Would you take 125 %FCC or 100% money back from Celebrity?

[Torfamm]

4 minutes ago, UKPete71 said:

 

I would expect you get the FCC back for the value redeemed, rather than at 125%. We are in the same position for an April transatlantic. We redeemed a FCC voucher ahead of final payment. 

I'd be interested to know what your outcome is once you know.

Hopefully someone will get an answer before too long!

[treehugr]

35 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

well our April 1st Cruise was cancelled in the weekend courtesy of the NZ Government banning all cruise ships from entering NZ - we were disappointed but not surprised

 

We've been offered 125% Future Cruise credit or a 100% refund to our credit card.

Wife & I spent ages last night looking up cruises for later in the year (November / December) and we saw some we liked and have shortlisted them, however my wife spoke to someone at her work this morning and they advised her to take the money and run....

They said that some cruise companies may go out of business because of this leaving thousands out of pocket.... and she also said that these travel restrictions could go on for many more months and if we book a cruise for November / December 2020 that might get cancelled too.....

I explained that RCCL is probably a huge company and I doubt it will go bust anytime soon

but wife is now hesitant about taking the FCC.... but I'm still keen to book another cruise.... before all the other affected passengers book up the cruises using their FCC!

 

What would you do in this situation??

Have to say, we share your concerns. I would rather have 100% of my money now at my disposal and discretion, than something that equates to nothing more than more a promissory note that I have limited control over. If the cruise lines were willing to let me re-book my same cruise / cabin / perks / price at a later date, with say $200 OBC for my trouble and right to tie up my cash, I might be more inclined to do so. But even that doesn't come without risk, for those reasons you stated. 

[tartantiara]

4 hours ago, henry1005 said:

Also, it seems that one could take the 125% FCC and later decide to opt for the cash refund...unless you are worried about Celebrity not honoring in the future (seems very unlikely) the 25% bonus makes sense--especially if you have other cruises later this year or next.

 

Here's the excerpt posted on another thread: "In order to compensate you for this cancellation, all booked guests will automatically receive a 125% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) valid until December 31^st, 2021.  Should you prefer a 100% refund to your original method of payment you may contact us anytime up until the expiration date of your FCC.  To avoid waiting on the phone to cancel, please click here and we will get the process started for you.

 

Thoughts?

I am also a bit concerned about what another poster said about if your next cruise is cancelled you will not get your FCC back as it can only be used once , seems very unfair because surely the FCC is just another form of payment 

[UKPete71]

4 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Hopefully someone will get an answer before too long!

 

A shame an admin has merged your thread with this one, even though it's a completely different question. 

[Torfamm]

7 minutes ago, UKPete71 said:

 

A shame an admin has merged your thread with this one, even though it's a completely different question. 

Hopefully someone will still spot it and know how FCC's  applied to cuises that have been cancelled are being treated when new FCC's are issued.   I am curious about expiration dates as well as the amount to be credited.  

[henry1005]

14 minutes ago, tartantiara said:

I am also a bit concerned about what another poster said about if your next cruise is cancelled you will not get your FCC back as it can only be used once , seems very unfair because surely the FCC is just another form of payment 

Here's the information from Celebrity's website:

Q: What happens if you used your FCC to pay for an existing cruise and now you wish to cancel under the Cruise with Confidence terms?

A: The original Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated with the prior FCC amount and expiration date. If expired or due-to-expire before October 31st, 2020, you will be granted an extension through October 31st, 2020 to redeem. Your will also receive a new Future Cruise Credit based on the remaining amount paid and following the Cruise with Confidence policy terms.

[Cruising89143]

Called this morning and asked for a refund. Was surprised at how quickly my call was answered. Was told that it would take a few days to receive the email cancelation and approx. two weeks to,see the refund. 

[tartantiara]

3 minutes ago, henry1005 said:

Here's the information from Celebrity's website:

Q: What happens if you used your FCC to pay for an existing cruise and now you wish to cancel under the Cruise with Confidence terms?

A: The original Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated with the prior FCC amount and expiration date. If expired or due-to-expire before October 31st, 2020, you will be granted an extension through October 31st, 2020 to redeem. Your will also receive a new Future Cruise Credit based on the remaining amount paid and following the Cruise with Confidence policy terms.

thx for that I must have missed that statement, we are now veering towards the cash pay out , we will get back what we paid which is more than some people are getting. Oh dear decisions, decisions 

[treehugr]

20 minutes ago, tartantiara said:

I am also a bit concerned about what another poster said about if your next cruise is cancelled you will not get your FCC back as it can only be used once , seems very unfair because surely the FCC is just another form of payment 

Agreed, read this from a few others a couple days ago. They had equated to a gift card being used. Whether one cancels under the current "cruise with confidence" program or cancelled by the cruise line itself, the FCC should be reinstated. 

[sippican]

1 hour ago, lizbeth said:

And, there is some truth to the rumors of RCL going under.  Take the 100% cash & be made whole.

 

The truth is that they are just that - rumors. The liklihood of going under increases with every refund taken instead of an FCC. I do inderstand that everyone needs to do what is best for them personally, without relying on a rumor for guidance. There are certainly plenty of those floating around right now, we don't need more.

 

[Mytravellove]

On 3/14/2020 at 3:35 PM, Older Sister said:

I really like the Celebrity product . . . however, Celebrity’s management of their product during this crisis has been very poor.  Sadly, I don’t know if I will be cruising with them again.  

I thought Celebrity's management during this crisis was very good. I had a cruise booked with another cruise line sailing on March 16th and got notification they were cancelling my cruise only on March 12th. My cruise with Celebrity would have been April 5th and I received an email from them on March 13th with options I had available since they cancelled the cruise. That's 3 weeks notice v/s the other cruise line which gave 4 days.

However saying that, I have requested to take the 100% cash refund. Not sure if this will work, but this April 5th booking (which was cancelled) was made in May 2019 and when I applied for the Shareholder's OBC, I was refused because the booking was made before June 1, 2019. So taking the cash now and starting a whole new booking when I am on a Celebrity cruise ship (whenever that will be),  I hope I will get my Shareholder's OBC. We all know how the RCCL stock has done in the last 3 weeks or so. Plus it puts the ball in my court, not theirs.

[koalakruiser]

We have $600 OBC plus drinks package as Perks included in our Aqua Class Alaska cruise. Is the cash credit and/or 125% future credit only applicable to original paid fare?What happens to the nearly $2000 of Perks?

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, koalakruiser said:

We have $600 OBC plus drinks package as Perks included in our Aqua Class Alaska cruise. Is the cash credit and/or 125% future credit only applicable to original paid fare?What happens to the nearly $2000 of Perks?

Fare only. You get whatever perks are on offer should you rebook at a later time.

[MamaFej]

1 minute ago, Mytravellove said:

 I had a cruise booked with another cruise line sailing on March 16th and got notification they were cancelling my cruise only on March 12th. My cruise with Celebrity would have been April 5th and I received an email from them on March 13th with options I had available since they cancelled the cruise. That's 3 weeks notice v/s the other cruise line which gave 4 days.

 

Did you expect the other cruise line to time travel? 

 

I'm not trying to be rude. I just don't understand how, short of time travel, you expect a cruise line to cancel a cruise three weeks in advance when the cancelations just started a few days ago.

 

Lots of folks on Celebrity and other cruise lines got canceled within hours their cruises, sometimes their luggage was already onboard. 

[drakes2]

On 3/14/2020 at 1:45 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

We also will be happy with 125%.   Seabourn is offering the same.

I also took the refund. Who knows when we'll use that FCC.

[SunNFunCruzer]

1 hour ago, sippican said:

 

The liklihood of going under increases with every refund taken instead of an FCC. I do inderstand that everyone needs to do what is best for them personally, without relying on a rumor for guidance.

 

 

I agree with this 1000%.  And initially was going to select the FCC, but then I started reading the news and government websites and I realized that Celebrity must have been notified about some of these Canadian passengers who are now infected, especially the man off the Silhouette who, it's been reported, was symptomatic ON the ship in EARLY MARCH.

 

Is it possible the Canadian Government didn't notify Celebrity? Maybe...  But I'd guess it's highly unlikely they were Not notified, while it is 100% true that Celebrity did not notify any of its boarding cruisers that there was a potential problem. 

 

If X is going to look out for X, why shouldn't we look out for ourselves and each other?

 

Anyone know where/if we can contact Canadian Authorities to find out who knew what and when?   TIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UKPete71]

12 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Hopefully someone will still spot it and know how FCC's  applied to cuises that have been cancelled are being treated when new FCC's are issued.   I am curious about expiration dates as well as the amount to be credited.  

I’ve seen this posted on social media but cannot find the original post it was taken from.

Thankfully the expiry date for my vouchers were well into 2021.

[downsmead]

I am surprised that X has not put this under their FAQ on their website. Not everyone  uses social media and even if they do, may not be on the said group.

[Mytravellove]

22 hours ago, bye-seaya said:

Does anyone know if you book a cruise that costs less than what you receive for a FCC will the extra FCC get converted to OBC to use on that sailing? 

Sorry if this a repeat question. 

I was told that the extra FCC can be used on another sailing and will not be converted to OBC. So in other words if your current FCC from the cancelled cruise is $4,500 and a cruise you are applying this FCC is $3,500. The difference of $1,000 stays as an FCC and can be used towards another cruise.

[drakes2]

27 minutes ago, Mytravellove said:

I was told that the extra FCC can be used on another sailing and will not be converted to OBC. So in other words if your current FCC from the cancelled cruise is $4,500 and a cruise you are applying this FCC is $3,500. The difference of $1,000 stays as an FCC and can be used towards another cruise.

That's why I opted for refunds. Now with the US closing restaurants and bars for 60 days there is no way ships will sail effective April 11th. There are people who have already booked using FCC.  

[meechee341]

31 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

That's why I opted for refunds. Now with the US closing restaurants and bars for 60 days there is no way ships will sail effective April 11th. There are people who have already booked using FCC.  

I agree!  TAKE THE REFUND!  Don't think you're gaining anything by opting for FCC.  You don't want X or any other cruise line hanging on to YOUR money!  You don't know what will happen in the future.  People are ASSUMING things will get better quickly and go back to normal.  The UK is already suggesting that this crisis my stretch into 2021.  No one can estimate how bad this crisis will be or how long it will last. If you end up out of work because of this, how is a bunch of FCC going to help you?   There is no cure for it right now.  Doctors are saying that even if you do recover from the virus, your lungs will suffer lasting damage.  Being safe and healthy is worth WAY more than some crazy FCC.  If you can get your money to use to pay a bill or get important supplies, get your money from Celebrity.

[drakes2]

15 minutes ago, meechee341 said:

I agree!  TAKE THE REFUND!  Don't think you're gaining anything by opting for FCC.  You don't want X or any other cruise line hanging on to YOUR money!  You don't know what will happen in the future.  People are ASSUMING things will get better quickly and go back to normal.  The UK is already suggesting that this crisis my stretch into 2021.  No one can estimate how bad this crisis will be or how long it will last. If you end up out of work because of this, how is a bunch of FCC going to help you?   There is no cure for it right now.  Doctors are saying that even if you do recover from the virus, your lungs will suffer lasting damage.  Being safe and healthy is worth WAY more than some crazy FCC.  If you can get your money to use to pay a bill or get important supplies, get your money from Celebrity.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!  I was supposed to be on an RC cruise yesterday but they canceled so getting refund they offered 125% FCC or refund. They actually wanted me to rebook cruise for sailing after April 11th stating some guests already did. I'm just not that dumb. I cancelled a cruise for July 5th on Celebrity and getting deposit of $125 as FCC fortunately had not made final payment. I think they're under pressure to get guests to commit to future cruises now. 

[meechee341]

35 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!  I was supposed to be on an RC cruise yesterday but they canceled so getting refund they offered 125% FCC or refund. They actually wanted me to rebook cruise for sailing after April 11th stating some guests already did. I'm just not that dumb. I cancelled a cruise for July 5th on Celebrity and getting deposit of $125 as FCC fortunately had not made final payment. I think they're under pressure to get guests to commit to future cruises now. 

Smart move!  People think they are gaining so much by getting FCC.  If and when this virus blows over, the major cruise lines (if they survive this) will be seeking to get their money back.  People have no idea what type of stipulations and restrictions they can put on the holders of FCC vouchers.  The cruise lines will do their best to lure people back to cruising.  Those will cash will be in the best position to get great deals, and not just on cruises.  The travel industry as a whole is taking a beating. Cruise lines could offer excellent deals to those with cash, while telling those with FCC that they can't apply their credit to the new sales.  If you can, get a cash refund and wait this out.  Don't make the assumption that things are going to get better in time to salvage the summer cruise season.  Get your money and wait this out.  

[Big_G]

We took the refund through the website. We've recently had to cancel two cruises because of my parents health issues so we were afraid of taking an FCC and losing it if we were to cancel a cruise where it was applied. We're not worried about bankruptcy and have already rebooked for January.

[Bjbilly]

 they want us to keep the future Cruise credit then they should offer us more than they are and maybe we would other cruise lines are offering a lot more