Uniworld River cruise cancellation

[Cheekyrn1]

I am incredibly disappointed with uniworld...I understand this has been a very difficult time for all tourist businesses and the financial impact has been devastating..I finally spoke to a uniworld rep yesterday and verified that our September China cruise has been canceled...she said I have 2 options..receive a 50% penalty as a FCC and 50% refund to my credit card or transfer all funds to a new booking..I asked why I should be penalized?   I also stated I want a full refund because I cannot make future plans at this time...she then became very adamant that this was policy “across the board” and there was nothing she could do...I told her I was not interested in the policy. That I didn’t think it was fair for uniworld to keep my money...she was becoming frustrated and I’m sure it was because she had this same conversation with 100 other people all day long...i reiterated that I did not want a FCC as I would not be traveling with uniworld again ...she responded again with the “ that’s the policy  across the board”. We ended the call as neither one of us were satisfied...I contacted my credit card and they have initiated dispute

[Roz]

I don't understand a penalty when it was Uniworld that canceled, not you.  I would not be happy with this, and would do what you've done, contact my credit card company.

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 7/10/2020 at 7:01 AM, Cheekyrn1 said:

I am incredibly disappointed with uniworld...I understand this has been a very difficult time for all tourist businesses and the financial impact has been devastating..I finally spoke to a uniworld rep yesterday and verified that our September China cruise has been canceled...she said I have 2 options..receive a 50% penalty as a FCC and 50% refund to my credit card or transfer all funds to a new booking..I asked why I should be penalized?   I also stated I want a full refund because I cannot make future plans at this time...she then became very adamant that this was policy “across the board” and there was nothing she could do...I told her I was not interested in the policy. That I didn’t think it was fair for uniworld to keep my money...she was becoming frustrated and I’m sure it was because she had this same conversation with 100 other people all day long...i reiterated that I did not want a FCC as I would not be traveling with uniworld again ...she responded again with the “ that’s the policy  across the board”. We ended the call as neither one of us were satisfied...I contacted my credit card and they have initiated dispute

In the same "boat" with Uniworld.  Canceled June two-week cruise through France and all Uniworld wants to do is the same 50/50.  Ir was canceled in March as France was shutting down.  Of course, have not even seen the 50 percent refund much less a statement on FCC.  FCC, of course, does us no good being north of 75 with the health concerns making cruising during the pandemic extremely problematic for our health.  Uniworld has shut the door to any discussion.  We have sailed with them half a dozen times, to include China.  Not what we expected from this company.  But then, its owned privately and is one of 30 subsidiaries which are all travel related and hemorrhaging money.  Trying to make up for loses in other businesses by scamming Uniworld customers is criminal.  I'm very tired of Uniworld treating us like we are pariahs.  Apparently, Uniworld just doesn't care about past customers or care about operating fairly.  Its time to follow your lead and initiate the CC dispute.  

[iMarco46]

On 6/8/2020 at 9:36 AM, TikiIslandGirl said:

Just a FYI-the credit card company did a reversal of the charge while they are doing their investigation.  They can charge it back if they find in favor of Uniworld. Hope the reversal stays.

 

On 6/9/2020 at 3:00 PM, jbalter said:

I’ll wait a couple of days and see what happens. If no adequate response, I’ll contact my credit card company. Thanks for the suggestion and your experience. 

 

On 7/10/2020 at 7:01 AM, Cheekyrn1 said:

...I contacted my credit card and they have initiated dispute

 

For those who have opted to "dispute the charge" with their credit card companies, what have been the results?

Have there been any permanent reversals of the charges?

[Tbird Gal]

We booked and completely paid for a November 2020 Nile River cruise in May 2019.    We requested through our travel agent a cancellation of this (along with two other couples) on March 25 because we were concerned about traveling in Egypt in November if the virus wasn't under control.    We were within the full cancellation less a $200pp charge time frame.    Uniworld responded that we would receive a full refund within 3-6 weeks.    Then, after 6 weeks, another call by our TA and a new 60 - 90 day time frame for refunds.   Now that is past.    Our TA has called many times.    The other two couples had insisted on Uniworld because of past sailings.   We have normally done and enjoyed Viking.   I will NEVER book another Uniworld after this experience.   My friends who cancelled their summer Viking cruise has already received the refund.    This is just so disappointing.    

[allmyahava]

We were scheduled for a March sailing in France that was canceled by Uniworld 3 weeks before the sailing.   We paid in full in August of 2019 and did purchase Uniworld's insurance, this was going to be our first river cruise.  At the time of cancellation my husband allowed them to book us for a May sailing, when that was canceled a late August sailing. 

 

He has called in several times to Uniworld (we booked directly with Uniworld - we did not go through a TA)  only to be told we have credit for a future sailing within 24 months and that they DO NOT give refunds.  By reading all of these posts we know that is not true.  My husband is in his 70's, we do not want them sitting on our money indefinitely, we can not imagine when travel will be allowed again, let alone river cruising.   

 

Their customer service staff have been extremely curt and short with him.  We don't give refunds, is that all?  We were thinking about hiring an attorney , from these posts it looks like we can call the credit card company next and see if they can duel this out.  Before we take another step.

 

I understand all cruise lines are different but several friends who had future sailings on different lines have received refunds on sailings they want to cancel.  

 

We should have the option to receive a refund, they have had our money for almost a year.  

[kent9xxx1]

Why haven't you called the credit card company asap?  Doesn't matter if you go through TA or not.  TA cannot force Uniworld to refund.

[OrmBeaRee]

We have been going back and forth with our TA since March.  We paid in full almost a year in advance. Our TA told us last week that Uniworld would not give us $$, they are only offering Cruise Credit -- choices:  Book for same time frame in 2021 guaranteed price the same, or FCC until end of 2022.  And you can use the FCC on any of their Sister companies.  Also, we had Alianz cancel any reason insurance.  The insurance is good for 700+ days from booking (to be transferred)-- so we have till 8/31/2021 to use it.  We considered claiming funds through ins. in the beginning of this fiasco, however, TA discouraged that because of the loss we would take.  She "said" we may be able to get refund or extension on the insurance.  LOL.  We are ok with taking a trip later or a different trip.  Our biggest worry is that the company will be out of business and then we lose the whole ball of wax.  Does anyone understand the policy they have regarding canceling or moving trip a second time?  Not easy to understand 2020 policy vs 2021 policy and policy regarding the FCC usage.  Has anyone requested FCC and then gone to CC company for refund instead?  

[Host Jazzbeau]

@OrmBeaRee where do you live?  My TA tells me that since I live in New York, I can cancel trip insurance before the trip and get my money back even when the basic policy says you can't.

[iMarco46]

Changed again-again.

https://www.uniworld.com/en/already-booked/travel-information/

 

TEMPORARY POLICY UPDATES (updated Wednesday, July 22nd)*

2020-2021 Cancellation Policy (for scheduled departures from September 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021; booked by September 30, 2020)
Guests with departure dates from September 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 can change or suspend their cruise up to 30 days prior to their departure date for European cruise/tours, or up to 60 days prior to their departure date for Exotic cruise/tours, without penalty and rebook on any future cruise through 2022 OR choose to receive a Future Travel Certificate equal to the amount of funds received by Uniworld at the time of cancellation. Cruise/tour must be booked by September 30, 2020. The Future Travel Certificate can be used towards any 2021 or 2022 departure and is combinable with all Uniworld public promotions in effect at the time of redemption. Future Travel Certificates are non-refundable and may not be redeemed for cash. Certificates are transferable upon written request by the original recipient. Airfares booked through Uniworld are subject to airline cancellation fees. Guests also have the option to rebook with one of our Travel Corporation sister brands for 2021 or 2022.

*Revised cancellation policy as of July 22nd, 2020. This supersedes all previous cancellation policies and is subject to change.

[agidor63]

On 7/3/2020 at 1:13 AM, kent9xxx1 said:

 

Call your credit card company.  

We paid cash, because of a discount that was offered.  Never again!  Our 90 days was last week and still no money.  According to Uniworld we should get our money this coming week. I will not hold my breath.

[Tbird Gal]

We just received our refund for our November 2020 Nile trip.    We had cancelled in March which was months before the deadline for a refund.    We did lose $200pp which can be applied to a future trip on Uniworld if booked within 2 years.    The refund was acknowledged as processing for the past 4 months.    Thankfully, it finally hit.

 

I want to put in an acknowledgement of travel agents.   I know I can't list ours by name, however, if you DON'T use one...you should strongly consider it.   Ours made calls continuously on our behalf.   It costs you nothing extra and ours has saved us money over the years with some change fees and return guest discounts.   Also, and in this time of uncertain financial stability of certain travel lines, our TA assured us that if the river cruise line went out of business, her travel agency insurance would cover us.    You certainly won't get that by booking yourself.     And our credit card company will only dispute bills charged within the past 60 days.   Which we did not realize.    So, really consider a TA in the future.   Hopefully you'll find one as good as ours in Emerald Isle, NC.  

[NCollierville]

Cancelled an August 2021 cruise with TA on April 14, 2020.  TA informed us 30 days to get a refund, then that became 60 days, then at 90 days and no refund he said probably 120 days.  That is when we initiated the dispute on the credit card.  I took to social media on the Uniworld Facebook page that I had not received my requested refund after 90 days and did anyone else have that issue.  I immediately received an IM (Instant Messenger) from Uniworld asking my booking number.  I immediately submitted that info.  One week later no response after Uniworld said they would reach out to the accounting dept and get back to me.  AND Uniworld removed my comment from the Facebook page.  Credit card company said it could take up to 90 days to research.  

[bubbulz]

1 hour ago, Tbird Gal said:

We just received our refund for our November 2020 Nile trip.    We had cancelled in March which was months before the deadline for a refund.    We did lose $200pp which can be applied to a future trip on Uniworld if booked within 2 years.    The refund was acknowledged as processing for the past 4 months.    Thankfully, it finally hit.

We canceled early for a November trip as well and received a refund from Uniworld, minus the $200 per person. The penalty was covered by our insurance in our case.

[Tbird Gal]

4 minutes ago, bubbulz said:

We canceled early for a November trip as well and received a refund from Uniworld, minus the $200 per person. The penalty was covered by our insurance in our case.

 

I'm curious how long it took for your refund?    We hadn't signed up for the insurance because we had until the early summer to do so.    We always get insurance but it sounds like even those with it are having trouble getting refunded.

 

[bubbulz]

18 minutes ago, Tbird Gal said:

 

I'm curious how long it took for your refund?    We hadn't signed up for the insurance because we had until the early summer to do so.    We always get insurance but it sounds like even those with it are having trouble getting refunded.

 

It took several months for the refund. We didn’t have any problem with the insurance because we were canceling for a valid medical reason unrelated to Covid.

[Roz]

Got an email from Uniworld yesterday that said  "We're bringing back our limited-time Picture-Perfect Savings offer on select 2021 voyages. Book by August 31, 2020 and save up to $1,000 per person when you pay in full at time of booking. Plus, combine this offer with our 2021 Early Booking Savings and 2021 River Heritage Club Savings for even greater value!*"

 

No way am I giving Uniworld or any other cruise line the full payment up front after reading about all the trouble people are having getting their refunds when the cruises are canceled.  Plus, Uniworld still isn't offering any reduced single supplements, so they're just too darned expensive for my budget.  This is unfortunate as I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 Uniworld cruises I took.

[bubbulz]

9 minutes ago, Roz said:

No way am I giving Uniworld or any other cruise line the full payment up front after reading about all the trouble people are having getting their refunds when the cruises are canceled.  Plus, Uniworld still isn't offering any reduced single supplements, so they're just too darned expensive for my budget.  This is unfortunate as I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 Uniworld cruises I took.

Yep, same here. And it’s not only cruise lines. The airlines have been holding up customers’ refunds as well. I always used to book our travel arrangements well in advance. No more ...

[Roz]

I feel really sorry for the people who paid in full up front from their checking acct. in order to get a discount.  They don't even have the recourse of filing a dispute with their credit card company.  

 

Around the time I joined CC back in 2001 before my first cruise,  Renaissance cruise line went bankrupt and left passengers and crew up the creek without a paddle.  The only people who got any money refunded or assistance were passengers who had paid with a credit card or purchased 3rd party insurance.  Those lessons stuck with a novice cruiser.  

 

Another thing I don't understand about people who have booked multiple cruises in order to take advantage of discounted fares is purchasing insurance for cruises that get canceled.  That's a lot of money to put out to protect yourself against something that stands a good chance of not even happening.  

[Tbird Gal]

4 minutes ago, Roz said:

I feel really sorry for the people who paid in full up front from their checking acct. in order to get a discount.  They don't even have the recourse of filing a dispute with their credit card company.  

 

Around the time I joined CC back in 2001 before my first cruise,  Renaissance cruise line went bankrupt and left passengers and crew up the creek without a paddle.  The only people who got any money refunded or assistance were passengers who had paid with a credit card or purchased 3rd party insurance.  Those lessons stuck with a novice cruiser.  

 

Another thing I don't understand about people who have booked multiple cruises in order to take advantage of discounted fares is purchasing insurance for cruises that get canceled.  That's a lot of money to put out to protect yourself against something that stands a good chance of not even happening.  

 

You learned a good lesson early.   However, some lines give you a nice discount for an EFT rather than a credit card payment.   You never figure a pandemic is going to hit!

 

As for travel insurance, I will never take a trip of more than $5k without it if going overseas.    We were to travel with three other couples for a Spain land tour and one of the men broke his hip a week prior.    We all had the insurance and were all able to cancel since we wanted to do the trip together.    The company (Tauck) was very understanding and we had their insurance.     I'm not sure I understood your comment about purchasing travel insurance for cruises that get cancelled.    Did you mean purchase the insurance AFTER they were cancelled?    

[Host Jazzbeau]

13 minutes ago, Roz said:

Another thing I don't understand about people who have booked multiple cruises in order to take advantage of discounted fares is purchasing insurance for cruises that get canceled.  That's a lot of money to put out to protect yourself against something that stands a good chance of not even happening.  

 

Not sure what you mean by this.  I have very good health insurance through my former employer, but it stops dead at the US border.  So I always buy travel insurance in order to get the medical coverage.  But Allianz only requires me to buy the minimum level to initiate the policy, and I can roll it over to a new trip if one gets cancelled.  I don't really see a downside.

[bubbulz]

We got a hefty discount for paying upfront even though it was with a credit card. That said, since we made the payment almost a year in advance, by the time we canceled it was too late to do anything through the credit card company. But thankfully we ended up being reimbursed in full between Uniworld and our insurance. 

[Roz]

@Tbird Gal and @Host Jazzbeau, I probably didn't explain it well, and maybe I don't fully understand travel insurance.  I always buy it, but didn't know you could transfer it to another cruise.  So I have a cruise booked for January, 2021.  If the cruise line cancels but I don't rebook, the money I spent on the policy is money I spent for a service I didn't even have the potential of using.  Essentially I was insuring myself for nothing.  Does this make sense?  Probably not. 😎

[Tbird Gal]

Roz,

 

I'm no expert with the insurance but what we get normally covers us for health, trip delay, and trip cancellation.    Have only used it that one time, but with Tauck, the insurance was good for another trip booked within a year.   So, it covered the one we cancelled and the one we ended up doing.   One price for two trips.   Not bad.

[bubbulz]

17 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Not sure what you mean by this.  I have very good health insurance through my former employer, but it stops dead at the US border.  So I always buy travel insurance in order to get the medical coverage.  But Allianz only requires me to buy the minimum level to initiate the policy, and I can roll it over to a new trip if one gets cancelled.  I don't really see a downside.

Plus you normally have to purchase within 14-21 days to get coverage for pre-existing conditions. That has saved us 3 times over the last 3 decades or so (twice this year). It’s not just about Covid ...