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Refund Roll Call


JPH814
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51 minutes ago, MightyQuinn said:

 

Paulchili, there's no doubt that SB has let you down.  We're in the same situation with Crystal and we're seriously ticked off.  But we have FCC that has some value and we'd like to use.  Will you let your FCC with SB expire worthless? Or will you give them another deposit so you can use your FCC?

We used the FCC to book a cruise for 3/21 (if things will be OK). Our FCC was more than the new cruise fare so they allowed us to use it for deposit and fare - all except for taxes. Our final payment will be in Dec in the amount of the taxes. I don't know if I would have booked if we needed to put down a new substantial deposit. It's a fairly large amount so we will not let it go if cruising will ever be enjoyable again.

We will still have a small amount of FCC left - not sure what will happen with it. I wish they would let us use for excursions, etc.

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27 minutes ago, notjaded said:

Not Paulchili, but I am familiar with Seabourn FCC. When they expire after four years, one gets a full refund. That is, if Seabourn is not bankrupt.

I think our FCC from the cancelled cruise has to be used by the end of 2021 - I don't think it has a 4 year life like "normal" FCCs?

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6 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

I think our FCC from the cancelled cruise has to be used by the end of 2021 - I don't think it has a 4 year life like "normal" FCCs?

 

Really?  I hope not!  I haven't heard that, surely that can't be the case, what if people aren't comfortable cruising next year, I won't be happy with that.  

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7 minutes ago, Mauzac said:

 

Really?  I hope not!  I haven't heard that, surely that can't be the case, what if people aren't comfortable cruising next year, I won't be happy with that.  

This is the email from SB re:FCC: (the second FCC they refer to is dfor air changes which I am contesting as I want it refunded to CC and not as FCC):

 

Dear Mr. X

 

Thank you for your continued correspondence regarding your Future Cruise Credits.

 

The sail by date is December 31, 2021 for both Future Cruise Credits.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Thank you for sailing Seabourn. We look forward to welcoming you aboard in the near future!

 

Kind Regards,

 

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6 hours ago, notjaded said:

Not Paulchili, but I am familiar with Seabourn FCC. When they expire after four years, one gets a full refund. That is, if Seabourn is not bankrupt.

 

I asked Paulchili about his FCC = Future Cruise Credit which was given to him in lieu of a cash refund for a cancelled cruise.  You replied about Seabourn FCD = Future Cruise Deposit which is an entirely different thing.  The similar abbreviations is leading to confusion!

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Update to my entry in the spreadsheet:

Received an email today from AmEx, Seabourn has credited $2681 back to my card. This is for the nonpenalty portion of our deposits. We made the booking using FCD, and we were in the partial penalty phase when we canceled (Seabourn hadn't canceled the cruise yet).  They are supposed to be putting the approx $3000 "penalty" plus our original FCD back in our account as approx. $4000 FCD. I guess I should check on this with Seabourn at some point. 

So about 72 days for our refund to show up.

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JPH814,

Please update your spreadsheet to reflect that my refund was credited to my AmEx account this morning.  What a great way to start the day!  Hoping this is a new trend and that everyone else gets theirs soon.  Maybe your letter to Seabourn will help everyone. Thanks again for  tracking the refund status.

 

flyfishing widow

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WELL IT FINALLY HAPPENED 

 

I checked my Amex this morning and my $31K+ was refunded last nite June 4. 

 

I hope this means means many more will follow soon. Seabourn said the process date was 5/29. 

 

 

 

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31 minutes ago, Swaxxy said:

I checked my Amex this morning and my $31K+ was refunded last nite June 4. 

Was this just for the cruise fare or also included air change fees (which I know you were waiting for).

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I did not file a CC dispute. The refund was from Seabourn back to my Amex. 

I requested the refund on March 30. I was told the refund was processed on 5/29. The refund showed up on Amex on June 4.  

 

This was the total refund for the cruise fare. I received the air change refund via a check from Seabourn on May 30. It was for about $30 less then requested and my TA wrote Seabourn a letter asking for an explanation.  Who knows when they might reply. 

 

I do not care about $30 but happy I received all of it. 

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Swaxxy said:

I did not file a CC dispute. The refund was from Seabourn back to my Amex. 

I requested the refund on March 30. I was told the refund was processed on 5/29. The refund showed up on Amex on June 4.  

 

This was the total refund for the cruise fare. I received the air change refund via a check from Seabourn on May 30. It was for about $30 less then requested and my TA wrote Seabourn a letter asking for an explanation.  Who knows when they might reply. 

 

I do not care about $30 but happy I received all of it. 

 

 

 

 

Glad you were finally made (almost) whole.

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33 minutes ago, Swaxxy said:

Thanks Paulchili. I hope you receive yours very soon. 

It should be soon. I just heard from Citi that they heard back from SB and Citi will let me know in 10 business days what the answer is (SB had till 7/20 to reply but it seems they replied earlier)

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3 hours ago, flyfishingwidow said:

JPH814,

Please update your spreadsheet to reflect that my refund was credited to my AmEx account this morning.  What a great way to start the day!  Hoping this is a new trend and that everyone else gets theirs soon.  Maybe your letter to Seabourn will help everyone. Thanks again for  tracking the refund status.

 

flyfishing widow

 

Congrats to you but once again, another example of "who knows how they're processing refunds" as there are several of us whose cruises were cancelled the same day as you, with cruise dates before yours, yet none of us have received refunds yet.  Go figure.  😞  

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I have come to the conclusion it’s based on a set amount each week. Let’s say 100,000 total. They pick and choose by amount total not by the date cancelled. So maybe two full refund and 4 deposits. Just guessing. Hope we hear from someone from Seabourn about the spreadsheet.

Edited by wesport
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Day 67 & still no refund. Got all excited this morning because I received an email from SB telling me that the cancellation of my cruise had resulted in the cancellation & refund of an Internet purchase. Since I purchased my BTB cruises over the Internet, I was hoping for a cruise refund.  Instead, I received a $0 refund for a reservation at The Grill by Thomas Keller. Why do they bother with this nonsense? They owe me over $40,000 & are refunding me for a free reservation. They cancelled my cruises  - did they expect me to dine at the Grill at the bottom of the ocean with Jupiter & some mermaids?

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12 hours ago, Swaxxy said:

I did not file a CC dispute. The refund was from Seabourn back to my Amex. 

I requested the refund on March 30. I was told the refund was processed on 5/29. The refund showed up on Amex on June 4.  

 

This was the total refund for the cruise fare. I received the air change refund via a check from Seabourn on May 30. It was for about $30 less then requested and my TA wrote Seabourn a letter asking for an explanation.  Who knows when they might reply. 

 

I do not care about $30 but happy I received all of it. 

 

 

 

 

Swaxxy:  So happy for you!  I guess there may be hope for us, although our request for a refund was March 15, a couple of weeks before you.

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An update.  When I sent the email (noted above)to Seabourn guest relations and public relations mailboxes,   I also sent it to  Chris J. Austin SVP,  Global Marketing & Sales.  While I have not yet heard back from the first two, I did receive an email from Mr. Austin.  Here is his response - and my reply:

 

 

Mr. Henry,

 

Thank you for being a loyal Seabourn cruiser, like you we are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to Rediscover Extraordinary Worlds and welcome guests back on board our fleet.

As it pertains to your question about refunds I appreciate your perspective and understanding. We cannot discuss any specific guest refund with anyone other than the guest and their travel advisor.  A significant number of refunds have been processed and I thank you for noting that in your communication. We know that some guests are waiting for their refund and may be frustrated by how long it is taking. We fully understand and apologize for this situation. Please be assured that we have received all requests from guests who have made a self-election and currently have those in our queue and are working through these on a daily basis. We are doing everything we can to expedite the processing of an unprecedented number of refunds and future cruise credits during this challenging time.

We ask for your continued patience and support as we work through each booking properly. Due to the unique nature of this situation, we are unable to use our usual automated process. Our team is working hard to manually process this large volume of requests while working from home. This is our commitment to ensuring each and every booking is handled accurately and as efficiently as possible, in hopes of avoiding any further frustrations for our valued guests.

With best regards

Chris

Chris J. Austin

SVP,  Global Marketing & Sales

 

 

 

My Reply:

 

 

Hello Mr. Austin

 

Thank you for your very prompt reply.  I know you and others at Seabourn are working under unusual and stressful circumstances and appreciate what you are going through.

 

The purpose of my sending the email to you and others at Seabourn is not to “discuss any specific guest refund with anyone”.  It was to invite Seabourn to address a group of its past, current and hopefully future customers who are confused with the processes underway and disappointed by the lack of communication from Seabourn.  This discussion currently has had over 15,000 views

 

As I mentioned in my original email, the overriding question is “why is there such disparity in the length of time it takes to receive refunds?”  I was hoping Seabourn would take the time to provide a little detail on why some refunds have been received 45 days after a request while others are still waiting 80 days or more.  This can be done generically without discussing specific cases. With all due respect, your email does not answer the question.

 

I started the thread on Cruise Critic as a way to help people understand what is going in a fact-based way.  Without some direct perspective from Seabourn, people continue to be left to their own speculations as to the reasons for the disparity.  And much of that speculation disparages Seabourn.  I sincerely was hoping to avoid that. 

 

Joe Henry

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Apropos of nothing, today I received word that my airfare (booked directly with American Airlines) was refunded to me.  It was 7 days after I had requested it.  I had held off requesting the refund, thinking I would just use the credit at some point.  The process of requesting the refund was pretty easy, although they tried to offer you a 25% bonus if you kept it as a credit. You really needed to be careful in filling out the on-line request for refud form. 

 

Here is the latest chart.  Some good news to report:

  As of Date: 6/6/2020        
  Cruise Fare Cruise  Date Refund Request  Date  Refund Received Date Days since Request Days between Request and  Refund
  Flaminjune 3/14/2020 2/24/2020 5/13/2020   79
n Sueweldon 3/14/2020 3/15/2020 5/23/2020   69
u jkwestlake 3/21/2020 3/27/2020   71  
n Zimflyer 3/22/2020 3/17/2020 5/10/2020   54
n Rambo Trout 3/22/2020 2/27/2020 5/12/2020   75
  Happyhoppies 3/22/2020 3/17/2020 5/23/2020   67
n Sunburned Tongue 3/22/2020 3/9/2020 5/31/2020   83
u cruzluvers 3/22/2020 3/9/2020   89  
  Twinkles 3/28/2020 3/15/2020 5/18/2020   64
n rgaudet 3/28/2020 3/15/2020   83  
u TV24 3/28/2020 3/15/2020   83  
n Mauzac 4/5/2020 3/14/2020   84  
n Scottie920 4/5/2020 3/16/2020 6/3/2020   79
n remember66 4/5/2020 3/26/2020   72  
  canadalin 4/8/2020 3/15/2020   83  
  Teamflames 4/15/2020 3/10/2020 5/25/2020   76
n Sunburned Tongue 4/17/2020 3/9/2020 5/23/2020   75
  SF Voyage 4/17/2020 3/9/2020 5/24/2020   76
u Hencol 4/20/2020 3/31/2020   67  
n Mauzac 4/20/2020 3/30/2020   68  
u Marazul 4/22/2020 4/2/2020   65  
n astride 4/29/2020 3/30/2020   68  
u swaxxy 4/29/2020 3/30/2020 6/5/2020   67
  joc123 4/29/2020 3/31/2020   67  
  DC Traveler 5/2/2020 4/13/2020   54  
n Daliowner  5/5/2020 3/11/2020 5/31/2020   81
u mhf 5/6/2020 3/26/2020 5/21/2020   56
u Bobal 5/6/2020 3/11/2020 5/24/2020   74
u Mark56 5/9/2020 3/16/2020   82  
  Laylam 5/9/2020 4/1/2020   66  
n Astride 5/16/2020 4/15/2020   52  
u DFW 5/23/2020 4/16/2020   51  
u jph814  5/23/2020 4/17/2020   50  
u Zelker 5/23/2020 4/15/2020   52  
  Laylam 5/23/2020 4/16/2020   51  
u Jcrobinson48 5/26/2020 4/15/2020   52  
  DuffyMcDuffy 5/31/2020 4/14/2020   53  
n ON Cruiser 5/31/2020 4/14/2020   53  
u Flyfishingwidow 6/3/2020 4/15/2020 6/5/2020 52 51
u Wyattsaubt 6/6/2020 4/15/2020   52  
  MTN1 6/23/2020 4/13/2020   54  
  crudoll 6/27/2020 4/15/2020   52  
  JRS51 6/27/2020 3/25/2020 6/5/2020   72
  Wire 6/27/2020 4/16/2020   51  
  Hoosier74 7/18/2020 3/18/2020 5/29/2020   72
u Jodiandfrank 7/18/2020 3/16/2020   82  
u Westport 7/18/2020 4/3/2020   64  
  Foyt 7/25/2020 3/23/2020   75  
u Whystayhome 7/31/2020 5/6/2020   31  
u Jcrobinson48 8/12/2020 4/5/2020 6/1/2020   57
  labate 8/14/2020 5/7/2020   30  
u Clou 9/16/2020 3/27/2020   71  
u TV24 10/3/2020 5/7/2020   30  
  barcrab 10/10/2020 4/9/2020 5/30/2020   51
u Whystayhome 10/24/2020 5/6/2020   31  
u Not Jaded 12/20/2020 3/20/2020   78  
  Wire 12/20/2020 3/22/2020   76  
u Clou 12/22/2020 4/13/2020   54  
u Mmastell 1/13/2021 4/9/2020 5/25/2020   46
  Average         67.8

 

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Regardless of what Seabourn says, it's obvious that the majority of us on this thread are frustrated by the time it's taking compared to what most of us were initially promised and the complete lack of communication.

 

That said, here's an interesting statistic:  Out of 59 people waiting for a refund of their cruise fare (and, if booked w/SB, their airfare), only 21 of us have received refunds, or about 35 percent.  Was anyone else expecting that percentage to be at least 50 percent (or higher) by now?  I know I was.  

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2 minutes ago, zelker said:

Regardless of what Seabourn says, it's obvious that the majority of us on this thread are frustrated. 

 

So here's an interesting statistic (assuming I did my math correctly) - out of 59 people waiting for a refund of their cruise fare (and, if booked w/SB, their airfare), only 21 of us have received refunds, or about 35 percent.  Does anyone else think that percentage should be at least 50 percent by now?

While I share your frustration, I am not sure that I agree necessarily.  

 

The average number of days from request to refund is just about 68 days.  Pretty much on target (if you believe the target was 60 business days).  I for example are only 50 days out.  My bigger question would be regarding the 13 people who are awaiting refunds for longer than that average. Seven of those are more than 80 days (Of course, some people might not have reported back) 

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