Cruise line will enforce a new cancellation policy starting March 4

Princess Cruises is changing its cancellation policies. Under its revised guidelines, passengers who want to avoid the 100% cancellation fee must cancel their cruises at least 30 to 60 days before their sailing dates.

This new timeframe will apply to all cruises booked on Princess cruise ships from March 4, 2024 onwards. Current bookings will not be affected.

The cruise line’s existing policy is to charge passengers a 100% cancellation fee at least 14 days from their cruise dates. The new policy makes the 100% cancellation fee applicable much earlier, discouraging last-minute cancellations and giving the company more time to re-sell the freed-up slots.

For cruises 1 to 24 days long, the cruise line will deduct 100% of the total charges if the passenger cancels their trip 30 days or less from the departure date. Itineraries at least 25 days long will be subject to a 100% cancellation fee if they are canceled within 60 days from embarkation.

The tables below detail the corresponding cancellation fees based on the length of the voyage and the number of days from sailing.

Fees for 1 to 24-Day Cruises
Number of Days Before the Cruise	Cancellation Fee Based on Total Charges
90 days or more	No cancellation fee
75 to 89 days	25%
61 to 74 days	50%
31 to 60 days	75%
30 days or less	100%

Fees for 25-Day Cruises and Longer
Number of Days Before the Cruise	Cancellation Fee Based on Total Charges
120 days or more	No cancellation fee
113 to 119 days	Amount of deposit or 30% of total charges for World Cruises
61 to 112 days	50%
60 days or less	100%

This means that passengers will begin to accrue penalties a lot sooner. Based on the outgoing policy, passengers forfeit a portion of their payments between 45 and 90 days before sailing.

With the new rules, passengers can lose a percentage of their payments if they cancel within 75 and 113 days of their cruise.

Also, Princess Cruises is extending the final payment deadline for cruises five days or shorter from 75 to 90 days.

This is another reason to always purchase a travel insurance policy with a cancel for any reason (CFAR) rider attached.