When Royal Caribbean International announced on Aug. 1 that it was ending an onboard credit for guests who booked a fare with a nonrefundable deposit, it was accepted by travel advisers but not applauded.
The credit of up to $100 was another arrow in the quiver for those agents trying to book the riskier deposits. It will disappear on Nov. 1.
Nonrefundable deposit fares will still be cheaper than those booked with fully refundable deposits. But the onboard credit provided a second argument in their favor, agents said.
"It just makes it sound richer," said Jill LaBarre, owner of Jill's Great Escapes in Orlando.
In addition, LaBarre said the credit was a feature that guests were more likely to hear about when using an agent, as opposed to buying online.
"Unless you're using a travel agent, you miss the value-add," she said.
The idea that clients were getting something for free was appealing, LaBarre said.
"I think the onboard credit was a nice added touch," she said. "From an agent's perspective, anything extra that clients get is really so well received."
Royal said the credit was being eliminated because internal research revealed that it was not a significant factor in guests choosing the nonrefundable option.
The resources behind it will now be used to further lower the fare, said senior vice president of sales, trade support and service Vicki Freed.
"Guests will be getting a much better price," Freed said.
When guests paying a nonrefundable deposit cancel, they get a future cruise credit equal to their deposit less a $100 change fee. The credit expires in a year.
Royal Caribbean adopted the program last year in an effort to reduce booking churn.
So far, agents haven't heard much from customers about the offer being canceled.
Uf Tukel, co-president of WMPH Vacations in Delray Beach, Fla., said, "It's too bad that they're getting rid of it, but I don't think there will be much pushback until it is actually gone."
Tukel speculated that Royal may have let the onboard credit lapse because it wasn't broadly promoted by travel agents.
"I'm sure part of the issue is that many travel agencies have not been aggressively promoting the benefit of this $100 [credit] with nonrefundable deposit. As a result, Royal probably sees this benefit as not significantly moving the needle on sales."
He added, "It's too bad, because this is truly a benefit that is good for the consumer and travel agent, because it does not affect our commissions either."
Other cruise lines with nonrefundable deposits don't offer an onboard credit as a regular part of the fare. Carnival said it currently has a limited promotion with a $50 onboard credit as part of its Early Saver offer.
The discount for accepting a nonrefundable deposit with Royal varies by sailing, but is generally in the $80 to $100 range, according to an online fare check of two sailings in 2019 and 2020.
For example, a Central Park balcony cabin on a Harmony of the Seas sailing on Nov. 3, 2019, is $1,042 per person with a refundable deposit and $962 without.
Dana Coulsting, an agent at Slaydon's Travel in Chesapeake, Va., said the loss of the onboard credit "certainly makes it less enticing for somebody to want to put money up front that far in advance."
But Coulsting said some clients are sailing "come heck or high water," so the lower fare might benefit them "even if it's at the expense of not getting the onboard credit with it."