Future Cruise Credit: What It Is and Isn't

A refund goes back to your original payment method. You can spend it anywhere, on anything, with no deadline.

Onboard credit is a balance on your account for the sailing you are on. You spend it on board, on things like drinks, dining or excursions, and it usually ends with that sailing.

A future cruise credit applies to the fare of a sailing you have not booked yet. It does nothing for the cruise you are taking now, and it is only worth its face value if you book again with that line before it expires.

The three are easy to confuse because a line may describe each one as "credit". When a line offers you something, ask which of the three it is, and what it can be spent on.

Cruise lines mostly use future cruise credit when a booking ends without a sailing. The published examples from the lines we track:

• Line cancels or delays the sailing. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both say that if they cancel a voyage or delay embarkation by 3 days or more and you choose not to sail, you can have a refund or a future cruise credit. Their practice is to issue the credit automatically, and you have to ask for the refund, within 6 months.
• You cancel a Carnival Early Saver booking. Carnival's ticket contract says the Early Saver deposit is non-refundable, and a cancellation before the final payment date returns it as a future cruise credit, less a $50 per person service fee.
• You ask Norwegian for a refund. Norwegian's terms say that where it finds you may be owed a refund, its response may include an alternative such as a future cruise credit, which you are free to decline.

Not in the published programs of the lines we track. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity reprice before final payment, with a refund if you have paid in full, and may offer a cabin upgrade afterwards. Carnival's Early Saver lowers the fare if the booking is not yet paid in full, or pays non-refundable onboard credit once it is. Norwegian decides case by case.

So if you are offered a future cruise credit for a fare drop, compare it with the line's own terms before you accept. The price protection pages list each program with its source. Where the terms name a refund, you can ask for the refund.

Every line writes its own terms, and the credit notice you receive is the document that counts. Carnival's Early Saver credit shows the kind of conditions to look for: it is non-refundable and non-transferable, it must be used on a new reservation made within 12 months of cancelling, it can only be applied to the cruise price, and any unused portion is forfeited.

In general, check:

• Expiry. When the credit has to be used by, and whether that means booked by or sailed by.
• What it covers. Often the cruise fare only, not taxes, fees or add-ons.
• Who can use it. Usually only the named guest, with the same line.
• Leftovers. Whether a credit larger than your next fare is kept or lost.
• Your agent. If a travel agent booked the original cruise, the credit may need to be redeemed through them.

A future cruise credit is worth close to its face value if you were going to sail with that line again anyway, inside the deadline. If you were not, it is worth much less than a refund of the same amount. The onboard credit or refund guide makes the same point about onboard credit, and it holds here too.

The better outcome is catching a drop early enough that it comes back as money. CruiseSignal watches your exact sailing and tells you the amount, the program it falls under and the deadline, so you can ask the line for the difference while a refund is still on the table.