Nasty response to refund request

[bones774]

Hi all, Just an FYI here. After booking a Coastal cruise last year and having it delayed then and again this year, Hurtigruten required me to pay for cruise in Full this past october when Americans werent even allowed into Norway, After politely asking for my refund 2 x and being denied i wrote a letter to customer care, advising i will report them to my local consumer affairs unit. They wrote back that they have handled the refund matter over to their legal department  and "no further communication will occur other than thru our legal department"

Very difficult company to deal with and in no way honoring their guarantee of no hassle refunds. I will find another cruise line in any case.

Thanks

 

PS-just like to note that all they had to do was refund my deposit and they wouldn't be worried about notifications to consumer affairs, wouldnt have to refer to legal dept, just an effort by them to avoid paying the refund

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by bones774

[hallasm]

I assume you’re dealing with their office in Seattle.
I were in a similar situation and have decided not to re-book once again - I did get my refund within few days - dealing with the head office in Norway.

Only problem was that I paid the voyage in 2919 and they had to wire the money rather than use my credit card.

[bones774]

2 minutes ago, hallasm said:

I assume you’re dealing with their office in Seattle.
I were in a similar situation and have decided not to re-book once again - I did get my refund within few days - dealing with the head office in Norway.

Only problem was that I paid the voyage in 2919 and they had to wire the money rather than use my credit card.

I was dealing with their office in Seattle and they were very nice to talk with but once i asked for refund they started with the legalese, now i'm dealing with home office , i guess in norway and still being stonewalled. I am in same boat as you, paid for in 2019, i dont care how they pay as long as they pay. 

Is there some sort of Cruise agency that mediates these things or to file complaint with? I would never deal with hurtigruten again

Thanks

[hallasm]

If you purchased your voyage at the office in Seattle, US regulations apply - if purchased in Norway the Norwegian/EU rules apply.

[bones774]

Purchased in US. What reg(s) would you advise that on specifically key on?

Thanks

BTW-You've been very informative on this site, you probably don't remember but you've answered many questions for me before when i first was thinking of booking.

Edited December 23, 2021 by bones774

[hallasm]

I'm form Denmark and do only know the EU regulations/Package Travel Directive which does aplly to travel packages purchased in Norway or EU.

For your next coastal voyage consider Havila Voyages - I did consider a Havila Voyage in January, but do not want to book before the "Omicron Circus" has ended.

[bones774]

5 minutes ago, hallasm said:

I'm form Denmark and do only know the EU regulations/Package Travel Directive which does aplly to travel packages purchased in Norway or EU.

For your next coastal voyage consider Havila Voyages - I did consider a Havila Voyage in January, but do not want to book before the "Omicron Circus" has ended.

That's exactly what i intend to do, Havila

[bones774]

I've thought along those lines also and never expected such difficulty in refunding my deposit, especially reading their refund guarantees. They actually told me that their refund policy was not dependent on Norway covid restrictions and I was responsible for payment.

 

[jonikal]

You might try contacting www.usa.gov/travel-complaint.

Or try the US Department of Transportation.  I know from our own personal experience, when we missed our ship's departure overseas and the airline was disinterested in our complaint, we mentioned we would be contacting the DOT and their response was immediate and they reimbursed us.

[bones774]

2 hours ago, jonikal said:

You might try contacting www.usa.gov/travel-complaint.

Or try the US Department of Transportation.  I know from our own personal experience, when we missed our ship's departure overseas and the airline was disinterested in our complaint, we mentioned we would be contacting the DOT and their response was immediate and they reimbursed us.

That's a good tip and I will look into it. I'll keep this thread updated so everyone can know of Hurtigrutens actions.

thanks

PS- Hurtigruten has already gone "referred to our legal department no further communications "

Edited December 24, 2021 by bones774

[bones774]

still nothing from Hurtigruten.  They will rely on the legal dept referral to not respond and give no refunds.  Be careful dealing with them. I wouldn't.

[tupper10]

Try Elliot's advocacy they are a not for profit that deals with travel issues.  Also the site gives the emails of the head office people who you may wish to contact by email.  

[Galley Slave]

 

Since their US office is in Seattle, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General of Washington State.  There is on online form on the Washington State website.  I had to do that with Alaska Airlines at the beginning of the pandemic.  It also scares the company, it is a slow process but it worked.

You can also write to Christopher Elliott, an advocate for travel issues.

 

About Christopher Elliott – Christopher Elliott (chriselliotts.com)  There is a Help Form on his website.

[bones774]

I was giving them a bit of time to resolve this of their own accord but nothing seems to be happening. It was when I mentioned attorney General office is when they sent it over to legal. I will definitely use those resources and keep this thread updated.

thanks all, great stuff

[bones774]

not a word from H yet. Tomorrow I'll do Washington AG.

[Catlover54]

I've heard enough about Hurtigruten to eliminate it from my list of potential lines (even if Norway allows cruises again without aggressively cutting them off at the knees at the first sign of increases in cases). 

[Flyinby]

Thanks for posting your experience.  I looked in here because we were planning to do the coastal round trip next February for a (hopeful) northern lights experience), and wanted to find out about personal experiences, comfort, meals, etc.  

 

I usually like to hear the "other side of the story", but it sounds like I should look around a bit before trusting them with my deposit.  Seems to me if your original booking was canceled for whatever reason, you should have the option of a refund without penalties.

 

Too bad, this sounds like an interesting cruise with lots of stops and excellent chance at northern lights, but now I'm not so sure...

[hallasm]

8 hours ago, Flyinby said:

Too bad, this sounds like an interesting cruise with lots of stops and excellent chance at northern lights, but now I'm not so sure

I would not call it a cruise - rather a voyage along the Norwegian coast and in fact local public transport of cars and cargo.  A very beautiful trip and good chances to see the northern lights.

There are 34 ports stops along the coast between Bergen and Kirkenes, but the vast majority are very short with no opportunity to go ashore - others are at night.  There is a long stop 2 to 3 hours every day - study the timetable carefully - it is the same for all the daily departure with a fixed schedule (note different according to the season).
 The route is operated  by Hurtigruten (7 departures) and Havila Voyages (4 departures) - these are two different companies but the same timetable.
 Also note that it can be even very cold during winter at at outer deck to view the Northern Lights.
 I myself have had travel canceled with Hurtigruten and got my money back without any problems, which is the case for the vast majority - I was in contact with the office in Norway, however there may be differences in how the different offices handle refunds.
I would also encourage you to compare prices in NOK on the Norwegian web page and USD on the US - there can be big differences in price for the same trip but also be aware of differences between terms and conditions.

[grayjay]

I can only encourage anyone to take a coastal journey with either Hurtigruten or Havila (haven't done this new company  yet, but we will). March or October for example are both good months to have enough daylight still but also the chance (!) to see the Northern lights.

I must also confirm that we never had any problems with Hurtigruten to get our money back if the cruise was cancelled or we were early enough to cancel ourselves.We usually re-booked for another date and/ or another ship, getting a price reduction as a goodie, too.

@bones774I think the problem might have been that even if US citizens were not allowed into Norway the month you chose to ask for a refund at a late date instead of lifting& shifting to another date early on which should have been possible by request. Hurtigruten have always been quite open to requests like these in these pandemic times. As they are not owned by the Norwegian state they will argue (in my opinion) that the ship has sailed on the date you had booked ( thus fulfilling the contract) and not being allowed to enter Norway is a quite different thing.

 

[bones774]

OP here, my first scheduled cruise was lifted and shifted at height of covid. It was shifted to the same time slot the next year(2021) but again was not avail for USA citizens. They wanted me to pay 60 days out when we weren't even allowed into Norway. On the phone the Seattle office were all very nice until I asked for refund, they told me they were gonna go out of the way and offer me my deposit as a future credit, by now I'm disgusted with them. I still have to notify Seattle consumer affairs.  Had a busy work schedule up till now. Still nothing further from them. 

tha KS all , good luck

[Flyinby]

17 hours ago, hallasm said:

I would not call it a cruise - rather a voyage along the Norwegian coast and in fact local public transport of cars and cargo.  A very beautiful trip and good chances to see the northern lights.

There are 34 ports stops along the coast between Bergen and Kirkenes, but the vast majority are very short with no opportunity to go ashore - others are at night.  There is a long stop 2 to 3 hours every day - study the timetable carefully - it is the same for all the daily departure with a fixed schedule (note different according to the season).
 The route is operated  by Hurtigruten (7 departures) and Havila Voyages (4 departures) - these are two different companies but the same timetable.
 Also note that it can be even very cold during winter at at outer deck to view the Northern Lights.
 I myself have had travel canceled with Hurtigruten and got my money back without any problems, which is the case for the vast majority - I was in contact with the office in Norway, however there may be differences in how the different offices handle refunds.
I would also encourage you to compare prices in NOK on the Norwegian web page and USD on the US - there can be big differences in price for the same trip but also be aware of differences between terms and conditions.

I gathered from the description that it wasn't a Bingo and pool party cruise, and that's fine with us, but it's still somewhat puzzling after reading the itineraries.  They do offer excursions pretty much every day, and I'm assuming you don't get off the ship and catch the next day's ship when leaving.  For example, in Havila's round trip description, they offer a tour (Alesund port) from 9:45AM to 20:00, so the ship would have to be docked (I'd hope) until after that.  With their website still being developed, the information is somewhat limited.

 

The main thing to us is that it's not just a stop-n-go for the 12 days.  While it will be cold, we would want to be able to get enough time to see more than the dockside souvenir shop if we disembark, in at least some of the towns.  The reason for going at this time, beside the winter scenery, is the possibility of northern lights, and if we can't at least visit the towns along the way, maybe another northern lights option would be better, and we take this trip in warmer weather..late spring or autumn.

 

Are the ships and cabins themselves warm and comfortable?  Having dinner wearing down jackets or waking to a cold room is not what I'd prefer, if there are alternatives.  We'll of course have all the recommended clothing, but not eager to walk around inside the ship in a down parka.

 

Thanks for the information, and any thoughts from others with experience on these voyages are appreciated.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Flyinby

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, Flyinby said:

For example, in Havila's round trip description, they offer a tour (Alesund port) from 9:45AM to 20:00, so the ship would have to be docked (I'd hope) until after that. 

Be aware that some excursions can start in one port and catch the ship in a following port - also pay attention to the timetable variation different time of the year - by studying the timetable you can see exact how many minutes/hours in each port - one longer stop each day - and do not expect dockside souvenir shops - authentic small towns.

5 hours ago, Flyinby said:

Are the ships and cabins themselves warm and comfortable?

Yes - inside ships very comfortable and excellent food - for Northern Lights September and March can be excellent months. While you can expect -20F during winter +20F is more likely in spring/autumn once above Arctic Circle.

Visit my blog for more details - notice the menu items.

In fact we are hijacking this topic - you should start a separate post - then others might find it as well. 

[grayjay]

Just a very few ideas to add - I don't want to add hijacking the subject 😉:

I loved watching whatever happened outside loading/unloading in the short time when docked in the small cities ( sometime just a few minutes, half an hour or a bit more). It's fascinating to watch what's being transported!

At ports with a bit more time we just went for a short walk in the snow - but beware - be punctual in being back!

When choosing one of the (very expensive) excursions you are on the safe side to be back on time, sometimes (for example Lofoten) you leave the ship for a tour and come back when your ship has already reached the next destination.

Inside I have always been content with a t-shirt and a light sweater at the most - outside it can be very cold and windy, of course.

I'd always do a coastal journey in fall or winter again, but to have more time in the cities I'd come back on a small cruiseship ( Azamara for example) that is able to go through the fjords as well and stays more hours in cities like Alesund, Molde, Flam or Tromso. This is our summer cruise destination, then...

[Flyinby]

Many thanks to Hallasm and Grayjay, and my sincere apologies to the OP for the hijacking...I noticed it this morning when I looked in and saw the original subject line.  I'll be posting more questions in a proper thread, as this sounds like an interesting and enjoyable venture, the more I hear about it.  What a great resource this CruiseCritic site and board is.

 

Thanks also to the OP for your experience...it led me to investigating other options, and while I haven't written Hurtigruten off, Havila is sounding pretty appealing (if they can get their ships in service, at least...8^)

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, Flyinby said:

I'll be posting more questions in a proper thread, as this sounds like an interesting and enjoyable venture, the more I hear about it.

The better prepared the better the experience.  The coastal voyage is a very unique experience - the northern lights in winter and the midnight sun in summer, and very beautiful nature.