Oceania’s Ridiculous Loop Hole on Your Refund - not impressed!

[LHT28]

6 minutes ago, Pedro22 said:

There are also 3 to 5 ships off the coast of Florida trying to dock there.

Are you sure they are trying to dock & not just hanging out  as they have no other places to go

Many ships are hanging out in the Bahamas  also  ..only crew  onboard 

 

 

[Paulchili]

6 minutes ago, Pedro22 said:

ceania cancelled the cruise. So disputed based on non-delivery of services. We were duped into accepting the only thing being offered at the time which was a future cruise credit. There was no active choice on our part. They dictated the terms.

I am glad that you got the outcome you wanted.

Still confused why O offered only FCC when they usually offer a choice of refund or FCC when THEY cancel the cruise.

Also, what CC was it? They seemed very generous in their offer in view of the fact that you were essentially "compensated" by the cruise line 100% with FCC - I might want to get that card.

[Pedro22]

As far as I know, all cruise lines have cancelled all cruises. So Oceania has cancelled all of their cruises including the one we were planning to take.

[njhorseman]

Just now, Pedro22 said:

As far as I know, all cruise lines have cancelled all cruises. So Oceania has cancelled all of their cruises including the one we were planning to take.

Yes and every cruise line including Oceania is refunding money to those who request it. 

Sounds like you weren't duped...you just made a decision you now regret. 

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, Pedro22 said:

As far as I know, all cruise lines have cancelled all cruises. So Oceania has cancelled all of their cruises including the one we were planning to take.

I think the question is  did you get an FCC  plus the refund to your Credit card?

That would be fraud  in my book

[Pedro22]

• Hey if anyone on the board received a future cruise credit, could you please scan and post a copy of what was sent to you as proof you have a credit for a future cruise.
• Thank you!

[YoHoHo]

4 hours ago, Pedro22 said:

As far as I know, all cruise lines have cancelled all cruises. So Oceania has cancelled all of their cruises including the one we were planning to take.

Nope. not all cruises are cancelled. Cruises up to a certain date are cancelled but many more after those dates( varies by CL) are not cancelled. For example got an email yesterday that cancelled my upcoming but had not yet been cancelled Celebrity cruise "decided to extend the suspension of our global cruise operations through May 11". So your statement "all cruise lines have cancelled all cruises" is wrong.

[Pedro22]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I think the question is  did you get an FCC  plus the refund to your Credit card?

That would be fraud  in my book

Oceania has not provided any documentation to us that indicates we have FCC. There is nothing showing in our online account either.

[Paulchili]

12 minutes ago, Pedro22 said:

Oceania has not provided any documentation to us that indicates we have FCC. There is nothing showing in our online account either.

Call your TA or Oceania if you don't have a TA.

Our FCC with Seabourn is not in our online account but it is there per Seabourn agent and my TA.

In fact, when I was exploring booking a future cruise with that FCC, it was there to be used towards the booking.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Paulchili

[YoHoHo]

4 hours ago, Pedro22 said:

Oceania cancelled the cruise. So disputed based on non-delivery of services. We were duped into accepting the only thing being offered at the time which was a future cruise credit. There was no active choice on our part. They dictated the terms.

 

4 hours ago, Paulchili said:

I am glad that you got the outcome you wanted.

Still confused why O offered only FCC when they usually offer a choice of refund or FCC when THEY cancel the cruise.

Also, what CC was it? They seemed very generous in their offer in view of the fact that you were essentially "compensated" by the cruise line 100% with FCC - I might want to get that card.

I am confused too as seems to be missing some details. I looked for more info but couldn't find it. It sounds to me like they cancelled their booking when this mess with cancel / no cancel first started and policies were been first made. I suspect it was the offer to try to instill some confidence :

"TRAVELERS ASSURANCE PROGRAM"

<SNIP>

    Cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior to departure and receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 100% of the cruise fare paid

<CHOP>

 

So I'm guessing the poster took them up on that offer by canceling their booking and accepted the FCC in a full unreduced amount as compensation and being allowed to cancel at a date later than would be allowed under normal circumstance without a reduction penalty.

Then some days later, as covid-19 situation worsened around the world, their cruise was cancelled. Those who waited got an offer for their money back or maybe a choice of a bigger FCC (I have read TAs advising their clients to wait to get more choices). And now the poster does not like the agreement they made.  Are there any CLs that are going back and re-writing offers already accepted to the most recent offers?

 

Is that close to the scenario, Pedro22? And do I understand correctly in addition to having a 100% FCC on the books you also filed a dispute and received a refund from your CC based on the premise that they did not provide a service for the money paid? Maybe I have misunderstood.  Had you already taken the FCC from O? Please correct me where I am wrong - just trying to understand how your situation came about.

 

 

 

 

 

[Paulchili]

17 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Are there any CLs that are going back and re-writing offers already accepted to the most recent offers?

On rare occasions they will make an exceptions to very high loyalty cruisers or TAs with huge accounts with that CL.

Such was the case on our SB cruise where we got FCC and another UK passenger got the same but his agency (high volume) was able to change that to a refund. Didn't work for me 😞

Obviously, these are exceptions rather than common occurrences.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Paulchili

[YoHoHo]

Well, at least you can plan out a virtual cruise to spend that FCC while waiting for things to settle down safely

Edited March 27, 2020 by YoHoHo

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

On rare occasions they will make an exceptions to very high loyalty cruisers or TAs with huge accounts with that CL.

Such was the case on our SB cruise where we got FCC and another UK passenger got the same but his agency (high volume) was able to change that to a refund. Didn't work for me 😞

Obviously, these are exceptions rather than common occurrences.

I think the rule in the UK  they have to give  a refund 

well up until yesterday when those rules went out the window

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, YoHoHo said:

And do I understand correctly in addition to having a 100% FCC on the books you also filed a dispute and received a refund from your CC based on the premise that they did not provide a service for the money paid? Maybe I have misunderstood.  Had you already taken the FCC from O? Please correct me where I am wrong - just trying to understand how your situation came about.

 

 I think that is close  as I understand it 

I guess it depends on when people cancel  as well

Double dipping 😎

Maybe O is just taking too long for some to get their refund/FCC

 it is not like they have anything  better to do with their time 🙄

 

[merlot101]

I just found out today that the cruise fee is for future cruise credit, but the taxes on that cruise will be credited to my credit card.

[chrisym]

I was given a one hour window of opportunity to cancel my June 25th Alaska cruise out of Seattle or pay in full before close of business Friday....which was a lot of money to find as I'm a solo cruiser so double whammy!

I have heard on Facebook forums that others have had the deadline for their final payment on the same cruise extended to end of April ( Australia) or end May ( USA). I will receive some of my deposit back but O retains $400 for FCC. If I'd decided to pay in full in that one hour I ' may' have received the entire amount back when O cancels.

 

Shouldn't they have cancelled already?  As of March 13th, cruise ships can't go into Canada and there are also limitations until July 1. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, chrisym said:

I was given a one hour window of opportunity to cancel my June 25th Alaska cruise out of Seattle or pay in full before close of business Friday....which was a lot of money to find as I'm a solo cruiser so double whammy!

I have heard on Facebook forums that others have had the deadline for their final payment on the same cruise extended to end of April ( Australia) or end May ( USA). I will receive some of my deposit back but O retains $400 for FCC. If I'd decided to pay in full in that one hour I ' may' have received the entire amount back when O cancels.

 

Shouldn't they have cancelled already?  As of March 13th, cruise ships can't go into Canada and there are also limitations until July 1. 

The cruise lines have chosen to extend the cancellations gradually. There are essentially three reasons:

 

(1) They don't want to pick an end date until they're certain cruising will be impossible until that date. The bans and closures could be rolled back sooner than the current announced dates if by some miracle the situation improves dramatically sooner than expected.

 

(2) They want to spread out the work load associated with processing the cancellations.

 

(3) They need to preserve their cash on hand for as long as possible . They'll likely have to obtain additional lines of credit to carry them through the crisis but that money will be hard to obtain in the current market. If they run out of cash to pay refunds, meet their debt service obligations and pay their employees they'll likely have to reorganize under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Edited March 29, 2020 by njhorseman

[Jim and Monika]

Having read all the ways this can go with cancellations, refunds, and FCC...we have to make a decision in 11 days. We booked Bermuda out of NY August 8. We need to decide to get our $1,500 back and possibly re book if things change.  Or we work our way into final payment and just see what happens.

Here are the reasons why we might just cancel:

Will NY be available to sail out of?

Will Bermuda be accepting Cruise Ships in August?

If not, will we be sailing somewhere else with no compensation?

 

We booked this cruise with a future certificate and have extra OBC, not sure if we could keep it if it's cancelled. If it's cancelled and we have made final payment, can we use our FCC to pay off another cruise we have already booked? Or, is the FCC good only for new bookings?

 

Just trying to get as many facts that are available at this time to make a decision we will be happy with.

 

[Pedro22]

Unless and until there is 1)safe and 2)effective vaccine, we are not stepping onto another cruise ship! This morning (Today Show and CNN), there is news of two more cruise ships with 4 dead, 2 tested positive for SARS-Cov-2 and at least 189 people suffering from flu-like symptoms on board as of Monday, 30 March according to CNN.

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, Jim and Monika said:

We booked this cruise with a future certificate and have extra OBC, not sure if we could keep it if it's cancelled. If it's cancelled and we have made final payment, can we use our FCC to pay off another cruise we have already booked? Or, is the FCC good only for new bookings?

 

Just trying to get as many facts that are available at this time to make a decision we will be happy with.

 

Best to talk with  your TA  or Oceania

Your situation is a bit different than just a straight  cancellation for a refund

JMO