Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[Cruise Raider]

40 minutes ago, gmjc2 said:

Just received this e.mail from PVP at Princess in response to my request for an update.

 

Given the volume of requests and the care being dedicated to make sure each booking is handled accurately, we appreciate your patience during this time. Refunds will be processed and prioritized by sailing date of the cancelled voyage (earliest ones first) and FCCs will be created in the order of when the guest preference was received. Please know that we are doing everything in our power to expedite where possible.

 

I am not convinced that is accurate information.  From what people are posting (even though I cannot verify every one of these posts are valid), that is not how it is being handled.  

[lhsail]

4 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I am not convinced that is accurate information.  From what people are posting (even though I cannot verify every one of these posts are valid), that is not how it is being handled.  

It is not. We are still waiting on 3/23 and some have received from our 4/8 sailing. 

[cltnccruisers]

1 hour ago, Paula_MacFan said:

 

The CEO of CCL said publicly that 'only' 38% of passengers across all their brands had requested refunds, so the number of people they need to process refunds for should be far less than your estimate.  

I wonder if that meant full refunds as opposed to FCC plus a CC refund on items not part of the FCC.

[stracpat]

On 5/18/2020 at 10:16 AM, datone said:

Well down here in Australia I am waiting for a reimbursement from the end of February.   Princess cancels our cruise halfway through and gives us a letter saying that they will refund the cost of new flights home.   Sure they will - they just didn't say when!  I rang last week and was told they haven't even started looking at my claim yet.   They said they will "pick it out of the pile" and start on it.   In other words they'll pretend to do something about it.   I am a long time Princess cruiser but this is really turning me off ever cruising with them again.

We were cancelled in February the night before sailing out of Singapore and while we have had our cruise credit and some reimbursement they are refusing to reimburse flights and hotel because we used them...?! What's even more annoying is that we called the day we left the UK and they said absolutely it was still going ahead all while Diamond Princess was getting worse and worse. I think they wanted people to cancel so the refunds and reimbursements would have been less... we are both elite members but certainly won't be rushing back to Princess after we have used up our cruise credit...

[Aulanis]

1 hour ago, Paula_MacFan said:

 

The CEO of CCL said publicly that 'only' 38% of passengers across all their brands had requested refunds, so the number of people they need to process refunds for should be far less than your estimate.  

Hmm?  so the other 62% want  Nothing?  thats great no work involved in that.

Oh wait a minute they might want the promised FCCs  They might want their excursion  money back,  they might want port fees and taxes back, they might have refundable OBC they want back.

They might want their FCDs back.

A lot of the ire and frustration  on here is not neccesarily about the money - its the time and lack of information.   So  the other 62% are likely to take as long to sort out as the 38%

Edited May 21, 2020 by Aulanis

[cherylandtk]

My guess is that bookings with more ‘complicated’ calculations will be handled last. Such as the many folks who were on interrupted cruises that have additional costs to return home along with OBC owed and days of cruise lost calculations.

 

I also think people who cancelled before Princess did fall into another calculation basket, as there are varying degrees of cancellation penalty to be calculated depending on date of cruise and date of cancellation, and that is split between FCC and refund.  We chose to cancel at 64 days before the cruise as we were in the phase where your deposit is the penalty amount, and our deposit was only $2.  
 

Princess eventually cancelled our cruise several weeks later, but we were never given the Option 1 or 2 choices, nor have we received any of the Emails.  So I figure we are at the tail end of the refund line in Princess’ mind.  Fortunately, our bank agrees that is a too-long wait and is working through our dispute since we have a dated cancellation confirmation email with all the math already done.  

[gmjc2]

13 minutes ago, stracpat said:

We were cancelled in February the night before sailing out of Singapore and while we have had our cruise credit and some reimbursement they are refusing to reimburse flights and hotel because we used them...?! What's even more annoying is that we called the day we left the UK and they said absolutely it was still going ahead all while Diamond Princess was getting worse and worse. I think they wanted people to cancel so the refunds and reimbursements would have been less... we are both elite members but certainly won't be rushing back to Princess after we have used up our cruise credit...

Wow! Have you worked with your Credit Card company about this?

 

[gmjc2]

38 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I am not convinced that is accurate information.  From what people are posting (even though I cannot verify every one of these posts are valid), that is not how it is being handled.  

Absolutely agree. From the posts I have seen on various forums the refunds are all over the place. No reasoning behind them. Some March have been refunded and some have not but some April have! I even saw a posting that claimed they had received a May 2 nd cruise date refund already!

Ours was May 16th cancelled on April 14 th so we can expect to wait another 3-4 weeks but some how I think it will be longer!!

 

[remydiva]

11 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

My guess is that bookings with more ‘complicated’ calculations will be handled last. Such as the many folks who were on interrupted cruises that have additional costs to return home along with OBC owed and days of cruise lost calculations.

 

I also think people who cancelled before Princess did fall into another calculation basket, as there are varying degrees of cancellation penalty to be calculated depending on date of cruise and date of cancellation, and that is split between FCC and refund.  We chose to cancel at 64 days before the cruise as we were in the phase where your deposit is the penalty amount, and our deposit was only $2.  
 

Princess eventually cancelled our cruise several weeks later, but we were never given the Option 1 or 2 choices, nor have we received any of the Emails.  So I figure we are at the tail end of the refund line in Princess’ mind.  Fortunately, our bank agrees that is a too-long wait and is working through our dispute since we have a dated cancellation confirmation email with all the math already done.  

I think you are correct as that is the basket we fall into. Cancelled on Mar 6 for April 19 cruise so were in the 50% basket which we got back kinda...the math was too complicated. We also had EZ Air and excursions. I know what $$ I had paid so will wait to see if it totals back...whenever that may be.

[stracpat]

7 minutes ago, gmjc2 said:

Wow! Have you worked with your Credit Card company about this?

 

 

We haven't done as it was all through a travel agent and I think their argument would be we used our flights? They have never given us a breakdown of costs either and refuse to so we wouldn't know how much to claim - they probably fudge their numbers!

We aren't actually sure how to go about it and I think I'll call ABTA tomorrow... both our TA and Princess have been unhelpful and not honest with us really!

[rdowney]

17 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

I also think people who cancelled before Princess did fall into another calculation basket, as there are varying degrees of cancellation penalty to be calculated depending on date of cruise and date of cancellation, and that is split between FCC and refund.

We cancelled at about 75 days--a month before Princess cancelled. We had a 28-night cruise with a 50% penalty. Our TA had documentation to us in less than 24 hours showing the amount of the penalty. Nothing from Princess after more than two months. We successfully disputed the most recent credit card charges and have now filed a dispute on the remainder.

[gmjc2]

That's a tough one! Morally they should refund your money as they should have told you of the cancellation before you left on the plane. Legally it will be a tough one to prove culpability!  Good Luck!

 

We have a dilemma with Cunard. They did not cancel the cruise from FT.Lauderdale to Southampton on March 17th. Even though the fuss had already hit the fan by early March.. We waited till March 12 th but decided that it was too dangerous as we were going to visit my parents 95 and 98 yrs old! What if we took it too them???   We cancelled and got offered FCC. Then 3 days later they cancelled the cruise. It is obvious that they knew they were going to have to cancel as FT.Lauderdale had closed the port to them. So they did offer the option to get a refund at that point. We filled out the refund form on line and notified our TA. Hoping they would do the right thing by us. So far nothing. It has been more than 60  days so we have claimed on our Credit Card and are hoping for the best.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

35 minutes ago, remydiva said:

I think you are correct as that is the basket we fall into. Cancelled on Mar 6 for April 19 cruise so were in the 50% basket which we got back kinda...the math was too complicated. We also had EZ Air and excursions. I know what $$ I had paid so will wait to see if it totals back...whenever that may be.

Not aimed specifically at you.

BUT

I’m kinda laughing at the people saying their one or 2 cruise calculations are too complicated while they expect princess to do hundreds of thousands of complicated calculations with every one different in a few weeks and have to answer all the calls asking about there refunds at the same time.

😂😂😂

[ohnonotmeagain]

2 hours ago, gmjc2 said:

Just received this e.mail from PVP at Princess in response to my request for an update.

 

Given the volume of requests and the care being dedicated to make sure each booking is handled accurately, we appreciate your patience during this time. Refunds will be processed and prioritized by sailing date of the cancelled voyage (earliest ones first) and FCCs will be created in the order of when the guest preference was received. Please know that we are doing everything in our power to expedite where possible.

Strange, I have got my refund less cancellation charges but no FCC yet. I am in UK,sailing was 15 May,cancelled 12 March.

[as400guy]

18 hours ago, dearinger said:

I just received a call from Princess Executive Relations

 

I don't mean to stir everyone up, but the PVP I talked to last week told  me there is a scam happening where people are called and told there is a problem crediting their credit card and they need new card information to finish the refund.

 

It almost sounds like this could have been a fishing call to determine you are owed money by Princess and then a pro will follow up with the scam call attempting to harvest credit card information. 

 

Be ever vigilant with your personal information!

 

[CruisinCouple2010]

Our refunds due us for March and April are not complicated. Both cruises were paid in full many many months ago.in fact one was paid in full in 2019. Princess canceled both our cruises so we are entitled to the 100% that we paid. Chose option 2 for refund and received acknowledgement on March 12.   We have no prepaid gratuity or airfares or anything else. All we keep getting is these generic emails we know you are waiting for refunds and you are in the queue.For those of us receiving these emails how much longer must we wait?

 

I know these are very trying times and I feel I am being very patient. I just hope I get my refunds before I get yet another email telling me I am in the queue.

[remydiva]

29 minutes ago, Julia’s Journey’s said:

Not aimed specifically at you.

BUT

I’m kinda laughing at the people saying their one or 2 cruise calculations are too complicated while they expect princess to do hundreds of thousands of complicated calculations with every one different in a few weeks and have to answer all the calls asking about there refunds at the same time.

😂😂😂

 No problem .. if you read my posts I do not expect princess to process these refunds PDQ as many here do. I don’t believe it’s just a click of a mouse . I don’t believe there is a conspiracy to hold onto our money. I will not file a CC dispute. I have not phoned princess to tie up any staff time . I booked with princess directly so won’t be phoning a TA.

nope nada.

I just commented that perhaps anything other than a cruise that  was a SIMPLE refund to process such as where princess cancelled the cruise on mar 12 and customer asked for option 1 or 2 with no extra cabins booked for family members, no EZ air, no OBC, no excursions, etc would take longer to process. 
everything else in my opinion is ‘complicated’ and bound to take time.

Edited May 21, 2020 by remydiva

[dearinger]

4 minutes ago, as400guy said:

 

I don't mean to stir everyone up, but the PVP I talked to last week told  me there is a scam happening where people are called and told there is a problem crediting their credit card and they need new card information to finish the refund.

 

It almost sounds like this could have been a fishing call to determine you are owed money by Princess and then a pro will follow up with the scam call attempting to harvest credit card information. 

 

Be ever vigilant with your personal information!

 

 

The woman who called me was from Princess, I am sure about that. She was reading parts of the letter I wrote and thanked me for my stock holdings (which due to my circumstance, they are fully aware of). She didn’t ask me for any personal information outside and I asked her to confirm the booking number we are talking about. 

But yes, I agree that you should be careful when people call. They would have had to went to quite the effort of spoofing their caller ID and the Princess Executive Relations Phone Number. 

[PapaBearToo]

Happy to share some good news!  Booked on Royal Princess for March 21, 2020 family cruise.  Cancelled by Princess.  Had selected Option 2.  We received our FCC to our Princess accounts on April 20.  Received credit card refund yesterday for everything but excursions.  Already re-booked the whole family for same cruise in March 2021 using FCC.  Cruise is slightly more expensive, but cash refunds make up much of the increase.  Keeping fingers crossed.  It is a Spring Break cruise and we booked it since several of our family members are in the educational field and that is the only time we can all go together.  Hope everyone else gets their refunds soon!

[Julia’s Journey’s]

2 minutes ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

Our refunds due us for March and April are not complicated. Both cruises were paid in full many many months ago.in fact one was paid in full in 2019. Princess canceled both our cruises so we are entitled to the 100% that we paid. Chose option 2 for refund and received acknowledgement on March 12.   We have no prepaid gratuity or airfares or anything else. All we keep getting is these generic emails we know you are waiting for refunds and you are in the queue.For those of us receiving these emails how much longer must we wait?

 

I know these are very trying times and I feel I am being very patient. I just hope I get my refunds before I get yet another email telling me I am in the queue.

I think very few are uncomplicated, some pay with different cards so each has to be calculated, some with gift cards and bonus gift cards and don’t have old cards, some book airfare either flex or restricted, some book excursions, some order gifts, dinners, booze, water etc using different cards to pay. Some are doing chargebacks which need to be checked etc etc.

Unfortunately the uncomplicated ones fall in the pile with the complicated ones.  

[CruisinCouple2010]

5 minutes ago, Julia’s Journey’s said:

I think very few are uncomplicated, some pay with different cards so each has to be calculated, some with gift cards and bonus gift cards and don’t have old cards, some book airfare either flex or restricted, some book excursions, some order gifts, dinners, booze, water etc using different cards to pay. Some are doing chargebacks which need to be checked etc etc.

Unfortunately the uncomplicated ones fall in the pile with the complicated ones.  

I agree many refunds will be complicated. That is why we are being patient and waiting for ours even though ours isn’t complicated. We love the Princess product and have every intention of booking with Princess again in the futuse.😄

[hellopuppies]

23 hours ago, cujosmom said:

I, too, am very happy to announce our Option 2 Refund showed up in our credit card account this morning.  The actual "post date" from Princess was May 15 but did not show up until this morning, May 20, on our statement and we have checked for it Every.Single.Day. for weeks now.

 

Princess cancelled our March 26 Crown Princess TA cruise on March 12. We chose Option 2 on March 12 with confirmation on March 13. 

 

We received the Cruise Fare, EZ Air, Princess Vacation Insurance, Port Fees and Taxes.  I will have to contact the Princess gift card people for the $200 we used at final payment for a new card (I threw away the original gift card as I thought why do I need to keep empty cards?!?!).

 

Also, no 50% FCC in either of our Princess FCC Accounts, but I'll wait a few days before I inquire about that. I'm just thrilled we got what we got as I was seriously having doubts.....

We are on the same sailing, March 26 Crown Princess TA. We chose Option 1 on March 12 through our travel agent and got confirmation on the same day.

 

We only got 175% FCC shown on our accounts on April 21, base on the cruise fare only and excluding the EZAir, Port Fees and Taxes. My travel agent followed up with Princess saying that it would be credit to my credit card in 60 days (actually on the March 12 cancellation policy Princess quoted in 30 days)

 

It's more than 60 days by now, just wonder the choice of Option 1 and 2 makes the different. Anyone on the same sailing have any inputs will be appreciated.

 

Hope all of us will get our refund back asap. Fingers crossed.

[SCOOTERNINJA]

43 minutes ago, PapaBearToo said:

Happy to share some good news!  Booked on Royal Princess for March 21, 2020 family cruise.  Cancelled by Princess.  Had selected Option 2.  We received our FCC to our Princess accounts on April 20.  Received credit card refund yesterday for everything but excursions.  Already re-booked the whole family for same cruise in March 2021 using FCC.  Cruise is slightly more expensive, but cash refunds make up much of the increase.  Keeping fingers crossed.  It is a Spring Break cruise and we booked it since several of our family members are in the educational field and that is the only time we can all go together.  Hope everyone else gets their refunds soon!

Glad you got most of your money back!  Surprised that some are re-booking so early in the process.  I hope it works out for you and that Princess is able to deliver... I also see a lot of colleges releasing revised proposed schedules for next academic year that get rid of fall and spring breaks (apparently not wanting persons to travel and then come back to campus).  Will be interesting to see if secondary schools follow the same pattern.

[ceilidh1]

So, up to now I have received none of the emails regarding refunds, processing, explanations. None. Only thing I got was the confirmation after submitting for option 1 on March 12th. I just received this:

 

We want you to know that we hear you and understand your frustration because of the amount of time it is taking to receive your Future Cruise Credit (FCC). We sincerely apologize for the delay, and we are grateful for your continued trust in us and desire to cruise again. We will send you an email once your FCC is available, or you can log in to your My Princess Account.  If you’re ready to rebook, please contact your travel advisor, your Princess Cruise Vacation Planner or 1-800-PRINCESS today to transfer your booking. We appreciate your continued patience and understanding. We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during this difficult time.

Sincerely, Jan Swartz President

[cltnccruisers]

We got the Update on your future cruise credit email about an hour ago.  A little silly since we got our FCC several weeks ago and have already used it.  We're still waiting on our CC refund, though, so I figured I'd call during my lunch break.  Once again, I was on hold for only a few minutes before being connected to a friendly, knowledgeable and efficient Rep.  She confirmed that March cancellations had been processed and Aprils were being worked.  Ours is a pretty simple booking and I still believe that makes a difference - process "normal" first and exceptions later.  So we wait and watch for the next 2 or 3 weeks.