2nd NCL cruise cancelled by NCL-applied FCC to 2nd cruise-any chance of getting refund instead of FCC ?

[UTRIPUMP]

I know the FCC is good until Dec 2022, but this is the 2nd time NCL has cancelled a cruise(first was 4Apr20 Breakaway and 2nd was 24Jan21 Joy) and at this point I'd prefer a refund instead of more FCCs.  I understand that the payment for the 2nd booking was FCC, but does anyone have suggestions for getting NCL to refund me for the cost of the first cruise staterooms/reservation numbers.

 

I am open to ideas, suggestions, or direction.    I first called customer service who advised FCC credit is my only option and when I voiced opposition she said only recourse was a email to customer relations which I just did, not expecting different outcome.

 

Do I have any other recourse beyond this?

 

Thanks in advance for advice.  

[SpainAlien]

My understanding is that the money is now FCC and therefore not refundable.  I do not know of any one in your position who has managed to actually get cash except for selling the FCC privately to friends or relatives (I think there is also a Facebook page for this purpose too but how successful it is I don't know)

[All-ready2cruise]

@UTRIPUMP SpainAlien is  correct.  I also haven't heard of anyone converting an FCC back to a cash refund. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by All-ready2cruise

[UTRIPUMP]

3 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

@UTRIPUMP SpainAlien is  correct.  I also haven't heard of anyone converting an FCC back to a cash refund. 

figured as much......was hoping to get refunded for the original amounts of the first cruise booking

 

[All-ready2cruise]

25 minutes ago, UTRIPUMP said:

figured as much......was hoping to get refunded for the original amounts of the first cruise booking

 

Well, the good news, you're not alone. At least now, we have hope with these new vaccines becoming available, Covid-19 will be controllable.  

BTW, I also have FCCs that I'm hoping to use on a couple of cruises in late 2021 or early 2022.  Just a matter of time ... we wait. 

 

Stay safe. 

[UTRIPUMP]

1 hour ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Well, the good news, you're not alone. At least now, we have hope with these new vaccines becoming available, Covid-19 will be controllable.  

BTW, I also have FCCs that I'm hoping to use on a couple of cruises in late 2021 or early 2022.  Just a matter of time ... we wait. 

 

Stay safe. 

Thank you for your input.   You stay safe as well and good luck !

[pentiumvi]

3 hours ago, UTRIPUMP said:

figured as much......was hoping to get refunded for the original amounts of the first cruise booking

 

 

I'm in the same boat.... Original cruise cancelled in May 2020, TA offered the option to rebook. Rebooked for Nov 2020.

 

As we all know, that also got cancelled, and now stuck with FCC. Due to our personal situation, it's is highly unlikely we'll be able to find time to cruise by end of 2022.

 

So.... unfortunately, seems like I'll have to write off my cruise fare as lost for good at this time.

 

Would love to hear any reports otherwise, where someone has been able to get FCC from a twice cancelled cruise refund back in cash.

 

[PTC DAWG]

They are transferable for sure...try and sell it, even if you take a loss if you think you can't sail in time.  

 

https://www.ncl.com/no/en/cruise-faq/are-fccs-transferable

 

 

[BirdTravels]

13 hours ago, UTRIPUMP said:

I know the FCC is good until Dec 2022, but this is the 2nd time NCL has cancelled a cruise(first was 4Apr20 Breakaway and 2nd was 24Jan21 Joy) and at this point I'd prefer a refund instead of more FCCs.  I understand that the payment for the 2nd booking was FCC, but does anyone have suggestions for getting NCL to refund me for the cost of the first cruise staterooms/reservation numbers.

 

I am open to ideas, suggestions, or direction.    I first called customer service who advised FCC credit is my only option and when I voiced opposition she said only recourse was a email to customer relations which I just did, not expecting different outcome.

 

Do I have any other recourse beyond this?

 

Thanks in advance for advice.  

Let's look at the terms and conditions you agreed to by booking the second cruise with FCC.

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-faq/what-happens-if-cancelled-booking-had-previous-fcc-applied

 

 

What happens if the cancelled booking had a previous FCC applied?

The original FCC amount will be returned to the guests' profile. If an affected booking has a previously applied FCC (as a result of a previous suspended sailing), the enhanced value future cruise credit will not be applicable. Bookings under this circumstance are not eligible for a cash refund and will receive the original value of the FCC back to the guests’ profile.

 

Note FCCs have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for cash. If a guest opts to retain the FCC provided, the guest hereby agrees to all of NCL’s terms and conditions associated with the FCC, which can also be found on www.ncl.com/cruise-faq. Please be advised that at no time will an FCC be redeemable for cash, including but not limited to situations of possible future cruise suspensions, displacements, cancellations or if the FCC exceeds the time in which it must be used.

[njkate]

19 hours ago, pentiumvi said:

 

I'm in the same boat.... Original cruise cancelled in May 2020, TA offered the option to rebook. Rebooked for Nov 2020.

 

As we all know, that also got cancelled, and now stuck with FCC. Due to our personal situation, it's is highly unlikely we'll be able to find time to cruise by end of 2022.

 

So.... unfortunately, seems like I'll have to write off my cruise fare as lost for good at this time.

 

Would love to hear any reports otherwise, where someone has been able to get FCC from a twice cancelled cruise refund back in cash.

 

Your only option is to sell the FCC, of course you will not get face value of it, but if you know you won't be able to cruise getting even 75% back through selling is better then a total loss

[pentiumvi]

3 hours ago, njkate said:

Your only option is to sell the FCC, of course you will not get face value of it, but if you know you won't be able to cruise getting even 75% back through selling is better then a total loss

I suppose that's an option.

 

Don't know any one in my circle of friends/family that would be interested in buying though.

 

Are there any specific marketplace type forums I can try and peddle my FCCs on?

[Heidithecruiser]

We are in the same boat.  Was canceled in April and then again in December.  In my mind when we agreed to the FCC that was for the second trip we booked.  I agreed to nothing for the 3rd time around.  I think this is absolutely ridiculous that they can just keep our money hostage for as long as they want.  I don't care about the FCC but I do about our initial investment.  We used a debit card to pay for ours and they can only go back 120 days to dispute.  However friends that also booked used a credit card and disputed the charge and they were successful in getting their money back.  If you used a credit card you might want to try that.  If anyone has any ideas of where we can blast NCL for this behavior, let me know!  They are making interest on OUR money and that is just not right. 

[jimdalva]

We are in the same boat with Viking River . Our cruise was canceled last March and again March 2021. Now we are stuck with a FCC, no refund available.  We let them hold our money all year and now we are in a worst position then those who cashed out!  Visa only goes back 60 days. Im stuck paying more because 125% FCC doesn't cover the new cost.      

[FLcruisergrl]

We were cancelled in March. Rebooked for March 2021. Cancelled. Rebooked for March 2022. No chance of getting the FCC back, so we booked a Garden Villa, will be paying the difference between the cost and our FCC and are not looking back or regretting anything. We are disappointed cruises keep getting cancelled, but when we cruise again it will be a once in a lifetime trip that we never thought we’d be able to do!

[sammee]

10 hours ago, Heidithecruiser said:

We are in the same boat.  Was canceled in April and then again in December.  In my mind when we agreed to the FCC that was for the second trip we booked.  I agreed to nothing for the 3rd time around.  I think this is absolutely ridiculous that they can just keep our money hostage for as long as they want.  I don't care about the FCC but I do about our initial investment.  We used a debit card to pay for ours and they can only go back 120 days to dispute.  However friends that also booked used a credit card and disputed the charge and they were successful in getting their money back.  If you used a credit card you might want to try that.  If anyone has any ideas of where we can blast NCL for this behavior, let me know!  They are making interest on OUR money and that is just not right. 

So many scenarios happened. I know quite a few that disputed and got it returned to them, both credit & debit cards. Banks also have different policies with the dates.  I disputed mine and won, it took 2 tries. Most of the people I've talked to had 2 attempts and won. The first one is a generic fcc bla bla bla denial. That's when you have the chance to give them what actually happened. Quite a few people lost too. 

[pentiumvi]

I also just realized, NCL didn't even want to provide a new expiry date for FCC that was cancelled a second time.

 

I would have at least felt that a new expiry date based off the latest cancellation would have been a given....

[Katie H]

We applied part of our FCC to B2B December cruises which were cancelled a while ago and FCC returned to our accounts.  We then applied part of the FCC to a January 2021 cruise which was cancelled last week.  The FCC returned to our accounts today.  The use by date has been changed from 4/1/21 to 6/30/21 on all our FCC - not just the part that was used and returned.  I'm assuming the sail by date remains the same at 12/31/22.

[emm126]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:30 AM, UTRIPUMP said:

I know the FCC is good until Dec 2022, but this is the 2nd time NCL has cancelled a cruise(first was 4Apr20 Breakaway and 2nd was 24Jan21 Joy) and at this point I'd prefer a refund instead of more FCCs.  I understand that the payment for the 2nd booking was FCC, but does anyone have suggestions for getting NCL to refund me for the cost of the first cruise staterooms/reservation numbers.

 

I am open to ideas, suggestions, or direction.    I first called customer service who advised FCC credit is my only option and when I voiced opposition she said only recourse was a email to customer relations which I just did, not expecting different outcome.

 

Do I have any other recourse beyond this?

 

Thanks in advance for advice.  

by any chance do you have the original cancellation letter from NCL for your April cruise? I don't think that was part of the information given and you agreed to when you accepted the 1st  FCC ( if your 2nd cruise was cancelled what would happen to a refund request). I do know after a couple of rounds of cancellation NCL added it. To me they would have to offer a refund if it was not stated when you accepted the FCC that you could never get a refund. Worth a try. Good luck.

[hallux]

Some thoughts -

On 12/9/2020 at 5:10 PM, emm126 said:

I don't think that was part of the information given and you agreed to when you accepted the 1st  FCC ( if your 2nd cruise was cancelled what would happen to a refund request).

It could be argued that it doesn't need to be.  While the first cruise was paid with "cash", the second was paid with FCC.  The cruise contract indicates that refunds are to the original form of payment.  In the case of the FCC-paid cruise, that would be FCC. 

 

There have been people complaining about CND's (though not recently) expiring before they have an opportunity to use them now because they had a cruise booked to use them in time but they have since expired, those CND's would be refunded to the account but the expiry date unchanged.  This is a similar issue as there's simply no way to make use of those if there are no cruises!  There's a way for NCL to resolve this one though - extend any CND's that expired during the suspension of cruising for one year after cruising has resumed.

 

On 12/9/2020 at 5:10 PM, emm126 said:

I do know after a couple of rounds of cancellation NCL added it.

Possibly due to the confusion?

 

On 12/9/2020 at 5:10 PM, emm126 said:

To me they would have to offer a refund if it was not stated when you accepted the FCC that you could never get a refund.

 

See my first segment above.

[pentiumvi]

2 hours ago, hallux said:

Some thoughts -

It could be argued that it doesn't need to be.  While the first cruise was paid with "cash", the second was paid with FCC.  The cruise contract indicates that refunds are to the original form of payment.  In the case of the FCC-paid cruise, that would be FCC.

Even though I'm in this situation, and would love to get a cash refund, I agree with you, and never bothered to try and argue/fight this.

 

FCCs had always had a clause saying it has no cash value and cannot be redeemed for cash. When first round of cancellation happened, the options were take FCC, or take refund to original form of payment.

 

So it can be said that NCL disclosed everything up front, and it was up to the customer to have made the connection that if they opted for the FCC, and booked a future cruise with it, then any subsequent cancellations/refunds would be back to the payment method, which would be the FCC.

 

Of course NCL could have been more upfront, and stated this explicitly.

[emm126]

21 hours ago, hallux said:

Some thoughts -

It could be argued that it doesn't need to be.  While the first cruise was paid with "cash", the second was paid with FCC.  The cruise contract indicates that refunds are to the original form of payment.  In the case of the FCC-paid cruise, that would be FCC. 

 

 

I think if you are going to fall back on the cruise contract, that refunds are to go back to the original form of payment, then the only option from the beginning should have been refunds. But we know that is not the case. So if the cruise line can change and offer 2 options when it benefits them, they can also offer 2 options all the time. IMO. 

 

For the record, if I buy an airline ticket on a credit card and then exchange it several times, if it needed to be refunded, it is to the  ORIGINAL form of payment, credit card, not vouchers or exchange tickets etc. Cruise Lines seem to have their own thoughts on what is original. 

 

 

[Love my butler]

Your chances are zero point zero.  NCL is broke and will not give back any cash unless at gunpoint.

[pentiumvi]

1 hour ago, emm126 said:

I think if you are going to fall back on the cruise contract, that refunds are to go back to the original form of payment, then the only option from the beginning should have been refunds. But we know that is not the case. So if the cruise line can change and offer 2 options when it benefits them, they can also offer 2 options all the time. IMO. 

 

For the record, if I buy an airline ticket on a credit card and then exchange it several times, if it needed to be refunded, it is to the  ORIGINAL form of payment, credit card, not vouchers or exchange tickets etc. Cruise Lines seem to have their own thoughts on what is original. 

 

 

I'm not so sure that's a good analogy though. When you exchange airline tickets, you aren't getting a voucher, and then applying the voucher to a ticket.

 

Booking a new cruise with FCC isn't an "exchange". You opted to pick the FCC as your form of refund when first offered (and likely getting a bonus amount). All subsequent cruises booked with said FCC is no longer really associated with your original booking you paid for in cash.

 

And to be fair, NCL did offer you the ability to refund back to our original form of payment, but offered you a bonus, if you picked the FCC. That was unfortunately the decision some of us made.

 

So basically, NCL enticed us by giving us bonus FCC credit, but failed to mention explicitly the strings attached.

Edited December 11, 2020 by pentiumvi

[hallux]

2 hours ago, emm126 said:

I think if you are going to fall back on the cruise contract, that refunds are to go back to the original form of payment, then the only option from the beginning should have been refunds. But we know that is not the case. So if the cruise line can change and offer 2 options when it benefits them, they can also offer 2 options all the time. IMO.

 

Actually...  Cancellation after final payment gets you refund of a percentage of the fare in the form of FCC, no option for cash refund.  The terms were amended to allow a shorter time frame for cancellation with no penalty but the terms still didn't allow for a cash refund if the customer cancelled, only if the cruise line cancelled.  The "original form of payment" portion of the refund terms comes in before final payment - if you cancel a cruise before final payment your deposit is refunded to the original form of payment.

 

If you're going to argue about falling back on the cruise contract, understand what the cancellation terms are...

[emm126]

5 hours ago, hallux said:

 

Actually...  Cancellation after final payment gets you refund of a percentage of the fare in the form of FCC, no option for cash refund.  The terms were amended to allow a shorter time frame for cancellation with no penalty but the terms still didn't allow for a cash refund if the customer cancelled, only if the cruise line cancelled.  The "original form of payment" portion of the refund terms comes in before final payment - if you cancel a cruise before final payment your deposit is refunded to the original form of payment.

 

If you're going to argue about falling back on the cruise contract, understand what the cancellation terms are...

I am not trying to argue about or with anyone, especially with someone I do not know. I was giving my opinion and trying to be helpful to someone who might lose a lot of money. That is all. I am not sure how we got to cancellation penalties when we were talking about refunds but I will take your word on what the cruise contract says. Take care,