Oceania's Lack of Integrity and Courtesy

[nmargolis]

Oceania cancelled our February 2022 Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise a few weeks ahead of time. Ok, no problem. But we had used a future cruise credit from the payment we had made on a 2020 cruise that was cancelled. Oceania has declined to let us use that future cruise credit on our next cruise, saying it had to be used by the end of 2022. Hey, we planned a cruise in 2022 - YOU cancelled it!! We also paid for excursions and upgraded premium airfare, neither of which we got to use. Did Oceania give us our money back. NO, they did not! Our Oceania rep asked her supervisor more than five times to call us, and he never did. We wrote a letter to management, and they never responded. There are a lot of cruise lines out there. Pick one that has integrity. Oceania decided they'd rather pocket our two grand rather than have us as a customer for life.

[Flatbush Flyer]

18 minutes ago, nmargolis said:

Oceania cancelled our February 2022 Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise a few weeks ahead of time. Ok, no problem. But we had used a future cruise credit from the payment we had made on a 2020 cruise that was cancelled. Oceania has declined to let us use that future cruise credit on our next cruise, saying it had to be used by the end of 2022. Hey, we planned a cruise in 2022 - YOU cancelled it!! We also paid for excursions and upgraded premium airfare, neither of which we got to use. Did Oceania give us our money back. NO, they did not! Our Oceania rep asked her supervisor more than five times to call us, and he never did. We wrote a letter to management, and they never responded. There are a lot of cruise lines out there. Pick one that has integrity. Oceania decided they'd rather pocket our two grand rather than have us as a customer for life.

Something in your post is not quite right. Had O cancelled your cruise, you’d have received a full refund of any actual cash you paid for optional purchases like excursions. 
As for your cash fare $, they too would’ve been default offered as a timing limited FCC though in States like California, you could request $ instead. FCCs used for the fare would be redeposited in your O Club account -usually with adjusted book by/cruise by deadlines.

 

You may want to search here on CC for my detailed instructions on how best to approach getting FCC deadlines excepted/adjusted.

 

Again, your post is far afield of my experience with O involving multiple Covid related O cancelled cruises. Everything worked as I expected and wanted and it was done in a mist efficacious fashion.

[PSR]

18 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

As for your cash fare $, they too would’ve been default offered as a timing limited FCC though in States like California, you could request $ instead.

 

Do you have a reference for this? I did not know you could request a cash refund rather than an FCC for a cruise line cancellation if you are from California. Does this apply to all cruise lines? Thanks for any info.

[ToxM]

Is your next cruise already booked? I don’t know all the rules, but I have a feeling they don’t allow you to pay a balance on a booked cruise in that manner… maybe you need to book another cruise and use the refund that way? 

 

 

[shepherd really]

21 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Do you have a reference for this? I did not know you could request a cash refund rather than an FCC for a cruise line cancellation if you are from California. Does this apply to all cruise lines? Thanks for any info.

They refund you in the form of the payment you made, my credit card was credited in full two weeks after they cancelled my South Americ cruise in January this year,  

Edited August 30, 2022 by shepherd really

[Flatbush Flyer]

28 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Do you have a reference for this? I did not know you could request a cash refund rather than an FCC for a cruise line cancellation if you are from California. Does this apply to all cruise lines? Thanks for any info.

You’ll need to contact the CA Secretary of State’s office for the definitive answer. Note too that there’s also new Federal Maritime Commission regulations on $ refunds. But, they are not retroactive and only apply to bookings made since the regulations went into effect.

 

As difficult as it may be: Had you saved the various O Travel Advisories on the O website in effect when you booked, O would use those rules as regards refunds etc. 

 

I assume many folks didn’t read the fine print when O cancelled. In many of the Advisories, the language was along the lines of “Unless you request $ refund by X date, we’ll assume you want the offered FCC.”

 

FWIW: O considers reasonable requests for policy exceptions on a case-by-case basis. If you propose something that benefits O and you, you might get what you reasonably want. Again, use the search feature here on CC for threads and posts where strategies were discussed and offered often during much  of 2021.

[PSR]

Yes, I am familiar about the full refund if the cruise lines cancel a cruise weeks or months ahead of the cruise date. But (on another cruise line) our cruise was cancelled by the cruise line just for us on the day of the cruise because one of us tested COVID positive (in error, it later turned out). I was asking Flatbush Flyer if we could've requested a cash refund by California rules as mentioned in post #2. We only got a FCC.

 

(Oops, I was replying to shepherd really when FF popped in to answer my question.) Thanks Flyer. I am not trying for a retroactive refund, but maybe for future (hopefully never needed) reference. I am sure O would have a better response than our other cruise line!

Edited August 30, 2022 by PSR

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, nmargolis said:

Oceania cancelled our February 2022 Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise a few weeks ahead of time. Ok, no problem. But we had used a future cruise credit from the payment we had made on a 2020 cruise that was cancelled. Oceania has declined to let us use that future cruise credit on our next cruise, saying it had to be used by the end of 2022. Hey, we planned a cruise in 2022 - YOU cancelled it!! We also paid for excursions and upgraded premium airfare, neither of which we got to use. Did Oceania give us our money back. NO, they did not! Our Oceania rep asked her supervisor more than five times to call us, and he never did. We wrote a letter to management, and they never responded. There are a lot of cruise lines out there. Pick one that has integrity. Oceania decided they'd rather pocket our two grand rather than have us as a customer for life.

Whether it’s good or bad, losing you or me as a customer doesn’t even represent a rounding error in any cruise line’s daily bottom line.

That said, O considers stuff on a case-by-case basis. 
Another option is to contact Chris Elliott, travel ombudsman and syndicated columnist (elliott.org) - no cost and worth a shot. If they like your situation, they’ll bend over backward to help. 
For the future: find a TA who is a top seller for your preferred cruise line. They often can get stuff fixed while you’re in hold. Somewhat the same goes for a handful of O phone reps who are long-serving and know everything that needs knowing about O.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, PSR said:

Yes, I am familiar about the full refund if the cruise lines cancel a cruise weeks or months ahead of the cruise date. But (on another cruise line) our cruise was cancelled by the cruise line just for us on the day of the cruise because one of us tested COVID positive (in error, it later turned out). I was asking Flatbush Flyer if we could've requested a cash refund by California rules as mentioned in post #2. We only got a FCC.

 

With or without California in the mix, I assume the line’s rules were clear about turning Covid positive folks away.

On O, it was interesting: if you optionally pretested negative at a proctored lab prior to the pier test being positive, O would refund and pay associated quarantine/return home costs. But, if you didn’t voluntarily do that recommended pre-test and then was found positive at the pier, you were SOL. Likewise if you pre-tested positive within two weeks of embark, you’d get full fare refund.

Bottom line: If you didn’t do the recommended pretesting and was found positive at the pier test - not good for you.

[Flatbush Flyer]

33 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

They refund you in the form of the payment you made, my credit card was credited in full two weeks after they cancelled my South Americ cruise in January this year,  

Only if you met the rules in effect (which dor most of the time was - you had a choice but needed to make it in the allowed time frame. Don’t meet it? You get FCC.

[PSR]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

With or without California in the mix, I assume the line’s rules were clear about turning Covid positive folks away.

On O, it was interesting: if you optionally pretested negative at a proctored lab prior to the pier test being positive, O would refund and pay associated quarantine/return home costs. But, if you didn’t voluntarily do that recommended pre-test and then was found positive at the pier, you were SOL. Likewise if you pre-tested positive within two weeks of embark, you’d get full fare refund.

Bottom line: If you didn’t do the recommended pretesting and was found positive at the pier test - not good for you.

Yes, I agree with your description. We didn't skip a required pretest.This happened to us back in January 2022, when they weren't doing pretests at all and it just started being done at the dock for a cruise to Hawaii (their request) and we were on one of the first cruises to be tested...unlucky us, I guess. Now, we still have to pretest (at least to Canada) and I still will probably pretest in the future, even if not required...and always book a refundable air fare.

 

[PhD-iva]

4 hours ago, nmargolis said:

We also paid for excursions and upgraded premium airfare, neither of which we got to use. Did Oceania give us our money back. NO, they did not! Our Oceania rep asked her supervisor more than five times to call us, and he never did. We wrote a letter to management, and they never responded. There are a lot of cruise lines out there. Pick one that has integrity. Oceania decided they'd rather pocket our two grand rather than have us as a customer for life.

Your post implied that you paid O directly for upgraded premium air. In a later post, you admit that you booked your own air. You took the risk, your beef is w the airline, not O!

[Flatbush Flyer]

15 hours ago, PSR said:

Yes, I agree with your description. We didn't skip a required pretest.This happened to us back in January 2022, when they weren't doing pretests at all and it just started being done at the dock for a cruise to Hawaii (their request) and we were on one of the first cruises to be tested...unlucky us, I guess. Now, we still have to pretest (at least to Canada) and I still will probably pretest in the future, even if not required...and always book a refundable air fare.

 

FWIW: United is our preferred air carrier (if for no other reason than they answer the phone) with Star Alliance partners used as needed. If one flies several trips per year, their FFC and ETC policies (should you need to cancel a non-refundable fare flight) are very accommodating.

[WNcruiser]

I really dislike posters who post a rant and then never come back to acknowledge the responses or give any follow up. It discredits the information they have given. Here we are 3 days after the original post and nothing from the OP. 

Edited September 2, 2022 by WNcruiser

[LHT28]

57 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

I really dislike posters who post a rant and then never come back to acknowledge the responses or give any follow up. It discredits the information they have given. Here we are 3 days after the original post and nothing from the OP. 

sometimes the issue is resolved  & they do not come back as nothing more to complain about

JMO

[Robjame]

10 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

sometimes the issue is resolved  & they do not come back as nothing more to complain about

JMO

 

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

give any follow up. It discredits the information they have given. Here we are 3 days after the original post and nothing from the OP. 

As Lyn says.

Also if you reread the answers to the OP, some of the regulars are quite unsympathetic to someone who complains about O or questions O’s policies. I am sure that infrequent posters are scared off by these attacks.

[rbtan]

On 8/30/2022 at 7:00 PM, PSR said:

 

Do you have a reference for this? I did not know you could request a cash refund rather than an FCC for a cruise line cancellation if you are from California. Does this apply to all cruise lines? Thanks for any info.

On Oceania & Celebrity, both cancelled their respective cruises.(Covid issues) we had no trouble getting cash refunds. They both did want to offer moving the monies to a future cruise(we declined)

[Guppy99]

On 8/30/2022 at 7:40 PM, PSR said:

Yes, I am familiar about the full refund if the cruise lines cancel a cruise weeks or months ahead of the cruise date. But (on another cruise line) our cruise was cancelled by the cruise line just for us on the day of the cruise because one of us tested COVID positive (in error, it later turned out). I was asking Flatbush Flyer if we could've requested a cash refund by California rules as mentioned in post #2. We only got a FCC.

 

(Oops, I was replying to shepherd really when FF popped in to answer my question.) Thanks Flyer. I am not trying for a retroactive refund, but maybe for future (hopefully never needed) reference. I am sure O would have a better response than our other cruise line!

This cruise was not cancelled, and it is disingenuous for you to say that. You were denied boarding because you didn't meet the allowable criteria to board. That changes the entire situation.

First, whether you test positive because you are positive or because you received a false positive is the not any cruise lines responsibility or liability. They must react to the results you get. So, of course they had no choice but to deny you boarding.  

 

So, assuming you had to have been full paid on day of departure, and you pre-paid for excursions and airfare...yet, you complain the amount at issue is $2,000 for both you AND your wife. Was this an 2 day cruise?

 

If you did not book your airflight through Ocenia, then they have no responsibility or liability. you are on your own.

 

As far as the money for excursions, if they were made with OBC then that is gone since you did not board but you aren't out anything. However, if you pre-paid in cash then they would be refunded because you effectively canceled in time. So, that just leaves your passage, and that would be handled according to the rules at the time. So, what am I missing?  

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

......what am I missing?  

...nothing.

[Guppy99]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

...nothing.

Thank you...thought I was going nuts. OP has totally misrepresented the situation and his convoluted logic doesn't hang together. No wonder he's unhappy. Not Oceania's fault.

[Flatbush Flyer]

On 9/2/2022 at 6:45 AM, Robjame said:

 

As Lyn says.

Also if you reread the answers to the OP, some of the regulars are quite unsympathetic to someone who complains about O or questions O’s policies. I am sure that infrequent posters are scared off by these attacks.

One only needs to reread OP’s first line of his/her first post (Oceania cancelled our February 2022 Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise a few weeks ahead of time) and then read the rest of the thread to understand why some folks would reasonably tend to be unsympathetic about such a stretch of the truth.

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

So, what am I missing?  

 

Perhaps the fact that the $2000 issue was raised by the OP - who was @nmargolis?

 

Your response was to a different poster, @PSR, who was asking a quite different question regarding the potential for California residents to get cash refunds. @PSR had no complaint about being denied boarding for testing positive. 🍺🥌

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Perhaps the fact that the $2000 issue was raised by the OP - who was @nmargolis?

 

Your response was to a different poster, @PSR, who was asking a quite different question regarding the potential for California residents to get cash refunds. @PSR had no complaint about being denied boarding for testing positive. 🍺🥌

Oops! 

[PSR]

5 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Perhaps the fact that the $2000 issue was raised by the OP - who was @nmargolis?

 

Your response was to a different poster, @PSR, who was asking a quite different question regarding the potential for California residents to get cash refunds. @PSR had no complaint about being denied boarding for testing positive. 🍺🥌

 

Thank you, Curler Rob. I had no idea what Guppy99 was talking about. And they shouldn't have gotten into a tizzy. My cruise line was not Oceania, and as you said, they quoted me in error.

Edited September 8, 2022 by PSR