Cunard's Coronavirus Cancellations/Refunds (Merged threads)

[Edithclara]

5 hours ago, Edithclara said:

31 Mar:email from Cunard re 12 April QE cruise: complete online form for refund which will take up to 60 days or take 125% FCC

 

2 April:email from TA. 

.....Recently we have had to make some changes to our refund policy, which affects all cancellations. We have been informed by many of our suppliers that refund processing times have increased substantially, this has had an impact on our ability to process refunds within the next 3-6 months Regarding your voyage cancellation we are offering you a choice of future cruise credit as outlined below.

Option A- If you would prefer to receive the future cruise credit offered by Cunard. No further action is required as Cunard will default to this option.

Option B – For passengers not opting for a future cruise credit with Cunard. We will be offering a credit for 100% of your cruise including port fees and taxes, this will be available for you for up to 24 months from your original cruise date. We wish to reassure you that if your credit cannot be used within this period it will be refunded in full however may take 6 months onwards after request.....

 

 

I've emailed my TA asking why there's a difference if the time to process the refund. Ours is a simple one cabin booking. 

A call to our CC might be in order.

[Trevor33]

7 hours ago, Edithclara said:

31 Mar:email from Cunard re 12 April QE cruise: complete online form for refund which will take up to 60 days or take 125% FCC

 

2 April:email from TA. 

.....Recently we have had to make some changes to our refund policy, which affects all cancellations. We have been informed by many of our suppliers that refund processing times have increased substantially, this has had an impact on our ability to process refunds within the next 3-6 months Regarding your voyage cancellation we are offering you a choice of future cruise credit as outlined below.

Option A- If you would prefer to receive the future cruise credit offered by Cunard. No further action is required as Cunard will default to this option.

Option B – For passengers not opting for a future cruise credit with Cunard. We will be offering a credit for 100% of your cruise including port fees and taxes, this will be available for you for up to 24 months from your original cruise date. We wish to reassure you that if your credit cannot be used within this period it will be refunded in full however may take 6 months onwards after request.....

 

 

Please can you confirm that in "Option B" if you have requested a cash refund that Cunard will now only offer a "Credit" - namely a Future cruise Credit available for two years and if not used ONLY THEN after two years you get a cash refund ? Your Clarification would im sure be very useful to many in this situation. 

[Trevor33]

Having just been sent the latest Cunard promotion entitled "Lets Start Dreaming" it is a wonderful inspirational post that reminds me of the the enjoyment of cruising. We would all like it to be the same going forward but personally I am very concerned as to when it may be truly safe to do that again. Perhaps more importantly all cruise lines including Carnival/Cunard are hit with money problems having laid all ships up empty. Carnival/Cunard have perhaps the biggest problem as the Carnival Corporation owns the monopoly of the industry with about 9 cruise lines. Carnival have just borrowed $65 Billion to shore up the business at high interest and we all hope it can survive these troubled times. Carnival share price has understandably collapsed to a 17 year low and having googled latest information on Carnival/Cunard from reliable sources available to all online it is a very worrying situation. Cunard are currently in possession of a large sum of our money along with that of many others and having recently suffered at the hands of the Thomas Cook collapse I am sorry to say that I am equally worried. Online reports state that the company is losing nearly $1 Billion per month whilst the Corporation is unable to sail anywhere - I have no way of comprehending this. Having read many posts regarding refunds, I understand that they are taking longer than the 60 days advised. Has anyone any more information on this? Has anyone received any updates/communications from Cunard as to whether there are any changes to their initial statements? I want to be able to "Start Dreaming" but sadly think that there may be some very choppy seas and possible inclement weather ahead but I will continue to hope and "Dream".

[hypercafe]

This refund dance Cunard is doing is very strange. I wonder if the other Carnival brands are doing the same or has Cunard been thrown under the bus? I canceled a trip with Regent and got the full refund in five days, no if ands or buts. I have a QM trip paid in full for June which I am sure will not happen and I want my 10k back. Unless they file for bankruptcy I don't see how they can keep it for two years.

[Trevor33]

The amount of money Cunard/Carnival Group are "Holding" must be massive, it would be very helpful if they were more transparent like many other companies. Having the monopoly in cruising can have both advantages and disadvantages. Sadly at the moment having just borrowed Billions to support the business and with all ships lying silent, it is (according to online sources)  going to cost  the Corporation $1 Billion a month until ships start sailing again. I note Carnival cruises have stated that their Carnival cruise line not be visiting American and Canadian ports at least the end of 2020 so I guess that would apply to their other cruise lines though logic does not always prevail. With the Cunard website advising cruises will not be resuming until 16 May 2020 it does not seem at all realistic - 42 days time ??

[hypercafe]

Speaking about just Cunard I wonder how much it is costing to get the QM back and what they spent to get most of the people home? Add that to what they already refunded and their cash might be gone. I wonder how much Carnival wants to give them to stay afloat as they are the smallest brand. As for 42 days, our governor said this might not peak here for 7 to 30 days so I can't see a cruise coming here anytime soon.

Edited April 4, 2020 by hypercafe

[Trevor33]

It is surprising that before something like this happens we do not tend to look into the background of the company that we pay our monies to good faith in return for our travels. Someone suggested I should look into this. To be honest I was surprised. It may be different in America but in the UK I had not seen or heard anything about the massive fines for dumping waste at sea that Carnival & Princess had a few years back - one for $20 million and another for much more, I guess all these things drain the funds of even the biggest companies. Most cruise companies have been introducing regular new ships, Currently Carnival P&O ship Iona that is waiting to be named before going into service, Cunard are currently having the latest Queen built for hundreds of millions - I guess when something unexpected happens everything then gets stretched extremely tightly with little light at the end of the tunnel. It is not just when cruises restart it is seriously worth considering how welcome passengers will be made to feel by the local community when they dock and disembark in these cruise ports. Perhaps time ashore may feel very different

[speedwell]

My next cruise is not until May 24th and I'm hoping that, by then, Cunard will have a clear and definite refund policy.

 

Does anyone know why the QM2 is only doing 2 knots in the middle of Walvis Bay?

[Edithclara]

3 hours ago, Trevor33 said:

Please can you confirm that in "Option B" if you have requested a cash refund that Cunard will now only offer a "Credit" - namely a Future cruise Credit available for two years and if not used ONLY THEN after two years you get a cash refund ? Your Clarification would im sure be very useful to many in this situation. 

My understanding is that Option B is for my TA's customers who are NOT opting for a future cruise credit with Cunard. That is, you have opted for a refund from Cunard.

In this case, my TA (not Cunard) will be offering a credit for 100% of the cruise including port fees and taxes which will be available for you for up to 24 months from your original cruise date. If this TA credit cannot be used within this period it will be refunded in full however may take 6 months onwards after request..... It seems to me that this TA's credit could be used for any future cruise you book with this TA, regardless of cruise line. I guess that's some consolation that in this case you aren't restricted to Cunard.

So, if you've told Cunard you want a refund, how long will it take to get a refund from the TA?

1. up to 60 days = Cunard refund period

2. 6 months = 6 months from when you request a refund from the TA (could be anytime during the 24 month TA's credit availability period)

I've emailed the TA asking why they (the TA) say a refund "may take 6 months onwards after request" when Cunard said "up to 60 days". Their automated reply said "We will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible, however due to an overwhelming high volume of enquiries, please allow between 7 to 10 days for one of our dedicated consultants to respond."

When I emailed the TA I hadn't thought the TA might mean that I can't even request a refund from the TA until the TA's 24 months credit availability period has expired. And then it would 6 months onwards after the request. This means the earliest would be 30 months.....YIKES

The TA said "We have been informed by many of our suppliers that refund processing times have increased substantially, this has had an impact on our ability to process refunds within the next 3-6 months.

However, if Cunard say "up to 60 days (= 2 months)", it shouldn't take another 120 days (=4 months) for the TA to process the refund. 

I certainly want my $$ back within a reasonable time after they've received it from Cunard. 

I could be bashing my head against a brick wall!

Stay safe everyone.

 

 

[exlondoner]

47 minutes ago, Trevor33 said:

It is surprising that before something like this happens we do not tend to look into the background of the company that we pay our monies to good faith in return for our travels. Someone suggested I should look into this. To be honest I was surprised. 

 

Surely that is what ABTA is for in the U.K.

 

. It may be different in America but in the UK I had not seen or heard anything about the massive fines for dumping waste at sea that Carnival & Princess had a few years back - one for $20 million and another for much more, I guess all these things drain the fund.

 

it was certainly widely reported over here.

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, hypercafe said:

This refund dance Cunard is doing is very strange. I wonder if the other Carnival brands are doing the same or has Cunard been thrown under the bus? I canceled a trip with Regent and got the full refund in five days, no if ands or buts. I have a QM trip paid in full for June which I am sure will not happen and I want my 10k back. Unless they file for bankruptcy I don't see how they can keep it for two years.

P&O which is a traditionally British based cruise line and heavily integrated with Cunard in Southampton, UK and also part of Carnival is doing virtually if not exactly the same cancellation policies and regular e-mail with statements are word for word exactly the same except for either Cunard or P&O. So I dont think Cunard have been thrown under the bus unless they are holding hands with P&O and are both being thrown under the bus and the virtual UK cruise market by Carnival.

[Desert Cruisers]

4 hours ago, hypercafe said:

This refund dance Cunard is doing is very strange. I wonder if the other Carnival brands are doing the same or has Cunard been thrown under the bus? I canceled a trip with Regent and got the full refund in five days, no if ands or buts. I have a QM trip paid in full for June which I am sure will not happen and I want my 10k back. Unless they file for bankruptcy I don't see how they can keep it for two years.

It is not just Cunard.  We are waiting for refunds/FCC from Celebrity (part of the RCL family) and Princess (part of Carnival).

[Windsurfboy]

're Edithclara post

 

 

Just looked on Cunard website they are still offering a full refund if they have cancelled.  Is it the TA that wants to only offer a credit note

[exlondoner]

33 minutes ago, Desert Cruisers said:

It is not just Cunard.  We are waiting for refunds/FCC from Celebrity (part of the RCL family) and Princess (part of Carnival).

 

Interesting to know. From some of the fury and rancour displayed here, I had assumed Cunard was uniquely evil.

[Edithclara]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

're Edithclara post

 

 

Just looked on Cunard website they are still offering a full refund if they have cancelled.  Is it the TA that wants to only offer a credit note

No,  the TA is not only wants to offer a credit note. They also the full refund. But, it isn't clear to me how long you have to wait for that refund from the TA. Seems they will take longer to process the refund.

From what I've read elsewhere, if you book through a TA, you pay the TA, the TA pays Cunard.  For a refund, it just happens in reverse. Cunard pays the refund to the TA, then the TA pays the refund to the customer. Or in our case the TA gives you the option of a credit (without any incentive e.g. 150% of the cruise fare) or a refund, similar to what Cunard has done in offering a refund or an FCC.

First cancellation for us....lots to learn! Plenty of time to get my head around it,

[kentchris]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

're Edithclara post

 

 

Just looked on Cunard website they are still offering a full refund if they have cancelled.  Is it the TA that wants to only offer a credit note

You're in the UK as far as I can tell, Edithclara isn't (the '$$' must have been a hint) so you may be talking at cross purposes.

[Roger88]

I wonder what is the total sum of refunds that they have to pay to all those passengers lol. How many cabins are there? 500 -1000? This will be devastated for the cruisers. Did anyone received any information on the situation? I called the office of the Cunard just for my personal interest but I could not talk to anyone. Apparently  the line is super busy. In any case hope everyone is doing alright

[oskidunker]

Not sure what you are saying. 

[Desert Cruisers]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Interesting to know. From some of the fury and rancour displayed here, I had assumed Cunard was uniquely evil.

 Yes, we are becoming experts on these issues.  Waiting for Cunard to cancel the QE's June Alaska sailing.  Then next up will be late August - Cunard/Azamara/Oceania.  Both Cunard and Azamara are delaying [at least in the USA] final payment dates but Oceania is being stinky about it.  Don't even get me started about airlines....we had a Southampton-Dublin flight on Flybe which is now Flyno.

[oskidunker]

Have Sept 11 cruise with final pay July. I don't know why I am waiting to cancel . Probably no chance of sailing. What would you do? Have a Princess Grill for $11,000. Next year is $15,000. Would not do that.  Am considering Northern lights Oct 2021 but cant see any reason to have deposit transferred . The Northern lights is about the same as I am  paying for Sept 11. 
 

 

[oskidunker]

Has anyone transfered a refundable deposit to a 2021 cruise?

[Colin_Cameron]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

I wonder what is the total sum of refunds that they have to pay to all those passengers lol. How many cabins are there? 500 -1000? This will be devastated for the cruisers. Did anyone received any information on the situation? I called the office of the Cunard just for my personal interest but I could not talk to anyone. Apparently  the line is super busy. ...

So now you know. When you’re half a world away from home with no way of getting back and you’re in the hands of Cunard but can’t get through on the phone. Now you know why.

[bazzaw]

Rumour ( supposedly  coming from a staff member on QE) is that QE will depart Australian waters within 3-4 days. 

[Edithclara]

4 hours ago, kentchris said:

You're in the UK as far as I can tell, Edithclara isn't (the '$$' must have been a hint) so you may be talking at cross purposes.

Haha, yes, not in UK. Just advising what our TA "offered" if you chose a Cunard refund. 

[resistk]

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Interesting to know. From some of the fury and rancour displayed here, I had assumed Cunard was uniquely evil.

 

Ponant and Crystal also hording money.  No communication from them or Cunard.  I have about 40K tied up and am trying to get what I can via credit card disputes.