Cancelled Cruises Refund Tracker/Discussion (merged topics)

[phoenix_dream]

This question relates to the air travel side of cancelled (or soon to be cancelled) cruises.  I am booked on Air Canada for an Alaska cruise in late July which I expect (and frankly hope) will be cancelled.  When I look at the Air Canada website it seems they are only allowing cancellations on flights booked after sometime in March (we booked last fall).  Am I completely out of luck in getting any of my ridiculously priced airfare returned or credited towards a future flight?

[jerryd1]

4 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

When I look at the Air Canada website it seems they are only allowing cancellations on flights booked after sometime in March (we booked last fall).  Am I completely out of luck in getting any of my ridiculously priced airfare returned or credited towards a future flight?

 The Air Canada website says ...."If you made a flight booking for travel on or after March 1, 2020, and you want to cancel it, you can. You may keep the remaining value of your ticket for future travel, which is valid for travel that must be completed within 24 months of your flight cancellation date."   I take that to mean that, if your flight is after March 1, 2020 or later, you can cancel it and receive credit for a future flight.   

 

If Air Canada cancels the flight, you will be entitled to a refund per DOT rules.   Air Canada may try to simply re-book you on another flight or offer future credit.   Sometimes, unfortunately, you have to ask them for a refund....

[opa&oma]

16 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yikes... maybe I should call again tomorrow and check.    I'm sure there are lots of errors that are getting bounced back.

Six weeks after having requested a refund, I received a FCC certificate.   When I called I was told they have no evidence of my request and that it will now take another 30-45 days to receive my refund. They are obviously playing games with us.

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, jerryd1 said:

 The Air Canada website says ...."If you made a flight booking for travel on or after March 1, 2020, and you want to cancel it, you can. You may keep the remaining value of your ticket for future travel, which is valid for travel that must be completed within 24 months of your flight cancellation date."   I take that to mean that, if your flight is after March 1, 2020 or later, you can cancel it and receive credit for a future flight.   

 

If Air Canada cancels the flight, you will be entitled to a refund per DOT rules.   Air Canada may try to simply re-book you on another flight or offer future credit.   Sometimes, unfortunately, you have to ask them for a refund....

thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, I think you are interpreting it correctly, rather than the way I was thinking.  Whew!  It was a very expensive flight!

[alley24]

Seems like my experience is same as everyone else, they make promises then don't deliver.  How do you get the FCC back if they go bankrupt?

[jerryd1]

36 minutes ago, alley24 said:

Seems like my experience is same as everyone else, they make promises then don't deliver.  How do you get the FCC back if they go bankrupt?

 

 None of the cruise lines are incorporated in the USA.   So who knows what would happen to your FCC's, as a creditor of the company, if the cruise line goes bankrupt.    I believe it would depend on the bankruptcy laws in the country of incorporation.

 

In the USA, at least, it also makes a big difference whether the company files bankruptcy under Chapter 7 (liquidation) or Chapter 11 (reorganization).   

[Quo Vadis?]

Well since cancelling our cruise on March 12th, we just received a "valuable" FCC which can be used if I  give Celebrity a substantial deposit.

Could not get a refund, could not get 125% can't get a great price as the one cancelled.

I'm feeling so special today.😉

 

However 75 years ago today, the Netherlands were liberated from the Nazis.

There are always events to celebrate.  ( I was 2 living in Holland at that time)

Edited May 5, 2020 by Argo.

[ladylemondrop]

We finally got our refund this morning, for cruise date 3rd April, which was cancelled 15 March, in three amounts, but added up to correct total, this fat lady is finally singing! 
 

It does seem to be a lengthy and difficult process, with errors being made i.e. FCC being processed instead of refunds etc, but, in balance this virus situation is also lengthy and difficult so its to be expected I guess. Tough times for so many industries. 
 

I hope everyone here gets their money back soon, (correctly) and I hope that we are also all here on roll calls again in the future, doing what we enjoy - being excited to travel.

 

[NHDOC]

My wife and I were onboard the Celebrity Silhouette in early March as the world was closing down.  That cruise was a nightmare from day 1 as we had to return to Florida twice so it turned out to be many sea days and just three ports over 9 days.  All guests were promised a 25% refund for the "inconvenience".

 

Our original plans were to stay on the Silhouette for two more back to backs through the month but as our first cruise went on it became clear that wasn't going to be the best plan.  On March 12, the same day the US government advised against cruising and the president declared a national emergency, I asked at guest services what my options were and they said that if I cancelled the other two cruise by the end of the day I would receive FCC but after that we would get nothing if we decided to disembark at the end of the first cruise, on Sunday the 15th.  I specifically asked about their plans to cancel cruises and they said the cruises were sailing, period and reiterated that we had to cancel that day or would lose our money.  So, under duress we decided to cancel on the 12th and booked air tix to get home from FLL on the 15th (at full fare).  Less than 24 hours later Celebrity announced they were cancelling all cruises after the 14th, including our next two and anyone who was booked would receive either 125% FCC or a refund (their choice) plus, if stranded away from home would receive reimbursement of airfare to get home.  I was told that because WE canceled we were not entitled to any of those "benefits" and would be forced to take the FCC (100% not 125%). 

 

We had a pretty tense three days at sea after the decision to cancel was made and managed to fly home without further incident.  After we got home we received an email from Celebrity informing us that a passenger had tested positive for COVID-19 onboard and we should self-quarantine.  Keep in mind this was 11 days later!  I had read about this online a day or two after we returned but it took X another week plus to notify us.  Nice!

 

I felt that Celebrity misled us into canceling on the 12th and even if it was unintentional the least they could do it honor the same offer of refund rather than FCC - I didn't even ask for return airfare but I was told there were not to be any exceptions to the policy - we canceled so we get FCC and no refund. 

 

We have not received our 25% "inconvenience refund" plus I am now getting the feeling that the FCC will be worthless if the cruise lines are forced into bankruptcy, which is a real possibility.  Besides, after the bad experience we had on the Silhouette we decided we really have no great desire to ever cruise on X again.  In a desperate move I disputed the charges on our credit card for the two canceled cruises and received some credit (the initial deposits were made too long ago to dispute but fortunately most of the $$$ was charged recently enough to be able to dispute it).  I have also filed suit in small claims court for the deposits plus the 25% refund we were promised.  I'd rather fight for the refunds than accept worthless FCC. 

Celebrity's customer service leaves much to be desired.  If they were really interested in retaining us as customers they would have just allowed us to have our money back instead of enforcing a policy they changed less than a day after we canceled.  Now it will undoubtedly cost them far more to defend themselves in court over this relatively small amount of money they owe us but it is the principle of it that galls me.  They obviously are cash strapped and using this as a way to preserve their business but I don't think I want to accept being an involuntary unsecured creditor of theirs and would urge others sitting on FCC to think about that - because that may be your future too if the lines you are holding credit with go belly up. 

[alley24]

How can you file a small claims court for the FCC when the ships are registered in Liberia etc. ?  Someone should start a class action lawsuit against Royal for all the FCC owed.   Maybe be then they would change their policy.

[NHDOC]

Simple, they have a US headquarters in Miami, so I named "Celebrity Cruises" as the defendant and the CEO as the agent to receive the summons.  Their lawyers will have to work it out.

[NHDOC]

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo
President and CEO
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132

[Quo Vadis?]

43 minutes ago, NHDOC said:

My wife and I were onboard the Celebrity Silhouette in early March as the world was closing down.  That cruise was a nightmare from day 1 as we had to return to Florida twice so it turned out to be many sea days and just three ports over 9 days.  All guests were promised a 25% refund for the "inconvenience".

 

Our original plans were to stay on the Silhouette for two more back to backs through the month but as our first cruise went on it became clear that wasn't going to be the best plan.  On March 12, the same day the US government advised against cruising and the president declared a national emergency, I asked at guest services what my options were and they said that if I cancelled the other two cruise by the end of the day I would receive FCC but after that we would get nothing if we decided to disembark at the end of the first cruise, on Sunday the 15th.  I specifically asked about their plans to cancel cruises and they said the cruises were sailing, period and reiterated that we had to cancel that day or would lose our money.  So, under duress we decided to cancel on the 12th and booked air tix to get home from FLL on the 15th (at full fare).  Less than 24 hours later Celebrity announced they were cancelling all cruises after the 14th, including our next two and anyone who was booked would receive either 125% FCC or a refund (their choice) plus, if stranded away from home would receive reimbursement of airfare to get home.  I was told that because WE canceled we were not entitled to any of those "benefits" and would be forced to take the FCC (100% not 125%). 

 

 

We had exactly the same plans, same result.  We were forced to cancel the same day you did.  We did get our 25% refund last week plus our taxes and the FCC for the 15th cruise last night.  We too felt the FCC would be worthless because Celebrity originally put on that age 70 restriction which was sort of removed.  Good luck with your legal action.

[NHDOC]

4 minutes ago, Argo. said:

We had exactly the same plans, same result.  We were forced to cancel the same day you did.  We did get our 25% refund last week plus our taxes and the FCC for the 15th cruise last night.  We too felt the FCC would be worthless because Celebrity originally put on that age 70 restriction which was sort of removed.  Good luck with your legal action.

 

It's funny that you got the 25% back but we still are waiting for that.  I am just tired of waiting and sick of Celebrity's attitude about this.  It's been 2 months since we were  promised the money and they managed to settle the bill for our onboard account the same day we disembarked.  Literally were charged by 1PM that day for our charges yet the refund is still being processed some 8 weeks later.  It's B.S. and I am calling them on it.  Fortunately our state has online small claims court filings so it is very easy to take them to court over it.  I am sure once they get served with the paperwork they will pay the refunds due without resorting to coming to NH to defend themselves. 

[NHDOC]

I also just read that you cannot use FCC for deposits on future cruises?  Is that correct?  OMG, you have to be a real sucker to pay more money up front now for a deposit on a future cruise in order to be able to use FCC later (if/when they ever cruise again).  These cruise lines are just looking for interest-free loans!

 

I am so glad I am pursuing my refund through the courts. 

[jerryd1]

6 minutes ago, NHDOC said:

I am so glad I am pursuing my refund through the courts. 

 

Good luck!  Please keep us informed on how that is going.

[NHDOC]

I'd also add that we had booked two more B2B's on Holland America's Nieuw Statendam in April that we were supposed to be on right after we got off Celebrity but because we were flying home on 3/15 I cancelled those on 3/12 too.  HAL eventually gave us refunds instead of FCC even though their "policy" was similar to Celebrity's at the time we cancelled.  HAL knows how to treat a customer.  Celebrity could learn a thing or two.  If we ever cruise again it will be on HAL. 

[Alabaster Cruiser]

I guess we were lucky.  Didn't call at all.  Yesterday we got our full correct refund to our credit card. Ours was for an April 11.  Thank you Celebrity.

[NHDOC]

43 minutes ago, Alabaster Cruiser said:

I guess we were lucky.  Didn't call at all.  Yesterday we got our full correct refund to our credit card. Ours was for an April 11.  Thank you Celebrity.

If they canceled on you and you requested a refund then that's the way it should have been handled.  My issue with Celebrity is they put pressure on us to cancel, literally right before they canceled and then denied us the option of a refund.  It seems like they are splitting hairs but to me if you cancel a cruise you have a moral obligation to offer those passengers who had paid for that cruise a refund and should recognize the extenuating circumstances that caused us to be in that position.  It's just bad business to generate so much "badwill" when all they needed to do was to say "we'll make it right and you can have your money back".  Instead it will cost them 5X as much now to defend their defenseless behavior.

[tallfir]

Update to earlier post ---

 

Now 60 days and counting. Cancelled cruise on March 7th. No refund of shore excursions, no refund of taxes or port charges, No FCC, no emails, no communication whatsoever.

 

Big box TA in Kirkland, WA is worthless. Celebrity NO customer service is worthless.

 

Changing "Cruise with Confidence" to "Never Cruise with Confidence Again" with Celebrity.

 

Only good thing that has come of this is we did receive 100% refund of our airfare from Delta. They got the taxpayer paid bailout. 

[scrabble6]

Two successful refund scenarios to report--I hope this gives you guys some hope that your refunds will come through!

 

Alaska cruise/tour, scheduled to depart Vancouver May 22, 2020/Millennium.

Final payment was Feb 22. 

Cruise was cancelled by Celebrity on March 24.  We requested full refund online on March 24.  At that time it was stated we would receive refund within 30 days.

Today, May 6th, most of my refund appeared on my credit card online statement!    Yesterday (May 5) was the 30th business day.  I check our credit card online this morning--no refund.  I called Celebrity and quickly got through to someone who was very helpful.  He stated that two specific $ amounts (equal to our deposit and our cruise fare) had been dispersed to our credit card on May 2.  And he checked and could see that two other specific $ amounts (which exactly equal the pre-paid grats and the taxes/fees amounts) are in an accounting queue for "approval" and should be dispersed soon.

 

After we hung up I got back online and voila!  There were the two credits for cruise fare plus deposit!   Recent transactions are quite visible on my credit card site, so there's no chance I overlooked them earlier this morning when I check before the phone call.   

I feel confident that the remainder will be forthcoming.  I'll update when that comes through for those who are interested.

 

Summit Caribbean scheduled for Feb 27 2021

Cancelled by me on April 2, long before final payment was due.  We had booked this cruise in February with a $500 deposit.

On April 24th, the full $500 was credited to our card in 3 odd amounts: $133.96 + $217 + $149.04.  

Note that the original timeline was supposed to be 5-7 business days, instead it took 16 business days.  (Not complaining about that--it's understandable--just noting a discrepancy.)  Someone from Celebrity did call my husbands phone a few days before 4/24 to apologize for the delay, which was nice and a bit unexpected.

 

In all this I did call Celebrity twice--the first call was on April 2nd to cancel the 2021 Summit cruise.  During that phone call, the representative did verify the status on the Alaska-Millennium cancellation/refund request and said it was "processing" but we would not see any refund before 30 days.  And the second call was today's call.

 

Both phone calls were courteous and as helpful as possible.   I'm a bit curious about today's posting of the credit that apparently occurred during my phone call to Celebrity.  Odd coincidence.   But, hey, I'm very relieved and pleased.  So far Celebrity has come through in a reasonable timeline.   I'm sorry that so many of you are having a different experience....

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by scrabble6
Edited to add: We had booked all our Alaska shore excursions through Celebrity. Those were all credited back to our card on April 4th. We cancelled them on March 24th or 25th.

[cgolf1]

I posted this on the less active thread as well.

 

While our cruise wasn't canceled, we had asked for a refund of all monies but the deposit on our 2021 cruise on 4/8. When I called to pay the credit card today, the money had been refunded to us by Celebrity. Not sure of the exact date though. So within a month isn't bad.

 

With them trying to deal with all the canceled cruises I expected this money to take a lot longer to be refunded. We will just have to decide now at the PIF date what to do. Not sure what 2021 will bring for X. APEX will be a new year old ship;)

[Big_G]

On 5/3/2020 at 8:37 PM, katrina915 said:

For those that are getting refunds, did you get some kind of written notice that a refund was coming? I called a few weeks back for a late may cruise and haven't seen a refund yet.  Just wondering if they actually are going to send refund or if I should call again.  Thanks.

 

After waiting 30 days we asked for a cancellation email in case we wanted to start a credit card dispute. They sent it a week later but we never used it. The email basically confirmed the cancellation and that there were no penalties. It did not mention any refund. Other than that we never received the original refund email that was supposed to be sent and never received an email that the refund had been made. We just kept checking the bank website.

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, NHDOC said:

My wife and I were onboard the Celebrity Silhouette in early March as the world was closing down.  That cruise was a nightmare from day 1 as we had to return to Florida twice so it turned out to be many sea days and just three ports over 9 days.  All guests were promised a 25% refund for the "inconvenience".

 

Our original plans were to stay on the Silhouette for two more back to backs through the month but as our first cruise went on it became clear that wasn't going to be the best plan.  On March 12, the same day the US government advised against cruising and the president declared a national emergency, I asked at guest services what my options were and they said that if I cancelled the other two cruise by the end of the day I would receive FCC but after that we would get nothing if we decided to disembark at the end of the first cruise, on Sunday the 15th.  I specifically asked about their plans to cancel cruises and they said the cruises were sailing, period and reiterated that we had to cancel that day or would lose our money.  So, under duress we decided to cancel on the 12th and booked air tix to get home from FLL on the 15th (at full fare).  Less than 24 hours later Celebrity announced they were cancelling all cruises after the 14th, including our next two and anyone who was booked would receive either 125% FCC or a refund (their choice) plus, if stranded away from home would receive reimbursement of airfare to get home.  I was told that because WE canceled we were not entitled to any of those "benefits" and would be forced to take the FCC (100% not 125%). 

 

We had a pretty tense three days at sea after the decision to cancel was made and managed to fly home without further incident.  After we got home we received an email from Celebrity informing us that a passenger had tested positive for COVID-19 onboard and we should self-quarantine.  Keep in mind this was 11 days later!  I had read about this online a day or two after we returned but it took X another week plus to notify us.  Nice!

 

I felt that Celebrity misled us into canceling on the 12th and even if it was unintentional the least they could do it honor the same offer of refund rather than FCC - I didn't even ask for return airfare but I was told there were not to be any exceptions to the policy - we canceled so we get FCC and no refund. 

 

We have not received our 25% "inconvenience refund" plus I am now getting the feeling that the FCC will be worthless if the cruise lines are forced into bankruptcy, which is a real possibility.  Besides, after the bad experience we had on the Silhouette we decided we really have no great desire to ever cruise on X again.  In a desperate move I disputed the charges on our credit card for the two canceled cruises and received some credit (the initial deposits were made too long ago to dispute but fortunately most of the $$$ was charged recently enough to be able to dispute it).  I have also filed suit in small claims court for the deposits plus the 25% refund we were promised.  I'd rather fight for the refunds than accept worthless FCC. 

Celebrity's customer service leaves much to be desired.  If they were really interested in retaining us as customers they would have just allowed us to have our money back instead of enforcing a policy they changed less than a day after we canceled.  Now it will undoubtedly cost them far more to defend themselves in court over this relatively small amount of money they owe us but it is the principle of it that galls me.  They obviously are cash strapped and using this as a way to preserve their business but I don't think I want to accept being an involuntary unsecured creditor of theirs and would urge others sitting on FCC to think about that - because that may be your future too if the lines you are holding credit with go belly up. 

Sounds like you had a very frustrating experience.  But at the same time, I am not sure I agree that you were treated poorly by Celebrity (at least, no more poorly than any of the rest of us).  Decisions were being made and changed on a daily basis, literally.  When they told you that you needed to cancel that day because no cruises were being cancelled I believe they were telling the truth as they knew it.  You decided to cancel.  Technically, did they have to give you anything based on the rules at that time? I don't recall.  Regardless, they are offering you a 100% FCC.   Many others were in the exact same position of wanting to cancel cruises due to virus concerns, before the cruise line cancelled their cruises.  Those people also got 100%.  Some who were extra cautious and cancelled earlier got nothing.  The only real difference with yours seems to be that you were bumping right up against your next sailing - a very difficult decision I am sure.  But why are you more entitled to a refund than those who cancelled other cruises prior to Celebrity cancelling?  Just because Celebrity cancelled just a day later?  So what would the cut-off be for other people?  Two days?  Three days?  They have to draw a line somewhere and you just had the bad luck to be right next to that line.

 

I think it is very reckless of Celebrity not notifying you of the Covid-19 case until 11 days later, if as you say it was in the news way before that.  I don't know about you, but when I returned from my Reflection cruise on 3/13 I took it upon myself to socially isolate for 14 days to ensure I would not inadvertently infect anyone (this began before our state's shelter in place orders began).

 

As to not getting your 25% refund yet, yes that is definitely wrong.  I am no Celebrity cheerleader - I was very unhappy at how long it took us to get our FCC and refund money back from the 3 cruises we had cancelled (one was the Silhouette cruise after yours).  For them not to have paid your 25% is ridiculous.  I have three more cruises scheduled this year, expecting at least a couple to be cancelled, but of course not until the last minute so they can hold onto my money.  Truthfully I am 50/50 in my expectation that there will even be any more to pay me when those cancel later this year.  

[NHDOC]

10 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Sounds like you had a very frustrating experience.  But at the same time, I am not sure I agree that you were treated poorly by Celebrity (at least, no more poorly than any of the rest of us).  Decisions were being made and changed on a daily basis, literally.  When they told you that you needed to cancel that day because no cruises were being cancelled I believe they were telling the truth as they knew it.  You decided to cancel.  Technically, did they have to give you anything based on the rules at that time? I don't recall.  Regardless, they are offering you a 100% FCC.   Many others were in the exact same position of wanting to cancel cruises due to virus concerns, before the cruise line cancelled their cruises.  Those people also got 100%.  Some who were extra cautious and cancelled earlier got nothing.  The only real difference with yours seems to be that you were bumping right up against your next sailing - a very difficult decision I am sure.  But why are you more entitled to a refund than those who cancelled other cruises prior to Celebrity cancelling?  Just because Celebrity cancelled just a day later?  So what would the cut-off be for other people?  Two days?  Three days?  They have to draw a line somewhere and you just had the bad luck to be right next to that line.

 

I think it is very reckless of Celebrity not notifying you of the Covid-19 case until 11 days later, if as you say it was in the news way before that.  I don't know about you, but when I returned from my Reflection cruise on 3/13 I took it upon myself to socially isolate for 14 days to ensure I would not inadvertently infect anyone (this began before our state's shelter in place orders began).

 

As to not getting your 25% refund yet, yes that is definitely wrong.  I am no Celebrity cheerleader - I was very unhappy at how long it took us to get our FCC and refund money back from the 3 cruises we had cancelled (one was the Silhouette cruise after yours).  For them not to have paid your 25% is ridiculous.  I have three more cruises scheduled this year, expecting at least a couple to be cancelled, but of course not until the last minute so they can hold onto my money.  Truthfully I am 50/50 in my expectation that there will even be any more to pay me when those cancel later this year.  

 

I guess my position is they should have changed their policy retroactively to allow anyone who was on a cancelled cruise, but who cancelled prior to their policy shift to have the option of a refund instead of a forced FCC as a matter of good business.  I should have the right to choose whether or not I would like to cruise again with them (or cruise again, period).  After all, I don't have to say it but the world has changed a lot since the beginning of March and some people may never want to set foot on a cruise ship again or might want to wait until a vaccine is available (which might be after their rather arbitrary cutoff date for FCC use).  Had they been considerate enough to offer the option of a refund of money we paid for a cruise they canceled (keep in mind I am still not asking for the extra $700 it cost us to fly home on short notice) it would have left me with a much sweeter taste in my mouth than the way they have treated us.  The way they handled it left me feeling like I would be happy to let them defend their actions in front of an impartial judge than accept the "love it or shove it" response I got from my requests for a refund.