I HATE NCL

[CrazyTrain2]

Dispute the CC charges if possible.

[njhorseman]

32 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

You are correct.  NCL usually is very careful in their wording in circumstances like this.  It is their standard practice to refund only the cruise fare portion of your payment, not including taxes, port fees, etc.  

I have no idea where you got that idea. You get a 100% refund of what you paid including taxes and port fees.

 

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ok hold up! So NCL steals the taxes and port fee charges from cruisers when they cancel the cruiser? You say this is standard. Is it standard in the cruise industry to steal like this? Is there a reason? I'd love to hear why. Were those charges already paid to the government agencies. If this is the case, I'll be a bit more understanding. Otherwise that's a total BS show and after I use up my Cruise Next certificates, won't be chancing to have my money stolen by a cruise line again. 

 

Piglet - I might be a bit more sympathetic to your plight after hearing the answer to my questions above!

No, it's not true. They refund 100% of what you paid, not just the base fare.

[njhorseman]

7 minutes ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

Dispute the CC charges if possible.

There's nothing to dispute. NCL is refunding 100% of what they paid, and providing FCC on top of it.

[cruiseny4life]

Just now, njhorseman said:

No, it's not true. They refund 100% of what you paid, not just the base fare.

Oh thank you!!! That is the only reasonable response so I'm glad it's true.

[CrazyTrain2]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

There's nothing to dispute. NCL is refunding 100% of what they paid, and providing FCC on top of it.

Sorry, I was responding to the incorrect comments that NCL only does a partial refund.  Full refund - no problem.

[mjkacmom]

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

There's nothing to dispute. NCL is refunding 100% of what they paid, and providing FCC on top of it.

I honestly don’t understand the confusion of some, it clearly states the refund will go back to the original payment method, for every last penny spent, plus a FCC in the amount of the cruise.

[njhorseman]

Just now, mjkacmom said:

I honestly don’t understand the confusion of some, it clearly states the refund will go back to the original payment method, for every last penny spent, plus a FCC in the amount of the cruise.

It's just incredible. I can understand someone misinterpreting their cancellation letter at first reading because they're upset about having their vacation cancelled. It's other posters then chiming in with false statements to fan the flames that really annoys me.

[PTC DAWG]

14 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I honestly don’t understand the confusion of some, it clearly states the refund will go back to the original payment method, for every last penny spent, plus a FCC in the amount of the cruise.

Reading comprehension by some isn’t what it used to be..the letter from NCL is very clear. 

[PTC DAWG]

9 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It's just incredible. I can understand someone misinterpreting their cancellation letter at first reading because they're upset about having their vacation cancelled. It's other posters then chiming in with false statements to fan the flames that really annoys me.

Agree…

[n4w]

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Yep, that seems to be NCL's modus operandi.  Don't know how it works on other cruise lines, but NCL does seem to squeeze those nickels pretty tightly.

Where those funds are not returned to the original form of payment, are they returned in the form of FCC, or are they in fact "stolen"?

Your comments are usually on point, this one seems off.

Edited June 22, 2022 by n4w

[Cindy]

55 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I honestly don’t understand the confusion of some, it clearly states the refund will go back to the original payment method, for every last penny spent, plus a FCC in the amount of the cruise.

I think the confusion comes in some not understanding that while the refund is 100% of all monies paid, the FCC is only for the cruise fare itself…not airfare, excursions, etc.

[The Traveling Man]

56 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I have no idea where you got that idea. You get a 100% refund of what you paid including taxes and port fees.

 

No, it's not true. They refund 100% of what you paid, not just the base fare.

I got the idea from an experience that I had with NCL in 2017 when they promised to refund 100% of all monies paid, but then only refunded the amount listed as "fare."  The circumstances were a bit different than those described by the OP, but the fact remains that they refunded us only the fare after promising a full refund.  We did finally get the rest of it back, but only after months of haggling.  Yes, it actually happened.  Also note that the letter from NCL VP Katty Byrd specifically stated that there would be a refund of the cruise fare.  It did not state that there would be a refund of taxes or port fees.  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

 

On another occasion, we cancelled a cruise at the last minute.  We did not expect to get anything back from NCL, but they actually refunded taxes, port fees, and prepaid gratuities to us.  They kept the cruise fare.

[The Traveling Man]

12 minutes ago, n4w said:

Where those funds are not returned to the original form of payment, are they returned in the form of FCC, or are they in fact "stolen"?

In our case, we had to haggle with NCL for months to get the full refund.  I'm not really sure how it works in other circumstances.  I do know, however, that when I called it to their attention that we only had received a refund of the fare and not "all monies paid," their response was "Oh, that's the way we always do it."

[PTC DAWG]

3 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I got the idea from an experience that I had with NCL in 2017 when they promised to refund 100% of all monies paid, but then only refunded the amount listed as "fare."  The circumstances were a bit different than those described by the OP, but the fact remains that they refunded us only the fare after promising a full refund.  We did finally get the rest of it back, but only after months of haggling.  Yes, it actually happened.  Also note that the letter from NCL VP Katty Byrd specifically stated that there would be a refund of the cruise fare.  It did not state that there would be a refund of taxes or port fees.  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

 

On another occasion, we cancelled a cruise at the last minute.  We did not expect to get anything back from NCL, but they actually refunded taxes, port fees, and prepaid gratuities to us.  They kept the cruise fare.

Your first instance here sounds like a straight up book keeping error..glad they made you whole. 

[prov2727]

1 minute ago, Cindy said:

I think the confusion comes in some not understanding that while the refund is 100% of all monies paid, the FCC is only for the cruise fare itself…not airfare, excursions, etc.

When our cruise on the Pearl was turned around in January, we received a refund of all monies paid- that included port fees and excursions and Cruise Next restored. The FCC we received was just in the amount of the cruise fare not including port fees or excursions. Yeah, that took a second to figure out as I thought I would have a lot more FCC than I did, but it made sense once I realized it was the fare only.

No amount of money was going to make it all okay, but I do feel that I was quite fairly compensated and am looking forward to using that FCC  on an even longer cruise in January.

[Turtles06]

10 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

On another occasion, we cancelled a cruise at the last minute.  We did not expect to get anything back from NCL, but they actually refunded taxes, port fees, and prepaid gratuities to us.  They kept the cruise fare.

 

I've previously confirmed with my NCL PCC that it is standard policy to refund taxes, port fees, and prepaid grats if you cancel at the last minute.   (It's important to know this so that you don't wind up insuring these amounts as trip expenses if you have third-party travel insurance.) 

[The Traveling Man]

57 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Reading comprehension by some isn’t what it used to be..the letter from NCL is very clear. 

Yes, the letter is clear.  "A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation."  It only mentions the fare, not taxes or fees.

[scooter6139]

21 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Yes, the letter is clear.  "A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation."  It only mentions the fare, not taxes or fees.

Yes, as Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses are part of the Total Fare paid.  (even includes insurance if purchased via NCL)  So I would be expecting all that back if they canceled my cruise.

 

EDIT - Of course, I was looking at a Princess booking letter vs an NCL one, and realized NCL uses different verbiage than Princess does.  Silly me.  I would still expect all my monies I paid to be returned though, especially taxes, fees and port charges for something I never used.

Edited June 22, 2022 by scooter6139
wrong Cruise line, lol

[njhorseman]

31 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I got the idea from an experience that I had with NCL in 2017 when they promised to refund 100% of all monies paid, but then only refunded the amount listed as "fare."  The circumstances were a bit different than those described by the OP, but the fact remains that they refunded us only the fare after promising a full refund.  We did finally get the rest of it back, but only after months of haggling.  Yes, it actually happened.  Also note that the letter from NCL VP Katty Byrd specifically stated that there would be a refund of the cruise fare.  It did not state that there would be a refund of taxes or port fees.  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

 

On another occasion, we cancelled a cruise at the last minute.  We did not expect to get anything back from NCL, but they actually refunded taxes, port fees, and prepaid gratuities to us.  They kept the cruise fare.

Without your saying what the circumstances of your 2017 cancellation were it's not possible to say if NCL was right or wrong or merely made a clerical error when calculating your refund. What we do know  based on your own statement is that the circumstances of your cancellation were not the same as the OP's so your experience can't be used to draw a conclusion about what the OP will experience.

Taxes, fees, prepaid gratuities and shore excursions are always refunded under the circumstances the OP is being subjected to.

 

[rnfulk]

The situation is disappointing, but I’m wondering what solution NCL could provide that would make people happy. Full refund + 100% future cruise credit seems above and beyond what NCL would be obligated to do. They ultimately canceled the reservation to prevent a disappointing cruise experience, which probably wouldn’t result in any compensation. 

[SeaShark]

15 minutes ago, rnfulk said:

The situation is disappointing, but I’m wondering what solution NCL could provide that would make people happy. Full refund + 100% future cruise credit seems above and beyond what NCL would be obligated to do. They ultimately canceled the reservation to prevent a disappointing cruise experience, which probably wouldn’t result in any compensation. 

 

Ah, yes...but in the land of the perpetually aggrieved (aka "the Internet") there is NOTHING that will make people happy. Even if just one person is unhappy, the drama must be turned up to eleven and the finger-pointing shall commence.

[Laszlo]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I honestly don’t understand the confusion of some, it clearly states the refund will go back to the original payment method, for every last penny spent, plus a FCC in the amount of the cruise.

The person probably stopped reading after it said your cruise is canceled then lost their mind Lol

[deliver42]

Even though NCL is doing the right thing with the refund and 100% FCC, put yourself in these people's position. They booked a cruise one year ago, and have been looking forward to it ever since. Now they get a cancellation of their reservation with no other option.I know I'd be pissed, and I'll bet most of you would be too.

[PTC DAWG]

8 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Even though NCL is doing the right thing with the refund and 100% FCC, put yourself in these people's position. They booked a cruise one year ago, and have been looking forward to it ever since. Now they get a cancellation of their reservation with no other option.I know I'd be pissed, and I'll bet most of you would be too.

I’d pivot quickly to another one the same week…or very close..being all pissed off does no good..then do another one on NCL’s dime. Two for one. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[nferr]

6 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Even though NCL is doing the right thing with the refund and 100% FCC, put yourself in these people's position. They booked a cruise one year ago, and have been looking forward to it ever since. Now they get a cancellation of their reservation with no other option.I know I'd be pissed, and I'll bet most of you would be too.

 

Yes but traveling now is a a bit of a crapshoot. Airlines are cancelling flights all over the place. To be honest a full refund and an FCC for a future cruise would not be horrible IMO. I just cancelled 10 nights of rooms in Yellowstone and Glacier Natl Parks because of the flooding going on.