Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[Coral]

I spoke with a Customer Relations rep this week on my situation. She could not tell me when I would be getting a refund or a FCC.

 

[jondfk]

Some background.  

 

We were on Grand for the Feb 21 sailing and got the "bonus" offer of two weeks in quarantine at Travis.  Surprisingly, we had few bad feelings towards Princess over this incident, we didn't even blame them for the quarantine which was clearly beyond their control.  

 

We reached Travis on March 11th and woke up on the 12th to find our April cruise had been cancelled.  No real surprise, believe me, after what we'd gone through.  Having already received a sizable FCC for the Grand experience, we went for the cash refund for Coral in part because we lost 3 weeks of income while the Grand situation unfolded.  We need the refund for things as basic as living expenses.  

 

The initial promise of a refund in 30 days struck me as not terribly unreasonable.  Princess stretched this to 60 days about the day we were released from Travis.  We groaned, but happy to be home at last, we still didn't protest.  That clock has run down now however and it's time to stop trusting promises from Princess.  Accordingly, we registered a dispute with our Apple card today for the majority of the fare which we charged with this card.  The process couldn't have been simpler and will undoubtedly be resolved in our favor.  However, if I had it to do all over again, I'd file the dispute back on March 12th, my many years of positive experiences with Princess clouded my vision.  

 

I did want to share that Apple had no problem whatsoever going back to my original charge dates in December and January.  The dates of the charges were immaterial, the dispute was over failure to deliver the paid for service the date of which is easily within the past 60 days.  

 

Wanted to share my thoughts and experience.  

[Worldpeek]

I strongly suggest that everyone file disputes with their credit card company.  I know I'm not the only cruiser to suggest this but I feel like I made great progress in doing so.  Recap - Cruise was March 21.  I cancelled on March 11.  I cancelled 1 day before Princess did but the important thing to me is that my sail date was only 9 days after the global pause and IF Princess was going in sail date order, I should have seen something by now, even if only FCC.  My TA made 3 calls to Princess on my behalf and I made 4, all with different answers each time. Losing patience while approaching the 60 day mark,  I used my Barclaycard Princess Visa for this trip, called the number on the back of my card and waited (about 25 minutes) to speak to someone in the dispute department.  This is important to note - even though the recording tells you they won't handle disputes over the phone due to the high call volume, if you wait it out,  a live person will come on the line).  I had a terrific and very helpful gal named Kate who gave me step by step instructions and said I should see my refunds on next month's statement!  As far as FCC, who knows?  I don't have that either but at this point, I just want the money owed to me.  I hope this encourages some of you out there to dispute what's rightfully yours!

[mcrimmins]

We have received 2/3 of our 28 day cruise as provisional credit from American Express. Part of the split is because we paid in 4 separate chunks. We also file an insurance claim with AON which was a waste of time. Like many insurance companies, they find a reason not to pay.  60 days and counting. 

[Cruise Raider]

Some credit cards have an online form for filing a dispute.  Within a couple days, a provisional credit for the disputed amount is posted on your account.  While some of the questions don’t really apply to our situation, they are close enough.  They will (or will not) post the permanent amount within two months.  It hardly seems fair the credits card co pansies are having to cover this but looks like the only way to actually get a refund these days.  

[hpeabody]

I was on board the Pacific Princess World Cruise and boarded on Jan 20, 2020.  I don't think we fit into any of their "pause" categories.  Feeling tossed aside and forgotten, yesterday I started the initial dispute phase with my CC bank, Chase.  Now I do still need to submit certain paperwork, which they have already provided to me.  I did make separate dispute requests for 4 prepaid shore excursions.  This morning Chase had already credited me fully for 1 (a minimal amount) and provisionally credited me for another.  I expect this will be fully credited within 2-3 weeks from past experience with similar.  The other 2 shore excursions, a little more pricey, were listed along with the substantial refund request (71 days of 111 of cruising that were not provided)  I know this progress is very minor in the grand scheme of it all. I just wanted to share how a reputable and responsive company behaves.   I have always been pleased with how Chase handles disputes and anticipate the same experience with this.

Edited May 9, 2020 by hpeabody

[suzyed]

7 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Sure, and we could post it tomorrow, in the event someone didn't see it before, and again the day after and so on.  And not just for this but all sorts of other topics.  I get that the post had value for you specifically, and no doubt others as well, and I'm very glad about that.  But the situation is that many if not most of us got that email, and it has been discussed.  Once again, not that everyone is aware, but to most of us, we just don't see how a mass email (which is basically more meaningless drivel from Princess which honestly says nothing informative) which is over a week old, is adding any enlightenment to the current morass Princes has created.

It's not....but I was just saying we never even got it, as I know many others who didn't get it either.  Why not send it to all of us?

 

[TM]

Unfortunately we booked our FCDs last August and cancelled them with Princess in mid-March.  Still waiting on the credit back to the card from Princess.  Unfortunately too much time has expired since the initial charge to put in for a credit card dispute.

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, jondfk said:

Some background.  

 

We were on Grand for the Feb 21 sailing and got the "bonus" offer of two weeks in quarantine at Travis.  Surprisingly, we had few bad feelings towards Princess over this incident, we didn't even blame them for the quarantine which was clearly beyond their control.  

 

We reached Travis on March 11th and woke up on the 12th to find our April cruise had been cancelled.  No real surprise, believe me, after what we'd gone through.  Having already received a sizable FCC for the Grand experience, we went for the cash refund for Coral in part because we lost 3 weeks of income while the Grand situation unfolded.  We need the refund for things as basic as living expenses.  

han

The initial promise of a refund in 30 days struck me as not terribly unreasonable.  Princess stretched this to 60 days about the day we were released from Travis.  We groaned, but happy to be home at last, we still didn't protest.  That clock has run down now however and it's time to stop trusting promises from Princess.  Accordingly, we registered a dispute with our Apple card today for the majority of the fare which we charged with this card.  The process couldn't have been simpler and will undoubtedly be resolved in our favor.  However, if I had it to do all over again, I'd file the dispute back on March 12th, my many years of positive experiences with Princess clouded my vision.  

 

I did want to share that Apple had no problem whatsoever going back to my original charge dates in December and January.  The dates of the charges were immaterial, the dispute was over failure to deliver the paid for service the date of which is easily within the past 60 days.  

 

Wanted to share my thoughts and experience.  

Thank you for sharing your experience. So many of us in the same boat...so nice to know we are not alone.

 

 

[hpeabody]

48 minutes ago, TM said:

Unfortunately we booked our FCDs last August and cancelled them with Princess in mid-March.  Still waiting on the credit back to the card from Princess.  Unfortunately too much time has expired since the initial charge to put in for a credit card dispute.

 

Call anyway!  What could it hurt?  My initial cruise deposit was Oct 2018 and paid in multiple segments until Sept 2019 and they are proceeding with my dispute.

[cruzsnooze]

I disputed it with Citi bank and Princess won. I'm told that if the merchant says NO it's resolved in the merchants favor. I called Princess and they said they see I'm due a credit for two different cruises that I used my credit card for (NOT FCC OR FCD) and it will be processed.  They said they are working in the order of the cruise date NOT the date of cancellation. 

[npcl]

3 hours ago, mcrimmins said:

We have received 2/3 of our 28 day cruise as provisional credit from American Express. Part of the split is because we paid in 4 separate chunks. We also file an insurance claim with AON which was a waste of time. Like many insurance companies, they find a reason not to pay.  60 days and counting. 

I don't think AON had to find a reason, the reason is pretty clear, cancellation by cruise line is not a covered expense.  Pretty clear in the policy that it is not part of the coverage.

[dog]

3 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I disputed it with Citi bank and Princess won. I'm told that if the merchant says NO it's resolved in the merchants favor. I called Princess and they said they see I'm due a credit for two different cruises that I used my credit card for (NOT FCC OR FCD) and it will be processed.  They said they are working in the order of the cruise date NOT the date of cancellation. 

Are you talking about the OBC or your cruise fare for Option 2?

[dog]

18 hours ago, adstz said:

 

I am part of a group on Facebook  called "Princess Cruises Information Page". 

I just looked at this fb site. Many recent posts are the same as here.
 

Back in March & beginning of April fb elite showed a few got refunds and several got FCC. 
 

currently it shows very little movement for FCC and none for credit card refunds, that I can find in past couple of weeks. 
 

no telling what is going on  

 

[pompeii]

11 hours ago, Worldpeek said:

  I used my Barclaycard Princess Visa for this trip, called the number on the back of my card and waited (about 25 minutes) to speak to someone in the dispute department.  This is important to note - even though the recording tells you they won't handle disputes over the phone due to the high call volume, if you wait it out,  a live person will come on the line).  I had a terrific and very helpful gal named Kate who gave me step by step instructions and said I should see my refunds on next month's statement!  

Worldpeek, would you mind saying generally what the instructions were the Barclay rep gave you?  I called and of course got the recording saying they couldn't file over the phone, so I filed my dispute on line and then followed up with faxing the supporting info.  Is that what they asked you to do or did she give you another way of opening your dispute?  Thanks.

[hm9912]

I posted my refund experience in another thread but I'll repeat it here.

We were booked on the Sky Princess for our April 4th cruise out of Fort Lauderdale with our three grandkids. We booked two cabins with two different booking numbers. We also took out a travel policy with Allianz for the grandkids. We have a separate annual travel policy with Allianz

We booked and paid for two travel excursions in December 2019 and made final payment for the two bookings in early February 2020.

Princess cancelled our cruise in early March.

We chose option 2 and that showed up in our personalizer in a couple of weeks.

We had spoken with a Princess Customer Service Rep shortly after Princess cancelled our cruise in March inquiring about the refund of the cruise fare for the two cabins. She told us it could take up to 60 days for the refund.

Everything is paid for on my Barclays Princess Visa card

Knowing that most credit cards require any disputes be filed within 60 days, I initiated a credit card dispute of all my Princess charges first over the telephone receiving two case numbers and following up in writing on their web site.

On Friday I received all of the funds back on my Princess Visa Card and now have a very substantial credit.

Very happy

For those that think that they are just going to receive their money back automatically from Princess without filing a credit card dispute you may be waiting a long time or forever.

Hope this helps

 

Howard

 

[cruzsnooze]

9 hours ago, dog said:

Are you talking about the OBC or your cruise fare for Option 2?

I  stated  that 2 deposits were on my credit card not FCC or FCD. It was a third cruise fully paid for that I took a FCC of 125%

[dog]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

I  stated  that 2 deposits were on my credit card not FCC or FCD. It was a third cruise fully paid for that I took a FCC of 125%

You should be able to get those deposits back. I would call credit card company and try again

[dog]

1 hour ago, hm9912 said:

I posted my refund experience in another thread but I'll repeat it here.

We were booked on the Sky Princess for our April 4th cruise out of Fort Lauderdale with our three grandkids. We booked two cabins with two different booking numbers. We also took out a travel policy with Allianz for the grandkids. We have a separate annual travel policy with Allianz

We booked and paid for two travel excursions in December 2019 and made final payment for the two bookings in early February 2020.

Princess cancelled our cruise in early March.

We chose option 2 and that showed up in our personalizer in a couple of weeks.

We had spoken with a Princess Customer Service Rep shortly after Princess cancelled our cruise in March inquiring about the refund of the cruise fare for the two cabins. She told us it could take up to 60 days for the refund.

Everything is paid for on my Barclays Princess Visa card

Knowing that most credit cards require any disputes be filed within 60 days, I initiated a credit card dispute of all my Princess charges first over the telephone receiving two case numbers and following up in writing on their web site.

On Friday I received all of the funds back on my Princess Visa Card and now have a very substantial credit.

Very happy

For those that think that they are just going to receive their money back automatically from Princess without filing a credit card dispute you may be waiting a long time or forever.

Hope this helps

 

Howard

 

That is great!  Happy for you. 
hope others follow your example. 

[Worldpeek]

That’s exactly what she told me to do so it sounds like you did everything you needed to. I had to do it over the phone because one of my disputes was an older transaction for the deposit from 2018 that I needed their help with. It’s a shame we are having to go this route but I fear those who don’t might not receive their refunds for quite sometime.

[GottaLuvCruising]

Tomorrow is 60 days since Princess cancelled our cruise.  I have patiently waited and have not contacted them.  Princess has correctly posted our FCCs.  

 

But I am looking for refunds for taxes $136.80 x4, prepaid gratuities $101.50 x4 and bottled water purchase $7.08 x3.  Fortunately everything was put on my JetBlue card.  I have recorded the details of each transaction.  Tomorrow I will call to inquire about these refunds.  If I don't get a satisfactory answer, I will proceed with disputes.  

 

I try to be a good consumer and do the right thing.  I love Princess and plan to cruise again.  I'd rather they get their act together and process these refunds!  

[travelfin]

I filed disputes with AMEX and my local credit union (I used my debit/VISA for two payments) on May 7th and have received provisional credits to my accounts already. The credits become permanent if Princess fails to respond within 45 days, or their response is unacceptable to AMEX and the credit union.

Edited May 10, 2020 by travelfin
additional info

[nho9504]

Data Point

 

Once again it shows Princess CSRs have not given out accurate information (not their faults because they themselves are in the dark also).

 

This is from an acquaintance - their cruise would have sailed yesterday May 09.  Cruise was canceled in May as part of the 1st Pause.  They opted for 150% FCC.

He said they have received the 150% FCC 2 to 3 weeks ago (Note this is for May sailing),  but they are still waiting "for the taxes, airfare, and the original (now expired) FCD to be refunded."

 

So one more time, those who opted for Option 1 got taken care much quicker, and certainly are not by any pecking orders being told by the CSRs or the Customer Relations at Princess to customers.

 

Also worth noting is, the real money has not been refunded yet on this May 9th sailing.  Yet, considered those of us who chose Opt 2 but have not seen anything yet even from late March - the difference in handling is truly startling. 

 

Finally, Princess dragging on processing money refund can only make things worse as more and more people started the process to dispute the credit card charges on services not rendered and refunds not processed, for exceedingly long time - the payment processors may require the merchants to put up more collateral to continue provide the services of processing credit card payments - as NCL has worded it into its 8K filing recently - that means whatever cash Princess tried to conserved, part of such, may be a large sum, would need to be tied up at the processors level - untouchable for operation purposes - This is bad for them.

Edited May 10, 2020 by nho9504
add more information

[CruzinNoony]

For those of you that disputed with the credit card company and chose option 2, I'm wondering if you got the 25% FCC that was promised by choosing option 2.

[PrincessLuver]

2 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

For those of you that disputed with the credit card company and chose option 2, I'm wondering if you got the 25% FCC that was promised by choosing option 2.

 

Really could care less at this point about the 25%FCC.....just want a lot of cash back very soon!!!