Slow Refund After Cancellation

[Canadian Sunset]

My husband and I booked a 23 day cruise Miami/Manaus/Miami some time in late March. A couple of weeks later, the fear of Zika, combined with a family health issue, caused us to reconsider and cancel the cruise. To this date we are still awaiting a refund.

 

The cruise companies want our money right away, but certainly take their time giving it back which is quite frustrating. We were told it was issued May 24, but our travel agent hasn't seen hide nor hair of it. We're hoping that Oceania will stop payment on cheque 1 and reissue another.

 

We have dealt with our travel agent for over 20 years and she is very honest and thorough. We hope Oceania will be the same.

[LHT28]

My husband and I booked a 23 day cruise Miami/Manaus/Miami some time in late March. A couple of weeks later, the fear of Zika, combined with a family health issue, caused us to reconsider and cancel the cruise. To this date we are still awaiting a refund.

 

The cruise companies want our money right away, but certainly take their time giving it back which is quite frustrating. We were told it was issued May 24, but our travel agent hasn't seen hide nor hair of it. We're hoping that Oceania will stop payment on cheque 1 and reissue another.

 

We have dealt with our travel agent for over 20 years and she is very honest and thorough. We hope Oceania will be the same.

 

If you paid by credit card it should be returned to your card

I do not understand why your TA would get a cheque from Oceania :confused:

 

Were you prior to final payment date when you cancelled the cruise ?

 

In our experience the refund from Oceania was on our CC within a week of cancelling

Edited June 8, 2016 by LHT28

[StanandJim]

I agree, we had to cancel two in a row, also because of a family health issue, and the refunds were instantaneous.

 

In fact, in checking my records, one of them hit my credit card on the very day that we called the Travel Agent.

[orchestrapal]

I agree, we had to cancel two in a row, also because of a family health issue, and the refunds were instantaneous.

 

In fact, in checking my records, one of them hit my credit card on the very day that we called the Travel Agent.

 

We also had to cancel a b/ b two weeks ago and had the refund on our CC in three days. Great service I think!

[Hawaiidan]

1. your in a foreign country with a currency differential

2. you wrote a check not using a credit card

3 have to go through hoops and process/ exchange rates in and out.

4 go through an agent in a foreign country ( I assume) with funds sent to him to you...via international banking requires a long drawn process of calculations and time.

 

Booking 101: use a credit card or nothing for all business, Its insured ofr reliability, insured for travel, and processed electronic in seconds. It also gets you points and miles.....

 

Checks /cash are dead in the business world... requires hours of labor to process. convert and distribute.

 

 

I made 3 cancels in the past 8 months, used a credit card...had funds re deposited through my Agents request... but NOT requiring hard cash transfer to him.

Got re credited in less than 5 working days

 

You never use cash check or wire transfer.... Credit cards are the proper and expedient currency of today. If you ignore this truth then it may take a month for all the details to get processed

Edited June 8, 2016 by Hawaiidan

[Cruise Junky]

I'm currently at the two week mark and still waiting. No currency difference, it was booked in Canadian and in my experience it doesn't slow down the process. A class that was cancelled a week after I cancelled the cruise, the refund showed on my account tonight. No question, they're slow!

[JimandStan]

No question, they're slow!

 

Looking at it entirely from your perspective, that does seem true-

 

Yet deposits may sometimes run to the thousands, therefore the rules about how they are refunded must cover every eventuality.

Everyone is not as honest as you are, and there are pitfalls.

 

money laundering

noun

the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving the international accounts of legitimate businesses.

[bitob]

Our experience -- takes three weeks to be returned to credit card

 

 

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[LHT28]

Could be an issue with the CC company when they post it back to your account

I have not waited more than a week for my refunds

[Cruise Junky]

Could be an issue with the CC company when they post it back to your account

I have not waited more than a week for my refunds

 

You never know but I doubt it. It's never been an issue in the past with anything else and as I mentioned I had a $2,400 class was cancelled on me a week after I cancelled the cruise and that was refunded yesterday - same card

[LHT28]

You never know but I doubt it. It's never been an issue in the past with anything else and as I mentioned I had a $2,400 class was cancelled on me a week after I cancelled the cruise and that was refunded yesterday - same card

Have you checked with Oceania to see when/if it was refunded & the date?

[Cruise Junky]

Have you checked with Oceania to see when/if it was refunded & the date?

 

I'll give them until after Christmas until I raise it. I did confirm the cruise was actually cancelled

[ronrick1943]

It really shouldn't be a problem-I wouldn't wait I'd make that call now.

[azam71209]

The OPs experience also raises the issue of travel insurance. If you bought the insurance from your TA and your TA gets the refund and doesn't pass it on to you, you're toast. Same if you bought the insurance from Oceania and they never send the refund. Check the fine print. Travel agencies and cruise lines do go bankrupt or have poor business practices.

 

Always buy your travel insurance independently. That way, if your refund never shows up, you can file a claim with the insurance and they will handle it from there.

 

In any case, use a credit card and make sure the payment is immediately posted to your Oceania account, to avoid the TA who is using your payment to pay other bills. Then track whether the refund is to be sent to you or to the TA.

 

Mary

[orchestrapal]

Just looked at our credit card on line and saw refund from Oceania for which we filled out the TA refund form on Thursday 12/22, it showed up today. Good work Oceania.

[Cruise Junky]

Had my TA follow up. My cruise was cancelled on the 12th, they refunded it on the 23rd - should be on my card tomorrow. That's exceptionally slow.

[Paulchili]

Had my TA follow up. My cruise was cancelled on the 12th, they refunded it on the 23rd - should be on my card tomorrow. That's exceptionally slow.

 

I agree that it is slow but not that it is exceptional.

Instead, I would call it more customary than exceptional. I tend to think that it is a policy of your CC rather than Oceania's policy.

It has been my experience with all credit cards that they charge you instantaneously for any purchase and refund you in one or two billing cycles. It's just one of those things one cannot fight. Like when oil prices go up, gas at the pump jumps (a lot) in seconds and when the oil price drops, it takes pumps for ever to lower prices (if they even bother to lower it at all).

[JVilleGal]

Refunding 300+ credit cards after researching each guest and their pre-cruise purchases and getting it right can't be easy. Nor can it be done over night. JMO

 

 

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[Cruise Junky]

I agree that it is slow but not that it is exceptional.

Instead, I would call it more customary than exceptional. I tend to think that it is a policy of your CC rather than Oceania's policy.

It has been my experience with all credit cards that they charge you instantaneously for any purchase and refund you in one or two billing cycles. It's just one of those things one cannot fight. Like when oil prices go up, gas at the pump jumps (a lot) in seconds and when the oil price drops, it takes pumps for ever to lower prices (if they even bother to lower it at all).

 

How can it be anything to do with my card when Oceania did not process the refund until 11 days after cancellation? I have the cancellation confirmation dated the 12th. This is on O not my Amex. And while 3 weeks for a refund is not the end of the world that is exceptionally slow with today's technology.

[JVilleGal]

Apologies I thought the entire cruise was cancelled. But YOU cancelled, not O. While O may have been slow your TA should have been riding them.

 

 

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[Paulchili]

How can it be anything to do with my card when Oceania did not process the refund until 11 days after cancellation? I have the cancellation confirmation dated the 12th. This is on O not my Amex. And while 3 weeks for a refund is not the end of the world that is exceptionally slow with today's technology.

 

That being the case, the delay is indeed more on Oceania than your Amex.

IME the delay is usually with the CC part of the refund; your Amex acted quickly.