive a refund or flight credit, or whether you will have to pay change or cancellation fees, will be dictated by your airline's policies.
Cancellation of excursions booked onboard must take place before the cutoff date listed in the shore excursion brochure in order to receive a refund. Excursions involving hotel accommodations, flights and private vehicles must be made at least 30 days prior to sailing. For excursions involving helicopter flights, you must cancel your booking by 12:00 p.m. on the day after embarkation.
Cruisers wishing to cancel shore excursions booked in advance of the sailing date must cancel at least five days prior to embarkation to receive a refund to the original form of payment. Prepaid excursions canceled onboard before the cutoff date will be refunded as onboard credit to the main person on the booking, regardless of who actually paid for the excursion.
Other items purchased prior to the start of your cruise will also be refunded. This applies to taxes, fees and transfers, as well as onboard items.
Passengers are advised to purchase travel insurance for all legs of their trip, including hotels and airfare in addition to merely their cruise. "Cancel for any reason" coverage allows policyholders to file claims to recoup additional costs if the cruise line, airline or hotel is unable to refund the full booking amount.
Check with a travel agent or travel insurance provider, and be sure to read the fine print before making a purchase.
Ashley Kosciolek
Ashley boarded her first cruise more than a decade ago and never looked back. Since then, she has written thousands of expert cruise tip features; ship, port and shore excursion reviews; and industry news articles. Her work has appeared on Cruise Critic, USA Today, the Associated Press, NBC News, the Miami Herald and Huffington Post.
