Deposit and final payment schedules by supplier type: cruise, tours, hotels and flights

Among the suppliers checked in October 2026, cruise lines want final payment 75–120 days before sailing. Escorted and adventure tour operators want it 56–90 days before departure, and up to 180 days for some expeditions. Prepaid hotel rates are charged at booking, and flights have a 24-hour hold or cancel window, not a deposit. Set each client's deadline before the supplier's.

The deposit holds the space. The final payment keeps it. Below are the published deposit and balance rules of 11 named suppliers, the pattern they share, and how to set your own client due dates.

What is a deposit and final payment schedule?

It is the supplier's timetable for getting paid. You pay a deposit to confirm the booking, then the balance by a fixed number of days before the trip starts.

Miss the balance date and the booking can go. Globus cancels the reservation and keeps the deposit, airfare and travel protection premiums. Intrepid treats you as having cancelled if payment doesn't arrive within 3 days of its reminder.

Book inside the window and there is no deposit stage. Celebrity, G Adventures and Intrepid all take full payment at booking when you are already past the final payment date.

When is final payment due on a cruise?

Royal Caribbean wants the balance 90 days before sailing for a typical week-long cruise. Princess now wants it 120 days out on bookings made on or after September 2, 2026. Royal Caribbean's short cruises go to 75 days. Long voyages move out to 120 days.

Royal Caribbean's deposits climb with cruise length. Its FAQ lists $100 per person for 1–5 nights, $250 for 6–9, $450 for 10–14 and $500 for 15 or more. Bermuda sailings are $250 per person at any length.

Watch for schedule changes. Royal Caribbean is moving some itineraries to an earlier deadline. For Alaska, Hawaii, Transpacific, Panama Canal and Pacific Coastal reservations made on or after September 29, 2026, for sailings from April 11, 2028, 10-night cruises and longer move to 120 days.

Promotions can change the deposit too. Carnival's current offers list non-refundable deposits of $25–$149 per person, depending on the ship and sailing length.

When do cruise cancellation penalties start?

Among the suppliers checked, usually the day after final payment is due. That is the real deadline for your traveler, because the money they paid stops being fully refundable.

At Carnival, a cancellation from 75 to 56 days out on a short cruise costs the deposit. Inside 14 days it costs 100% of the total fare. At Princess, 60 days or less is also 100% on cruises up to 44 days booked on or after September 2, 2026. For bookings made before September 2, 2026, that point is 30 days or less on a 1–13 day cruise.

Celebrity doesn't publish a single final payment date. Its FAQ says you are told your balance due date at booking. Its new US contract charges 25% from 119 days on cruises of 6 nights or more, and earlier bookings follow the schedule in their confirmation. Read both dates off each confirmation.

When is final payment due on escorted and adventure tours?

Tour operators want the balance closer to departure than cruise lines do. Among the four checked, the standard date runs from 56 to 90 days out. Deposits run $250–$1,000 per person.

Long-haul and expedition trips pay earlier. Globus moves African, South Pacific, South American and Asian trips to 90 days. G Adventures' Expedition trips need full payment at 120 days and a $1,000 deposit.

The penalty pattern matches cruises. Intrepid charges 30% of the total booking cost from 55 days out, the first day after its balance date. Globus charges 50% from the final payment date to 30 days out. Collette charges 40% from 90 to 16 days out on standard tours.

Do hotels take a deposit?

It depends on the rate, not the hotel. A prepaid rate takes the full amount when you book. A flexible rate takes nothing up front and is paid at the hotel.

On a pay-at-hotel rate, the card is a guarantee. Accor's sales conditions say the card is not debited at booking. On a no-show for a cancellable booking, the hotel charges the first night, including tax.

The prepaid discount is modest. Hilton's Advance Purchase rate commonly runs 7–22% off its Best Available Rate and needs booking at least 7 days ahead. Accor's Advance Saver is up to 15% below its flexible rate.

Hotels also set their own extras. Hilton notes that each hotel's terms might include deposit requirements. Read the rate rules on every booking.

When do you pay for flights?

Airlines don't publish a deposit and balance schedule like cruise lines and tour operators do. The federal rule gives a 24-hour window instead.

Under 14 CFR 259.5(b)(4), each covered carrier must let a reservation be held at the quoted fare without payment, or cancelled without penalty, for at least 24 hours. That applies when the reservation is made one week or more before departure.

A covered carrier is a US or foreign airline flying scheduled or public charter service to, from or within the United States, with at least one aircraft of 30 or more seats.

The airline picks which option it offers. Delta, for example, lets you cancel within 24 hours of booking for a full refund on eligible tickets bought directly from it. That policy excludes travel agency tickets.

What this means for agencies: treat airfare as money due when you ticket. Collect it from the traveler before you book, or inside that 24-hour window.

Deposit and final payment schedules at a glance

These are the published terms of the suppliers named here, as checked in October 2026. They are not industry averages. Promotions, groups and non-US bookings often follow different terms.

How to set your client's payment deadline

Your client deadline should sit before the supplier's, never on it.

1. Start from the supplier's date, not a rule of thumb. Even one line, Royal Caribbean, uses three deadlines by cruise length. Read the date off each confirmation.
2. Count back the time money takes to reach you. Add the days a bank transfer or card payment needs to land in your account, plus the time to pay the supplier yourself.
3. Add room for a reminder. Intrepid gives 3 days after a reminder before it cancels. Give your traveler a reminder and a few days to act before you hit that wall.
4. Use the penalty date as well as the balance date. At Celebrity, charges on new US bookings of 6+ nights start at 119 days. Your traveler's real decision point is the earlier date.
5. Spread the balance with a plan. Collect in installments that end before your client deadline. See travel payment plans for how to set them up.
6. Don't rely on a card hold for months. A hold lasts days or weeks, not 90 days. Authorization holds explains the windows.

What this means for agencies (practical guidance, not a supplier rule): set a client deadline 7–14 days before the supplier's final payment date. That leaves time for a reminder, a failed payment and a second attempt. Use the longer end for bank transfers and international travelers. A booking that cancels for non-payment also takes your supplier commission with it.

For the wider picture of methods and fees, see how travel agencies collect payments.

How Tripdash handles payment schedules

Tripdash Pay sets payment schedules tied to your supplier deadlines, so money arrives when it is due. Travelers can also pay over time with payment plans while your agency collects up front. See how Tripdash Pay works.

Sources

1. Royal Caribbean. When is the final payment for my cruise vacation due?, as checked October 2026.
2. Royal Caribbean. How much deposit is required per booking?, as checked October 2026.
3. Princess Cruises. Cancellation and refund policy, as checked October 2026.
4. Celebrity Cruises. Managing and planning your upcoming cruise FAQs, as checked October 2026.
5. Celebrity Cruises. Cruise/CruiseTour ticket contract, United States, bookings on or after October 11, 2026.
6. Carnival Cruise Line. Terms and conditions of ticket contract, as checked October 2026.
7. Carnival Cruise Line. Specials terms and conditions, as checked October 2026.
8. G Adventures. USA booking terms, bookings made from the US after February 22, 2021.
9. Intrepid Travel. Standard booking conditions, international, as checked October 2026.
10. Globus. Travel terms and conditions, revision of September 8, 2026.
11. Collette. Terms and conditions, as checked October 2026.
12. Hilton. Honors Discount Advance Purchase, as checked October 2026.
13. Accor. Flexible Rate, as checked October 2026.
14. Accor. Advance Saver offer, as checked October 2026.
15. Accor. General terms and conditions of services, last updated July 2026.
16. eCFR. 14 CFR 259.5, Customer Service Plan, as amended July 2, 2026 (91 FR 40371).
17. eCFR. 14 CFR 259.3, Definitions, as checked October 2026.
18. Delta Air Lines. Cancel a flight, as checked October 2026.