Just a suggestion.....

[maxydu]

My cruise and flights were cancelled on March 13, 2020. This was at the beginning of the mandatory cancellations. I was told that my refund for flights and the cruise would be credited 

back to the payment method I used to book within 7 days. Not much to do these days so I usually start my day at breakfast by pulling up my credit card to see if my refund has hit. So far

I have not received a cancellation notice or any type of refund.......Sound Familiar????

 

Wouldn't it be a nice gesture of customer service for Celebrity to post a weekly list of cruises that they plan on refunding and or issuing FCC for during the week....

For example:

Week of April 5-11, 2020. We expect to service bookings from the Summit April 11-18 and  the Edge April 18-25.

 

This would assist customers in knowing what the status of their refund was and would eliminate the extra phone calls regarding the same. 

 

For all you flame throwers: I know their task is huge. Knowledge is very helpful in stressful situations. If I knew when I would be receiving a refund it would be very helpful in knowing

who, what and when to pay whom during this period of no income. I'd rather not wait months at a time when money is tight and there are other bills to be paid. The guessing game is very

stressful........

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, maxydu said:

My cruise and flights were cancelled on March 13, 2020. This was at the beginning of the mandatory cancellations. I was told that my refund for flights and the cruise would be credited 

back to the payment method I used to book within 7 days. Not much to do these days so I usually start my day at breakfast by pulling up my credit card to see if my refund has hit. So far

I have not received a cancellation notice or any type of refund.......Sound Familiar????

 

Wouldn't it be a nice gesture of customer service for Celebrity to post a weekly list of cruises that they plan on refunding and or issuing FCC for during the week....

For example:

Week of April 5-11, 2020. We expect to service bookings from the Summit April 11-18 and  the Edge April 18-25.

 

This would assist customers in knowing what the status of their refund was and would eliminate the extra phone calls regarding the same. 

 

For all you flame throwers: I know their task is huge. Knowledge is very helpful in stressful situations. If I knew when I would be receiving a refund it would be very helpful in knowing

who, what and when to pay whom during this period of no income. I'd rather not wait months at a time when money is tight and there are other bills to be paid. The guessing game is very

stressful........

Sure that would be nice. It would also have been nice if Celebrity would have at least sent acknowledgment of the request for our cash refunds.  I removed my rose colored glasses. I was told by the Captains Club rep. that cash refunds would take at least 30 days to be credited back to my credit card. 

[debkaysmith]

I too am waiting, having cancelled one cruise + excursions on March 11th, and two cruises + excursions on March 25th. 

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting... 

🙂

[jelayne]

I have read where other cruises lines are having the same delays and some are now quoting 60 days.  I don't know what the staffing situation is for Celebrity but many companies, including the large on-line TA we use, are having to have their employees work from home.  If this is the case for Celebrity it could be a big factor in the slow processing.  

 

When it became obvious  at the very beginning of March that our mid April cruise wouldn't be possible we cancelled all purchases and had those $ refunded in less that a week.  We asked the TA to cancel the actual cruise on 3/12 however the TA was processing cancellations in date order of sailing at the cruise lines request.  Our cancellation wasn't process until 3/20 and did not show as cancelled on Celebrity's site until  3/26.  I don't expect to see the refund for port fees & taxes or the FCC until early May at the soonest.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

I was told by the Captains Club rep. that cash refunds would take at least 30 days to be credited back to my credit card. 

Thanks for posting this.  I haven't really gotten any definitive answer about how long it will take to get a refund but I will take the 30 day wait over the 90 days NCL told it's customers.  

[davekathy]

8 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thanks for posting this.  I haven't really gotten any definitive answer about how long it will take to get a refund but I will take the 30 day wait over the 90 days NCL told it's customers.  

I'll post on 14 April (I requested cash refunds for our 28 March and 4 April cruises on 13 March) if I've received both my cash refunds credited back to my CC. 😎🤞 I'll also post if I did not receive my cash refunds on 14 April. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by davekathy

[Mr. Click]

It is not just Celebrity. I have a growing list of companies that owe me refunds on cancelled events, tours and cruises and hotels too...Princess Lodges for Alaska 41900 from a 3 week old  cancelation, Vegas.com $330 for concert tickets to an event that was cancelled weeks ago and a refund was promised with in 72 hours, Tours by Locals, Dixie Ellis tours and the list goes on.  Requests for action have been sent and ignored. In those requests I noted that on April 15 I will start filing disputes with my credit card company.  Unfortunately everyone is swamped, everyone is short staffed and everyone on is trying to hold on to cash..Many have even made similar offers to Celebrity's bonus FCC bonuses.  These are hard times for all of so it becomes a balancing act of our patience and their efforts.

[mafig]

I keep getting emails from Celebrity asking what timeframe I'd be able to cruise again.  Nowhere can I respond with "refund my money and then we'll talk."

 

If they can do that, perhaps instead they could issue an email similar to that suggested by maxydu.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cachecara]

Good to know we aren’t alone and this is a waiting game.  

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, maxydu said:

Wouldn't it be a nice gesture of customer service for Celebrity to post a weekly list of cruises that they plan on refunding and or issuing FCC for during the week....

Two reasons this is a non-starter:

 

1. I'm sure they have no clue exactly what the timing will be. Assuming (!) that they start with the earliest scheduled cruise, they may think that they'll get around to a specific cruise next week and post that information, but for one reason or another they get behind in their processing. Now they'll have to send out and update and they'll still get a bunch of pi$$ed off people saying "but you told me this week!"

 

2. Do you really think that their IT staff has the time or ability to work out scheduling?

 

I don't disagree that it's a nice idea, but all things considered, it ain't gonna happen!

[hcat]

No chance X will do this,

 

I respectfully think this should merge with the ongoing Refund Tracker thread..quite an eye opener

 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by hcat

[maxydu]

23 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Two reasons this is a non-starter:

 

1. I'm sure they have no clue exactly what the timing will be. Assuming (!) that they start with the earliest scheduled cruise, they may think that they'll get around to a specific cruise next week and post that information, but for one reason or another they get behind in their processing. Now they'll have to send out and update and they'll still get a bunch of pi$$ed off people saying "but you told me this week!"

 

2. Do you really think that their IT staff has the time or ability to work out scheduling?

 

I don't disagree that it's a nice idea, but all things considered, it ain't gonna happen!

When I started this thread I knew "it ain't gonna happen". Where I hope you're wrong is that they don't have a 

logistical plan as to who what when and where. The only logical method is by date of the ships cancellation. 

They have a fortune of their customers money which they have an absolute responsibility to return in a reasonable time frame. 

The FAA gives the airlines 2 weeks to return fee's for any flights that they cancel. I think making their "plan" known to their

customers is an expectation. They definitely have a plan for customers who do not get their final payment in on time. 

Information is power. They need to use that power to supply their customers with a reasonable amount of information so that 

when this mess is over these same customers will return and feel like they were treated as well as could be under the circumstances. 

There are families out here who no longer have an income. Bills are coming due. It is not reasonable for a company to hold onto

their customers funds (thousands of dollars) and not inform them as to what the plan is to refund these monies.  Some folks are not as fortunate as others and cannot make do till a company decides to return the funds. It may take longer than most people would like but the silence will get them no where after the dust settles and competition for customers is back up for grabs.

[Fouremco]

16 minutes ago, maxydu said:

They have a fortune of their customers money which they have an absolute responsibility to return in a reasonable time frame.

 

I couldn't agree more. Regrettably, in the current environment of reduced work forces and work-from-home solutions, reasonable time frames aren't what they would have been six months ago. Even as the mediator in me says "understand their situation, I'm sure that they are working as hard and fast as they can", the cynic in me says "they are bleeding money and want to slow the loss down as much as they can." 

 

16 minutes ago, maxydu said:

The FAA gives the airlines 2 weeks to return fee's for any flights that they cancel.

 

Again, I agree completely. Without getting into the whole other issue of flags of convenience and foreign company registration, it seems to me that there are few/no passenger rights for cruisers. We are obliged to accept very one-sided cruise contracts that allows them to sell a Canada-New England cruise that goes to the Bahamas and nowhere near Canadian waters, with no apparent recourse. If nothing else comes of the situation, I hope that governments will recognize the need establish rights for cruisers.

[cachouonacruise]

For what it’s worth, we experienced two cruise cancellations for departures on March 14, 2020: One on X, the other on NCL.

 

Both trips also involved flight, hotel, excursions, car rental, private tours etc. All cancelled.

 

Our X cruise was first in Asia. It was initially affected by an itinerary change, and was cancelled by X, on February 12. 

 

We unwisely thought that the virus was an Asian issue and that Hawaii would be safe. So we promptly booked an Hawaï crise only on NCL. Our flight was scheduled to depart on March 13, and the cruise on March 14. March 11, the WHO declared the international pandemic. March 12, we cancelled our trip and March 13, NCL cancelled the cruise.

 

Refund processes:

 

During the 4 to 5 weeks following the cancelled cruise by X, we received bit by bit, in no logical order, 100% of all expenses paid and 25% FCC.

 

On NCL, within two weeks, we received a FCC encompassing our cruise tickets, prepaid gratuities, paid gratuities on beverage package, and money spent for ship excursions. No cash refund, with the exception of the internet package. We also received a future credit for our flights on United, which due to imposed restrictions, we will likely not be able to use. (Prepaid airline seat selection was refunded)

 

Still waiting for the car rental and one hotel refunds.

 

All and all, I have found the X refund process challenging and stressful. But, all things considered, I preferred that approach in comparison of the approach used by NCL where even elements that I thought were refundable, were only included in the FCC.

 

Just in case this may help cruisers waiting for refunds.