remydiva

32 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

Remydiva,  I can’t remember...were you in pause 1 and cancelled before Princess announced the first pause?  

Yes we were in Pause1

WE cancelled on Mar 5 As hubby is at risk health wise (after getting the email from princess reassuring all was well and If we did NOT cancel, here’s some extraOBC. )

Applied for AON insurance cancel

fir any reason .

Mar 12 Pause 1.. applied for option 2 while AON insurance claim still in the works.

Mar17 AON closed our claim

saying Princess was handling the refund.

Got about 50% back on credit card in April.

Got FCD back two weeks ago.

Got rest of $$ refund on Friday May 22.

Still have NOT got extra 25% FCC.

55 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I received my full refund from Carnival within 30 days (I thought they would be the line I would have to fight with to be honest). Cancelled same day as Princess, sailing date a week after Princess.

 

Also cancelled same day was a sailing for later in the year with RCCL that had not yet been cancelled by the cruise line. Only deposit was paid but final payment was coming and I didn't think the cruise would sail. I received the refund within a week.

 

Fellow TAs in my office are reporting that Celebrity has been doing a good job - within 30 business days. They are (so far) not impressed with MSC and HAL and REALLY not impressed with Princess.

That’s Interesting @ceilidh.. TAs dealing with multiple companies and clients  should have their finger on the cruise world pulse. These experiences may turn into recommendations when clients ask Them which cruise line to use.

8 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

We had cruises booked with

 

✅MSC x1 (FCC issued after 3 weeks of our cancelled cruise)

✅Royal Caribbean X3 (FCC’s issued after 4 weeks of cruise and some refunds)

✅P&O x1 (Refunds issued 3 days after requesting)

 

🤬Princess x1 67 days waited for items that were cancelled on March 21st, enough was enough. Filed a chargeback dispute with our credit card company today, will be 3 business days in our account.

 

So yes others are handling it much better and with more transparency and you can contact them in many other ways than just a phone call.

With Princess you cannot message on Facebook, they disabled that lifeline 

get told, 30 days, then 60, some people 90. 
Its amateur to say the least and bloody annoying.
 

Whenever I had to return a customers money onto their credit card, it took 3 business days max. Period (regardless of unprecedented times, blah blah blah)

 

Too many cheerleaders waving their Pom poms saying to be patient, if you are given dates and then those dates pass, people’s patience runs thin.

 

Rant over for today.

Flame away 

Happy Days!

 

Heh that's great to hear about other cruise line responses. I've asked before and no one replied!!!

well, it IS a Princess site so guess that makes sense.... and I shall take note that as a past RCL cruiser too.

And you'll get No Pom Pom waving from me..finally .got my $$ after 70 days but no FCC yet.

Happy Days for sure! The world needs them.

5 minutes ago, SCOOTERNINJA said:

Yes, they are easily distinguished.  In the scenario you proposed, the builder actually performed under the contract by completing the build albeit with delay.  In the scenario posed here, the cruise company never performed its obligation under the contract (i.e. providing a ship to passengers to cruise the oceans with port stops).

 

A building contract is ONLY going to obligate the purchaser to pay for the home if it is actually built. If the builder decides not to build the house (or is otherwise prevented from  building the home), then the builder is not entitled to just keep whatever payments had already been made.  In the scenario you posed, baked into the builder's contracts will be clauses dealing with building delays and liabilities that might be associated therewith.  These contracts typically provide that builders will be on the hook  for any actual damages if the home is not built (such as amounts paid for the home build) but may be relieved from  liability for any consequential damages (such as amounts that a buyer may have to pay for a hotel due to building delay).  Under no circumstance can the builder just keep the money already paid because the builder cancelled the home build.

 

Here, the cruise company CANCELLED the cruise.  The cruise never took place and thus the cruise company never performed its obligation under the  contract.  The cruise company is not entitled to keep the benefit of the bargain (i.e. the cruise payments) for a contract that it never performed.  

 

Yes - stuff happens but that is called the risk and cost of doing business.  As a company, it is not right nor lawful to keep money that was paid for a service that was never provided.

ok so the house build not the best example as I never meant to imply the builder KEPT the money...just the delay cost the buyer more so oranges to tomatoes comparison...mea culpa.

However as others have said many activities ARE keeping the money such as cancelled sports clubs my own grandkids swim club were offered 'we keep your money and you can do dry land training' (whoop de doh) OR you get most of it back and pay $25 to be first in line to register for next year. 

It's not a level playing field for sure. Good to hear from another that RCL and DCL paid quickly. My online forum showed unhappy RCL customers too.

In any case, I guess we will have to wait to see what tourism looks like all over the world. Cruises sailing maybe? Ports open? maybe? International flights? when? heck, our border Canada to US is closed so we are FAR from being normal.

Be kind. Be safe.

9 minutes ago, CruisePrincess6 said:

Remydiva—To answer your post—if you put in the contract the clause—Time is of the essence, the contract can be voided and your money refunded after due date.  This can’t be done with our money that Princess is holding and they know it. Again, very bad customer relations.  Canceled a cruise to Europe with Celebrity for this October and deposit was refunded in 2 days.  Would not hesitate to sail with them in the future.

thanks for reply. Your cancelled cruise with Celebrity was in October so not in the Covid Crazy Time. I have cancelled with Princess before after full payment due to health issue and had the money back PDQ via insurance so again, not quite the same thing. I guess my ask was more during Covid, what cruise lines are hitting it out of the ball park?

4 minutes ago, Cruisin_Vol_Fan said:

We canceled our May 11 cruise on March 24 (64 days ago) not long before Princess would have canceled it any way. We are awaing our refund. There is no sign of a FCC in my account, either. 

Our total amount out of pocket isn't huge by some standards, but with a job furlough for me and a large pay cut for my husband, that money would really help cover some costs right now. The inability of Princess to refund our money has confimed we will not sail with them again. Other cruise lines do not seem to have this problem based on friends and family reporting their experiences.

I am sorry for your refund delay; many of us could use the money given the financial impact CoVid is having on the world.

I don't wish to be contrary but I am curious tho what 'other cruise lines' you know of that do not seem to have this problem.?

Many here have also said 'never again' but NOW is the time to find out how other cruise companies are handling this situation.

In fact, I worry about whether Viking (who we have cruised with a few times)will even be around in a year after they had to offer a $600 million 'junk bond' with 13% return.

From my limited research on line, I can't find any that are doing any better.  Please share if you have found some! TIA

1 hour ago, CruisePrincess6 said:

No matter what anyone says, bottom line, they are holding on to our money. Not sure about the legality of this but I do know that they are doing a bad job with customer relations. 

Just a thought re: 'legality'.

...is this really any different than the situation people are in when they purchase a condo or house pre built. There is a contract with a due date but many MANY times unforeseen circumstances and delays cause the postponement of the build completing on time.

I know in my own neighbourhood of condos with promised move in dates last fall that aren't finished. Builder 'is holding onto their money' and the purchasers...more often than not...are not only without the money and their new home, but also incurring extra costs like storage and renting other places.

Just musing....stuff happens.

2 hours ago, Aulanis said:

My FCD  looks like this       so guess  your FCCs are still waiting to be loaded on.

They do seem to do all the bits at different times - many are waiting for FCCs

I am waiting for everything LOL!

 

Mine looks like too.. FCD is back, $$ to credit card back on Monday but no extra 25% FCC.. you’d think it would be done at same time as they wrap up a customers booking.🤷‍♀️

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Thank you!  The cancellation notice that I received on Friday was missing the EZAir fare and showed PVP at $0.01 each for my husband and I so that was clearly a mistake.  But it shows $0 in cancellation fees vs. the $1800 or so on the original cancellation statement issued March 10th.  Our FCD disappeared on May 9th, the date of the cancelled cruise.  Up until that time it was shown as still applied to that cruise.  Fingers crossed!

mine too.... 0.01 for PVP which i figured was just a place holder and $0 cancellation.

with no itemized invoice i just added the first partial refund to todays and compared it my final booking payment and it added up.

2 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Congratulations!  That gives me hope that the rest of our refund and FCCs will be coming soon as well.  We received a cancellation notice out of the blue last Friday so I will be diligently checking Princess.com as well as my credit card for credits from Princess.

Your Friday May 22 notice is just 4 days after mine then.

You should be end of this week or early next then as I got my 'out of the blue' cancellation notice on May 18 with numbers that made no sense to me. But when I added up my two refunds (the initial one when we cancelled Mar 5) and today's it does add up to what we paid in total.

The FCD used to book this cruise had disappeared for about 6 wks off my Captain Circle but it showed back up correctly on Friday.

The bonus 25% FCC for choosing Option 2 however have NOT shown up and at this point I don't know how much it will be...25% of the base cabin fare I'm assuming so that will be handy since it appears the prices have gone up 25% 🙂

I've got my fingers crossed that in less than a week you will be getting your refund.

9 minutes ago, Coral said:

What date did you cancel? I think you cancelled early also?

 

Congrats!

Yes sorry i'll try to add that

cancelled early on Mar 6

then on Mar 12 in the first pause did Option 2.

Received our refund back today on credit card but it was dated May 21.

..its within a dollar of total we paid

 Got back transfers, taxes and Princess Insurance.

Chose Option #2.

Booked through Princess by phone so didn't use a TA.

In Canada.

Got our FCD reinstated last week.

HAVE NOT GOT EXTRA 25% FCC YET.

Got email on May 18 from Princess with a cruise cancellation 'invoice'

Cruise date was April 19 on Regal.

Did NOT phone Princess or PVP.

Did NOT phone credit card.

20 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

They have a step by step manual to refer to, so it really shouldn't be that difficult! I think the issue is that the people on the phones (maybe even customer relations) are not referring to the written policy and just going by what they "think" is right. The fact they are STILL telling people they are processing by departure date when it has already been stated this isn't the case is proof of it. I will try to attach the FAQs for pause 1 - they may be useful for someone!

Princess Q&A.docx 17.26 kB · 2 downloads

Thanks .. the doc sounds pretty clear enough to follow as in If A then do B.

4 minutes ago, travellingnana said:

Then I do need to call, as my FCC consisted only of my cruise fare.  I too cancelled a couple of days prior to the mass cancellations.  Glad to hear you got your reimbursement!  I'm even more concerned since the FCC came a few days ago and nothing else has shown up.😟

 

and my FCD was not reinstated.

So NOTHING is being handled the same... sheesh. On some Princess FB pages they didn’t get back their EZ air .. they got airline credits.
 

It’s like everyone in the refund dept ( if that’s a thing) gets to spin a wheel like on Wheel of Fortune to decide how every case will be handled.  .. like this ..
‘Tell us Bob what this lucky contestant can win today!

’Well if he throws the dice and lands on a black 7 , he’ll get ALL his cruise money AND Ez Air ANd shore excursions back on his credit card in under 60 days.‘
‘Wow ! That’s sounds great Bob!’

‘ yes it is BUT if he lands on a red 7, he only gets half his cruise in cash, half in FCC and his air as a air credit. And if he lands on anything else, well  it’s a crap shoot and I just will punch in random numbers .. when I feel like it.’

it feels like a TV game show of chance as far as his the refunds are being handled.

15 minutes ago, ringers0815 said:

 

In our case (cancelled before the mass cancellations under the March 5 cancellation policy) the FCC was made up of the cruise fare and the fare portion of the EZAir ticket. The reimbursement was made up of the port fees, the taxes on the cruise and the taxes on the EZAir ticket. Pre-paid excursions and gratuities were reimbursed separately on our credit card.

I want to have your experience! That’s exactly my situation but so far .. only my FCD has been reinstated. Nothing else.

11 minutes ago, Eschie said:

I received my full refund today, including EZ Air.  I chose option 2 on March 12th for a May 2nd cruise.

Feeling very relieved.

Wow colour me jealous!

42 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Yup, I got that same email. I actually left it until the last possible minute to cancel as I intended to go - I only cancelled when Canada issued a travel advisory and it was taken out of my hands. My argument with Kara Jean was that I SHOULD have been given the cancellation terms in this email within the 7-10 days I was quoted when I cancelled. I don't even care about the bonus FCC - give me what you said you would when I cancelled.

You'll note the line second from last that says....

 "Guests with Princess Vacation Protection should file a claim via www.aontravelclaim.com in the first instance."

We did...we filed immediately and provided the cancellation confirmation, this email all on Mar 6. After Mar 12 mass cancellation, AON closed the claim and said 

March 17

Dear XXXX
We are in receipt of your trip cancellation claim.  As you may be aware, Princess Cruises has recently halted sailings between March 12, 2020 through May 10, 2020.  The cruise line is currently providing business considerations to those impacted by this decision.  These considerations include a refund of the Princess Vacation Protection plan costs, in addition to compensation for your cancelled cruise.  As the refund of your Princess Vacation Protection plan cost is being made, Aon Affinity is closing your claim at this time.

Please visit Princess.com for information regarding the compensation being provided by Princess Cruises.

Sincerely,

Aon Affinity Travel Practice
Seems pretty clear cut to me.... and yet...here we are Day 70 something???

6 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

That's why I saw red when "Kara Jean" said it. I had held it together until that point because I do recognise it's not the fault of the agents (though it is no excuse for them to be rude and snippy to customers) but as soon as she said that I could feel my anger rising. I still wasn't anywhere near as rude as her but I did ask the exact questions you just asked - if we cancelled FIRST then shouldn't be processed FIRST? Her reply was, "They will get to it eventually". Well sorry, Kara Jean, that's not good enough.

I'm seeing red too.

Here is the Mar 5, 2020 email from Princess. It sure sounded like they were all understanding of those who had concerns, real health risks and thought the prudent thing to do was cancel...which we did (heh, if THEY are worried, maybe we should be too?) So we cancelled. Now apparently , we are considered less desirable clients and are to wait until everyone else is refunded???

March 5, 2020 Dear XXXX We continue to implement increased monitoring, screening and sanitation protocols to protect the health of our guests, crew and the residents of the destinations we serve. Our measures are designed to be flexible to adapt to changing conditions and recommended best practices. For your reference, you can read our Guest Travel Advisory. Nevertheless, we know you have questions about your upcoming cruise. Princess would like to share some policy updates that provide options and flexibility should you want to reschedule your currently booked vacation that sails between now and May 31, 2020.   Sailings departing between March 9 and April 3*: booked guests can cancel up to 3 days prior to departure, receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of the cancellation fee amount, and move your booking to any voyage that departs by December 31, 2021. Sailings departing between April 4 and May 31*: booked guests can cancel by March 31, 2020, receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of the cancellation fee amount, and move your booking to any voyage that departs by December 31, 2021. *Date of departure is from the start date of your cruise or cruisetour, whichever is earlier. If you choose to keep your booking as currently scheduled for departures between March 9 and May 31, you will receive the following Onboard Credit amounts: $100 USD/ $150 AUD per cabin for 3 and 4 day cruises $150 USD / $225 AUD per cabin for 5 day cruises $200 USD / $300 AUD per cabin for 6 day and longer cruises For our guests booked on Crown Princess Mediterranean itineraries, we are finalizing some itinerary changes and a special offer that we will be sharing early next week. Please note that Future Cruise Credits will automatically be applied to each guest's Captain's Circle account after they have cancelled. The Future Cruise Credit will not be available instantly and may take up to 10 business days to be processed. Guests with Princess Vacation Protection should file a claim via www.aontravelclaim.com in the first instance. We appreciate your loyalty and look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely, Jan Swartz

6 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Yup. I'm at the bottom of the pile. Just had it confirmed. They are not looking at those that cancelled prior to Princess until AFTER the Princess cancellations. Not sure about those in mid-cruise....

So IF that’s true as they told you, WHY? It appears they are punishing us who cancelled after, in our case, an email from princess on mar 6 saying ‘heh we know you’re worried about this CoVid stuff and understand if you decide you have to cancel BUT if you don’t, then here’s another $200 OBC’.
Given hubbys age and health risks and we had cancel for any reason AON princess platinum Insurance, we decided the smart thing to do was cancel.

we did and now it appears Princess is saying ‘aw shucks, you go stand over there with the other weinies who bailed early.’

eek

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

The term wasn't used in the webinar - the rep on the phone used it. I've been mulling it over and not sure I like the term. It makes it sound as if they going out of their way to do us a favour. LOL. Like "we will make an exception for you..." To be honest, at this stage I would settle for the original terms at cancellation (around $2300 in refundable amounts back to cc and cancellation penalty of just over $3000 as FCC) - don't do me any favours, just give me what I am owed!

Sorry I knew you’d said it just forgot where 🙂

agree the term sounds like we are being treated differently ..maybe even punished for having the nerve to see the writing in the wall .

57 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

 I was supposed to have been on this cruise.  Nothing received  yet.  But my case is a bit more complex than the standard Pause 1.  I canceled before Princess did their pause but I’m still in pause 1. 

No not ‘complex’  .. we are called ‘compassionate cancellations’ according to what @ceilidh1 was told in webinar.

AND we go to back of the bus in the refund department apparently.

5 minutes ago, latserrof said:

Great synopsis, but as we journalists, you buried the lead:

 

MOST PASSENGERS HAVE GOTTEN NOTHING

haha....and as a writer...a fledgling....I try to keep you in 'suspense' until the AHAH moment at the end which you captured beautifully.

I should add one more point...

12. It doesn't matter if you used a TA , big box store online or booked directly with Princess. We ALL wait!

The delays in receiving compensation has resulted in a lot of conjecture and assumptions and 'I know about IT and accounting' so not going to argue that...pointless.

But here is what we DO know to be 'factual' based on posts.

1. The refunds/FCC/FCD are NOT being processed in any order. Not by cruse date. Not by Option 1 or Option 2. Not by cancellation date. Not by which country you live in.

2. There 'appears' to be different categories of cruise compensation according to those who have spoken with Princess Reps. They are

•  'in transit' for those whose cruise was interrupted midway through. Some have been told THESE ones, perhaps the most inconvenienced of any, are at the BACK of the refund line up! The rationale is likely because these ones are very complicated. Yes, but that doesn't justify not having some very skilled agents deal with them in some order; not last.
• 'Compassionate consideration' for those who cancelled BEFORE the Mar 12 mass cancellation of Phase 1. These are also back of the refund line up, standing just in front of the 'in transit' cruisers. Again, a mixed bag of % refunded already, insurance claims maybe. Deal with it.
• Others. This salad bowl category is everyone else be it multiple cabins, EZ air or not, prepaid gratuities or not, shore excursion or not, gift cards used.

3. It makes no difference if you picked Option 1 or Option 2. One isn't being handled before the other.

4. Some got their 'refunds' back in the mail via cheques/checks.

5.. Others got their monies owed back to their credit card.

6.. Some got their FCD back and reinstated as a FCD (I did) but others got cash back or...nothing at all.

7.. Some got their FCC back first, then about two weeks later got the Princess cash owed back.

8.. Some got their bonus FCC; others did not.

9.. Some got their account squared away on Day 60 or close to. Others, are way WAY past Day 60.

10.. Your Cruise 'status' has no bearing whatsoever on how quickly or not your claim is being dealt with' nor should it.

11.. We are all in this together and it kinda sucks.

THAT much I know to be true. 🙂

4 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

Thanks for the updates.  I’m also one of those in the “compassionate consideration” group.  My mom had Princess cancel for any reason but they denied her claim because Princess said they were issuing refunds.  So she really should get her refund from Princess.  I’m hoping we didn’t slip through the cracks.  

 

The last time I spoke with Customer Relations, they said to give it 60 days from sail date (3/28), so give it until 5/31 and call her then if we didn’t see anything.  I wish on the webinars, they had updates for those of us in this “compassionate consideration” category.

We too are in the ‘compassionate’ pile and also had AON cancel for any reason insurance . Filed claim , and were told princess would do the refund.

aNd here we wait. Mar 12 claim for April 19 cruise. 

6 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

@remydiva @azbirdmom Like you, I am part of pause 1 and received no FCC or refund yet. I just called (as the webinar said). The reservation agent confirmed that I was listed as option 1 request. She was also able to see that the original FCC amount was on the account, even though I am not able to see or access it. The original amount was for the cancellation fee as I cancelled 2 days prior to Princess cancelling. Nothing had been done on the booking since then. She passed me on to customer relations. They told me that the "compassionate" considerations (this is apparently what they are calling those of us who cancelled prior to Princess but included in the pauses) were processed separately from the others. Not surprised to hear this. She then confirmed that nothing had been done on my booking and said that it should have been processed as it was among the first of the cancelled voyages. I told her that I had an email from customer relations stating it had been processed April 29th. She went back through the notes and found the email but said it was incorrect - it had not been processed, only documented. She said she suspected it had been missed and promised to email the correct department and call me before end of day tomorrow to let me know the status. I doubt very much I will receive the call. Just another layer of frustration.

 

Note - they never said on the webinar that REFUNDS had been completed for pause 1, only FCCs. I know that neither of you implied that, but just clarifying for other posters.

. They told me that the "compassionate" considerations (this is apparently what they are calling those of us who cancelled prior to Princess but included in the pauses) were processed separately 
Thanks fir phoning ; I’m sure we’d all get the same info or not?🙄

but yet another new term ‘compassionate considerations’!!!

heh I think those of us who bailed cuz we saw the writing on the wall 6 days before princess pulled the plug should go to front of line for being clairvoyant! Haha

ok well no where to go anyways so guess I’ll just order more books from amazon and wait it out.