Cancelled Cruises Refund Tracker/Discussion (merged topics)

[GottaKnowWhen]

13 hours ago, BoomerMan47 said:

I previously posted on June 24:

"I received word from Celebrity this morning that they are only cancelling sailings through September 15, 2020.  Unfortunately, that means your sailing has not been cancelled as of yet.  So if you would like, we can do the $700 refund and the $200 future travel certificate if you would like.  The only other option is to pay in full and then way to see if it cancels.  If that’s the case, then you could get 100% refund or a 125% future travel certificate."

Well, we didn't want to pay any more to Celebrity considering what is going on, so we opted for the FCC. The TA later "clarified" our option after talking to Celebrity and said that there would be NO REFUND since it was a non-refundable deposit, but that we would get our entire $900 deposit as a FCC (no mention of 125% FCC).

Does this action agree with what others have seen if their cruise has not yet been canceled?

As Harz99 commented, yes this is consistent.

If you cancel with a NRD, normally you would lose the NRD. If you make a change in a reservation with a NRD, (e.g., different ship, different dates) normally you would pay a $100 change fee. Under the changed policies for now, if you cancel or change, you do not lose the NRD, but rather it stays on your account as 100% FCC for use later with no change fee penalty. 

But let's say you stick with your booking, make final payment, and then Celebrity cancels the cruise. That is the situation where 125% FCC becomes an option. They allow you to claim a 100% refund (including your NRD) or 125% FCC if they cancel.

 

There are variations and I am interested to see how things will play out in my own case. My October 2020 cruise was cancelled well before final payment date because Canadian ports are closed. I had made some initial payments toward that cruise, and then after it was obvious that the cruise would have to be cancelled but before final payment date I made another $2000 payment. I expect a 25% return on my investment, i.e. a FCC of $2500. We'll see.

 

Stan

[hvbaskey]

Refund / FCC Update:

Sail Date:   May 18, 2020
Cancelled:   March 10, 2020 (self-cancelled)

 

Expectations:  50% Cash Refund + Taxes/Port Fees; 50% FCC

 

April 7, 2020:   Received 50% Cash Refund + Taxes/Port Fees; NO FCC
April 2020:  Called about FCC - “it’s coming soon"

May 2020:  Called about FCC - will have it by May 31

 

July 11, 2020 called:  customer engagement at:  844 418 6824 and explained the above; HUGE apologies and within 5 minutes had the FCC in my email inbox.

 

H. 🐳

[suec12]

Satisfaction? maybe - because X cancelled the cruise, I am hoping to get back my non-refundable deposit. After some phone shennanigans this morning, I have been told that I will get my $$$ in about 45 days. It took several calls but I've got my fingers crossed.

[barb-ottawa]

On 6/28/2020 at 1:02 PM, barb-ottawa said:

 

Update - Finally received our cruise refund for our March 23rd sailing on June 25th except for $357.35. Still waiting for the rest.

Last update - final amount credited to our credit card on July 7th. Not impressed. Took several interventions by our travel agent to get our March 23rd cruise fare refunded. If it wasn't for her, I know we would still be waiting.

[BoomerMan47]

11 hours ago, harz99 said:

As you are cancelling and have a NRD normally you would lose it, full stop. We cancelled our Apex TA and received 100% FCC on our NRD which was correct as regards the UK offer, why would you expect a refund or 125% FCC if you are the one cancelling? In our circumstance something is better than nothing.

Just to be clear, I never said that I EXPECTED a refund or 125% FCC. I am interested in knowing if anyone has received either one under similar circumstances. I am really irritated with Celebrity/RCCL because they are the only one of the Big Three cruise lines that intends to sail out of Florida after September 15 and ours is scheduled for September 25. The others have said after September 30. If X had gone along with that we could have used the Lift & Shift option on a later cruise without having to pay the jacked-up prices that are currently shown.

I think that it is highly likely that our cruise WILL eventually be cancelled, but we will get no further consideration because we cancelled before they did.

[jelayne]

We recently cancelled a cruise, with a NRD, that won’t sail but hasn’t been cancelled and we got a FCC for the full $900 deposit.  When we booked last year the T & C’s said if we cancel we lose $100 pp fee and get $700 in a FCC. So getting the full $900 In a FCC more than we agreed to and is appreciated.  

[cacbeausang]

Refunded in full (finally), timeline:

April 3 cruise cancelled by Celebrity in March.  Requested a refund using Celebrity’s link sent via text.  No acknowledgement.  

Big Box TA through which we booked sent email link to either request a refund or 125% CC.  Filled out link April 2  requesting refunds for our cruise and my Mom’s (we booked both Rooms).  April 10 received email confirmation from Big Box TA regarding our request for refund for 2 rooms with the verbiage that it may take up to 90 days for the refund.  Paid excursions refunded almost immediately to original form of payment.  Kept checking for the refund, reading this site regarding other’s experiences.  Checked credit card on July 10:

June 23: received 3 credits to original form of payment (1 for my cruise fare, 1 for my husbands, and 1 for my Mom’s fare)

June 24: received 3 credits to original form of payment (1 for my deposit, 1 for my husband’s deposit, and one for my Mom’s deposit)

Full refund received by June 24, about 90 days after originally requested our refund, but less than 90 days after email acknowledgment of request for refund by TA.

We didn’t dispute the charge, although if we hadn’t received our refund by 90 days, I would have disputed.  Just glad we have our $ back, will request a check for the positive balance from our credit card next week.

[K.T.B.]

On 7/10/2020 at 8:20 AM, cjcruiser27 said:

If cruise and the air were purchased with Celebrity  and cruise was canceled, should I be charged with admin fees on the air? Thanks for any advice.

 

No, you should not be charged any admin fees if Celebrity, and not you, cancelled the cruise.  I wasn't.

 

Matter of fact, my flights were cancelled 2 days before the cruise (which i never knew about nor was I notified) was officially cancelled.  I was notified on June 17th about my cruise being cancelled and I just received my refund on the flights on Friday.  So that can give you an idea as to when you might get your airfare refund.

 

Right now I am just waiting for the code for my FCC so I can apply it to my Oct. 2021 cruise.    I have to admit I'm quite pleased at how things are going so far.  I actually got my refund in less 30 days and I was initially told it would take 30-60 days.

[K.T.B.]

Accidental dupe.  

Edited July 13, 2020 by K.T.B.

[twentyknots]

After we received all of our credits to our BofA credit card I called on June 24 and asked if the credit balance could be transferred to our checking account.  Of course the representative said.  Expect the transfer in 3-5 business days.  After the July 4 holiday I called again and asked about it.  It had been 8 business days not counting the Friday holiday.  I was assured it would be transferred the next day.  Now, 11 days since the first call still no transfer.  No way to treat a long time customer, especially a Platinum Honors customer.  

[Gmatothemax]

I just wanted to share my experience with Celebrity. I booked & paid in full a June 5 2020 Alaskan cruise. (In October 2019) then of course Covid...Celebrity canceled our cruise on March 24. I opted via email for money back. Mid April no word from them status of my refund and online I still had a "booking". I opted out once again, online this time. I had a partial refund of my trip by May 16. I waited until June 24, to call Celebrity for the status of the rest of my refund. They said it was in the system, and to expect the balance or call again July 25. I got the rest of my refund over the weekend. (July 10). I think they did pretty good considering all things. So, they are refunding it is just taking time. 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Well, my FCCs were just reissued with--wait for it--still must be used by March 2021 date.  Hell, they probably won't even be cruising by then and they haven't been cruising since my cruise I used them on as a partial payment was cancelled.  So, just worthless pieces of paper and I'm still out $700.  NOT a happy cruiser today!

[leck57]

Finally refunded. Cruise cancelled early March and applied for refund early March. Just over 100 days.

[Lane412000]

Just got off the phone with Celebrity and DEFINITELY not happy.

 

This is what I paid for a July 4, 2020 Baltic cruise:

 

Description 1 2 Cruise $ 13,949.00 $ 13,949.00 Airfare $ 0.00 $ 0.00 Insurance $ 0.00 $ 0.00 Tax / Fees $ 557.25 $ 557.25 PASSENGER TOTAL $ 14,506.25 $ 14,506.25

I received FCC certificate for $25,528 wen I was expecting a FCC of $34,872   The FCC of $25,528 is less than the $27,898 (minus taxes/fees). I was told by Celebrity that they only pay 125% of the base and the person is telling me the base was $11,168. How could I pay $13,949 when Celebrity is now telling me the fare was only $11,168.   Any suggestions?

[FighterPilot]

16 minutes ago, Lane412000 said:

Just got off the phone with Celebrity and DEFINITELY not happy.

 

This is what I paid for a July 4, 2020 Baltic cruise:

 

Description 1 2 Cruise $ 13,949.00 $ 13,949.00 Airfare $ 0.00 $ 0.00 Insurance $ 0.00 $ 0.00 Tax / Fees $ 557.25 $ 557.25 PASSENGER TOTAL $ 14,506.25 $ 14,506.25

I received FCC certificate for $25,528 wen I was expecting a FCC of $34,872   The FCC of $25,528 is less than the $27,898 (minus taxes/fees). I was told by Celebrity that they only pay 125% of the base and the person is telling me the base was $11,168. How could I pay $13,949 when Celebrity is now telling me the fare was only $11,168.   Any suggestions?

Any chance your TA is in NH? In any event, your TA probably owes you the rest. That is what happened to me.

Demand it. Good luck!

[Lane412000]

9 minutes ago, FighterPilot said:

Any chance your TA is in NH? In any event, your TA probably owes you the rest. That is what happened to me.

Demand it. Good luck!

No, TA is located in FL.  Have used her and the agency for over twenty years. I will keep trying to reach her.  I am thinking 125% FCC and now facing the possibility of having paid $4,500 that I might not recover if I cancel the cruise outright

[NCNina]

Update to our refund.  We applied for a refund of our cruise fare on March 15th after our April 4th cruise was cancelled.  After two months (and many contacts with Celebrity and our big box TA) we became frustrated waiting for the funds to be returned, so we disputed the charge with our cc company on May 18th.  Finally received our refund this past weekend — 4 months (or 16 weeks/ 112 days) later.  Relieved to have this behind us.  Best wishes to all who are still waiting; be patient! 

[nikel]

Finally received the last of our refund today from our cancelled April cruise - total 6 partial payments in just under 4 months.  

[charlie-le-chat]

Looks like we've been more fortunate than many here.

 

Celebrity cancelled our 9th May cruise and we originally went for FCC.

Received FCC certificates on 27th May then refund for fees etc. on 3rd June.

Discovered that the FCC wouldn't cover the same cruise next year so requested a refund on 2nd June. Received remaining balance in full today.

 

Moaned quite a bit on Twitter so maybe that helped.

 

[kenevenpar]

On 7/13/2020 at 6:25 AM, twentyknots said:

After we received all of our credits to our BofA credit card I called on June 24 and asked if the credit balance could be transferred to our checking account.  Of course the representative said.  Expect the transfer in 3-5 business days.  After the July 4 holiday I called again and asked about it.  It had been 8 business days not counting the Friday holiday.  I was assured it would be transferred the next day.  Now, 11 days since the first call still no transfer.  No way to treat a long time customer, especially a Platinum Honors customer.  

 

What is a platinum honors customer?

[Grayce]

I cancelled my October 31st Constellation transatlantic cruise on July 2 (before final payment). I really do not think the cruise will end up happening. We had only put the deposit down. When I cancelled with my big box TA I was told it could be up to 90 days for a refund of my deposit. I was very surprised to receive my refund to my credit card July 14. Only took 12 days. 

[hcat]

On 7/13/2020 at 6:25 AM, twentyknots said:

After we received all of our credits to our BofA credit card I called on June 24 and asked if the credit balance could be transferred to our checking account.  Of course the representative said.  Expect the transfer in 3-5 business days.  After the July 4 holiday I called again and asked about it.  It had been 8 business days not counting the Friday holiday.  I was assured it would be transferred the next day.  Now, 11 days since the first call still no transfer.  No way to treat a long time customer, especially a Platinum Honors customer.  

We  called automated cust svc number.  It indicated we had a negative credit balance and the  auto voice asked if we wanted a check mailed to us...just press "yes "  Hope  to receive it soon.

 

Maybe easier than an internal bank transfer???

Edited July 18, 2020 by hcat

[K.T.B.]

12 hours ago, Grayce said:

I cancelled my October 31st Constellation transatlantic cruise on July 2 (before final payment). I really do not think the cruise will end up happening. We had only put the deposit down. When I cancelled with my big box TA I was told it could be up to 90 days for a refund of my deposit. I was very surprised to receive my refund to my credit card July 14. Only took 12 days. 

 

At this point I don't think so.  Not unless things change in that states where the virus has begun to run wild again.

[twentyknots]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

We  called automated cust svc number.  It indicated we had a negative credit balance and the  auto voice asked if we wanted a check mailed to us...just press "yes "  Hope  to receive it soon.

 

Maybe easier than an internal bank transfer???

The automated voice response system said 7-10 days to receive a check in the mail.  I decided to ask to speak to customer service and she said it would be faster to be transferred electronically.  3-5 days she said.   After 14 business days and 3 calls to the bank including finally to a manager the money was transferred.  The manager apologized and said I shouldnt have been told 3-5 days for an amount over $2000.  Larger amounts require special approval.  I guess it sits in an inbox until someone gets around to it.  Is this 2020 or 1920?

[cjcruiser27]

On 7/12/2020 at 11:15 PM, K.T.B. said:

 

No, you should not be charged any admin fees if Celebrity, and not you, cancelled the cruise.  

I contacted Celebrity and they responded just now with an email, regarding the $75 fee that they said was non-refundable.  They apologized for the mistake and for any inconvenience and it should show up as a credit in 30 days😉. I’m happy to hear that and then it will be the end to my refunds😁