Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[By The Bay]

Refund received today.

Cruise was scheduled for 15 Apr 20

Option#2 selected on the 13 March.

Booked with an online TA in Australia.

Full amount paid direct into Bank Account

 

It took a long time, however I am a happy camper now.

[caribill]

17 hours ago, Coral said:

It is too bad they are not sending emails out to individuals so that they know. For example, my refund is wrong and I have no idea how they calculated it as I never got a cancellation notice or anything from Princess. This company really need to re-evaluate it's accounting policies.

 

My cancellation notice came from my TA, not directly from Princess. (But I head about it the day before in these forums.)

[dog]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

My cancellation notice came from my TA, not directly from Princess. (But I head about it the day before in these forums.)

Same here. My cancellation confirmation from Princess went to my TA and forwarded to me. 

[Bluesky014]

Cruise date 21/3/20 cancelled a week before sailing by Princess. FCC’s given early May. Refund received by TA on the 12/6/20 and showing on our credit card today. We have to wait another 14 days for the bank to credit this back to our bank account. We also received FCC’s 3 weeks ago for a cruise we cancelled a week before the first Princess pause, which they included in the refunds - this also includes the amount we paid via Ez Air for non refundable flights with Virgin Airlines. I know it has taken a while for this to happen, but appreciate the work that Princess (and our TA) have had to do. Now we just have to wait to be able to cruise again - and this could be quite a wait as our Prime Minister (Australia) has announced today that international travel is likely to not take place for another 12 months.

[Aulanis]

@Jandaville   

Hi  - Whilst I they may be trying to do refunds in date of sailing order

they maybe mean  each ship by date of sailing order.

We were on the Sea Princess in march when our cruise was cancelled

after  few days at sea  ( took us as long to get to Sydney and back as 

we spent on the ship 🙂   )

   Im not sure that anyone on the March 10 cruise has had everything refunded yet though we are pretty close.  There was a months delay while they decided if they would pay 70% 80% or 85%  for the part cash part FFCs .

Just  yesterday someone received this.

 

We share in your disappointment that your cruise was interrupted a few months ago as we paused our global ship operations. To make it up to you, we contacted you onboard with a choice of compensation between a higher-value Future Cruise Credit (FCC) or a combination of refund and lower value FCC. We don’t currently have a record of your preference, so we’ve gone ahead and credited your My Princess account with the higher value FCC. If anytime you decide you would prefer the refund plus the lower value FCC, simply contact our customer service team at 1-800-PRINCESS and they will be happy to help arrange that. Be advised that, despite our best efforts, the wait time to speak to a representative is longer than we would like. We’re doing our best to handle each guest’s concern as thoroughly as possible under challenging conditions. Either way, we hope you’ll plan on sailing with us again at a future date. When you are ready to redeem your Future Cruise Credit and rebook, please contact your Cruise Vacation Planner or the original travel agency you used to redeem your Future Cruise Credit. As always, we thank you for your understanding and hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during this difficult time. With your help, we’ll emerge from this time of trial even stronger. We look forward to serving you onboard again and connecting the world for years to come.     Sincerely, Jan Swartz President

 So for many they will be having to redo the refunds and that after over 100 days already.

We were lucky in that  I didnt use the system to submit if we wanted  all FCCs or part cash/partFCCs   and asked PCUK to advise as the form we got on the ship had Option A  Low value   and option B High Value ( all FCC)

whereas the Automated selection form had Option1 High Value  ( all Fcc) and option2  Low value. 

I hope you dont have too long to wait  - is your  original roll call still getting posts - we found some comfort all these weeks comparing notes & seeing what the global differences in processing were.

A first for us it seems that in the UK they have refunded the Port fees and Tax as FCCs  which I have never seen on any other cruise or cruise line.

At least I think that is what they have done - obviously there is no advice or confirmation from Princess.

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by Aulanis

[Jandaville]

3 hours ago, Bluesky014 said:

Cruise date 21/3/20 cancelled a week before sailing by Princess. FCC’s given early May. Refund received by TA on the 12/6/20 and showing on our credit card today. We have to wait another 14 days for the bank to credit this back to our bank account. We also received FCC’s 3 weeks ago for a cruise we cancelled a week before the first Princess pause, which they included in the refunds - this also includes the amount we paid via Ez Air for non refundable flights with Virgin Airlines. I know it has taken a while for this to happen, but appreciate the work that Princess (and our TA) have had to do. Now we just have to wait to be able to cruise again - and this could be quite a wait as our Prime Minister (Australia) has announced today that international travel is likely to not take place for another 12 months.

But they are still allowing cruise companies to take bookings from 18th September 2020 - just another case of mixed messages.

[SunLakesBob]

22 minutes ago, Jandaville said:

But they are still allowing cruise companies to take bookings from 18th September 2020 - just another case of mixed messages.

The Prime Minister just announced the travel restrictions. It will take a while for the cruise industry to adjust. Just don't book cruises that you know won't happen. If cruisers do book, they will find themselves completely frustrated as many of us are waiting for refunds.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

My cancellation notice came from my TA, not directly from Princess. (But I head about it the day before in these forums.)

I should be more clear. I cancelled a week before the Pause and did get that. But those numbers are not correct because it showed I was in 75% cancellation penalty. There was never an updated invoice with the correct numbers that were being refunded. That should have been sent when they refunded my money.

 

Since my cruise was cancelled in the system - this is how it was handled. Those who Princess cancelled did get an invoice. During the Pause - the agents were told to not touch the booking and leave it open.

 

Still a flaw. When my cancellation notice shows does not show what was refunded to my credit card (which is still incorrect.).

Edited June 27, 2020 by Coral

[pca7ggr]

subscribed - thanks

[SunLakesBob]

4 minutes ago, pca7ggr said:

subscribed - thanks

Welcome to the home of the frustrated. Even though we are frustrated many great proceses that people utilized to help expedite

their refunds

[pca7ggr]

Patiently waiting for refund on cancel March Princess cruise. Have New Zealand book for oct.

[SunLakesBob]

6 minutes ago, pca7ggr said:

Patiently waiting for refund on cancel March Princess cruise. Have New Zealand book for oct.

I hope that your October cruise happens. The Prime Minister of Australia just restricted all international travel through 2020 and possibly to mid 2021 

[pca7ggr]

Doubt it will - starts and ends in Sidney.

[Syracusefan44]

Spoke to an excellent Princess representative this afternoon who confirmed that all of my prepaid excursions for my cancelled cruise in August 2020 (New York City to Greenland) were processed yesterday and the credit will hit my Princess Visa next week.

[SunLakesBob]

5 minutes ago, Syracusefan44 said:

Spoke to an excellent Princess representative this afternoon who confirmed that all of my prepaid excursions for my cancelled cruise in August 2020 (New York City to Greenland) were processed yesterday and the credit will hit my Princess Visa next week.

Was the representative on the main reservation line or a different number?

[Syracusefan44]

1 hour ago, SunLakesBob said:

Was the representative on the main reservation line or a different number?

800-774-6237

[marknjess]

My TA spoke with Princess on June 17 and was told our refund was “in processing.” We received our excursion refund on June 24, though they were dated the 19th in our credit card. Any idea how long it should take to see the rest from anyone who has been told something similar?

[mackley1956]

Lots of discussion about refunds on this thread -- I'll add my two cents worth. We were on the Sea Princess on the "Around Australia" cruise that was terminated after a few days at sea (left Sydney March 10, cancelled around March 15). I have called Princess several times checking on the status and have received virtually no useful information from the people answering the phone. My sense is that, through no fault of their own, the people manning the phones are pretty much in the dark and don't have enough information/tools to help people calling about this. I've been pretty patient up to now, but am reaching the end of my rope. To date we have received no cash refunds of any kind, but we do now have FCCs (Future Cruise Credits), which is not what we asked for. Yesterday we got an email (someone earlier quoted the same one) with this quote:

 

"We don’t currently have a record of your preference, so we’ve gone ahead and credited your My Princess account with the higher value FCC.

 

If anytime you decide you would prefer the refund plus the lower value FCC, simply contact our customer service team at 1-800-PRINCESS and they will be happy to help arrange that."

 

This is a flat out lie -- we filled out their form online (twice) stating that we preferred the cash refund. I called 1-800-PRINCESS again today and didn't get a whole lot of useful information. The agent did gather some more information from me and sent an email to whichever department is handling this -- I'm not confident anything will happen anytime soon. I was able to get an actual email address from her for customer relations so I could send my own information to them, which I did, including copies of all of the reply emails I got when I filled out the form.

 

As someone else in this thread stated, it has been over 90 days since our cruise was terminated, and we have nothing yet. Given the above I feel like the process has started all over again -- hope it doesn't take another 90 days before we see something. I really don't want to be angry at Princess about this -- we have really enjoyed their cruises and planned to take other trips with them, but this is beyond frustrating at this point. Sorry for sounding like a whiny baby about this, but I guess I needed to vent a little bit. 😀

[nurtleteck]

Thanks everyone, following these threads over the past few months have been informative and I hope the my timeline gives some comfort to those still waiting.

 

Booked through TA for Mar 21 2020 Princess Cruise.
Paid in combination of a USD credit card, CAD credit card and FCD.
Booked EZAir, and closer to sailing date upgraded to minisuite.

 

Got skittish about being cancelled mid cruise or quarantined aboard, so ended up cancelling via TA on Mar 9, just a few days before the (1st?) voluntary/temporary pause.

 

Filled out the forms for Option 2 as soon as I read about it here.

 

May 5 received email from Princess to confirm Option 2, but also asking to see if we wanted to switch to Option 1 (declined).

 

Resisted calling Princess for any updates or to file a credit card dispute.

 

Jun 16-17th - Received lumped refunds to each credit card, and found the appropriate amounts of FCCs to each of our Princess accounts.  That's 100 days since we cancelled or ~90 days from the sailing date.  

 

All that's left is the 'out of pocket' expenses (1 night hotel cancellation fee); email received on Jun 1st to confirm approval of reimbursement.  If I read correctly on the thread that would come in the form a of a mailed cheque, but the email also said to allow for 60 days for processing.

 

[Ombud]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

Since my cruise was cancelled in the system - this is how it was handled. Those who Princess cancelled did get an invoice. During the Pause - the agents were told to not touch the booking and leave it open.

Finally a confirmation of what I suspected all along. Pre Pause 1 & Pre Pause 3 not being refunded until all Pause cruises refunded. Even if Princess cancelled us. Hoping we're eventually given what's promised

Edited June 27, 2020 by Ombud

[Jandaville]

31 minutes ago, mackley1956 said:

Lots of discussion about refunds on this thread -- I'll add my two cents worth. We were on the Sea Princess on the "Around Australia" cruise that was terminated after a few days at sea (left Sydney March 10, cancelled around March 15). I have called Princess several times checking on the status and have received virtually no useful information from the people answering the phone. My sense is that, through no fault of their own, the people manning the phones are pretty much in the dark and don't have enough information/tools to help people calling about this. I've been pretty patient up to now, but am reaching the end of my rope. To date we have received no cash refunds of any kind, but we do now have FCCs (Future Cruise Credits), which is not what we asked for. Yesterday we got an email (someone earlier quoted the same one) with this quote:

 

"We don’t currently have a record of your preference, so we’ve gone ahead and credited your My Princess account with the higher value FCC.

 

If anytime you decide you would prefer the refund plus the lower value FCC, simply contact our customer service team at 1-800-PRINCESS and they will be happy to help arrange that."

 

This is a flat out lie -- we filled out their form online (twice) stating that we preferred the cash refund. I called 1-800-PRINCESS again today and didn't get a whole lot of useful information. The agent did gather some more information from me and sent an email to whichever department is handling this -- I'm not confident anything will happen anytime soon. I was able to get an actual email address from her for customer relations so I could send my own information to them, which I did, including copies of all of the reply emails I got when I filled out the form.

 

As someone else in this thread stated, it has been over 90 days since our cruise was terminated, and we have nothing yet. Given the above I feel like the process has started all over again -- hope it doesn't take another 90 days before we see something. I really don't want to be angry at Princess about this -- we have really enjoyed their cruises and planned to take other trips with them, but this is beyond frustrating at this point. Sorry for sounding like a whiny baby about this, but I guess I needed to vent a little bit. 😀

 

As a previous subscriber says "Welcome to the home of the frustrated" and I see nothing wrong with venting a bit - it is good for the soul. I do also appreciated the posts that announce that they have received their refunds as it does give you a bit of hope.

 

You can always be assured by the words of Princess namely "BE PATIENT" and they "UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION"

[suzyed]

22 hours ago, Jandaville said:

One word GREED

My thoughts are that most of the later cruises are just for smaller deposits and not full payments (US$27.5K in our case)

Who's greed.

[Edithclara]

I know a couple who booked/paid in full for the 2020 sea princess world cruise, via a TA in November 2020. Still waiting for their $70K AUD refund.

[Aulanis]

10 hours ago, mackley1956 said:

 

As someone else in this thread stated, it has been over 90 days since our cruise was terminated, and we have nothing yet.

Hi - That was probably me, posts regarding Sea Princess 10 March

are few.

We have gained some comfort  from the posts on the old Roll Call which is here

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2534476-march-10-2020-around-australia/page/21/?tab=comments&source=122648#comment-60124969

 

There are not a huge number of posts if you start in from when we

were cancelled.  Only a few of us are posting but you get a look in

at how things are being handled  across AUS  US & UK 

(ie not very well LOL  )

As I have said on there, a few times  if you were Sydney to Sydney

and asked for  part cash and part FFC  then the amount has gone

up to 85%. and when phoning you should mention it as on the ship

it was 80%.

Hope they put it right quickly for you - maybe report back on the

Roll call thread how you get on with the roll call.  

 

[ICUQT]

I checked my AMEX account this morning and after 87 days of waiting and filing NO CC dispute I received my full refund of 12k.

 

Cruisetour-Highlights of Japan Land 7/4 Cruise 7/9  Diamond Princess

Date if Cancelation April 3, 2020 about 10 days before Princess Cancelled

Sent 2 unanswered emails,  No other communication with Princess since April 3