AMAWaterways Covid 19 Cancel Policy

[Lois R]

31 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

cruisr; so can you do this online with your credit card company or call them?

Hi, disputing a credit card charge? Most credit card companies offer that choice on line but you can call them as well.

 

[cruisr]

It depends on when the charge hit.  Depending on the CC issuer you can do It online.  It will ask you a series of questions such as have you tried to resolve this issue with the seller, etc.

 

I have always been able to do chargebacks online (I have only done 2) but then again it was within a 40 day period from the charge, so it was easily doable online.   

[AF-1]

4 minutes ago, cruisr said:

It depends on when the charge hit.  Depending on the CC issuer you can do It online.  It will ask you a series of questions such as have you tried to resolve this issue with the seller, etc.

 

I have always been able to do chargebacks online (I have only done 2) but then again it was within a 40 day period from the charge, so it was easily doable online.   

3 hours ago, cruisr said:

Their announcement states they are offering 115% FCC.  It does not say that they will NOT be issuing a refund to credit cards.  If they refuse to refund the credit card you can request a chargeback from your credit as what you purchased was not delivered.

 

 

cruisr; so can you do this online with your credit card company or call them?

[AF-1]

Well our down payment was almost a year ago; and Final pmt was first week of Feb.  I have turned it over to my travel agent;  he told me right now AMA is shutdown.  The California Gov has the state on lockdown; so all their employees are working from home. He said he will try to get a hold of them on Monday.  Our trip was for 6 May so not a big hurry.  

[Lois R]

14 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Well our down payment was almost a year ago; and Final pmt was first week of Feb.  I have turned it over to my travel agent;  he told me right now AMA is shutdown.  The California Gov has the state on lockdown; so all their employees are working from home. He said he will try to get a hold of them on Monday.  Our trip was for 6 May so not a big hurry.  

I am sure all "things accounting", especially refunds are going to be backed up.  I received the first 1/2 of my refund

already but the 2nd 1/2 is not there yet.  I don't want to become that "PITA" customer and continue to call about it.

I spoke to the gal who booked my cruise on Wednesday and at that time LA was still open......as of now, most everyone is at home.

  I will contact them again next week sometime to see if she can then give me an update (or maybe

the credit will show up on my CC by then too.)

[AF-1]

Lois R,  I agree with you;  there is no reason to bother them now;  they have their hands full

[Host Jazzbeau]

They are not alone in this policy change.  The trend is toward FCC-only as cruise lines realize they must conserve cash to pay crew and cover the expenses of keeping their ships seaworthy.

[RadioPeri]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

cruisr; so can you do this online with your credit card company or call them?

I'm not cruiser, but you can usually initiate a claim online. It may depend on how old the charge is, however, so if you can't, definitely give them a call! There really is no downside. 

[AF-1]

Thanks RadioPeri; like I told Lois R;  I have let my travel agent handle this

[JohninAult]

6 hours ago, Travelingx2 said:

Hi All,

We have been counting on the contract issued by Ama for refund in this event, foreseeing it for a few days now. We realize that they are in hard times but their future is in jeopardy if it's found they don't honour their own contracts. We will certainly be following this closely over the next few days and have contacted our T/A. Should Ama persist in keeping monies paid we will be contacting our Credit Card company as you have indicated. Hopefully a class action suit won't be necessary.

Class action lawsuits are prohibited by both the terms and conditions and the passenger contract that you agree to when booking the cruise.  Only individual lawsuits are allowed.

[Travelingx2]

If Ama doesn't honour terms benefiting passengers then those terms that suit Ama wouldn't hold much water. 

[tsklag]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

They are not alone in this policy change.  The trend is toward FCC-only as cruise lines realize they must conserve cash to pay crew and cover the expenses of keeping their ships seaworthy.

So, Jazzbeau do you think it's right that AMA use the $5000 I paid them for air, most or all of it refunded to them because American cancelled the flight, to pay their crew and expenses. Apparently when the going gets tough, AMA takes it out on their customers, in violation of the Terms and Conditions in their booking contract.

[AF-1]

So AMA cancels all cruises until Jun; and I don't know if I want to do another river cruise;  so I am out money?  Not everyone wants to rebook automatically.  I think once things calm down; let's take a look at this situation on Monday.

[JohninAult]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

So AMA cancels all cruises until Jun; and I don't know if I want to do another river cruise;  so I am out money?  Not everyone wants to rebook automatically.  I think once things calm down; let's take a look at this situation on Monday.

I agree AF-1.  This is another one of those wait and see things.  I find it difficult to believe that Ama would not refund money for canceled cruises as that is specifically what the remedy is in both their terms and conditions and the passenger contract.  I'm not familiar with Swiss law, which is where any disputes must be adjudicated, but I would be surprised if it is that different from our laws. 

 

Ama has not said they won't refund the money, they are just offering 115% as a future cruise credit. If some travel agent said they wouldn't refund the money, I would not consider that official AmaWaterways policy until they officially decline to do so, which would be a violation of their contract.

 

I could't find anything in either the terms and conditions or the passenger contract that said they could change the terms and conditions after the fact.

[pbeach]

Here is part of their 3/20 update (which gets reworded daily):

” Upon the expiration of the FCC on December 31, 2022, guests unable to use their FCC may ask for a refund equal to the original amount paid to AmaWaterways. Standard AmaWaterways Cancellation Policy and other restrictions will apply to the FCC. These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.”

 

Note the new wording at the end “These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.”

[AF-1]

Hmmm,  let's see what happens.  Have fun out there.

[pbeach]

On 3/21/2020 at 7:06 AM, pbeach said:

Here is part of their 3/20 update (which gets reworded daily):

” Upon the expiration of the FCC on December 31, 2022, guests unable to use their FCC may ask for a refund equal to the original amount paid to AmaWaterways. Standard AmaWaterways Cancellation Policy and other restrictions will apply to the FCC. These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.”

 

Note the new wording at the end “These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.”

BTW - here is Tauck’s current policy...

If Tauck cancels your journey: Guests booked on a trip where cancellation is initiated by Tauck will have all tour/cruise costs returned in the original form of payment. (Any Guest Protection Product/Cruise Protection Product premiums will be kept on account by Tauck for future use.) For guests with Tauck-booked air, Tauck will cover all airline change fees. For guests with non-Tauck air, Tauck will cover airline change fees up to $250 per person

 

Amawaterways really needs to add this option to be competitive and retain loyal customers. My May departure, which they cancelled, only offers FCC.  ‘This would have been my 6th Ama Cruise. 

[JohninAult]

Call me naive, but I have to think Ama will have to honor the original terms and conditions and contract that were in effect at the time you purchased the cruise.  I think they would prefer to issue future cruise credits as that benefits them the most in terms of cash flow.  I have to believe some of what they are putting out now is posturing and trying to convince people they have no other options.  I just believe in the end, the original contract will have to be honored.

[Otis]

Yes, this is going to be a moving target.  My TA was told that the cruise was not technically canceled but, rather,

"postponed."  This exercise in verbal gymnastics leaves a bad taste in my mouth but I'm going to wait and see

how it settles.  It might be smarter for them, if they want to preserve cash, to offer a refund or a much larger Cruise Credit

than 115%.  The current situation is deceitful since the language has just changed but many of us might be happy

with a large FCC....assuming they don't raise prices in a way as to cancel it out.

[AF-1]

Here is Ama's updated terms and conditons.  Looks like if you ask for your money back they will give it.  Let me know if you read this another way or I missed something.  Thanks and have fun out there. 

 

*Future Cruise Credit (FCC) equal to 115% of the value of the funds that AmaWaterways has received for all services purchased through AmaWaterways, and may be applied towards any river cruise for travel by December 31, 2022. This is only applicable to cruises affected by suspended operations. FCC can be used to cover all charges related to AmaWaterways services and can be applied to cruise deposits. FCC has no cash value. FCC is transferrable with written confirmation provided by original FCC owner. Upon the expiration of the FCC on December 31, 2022, guests unable to use their FCC may ask for a refund equal to the original amount paid to AmaWaterways. Standard AmaWaterways Cancellation Policy and other restrictions will apply to the FCC. These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.

 

[RadioPeri]

24 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Here is Ama's updated terms and conditons.  Looks like if you ask for your money back they will give it.  Let me know if you read this another way or I missed something.  Thanks and have fun out there. 

 

*Future Cruise Credit (FCC) equal to 115% of the value of the funds that AmaWaterways has received for all services purchased through AmaWaterways, and may be applied towards any river cruise for travel by December 31, 2022. This is only applicable to cruises affected by suspended operations. FCC can be used to cover all charges related to AmaWaterways services and can be applied to cruise deposits. FCC has no cash value. FCC is transferrable with written confirmation provided by original FCC owner. Upon the expiration of the FCC on December 31, 2022, guests unable to use their FCC may ask for a refund equal to the original amount paid to AmaWaterways. Standard AmaWaterways Cancellation Policy and other restrictions will apply to the FCC. These conditions are subject to change or withdrawal at any time. CST#2065452-20.

 

 

I think this says that yes, you can ask for your money back ... on January 1, 2023.  LOLOL

"Upon the expiration of the FCC on December 31, 2022, guests unable to use their FCC may ask for a refund equal to the original amount paid to AmaWaterways."

[AF-1]

RadioPeri,  that is what I get from it also.  Ama is assuming I will sail with them again; and in order to convince me to sail with them they are offering 125%FCC in lieu of  cash at this time.  Then after 2022 I can ask for cash;  no where in that paragraph does is say I can't ask for cash prior to that.  So we shall she what happens.  I have never been on a river cruise; May was to be our first. Have fun out there.

Edited March 23, 2020 by AF-1

[Oskie3188]

They are cancelling cruises at their discretion and not refunding any money.  They are "offering" what they are calling special insurance so that after you pay for your cruise in full and pay them some more special insurance money and then decide to cancel, you can get a portion of your money back and the rest as a future cruise credit (FCC).  They want your money and they don't guarantee anything.  Yes, after they have your money for over two years they say you can get 100% of your money back assuming that they are still in business.  Any company who is operating as they are now clearly is in financial trouble.  They need your money to continue to operate but for how long? All other cruise companies whether they be ocean going or river when they are cancelling cruises are all offering 100% of the customer's money back and something towards a FCC.  AMAWaterways is completely off base with how they are treating their customers and they don't care.  I have sailed with them several times and this behaviour is indicative of a significant problem.  I will never sail with them again and recommend that if you want a river cruise, look somewhere else.  There are more reputable companies out there.  Stay away from AMAWaterways!

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 minute ago, Oskie3188 said:

All other cruise companies whether they be ocean going or river when they are cancelling cruises are all offering 100% of the customer's money back and something towards a FCC.

 

This is completely untrue.  There is a wide variety of approaches being taken by ocean and river cruise lines, and over time they have tended to become more restrictive as liabilities pile up from continued cancellations.  AMA's offer may not be the best, but it is not the worst and certainly not unprecedented among other lines.

[AF-1]

I have seen AMA's offer on their website;  I also just posted it in post#95. The issue at hand is; what if someone does not want to sail with AMA again or any river cruise line. They have to now wait two years to re-coup any cash monies.  Some people have over $12-15,000 tied up with them.  This is not a good PR move for them.  I understand that if they go bankrupt; no one gets any money.