Cruise deposit and final payment dates: what changes if you cancel
Your final payment date and the date cancellation charges start aren't always the same day. What Royal Caribbean's and Celebrity's US terms say, with an invented example of what cancelling would cost at each stage.
A cruise booking usually has two dates that matter if your plans change: the day the rest of the fare is due, and the day cancelling starts to cost you money. It’s easy to assume they’re the same day. Under the US terms we read for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, they sometimes aren’t.
This guide covers what each date means, what the two lines’ US pages say happens if you cancel before and after them, and a worked example with invented prices. The terms quoted apply to US bookings and were checked on November 8, 2026. They vary by sailing length, by when you booked and by fare, so the terms on your own booking confirmation are the ones to follow.
The deposit
The deposit is what you pay to hold the booking. Royal Caribbean’s deposit FAQ says the amount varies with cruise length, the number of guests and the stateroom type. Its standard deposits are $100 per guest for one to five nights, $250 for six to nine nights, $450 for 10 to 14 nights and $500 for 15 nights or more, with different rules for suites, Bermuda and some later sailings. It says these terms apply to bookings made in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. We didn’t find a current Celebrity US page that lists deposit amounts, so check the amount on your Celebrity quote.
Whether you get the deposit back is a separate question. Both lines’ US ticket contracts say some promotional fares require a non-refundable deposit, due at booking, which isn’t refunded at any time after it’s paid, and that change fees apply to those bookings (Royal Caribbean contract; Celebrity contract; both checked November 8, 2026). The same contracts say promotional fares can also change the cancellation terms, require a minimum number of guests in the cabin, or bring the payment schedule forward. Look at your confirmation to see which kind of deposit you have.
The final payment date
This is when the whole balance is due.
Royal Caribbean. Its final payment FAQ says final payment must be received at least 75 days before sailing for one- to four-night cruises, 90 days before for five to 14 nights, and 120 days before for 15 nights or more. A different schedule applies to some Alaska, Hawaii, Transpacific, Panama Canal and Pacific Coastal sailings booked on or after September 29, 2026 for departure on or after April 11, 2028. Group bookings have their own schedule.
Celebrity. Its balance-due FAQ doesn’t give a number of days. It says you’ll be told your balance due date when you book, and that if you book within the final payment period, the full balance is due at booking. Check the date on your own reservation.
Missing it. Both US ticket contracts say that failing to make final payment in full on time for everyone in a stateroom may result in cancellation of the whole stateroom’s booking. Put the date in your calendar. If you’ve booked through an agent, Celebrity’s FAQ says you can’t pay the balance online and need to contact the agent.
The date charges start
Cancellation charges depend on how many days before sailing the line receives your cancellation. Both lines’ FAQs say a cancellation notice is effective when the line receives it, not when you send it (Royal Caribbean cancellation FAQ; Celebrity cancellation FAQ; both checked November 8, 2026).
Both lines introduced new schedules for bookings made on or after October 11, 2026. Royal Caribbean also applies its new schedule to some 2028 Alaska, Hawaii, Transpacific, Panama Canal and Pacific Coastal sailings booked from September 29, 2026. The contracts say bookings made before that date follow the schedule shown in the booking confirmation. For bookings made on or after it, the US terms we read show:
| Days before sailing | Royal Caribbean, 5–9 nights | Royal Caribbean, 10+ nights | Celebrity, 6+ nights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 or more | No charge | No charge | No charge |
| 119 to 90 | No charge | 50% | 25% |
| 89 to 61 | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| 60 to 31 | 75% | 75% | 75% |
| 30 or fewer | 100% | 100% | No refund except taxes and fees |
Charges are percentages of the total price, per guest. “No charge” doesn’t include a non-refundable deposit, which is kept. Royal Caribbean’s 1–4 night schedule and Celebrity’s 1–5 night schedule are different again, and so are Celebrity’s Galapagos and river sailings. Both lines’ FAQs say taxes, fees and fuel supplement charges are refunded on cancellation, and that refunds go back to the card you paid with, or to your travel agent if the agent paid.
Compare the final payment dates with this table. For a seven-night Royal Caribbean cruise, charges start at 89 days, the day after the 90-day final payment date. For a 12-night Royal Caribbean cruise booked on or after October 11, the cancellation schedule charges 50% from 119 days, while the final payment FAQ we read still lists 90 days for five- to 14-night cruises. Read together, the two pages suggest a stretch of about a month before final payment in which cancelling could already cost half the price. We couldn’t confirm that from a single source, so check both dates with Royal Caribbean for your booking before relying on either. For a Celebrity cruise of six nights or more, charges start at 119 days, whatever balance date you’re given. If your dates don’t line up the way you expect, ask the line which applies to your booking.
A worked example: one booking, four cancellation dates
Everything here is invented. Two adults book a seven-night Royal Caribbean cruise direct, on or after October 11, 2026, with a refundable deposit. The total price for the cabin is $3,000, and the deposit is $250 each, so $500. Final payment is due 90 days before sailing.
| They cancel… | Days before sailing | Have they paid in full? | Charge | What they lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before final payment | 100 | No, $500 paid | No charge | $0 |
| After final payment | 80 | Yes | 50% | $1,500 |
| 45 | Yes | 75% | $2,250 | |
| 20 | Yes | 100% | $3,000 |
Now change one thing. If the same $3,000 booking were on a non-refundable deposit fare, cancelling at 100 days would lose the $500 deposit rather than nothing. In this invented example the non-refundable deposit equals the standard one; your fare’s amount may differ.
And if it were a seven-night Celebrity cruise booked on the same day with the same invented $3,000 total, cancelling at 100 days would cost 25%, or $750, because Celebrity’s charges for six nights or more start at 119 days.
These are illustrations of the schedules, not quotes. What “total price” covers for your booking, and how taxes and fees are treated, is something to check on your own confirmation. A seller’s offer can also change the terms.
Before you book, and before each date
- Write down three dates: the date you paid the deposit, the final payment date, and the first day a cancellation charge applies. Take them from your booking confirmation, not from a general FAQ.
- Check which deposit you have. Refundable and non-refundable deposits behave differently even inside the “no charge” window. A cheaper fare with a non-refundable deposit isn’t the same offer; see our guide to comparing cruise quotes.
- Know which schedule applies. Before or after October 11, 2026, and which length band your sailing falls in.
- Cancel early enough for it to arrive. The notice counts when the line receives it. If you booked through an agent, Celebrity’s FAQ says agency bookings may follow different terms; our guide to booking direct or through an agent explains who handles a cancellation.
- Think before paying early. Paying in full before the due date doesn’t, on these schedules, move the date charges start, but it does mean more of your money is waiting on a refund if you cancel in the no-charge window.
The final payment date also matters if the fare drops. Royal Caribbean’s price guarantee request window is tied to final payment, as our fare-watch guide explains. And if you’ve taken a guarantee cabin, note that the cabin assignment and the payment dates are separate.
Insurance, flights and hotels booked alongside a cruise have their own terms and aren’t covered here. This is general information about published terms, not advice on whether to cancel.
Sources checked November 8, 2026: Royal Caribbean’s US FAQs on deposits, final payment and cancellation, and its US ticket contract (revision R(US)OCT2026); Celebrity’s US cancellation FAQ, balance-due FAQ and US ticket contract. Terms vary by market, sailing length, booking date and fare, and they change. Keep a dated copy of the terms that came with your booking.