Carnival Cruise Lines tightened its cancellation policy so that the penalty increases closer to the sailing. According to a report, the new policy, effective September 11, 2010 makes the customer's deposit the cancellation penalty if it is higher than the 50 per cent or 75 per cent penalty. For example, Carnival said that if a cancellation occurs during the 50 per cent penalty window and the 50 percent penalty is less than the deposit, the cancellation penalty will be the higher deposit amount.

Joni Rein, Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Carnival Cruise Lines explained that after looking at how its inventory was being held, it learned that much of it is tied up in FIT and group bookings that are in a penalty period. "When taking an even closer look, we found that in many cases, the amount it would cost the traveler to cancel in the 50 per cent and 75 per cent cancellation period was actually less than the initial deposit they put down," Rein wrote in a notice to travel agents.

"As you can see, this just doesn't add up and simply doesn't strengthen the way either of us does business. Rather than have penalty amounts decrease closer to the sailing, amounts should be increasing. That ensures your sale is more secure and it ensures that we have enough open space for you to sell," added Rein. Other cruise lines and travel agents also have noticed an increase in cancellations lately, prompting some to take action to help their agents take their bookings the distance.