Oceania Refunds - Has anyone actually received any cash yet?

[ORV]

So to repeat this where people will maybe get it: the UK problem seems to be with their TA system that they use there, not really Oceania. 

 

A second point is that many people here in the US have waited considerably longer for a refund than what some of you have reported. 

[LHT28]

36 minutes ago, ORV said:

So to repeat this where people will maybe get it: the UK problem seems to be with their TA system that they use there, not really Oceania. 

 

 I agree

 Not really  Oceania  that is the problem 🙄

 

 That is why I am glad here our payment goes directly to the cruise line

no middleman to hold up the works 😎

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

There is definitely a common thread.

Oceania is refunding block amounts covering lots of bookings to the TA. The TA then has to distribute these amounts to its customers.

I'm not sure how these payments from O to the TA are made up, whether it is one cruise at a time or a mixture of cruises.

Unfortunately the redistribution then falls to the accounts department of the TA which is slowed down by the lack of personnel, many of whom will have been furloughed.

Still waiting for my March 30th TA to be refunded....

 Yes a problem with the  system in the UK

 But as long as people  keep paying the TA  & not the cruise line directly  there will be issues

Even before the pandemic  I have read other complaints  where some agencies  were slow to repay  clients 

Throw in a Pandemic & staff  laid off or let go  it all adds to the frustration  of the clients

JMO

 

 

[HOLIDAYREADER]

37 minutes ago, ORV said:

So to repeat this where people will maybe get it: the UK problem seems to be with their TA system that they use there, not really Oceania. 

 

A second point is that many people here in the US have waited considerably longer for a refund than what some of you have reported. 

I can only speak for our situation which is the opposite to the one you describe; the refund arrived at the TA last Monday over 100 days after Oceania cancelled the cruise, so the TA has had the money 6 days. They were supposed to be actioning payments on Friday which could take 3 days to hit our bank accounts. They have been slow and unhelpful and they may be delaying things OR it may just be too difficult to allocate all the payments in less than a week with minimum staff; either way we will find out on Monday. Oceania, on the other hand, didn't send us any details of the cruise being cancelled, didn't authorise our payment for over 100 days and then told us they had paid the TA when they hadn't sent them the money. From our own roll call, all the people from the States were posting that they were being paid in April and May and in fact most are not posting at all now because they've been paid. The only people posting are from the UK, Europe and Australia who are still waiting.

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, HOLIDAYREADER said:

I can only speak for our situation which is the opposite to the one you describe; the refund arrived at the TA last Monday over 100 days after Oceania cancelled the cruise, so the TA has had the money 6 days. They were supposed to be actioning payments on Friday which could take 3 days to hit our bank accounts. They have been slow and unhelpful and they may be delaying things OR it may just be too difficult to allocate all the payments in less than a week with minimum staff; either way we will find out on Monday. Oceania, on the other hand, didn't send us any details of the cruise being cancelled, didn't authorise our payment for over 100 days and then told us they had paid the TA when they hadn't sent them the money. From our own roll call, all the people from the States were posting that they were being paid in April and May and in fact most are not posting at all now because they've been paid. The only people posting are from the UK, Europe and Australia who are still waiting.

Did you see the payment from O hit your TA account on Monday ?

 I would be suspicious  of that claim  as others from the UK using a different agency had refunds earlier

 

Maybe  those in the UK Europe wait longer due to the system there

Here in N.A.  most pay by credit card that goes directly to the Cruise line  so the refund  goes  directly to your CC  not to the agency  to distribute  adding an extra  delay in the process

JMO

[Janet-]

Although I used a TA it was not the one in Chorley and my T&Cs are those as stated on O's web site.

My credit card payment went directly to O and the refund for the first cruise was directly from them.

Not all the delays in refunds can be laid at TAs doors. It appears that O are deliberately targeting European customers for use as interest free loans.

Oceania is the problem 

[LHT28]

6 minutes ago, Janet- said:

Although I used a TA it was not the one in Chorley and my T&Cs are those as stated on O's web site.

My credit card payment went directly to O and the refund for the first cruise was directly from them.

Not all the delays in refunds can be laid at TAs doors. It appears that O are deliberately targeting European customers for use as interest free loans.

Oceania is the problem 

The refunds  are taking  up to 90 days   so if your second cruise was cancelled  within that time frame I suspect it should be coming soon

 So you have  a refund from 1 cruise already correct?

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

So to repeat this where people will maybe get it: the UK problem seems to be with their TA system that they use there, not really Oceania. 

 

A second point is that many people here in the US have waited considerably longer for a refund than what some of you have reported. 

Plus 1.

 

Most importantly, it is crystal clear that the bulk of the U.K. refund delays posted here on CC relate to TAs who have received the Oceania refunds but have not yet distributed them. However, some of those U.K. posters insist on blaming Oceania, which is a bit unfair.

 

As for the U.S. delays, the bottom line increasingly appears to be that everyone is being reimbursed exactly what is due to them albeit with some possibly longer-than-normal delays due to the Covid-19 related working circumstances impacting all sorts of industries and any cruise line's own accounting idiosyncrasies.

 

From onboard crew responsiveness and stellar public health practices (e.g., Nautica on the Indian Ocean in February) to providing available reports of refund status (at least, with the right TA in the mix if needed) and clear plans for future Covid et al. prevention, Oceania has behaved admirably. Even the staggered, cautious and flexible restart plans - though possibly disappointing when one's cruise is cancelled - are reassuring that crew/passenger safety are high priorities at Oceania.

 

It's also worth noting that, while the upset some few folks here have regarding O's response to passengers doing the cancellations, may be "less" than what is wanted, the truth remains that Oceania has made more than reasonable accommodations for them (e.g., offering 100%+\- FCCs even though the customer cancelling is in the 100% penalty phase).

 

Is Oceania "perfect?" Of course not. But one only needs to read/see/hear of the onboard, on land and administrative logistics plaguing other cruise lines to know that Oceania is handling things as well as can be expected.

Edited June 27, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[Flatbush Flyer]

33 minutes ago, HOLIDAYREADER said:

.....Oceania, on the other hand, didn't send us any details of the cruise being cancelled, didn't authorise our payment for over 100 days and then told us they had paid the TA when they hadn't sent them the money....

As has been posted on CC at least a zillion times: once you engage a TA, Oceania's correspondences regarding finances/logistics/news and/or adjustments of any kind are ALL sent to the TA whose responsibility it is to then send that information to you. 

Since it's already been established that some U.K. TAs are "asleep at the wheel," it's highly likely that your cancellation notice was never relayed by your TA.

[ORV]

42 minutes ago, Janet- said:

Although I used a TA it was not the one in Chorley and my T&Cs are those as stated on O's web site.

My credit card payment went directly to O and the refund for the first cruise was directly from them.

Not all the delays in refunds can be laid at TAs doors. It appears that O are deliberately targeting European customers for use as interest free loans.

Oceania is the problem 

How long have you been waiting for this refund? 

[LHT28]

I just  had a look at P & O forum    YIKES  if they think Oceania is bad good thing  they did not book their local line

[ChappChapp]

Cruise July 16 to August 7 Marina Back to Back Oceania cancelled May 20 full refund posted to our CC June 25 Excellent turn around 

[Squidlips]

On 4/3/2020 at 10:47 PM, Gee & Gee said:

I requested a refund in mid-March (for a late March sailing), the morning after complete cancellations were announced and full refunds were offered. I have not received any refund either. I have called Oceania back and just gotten a weak "we're working on it."

 

I'm highly concerned NCL will bankrupt before we get refunded. And I think it's gross to jump down the throats of posters asking these questions and raising these concerns just because you were one of the lucky ones who got a refund already.

 

[Squidlips]

On 4/3/2020 at 11:00 PM, jonthomas said:

Many of us agree that there is a real concern of bankruptcy. Then all refunds, FCC will all be worthless. So the sooner you get it,  the better. But hey there are still foolish people that are making final payments. Just think about that one. 

 

On 4/4/2020 at 12:29 AM, LHT28 said:

I  am sure there is  a long list of people  trying to get refunds for previously cancelled cruises 

I know people are concerned about getting their money back  but  the staff can only do so much  in a day

Many are working from home so checking  with payments & different cancellation rules for the differ offers takes time

 Then we have the CC companies  they also have to process the refunds

 

My opinion is take a deep breath  & let them do their jobs

 

We are in the same situation with our cruise for the 25th March being cancelled by Oceania on the 13th March and we took up the option of a refund.  We went through an agent for a package deal.  We were informed that it will take 12 weeks for a refund.  After the 12 weeks arrived and still no refund, I enquired again, only to be told that it is now blown out to 16 weeks for a fund.  The agent is still waiting on funds from Oceania.  In the meantime I have  received refund back from the agent for airfares and hotel accommodation, so still waiting patiently for the cruise portion of our holiday, which hopefully, should be about 4 weeks away.

[Paulchili]

38 minutes ago, Squidlips said:

 

We are in the same situation with our cruise for the 25th March being cancelled by Oceania on the 13th March and we took up the option of a refund.  We went through an agent for a package deal.  We were informed that it will take 12 weeks for a refund.  After the 12 weeks arrived and still no refund, I enquired again, only to be told that it is now blown out to 16 weeks for a fund.  The agent is still waiting on funds from Oceania.  In the meantime I have  received refund back from the agent for airfares and hotel accommodation, so still waiting patiently for the cruise portion of our holiday, which hopefully, should be about 4 weeks away.

Something is not quite right here 12 weeks is too long - never mind 16 weeks.

I have never heard of anyone waiting that long for a refund from Oceania.

1 Check with your TA if they have the money

2 File a CC dispute.

[Squidlips]

18 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Something is not quite right here 12 weeks is too long - never mind 16 weeks.

I have never heard of anyone waiting that long for a refund from Oceania.

1 Check with your TA if they have the money

2 File a CC dispute.

Thank you 

NCL which took over Oceania Cruises, were having difficulties and did a capital raising on 6th May, so most likely waiting on these proceeds.
Will follow up with agent in a couple of weeks.
Our cruise was paid by EFT.

[Squidlips]

Thank you for information.

Apparently, NCL who have taken over Oceania Cruises, were having difficulties and did a capital raising in the 6th May, so probably waiting for the proceeds from this.

will check with our TA in a couple of weeks, whether Oceania have funded them.

we paid for our cruise via EFT.

 

[Paulchili]

6 hours ago, Squidlips said:

NCL which took over Oceania Cruises, were having difficulties and did a capital raising on 6th May, so most likely waiting on these proceeds.

That aside - it applied to everyone yet most people got their money back a lot sooner - many under 60 days.

That is why I think it doesn't sound right.

[LHT28]

8 hours ago, Squidlips said:

Thank you 

NCL which took over Oceania Cruises, were having difficulties and did a capital raising on 6th May, so most likely waiting on these proceeds.
Will follow up with agent in a couple of weeks.
Our cruise was paid by EFT.

Are you in the UK  by chance?

What is  an EFT?      Cash?

 

NCLH  owns Oceania  the transaction was done in 2014   so not sure what your point is ?

All cruise lines were taking out loans  during the the pandemic

[Queen of DaNile]

On 4/2/2020 at 8:27 PM, Pster55 said:

So we're about two months into this pandemic, more or less. I'm curious, has ANYONE recieved a cash refund from Oceania yet? Despite all the rhetoric,  Traveler's Assurance Program, etc. has anyone actually recieved their cruise fare, or any other deposit for that matter, owed by Oceania? 

Back to the original question - We got our deposit refunded to our CC within 5 days of cancelling a November cruise in early June. Very pleasantly surprised.

[ORV]

36 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

What is  an EFT? 

Just a guess but I'd say say Electronic Funds Transfer. 

[LHT28]

10 minutes ago, ORV said:

Just a guess but I'd say say Electronic Funds Transfer. 

That is what I was thinking   also

Regional differences  at play 😉

⚠️

 

 

[piscean]

On 6/27/2020 at 11:35 AM, HOLIDAYREADER said:

Hi Janet and Piscean. We still haven't received our refund for our April 14th cruise cancelled by Oceania in March. It does seem unfair that the European customers are being treated very badly, I am wondering if they have taken a decision to protect their American customer base. We have been told that the money had reached our Chorley TA on Monday and it would be paid on Friday but no sign of it yet. Back on the phone to the accounts department on Monday I guess! We have held off with our credit card as we have another unrelated claim ongoing which is taking ages too and were hoping that we could avoid going that route again. We will not be using Oceania again.

 

Hello HolidayReader

I hope you have received your monies from our Chorley TA?

I have now been waiting over 100 days....today I was informed that they( Regent) have paid my TA.

next problem is getting the TA to pay. They are saying they are still waiting for suppliers of flights, hotels and transfers.

My application for a credit card cash back was made 2 months ago...only just being addressed!

 

[CanEcosse]

Good news from Canada. I have received full refund of deposit and balance (all in $Cdn) after only 33 days from acknowledgement of refund request by Oceania. This was for a July 16th cruise, 22 days on Marina ex Oslo.

[ChappChapp]

5 minutes ago, CanEcosse said:

Good news from Canada. I have received full refund of deposit and balance (all in $Cdn) after only 33 days from acknowledgement of refund request by Oceania. This was for a July 16th cruise, 22 days on Marina ex Oslo.

We where on the same cruise and I am glad we were both reimbursed so quickly. Sorry we did not sail, worked so long and hard on arrangements. But we are healthy and well so we are ahead.