Refund for positive Covid test Pre-Cruise

[sandinmyshoes]

My husband and I tested positive for Covid the day before our Celebrity cruise.  This was three weeks ago (July 2022).  I called (and sat on hold for 45 minutes) and talked to a Celebrity staff member who told me to email the Celebrity Engagement Center and gave me the address.  I did it that same day.

The email stated our booking number and had pictures of our Walgreens proctored test results.  I sent a follow up message last week and my travel agent has called twice to sit on hold more than an hour each time and then getting disconnected.

I have yet to get a response.  

How long does it take to get a refund from Celebrity for not boarding the ship because of a positive test?

 

Thank you for any responses from anyone who has actually been through this scenario with Celebrity.  🙂

[Arizona Wildcat]

4 minutes ago, sandinmyshoes said:

My husband and I tested positive for Covid the day before our Celebrity cruise.  This was three weeks ago (July 2022).  I called (and sat on hold for 45 minutes) and talked to a Celebrity staff member who told me to email the Celebrity Engagement Center and gave me the address.  I did it that same day.

The email stated our booking number and had pictures of our Walgreens proctored test results.  I sent a follow up message last week and my travel agent has called twice to sit on hold more than an hour each time and then getting disconnected.

I have yet to get a response.  

How long does it take to get a refund from Celebrity for not boarding the ship because of a positive test?

 

Thank you for any responses from anyone who has actually been through this scenario with Celebrity.  🙂

Reports are anywhere between 3 to 8 weeks.  Calling will only get you to a newbie agent who cannot assist.  Celebrity is buried with more calls than they can possibly handle effectively.   Presume you emailed the resolution department or the executive offices.

[Jim_Iain]

Had the same experience.   Best advise is to contact who you spoke to or e-mailed previously.    If you don't have a contact call engagement center and get both a phone number and e-mail of the rep you are speaking to.   In my case nothing happened until I started calling and sending a weekly email requesting status.     Total time after contact was about 40 days.

 

[Merly]

I was told that they couldn’t action a refund until the cruise was completed. We then got our refund of the whole amount, cruise, air fares and transfers within a couple of days of completion. No trouble whatsoever. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Merly
Spelling error

[D. B.]

I was going on a cruise leaving Los Angeles last April so I went 5 days early to visit my Children and Grand children. That turned out to be bad Idea.

 The 9 year old had to be picked up at School because she developed a 103 degree fever.

I had taken her to School that morning and....you guessed it. I tested positive the next day. Very Mild case.

 It was a RCCL cruise so I called RCCL and they said Thank You and You will receive a full refund.

 I Did get all my refund in 3 weeks.

 I still wish I had been able to go on that cruise. I guess it's because it's the One that Got Away.

 

[gelormbi]

On 7/30/2022 at 2:10 AM, Merly said:

I was told that they couldn’t action a refund until the cruise was completed. We then got our refund of the whole amount, cruise, air fares and transfers within a couple of days of completion. No trouble whatsoever. 

Did you get sick on the ship or before you sailed? Thank you

[Merly]

Before we sailed. 

[djbarnes]

We just returned from the Celebrity Flora with a pre-tour in Quito.  We had cruise care.  I, apparently, was one of the few on our cruise who was aware of the risk we all were taking.  Ecuador and the US do not require covid testing (we are fully vaccinated), but Celebrity was doing their own testing.  I called Celebrity and they agreed that this was a concern.  They suggested we test ourselves prior to leaving.  So we all paid for PCR tests the day before leaving just to limit our exposure risk. 

 

Since we were on a pre-tour we were PCR tested the night we arrived and Antigen tested the morning before heading to the trip.  If we tested positive, we were then subject to a 10 day quarantine in Ecuador.  Few of the people we talked to were aware of that risk.  I'll tell you one thing, there is nothing like the stress of waiting to hear if you have covid when you are that far from home.

 

Incidentally, our cruise of 92 turned into a cruise of 83.  Some were stuck in Quito, but many ended up with covid on the ship.  We had 2 announcements of positive tests and masks suddenly began appearing.  People were coughing everywhere.  I became convinced that most people quicly realized they couldn't go to the medical staff or they were then subject to quarantine if they tested positive.  So covid likely spread all over our ship by the end.  My family of 4 returned yesterday and this morning my wife and I tested positive for covid.

 

I just want people to be aware that there is a risk if you test positive at the ship and then a risk you will probably get covid during the trip.  Trip was still awesome by the way, but I sure didn't need the stress leading up to this.

[BratDet]

I got off my cruise 7/24. I was told we would get a phone call to discuss compensation due COVID positive isolation of my husband & I.. After a week and a half of no call, I decided to call. I was told the amount of my refund and that it would take 30-45 days to process.

I was also given a case number. I would call to make sure things were processed for you.

bernadette

[sandinmyshoes]

So a Celebrity agent arranged a date and time to call me to process our refund through email, but when it came time I never got a call.  I eventually called and talked to another agent who transferred me to the man I had been emailing with.  He had a number of excuses why he didn't call, but after confirming they had received our Covid test results (through email three weeks prior), he initiated our full refund.  He said it would take 15-20 additional days to be credited back to our credit card.

I don't know why they have to actually speak to us in order to process the refund when they are so backed up.  I would think it would be an easy process, but they have complicated it.  Oh well, we are getting our money back.  Although, I would have rather taken the cruise.

It was Alaska and had already been Lift & Shifted twice due to Covid.  I don't see the prices going back down to what we originally paid in 2019 for it.  We still love Celebrity though.

[Gia2cats]

My husband tested positive after a land tour and prior to boarding the ship. This was July 15. A Celebrity rep was present at the testing center so I presume the positive test was noted by the rep on our reservation.

On July 18, our TA called Celebrity. On 7/27, we received a refund of port charges and taxes. On 7/28, excursions were refunded. And on 8/5, the bulk of the cruise was refunded, minus the land tour. 

[gelormbi]

So sorry that you caught COVID and couldn't travel! From your post, I assume you had insurance through Celebrity? 

My husband and I just tested positive for COVID and we have to cancel our cruise on the Beyond, but we purchased insurance through our travel agent at *****. Have you heard anything about how difficult it is to get a refund from the TA's insurance provider?

This is also a cruise that planning began in 2019 on Princess that we switched to Celebrity on the new Beyond that we are heartsick over having to cancel.

Thank you to anyone who can advise me.  

[gelormbi]

16 minutes ago, Gia2cats said:

My husband tested positive after a land tour and prior to boarding the ship. This was July 15. A Celebrity rep was present at the testing center so I presume the positive test was noted by the rep on our reservation.

On July 18, our TA called Celebrity. On 7/27, we received a refund of port charges and taxes. On 7/28, excursions were refunded. And on 8/5, the bulk of the cruise was refunded, minus the land tour. 

So sorry to hear, hope he is better now. Where you overseas when this happened?

[Gia2cats]

2 minutes ago, gelormbi said:

So sorry to hear, hope he is better now. Where you overseas when this happened?

No, Alaska. He was actually asymptomatic when tested. We both eventually ended up with mild colds. And I knew I had it due to symptoms but didn’t test positive for a week. So I’m not real confident regarding the tests.

[gelormbi]

1 minute ago, Gia2cats said:

No, Alaska. He was actually asymptomatic when tested. We both eventually ended up with mild colds. And I knew I had it due to symptoms but didn’t test positive for a week. So I’m not real confident regarding the tests.

Sorry you had to experience that. Did Celebrity deny you boarding and arrange transportation home?

Thank you.

[Gia2cats]

13 minutes ago, gelormbi said:

Sorry you had to experience that. Did Celebrity deny you boarding and arrange transportation home?

Thank you.

We did not board and Celebrity booked our flights home. Disappointing but pretty painless.

[gelormbi]

22 minutes ago, Gia2cats said:

We did not board and Celebrity booked our flights home. Disappointing but pretty painless.

Thank you!

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, gelormbi said:

So sorry that you caught COVID and couldn't travel! From your post, I assume you had insurance through Celebrity? 

My husband and I just tested positive for COVID and we have to cancel our cruise on the Beyond, but we purchased insurance through our travel agent at *****. Have you heard anything about how difficult it is to get a refund from the TA's insurance provider?

This is also a cruise that planning began in 2019 on Princess that we switched to Celebrity on the new Beyond that we are heartsick over having to cancel.

Thank you to anyone who can advise me.  

 

If you have tested positive within 10 days of the sailing Celebrity will refund you with their current policy which goes through November.   If you have other non-refundable items like hotel/air then you would process those through your travel insurance.  

[gelormbi]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

If you have tested positive within 10 days of the sailing Celebrity will refund you with their current policy which goes through November.   If you have other non-refundable items like hotel/air then you would process those through your travel insurance.  

Thank you.

[wrk2cruise]

Here is the link to the policy

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/cel-covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf

[gelormbi]

Just now, wrk2cruise said:

Here is the link to the policy

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/cel-covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf

Thank you!

[sandinmyshoes]

Today is August 16th.  Our cruise that we couldn't board was July 15th Alaska sailing.  We got our cruise fare back today and the $500 deposit is suppose to show up anytime.  That is right at a month for the refund although we notified Celebrity before the cruise that we tested positive.  They made us jump through hoops, but once we did, I feel the refund arrived quickly.  They said it would take 15-20 additional days for it to hit my credit card, but the main portion arrived in just 12 days from the last conversation with Celebrity.

[gelormbi]

On 8/16/2022 at 4:14 PM, sandinmyshoes said:

Today is August 16th.  Our cruise that we couldn't board was July 15th Alaska sailing.  We got our cruise fare back today and the $500 deposit is suppose to show up anytime.  That is right at a month for the refund although we notified Celebrity before the cruise that we tested positive.  They made us jump through hoops, but once we did, I feel the refund arrived quickly.  They said it would take 15-20 additional days for it to hit my credit card, but the main portion arrived in just 12 days from the last conversation with Celebrity.

Sorry you had to cancel but glad you got your money back!

[sandinmyshoes]

Update:  It is September 12 and we have yet to get the rest of our refund.  Celebrity still owes us $545.38 of the remaining balance.  I have been on hold for 2 hours (currently) with the Engagement Center and the lady helping me is getting no where.  She comes on the phone every 15 to 20 minutes or so and asks for another 5 minutes of time to keep researching.  She says her numbers do not match up to what the original representative told me.  I have given them the original Celebrity Engagement Center person's name, our original reservation number, and our reference number the agent gave me concerning the matter when he promised the refund.

This is out of hand.  I wander how many people just give up and let Celebrity to just not give them a full refund or Future Cruise Credit.  Or do they just forget they are owed more money and move on?  $550 is a lot of money for me and I'm not giving up.  Our travel agent has washed her hands of the transaction after wasting over 5 hours of her time dealing with it and getting no where.  (Granted she's not a great agent even though I've used her for 8 years.  She just keeps complaining more and more every time I speak with her, so I have switched agents but stayed with the same agency so she can see I've booked more cruises with someone else.)

OK, after 2 hours, 10 minutes the engagement center agent just came back on and said she will have to call me back because the accounting department needs to work on the issue further.  Sheesh!  But at least I'm not on hold anymore so I'm grateful.

 

I hope anyone else trying to get a refund from Celebrity has a better experience.  Good luck to you all!

[AnnaNicole]

4 minutes ago, sandinmyshoes said:

Update:  It is September 12 and we have yet to get the rest of our refund.  Celebrity still owes us $545.38 of the remaining balance.  I have been on hold for 2 hours (currently) with the Engagement Center and the lady helping me is getting no where.  She comes on the phone every 15 to 20 minutes or so and asks for another 5 minutes of time to keep researching.  She says her numbers do not match up to what the original representative told me.  I have given them the original Celebrity Engagement Center person's name, our original reservation number, and our reference number the agent gave me concerning the matter when he promised the refund.

This is out of hand.  I wander how many people just give up and let Celebrity to just not give them a full refund or Future Cruise Credit.  Or do they just forget they are owed more money and move on?  $550 is a lot of money for me and I'm not giving up.  Our travel agent has washed her hands of the transaction after wasting over 5 hours of her time dealing with it and getting no where.  (Granted she's not a great agent even though I've used her for 8 years.  She just keeps complaining more and more every time I speak with her, so I have switched agents but stayed with the same agency so she can see I've booked more cruises with someone else.)

OK, after 2 hours, 10 minutes the engagement center agent just came back on and said she will have to call me back because the accounting department needs to work on the issue further.  Sheesh!  But at least I'm not on hold anymore so I'm grateful.

 

I hope anyone else trying to get a refund from Celebrity has a better experience.  Good luck to you all!

Dispute the charge on your credit card.   You will be asked to provide documentation.   Celebrity will be asked their side.    I had to do this for a medical bill.   We were overcharged the estimate and the medical outpatient facility was refusing to refund us after insurance paid for the whole procedure.   Said they did not owe us.   I provided the credit card company with all of the documentation and the charge was reversed.