Refunds from Oceania

[vlthom]

10 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

To those posting that they have not received refunds: A. when you get the refund is not based on your sailing date but the date you cancelled, and B: your TA should have told you O is saying a refund could take 90 days from when requested.

I got this as part of the email sent to me :

"For guests who wish to not avail themselves of the future cruise credit, a 100% refund of the fare paid will be reimbursed to the original form of payment within 90 days of guests’"

Did your TAs not tell you it could take 90 days when you discussed your options?

 

Our cruise(s) were cancelled ahead of the mass shut-down, but only by a short while.  My TA informed me that Oceania would begin processing refunds on 3/20 and that the refund should arrive soon after.  And like I said, I've received nothing yet....not even for the pre-paid excursions, which others had indicated were being refunded separately.  

 

[vlthom]

6 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

No initially 10 days, so was hopeful, but those have been dashed.

 

Have either of you rebooked same for April 2021?

 

No, we have not rebooked for the same cruise in 2021 because we have deposits on another itinerary during the same timeframe.  We also have deposits on a lengthy holiday cruise but I'm considering cancelling or at least postponing to a later date.  Admittedly too, I'm beginning to get seriously concerned about the fact that we have not received the promised full refund for the cancelled cruise.  The amount of money involved is nothing to scoff at.

[DJP31]

According to O’s t&c’s if they cancel the refund will be paid within 14 days.

 

b) Pre-departure cancellation
Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel confirmed holiday arrangements. In the event we are prevented from performing your contracted holiday arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see clause 10) and we notify you of this as soon as reasonably possible, we have the right to terminate your contract. In this situation, we will refund all monies you have paid to us within 14 days of the date we inform you of the cancellation but will have no further or other liability to you including in respect of compensation or any costs or expenses you incur or have incurred.

 

I am in the UK so don’t know whether that makes any difference. I’m also hugely inexperienced in cruising. In fact Regatta on 18th June to Alaska would have been our first proper cruise, so if I have the wrong end of the stick I apologise.

[Petoonya]

1 hour ago, vlthom said:

 

No, we have not rebooked for the same cruise in 2021 because we have deposits on another itinerary during the same timeframe.  We also have deposits on a lengthy holiday cruise but I'm considering cancelling or at least postponing to a later date.  Admittedly too, I'm beginning to get seriously concerned about the fact that we have not received the promised full refund for the cancelled cruise.  The amount of money involved is nothing to scoff at.

Ooooooh you are so right Vithom. The angst of my TA doing another booking got the better of me. No less a sick husband asking for one last cruise. All the more reason not to be jumping in a teaming tube of viruses. I'm a pushover for sad cases even if it may find me losing more assets and saying no to dh. Perversely why put off today what you can do tomorrow?

 

I'm an easy mark for an unscrupulous financial planner but have smart heads who took over that- my sons who have a lot riding on it! I get a "funny money" allowance (cruises) and they manage the rest agreeably.

[YoHoHo]

3 hours ago, vlthom said:

 

Our cruise(s) were cancelled ahead of the mass shut-down, but only by a short while.  My TA informed me that Oceania would begin processing refunds on 3/20 and that the refund should arrive soon after.  And like I said, I've received nothing yet....not even for the pre-paid excursions, which others had indicated were being refunded separately.  

 

Yes, I think there is a lot of different communication plus bear in mind that the cancellation policy and refund policy changed quickly over a few weeks. And the amount of cancellations to process - both refunds and the FCC all need staff to process and they might be taken from other tasks, etc.

 

Don't know which dates for yours but ours was cancelled on Mar 13 and at that time O stated in the cancellation notice sent to TA, refunds would be within 90 days of when the request was made.

 

 And yes, ancillary items would be processed separately but no date. Some have reported they got that part more quickly; maybe processed by a different department, I don't have mine yet. Not worried

 

[YoHoHo]

2 hours ago, DJP31 said:

According to O’s t&c’s if they cancel the refund will be paid within 14 days.

<SNIP>

I am in the UK so don’t know whether that makes any difference. I’m also hugely inexperienced in cruising. In fact Regatta on 18th June to Alaska would have been our first proper cruise, so if I have the wrong end of the stick I apologise.

Yes, UK has their own set of rules. And *maybe* that clause is overridden by another in such a case as we have now in  pandemic. Some things might be the same and some things might be different so please do not get expectations on what I say not having booked in the UK. Also in the UK as I understand the tighter rules also mean more protection for you. Your agent s/b (and hopefully is) the best source for you.

 

Hmmmm....I dont think if I offered a "welcome to your first cruise" will sound like the cheer it would normally be. Hopefully you will get the opportunity - when it is good it can be very good.

[YoHoHo]

Just to add for those who worried about the timing of getting a refund, speaking with TA manager today they have not received many confirmations of FCCs from several of the CLs. I'd expect that to be simpler than a refund so if those are not processed yet or just dribbling in I suspect that speaks to the work load.

[vlthom]

19 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Yes, I think there is a lot of different communication plus bear in mind that the cancellation policy and refund policy changed quickly over a few weeks. And the amount of cancellations to process - both refunds and the FCC all need staff to process and they might be taken from other tasks, etc.

 

Don't know which dates for yours but ours was cancelled on Mar 13 and at that time O stated in the cancellation notice sent to TA, refunds would be within 90 days of when the request was made.

 

 And yes, ancillary items would be processed separately but no date. Some have reported they got that part more quickly; maybe processed by a different department, I don't have mine yet. Not worried

 

 

I'm sure that there's a tremendous amount of confusion at this time, as well as an abundance of effort required in processing everything.  I did see the correspondence from Oceania when our cruises were cancelled on March 13th, though.  There was nothing stated about a 90-day turnaround on refunds.  To that end, I sent an inquiry to my TA this afternoon regarding what she believed to be the current timeline for processing them.  She contacted Oceania who just happened to say that my refund was being handled today.  She then forwarded the invoice that they generated, showing how they did the accounting, and telling me that the refund should hit my credit card in a few days.  Unfortunately, they are either not providing the promised full refund or they've made a sizable error and are holding about 20% of our fare.  I am hoping that this is just an error on their part but it doesn't give me warm fuzzy feelings.  And now I'm waiting for more information from the TA.  With all the promised 100% refunds associated with this trip (hotels, air, tours, etc), in not one instance have I really received 100%.  Even the French Polynesian hotels kept the taxes that they'd collected.  We had a pre-cruise stay arranged in Moorea for several nights, as well as a night at the Intercontinental.  Neither establishment refunded the taxes -- it wasn't a large amount but still a few hundred dollars.  It didn't seem worth fighting over that amount; however, the amount that Oceania may be stiffing us is not trivial.  Again....I am HOPING this is a mistake on their part.

[YoHoHo]

4 minutes ago, vlthom said:

 

I'm sure that there's a tremendous amount of confusion at this time, as well as an abundance of effort required in processing everything.  I did see the correspondence from Oceania when our cruises were cancelled on March 13th, though.  There was nothing stated about a 90-day turnaround on refunds.  To that end, I sent an inquiry to my TA this afternoon regarding what she believed to be the current timeline for processing them.  She contacted Oceania who just happened to say that my refund was being handled today.  She then forwarded the invoice that they generated, showing how they did the accounting, and telling me that the refund should hit my credit card in a few days.  Unfortunately, they are either not providing the promised full refund or they've made a sizable error and are holding about 20% of our fare.  I am hoping that this is just an error on their part but it doesn't give me warm fuzzy feelings.  And now I'm waiting for more information from the TA.  With all the promised 100% refunds associated with this trip (hotels, air, tours, etc), in not one instance have I really received 100%.  Even the French Polynesian hotels kept the taxes that they'd collected.  We had a pre-cruise stay arranged in Moorea for several nights, as well as a night at the Intercontinental.  Neither establishment refunded the taxes -- it wasn't a large amount but still a few hundred dollars.  It didn't seem worth fighting over that amount; however, the amount that Oceania may be stiffing us is not trivial.  Again....I am HOPING this is a mistake on their part.

Arghh. the good with the bad. I hope you come back and tell us the final result once O has completed.

[vlthom]

1 hour ago, YoHoHo said:

Arghh. the good with the bad. I hope you come back and tell us the final result once O has completed.

Once I know what’s what, I’ll report back.  Our TA spoke with a rep but they had to send an inquiry to Accounting, so it may take some time.  Again, I am hoping that it is just a simple error; however, my husband’s point was that these mistakes never are in our favor for some reason.  

[Verokaren]

I'm jumping in here. . . we were booked on the French Polynesia sailing of the Regatta that was cancelled on the evening of March 12th when we were en route to Tahiti.  I did receive my refund today from Oceania, and was surprised it came so quickly after the frequent 90 day warning.  The two excursions I had booked were also refunded.  We booked everything else separately, including airfare, pre-cruise hotels and some excursions.  I thought Oceania would reimburse us for the airfare cancellation fees that we still have not been able to recoup, but no communication from them regarding that.  Frankly, I was thrilled to get the 100% reimbursement just weeks after the cancellation.  

 

I appreciate any other guidance on what else I should do with Oceania.  

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Verokaren said:

I thought Oceania would reimburse us for the airfare cancellation fees that we still have not been able to recoup, but no communication from them regarding that. 

Did to apply to be reimbursed?

 I thought it was something you had to send in with the amount you were charged ?

I could be mistaken  so many different offers/rules etc..

[YoHoHo]

1 hour ago, Verokaren said:

I  I thought Oceania would reimburse us for the airfare cancellation fees that we still have not been able to recoup, but no communication from them regarding that.  Frankly, I was thrilled to get the 100% reimbursement just weeks after the cancellation.  

 

I appreciate any other guidance on what else I should do with Oceania.  

Yes, as per LHT28 you need to apply if you qualify. As she wrote - there are so many offers what you get depends on the offer at the time. Do check with your TA. If you do qualify have proof of a change fee and they will cover it up to a certain amount. (not really reimburse as they never had that money).

[JDincalif]

3 hours ago, Verokaren said:

 I thought Oceania would reimburse us for the airfare cancellation fees that we still have not been able to recoup, but no communication from them regarding that. 

We had arranged our own airfare for a June 2020

cruise cancelled by Oceania. When we cancelled our airline tickets and requested reimbursement from Oceania for the airline $300/pp cancellation fee, we were informed that Oceania would reimburse only airline change fees, not airline cancellation fees.

Edited April 2, 2020 by JDincalif

[Paulchili]

20 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

We had arranged our own airfare for a June 2020

cruise cancelled by Oceania.

Which Oceania June 2020 cruise was cancelled by them. I thought that they have only cancelled cruises up to May 10.

[Petoonya]

6 hours ago, vlthom said:

 Unfortunately, they are either not providing the promised full refund or they've made a sizable error and are holding about 20% of our fare.  .......however, the amount that Oceania may be stiffing us is not trivial.  Again....I am HOPING this is a mistake on their part.

So sorry to hear this. We too were on the same cancelled cruise as we've discussed previously. I dread the possibility of a protracted conflict with Oceania. My TA is a beautiful lady with a family member with coronavirus, and I'm loathe to bother her about this yet. Might wait a bit and see what the outcome is for you. Sure hoping that it's better than it seems. Best wishes and be well. petuniafish at gmail dot com

Edited April 2, 2020 by Petoonya

[zz19]

 Paul,

Oceania cancelled my June 11, Tokyo - San Francisco  cruise around March 1, and issued credit back to my CC.

I  had used points and AA put the points back in my account with no charge. * (See explanation)

 

* AA had e-mailed me previously telling me my flight had changed departure time. I could cancel with no charges.

At that time if the flight were not changed they would have charged me for cancellation.

 

Stay Safe My Friend

[Paulchili]

9 minutes ago, zz19 said:

 Paul,

Oceania cancelled my June 11, Tokyo - San Francisco  cruise around March 1, and issued credit back to my CC.

I  had used points and AA put the points back in my account with no charge. * (See explanation)

 

* AA had e-mailed me previously telling me my flight had changed departure time. I could cancel with no charges.

At that time if the flight were not changed they would have charged me for cancellation.

 

Stay Safe My Friend

Thank you zz, my friend. Come here to CC more often - I miss you. I though it might be a WC segment on Insignia.

CC posting is consistent with social distancing 😃

[zz19]

 Paulchili,

As usual you are correct.

It was part of a WC segment. 🤪

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, JDincalif said:

We had arranged our own airfare for a June 2020

cruise cancelled by Oceania. When we cancelled our airline tickets and requested reimbursement from Oceania for the airline $300/pp cancellation fee, we were informed that Oceania would reimburse only airline change fees, not airline cancellation fees.

While Oceania has refunded to us what was promised for two affected Asia region cruises, the DIY air fees is another story. So far, we've asked for one fee coverage on the DIY air cancellation necessitated by Oceania cancelling our upcoming 2 ATW segments. We made the request through our TA and got the same BS answer about "no cancellation fees."

 

Realistically, the only air CHANGE one could/would make for a specific cruise O cancelled would be to CANCEL the air, which might incur a CHANGE fee called a CANCELLATION fee.

 

C'mon Oceania! CHANGE to what? The cruise was CANCELLED!

 

Since we have another 2020 O cruise coming up, I have just sent an appeal to Oceania based on the fact that I couldn't use the same airline (Philippine Air Lines) for the next (November) cruise because it embarks from Athens and P.A.L. doesn't fly there. Ergo, to CHANGE my flights for a CHANGE from one cruise cancelled by O to another O cruise (where a different airline is required), the only way to CHANGE the DIY air is to CANCEL/REBOOK and, in this case, incur a fee in making that change! Call it what you want but, I'm out $250/person for not picking an O cruise itinerary serviced by P.A.L.

 

We enjoy O very much (e.g., just in 2019, four cruises comprised of six segments accounting for almost 100 nights and another three long ones were the plan for this year). But, if O does not respond to my appeal (positively or at all) about the catch-22 of CHANGE fees, I will not be a "happy camper."

 

Of course, there's always travel insurance but, is there? I'm already in a conversation with Nationwide about this and I'm finding similar resistance with "exclusions" language.

 

FWIW: Interestingly, from posts here on CC,  it appears that Oceania has recognized its faux pas and has now eliminated offering to pay for DIY airline CHANGE fees for cruises they have recently CANCELLED.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

FWIW to those who are finding some discrepancy in what is the refund amount you're expecting/getting, recognize a few possible explanations beyond accounting error:

 

If you've cancelled the cruise, remember the penalty deadlines. Also, if you had booked onboard, any bonus SBC you had received will be deducted from your refund (or charged on that CC).

 

If Oceania cancelled, you should be getting the 100% "fare paid" refund promised (yes, that includes port taxes et al fees). But, if you split any payments across multiple CCs, the refunds will go to those multiple cards. And, you may see multiple credits (deposits, visa fees, final pay...). Also, O excursions purchased (beyond O Life) will be a separate refund. Obviously, do ALL the math before getting upset.

 

As for any promised FCCs, you do not get a correspondence regarding that. The amounts are split per person and notated in your individual O Club accounts in O's system -but not visible to you on your O Club profile on the O website. Also, the book by/use by dates vary significantly and you may want to call O/TA to verify them.

[LHT28]

8 hours ago, JDincalif said:

We had arranged our own airfare for a June 2020

cruise cancelled by Oceania. When we cancelled our airline tickets and requested reimbursement from Oceania for the airline $300/pp cancellation fee, we were informed that Oceania would reimburse only airline change fees, not airline cancellation fees.

Yes I think that was the case 

I remember PAUL MCO saying they would reimburse for change fees

[susiesan]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

 

As for any promised FCCs, you do not get a correspondence regarding that. The amounts are split per person and notated in your individual O Club accounts in O's system -but not visible to you on your O Club profile on the O website. Also, the book by/use by dates vary significantly and you may want to call O/TA to verify them.

So if you book another O cruise with a different TA than the one you originally used for the cancelled cruise, does the new TA see the FCC in my account to be applied to the new cruise?

[Paulchili]

23 minutes ago, susiesan said:

So if you book another O cruise with a different TA than the one you originally used for the cancelled cruise, does the new TA see the FCC in my account to be applied to the new cruise?

Since the FCC is tied to your Oceania account and not to a specific TA, any TA booking a cruise for you should see it. Even if you book the cruise yourself it will become available just like when you are booking a shore excursion with OBC.

I haven't done this with Oceania but I have with another line where FCC was tied to my account but not visible unless you or your TA was booking a cruise.

[JDincalif]

11 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Which Oceania June 2020 cruise was cancelled by them. I thought that they have only cancelled cruises up to May 10.

It was the Tokyo-SF segment of the Insignia ATW voyage that had commenced in January.