Refundable OBC shortage once again

[Bwana Tom]

Before I get started I feel I must apologize to the readers for being so long-winded. Nevertheless, I feel it is important to point the problems I have had getting Princess to refund our unspent REFUNDABLE onboard credit (OBC).

 

This is continuing problem at Princess, which I have experienced on my last 2 cruises as well as others that have said so on this board. I don’t know whether these are fraudulent activities taking place, or due to simply terrible bookkeeping practices. As it has gone on so long and seems to be a post-pandemic problem I’m personally leaning forward “fraudulent”.

 

The first cruise we experienced this problem was on March 5, 2022 on a 4-way B2B cruise on the Majestic Princess. On that cruise we were shorted approximately 25% of the refund owed us. After several phone calls and a session on the Live-Chat line with no resolution I decided I would send snail-mail letters to both John Padgett and Jan Swartz. Within those letters I enclosed all the appropriate documentation including a copy of the check we received as well as our final onboard account statement. Finally after several weeks I received a call from a gal named Peggy at Customer Relations. She agreed to cut us a second check for roughly the same amount we were due. It was actually a few dollars short, but I was tired of dealing with this problem and agreed to that amount. A couple of weeks later I received the check and was happy to put this whole issue behind me and investing in many hours to accomplish that goal.

 

On January 2023 we took another B2B cruise this time on the Diamond Princess. We had even more refundable OBC left over this time. Because of the problem we had on the last cruise we made sure to keep all of our records and it was a good thing we did. When our refund check finally arrived on February 17^th it was once again short, this time by over 50% leaving $191.19 still owed to us. I first thought I could call Peggy directly at Customer Relations to get the issue resolved because she had been able to help us on the last cruise. That turned out to be a worthless effort on my part. Even though she pulled up our records on her computer with all the specifics of the problem she said she wasn’t going to help me because I had to get in line behind all the other people experiencing a problem. She instructed me to send an email to Customer Relations which I did as soon as I hung the phone up with all of the appropriate documentation to support the shortage. I also copied John Padgett and eventually I sent a copy to Jan Swartz. By March 13^th having not received any response from Princess I decided to once again try their Live-Chat line, but it was busy and after 10 or 15 minutes waiting I noticed I could report a problem through the website. I went ahead and sent them a note briefly explaining my situation and asked if there was a better contact person or office I could go through. I did receive a generic form email back indicating they had received my request and would be in touch later on, so at least that was something I thought.

 

Finally on March 29, 2023 I received a phone call from Peggy, once again from Customer Relations. I must wonder if she is the only one working at that job. She had all of my documentation and agreed to cut us another check this one for the remaining amount of $191.19. Like the last time, she asked why we didn’t spend all of the OBC and like last time I told her we generally have more credit than we need to spend. Also like last time, she lectured me that we should spend it all because that is why Princess gives that to your customers. I told her if Princess insisted on use spending it all it shouldn’t be classified as “refundable”. I also asked her why this problem persists with many people testifying to its occurrence on Cruise Critic. She said she didn’t know.

Eventually on April 4^th, 2-1/2 months after the cruise, we received the second check.

 

In both of these cruises it seems that the amount we had been shorted could not be logically explained. You would think if it was simply an oversight on their part a person could go back and figure out why that amount was left out, but in both of our cases we could not. I also wonder how many people do not pay any attention to the check amount they receive and whether that amount matches their account statement.

 

My best advice to anyone cruising on Princess that has refundable OBC on the books to make absolutely sure you keep all the documentation to support what is owed you. You should not simply count on the end of the cruise statement that Princess provides you because we have noticed that on that statement they do not always breakout the refundable from the non-refundable amount. We simply do down to the customer services desk at the end of the cruise and ask them to print out our account document. That one always breaks down those two amounts separately.

 

Good luck and I hope you eventually get what is owed to you. No one should have to go through this kind of a hassle.        

[clojacks]

We will be taking our first Princess cruise in a number of years this fall and have a pretty substantial amount of OBC from our TA....way more than we would choose to spend. I am assuming that TA OBC is almost always handled as refundable? At least I am basing that assumption on it being handled that way on Celebrity, who we sail with 90% of the time. You mention Princess cutting you a check? Doesn't Princess just refund your credit card on file the amount of the refundable unspent OBC?

[Steelers36]

@Bwana Tom, you are not the only one I have read such a report from.  I know it seems tongue-in-cheek, but I have yet to exit a ship with them owing me money.  I make sure these days to have it that way after reading of so many issues.

 

Makes me wonder that the IT team has been busy with some creative accounting in order to minimize the Ref OBC payouts.  If only they were so clever at fixing bugs in the App reservations (OCEAN Ready) system.

[Bwana Tom]

42 minutes ago, clojacks said:

We will be taking our first Princess cruise in a number of years this fall and have a pretty substantial amount of OBC from our TA....way more than we would choose to spend. I am assuming that TA OBC is almost always handled as refundable? At least I am basing that assumption on it being handled that way on Celebrity, who we sail with 90% of the time. You mention Princess cutting you a check? Doesn't Princess just refund your credit card on file the amount of the refundable unspent OBC?

Usually Princess only classifies OBC as refundable if it comes from being a military vet and sometimes smaller amounts when they have to refund port fees due to missing a port on a cruise. I think you will likely find most if not all of your OBC will be non-refundable (spend or loose it). If however you do have some classed as refundable please be sure to get a final account statement to prove they owe it to you. I've been told if the refundable amount is $25 or less you can go the Customer Service Counter at the end of the cruise and they will pay it to you in cash. Otherwise they are suppose to pay anything over $25 by mail in the form of a check. 

Have a great cruise.

[Bwana Tom]

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

@Bwana Tom, you are not the only one I have read such a report from.  I know it seems tongue-in-cheek, but I have yet to exit a ship with them owing me money.  I make sure these days to have it that way after reading of so many issues.

 

Makes me wonder that the IT team has been busy with some creative accounting in order to minimize the Ref OBC payouts.  If only they were so clever at fixing bugs in the App reservations (OCEAN Ready) system.

I certain agree with you. There seems to be no clear reason as to the amount they have shorted us. And a thoroughly agree also that their IT folks could certainly do a better job. 

[clojacks]

9 minutes ago, Bwana Tom said:

Usually Princess only classifies OBC as refundable if it comes from being a military vet and sometimes smaller amounts when they have to refund port fees due to missing a port on a cruise. I think you will likely find most if not all of your OBC will be non-refundable (spend or loose it). If however you do have some classed as refundable please be sure to get a final account statement to prove they owe it to you. I've been told if the refundable amount is $25 or less you can go the Customer Service Counter at the end of the cruise and they will pay it to you in cash. Otherwise they are suppose to pay anything over $25 by mail in the form of a check. 

Have a great cruise.

Now I’m curious. I know for a fact that NCL and Celebrity handle most OBC received by a passenger from a TA as REFUNDABLE OBC. Can anyone else confirm what Bwana Tom is saying.

Edited April 10, 2023 by clojacks

[kamelia]

What I experienced may or may not shed any light for you, but we lost onboard credit as a result of not having our accounts linked once onboard.  Due to myriad problems with getting Ocean Ready using the MedallionClass app, DH and I ended up with "separate" accounts, so even though both of our accounts showed as being settled to the same credit card, because they were not "linked," the onboard credit on his portfolio did not offset the negative balance on my portfolio as we'd experienced on literally dozens of Princess cruises prior to the implementation of the MedallionClass app.  Once the charge was applied to the credit card and I saw that the amount was not what I'd been expecting it to be, I called Princess and the person with whom I spoke at Customer Relations told me that this was what had happened, and she'd take care of getting a check sent for the credit balance on DH's portfolio.  We never received a check, and after months of calling to follow up, I finally gave up and ever since have gone to Guest Services on embarkation day to ensure that our accounts are linked.  To this day, I still have issues trying to input the credit card number with me as primary and DH as the authorized user, and I think that may have something to do with creating separate accounts.  Again, not sure this was what happened in your situation, but if you go back over the final account statements, might that account for the disparity?  HTH!

[capriccio]

3 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Now I’m curious. I know for a fact that NCL and Celebrity handle most OBC received by a passenger as REFUNDABLE OBC. Can anyone else confirm what Bwana Tom is saying.

I just checked my current Princess folio: Future Cruise Credits, Shareholder Benefits, and Travel Agent Group Promotion are not refundable.

[Bwana Tom]

19 minutes ago, kamelia said:

What I experienced may or may not shed any light for you, but we lost onboard credit as a result of not having our accounts linked once onboard.  Due to myriad problems with getting Ocean Ready using the MedallionClass app, DH and I ended up with "separate" accounts, so even though both of our accounts showed as being settled to the same credit card, because they were not "linked," the onboard credit on his portfolio did not offset the negative balance on my portfolio as we'd experienced on literally dozens of Princess cruises prior to the implementation of the MedallionClass app.  Once the charge was applied to the credit card and I saw that the amount was not what I'd been expecting it to be, I called Princess and the person with whom I spoke at Customer Relations told me that this was what had happened, and she'd take care of getting a check sent for the credit balance on DH's portfolio.  We never received a check, and after months of calling to follow up, I finally gave up and ever since have gone to Guest Services on embarkation day to ensure that our accounts are linked.  To this day, I still have issues trying to input the credit card number with me as primary and DH as the authorized user, and I think that may have something to do with creating separate accounts.  Again, not sure this was what happened in your situation, but if you go back over the final account statements, might that account for the disparity?  HTH!

You make a very good point which I forgot to recommend everyone do - make sure your accounts are linked together. We always do that because we discovered they were not a few years back on a cruise. One of our first stops after boarding we head down to customer service and verify that.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, Bwana Tom said:

Before I get started I feel I must apologize to the readers for being so long-winded. Nevertheless, I feel it is important to point the problems I have had getting Princess to refund our unspent REFUNDABLE onboard credit (OBC).

 

This is continuing problem at Princess, which I have experienced on my last 2 cruises as well as others that have said so on this board. I don’t know whether these are fraudulent activities taking place, or due to simply terrible bookkeeping practices. As it has gone on so long and seems to be a post-pandemic problem I’m personally leaning forward “fraudulent”.

 

The first cruise we experienced this problem was on March 5, 2022 on a 4-way B2B cruise on the Majestic Princess. On that cruise we were shorted approximately 25% of the refund owed us. After several phone calls and a session on the Live-Chat line with no resolution I decided I would send snail-mail letters to both John Padgett and Jan Swartz. Within those letters I enclosed all the appropriate documentation including a copy of the check we received as well as our final onboard account statement. Finally after several weeks I received a call from a gal named Peggy at Customer Relations. She agreed to cut us a second check for roughly the same amount we were due. It was actually a few dollars short, but I was tired of dealing with this problem and agreed to that amount. A couple of weeks later I received the check and was happy to put this whole issue behind me and investing in many hours to accomplish that goal.

 

On January 2023 we took another B2B cruise this time on the Diamond Princess. We had even more refundable OBC left over this time. Because of the problem we had on the last cruise we made sure to keep all of our records and it was a good thing we did. When our refund check finally arrived on February 17^th it was once again short, this time by over 50% leaving $191.19 still owed to us. I first thought I could call Peggy directly at Customer Relations to get the issue resolved because she had been able to help us on the last cruise. That turned out to be a worthless effort on my part. Even though she pulled up our records on her computer with all the specifics of the problem she said she wasn’t going to help me because I had to get in line behind all the other people experiencing a problem. She instructed me to send an email to Customer Relations which I did as soon as I hung the phone up with all of the appropriate documentation to support the shortage. I also copied John Padgett and eventually I sent a copy to Jan Swartz. By March 13^th having not received any response from Princess I decided to once again try their Live-Chat line, but it was busy and after 10 or 15 minutes waiting I noticed I could report a problem through the website. I went ahead and sent them a note briefly explaining my situation and asked if there was a better contact person or office I could go through. I did receive a generic form email back indicating they had received my request and would be in touch later on, so at least that was something I thought.

 

Finally on March 29, 2023 I received a phone call from Peggy, once again from Customer Relations. I must wonder if she is the only one working at that job. She had all of my documentation and agreed to cut us another check this one for the remaining amount of $191.19. Like the last time, she asked why we didn’t spend all of the OBC and like last time I told her we generally have more credit than we need to spend. Also like last time, she lectured me that we should spend it all because that is why Princess gives that to your customers. I told her if Princess insisted on use spending it all it shouldn’t be classified as “refundable”. I also asked her why this problem persists with many people testifying to its occurrence on Cruise Critic. She said she didn’t know.

Eventually on April 4^th, 2-1/2 months after the cruise, we received the second check.

 

In both of these cruises it seems that the amount we had been shorted could not be logically explained. You would think if it was simply an oversight on their part a person could go back and figure out why that amount was left out, but in both of our cases we could not. I also wonder how many people do not pay any attention to the check amount they receive and whether that amount matches their account statement.

 

My best advice to anyone cruising on Princess that has refundable OBC on the books to make absolutely sure you keep all the documentation to support what is owed you. You should not simply count on the end of the cruise statement that Princess provides you because we have noticed that on that statement they do not always breakout the refundable from the non-refundable amount. We simply do down to the customer services desk at the end of the cruise and ask them to print out our account document. That one always breaks down those two amounts separately.

 

Good luck and I hope you eventually get what is owed to you. No one should have to go through this kind of a hassle.        

Maybe they will take you up on your suggestion and just make it all non-refundable.

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, Bwana Tom said:

Before I get started I feel I must apologize to the readers for being so long-winded. Nevertheless, I feel it is important to point the problems I have had getting Princess to refund our unspent REFUNDABLE onboard credit (OBC).

 

This is continuing problem at Princess, which I have experienced on my last 2 cruises as well as others that have said so on this board. I don’t know whether these are fraudulent activities taking place, or due to simply terrible bookkeeping practices. As it has gone on so long and seems to be a post-pandemic problem I’m personally leaning forward “fraudulent”.

 

The first cruise we experienced this problem was on March 5, 2022 on a 4-way B2B cruise on the Majestic Princess. On that cruise we were shorted approximately 25% of the refund owed us. After several phone calls and a session on the Live-Chat line with no resolution I decided I would send snail-mail letters to both John Padgett and Jan Swartz. Within those letters I enclosed all the appropriate documentation including a copy of the check we received as well as our final onboard account statement. Finally after several weeks I received a call from a gal named Peggy at Customer Relations. She agreed to cut us a second check for roughly the same amount we were due. It was actually a few dollars short, but I was tired of dealing with this problem and agreed to that amount. A couple of weeks later I received the check and was happy to put this whole issue behind me and investing in many hours to accomplish that goal.

 

On January 2023 we took another B2B cruise this time on the Diamond Princess. We had even more refundable OBC left over this time. Because of the problem we had on the last cruise we made sure to keep all of our records and it was a good thing we did. When our refund check finally arrived on February 17^th it was once again short, this time by over 50% leaving $191.19 still owed to us. I first thought I could call Peggy directly at Customer Relations to get the issue resolved because she had been able to help us on the last cruise. That turned out to be a worthless effort on my part. Even though she pulled up our records on her computer with all the specifics of the problem she said she wasn’t going to help me because I had to get in line behind all the other people experiencing a problem. She instructed me to send an email to Customer Relations which I did as soon as I hung the phone up with all of the appropriate documentation to support the shortage. I also copied John Padgett and eventually I sent a copy to Jan Swartz. By March 13^th having not received any response from Princess I decided to once again try their Live-Chat line, but it was busy and after 10 or 15 minutes waiting I noticed I could report a problem through the website. I went ahead and sent them a note briefly explaining my situation and asked if there was a better contact person or office I could go through. I did receive a generic form email back indicating they had received my request and would be in touch later on, so at least that was something I thought.

 

Finally on March 29, 2023 I received a phone call from Peggy, once again from Customer Relations. I must wonder if she is the only one working at that job. She had all of my documentation and agreed to cut us another check this one for the remaining amount of $191.19. Like the last time, she asked why we didn’t spend all of the OBC and like last time I told her we generally have more credit than we need to spend. Also like last time, she lectured me that we should spend it all because that is why Princess gives that to your customers. I told her if Princess insisted on use spending it all it shouldn’t be classified as “refundable”. I also asked her why this problem persists with many people testifying to its occurrence on Cruise Critic. She said she didn’t know.

Eventually on April 4^th, 2-1/2 months after the cruise, we received the second check.

 

In both of these cruises it seems that the amount we had been shorted could not be logically explained. You would think if it was simply an oversight on their part a person could go back and figure out why that amount was left out, but in both of our cases we could not. I also wonder how many people do not pay any attention to the check amount they receive and whether that amount matches their account statement.

 

My best advice to anyone cruising on Princess that has refundable OBC on the books to make absolutely sure you keep all the documentation to support what is owed you. You should not simply count on the end of the cruise statement that Princess provides you because we have noticed that on that statement they do not always breakout the refundable from the non-refundable amount. We simply do down to the customer services desk at the end of the cruise and ask them to print out our account document. That one always breaks down those two amounts separately.

 

Good luck and I hope you eventually get what is owed to you. No one should have to go through this kind of a hassle.        

Sorry that you had all those issues.  What is the source of all your refundable OBC?  Just curious.
 

 

 

1 hour ago, clojacks said:

Now I’m curious. I know for a fact that NCL and Celebrity handle most OBC received by a passenger from a TA as REFUNDABLE OBC. Can anyone else confirm what Bwana Tom is saying.

Unlike Celebrity, Princess TA are allowed to offer discounts.  Therefore the only OBC that I have on Princess is from the Military benefit.  My TA discounts the fare.  

 

 

 

[kiwimum]

We are experiencing a similar problem.   Should have had around $1100 refundable

OBC returned, Military and compensation for an issue.   The compensation we did not ask for, reported a minor issue with cabin and was awarded compensation.   Total surprise.  Shipboard folio confirms this refundable as well as letter received onboard.  The emailed folio from Princess dropped one Shareholder and FCD from our account.   This was a B2B.  I actually spoke with a CSR, he indicated he could see the issue and we were due the additional funds.   Unfortunately the call was disconnected and crickets ever since.  Will wait another couple of days and call again.   Sending an email is worthless.   This is ongoing from January.

[Bwana Tom]

58 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Sorry that you had all those issues.  What is the source of all your refundable OBC?  Just curious.
 

 

 

Unlike Celebrity, Princess TA are allowed to offer discounts.  Therefore the only OBC that I have on Princess is from the Military benefit.  My TA discounts the fare.  

 

 

 

That is largely where mine comes from, military vet status. On a long cruise that amounts to $250, but we seem to usually accumulate some other small amounts which I can't remember what they are.

[Bwana Tom]

3 hours ago, clojacks said:

We will be taking our first Princess cruise in a number of years this fall and have a pretty substantial amount of OBC from our TA....way more than we would choose to spend. I am assuming that TA OBC is almost always handled as refundable? At least I am basing that assumption on it being handled that way on Celebrity, who we sail with 90% of the time. You mention Princess cutting you a check? Doesn't Princess just refund your credit card on file the amount of the refundable unspent OBC?

And easy way to find out what OBC is refundable and what is not is to sign onto your account on your computer. Then click on "Payments" and go to the very bottom of the page where it shows "credits".

All of the OBC is listed item by item there. If there is an asterisk after the listing that OBC is non-refundable and if it has no asterisk it would classed as refundable.

Hope this helps.

[Cruise4Jesus]

To avoid this on the cruise we just off of we used the slot machine in the casino. Even though the nonrefundable onboard credit may say you cant us it there, guest services said to use the slot machine and then it will. All you have to do is go the slot machine hit charge money to your account, then hit cash out and it will say it is in the bank. Then just go the cashier cage and they cash out your account in cash. Very easy, don't even need to paly anything if you don't want to. We cashed out refundable and nonrefundable this way. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Bwana Tom said:

That is largely where mine comes from, military vet status. On a long cruise that amounts to $250, but we seem to usually accumulate some other small amounts which I can't remember what they are.

If you are Elite and do ship excursions the 10% discount is in refundable OBC.  Same as if you made an pre-purchases and cancel on board it comes back as refundable OBC.

[Thrak]

9 minutes ago, ldtr said:

If you are Elite and do ship excursions the 10% discount is in refundable OBC.  Same as if you made an pre-purchases and cancel on board it comes back as refundable OBC.

 

Of course they have changed the Elite discount so that it only applies to any non-sale items. If the thing is "on sale" it doesn't qualify for the discount.

[cr8tiv1]

41 minutes ago, Cruise4Jesus said:

To avoid this on the cruise we just off of we used the slot machine in the casino. Even though the nonrefundable onboard credit may say you cant us it there, guest services said to use the slot machine and then it will. All you have to do is go the slot machine hit charge money to your account, then hit cash out and it will say it is in the bank. Then just go the cashier cage and they cash out your account in cash. Very easy, don't even need to paly anything if you don't want to. We cashed out refundable and nonrefundable this way. 

 

Good way to be locked out of your casino account.

[Guest ldtr]

46 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Of course they have changed the Elite discount so that it only applies to any non-sale items. If the thing is "on sale" it doesn't qualify for the discount.

I was talking about the 10% discount on excursions.  Has nothing to do with the 10% discount on retail sales which is taken at the time of sale and has nothing to do with refundable obc.

[LACruiser88]

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I know it seems tongue-in-cheek, but I have yet to exit a ship with them owing me money.  I make sure these days to have it that way after reading of so many issues.

Ditto!

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

I was talking about the 10% discount on excursions.  Has nothing to do with the 10% discount on retail sales which is taken at the time of sale and has nothing to do with refundable obc.

 

My bad... 😎

[Cruise4Jesus]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

9 hours ago, Cruise4Jesus said:

To avoid this on the cruise we just off of we used the slot machine in the casino. Even though the nonrefundable onboard credit may say you cant us it there, guest services said to use the slot machine and then it will. All you have to do is go the slot machine hit charge money to your account, then hit cash out and it will say it is in the bank. Then just go the cashier cage and they cash out your account in cash. Very easy, don't even need to paly anything if you don't want to. We cashed out refundable and nonrefundable this way. 

 

Good way to be locked out of your casino account.

Sorry but I have to disagrees with you. It was told to us by Guest Services that using nonrefundable and refundable OBC in the slots was okay. Additionally, the Casino staff confirmed, so no it is not an issue.

[PescadoAmarillo]

2 hours ago, Cruise4Jesus said:

Sorry but I have to disagrees with you. It was told to us by Guest Services that using nonrefundable and refundable OBC in the slots was okay. Additionally, the Casino staff confirmed, so no it is not an issue.

It’s fine to use it in the slots.  They specifically ask, in writing (somewhere…it’s been posted here before) that you not use the casino as an ATM. 

 

DH left the Ruby twice in recent months with refundable OBC due to him. I know, I know, but I wasn’t there to make sure it didn’t happen. I see in Informed Delivery that he has a check coming in the mail today, most likely from the first time in February. If it’s for the correct amount, it will be the first administrative thing Princess has done  correctly for us, without my intervention, in four years.  I’m hopeful. 

[that]

Good attitude J

🤞🏻

[clojacks]

14 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Sorry that you had all those issues.  What is the source of all your refundable OBC?  Just curious.
 

 

 

Unlike Celebrity, Princess TA are allowed to offer discounts.  Therefore the only OBC that I have on Princess is from the Military benefit.  My TA discounts the fare.  

 

 

 

My TA offered 10% of the Cruise Fare as OBC. I guess different ones offer different perks.