For those on the Prima who had Brugge cancelled and had shore excursions and want a refund rather than OBC

[ontheweb]

It can be done! They argued at first, but then realized I was not asking for compensation for a missed port, but wanted our money back that we had already paid for an excursion (One of the only two we booked with NCL). They argued that their contract allowed them to cancel a port, and they were already giving compensation as OBC (BTW when I asked non-refundable as it was compensation). I argued how could it be compensation if I already paid it. Then the rep asked if I was asking for money for the missed port or for my already paid excursion. When she realized what I was actually asking for, she put me on hold and went to the resolutions department.

 

She came back, and said you can cancel excursions up to 48 hours before the excursion for a refund. So that is what they did. However, she told me it may take 7-10 business days. Amazing how quickly a charge goes from pending to charge and yet a refund can take up to 2 weeks.

[Liljo22]

13 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Amazing how quickly a charge goes from pending to charge and yet a refund can take up to 2 weeks.

Honestly, that's not a NCL thing.  When we process refunds for customers, we tell them 5-7 business days.  Some banks will allow the credit to go through earlier but  I can't tell you how long its actually going to be.  The worst customers are the ones that call up yelling about holding their money when they haven't gotten their refund after a few days.  I refunded the charge when they originally called it and I have no control over how long it takes their bank to post it.  

Edited July 20, 2023 by Liljo22

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Honestly, that's not a NCL thing.  When we process refunds for customers, we tell them 5-7 business days.  Some banks will allow the credit to go through earlier but  I can't tell you how long its actually going to be.  The worst customers are the ones that call up yelling about holding their money when they haven't gotten their refund after a few days.  I refunded the charge when they originally called it and I have no control over how long it takes their bank to post it.  

I realize that that is not an NCL thing, but I still find it ironic in general that refunds are processed so much slower than charges.

 

Meanwhile, I got the cancellation of the port e-mail a second time as a forward from my TA. I reread it and it says if you have an excursion booked you do not have to do anything. But I did have to call them and have them change it to a cancellation in order to get it refunded. Otherwise, they were going to give me non refundable OBC as compensation for money I had already paid them and for which they could no longer provide the service I had paid for.

[chillyw]

Which sailing are you on? Can't remember if we're on the same upcoming sailing or not, but if so I also need to do this.

[bluesea777]

@ontheweb it looks like you're giving NCL a hard time! When a port is cancelled, the NCL excursions are cancelled and refunded to your on board account as refundable OBC!!

 

Last year NCL cancelled all 3 Greenland ports and we went to Norway instead. All our Greenland excursions booked thru NCL were cancelled and refunded to our OBA as refundable OBC. At the end of the cruise I was refunded in cash for the credit remaining on our OBA.

 

Remember the ppl you speak to over the phone are land-based and they prolly have no idea what's going on when a port is cancelled and that ppl have their NCL excursions booked for the cancelled port cancelled and refunded to their OBA as refundable credit.

 

 

[deweytrader]

It is refundable obc which if you do not spend is required to be cash given before getting off the boat 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, chillyw said:

Which sailing are you on? Can't remember if we're on the same upcoming sailing or not, but if so I also need to do this.

August 6th from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

@ontheweb it looks like you're giving NCL a hard time! When a port is cancelled, the NCL excursions are cancelled and refunded to your on board account as refundable OBC!!

 

Last year NCL cancelled all 3 Greenland ports and we went to Norway instead. All our Greenland excursions booked thru NCL were cancelled and refunded to our OBA as refundable OBC. At the end of the cruise I was refunded in cash for the credit remaining on our OBA.

 

Remember the ppl you speak to over the phone are land-based and they prolly have no idea what's going on when a port is cancelled and that ppl have their NCL excursions booked for the cancelled port cancelled and refunded to their OBA as refundable credit.

 

 

The rep I spoke to specifically said NON  refundable.

 

And even if refundable, which of course it should be, why should we have to wait until after the cruise to have something we already paid for and they can no longer deliver credited back to our card?

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, deweytrader said:

It is refundable obc which if you do not spend is required to be cash given before getting off the boat 

Yes, and I have read of the long lines at the desk because of this. Best to have it refunded to our card before the cruise.

 

And again, I was specifically told NON refundable. I do believe she was mistaken, but that is what she said.

[chillyw]

24 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

August 6th from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik

 

Ahh we're the one right after you from Iceland.  I bet our notice is coming next.  Thank you!

[DebbieMacG]

So you did confirm though that they are giving us obc for the missed port? I wasn’t expecting that, did they say how much? 

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

The rep I spoke to specifically said NON  refundable.

 

And even if refundable, which of course it should be, why should we have to wait until after the cruise to have something we already paid for and they can no longer deliver credited back to our card?

 

NCL no longer credit the refundable OB credits back to passengers' credit cards. They give out cash instead.

 

Call NCL again and hopefully you'll speak to another rep.

 

 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, chillyw said:

 

Ahh we're the one right after you from Iceland.  I bet our notice is coming next.  Thank you!

You are welcome.

[chillyw]

19 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

NCL no longer credit the refundable OB credits back to passengers' credit cards. They give out cash instead.

 

Call NCL again and hopefully you'll speak to another rep.

 

 

 

Also, this is important to know, if you have refundable OBC and you don't swing by guest services, they WILL stop you at disembarkation, put you in a super slow line, and make you wait to get money.

 

I was very annoyed, asked them to keep my money as a tip for letting me get off the ship, and they refused lol.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, DebbieMacG said:

So you did confirm though that they are giving us obc for the missed port? I wasn’t expecting that, did they say how much? 

No, they were giving OBC because I had paid them for an excursion for DW and myself, And if course not going there, they could no longer provide the excursion. 

[ontheweb]

21 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

NCL no longer credit the refundable OB credits back to passengers' credit cards. They give out cash instead.

 

Call NCL again and hopefully you'll speak to another rep.

 

 

I do not need to call again. I got it refunded to my card. What they did was cancel the excursion since it was within the time allowed to cancel and have it refunded. The rep had to go through the resolution department to get that done.

 

The rep at first basically said that the cruise contract allowed them to do anything they wanted. I replied that my contract said that this could be my last ever NCL cruise.

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, chillyw said:

 

Also, this is important to know, if you have refundable OBC and you don't swing by guest services, they WILL stop you at disembarkation, put you in a super slow line, and make you wait to get money.

 

I was very annoyed, asked them to keep my money as a tip for letting me get off the ship, and they refused lol.

I read about that long line, quite possibly from you.

 

The rep did say it was NON refundable OBC when I asked, but I think she was wrong.

[DebbieMacG]

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

No, they were giving OBC because I had paid them for an excursion for DW and myself, And if course not going there, they could no longer provide the excursion. 

I understand that but you said at first they were mistaken and thought you were looking for compensation for the missed port and said it would be obc and when you clarified it they refunded you for the shore excursion 

 

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

They argued that their contract allowed them to cancel a port, and they were already giving compensation as OBC

 

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, DebbieMacG said:

I understand that but you said at first they were mistaken and thought you were looking for compensation for the missed port and said it would be obc and when you clarified it they refunded you for the shore excursion 

 

 

No amount was ever mentioned until they processed our credit card chargeback.

 

I do believe there was some original confusion from the rep as she said it was non-refundable OBC given as compensation.

[jcscv]

Thank goodness I read this thread.  I canceled two excursions, 1st because I'm going to do an outside tour, and second was because the port was canceled.  I just checked, and I have not been refunded the money on my credit card for either excursion.  Nor do I show any kind of OBC on my account (although I haven't officially checked in yet).  I'll give them the 10 days, and then start calling. What is so difficult about this?!?!?

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

It can be done! They argued at first, but then realized I was not asking for compensation for a missed port, but wanted our money back that we had already paid for an excursion (One of the only two we booked with NCL). They argued that their contract allowed them to cancel a port, and they were already giving compensation as OBC (BTW when I asked non-refundable as it was compensation). I argued how could it be compensation if I already paid it. Then the rep asked if I was asking for money for the missed port or for my already paid excursion. When she realized what I was actually asking for, she put me on hold and went to the resolutions department.

 

She came back, and said you can cancel excursions up to 48 hours before the excursion for a refund. So that is what they did. However, she told me it may take 7-10 business days. Amazing how quickly a charge goes from pending to charge and yet a refund can take up to 2 weeks.

 

Normally, a pre-paid shore excursion cancelled for whatever reason comes back as a refundable OBC. Once that credit is posted to your onboard account, you can immediately go and get cash for it. At the latest, they will not let you disembark with a refundable OBC on your account and the cashier on the gangway will give you cash then. 

 

When people intervene and not follow the process by trying to get a credit card charge back, that's when things will go sideways because it is not the way a cancelled shore excursion should be refunded. Trying to change the process only causes aggravation for the passenger and the crew who don't understand what you're trying to do. 

 

The best advice for everyone is that if your a pre-paid shore excursion is cancelled due to a port cancellation, let the normal process work and have the pre-paid shore excursions credit go to your onboard account and let it pay for your expenses or go and get a cash refund from Guest Services. Don't try to do something fancy. Having issues with a post-cruise refund charge back is a self-inflicted wound that was totally unnecessary. 

 

If a shore excursion is booked onboard and the port is cancelled, the shore excursion is cancelled. All record of the initial charge are removed and you will see no evidence that anything was ever booked.

 

No credit will every end up as a Future Cruise Credit. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

45 minutes ago, jcscv said:

Thank goodness I read this thread.  I canceled two excursions, 1st because I'm going to do an outside tour, and second was because the port was canceled.  I just checked, and I have not been refunded the money on my credit card for either excursion.  Nor do I show any kind of OBC on my account (although I haven't officially checked in yet).  I'll give them the 10 days, and then start calling. What is so difficult about this?!?!?

You would never be refunded to your credit card if the excursion was cancelled onboard. And you would never get a Future Cruise Credit for a shore ex cancellation. 

[insidecabin]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Normally, a pre-paid shore excursion cancelled for whatever reason comes back as a refundable OBC. Once that credit is posted to your onboard account, you can immediately go and get cash for it. At the latest, they will not let you disembark with a refundable OBC on your account and the cashier on the gangway will give you cash then. 

 

When people intervene and not follow the process by trying to get a credit card charge back, that's when things will go sideways because it is not the way a cancelled shore excursion should be refunded. Trying to change the process only causes aggravation for the passenger and the crew who don't understand what you're trying to do. 

 

The best advice for everyone is that if your a pre-paid shore excursion is cancelled due to a port cancellation, let the normal process work and have the pre-paid shore excursions credit go to your onboard account and let it pay for your expenses or go and get a cash refund from Guest Services. Don't try to do something fancy. Having issues with a post-cruise refund charge back is a self-inflicted wound that was totally unnecessary. 

 

If a shore excursion is booked onboard and the port is cancelled, the shore excursion is cancelled. All record of the initial charge are removed and you will see no evidence that anything was ever booked.

 

No credit will every end up as a Future Cruise Credit. 

That's fine if cancelled once the cruise has started.

 

Pre Cruise should be full refunded immediately not have to wait til the cruise has started.

[jcscv]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You would never be refunded to your credit card if the excursion was cancelled onboard. And you would never get a Future Cruise Credit for a shore ex cancellation. 

 Hi Bird, I'm sorry, I may not have been clear, but my cruise is not for another 5 weeks, so per their policy, I should have seen a credit on my credit card for the excursions I canceled

 

"Tour cancellations which occur one day or more prior to sailing shall automatically receive a full refund on the credit card used to purchase such shore excursion tour, unless the tour has a more restrictive cancellation policy or unless a balance remains due to be paid on the guest’s reservation.... In order to receive a full refund a guest must cancel their reservation on a shore excursion tour, one or more days prior to sailing.... "

 

It's been a week on one tour since I canceled, and the other was at the beginning of this week, so I'll wait till next week to call and see what's going on. Hopefully they'll post my credit soon  🤞

[ggTexasGal]

7 hours ago, jcscv said:

It's been a week on one tour since I canceled, and the other was at the beginning of this week, so I'll wait till next week to call and see what's going on. Hopefully they'll post my credit soon  🤞

You "should" see your refund soon.  But, it does seem as if NCL can be quite slow to process refunds. Or, as stated, will post your refund to your account as Refundable Onboard Credit, when under 6 weeks until the cruise.