Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[remydiva]

8 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I agree - in terms of cruiselines, it is definitely not just Princess that is taking so long to refund. I am waiting on refunds from both Carnival and NCL as well and both have been silent. For the other two lines, I opted for a full refund and for Princess I opted for FCC with refund of port fees/grats/shorex/refundable air. I did this because I knew I would 100% be sailing with Princess again and even had the replacement cruise picked out ready to book. However, I won't rebook it until I see some of what they owe me come back my way.

 

I have no doubt that the refunds, both in their complexity (it's not, after all, just a straight full refund) and volume will take as long as they say. I don't believe it's just a push of a button. Since this mess started, I have been helping out the company I worked with for 13 years - it's a performing arts company and they had to cancel their shows due to the virus. They offered ticket holders either a full refund, a switch to a future performance (like an FCC?) or the option to donate the money spent on the ticket to the company. Because there were options, the refunds needed to be processed manually, one by one. For this company (and I suspect most) there are only 2 people with authority to process refunds - this is required for compliance and prevention of fraud. Both these people were working from home at the same time as having to deal with kids that are no longer at school. For "my" company, the number of ticket holders was "only" just over 6,000 - nothing like the volume Princess has. The two agents, working 7 hour shifts, 5 days a week, took just over a month to complete them. They started Match 16th and finished April 17th. This was the ONLY thing they worked on during this time. So, yes, I do believe it will take up to 90 days.

 

I am trying to be patient and will wait it out. What I find frustrating is the lack of communication. I know that they have just put a note on their website regarding the time it will take, so that's a step in the right direction. Would it be so hard to send out an automated email saying "Thanks for your patience"? Would it be so hard to give an idea of where in the process they are? They say they are processing by sailing date but then we hear of people who had sailings in April or May get refunds, while those of us in March are still waiting.....That is my only beef with Princess (and the other two lines) - just communicate a little better!

Hi

I sense you and I are handling the wait in the same manner.. trust in Princess and a healthy dose of patience.

Your personal experience in dealing with performance ticket refunds is extremely relevant so thank you for sharing. I think that is great  insight into the complicated process this is for Princess and all other companies in the same ‘boat’. 

 

I agree that Princess could add a line to the emails I continue to get with a ‘thank you for your patience ; we are working on April 1-5 sailing dates now’ as an example.

in any case, it definitely will take more than just a click of a mouse.!
 

ps I have my replacement cruise picked out too!

 

[npcl]

7 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 

Makes sense....BUT  in the mean time for an industry that has disillusioned many of their patrons already this is NOT a good way to expect to retain future business.  

Yes, but at this point as far as they are concerned is lots of good will does no good if they don't survive.  On the other hand bad feelings due to delayed refunds are often forgotten, once the refund is received, and business returns to normal.

 

I am also getting quite annoyed with them.

[Gracie115]

1 minute ago, npcl said:

Yes, but at this point as far as they are concerned is lots of good will does no good if they don't survive.  On the other hand bad feelings due to delayed refunds are often forgotten, once the refund is received, and business returns to normal.

 

I am also getting quite annoyed with them.

I am waiting but communication is so important in situations like this and they have been sorely laxing in that regard.  I run a business that involves over 4000 people that is HEAVILY affected by this crisis and I am updating to those people weekly everything that is happening in the business.  How hard would it be for Princess, CCL, Celebrity to provide updates regularly.

 

While I am not adversely affected financially by the shut down I have NO DOUBT that some people waiting on refunds are now unemployed and that money is needed.  Having little or no regard for your customers is not a good way to handle things in my opinion.

[riffatsea]

@WNcruiser.  My Chase statement doesn't let me click on the purchase. Perhaps it is too old..?  Thanks for your help anyway

[WNcruiser]

4 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

@WNcruiser.  My Chase statement doesn't let me click on the purchase. Perhaps it is too old..?  Thanks for your help anyway

Possibly, how long has  it been? We just paid our final in February. Are you on the main page under "Transactions"? There should be a small blue arrow next to the charge, when you click the charge there is a large blue box that says "Dispute charge". Make sure you are on a computer or iPad and not your phone. 

[Coral]

2 hours ago, mfajxc99 said:

Dear Carol,

 

I've just called the Allianz and they were extremely nice, and yes, I can still send in refund request and I have done it.   Thank you again for being so resourceful and helpful  😘

 

 

Janet at Houston

Glad it worked! They are a reputable company.

[CarolCoupon]

I just got my FCC in my Captain's Circle account, cruise was 3/14/20.  Selected option 1.

I was happiliy surprised!  I will be putting that to good use in 2021, god willing!

 

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, CarolCoupon said:

I just got my FCC in my Captain's Circle account, cruise was 3/14/20.  Selected option 1.

I was happiliy surprised!  I will be putting that to good use in 2021, god willing!

 

Thanks for the report. Hopefully we hear more of them soon.

[azbirdmom]

34 minutes ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

On the Chase thing, it could be because one of you has a Chase for Business account (which allows you to do this) and the other a personal account (which may not).

 

My Chase account is a personal one.  I am able to dispute ANY transaction from at least February forward on either my phone or computer.  I may be able to dispute even earlier charges but did not try.  You just need to open up the individual charges for your credit card and when you find the one you want to dispute, click / tap on it to open the details on that charge, then scroll until you find the dispute language.  Click on that and fill out the details.

[dog]

26 minutes ago, CarolCoupon said:

I just got my FCC in my Captain's Circle account, cruise was 3/14/20.  Selected option 1.

I was happiliy surprised!  I will be putting that to good use in 2021, god willing!

 

So happy for you!  Nice to see some positivity on this thread!  Sat. They had a reduced deposit promotion for past guests  

[CarolCoupon]

12 minutes ago, Coral said:

Thanks for the report. Hopefully we hear more of them soon.

Just to follow up - This was a cruise that Princess cancelled on 3/12.  It is still showing up in my history as completed, which I expect will get reversed during the reconciliation process.  I haven't received my credit card refunds for excursions, etc yet. But I have a complete list, and the printouts of the statements, so I can track everything.

The 225% calculation was right on the money - 1/2 in my account and 1/2 in my husband's account.  

I had used a FCD for this sailing, not sure if that will come back.  

But what a relief to see that today! 

[dog]

Carol coupon.  My FCD was included in my FCC, even though it was valid until March 2021. They said they would not reinstate it. And this may have changed but I did get credit card refund for other things. Tax, excursions. Etc

[CarolCoupon]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

Carol coupon.  My FCD was included in my FCC, even though it was valid until March 2021. They said they would not reinstate it. And this may have changed but I did get credit card refund for other things. Tax, excursions. Etc

That was what I figured about FCD, and I would not protest it at all.  Would easily use the OBC that would come with the FCD,  but I can't complain.  

I spoke to a TA friend (not my TA for this sailing, because I was using another party to book it) just to fill her in on this news for her business purposes.  I asked how she was holding up and how people were handling their cancelled bookings. She said people were going crazy, and it was across all the cruise lines - not isolated to Princess.  She said she's heard a lot of conspiracy theories.  I told her my stress relief was to shut out the bad noise, and plan a REALLY NICE replacement cruise with the funds.  Actually 2!  She said her mom would use this quote: Happiness is pretty simple: someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to.  She said we all basically have someone to love and something to do now.  It's hard to have something to look forward to in these uncertain times.  

[azbirdmom]

43 minutes ago, CarolCoupon said:

I just got my FCC in my Captain's Circle account, cruise was 3/14/20.  Selected option 1.

I was happiliy surprised!  I will be putting that to good use in 2021, god willing!

 

 

Congratulations!  Did you get anything refunded like port fees or was the entire amount you were owed converted to FCC?  And did they contact you via phone or email to tell you that it had been processed or did you just happen to find it?

[remydiva]

20 minutes ago, CarolCoupon said:

Just to follow up - This was a cruise that Princess cancelled on 3/12.  It is still showing up in my history as completed, which I expect will get reversed during the reconciliation process.  I haven't received my credit card refunds for excursions, etc yet. But I have a complete list, and the printouts of the statements, so I can track everything.

The 225% calculation was right on the money - 1/2 in my account and 1/2 in my husband's account.  

I had used a FCD for this sailing, not sure if that will come back.  

But what a relief to see that today! 

Something is happening to my Princess account which I have been checking from time to time. It used to say $0.00 in Future Cruise Deposits (as it said my last one was applied to the cancelled booking) and $0.00 in Cruise Credits.

NOW that page is blank...nothing to click to show anything so to me that means someone is working on it.

 

My cruise was April 19, 2020, cancelled on Mar 12 with Option 2. Nothing in bank account credit card as of yet but i'm hopeful given CarolCoupon post.

[CarolCoupon]

 

3 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Congratulations!  Did you get anything refunded like port fees or was the entire amount you were owed converted to FCC?  And did they contact you via phone or email to tell you that it had been processed or did you just happen to find it?

No communication, just spotted it on my daily (or ten times daily, to be honest) check in on the site.  No port fees, excursions, drink package refunds yet.  I'll post again in when those come in to help provide a timeline.

[Cruise Raider]

One of my cruises that was canceled was in early April and I chose option 2. I thought maybe they should be getting close but haven't seen any refund or FCCs posted as of yet.  

So, I just asked my TA if she was hearing of any of her clients getting their compensation.  She told me that some people were getting the FCCs ... she can look into the system and see it, we cannot.  Now, why would they do that??  Mine was not yet applied, though.  Also, she told me that she hasn't heard about anyone getting their actual refunds yet.  I know we are all a little hyper-focused, as we all have the time.  

She did promise to follow up.  

I will wait the 60 days but, after that, if I don't see anything, I will probably file a dispute with my credit card for my May sailings that has also been canceled.  

[dog]

1 minute ago, CarolCoupon said:

 

No communication, just spotted it on my daily (or ten times daily, to be honest) check in on the site.  No port fees, excursions, drink package refunds yet.  I'll post again in when those come in to help provide a timeline.

You will check your credit card for cash refund  do not be surprised to see FCC disappear and reappear. Happened to me a couple of times. My TA got the email after all was refunded

[CarolCoupon]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

You will check your credit card for cash refund  do not be surprised to see FCC disappear and reappear. Happened to me a couple of times. My TA got the email after all was refunded

Cool, no rush on my part.  My rescheduled cruises aren't until March and August next year.  My TA friend said I may not want to apply the FCC right away, because if I need to change the new bookings for some reason, it could be a pain to get back (n her experience). I've appreciated your balance on this issue while keep up with this thread, dog.  Thank you

[Musky Ike]

1 hour ago, CarolCoupon said:

Just to follow up - This was a cruise that Princess cancelled on 3/12.  It is still showing up in my history as completed, which I expect will get reversed during the reconciliation process.  I haven't received my credit card refunds for excursions, etc yet. But I have a complete list, and the printouts of the statements, so I can track everything.

The 225% calculation was right on the money - 1/2 in my account and 1/2 in my husband's account.  

I had used a FCD for this sailing, not sure if that will come back.  

But what a relief to see that today! 

Just got FCC to our accounts also for cruise cancelled by Princess on March 12. The amount does not equal 225% I presume more to come back on gift and credit cards. Just glad to see progress.

[LDVinNC]

8 minutes ago, Musky Ike said:

Just got FCC to our accounts also for cruise cancelled by Princess on March 12. The amount does not equal 225% I presume more to come back on gift and credit cards. Just glad to see progress.

 

When was the cruise?

[Musky Ike]

2 minutes ago, LDVinNC said:

 

When was the cruise?

March 17

[LDVinNC]

Thanks!

[CarolCoupon]

11 minutes ago, Musky Ike said:

Just got FCC to our accounts also for cruise cancelled by Princess on March 12. The amount does not equal 225% I presume more to come back on gift and credit cards. Just glad to see progress.

Half was my account, half in my husband's -I have his login ;).  Total between the two was right on.

[Musky Ike]

Just now, CarolCoupon said:

Half was my account, half in my husband's -I have his login ;).  Total between the two was right on.

Same here but the total does not add up to 225% of booking total. hopeful I will be getting an email through my TA explaining the math. Did you pay your total on a credit/debit card?