NCL Telling me I can't cancel my cruise!

[joreey85]

Is anyone else having this problem?  I called NCL to cancel my cruise after reading on USA Today that they changed their final payment policy for June/July cruises to due 90 days out.  I am currently 93 days out and just tried to cancel my June cruise sailing out of Rome.  The "supervisor" told me that there was a freeze on cancellations and there was nothing she could do for me, and to call back on Tuesday... this puts me at 89 days out from the cruise.  So basically, they are holding my money and will not cancel my cruise before the 90 days because they want to keep part of my money since they're telling me they will not cancel my cruise at all until 89 days out.  This is ridiculous!  I should be able to cancel my cruise any time I want... refunds aside.  I was going to rebook this cruise in a year or two, but now... there is ZERO chance of me EVER using NCL again.  

[Ptroxx]

Have you even looked at NCL.com ?    

[joreey85]

Yes?  More details to your cryptic reply, please?

[babydaryl24]

The entire policy changed again at 5pm EST today.

100% FUTURE CRUISE CREDIT.

 

And no mention of what cash refund, if any, there will be.

[joreey85]

Ok, that aside.  I was told that there was a freeze on cancellations.  Let's say I decided to eat the cost of my entire cruise... they're still telling me I cannot cancel it period.  I was asking if anyone has ever heard of this.  

[babydaryl24]

Yes. Part of the entire policy changing today at 5pm... was the freeze.

It sucks.

It's awful.

 

There are 10 other threads where it's being talked about.

Edited March 7, 2020 by babydaryl24

[joreey85]

Then, the answer was yes.  Thank you.

[Ptroxx]

23 minutes ago, joreey85 said:

Yes?  More details to your cryptic reply, please?

Not cryptic at all.   Look at the web site and you wouldn’t be here complaining.  
or looked at the other 10 threads on it. 
Pic is the front page of NCL

like this post that’s everywhere 

guess you’ll still be using NCL. 

 

 

 

As always, we want to keep you informed of the latest happenings at Norwegian Cruise Line, especially during times such as these when we are faced with an incredibly fluid climate.  We truly appreciate your continued efforts and partnership and realize this has been a challenging situation.  Today we are announcing our new Peace of Mind policy, providing reassurance to your clients to book their vacation with confidence.
 
We are making temporary changes to our standard cancellation policy. This supersedes all previously announced changes and standard deposit and final payment schedules now apply. As this is a fluid situation, any amendments or reversals of these policies will be communicated to you as they occur.
 
For all new and existing individual and group bookings that embark from March 10, 2020 through and including September 30, 2020:

• Guests can cancel up until 48 hours prior to vacation start date.  Cancelled reservations that occur prior to 48 hours to vacation date will receive a 100% future cruise credit (FCC) to be used for ANY Norwegian sailing embarking on or before December 31, 2022. 
  • Vacation start date includes any pre-hotel or Cruisetour packages booked through Norwegian.
  • FCC will include all components of the reservation that have been paid, including but not limited to: shore excursions, beverage and dining packages (including associated gratuities), service charges and air or transfers pre purchased through Norwegian. 

Note any insurance purchased on existing bookings will not be included in the FCC amount.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Ptroxx

[Njkrewzer]

2 hours ago, joreey85 said:

Is anyone else having this problem?  I called NCL to cancel my cruise after reading on USA Today that they changed their final payment policy for June/July cruises to due 90 days out.  I am currently 93 days out and just tried to cancel my June cruise sailing out of Rome.  The "supervisor" told me that there was a freeze on cancellations and there was nothing she could do for me, and to call back on Tuesday... this puts me at 89 days out from the cruise.  So basically, they are holding my money and will not cancel my cruise before the 90 days because they want to keep part of my money since they're telling me they will not cancel my cruise at all until 89 days out.  This is ridiculous!  I should be able to cancel my cruise any time I want... refunds aside.  I was going to rebook this cruise in a year or two, but now... there is ZERO chance of me EVER using NCL again.  

Don't feel so bad, I called this morning around 53 hours before sailing and they wouldn't let me move my cruise to a later date. I am absolutely disgusted with NCL and their nickel and diming BS. I have always been loyal to NCL, but this is the last straw for me.

[FLAHAM]

NCL just can't win, even with a very generous policy.  

[ray98]

LOL.....'zero chance I will use NCL again'.  This is classic....the servers on this board are smoking!

[bluesea777]

 

Please go to https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence?intcmp=pro_hp_PEACEOFMIND as it's been updated with FAQs.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by bluesea777

[FredT]

So let me get this straight.   When the OP booked her cruise she was told that she could cancel up until 90 days out and get a full refund.  NOW they are saying that even at 93 days out ALL SHE CAN GET IS A CREDIT for a future cruise.   (And THAT must be used before Dec 2020) 

 

Please SOMEONE tell me that this is legal in any way?

[Cruising since 3]

53 minutes ago, FredT said:

So let me get this straight.   When the OP booked her cruise she was told that she could cancel up until 90 days out and get a full refund.  NOW they are saying that even at 93 days out ALL SHE CAN GET IS A CREDIT for a future cruise.   (And THAT must be used before Dec 2020) 

 

Please SOMEONE tell me that this is legal in any way?

Most likely, when the OP booked, unless she booked this cruise in the last week, the cancel without penalty ended at 120 days.  An exception was made last week changing it to 90 days.  That exception went away with the most recent change that offers the future cruise credit option. Still allowing OP to cancel, just not for a full refund, and they aren't processing these until Tuesday. It is a very fluid situation.

[zqvol]

deleted

Edited March 7, 2020 by zqvol
deleted due to misreading ncl.com

[zqvol]

deleted

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by zqvol
deleted due to misreading ncl.com

[Cruising since 3]

4 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

This is completely wrong, you have always been abvle to cancel prior to final payment and the website says final payment is due 90 days out. OP is entitled to a full refund, not a FCC and should not have to wait until Tuesday. If that is NCL's new policy they are going to spend a lot of time and money in litigation and lose.

For a cruise of 5 days or less, it is 90 days. 7 day cruises booked after December 18, 2017 require full payment at 120 days and cancellation schedule applies after that. Look at the site. https://www.ncl.com/about/payment-schedule  Why would I make it up?

[Mightyjoey1]

17 hours ago, joreey85 said:

Is anyone else having this problem?  I called NCL to cancel my cruise after reading on USA Today that they changed their final payment policy for June/July cruises to due 90 days out.  I am currently 93 days out and just tried to cancel my June cruise sailing out of Rome.  The "supervisor" told me that there was a freeze on cancellations and there was nothing she could do for me, and to call back on Tuesday... this puts me at 89 days out from the cruise.  So basically, they are holding my money and will not cancel my cruise before the 90 days because they want to keep part of my money since they're telling me they will not cancel my cruise at all until 89 days out.  This is ridiculous!  I should be able to cancel my cruise any time I want... refunds aside.  I was going to rebook this cruise in a year or two, but now... there is ZERO chance of me EVER using NCL again.  

It's really kinda simple....NCL had a policy where final payment was due at 120 days, with penalties for cancelling afterward.  Due to the health "crisis", they modified that to 90 days, which it appears you are hung up on.  The 2nd paragraph of their recently issued policy is that this supersedes all prior changes, including the one that modified changes to 90 days.  The new policy is much more forgiving and gives you the ability to change up to 48 hours ahead of time with FCC (sorry folks, no money back....show me the cruise line giving you your money back after the final payment date, 'cause I ain't seen it), but they are going to need until Tuesday to adequately change their systems (systems are probably being revised as we speak, which explains why they can't process your cancellation) and train everyone to handle what I am sure will be a tsunami of calls starting that day.  You will get a future cruise credit that you will be able to use that will be good for cruises through December 31, 2021, which is more generous than I am seeing any other cruise lines making at the moment.  I would seriously rethink your "ZERO" chance remark since it would just be throwing money away.....live, love, cruise!!!

 

[sunbrookgal]

I wonder only why NCL had a 2 day drop dead date for those with just 2 days to go. The rest I am totally pleased with NCL coming forward with a solution that works for our family. 5 cabins worth. I'm wondering if NCL did not realize those with just 2 days to go when the announcement was made were out of the running. Anyway, NCL seems to be coming to the correct path. I'm ok with Future Cruise Credit. They get to keep my cash and I get another time to take a trip. I do not want NCL, or RCL, or Viking, or Carnival or any cruise line going out of business. We enjoy cruise ship travel. Bankruptcy is not an option. For me at least. No I do not work for a cruise line. 

[Always Cruising]

I think the decision to not refund deposits (CruiseNext certificates and credit card payments) for cruises cancelled 120 days or later is one that is upsetting.   And this change was pretty much hidden in the verbiage of the "Peace of Mind" letter.

[Regguy]

So, if you paid a deposit for a cruise on September 15 2020 and the terms of the contract at the time were cash refund if cancelled more than 120 days out, they are now saying you cannot get a cash refund and they have suspended cancellations?

 

Yeah, that’s entirely illegal.  It also suggests they are very low on cash at the moment if they would do something so patently improper.  What about 2021 bookings?  Are they refusing to refund deposits for those at this time as well?

[julig22]

12 minutes ago, Regguy said:

So, if you paid a deposit for a cruise on September 15 2020 and the terms of the contract at the time were cash refund if cancelled more than 120 days out, they are now saying you cannot get a cash refund and they have suspended cancellations?

 

Yeah, that’s entirely illegal.  It also suggests they are very low on cash at the moment if they would do something so patently improper.  What about 2021 bookings?  Are they refusing to refund deposits for those at this time as well?

The OP is 93 days out, so under the terms of their purchase agreement, they are past the full refund period and are in the penalty phase. NCL changed that policy for 2 days but has no obligation to apply it to anyone who booked their cruise outside of that 2-day period.  As far as this discussion goes, nobody has indicated that they have tried to get a refund if they haven't made their final payment.  Under NCL terms,  a person would get a full refund of their deposit if they are more than 120 days out from their cruise date.  The Piece of Mind letter does not say that you can't cancel if you are more than 120 days out for a full refund, it just states that the cancellation policy will be in effect until Sept. 30.  I read that as meaning that if I pay in full in May for a September cruise and then decide to cancel in August, I will get the FCC.

[sfaaa]

6 minutes ago, julig22 said:

The OP is 93 days out, so under the terms of their purchase agreement, they are past the full refund period and are in the penalty phase. NCL changed that policy for 2 days but has no obligation to apply it to anyone who booked their cruise outside of that 2-day period.  As far as this discussion goes, nobody has indicated that they have tried to get a refund if they haven't made their final payment.  Under NCL terms,  a person would get a full refund of their deposit if they are more than 120 days out from their cruise date.  The Piece of Mind letter does not say that you can't cancel if you are more than 120 days out for a full refund, it just states that the cancellation policy will be in effect until Sept. 30.  I read that as meaning that if I pay in full in May for a September cruise and then decide to cancel in August, I will get the FCC.

I am with you on this one. 120 days is the threshold. 

[Regguy]

1 minute ago, julig22 said:

The OP is 93 days out, so under the terms of their purchase agreement, they are past the full refund period and are in the penalty phase. NCL changed that policy for 2 days but has no obligation to apply it to anyone who booked their cruise outside of that 2-day period.  As far as this discussion goes, nobody has indicated that they have tried to get a refund if they haven't made their final payment.  Under NCL terms,  a person would get a full refund of their deposit if they are more than 120 days out from their cruise date.  The Piece of Mind letter does not say that you can't cancel if you are more than 120 days out for a full refund, it just states that the cancellation policy will be in effect until Sept. 30.  I read that as meaning that if I pay in full in May for a September cruise and then decide to cancel in August, I will get the FCC.

I hope you are correct.  We will see on 3/10.  The way I read the faq the new terms are deemed applicable to all departures through 9/30.  Including existing bookings.  These terms have replaced the old terms on the website.  The terms are that all fare components and payments can only be FCC.  We will just have to wait and see if they will give cash back outside 120 days.  

If people can still take cash pursuant to the terms when they booked instead of FCC then it is no problem — for example if OP can still get 75 percent cash back instead of FCC that would be fine.  It sounds as though they are putting OP off until 89 days.  If they then claim OP only gets 50 percent cash or only can take FCC that is a problem.