Cancelled Cruises Refund Tracker/Discussion (merged topics)

[vkb2751]

8 minutes ago, harz99 said:

Only a week to go then (maybe)...

 

Will see. We have 5/2 and 5/9 cruises that were cancelled by Celebrity on 3/24. We requested refunds same day. Will we have to wait till June for refunds? this is not acceptable. Will have to talk to cc.

[BP99]

25 minutes ago, vkb2751 said:

Just received this reply from TA in NH for 3/23 sailing that we requested refund on 3/13/20:

 

At this time, Celebrity has advised that refunds may take up to 30 days from the original sailing date, so you should be receiving it within the coming weeks.

 

New response

Hi,

The online form said 30 days after completion. NOT 30 days from sail date.

Was that 30 days or 30 business days?? They make up stuff every day!

Why can't they be honest? New excuses every day! I'm not blaming you

or your post. Just a friendly observation of their poor tactics.

[vkb2751]

1 minute ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

The online form said 30 days after completion. NOT 30 days from sail date.

Was that 30 days or 30 business days?? They make up stuff every day!

Why can't they be honest? New excuses every day! I'm not blaming you

or your post. Just a friendly observation of their poor tactics.

 

Exactly, the response changes with every phone call. No clarity on refunds!

[BP99]

Forgot to add:

They may be dragging it out so people CANNOT file a dispute with the credit card

provider. Some have a 60-90 day period from payment date to file a dispute.

After this you out of luck. Unfortunately I usually plan well in advance and cannot file a 

cc dispute.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

25 minutes ago, BP99 said:

Forgot to add:

They may be dragging it out so people CANNOT file a dispute with the credit card

provider. Some have a 60-90 day period from payment date to file a dispute.

After this you out of luck. Unfortunately I usually plan well in advance and cannot file a 

cc dispute.

...or how about the truth?

 

They do not have the money to pay us back.

 

There is nothing that points to a satisfactory conclusion. Everything I read points in the same direction.

 

The most glaring fact: Mass communication has stopped. The only communication is after endless hours of wasting everyones time, and it leads to nowhere but delay.

[hcat]

Are shareholders kept in the loop?

Have the execs taken a pay cut?

[MakingUpForLostTime]

22 minutes ago, hcat said:

Are shareholders kept in the loop?

Have the execs taken a pay cut?

As exec's of a company with no cash and the fact that over 3 Billion dollars in deposits have already been spent, it would be wise to take a pay "Vacation". So.... if they are taking cuts then this speaks volumes.

 

I fully expect that if it gets to a liquidation scenario, we will be offered RCI shares at pre meltdown prices in exchange for our deposits.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

28 minutes ago, hcat said:

Are shareholders kept in the loop?

Have the execs taken a pay cut?

Shareholders will get the "spin" at the next AGM.

[Quo Vadis?]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Are shareholders kept in the loop?

Have the execs taken a pay cut?

Lisa is giving herself a 25% pay cut...

 

"

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain has volunteered to not take a salary through the end of September, while Royal Caribeban International CEO Michael Bayley took a 25% pay cut.

Other executives taking a 25% pay cut include CFO Jason Liberty, and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO of Celebrity Cruises."

https://www.*****.com/2020/04/01/royal-caribbean-executives-take-pay-cut-coronavirus-impact-cruise-industry-deepens

Edited April 15, 2020 by Argo.

[jeremybe]

4 hours ago, BP99 said:

Forgot to add:

They may be dragging it out so people CANNOT file a dispute with the credit card

provider. Some have a 60-90 day period from payment date to file a dispute.

After this you out of luck. Unfortunately I usually plan well in advance and cannot file a 

cc dispute.

 

I filed a dispute with Amex last week - Was told I had 60 days from the actual cruise departure date to file the dispute - My initial deposit was close to 2 years ago and they are still covering this as a valid dispute

[BP99]

29 minutes ago, jeremybe said:

 

I filed a dispute with Amex last week - Was told I had 60 days from the actual cruise departure date to file the dispute - My initial deposit was close to 2 years ago and they are still covering this as a valid dispute

Hi,

THANKS!!! 

I will look into it soon. I have also heard that some credit card companies allowed

disputes that went over their 90 day limit.

 

[Jim_Iain]

Update on FCC's and Credits -

 

Last week I received a FCC for both the 3/21 cruise and the 3/28 cruise but not the 3/14.

 

The 3/14 was a bit unusual which may have caused the hiccup.     It was my free Zenith Cruise which is rated at the lowest rate of an ocean view room on a 7 night Caribbean cruise.    We had paid for the upgrade to a AQ room and later won a Upgrade Bid. 

 

I called into the the Zenith desk and the phone was answered on the first ring.   Yea.. 

 

The agent was very helpful and confirmed that they didn't have my 3/14 cruise in the Queue.   Since they are processing cruises in order of the cruise date he got authorization to process my FCC.   The refund Upgrade and port charges have to be processed by accounting and should be issued in 30-60 days. 

 

A tidbit that he pointed out was that all REFUNDS and CREDITS have to be processed by the Accounting group.   He shared that it was a small group and they are Tri-Branded so are handling all the transactions for Celebrity, RCL and Azamara.  

[Jim_Iain]

BTW -  I also filed a dispute with Chase Sapphire for a Cancelled cruise with a Cash refund and 2 upgrades that I won.   I mostly filed because I didn't want to pay an additional $8,000 which was coming due shortly.   

 

Chase issued a credit by the next morning.   I believe the credit is a temporary credit while they investigate.     Usually a merchant have 45 days to respond to a charge back if they choose to dispute.  

[jelayne]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Update on FCC's and Credits -

 

Last week I received a FCC for both the 3/21 cruise and the 3/28 cruise but not the 3/14.

 

The 3/14 was a bit unusual which may have caused the hiccup.     It was my free Zenith Cruise which is rated at the lowest rate of an ocean view room on a 7 night Caribbean cruise.    We had paid for the upgrade to a AQ room and later won a Upgrade Bid. 

 

I called into the the Zenith desk and the phone was answered on the first ring.   Yea.. 

 

The agent was very helpful and confirmed that they didn't have my 3/14 cruise in the Queue.   Since they are processing cruises in order of the cruise date he got authorization to process my FCC.   The refund Upgrade and port charges have to be processed by accounting and should be issued in 30-60 days. 

 

A tidbit that he pointed out was that all REFUNDS and CREDITS have to be processed by the Accounting group.   He shared that it was a small group and they are Tri-Branded so are handling all the transactions for Celebrity, RCL and Azamara.  

Jim, thanks for the update.  I too had heard that they were processing transactions in cruise date order.  It is too bad they don't put that information on the website and also have the reps taking phone tell people that they are working in date order.

We have a FCC due for a 4/19 cruise so I figure it will be another 3 - 4 weeks.

Joan

[hcat]

Jim

Glad things have progressed for you.

Sorry your Zenith reward turned out that way! Should have been a very special sailing, esp with your upgrade.

 

 

If the Accounting group  is too small to handle the files, wonder why they don't hire more staff there, and cut some advertising and  other non essential staff for now?

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Jim, thanks for the update.  I too had heard that they were processing transactions in cruise date order.  It is too bad they don't put that information on the website and also have the reps taking phone tell people that they are working in date order.

We have a FCC due for a 4/19 cruise so I figure it will be another 3 - 4 weeks.

Joan

We received a refund for a deposit for a Nov 2020 cruise, so not sure about  processing refunds by cruise date.

 

The 2 disputes we filed resulted in  credits to our card a few days after.  We were not told they were temporary or conditional   and refund checks have been issued... but not yet received.

[jelayne]

13 minutes ago, hcat said:

Jim

Glad things have progressed for you.

Sorry your Zenith reward turned out that way! Should have been a very special sailing, esp with your upgrade.

 

 

If the Accounting group  is too small to handle the files, wonder why they don't hire more staff there, and cut some advertising and  other non essential staff for now?

They are

 

[hcat]

Thanks for the link

[Flying Hippo]

7 hours ago, BP99 said:

Forgot to add:

They may be dragging it out so people CANNOT file a dispute with the credit card

provider. Some have a 60-90 day period from payment date to file a dispute.

After this you out of luck. Unfortunately I usually plan well in advance and cannot file a 

cc dispute.

Not so sure there is a timeline. I disputed initial deposit with chase from May of 2019 without any questions. At the end of the day, I have in writing that celebrity agreed to provide a refund. There has to be a reasonable timeline for these to be processed. With my dispute opened 4 weeks after the 3/13 letter, if Chase takes a couple of weeks to review, it would then be at 6 weeks. 
I think that is well beyond a reasonable expectation of a refund. 

[MakingUpForLostTime]

Wow! Another Red Flag: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/larry-pimentel-resigns-azamara-ceo

 

First they cease all direct communication to its loyal passengers

Second they don’t pay the refunds they promise

Third they lay off the staff that are there to help us

Fourth the CEO jumps ship

 

I would guess that RCI does not care about Azamara or its customers.

 

I accept my refund money Does not exist.

 

I suspect RCI will bankrupt Azamara after they bleed whatever cash or assets it has left.

 

Anybody have any tangible information that would change my view?

[Quo Vadis?]

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/royal-caribbean-cuts-us-based-workforce-26

 

When you cut the workforce will the delay in returning funds get even longer?

 

[MakingUpForLostTime]

3 minutes ago, Argo. said:

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/royal-caribbean-cuts-us-based-workforce-26

 

When you cut the workforce will the delay in returning funds get even longer?

 

There will be no refund. RCI has gutted its bank account, CEO, staff and its loyal customers. What future is there? It’s dead.

[MartiniBarhooked]

On 4/15/2020 at 6:14 AM, hcat said:

 

Filed the dispute yesterday  morning around 7:30`am , and the $500 deposit refund was credited to our account by eary a.m today. It was one lump sum rather than in the 3 sep amts X  indicated.

Already called the auto system to  request a check for my credit balance which they indicate should arrive in 7 to 10 days.   ( We are still waiting on the other check from BOA.) We will also expect an eventual adjustment to our BOA cruise points down the line

 

Wondering if this is another coincidence or we are jumping the gun . We call and the credit comes through next day? But  It was at the 30 day mark from the cancellation date.

 

Also  received part of our LA fitness refund for auto  biling us  while Clubs are closed!

Would rather be enjoying all these things instead of chasing refunds.,.but  sadly that's not possible right now.

When you dispute a charge the Card Company does immediatly credit your account.  But unless the dispute is settled it will automatically be charged again.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

58 minutes ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

There will be no refund. RCI has gutted its bank account, CEO, staff and its loyal customers. What future is there? It’s dead.

 

There's certainly more going on here than a delay due to volume, the refunds would already be trickling out.  Most of us have had cruises cancel due to charters, it is pretty instantaneous.  If March refunds were going to take up to 90 days to process, 1/3 of you would already have credits by now, averaging about 8.3% per week.  

 

I have a $550 open booking with Azamara, probably worthless at this point.

[helen haywood]

21 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

BTW -  I also filed a dispute with Chase Sapphire for a Cancelled cruise with a Cash refund and 2 upgrades that I won.   I mostly filed because I didn't want to pay an additional $8,000 which was coming due shortly.   

 

Chase issued a credit by the next morning.   I believe the credit is a temporary credit while they investigate.     Usually a merchant have 45 days to respond to a charge back if they choose to dispute.  

Jim, are you saying you cancelled a cruise before final payment and the deposit is what you disputed?  When was the deposit made?