Silversea refund processing time

[nowornever]

Hi Caroldoll.  When Silversea canceled our Moon fall cruise, the refund was promised from 21- 31 Aug & it appeared on AMEX on the 22nd.  I don't think you should worry.  But...it made me sad to see the refund - would so much rather be "there." 

[Caroldoll]

On 9/6/2020 at 6:43 PM, nowornever said:

Hi Caroldoll.  When Silversea canceled our Moon fall cruise, the refund was promised from 21- 31 Aug & it appeared on AMEX on the 22nd.  I don't think you should worry.  But...it made me sad to see the refund - would so much rather be "there." 

Me too, but we have talked it over and we don't want to travel in a bubble.  Having restrictions on who you can be with, eat with and have to be on a tour when you get off just won't work for us.

[AZAL1940]

BEWARE. Now 120 days and still waiting for refund on cancelled cruise from Food & Wine Trails, Santa Rosa, CA., owned by Adelman Travel, Milwaukee, WI. I suspect financial liquidity of Travel Agency is so weak that they are awaiting receipt of deposits on future bookings before making refunds on cancelled cruises. Silver Moon Athens to Venice Sept. 2020 cruise was cancelled May 15 and it’s now Sept. 17 ... still no refund!

[Observer]

21 minutes ago, AZAL1940 said:

BEWARE. Now 120 days and still waiting for refund on cancelled cruise from Food & Wine Trails, Santa Rosa, CA., owned by Adelman Travel, Milwaukee, WI. I suspect financial liquidity of Travel Agency is so weak that they are awaiting receipt of deposits on future bookings before making refunds on cancelled cruises. Silver Moon Athens to Venice Sept. 2020 cruise was cancelled May 15 and it’s now Sept. 17 ... still no refund!

 

This would seem to be an issue with the travel agency rather than SS, right?  How did you pay for the cruise?  Did the cruise charge come from Silversea or from the TA?   

[wren2]

The longest I waited for refund in the U.K. was 81 days.  I did notice that US refunds seemed to be processed more quickly. I would check with your TA and if they say they have not received the refund from Silversea, I would contact Silversea directly and let your TA know this is what you are going to do.

[AZAL1940]

Silversea’s Air Dept. did issue that refund @ 90 days direct to my credit card. But cruise deposit refund from Silversea is apparently done through Travel Agency (based on their having booked a group of staterooms)?  That does not, however, justify length of time being so excessive...

[Silver Spectre]

3 hours ago, AZAL1940 said:

Silversea’s Air Dept. did issue that refund @ 90 days direct to my credit card. But cruise deposit refund from Silversea is apparently done through Travel Agency (based on their having booked a group of staterooms)?  That does not, however, justify length of time being so excessive...

I suggest you check with SS and see if they have refunded the TA.

[tohru214]

I canceled on 7/31 and they are now saying I won’t see the refund until 10/23-11/2. I think waiting 90 days for a refund is ridiculous.

[Caroldoll]

I am so very sad.  Had to cancel. a cruise 30 days ago.  Trouble with my husband's cancer, and then on top of it having to arrange a place to live because of the fire.  Adding to that lost food and clothing.  Contacted management with Silversea and they said I had to wait at least another two weeks.  I paid in full at the time of booking.  Being needy and unable to sustain myself I though that they could refund the cost of the cruise, only to hear "no".  Complied with every requirement, in need, I just don't understand.  Don't pay in full.  You won't get your money back.  

[tgh]

  Don't pay in full

 

Indeed, and I am truly sorry for you and very sad to see the once great Silversea reduced to greedy penny pinching to survive

[wren2]

I remember reading a post from a cruiser in Ohio several months ago.  He had received infirmation and assistance from Mark Conroy, VP of the America’s.  As you are in such dire circumstances, I feel Mark might be able to help.  Worth a try.

[Caroldoll]

2 hours ago, wren2 said:

I remember reading a post from a cruiser in Ohio several months ago.  He had received infirmation and assistance from Mark Conroy, VP of the America’s.  As you are in such dire circumstances, I feel Mark might be able to help.  Worth a try.

Thanks.  I don't know how to get through to him.  I did file a dispute with Amex and they are going to credit my account, so I can just charge food and lodging.  I don't see any way they can argue my dispute.  I cancelled over a year from when the cruise is scheduled.  It is just a shame that they are that way.  I paid in full at the time I booked the cruise. My bad!  They had my almost 39,000 a year with no interest.  I would not have asked if I was not in dire need,  Her name was Erica Cruz.  This speaks poorly of Silversea.

[QueSeraSera]

5 minutes ago, Caroldoll said:

Amex and they are going to credit my account

Please let us know if they do.  Every year I question whether their annual fees are worth it, but your story could keep me a customer for life.  Best wishes to you and your husband.

[alexandria]

12 hours ago, tohru214 said:

I canceled on 7/31 and they are now saying I won’t see the refund until 10/23-11/2. I think waiting 90 days for a refund is ridiculous.

 

Since you canceled, rather than Silversea, I'd recommend you check the applicable terms and conditions to see if it indicates when a refund will be processed.

 

Silversea canceled our sailing and the April 8, 2020 Cruise with Confidence policy in effect when we booked provides that refunds "may take up to 30-45 days."  Even though Silversea has refused to honor the applicable Cruise with Confidence policy regarding the 125% FCC upon their cancelation, I intend to hold them to the cash refund provisions.  If I don't have a refund on my credit card by day forty-five (45) of our request, a credit card chargeback will be filed on day 46.

 

 

[alexandria]

3 hours ago, tgh said:

  Don't pay in full

 

Indeed, and I am truly sorry for you and very sad to see the once great Silversea reduced to greedy penny pinching to survive

 

Agree.  Not only did Silversea lose my business, they lost my respect.

[Caroldoll]

13 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

Please let us know if they do.  Every year I question whether their annual fees are worth it, but your story could keep me a customer for life.  Best wishes to you and your husband.

 

[Caroldoll]

Thank you everyone.  Amex did post a credit to my account.  However we all know that it is subject to Silversea policy which is 120 days out without penalty.  Since it was about a year and a half out, Silversea should have given me my money back, especially when I paid full on booking and especially since I had a really good reason to cancel.  They are merciless.  I have lots of cruises on them and their parent company..  There was no reason for them to treat me this way.  I hope anyone who is thinking of booking THINKS TWICE!  

[MrsWaldo]

29 minutes ago, Caroldoll said:

  However we all know that it is subject to Silversea policy which is 120 days out without penalty.  

>>>If your cancellation request is received more than 120 days prior to your initial sailing date, a AUD$250/USD$200 non-refundable administrative fee will be charged per booking.<<

 

There is a penalty for cancellation, you should still get the remainder of your funds.  

[clo]

22 hours ago, Caroldoll said:

I am so very sad.  Had to cancel. a cruise 30 days ago.  Trouble with my husband's cancer, and then on top of it having to arrange a place to live because of the fire.  Adding to that lost food and clothing.  Contacted management with Silversea and they said I had to wait at least another two weeks.  I paid in full at the time of booking.  Being needy and unable to sustain myself I though that they could refund the cost of the cruise, only to hear "no".  Complied with every requirement, in need, I just don't understand.  Don't pay in full.  You won't get your money back.  

Please email the CEO. I've found that effective. And best of luck. Such hard, hard times. Catherine

[clo]

9 minutes ago, MrsWaldo said:

>>>If your cancellation request is received more than 120 days prior to your initial sailing date, a AUD$250/USD$200 non-refundable administrative fee will be charged per booking.<<

 

There is a penalty for cancellation, you should still get the remainder of your funds.  

My booking doesn't have that. It was a "special."

[MrsWaldo]

1 minute ago, clo said:

My booking doesn't have that. It was a "special."

I quoted the SS T&C policy from the website,

 

That's good for you but may not be the same for caroldoll

 

 

[cruiseej]

22 hours ago, Caroldoll said:

You won't get your money back... They are merciless... There was no reason for them to treat me this way.

 

First, let me say I'm very sorry to hear of your dire circumstances. I wish the Silversea representative you spoke with could have pushed your case up the chain of command so they could make an exception for you. Since they didn't, I understand your decision to file the credit card dispute.

 

That said, I don't think it's correct to say "You won't get your money back" when you request a refund. You will get your money back. It just won't be as soon as you would hope. When you first posted that you were concerned that you hadn't received your refund after two weeks, I noted that community reports indicated it was taking around 45 days for most refunds.

 

People assume they're just being greedy by holding onto customers' money, and that might be a part of the story. But some of it is the complexity and high volume of the work for a small team that's mostly working from home. They are processing thousands of refunds each week. Some are relatively simple, but others require considerable time and work to calculate refunds across multiple credit card payments, reinstatement of cruise credits, calculation of travel agent commission, cancelation of pre- and post-cruise hotels, refunds of air upgrades… a lot of pieces which need to be tracked, calculated, checked, and processed. I'm not trying to make excuses for the cruise line, only offering some explanation that things aren't as simple and straightforward as it might seem.

 

 

[Caroldoll]

When I filed my dispute, I deducted the $200 that they had coming.  I just think they are a cheap sleazy outfit, as I think 30 days is enough time to wait for them to just click a button and give me a refund.  I have a huge credit now on Amex, but I can charge living expenses.  Please, everyone, don't pay so much in advance.  It was my bad.

[Caroldoll]

1 minute ago, cruiseej said:

 

First, let me say I'm very sorry to hear of your dire circumstances. I wish the Silversea representative you spoke with could have pushed your case up the chain of command so they could make an exception for you. Since they didn't, I understand your decision to file the credit card dispute.

 

That said, I don't think it's correct to say "You won't get your money back" when you request a refund. You will get your money back. It just won't be as soon as you would hope. When you first posted that you were concerned that you hadn't received your refund after two weeks, I noted that community reports indicated it was taking around 45 days for most refunds.

 

People assume they're just being greedy by holding onto customers' money, and that might be a part of the story. But some of it is the complexity and high volume of the work for a small team that's mostly working from home. They are processing thousands of refunds each week. Some are relatively simple, but others require considerable time and work to calculate refunds across multiple credit card payments, reinstatement of cruise credits, calculation of travel agent commission, cancelation of pre- and post-cruise hotels, refunds of air upgrades… a lot of pieces which need to be tracked, calculated, checked, and processed. I'm not trying to make excuses for the cruise line, only offering some explanation that things aren't as simple and straightforward as it might seem.

 

 

Well I hear what you are saying, but mine is not that complicated.  I booked LAST YEAR IN OCTOBER and paid IN FULL AT THE TIME OF BOOKING.  I did wait 30 days, and communicated my dire circumstances.  They are sleazy.  No other reason.

[clo]

15 minutes ago, MrsWaldo said:

I quoted the SS T&C policy from the website,

 

That's good for you but may not be the same for caroldoll

 

 

Oh, I wasn't doubting anyone. But glad we have the other.

Edited September 20, 2020 by clo