American Queen Voyages takes forever with refunds!

[Kangar00]

1 hour ago, Kangar00 said:

Since it appears that AQV guest relations occasionally checks this board please see if you can "expedite" the refund for the following two reservations as well. 

RES CONFIRMATION #1131761
RES CONFIRMATION #1131760

Thanks!

@American Queen Voyages

[American Queen Voyages]

15 hours ago, Kangar00 said:

Since it appears that AQV guest relations occasionally checks this board please see if you can "expedite" the refund for the following two reservations as well. 

RES CONFIRMATION #1131761
RES CONFIRMATION #1131760

Thanks!

Thank you! Will look into it.

[jssinc]

My latest communication with AQV is now they will try and get my refund to me AFTER THE HOLIDAYS! What a joke. They have had my full payment for over TWO YEARS! AQV is clearly not a reputable company. Please let everyone that wants to know, how awful they are. DON'T give this kind of company your hard-earned money. I will continue to complain until I get my refund. Best luck to the rest of you in the same predicament. I think they feel they can abuse Senior Citizens as we don't know how to use the internet as well of young people. Lets show them they are wrong! Get out there and keep complaining! 

[Kangar00]

On 12/10/2023 at 2:53 PM, jssinc said:

My latest communication with AQV is now they will try and get my refund to me AFTER THE HOLIDAYS! What a joke. They have had my full payment for over TWO YEARS! AQV is clearly not a reputable company. Please let everyone that wants to know, how awful they are. DON'T give this kind of company your hard-earned money. I will continue to complain until I get my refund. Best luck to the rest of you in the same predicament. I think they feel they can abuse Senior Citizens as we don't know how to use the internet as well of young people. Lets show them they are wrong! Get out there and keep complaining! 

Same story here.  I do not understand why a company would so deliberately destroy their own customer base.  They convert likely repeat customers (our 4 cruises with them were great, and we would have booked 2 more by now if they had given refunds in a timely manner) but we are very unlikely to ever cruise with them again.  Even worse for AQV, when friends and acquaintances ask us about out AQV experience we now advise them to look elsewhere, or book close enough to a cruise date that they can get their credit card company to do a chargeback for a refund.  They have lied to us at least 10 times about a refund check being processed immediately or within a day or two.  Whoever in the company is responsible for this policy should be fired immediately.  They are going to kill AQV, which is a real shame, because the boats, tours, and crews are fantastic.

 

[jssinc]

I got my refund check! 90 days plus. I now see in the news a couple big travel agencies announcing they have suspended selling AQV cruises. I think we are seeing AQV circling the drain. Be very careful if you book a cruise with them and make sure you put it on your credit card so you can dispute the charge. Best of luck to all of you trying to get refunds.  It is a very long and timely process. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

20 hours ago, jssinc said:

I got my refund check! 90 days plus. I now see in the news a couple big travel agencies announcing they have suspended selling AQV cruises. I think we are seeing AQV circling the drain. Be very careful if you book a cruise with them and make sure you put it on your credit card so you can dispute the charge. Best of luck to all of you trying to get refunds.  It is a very long and timely process. 

 

Glad you finally got paid!

 

I agree that this could be the end of AQC. They need new bookings to pay existing debts, and they aren't likely to get many bookings now. I just looked at the Travel Guard site and they don't have an alert listed for AQV. But insurance could be AQV's next problem.

 

I don't know what a credit card company can do if there is simply no money. If AQV goes bankrupt, they'll likely pay pennies on the dollar. 

[bob brown]

You would think AQV's parent company would help them out.   That is, if they themselves are solvent.

I don't have the ambition to dig further, as I am not planning to book with them again...

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just now, bob brown said:

You would think AQV's parent company would help them out.   That is, if they themselves are solvent.

I don't have the ambition to dig further, as I am not planning to book with them again...

 

Aren't you glad you cancelled when you did!

[bob brown]

13 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Aren't you glad you cancelled when you did!

Actually, it was them that canceled the cruise.  After researching the choices, I decided to take refund, rather than risk rescheduling for something else...

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, bob brown said:

Actually, it was them that canceled the cruise.  After researching the choices, I decided to take refund, rather than risk rescheduling for something else...

 

Ah, now I remember. Good choice!

[LDVinNC]

Breaks my heart.  My late husband and I took about 6 or 7 trips on the AQ and loved it.  Only issue was the 2019 Mighty Mississippi cruise having to be diverted due to conditions on the river.  They brought someone on board to change everyone's return flights and paid any additional charges and transported us to the airport at their expense.  Sounds like a different entity since then!  I might have considered a solo trip but not with everything I am reading now.

[American Queen Voyages]

On 12/7/2023 at 6:01 PM, Kangar00 said:

Since it appears that AQV guest relations occasionally checks this board please see if you can "expedite" the refund for the following two reservations as well. 

RES CONFIRMATION #1131761
RES CONFIRMATION #1131760

Thanks!

Hi! We have received an update that your check was mailed on 1/12/24. Please let us know if you do not receive it in the next week. Thank you for being patient.

[Kangar00]

On 1/16/2024 at 11:48 AM, American Queen Voyages said:

Hi! We have received an update that your check was mailed on 1/12/24. Please let us know if you do not receive it in the next week. Thank you for being patient.

We received the check today (23 January 2024). Just about 8 months after requesting it but quite a relief!

[Chrome Diva]

10 minutes ago, Kangar00 said:

We received the check today (23 January 2024). Just about 8 months after requesting it but quite a relief!

8 months is terrible service there is just no reason   None. 
 

[Kangar00]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:49 PM, Chrome Diva said:

8 months is terrible service there is just no reason   None. 
 

The check has not bounced after 4 days so we are feeling very relieved.  It is a real shame that AQV has this policy of deliberately delayed refunds. They are definitely losing former and potential future customers because of this unjustifiable delay. Whoever in the company responsible for this policy and anyone in the position to correct it should be fired because they are definitely losing former and future customers because of it. It is really a shame because the itineraries, onboard services, and ships are wonderful. Unfortunately, because of this experience, we will not book another cruise with AQV until we have read that they have mended their ways.

If anyone reading this is thinking about booking with AQV, my advice is: 1. Do not book so early that you cannot file a credit card dispute in the event of a cancellation by the company. 2. If your cruise is canceled by AQV, do not patiently wait for AQV to issue a refund - go directly to your credit card company for an immediate refund. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 hours ago, Kangar00 said:

The check has not bounced after 4 days so we are feeling very relieved.  It is a real shame that AQV has this policy of deliberately delayed refunds. They are definitely losing former and potential future customers because of this unjustifiable delay. Whoever in the company responsible for this policy and anyone in the position to correct it should be fired because they are definitely losing former and future customers because of it. It is really a shame because the itineraries, onboard services, and ships are wonderful. Unfortunately, because of this experience, we will not book another cruise with AQV until we have read that they have mended their ways.

If anyone reading this is thinking about booking with AQV, my advice is: 1. Do not book so early that you cannot file a credit card dispute in the event of a cancellation by the company. 2. If your cruise is canceled by AQV, do not patiently wait for AQV to issue a refund - go directly to your credit card company for an immediate refund. 

 

Good to hear the check was okay. You shouldn't have to wait so long and you shouldn't have to worry that the check will bounce.

 

I feel the same way you do. My cruise experience with AQV was excellent, and it's sad that I don't want to take the risk on a future cruise.

 

I don't think the late payment is so much policy as simple math. I fear they don't have the money, and they're paying what's owed as money comes in for new bookings. Plus they have money tied up in two ships that they aren't sailing. They didn't own Navigator and Voyager for very long, not long enough to make back the cost of the ships. And with all the troubles those ships had, I doubt anyone but a scrapper will buy them. 

[ericosmith]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I don't think the late payment is so much policy as simple math. I fear they don't have the money, and they're paying what's owed as money comes in for new bookings. Plus they have money tied up in two ships that they aren't sailing. They didn't own Navigator and Voyager for very long, not long enough to make back the cost of the ships. And with all the troubles those ships had, I doubt anyone but a scrapper will buy them. 

Well, AQV is owned by the Hornblower Group, a worldwide company that's expanded rapidly.  Hornblower Group is owned by Crestview Partners, a private equity firm.  I don't think the issue is the lack of money as much as it is the willingness to do the right thing.

[Globalfish]

5 hours ago, ericosmith said:

Well, AQV is owned by the Hornblower Group, a worldwide company that's expanded rapidly.  Hornblower Group is owned by Crestview Partners, a private equity firm.

In other words, AQV’s problems are a case of venture capitalism gone terribly awry.

[Kangar00]

Well it happened sooner than anticipated.  We are so relieved that we received our refund a few weeks ago because American Queen Voyages has declared bankruptcy. They say now that "Travelers who request a refund are warned they will first receive a denial notice since “AQV has filed for Chapter 11 to conduct its business shutdown and is not making reimbursement payments directly.” Customers must then submit the refund request to Argo Surety, which has insured the cruise line."

 

“You should expect to be fully refunded for deposits you have paid on cancelled AQV cruises,” the company wrote.