Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[npcl]

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

So disappointed that they have not been more transparent with their loyal customers.  When they canceled our cruise they also canceled our Princess Vacation Protection Plan that we purchased which means they might have some financial connection to this insurance company too and did not want to see large sums of money refunded through PVPP.

PVPP would not have done you any good.  After all a canceled cruise by the vendor is not a covered reason under the policy.  Actually not a covered reason under many policies.  In such case the source of refund is the vendor.  

The best the policy would have given you is an FCC which would be given by Princess.  

Edited April 30, 2020 by npcl

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, npcl said:

PVPP would not have done you any good.  After all a canceled cruise by the vendor is not a covered reason under the policy.  Actually not a covered reason under many policies.  In such case the source of refund is the vendor.  

The best the policy would have given you is an FCC which would be given by Princess.  

 

Even though Princess has not refunded any money it looks like to me they are keeping what we paid for PVPP.....I have filed a credit card dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act.  We will see what happens and also I will be filling complaint with DOT and State Attorney General.

[PCWalton1]

We had Royal Princess booked for this coming Saturday. Back on March 16th we sent in the cancellation form and received the receipt for our choice which was  Option 2: LOWER VALUE.

We have not heard anything since. No refund no FCC, nothing. Is this normal?

  

[travelhound]

5 hours ago, joe/jack said:

Selected OPTION 2 minutes after announcement was made in March

we were booked for April 5th 

Got FCC back 2 weeks ago

Got Excursions money $  back today

Now where is my cruise fare ? 

We got our FCC, still waiting on refund for option 2.  It's good to see that some people are getting the refunds.

[LDVinNC]

7 minutes ago, travelhound said:

We got our FCC, still waiting on refund for option 2.  It's good to see that some people are getting the refunds.

 

Actually, the only refunds people are getting is for shore excursions and some other prepaid things.

 

To the best of my knowledge, no one whose cruises were cancelled in the March 12th mass cancellation has reported getting their actual cruise fare refunded.

[arcticprincess]

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK why giving credit card info to Princess is less secure than giving it to PayPal, but that would be another topic.  You should be happy (as in glass half-full) because you won't lose 50,000 in credit card points if a refund was processed.  You can cash the check and use it to pay off credit card balances, keeping your points (assuming you earn points).

Ok...here is the deal:  Our main bank account is not in the state where we live currently.  So to wait about 60 more days in addition to waiting for June 4 for possible refunding, would put us to almost August before receipt of checks.  Then we would need to wire transfer in which we lose at least 10% wire fee, or fedex the checks to our bank out of state.  Then how do they mail the checks?  Snail mail?  Fedex?  With 50k owed, I wouldn't want the checks just floating out there with perhaps no way to track them.  I would want to sign for it with tracking number.  They could be stolen.  Our bank where we live simply does not offer what the bank we have kept for almost 40 years does and forget using their debit card overseas as my husband tried to do while in Japan, while flying as a pilot.  So that was the reason I worried about refunds not going thru paypal.  I have had refunds thru paypal before, not from Princess, but still could not fathom the time and risk with such huge checks being out there with possibly never getting to us.

 

I chose paying via paypal for hopefully additional safety protection.  I don't want my cc information on tons of sites.  My Amex card has been hacked too many times.  Princess also had a serious data breach last year that had passenger and employee accounts compromised with ss numbers, credit card info possibly in peril.  Forbes wrote it was one of the most serious cases.  During that timeframe my Amex was hacked once again.  I use it for shipboard accounts and most of the cruise payments.  So paypal is my preferred way to pay online.  I know it is not foolproof as nothing is.

 

I spoke to a cruise assistant this am who checked on the paypal refund question directly with department handling refunds.  He got back with me and said they DO refund via Paypal on option 2 refunds!  He also said not to worry about the funds needed for our refunds as he said Princess has the funds.  He also hinted he knew of two cruiselines that will fold from the collapse of cruise industry during the virus explosion.  He would not give me the names, but he said we would be hearing about them in the coming days.  I have spoken to this agent before and he has been the best one we have dealt with Princess in the past, so I have every reason to trust his information.

[hokiefans]

So, our story...

We decided to cancel on March 9th, and were due to sail on March 14th.  I opened a file with AON (PVP) on the evening of the 9th.  As we had cancelled, I was at work on March 12th when the news came out from Princess; had we not cancelled, we would have been mid-flight to Florida!

I received an email from AON on March 14th advising that my claim had been closed because of the decision by Princess to cancel all sailings and that I would fall under that program.  Using the link generously shared here on CC, I made our selection for Option #2 for which I received a confirmation email from Princess.

Two days ago, my TA called to make sure that we had indeed made a selection.  I confirmed and forwarded her both emails for her files.  When on the phone later that evening with Princess, she asked about our refund, etc. and was told that they had no record of our request!  SIGH.  She resubmitted for us which likely means we have to "reset" our counter to when we might see our refund and FCC.

I am not feeling happy.

 

[as400guy]

1 hour ago, arcticprincess said:

do they mail the checks?  Snail mail?  Fedex?  With 50k owed,

 

With $50k USD at stake I think I would consider hopping one of those empty airplanes and camp out at the Princess corporate headquarters and make myself so annoying (by tweeting/facebooking/calling media, etc.) they'd write a check to make me to go away.

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, hokiefans said:

So, our story..

@hokiefans

 

You need to change your script; it’s too difficult to read your post.

[lderochi]

After I booked EZAir with my cruise, I went directly to the United website and upgraded my seats to Economy Plus. Princess wasn’t involved, I paid United directly. When Princess cancelled my cruise, the amount I had paid for the upgrade was  refunded back to my credit card in 3 days. Not “up to 90” days even though I’m pretty sure United also has a lot going on with cancellations, rebookings, etc. but somehow they promptly refunded my money. Princess probably got my EZ Air fare refund within those same 3 days. Wonder when I’ll see it. 

[Princess1999]

Hello all!

I have been following your posts.  This is my first time posting, and have exciting news!   The refund portion of our cancelled cruise just appeared on our credit cards!  

Don't give up hope.    It’s so fresh, that the details don’t even show but it’s clearly a deposits for the amounts we expected!  I was so excited that I had to join this community and share!

[Bgwest]

6 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Even though Princess has not refunded any money it looks like to me they are keeping what we paid for PVPP.....I have filed a credit card dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act.  We will see what happens and also I will be filling complaint with DOT and State Attorney General.

To paraphrase Smoky, it appears the Luv(er) has gone out of your relationship!

[arcticprincess]

3 minutes ago, Princess1999 said:

Hello all!

I have been following your posts.  This is my first time posting, and have exciting news!   The refund portion of our cancelled cruise just appeared on our credit cards!  

Don't give up hope.    It’s so fresh, that the details don’t even show but it’s clearly a deposits for the amounts we expected!  I was so excited that I had to join this community and share!

Congratulations!  Do you mind my asking what date your cancelled cruise was?

[Princess1999]

We were on the Regal for a 14 day cruise that began 3/1/20 but was abruptly stopped on 3/8 due to concerns that 2 of our crew members may have been exposed to the virus on their previous ship (no symptoms).     We received our promised fcc the day after we got home on our Personalizer.

[Princess1999]

Check your credit cards. Ours are pending deposits dated 4/30.     The deposits were not there 5 hours ago, when I last checked.

[arcticprincess]

1 minute ago, Princess1999 said:

We were on the Regal for a 14 day cruise that began 3/1/20 but was abruptly stopped on 3/8 due to concerns that 2 of our crew members may have been exposed to the virus on their previous ship (no symptoms).     We received our promised fcc the day after we got home on our Personalizer.

Wow.  I am delighted for you that your refund has showed up for you.  Are you ok?  No illness since off ship?  Hugs!🌷

[Princess1999]

No symptoms from any crew or passengers on our ship as far as we know.  We were held off the shore of Ft Lauderdale the entire day, while the 2 crew members were tested and later received negative results.  We are healthy. Thanks for asking.

[ceilidh1]

12 minutes ago, Princess1999 said:

We were on the Regal for a 14 day cruise that began 3/1/20 but was abruptly stopped on 3/8 due to concerns that 2 of our crew members may have been exposed to the virus on their previous ship (no symptoms).     We received our promised fcc the day after we got home on our Personalizer.

Great news. Still nothing from my March 14th cruise. Not even FCC.

[arcticprincess]

15 minutes ago, Princess1999 said:

No symptoms from any crew or passengers on our ship as far as we know.  We were held off the shore of Ft Lauderdale the entire day, while the 2 crew members were tested and later received negative results.  We are healthy. Thanks for asking.

So happy for you on that score!

[azbirdmom]

6 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Great news. Still nothing from my March 14th cruise. Not even FCC.

 

And based on the webinar you attended last week, today was the day that all of the FCC from the pause 1 cruises should have appeared.  That is, until they changed the wording for FCCs / refunds to remove the timing.  Just out of curiosity, as an agent did you get a heads up about that change?

[Princess1999]

Fingers crossed for everyone!   Our cruise date was just prior to the announcement for options.  We were told what we would be reimbursed via a letter under the stateroom door just prior to disembarking, and further communication via email the following day.   The big difference was the timeframe.  

 

[ceilidh1]

Just now, azbirdmom said:

 

And based on the webinar you attended last week, today was the day that all of the FCC from the pause 1 cruises should have appeared.  That is, until they changed the wording for FCCs / refunds to remove the timing.  Just out of curiosity, as an agent did you get a heads up about that change?

No - I heard about the change in wording on here! Communication has been the biggest problem with this whole thing. TAs have received slightly more info than passengers, but that info is useless if the reps contradict it or it's not true!

[Princess1999]

Now our credit cards show details-   Princess credited the account on 4/28, but officially posted 4/30.    (Again, the date princess canceled was 3/7 while we were on the ship... halfway through a voyage).  I hope these details are helpful.

[dog]

1 hour ago, Princess1999 said:

Check your credit cards. Ours are pending deposits dated 4/30.     The deposits were not there 5 hours ago, when I last checked.

So happy for you!  And that you are all healthy too. 

[Princess1999]

Thank you!