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Whats happening? SB refunds and payments Covid19


zimflyer
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I felt best to open a new subject ...

 

Having made several posts on SB and coronavirus pages in this forum, have found that a new topic would specifically deal with concerns that those who are cancelled, are out of pocket or awaiting refund may have at the moment*.

 

*(I specifically request that those who want to opine on all the difficulties of staff, crews, managing empty ships etc etc post elsewhere. I am not aloof or cold hearted but the topic here is what is going on with refunds ).

 

Personally we have heard nothing from SB which has been either informational or update us since our requests for 

 

1/ Reimbursement for expenses incurred on a completely modified itinerary. 

2/ Refund of cost of cancelled cruise to original form of payment, in this case credit card.

 

Of one thing I am sure, the absence of communication even on a mass mailing basis has been awful.

 

Has anyone had or have more information?

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We have heard nothing either, but I suppose I'm not surprised.

 

We have a cruise cancelled by SB, and as we were on 2 b2bs, another one due to embark on 20th April.  I heard from my TA  that a decision would be made on the TA crossing and announced this week on another wave of cancelled cruises.

 

It would've been nice to receive some sort of 'we're working on it' email, because once you press the button for credit or FCC, although you get a message on the relevant page that the request has been received, and then that page is gone.  This cruise we were taking was the most expensive with SB... typical!

 

I don't imagine we will receive a refund on the first one until mid/end May...

 

 

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Seabourn notified us about our cancelled cruise on the 14th March. Our TA requested Option 2 (refund) for us on the 16th.

Logged on to my CC account today for the first time to see if there was any movement and as expected nothing.

I'm not anticipating seeing the refund for another 3 to 4 weeks.

 

 

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We cancelled our July 18 cruise on March 17th and are waiting for the refund.  My best friend just cancelled a Disney Cruise for her family.  She received a $40,000 credit on her credit card within one week.  It makes no sense to me that Seabourn takes so long to reimburse their clients.

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4 hours ago, jenidallas said:

Our April cruise was cancelled today.  We elected, via our TA, to have the 100% refund.  Seabourn told her that we should expect to wait 12 weeks for the refund to be processed.

 

That's what happens when they have no cash coming in.

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36 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

That's what happens when they have no cash coming in.

 

No, that can't possibly be true.  I thought the 12 week delay for refunds/FCC's was because the big backlog of work.  <sarcasm intended>

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We were booked on a March 28 crossing.  We were offered the famous Option 1 or Option 2 on March 14 to be submitted on March 15.  We chose the full refund and submitted our choice March 15.  We have received no money and no information.  Our TA has received no information.  Thanks Jenni for your info;  I guess we will all wait and wait and wait.  Should we stage a revolt?  Storm Seattle?

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There are a number of different threads, including "future cruise credit", where this issue is also discussed. In that thread, I raised as a possible option taking the issue up with your credit card issuer. If you made final payment for a cruise that clearly has become impossible (for example, because of government travel bans, Alaska or others with Canadian ports before July 1), yet that payment has not yet been made to the credit card as you have not yet reached your payment due date, you can explore disputing the charge with your credit card issuer. Heck, even if you paid your credit card bill, you can still ask (never hurts to ask, does it?) your credit card issuer what options you may have to dispute a charge.

 

Interesting that Disney would process such a substantial refund so quickly while those of us on a luxury cruise line are expected to wait first for their decision to cancel, and then have an additional wait for the refund. Going forward, once the covid situation is hopefully in the rear-view mirror, customers will likely remember which lines served them well, and which did not.

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3 hours ago, JodiandFrank said:

We cancelled our July 18 cruise on March 17th and are waiting for the refund.

I am confused. You cancelled a cruise that has not yet been cancelled by SB and you expect a refund and not FCC?

Are you waiting for a refund of a deposit or are you after final payment?

Edited by Paulchili
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18 hours ago, tv24 said:

Thanks Jenni for your info;  I guess we will all wait and wait and wait.  Should we stage a revolt?  Storm Seattle?


If you do, remember this is a BYON95 situation and you may encounter empty offices.  But pitchforks are good for ensuring social distancing!

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8 hours ago, jenidallas said:


If you do, remember this is a BYON95 situation and you may encounter empty offices.  But pitchforks are good for ensuring social distancing!

My pitchfork is ready, but I hope I don't have to use it.

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On 3/31/2020 at 2:06 PM, ON cruiser said:

...Interesting that Disney would process such a substantial refund so quickly while those of us on a luxury cruise line are expected to wait first for their decision to cancel, and then have an additional wait for the refund. Going forward, once the covid situation is hopefully in the rear-view mirror, customers will likely remember which lines served them well, and which did not.

This is the point I have been pushing since before it affected everything in the cruise industry.

 

We have heard from Crystal and Oceania regarding cruises later this year.

 

SB has been high handed when they have communicated... treating us to nil or little responses, never mind a mass email explaining what their difficulties may be...

 

This was to be a much looked forward to treat, 6 weeks with SB as an "upgrade" to our normal Crystal or Oceania voyages.  Sadly,  the way things have gone we are not interested in ever setting foot on SB. (Not because we believe the o/b product is anything but excellent) but any Corporation that has the temerity to treat its high paying customers with such disdain is not the company that will get my $$$.

 

The lack of communication has been unconscionable. . .

 

A weekly email saying

"FCC credits sre being applied for ×××× voyages this week

Refunds for xxxx this week, etc"

lets all your clients know where things are at.

 

Instead SB hides behind an apparent       " too busy " stance. Any high school student would tell you communication is paramount in times such as this to retain customer loyalty and avoid building anxiety. 

 

Rant over.

Here's hoping that things start being done. I started this thread so that even if SB leaves us individually in the dark, we may share our current refund situations here.

 

Thank you all for your input, I think it helps us all.

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All:

I spoke with my SB agent yesterday and she indicated that the finance department at SB is small (especially given the circumstances and volume) and that it could take 12 weeks or more to work through it all. I trust her judgement and recognize that everyone is not affected in the same manner. Thankfully, we can afford to be patient. 
 

That said, I do wonder about the ongoing viability of SB and what to do/plan for the future. I can see a financial place for Carnival Corp to consolidate lines and/or sell off divisions. I can even speculate that SB could be sold to another line (Viking or Disney would be good fits). Please feel free to this bit of nonsense into the compost heap...

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My May 5th cruise was canceled by SB in early March.  I asked on March 26 about a refund and was told it would take 8-12 weeks.  If I don't see something from Seabourn, I guess I can try my credit card company.

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Some positive news, some 4 weeks since we submitted costs reimbursements for the cancel, change and rebook flights for our 100% altered Sojourn trip,  WE HAVE RECEIVED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR CLAIM, and advice to expect reimbursement in 8 to 12 weeks.

 

Not speedy, but just getting a message from SB gives me hope...

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I would strongly recommend that everyone who is waiting for a refund from Seabourn speaks to their credit card company and requests a chargeback, before Carnival files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. When Seabourn told us getting our 6-digit down payment on next year’s World Cruise refunded would take them 12 weeks, we got Amex to sort it within 24 hours. 

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1 hour ago, florisdekort said:

I would strongly recommend that everyone who is waiting for a refund from Seabourn speaks to their credit card company and requests a chargeback, before Carnival files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. When Seabourn told us getting our 6-digit down payment on next year’s World Cruise refunded would take them 12 weeks, we got Amex to sort it within 24 hours. 

Thanks for your advice Floris.  We may pursue this real soon.

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2 hours ago, zimflyer said:

Some positive news, some 4 weeks since we submitted costs reimbursements for the cancel, change and rebook flights for our 100% altered Sojourn trip,  WE HAVE RECEIVED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR CLAIM, and advice to expect reimbursement in 8 to 12 weeks.

 

Not speedy, but just getting a message from SB gives me hope...

Good for you.

Today was 4 weeks since I had submitted my claim flight change fees and so far no notice - maybe soon?

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1 hour ago, florisdekort said:

I would strongly recommend that everyone who is waiting for a refund from Seabourn speaks to their credit card company and requests a chargeback, before Carnival files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. When Seabourn told us getting our 6-digit down payment on next year’s World Cruise refunded would take them 12 weeks, we got Amex to sort it within 24 hours. 

I wish I could do that.

Our situation is complex. We were on a 30 day cruise that had 2 segments but we booked it as a single voyage (one booking #).

As the itinerary changed significantly we cancelled before sailing and got 100% FCC. The second half of first portion and the entire second portion were eventually cancelled.

Of course, SB will not "look back" and offer us refund but I wonder if the CC could (for at least the second part that was entirely cancelled)? I would gladly give up my FCC for a refund - I do not want to double dip.

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We have an Alaska cruise in September under refundable deposit, put on AMEX. Final payment is due next month which we will not be making. I guess I need to contact our TA and cancel and get our deposit back. Sorry everyone is having such a problem. I am sure we will too. 

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