Cancelled Cruises Refund Tracker/Discussion (merged topics)

[ginrom]

26 minutes ago, 2morecruises said:

Reading thru these recent comments does get you wondering what is really going on.  I cancelled our BTB Apex cruises the day after they extended their cruise cancellations thru May 12th asking for the refunds. Counting the flights thru Celebrity I have $21K "hanging out there".

The anxiety is ramping up but I'll give them another 10-14 days before I take it to the CC bank.  😞

Oh wow! 21K?? I need to stop complaining about my 5K! 

[treehugr]

2 minutes ago, JuliaMS said:

For the people who filed CC disputes....The CC company will give you a temporary refund while they investigate the claim. Then after the investigation they will either approve the refund and leave it or deny the claim and reverse the temporary refund.

Has anyone had an investigation completed with a positive final outcome? I know many travel agents and airlines are fighting these and sending them to collections (based on info from other groups)

 

 

What about travel insurance claims? If you are only offered a future credit for flights (not booked thru Celebrity) or cruise can you file an insurance claim?

 

I have a dispute number, but no temporary refund as of yet. Frankly what could X / travel agent dispute? We paid for future travel we didn't receive / X in writing have cancelled the future travel and provided online mechanism for requesting a refund. What would be X response to the dispute in order to reverse? They have no grounds for a reversal. Many on this thread have mentioned they have been successful in getting a refund via the CC dispute process. 

[jerryd1]

38 minutes ago, JuliaMS said:

What about travel insurance claims? If you are only offered a future credit for flights (not booked thru Celebrity) or cruise can you file an insurance claim?

 

It depends on your policy.   We were booked on 3 cruises between now and July.   Our travel insurance would not cover any losses unless we had to cancel because one or more in our group actually caught the virus or had some other covered reason.   

[jerryd1]

Some additional interested reading on the DOT website......

 

"To assist cruise ship passengers, the U.S. Department of Transportation is sharing information and resources provided by other Federal agencies

Consumer Assistance

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) requires operators of passenger vessels carrying 50 or more passengers from a U.S. port to be financially capable of reimbursing their customers if a cruise is cancelled. The FMC also requires proof of ability to pay claims arising out of passenger injuries or death for which the ship operator may be liable. If a cruise is cancelled or if there is an injury during the cruise, the consumer will have to initiate action on his or her own behalf against the cruise line.

The FMC reviews any problems or inquiries that passengers bring to its attention. The FMC's Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) will contact a cruise line on a passenger's behalf. However, the final resolution of such complaints or inquiries is a matter between the cruise line and the individual. The role of OCC essentially is to help ensure a quick and fair consideration of the issues involved.  Consumer complaints can be reported to the FMC by telephone at 202-523-5807. See FMC’s website for additional information".

[JuliaMS]

44 minutes ago, treehugr said:

I have a dispute number, but no temporary refund as of yet. Frankly what could X / travel agent dispute? We paid for future travel we didn't receive / X in writing have cancelled the future travel and provided online mechanism for requesting a refund. What would be X response to the dispute in order to reverse? They have no grounds for a reversal. Many on this thread have mentioned they have been successful in getting a refund via the CC dispute process. 

for the canceled cruises they did send an e-mil to request refund instead of FCC  it is just taking a while to see the $$(our e-mail went to my husband's e-mail, had to look for it). If the cruise was canceled by us before X did we are only eligible for FCC so can't dispute that charge. Many airlines are still flying so only future credit on those. That's why I'm wondering if anyone has received a final resolution from their CC and not just the initial temporary refund.

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by JuliaMS

[govanguy]

From Celebrity Twitter feed:

 

[twentyknots]

Is there a law that says a merchant has a certain number of days to refund the consumer when the product is not provided?  All I could find was this: If you pay by cash, check or money order, or a non-seller credit card, the seller must give you a refund within seven working days after the order is canceled.

[downsmead]

1 hour ago, govanguy said:

From Celebrity Twitter feed:

 

Not entirely accurate as it has been more than 14 business days since we contacted. UK X to inform them that we wanted a refund and not a FCC. I have received a cancellation invoice but no sign of the taxes etc 🤷‍♀️

[omeinv]

28 minutes ago, twentyknots said:

Is there a law that says a merchant has a certain number of days to refund the consumer when the product is not provided?  All I could find was this: If you pay by cash, check or money order, or a non-seller credit card, the seller must give you a refund within seven working days after the order is canceled.

No, there is not. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[omeinv]

1 hour ago, govanguy said:

From Celebrity Twitter feed:

 

I'm coming up on thirty days since my March 15 cruise was cancelled, and I requested a refund on March 16.  As much as I understand everyone's concern, I'm truly not worried, and won't be pursuing a credit card dispute unless things get much more lengthy. 

 

I figure, during normal times, maybe 1% of bookings require some type of refund or adjustment requiring manual intervention (as opposed to a purchase which can either be completely automated, or - if done by phone - all entries made at the time).  Suddenly Celebrity is in a position where 100% of bookings require auditing, and either a total cash refund, or a partial cash refund (for taxes fees and extras) and a Future Cruise Credit for cruise fare.  The idea that all employees could be reassigned to this function sounds appealing, but likely is impractical, since it would require training during a period when most staff are working off-site, and it's not the time for new people to figure it out as they go without on-site supervision. 

 

When I've had refunds from Celebrity during normal times, they've run about 10 days to 2 weeks.  I've also learned that once the refund shows as processed in their system, there's about 1 week's lag before it gets to my account.  I assume this is something in the accounting process at Celebrity, rather than a delay with my credit card, based upon how other merchant's refunds process.  Again this makes sense since the nature of cruise bookings would require a person to review and reconcile it, as opposed to say a return to Amazon, which is completely automated.  During normal times, in my experience, the exception to this timeline has been something like an online purchased shore excursion that I've cancelled.  Those transactions refund much like a return to a store; that is to say in a few days.  This makes sense since they're completely automated purchases. 

 

I completely understand that many want to initiate disputes with their credit card firms, and thus hasten the return of their funds to their account.  And this would make particular sense if a billing statement was closing, and you were going to incur finance charges on an amount that you knew will be refunded.  But the idea that the dispute is what has hastened Celebrity to act - as noted by a few posters above - is inviting, but almost certainly coincidental.  When you file a dispute, the credit card company takes quite sometime to move their process, and it's certainly not an overnight event.  Instead you'll now get letters from your credit card company indicating that when they investigated, they found the refund you'd inquired about has been made, so they're closing the dispute. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

 

[BP99]

37 minutes ago, omeinv said:

I'm coming up on thirty days since my March 15 cruise was cancelled, and I requested a refund on March 16.  As much as I understand everyone's concern, I'm truly not worried, and won't be pursuing a credit card dispute unless things get much more lengthy. 

 

I figure, during normal times, maybe 1% of bookings require some type of refund or adjustment requiring manual intervention (as opposed to a purchase which can either be completely automated, or - if done by phone - all entries made at the time).  Suddenly Celebrity is in a position where 100% of bookings require auditing, and either a total cash refund, or a partial cash refund (for taxes fees and extras) and a Future Cruise Credit for cruise fare.  The idea that all employees could be reassigned to this function sounds appealing, but likely is impractical, since it would require training during a period when most staff are working off-site, and it's not the time for new people to figure it out as they go without on-site supervision. 

 

When I've had refunds from Celebrity during normal times, they've run about 10 days to 2 weeks.  I've also learned that once the refund shows as processed in their system, there's about 1 week's lag before it gets to my account.  I assume this is something in the accounting process at Celebrity, rather than a delay with my credit card, based upon how other merchant's refunds process.  Again this makes sense since the nature of cruise bookings would require a person to review and reconcile it, as opposed to say a return to Amazon, which is completely automated.  During normal times, in my experience, the exception to this timeline has been something like an online purchased shore excursion that I've cancelled.  Those transactions refund much like a return to a store; that is to say in a few days.  This makes sense since they're completely automated purchases. 

 

I completely understand that many want to initiate disputes with their credit card firms, and thus hasten the return of their funds to their account.  And this would make particular sense if a billing statement was closing, and you were going to incur finance charges on an amount that you knew will be refunded.  But the idea that the dispute is what has hastened Celebrity to act - as noted by a few posters above - is inviting, but almost certainly coincidental.  When you file a dispute, the credit card company takes quite sometime to move their process, and it's certainly not an overnight event.  Instead you'll now get letters from your credit card company indicating that when they investigated, they found the refund you'd inquired about has been made, so they're closing the dispute. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

 

Hi,

Sounds like you are apologizing for how Celebrity is dealing with refunds.

They are giving many people various excuses and several different ways

of stalling. Refunds should NOT take this long. They can take our money

and have it appear on our credit card in seconds. One person posted

"we do not work in the Flintstone age". Computers are fast and credit card

companies can handle millions of transactions. How can they give me

a Taxes and Fees refund but NOT refund the cruise. Explain that to me? Any

creative excuses that you could share??? The information is all on their

computer screen. It's been checked and approved. Why not press another

key and give me the big bucks (cruise refund). Only would take a second.

Not an addition long waiting period. We are all worried that we will not

ever see our refunds if they stall any longer. They are in rough times, BUT

so are we!

[omeinv]

1 minute ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

Sounds like you are apologizing for how Celebrity is dealing with refunds.

They are giving many people various excuses and several different ways

of stalling. Refunds should NOT take this long. They can take our money

and have it appear on our credit card in seconds. One person posted

"we do not work in the Flintstone age". Computers are fast and credit card

companies can handle millions of transactions. How can they give me

a Taxes and Fees refund but NOT refund the cruise. Explain that to me? Any

creative excuses that you could share??? The information is all on their

computer screen. It's been checked and approved. Why not press another

key and give me the big bucks (cruise refund). Only would take a second.

Not an addition long waiting period. We are all worried that we will not

ever see our refunds if they stall any longer. They are in rough times, BUT

so are we!

I am making no apologies.  You should skip the process of disputing the charge on your credit card, and go straight to filing a civil suit.  Better yet, call the police and accuse Celebrity of criminal fraud. 

 

The fact is a cruise booking consists of a number of variables.  If you can't understand that - and clearly you can't - then by all means initiate the credit card dispute; which is exactly what I advised in my post.  I merely said I am not going to do so, and explained my reasoning.  You do what makes you happy.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Tomato53]

United airlines refunded my flight in less than four days this week.  Im sure they have MANY more refunds/vouchers to deal with than Celebrity.

[jerryd1]

1 minute ago, Tomato53 said:

United airlines refunded my flight in less than four days this week.  Im sure they have MANY more refunds/vouchers to deal with than Celebrity.

 

Southwest refunded my non-refundable "Earlybird Checkin Fee" almost immediately and my "Wanna Get Away" non-refundable airfare within 3 days after they cancelled my flight and I requested a refund rather than future credit.     

[hcat]

Interesting that Celebrity Cruises rep posted on Twitter but  does not post here .

The whole Celebrity refund  process seems inscrutable.....

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 hours ago, JuliaMS said:

For the people who filed CC disputes....The CC company will give you a temporary refund while they investigate the claim. Then after the investigation they will either approve the refund and leave it or deny the claim and reverse the temporary refund.

Has anyone had an investigation completed with a positive final outcome? I know many travel agents and airlines are fighting these and sending them to collections (based on info from other groups)

 

 

What about travel insurance claims? If you are only offered a future credit for flights (not booked thru Celebrity) or cruise can you file an insurance claim?

 

 

Why would you be disputing a travel agent?  Their fees are paid by the cruise line.

[Hawkstar33]

6 hours ago, cjcruiser27 said:

Wow!! That’s a lot “hanging out there”😳

We cancelled 3/12 for 3/15 sailing     Was not even handled till 3/27, and fcc is not usable yet.   Told possible 4 more weeks.    Celeb cancelled 5/2, and we get choice 125% fcc or full refund.   Chose refund, wait may be up to 8 weeks.     Cancelled 7/12 Summit because it's not looking good, but also because they would not let me use the fcc from the 3/15 trip. Fully refundable deposit, but will have to wait for refund to credit card like the others.    Enough already.    I was not putting anymore cash in their account, and chancing another long wait for refund.     Lessons were learned

[ladylemondrop]

Its not taking just 14 business days in UK, our 3rd April cruise got cancelled 15th March, no refund yet. No cancellation invoice from Celebrity either, just nothing. Our TA is silent, and asking us to wait. To be fair, its not been 30 days yet so we are being patient (whilst also wondering how long we will have to be patient for!) 

[Saab4444]

British Airways refunded our money in four business days after their cancellation of our flight. Celebrity has not even replied after five weeks, cruise still active and fully paid..

[downsmead]

1 hour ago, Saab4444 said:

British Airways refunded our money in four business days after their cancellation of our flight. Celebrity has not even replied after five weeks, cruise still active and fully paid..

When BA cancelled our flight, the default option was a voucher for future travel. You had to contact them for a refund, which I duly did (amazingly only 25 mins on the phone to get through). It has been 5 business days and no refund, but to be fair I did not expect it to have received it yet.

[Sticks5315]

Some posters are indicating Celebrity told them it would be 30 business days! Isn’t every day a business day for the cruise companies. They will take your money (new reservations/cruise payments/shore excursion bookings)everyday. They normally Cruise everyday. This 30 business day timeline is another diversion. In the cruise industry every day is a business day. 

[twentyknots]

12 hours ago, omeinv said:

 

 

I completely understand that many want to initiate disputes with their credit card firms, and thus hasten the return of their funds to their account.  And this would make particular sense if a billing statement was closing, and you were going to incur finance charges on an amount that you knew will be refunded.  But the idea that the dispute is what has hastened Celebrity to act - as noted by a few posters above - is inviting, but almost certainly coincidental.  When you file a dispute, the credit card company takes quite sometime to move their process, and it's certainly not an overnight event.  Instead you'll now get letters from your credit card company indicating that when they investigated, they found the refund you'd inquired about has been made, so they're closing the dispute. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

I agree.  From what I undertand about CC disputes, it may actually lengthen the process.  In this case, Celebrity might very well remove the disputed claim out of the regular process (lengthy as it is) into another pile making the process even longer.  I would expect BofA (in my case) to investigate and then deny as I have no real documentation that I've made a good faith effort to resolve my impatience with Celebrity. 

 

[islandgirlejfan]

We've had a lot of refunds going on with a European trip as you can well imagine.  It's the same old story......companies are in a hurry to get the money, but naturally in no hurry to give what's owed back.  I called Celebrity a few weeks back because I was wondering what would happen to all the Celebrity points we had used for our trip and talked to a lovely agent who told me our refunds were in process and our points would go to the TA in the form of a credit when we rebook. In the meantime, we have received one refund from Celebrity for our cruise that we cancelled the day before our TA requested final payment for 27 June.  To be honest, I'm not quite sure what it's for because they have a number of our dollars in deposit and for shore excursions.  I just know I opened up our BOA Celebrity account and there was $500 from them.  I want to say it is the deposit just due to the amount, but there was a deal back in January that upgraded us to a balcony room from an OV and made our fare non-refundable and I was told that by my TA......so I'm stumped, but it doesn't add up to the shore excursion amount.  I had planned to argue our deposit in the first place as I have pre-existing conditions clause that Celebrity added would preclude me from cruising 10 months after Celebrity took our deposit.

 

Having said that, I am know these places are inundated with people canceling or rescheduling, however I really don't believe in this electronic world of ours that it should be taking the time that it is to be making refunds.  I'm sure cash flow is part of the bigger picture and the lack thereof.  We cancelled our flight to Europe last week and American has yet to return 4K....simply says *pending review*.  I cancelled two tours of Italy with a well known tour guide and they are saying 30 to 90 days for a refund.  I cancelled the Italo train and seen nothing back....still have to get a hold of British Airways for the payment for our seats....and possibly their part of the flight, even though it was through American.  Sigh.  This was to be a trip of a lifetime for us.  We saved big time to do this.  If we had a choice, we would be taking the trip....but the idea of any of these companies holding on to close to 10K did not give us the warm fuzzies at all.  

 

[BP99]

30 minutes ago, Sticks5315 said:

Some posters are indicating Celebrity told them it would be 30 business days! Isn’t every day a business day for the cruise companies. They will take your money (new reservations/cruise payments/shore excursion bookings)everyday. They normally Cruise everyday. This 30 business day timeline is another diversion. In the cruise industry every day is a business day. 

LOVE your post!!! Also, credit card companies don't have business days. I always get

charged buying groceries on Saturday/Sunday and it appears on my credit card even

before I get home with the shopping. This is again one of their creative, made up excuses,

that they try to convince us to stall their release of our $$.

[charmed101]

 

 

Lol,   I think its more like this:  

  

- Taking your money from either cruise or CC  is 24/7

 

- Refund dept. is Mon - Fri from 8 - 4