conflicting refund policy?

[bose]

We were booked on the March 15, 2020 sailing on the Norwegian Encore. There is conflicting information about what we are going to be offered in compensation for our cruise. I cancelled our cruise, with our travel agent, a few hours before NCL suspended all cruises for 30 days, yesterday. When I contacted NCL immediately after their announcement, I was told we would only be offered a 100% future cruise credit because we cancelled. My travel agent then called NCL and was told the same thing. Here is the NCL announcement -

 

Guests who are booked on voyages with embarkation dates from March 13 to March 17, 2020 are asked to contact their travel professional or contact us for more information.

Guests will receive a 150% refund of the fare paid in the form of a future cruise credit, which can be applied toward any cruise through December 31, 2022.

 

Here is  the travel agent's reply -

 

Thank you for calling us about your cruise. I understand that today, 03/13/2020 you cancelled your cruise for 03/15/2020 sailing on the Norwegian Encore. Shortly after that, NCL released their policy about cancelling all cruises through April 11^th and they are now offering 150% FCC OR a 100% refund.

 

As of right now, since you cancelled under the ‘old’ policy, you are receiving 100% FCC.

 

I called NCL to see if they would honor the new policy, and they are unsure if they are able to do so for ALREADY cancelled bookings at this time. So we will have to follow up with your request to have a refund instead of an FCC at a later date. The reservations agent over the phone was not sure when we would have the answers, I am assuming a few days.

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this unprecedented time

 

Please let us know anyone who has cancelled and receives a 150% future cruise credit or a refund. As NCL Platinum members we fully understand that NCL had to suspend operations for health concerns but we aren't impressed with the cancellation policy. Doesn't seem fair...

[BirdTravels]

Like perks when you book a cruise, you can only get what is offered at the time you cancel. 

[esm54687]

You didn't have a valid reservation..... you cancelled. 

 

If the FCC dropped to 75% after you cancelled would you call your TA to process the paperwork to give back 25%??

 

If you end up getting the additional FCC then it's a bonus but unrealistic to expect it when you cancelled and accepted the terms at the time. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by esm54687

[toohod]

Literally exact same situation on my other cruise—a supervisor was only able to annotate that I changed my mind and wanted the cash refund. She said it was all still fluid and they didn’t have precise guidance yet—which I understand.  My Peace of Mind CXL was already in process, but she added the change to my notes—I don’t know if they were going to manually cancel or system cancel to process—unprecedented time. 
 

She did instruct me to file for the cash refund on 23 March when they post it online. She said it was important that she document our conversation in my reservation file. 
 

It is such a tough spot for everyone, our cash, their company, their employees. Usually I think I would have overreacted and asked to speak to the President, but trying to give them time to work a few things out. I rather not have money locked up, but I sail quite often so I know I will use the money again. In my head, it is harder, because the money isn’t going to the sailing I wanted. 
 

Next steps for me-

wait until the 23rd to file online and see if any of the FCC posts before then to my account. I will then take it from there—may give the company more time to update some policies after they receive calls. 
 

Look forward to being back on the water soon—hopefully summertime!

 

Cheers-

Mike

[toohod]

I do want to add one thing-some people had to cancel and couldn’t wait to have the cruise lines be proactive—cancelling flights, health conditions of family members, careers where they can’t risk being stuck on a boat etc.  In our situation, we waited as long as we could based on the information being given to the American people for our situation. I am assuming many others did the same thing—we all have different risk levels, concerns, etc which drive our individual behavior. 
 

This situation in our history shouldn’t be viewed as complaining, policy arguments with the company, etc. I  don’t view it like perks being cancelled or a difference in FCC. That analogy falls flat—no situation like this to compare it to. 
 

Again, in my opinion, this is unlike anything we have seen in relation to scalability of an industry. Let’s not penalize people over doing due diligence in regards to their health, money, etc by being more proactive then a business who also was trying to figure things out. 
 

I hope NCL allows anyone who cancelled early to retroactively change their mind like Princess did for any sailings that were eventually cancelled. It is the right move. 

[MikeBTN]

You agreed to the 100% FCC when you cancelled. That’s what you’re going to get, unfortunately.

[mkdreams]

 

1 hour ago, toohod said:

I do want to add one thing-some people had to cancel and couldn’t wait to have the cruise lines be proactive—cancelling flights, health conditions of family members, careers where they can’t risk being stuck on a boat etc.  In our situation, we waited as long as we could based on the information being given to the American people for our situation. I am assuming many others did the same thing—we all have different risk levels, concerns, etc which drive our individual behavior. 
 

This situation in our history shouldn’t be viewed as complaining, policy arguments with the company, etc. I  don’t view it like perks being cancelled or a difference in FCC. That analogy falls flat—no situation like this to compare it to. 
 

Again, in my opinion, this is unlike anything we have seen in relation to scalability of an industry. Let’s not penalize people over doing due diligence in regards to their health, money, etc by being more proactive then a business who also was trying to figure things out. 
 

I hope NCL allows anyone who cancelled early to retroactively change their mind like Princess did for any sailings that were eventually cancelled. It is the right move. 

 

Very well said and you are 100 percent right!

Edited March 14, 2020 by mkdreams

[luv2kroooz]

3 hours ago, esm54687 said:

If the FCC dropped to 75% after you cancelled would you call your TA to process the paperwork to give back 25%??

Ummmm...no. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by blcruising