Refundable OBC ...whats Princess problem ?

[cdrmer]

We have been waiting for port charges to be refunded since  our cruise in 11/2019. Good luck to you.

[VAWCB]

   We got off of Emerald Princess on February 27 and the OBC reimbursement check arrived today (April 20),  Guest Services said that we would receive the check “in about three weeks.”

[capriccio]

8 hours ago, cdrmer said:

We have been waiting for port charges to be refunded since  our cruise in 11/2019. Good luck to you.

Was this due to a canceled port?  We've had that happen a few times but the credits were always made within a day or two to our folio while we were still on board.

[cdrmer]

Yes, a port was cancelled.

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, cdrmer said:

Yes, a port was cancelled.

And it was never returned to your folio? In our cases, it was usually a small amount of money.  Do you know how much they owe you and do you have a copy of your final folio?

[cdrmer]

Still have the paper work. Was a small amount and was to be applied to a 2020 cruise(and we all know what happened to those cruises). They then said they would refund in a check to us-never received.

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, cdrmer said:

Still have the paper work. Was a small amount and was to be applied to a 2020 cruise(and we all know what happened to those cruises). They then said they would refund in a check to us-never received.

I've never heard of the option to apply unused refundable OBC to a future cruise.  I've only experienced refunds over $25 made by check in an unassuming envelope so you need to open your mail and IIRC under $25 given in cash on board. 

[cdrmer]

They were kicking up the "balance" a little as an onboard credit for an already  booked  cruise in 2020-which never happened due to COVID.

[13cheermom]

Just called today and finally got through to the correct department that could actually access our booking.  He confirmed the amount, over $500, and said it would arrive by check.  Our cruise ended 3/23/22, so it's been a month, he said to expect another month.  So looks like time frame is like 2 months or 8 weeks right now.  I remember when you used to receive the check within a week or so. 🤣  I just wanted confirmation that he saw the same amount I had and that it was still listed as refundable credit to be returned, only took 1 hour and 16 minutes on hold, 😱

[seattlecruiser]

1 hour ago, 13cheermom said:

Just called today and finally got through to the correct department that could actually access our booking.  He confirmed the amount, over $500, and said it would arrive by check.  Our cruise ended 3/23/22, so it's been a month, he said to expect another month.  So looks like time frame is like 2 months or 8 weeks right now.  I remember when you used to receive the check within a week or so. 🤣  I just wanted confirmation that he saw the same amount I had and that it was still listed as refundable credit to be returned, only took 1 hour and 16 minutes on hold, 😱

Hi 13cheermom,  could you let me know how you got through to the correct department?  And what the name of that department is.   We have been waiting for over 4  months (our Ruby cruise ended December 17th) for a refund of our over $800 refundable OBC!  Thanks>

[13cheermom]

On 4/25/2022 at 4:11 PM, seattlecruiser said:

Hi 13cheermom,  could you let me know how you got through to the correct department?  And what the name of that department is.   We have been waiting for over 4  months (our Ruby cruise ended December 17th) for a refund of our over $800 refundable OBC!  Thanks>

Actually not sure, first tried chat feature and they said to call. Went through the regular CS #, chose already have a cruise booked option. Then talked with one person who couldn't see some of the OBC, so they transferred me to the department that handles refunds. He was the one who could see all if the OBC owed to me and said processing time was delayed. Just keep going until you reach someone that can figure it out. Good Luck!

[Astro Flyer]

On 4/25/2022 at 1:11 PM, seattlecruiser said:

And what the name of that department is.

 

For our cruise that ended 3 weeks ago our refundable amount was "Referred to Corporate Finance" which apparently is the section that processes refunds.

 

[13cheermom]

35 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

For our cruise that ended 3 weeks ago our refundable amount was "Referred to Corporate Finance" which apparently is the section that processes refunds.

 

That title was also on our email of our final statement. However, when I mentioned that name the guy didn't use that title. So 🤷‍♀️ who knows forsure lol. 

[13cheermom]

Update here that we also finally received our refund check in the mail.  As others have mentioned the return address was from Bottomline Technologies c/o Princess Cruise Lines, so no mistaking what it was for.  The amount was exactly as I was told by the rep. when I called, so we are very happy since it was over $500.  I have to give credit that they did take care of the refund in a timely manner this time.  ☺️

[Musky Ike]

On 4/19/2022 at 1:21 PM, Mud_Shark said:

For us, the problem was Princess kept track of my wife's account separate from mine, which they did not do previously.  I had refundable OBC, she had non-refundable.  I thought we had spent enough to cover all non-refundable, but I had made the purchases, not her, so the cost went against my refundable OBC, leaving her non-refundable remaining at the end, and it of course just disappears.  I don't know if this is the way of the future or just a factor of sailing early in the restart and people not being aware of combining the OBCs into one room account, but we will be careful going forward to spend our complete balance.

 

Don

Had the same issue on the Enchanted. I spoke with guest services and they combined them like before. The key is to check you account early and often to spot abnormalities. 

[Chippewa74]

On 4/18/2022 at 6:14 PM, Red Haired Lady said:

I was on the same TA as you.  As a Platinum or Elite I purchased the internet for $80.  I was refunded the $80 plus another $40 as "mednet loyalty discount" which they said was a goodwill gesture.   I printed a copy of the stateroom account mid-cruise showing this. When Princess sent me the final bill by email the $40 had disappeared.  I did use up by non-refundable OBC, but did not use up the refundable OBC. It said there was $8.96 refundable that was "referred to corporate finance."  I just filed a claim for this thru my Princess PCC.  She said if the amount is under $25 they credit your card and if over $25 they send a check. 

We were also on this cruise.  Finances were confusing as you had the wi-fi issue, not stopping in Morocco (which for us meant refund of an expensive pre-paid excursion), port fee refund from Morocco but added for Gibraltar, another excursion they cancelled and we replaced with something cheaper, etc.  Anyway, we had a substantial sum left.  They zeroed out the account with the "Referred to Corporate Finance" which makes sense since they have to zero out shipboard just as they have to have a zero head count when people disembark.  We're still waiting for the refund. I read somewhere else a while ago that usually such refunds take 30-60 days.  60 days for us would be June 9th since we were on the 28 day cruise.  We shall see.  

[Red Haired Lady]

5 minutes ago, Chippewa74 said:

We were also on this cruise.  Finances were confusing as you had the wi-fi issue, not stopping in Morocco (which for us meant refund of an expensive pre-paid excursion), port fee refund from Morocco but added for Gibraltar, another excursion they cancelled and we replaced with something cheaper, etc.  Anyway, we had a substantial sum left.  They zeroed out the account with the "Referred to Corporate Finance" which makes sense since they have to zero out shipboard just as they have to have a zero head count when people disembark.  We're still waiting for the refund. I read somewhere else a while ago that usually such refunds take 30-60 days.  60 days for us would be June 9th since we were on the 28 day cruise.  We shall see.  

I got  a check in the mail for the $8.96 about two weeks ago.  I'm sure I won't see the $40.  Oh, well. 

[frogandtoad]

4 hours ago, Red Haired Lady said:

I got  a check in the mail for the $8.96 about two weeks ago.  I'm sure I won't see the $40.  Oh, well. 

 

I was also on this cruise.  Could the $40 credit have been the 50% discount on the purchase of the internet package?  Since the original purchase price was refunded to you, it would make sense that the $40 credit would be removed.  This is what occurred on our statement.

[Red Haired Lady]

1 hour ago, frogandtoad said:

 

I was also on this cruise.  Could the $40 credit have been the 50% discount on the purchase of the internet package?  Since the original purchase price was refunded to you, it would make sense that the $40 credit would be removed.  This is what occurred on our statement.

You are probably right.  The front desk told me it was "a goodwill gesture" and never explained it further. 

[Astro Flyer]

Disembarked Discovery over 6 weeks ago & received a final statement by email the next day. They incorrectly reduced my refundable credit by 25% so I immediately emailed their customer relations director about the discrepancy. Someone from his office usually calls within a couple of days to discuss issues but not this time. Staff is probably overwhelmed by too many issues to correct so decided to wait & see if I receive a check for the correct amount before attempting to contact them.

 

[mpk]

14 hours ago, Red Haired Lady said:

I got  a check in the mail for the $8.96 about two weeks ago.  I'm sure I won't see the $40.  Oh, well. 

 

Hmmm...   a few people posted here that under $25 has to be taken care of in cash onboard.   Did you have to initiate anything to get a check, or did it arrive automatically?

[Red Haired Lady]

10 hours ago, mpk said:

 

Hmmm...   a few people posted here that under $25 has to be taken care of in cash onboard.   Did you have to initiate anything to get a check, or did it arrive automatically?

I don't think so.  I filed a claim for $48.96 with my PCC at Princess, but the refund was only for the $8.96. I have never heard anything in response to my question as to what happened to the $40 or what exactly it was for. (Goodwill gesture?)  At this point I have moved on. 

[phillipahain]

Well its over 8 weeks and counting now and still no refund 

 

Disgusted with Princess 

[seattlecruiser]

Here is an update to our situation:  We sailed in December 2021 on the Ruby and had about $800 in refundable OBC.  We have not yet received the refund but believe it has been resolved.  

 

We had contacted Customer Support thru the Princess website numerous times with no response other than they received our request and would respond when they could.  We also called once (in March) and were told that the refund would be on our Credit card within the week (that never happened).

 

Someone suggested doing a "Live Chat" from the website which I tried last week. (took less than 5 minutes to get connected to a live person).  The rep looked up our booking number and told me a credit to a credit card ending in **** had been processed in January. The problem was I do not have a credit card ending in those digits.  He was kind of vague when I asked him the name on the credit card but kept suggesting I contact our travel agent.  

 

i contacted the TA (which I should've done first) and sent them a copy of the Chat.  They responded that yes, the card ending in **** was their card that they used to purchase OBC for clients and that the refund had been posted to their account in January.  They are sending me a check.

 

I don't know what happened at the travel agency but the agent we were using left the company about that time. I don't believe that anything nefarious was going on at the TA but somehow it fell through the cracks (granted it should not have if they had been reconciling that account).

 

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to give others a possible avenue of action if you received OBC from a TA and have not received your refund.  I guess it makes sense that Princess would make the refund to the card that was originally used to purchase the OBC.

[greenie082756]

So, being a betting woman:

Which will we get to us first?

The BIG tax refund (filed March 2022) or Princess refundable OBC of $400 cruise ended April 19th. 

I am going to bet it will be Princess as the winner!!