Cancelled Cruises Refund Tracker/Discussion (merged topics)

[Arizona Budgies]

Our group of 6 was booked on the Silhouette  for April 5th from  Ft. LAUDERDALE. March 13 the notice came of our cancelation and an offer of full refund. I called that day to cancel and to request a refund.  Finally after 54 days credits began to appear on my credit cards. The credits, have finally been correctly applied but it seemed to take forever. The other cruisers  have not received their refunds yet. I booked direct with Celebrity  they went through  costco.

Thought this might be useful information.

[marieps]

News Flash.  Yesterday I received my tax/port charge refund on my CC from the cancelled 3/27 Silhouette sailing.  That's about 7 weeks after cancellation.  Hang in their folks. 

[mocruiseguy]

Canceled Alaskan Cruisetour/cruise (7/24 cruise) on April 19 just before final payment date. We had paid a total of $200 as a refundable deposit on this one (booked while onboard January, 2019 cruise). $200 credited back to original credit card today, May, 7. 

[2morecruises]

Just received our May 3rd Apex Norway refund except for the port taxes and fees.  

Maybe our Apex May 10th trip will show up next week. 😳

[doodlefan]

We received a full refund for our 2 rooms on the Silhouette March 27th cruise today!  YAY!!   We put in for a full refund on March 15th (after they cancelled on March 13th)

 

We also had non refundable air booked through Celebrity Air (one way) the other way we booked on our own direct with Air Canada.  So far I don't see a refund for that.  It was said that they won't refund that because it was non refundable, which is crazy because that just means WE couldn't change it or cancel it, but Celebrity is the one who booked it and we didn't  get to go so I think they DO owe us a cash refund for that.  They originally said go to the airline for the refund, but the airline said, you didn't book with us, go to your travel agent, which in this case is Celebrity Air.  I will follow up once my sister checks her visa over the next few days since she put the Air portion on her visa. 

 

The other part of our airfare we booked direct with Air Canada and as most Canadian know, they have been "allowed" to offer us only credit for future travel unlike USA and Europe who have laws that the airline must refund Cash.  

 

So hang in there folks, looks  like they are slowly, and with no obvious pattern, starting to refund.  Good luck

[zanderblue]

4 minutes ago, doodlefan said:

 It was said that they won't refund that because it was non refundable, which is crazy because that just means WE couldn't change it or cancel it, but Celebrity is the one who booked it and we didn't  get to go so I think they DO owe us a cash refund for that. 

 

I think it is more about what Celebrity asked the airline to do with the air reservation. Or maybe more importantly what you asked Celebrity to do with air reservation.

If it is non refundable fare and your agent (Celebrity in this case) cancelled then that’s pretty much it. 

On the other hand, if air reservation was left intact until airline cancelled then you would have a better chance to get refund of cash or future vouchers.

If you didn’t ask Celebrity specifically to do anything about air, then I’d say you are in a much stronger position.

To move forward, I’d be inclined to ask Celebrity if they cancelled the air reservation and if so why? Particularly, if you didn’t ask them to do so.

[doodlefan]

34 minutes ago, zanderblue said:

 

I think it is more about what Celebrity asked the airline to do with the air reservation. Or maybe more importantly what you asked Celebrity to do with air reservation.

If it is non refundable fare and your agent (Celebrity in this case) cancelled then that’s pretty much it. 

On the other hand, if air reservation was left intact until airline cancelled then you would have a better chance to get refund of cash or future vouchers.

If you didn’t ask Celebrity specifically to do anything about air, then I’d say you are in a much stronger position.

To move forward, I’d be inclined to ask Celebrity if they cancelled the air reservation and if so why? Particularly, if you didn’t ask them to do so.

 

Thanks Zanderblue for your input.  I will definitely follow up and see how it goes.  We have a credit for the air we booked ourselves so would love to get the air booked by Celebrity refunded in Cash since we don't want to have too much $$ held up in credit with the airlines.  The  airline is allowing an extended time to use the credits, 24 months so hopefully we'll be able to use it for a future cruise or an all inclusive package. 

[cle-guy]

I have 6 cancellations I'm chasing up.  1 is a charter.  As of today:

 

1. Mar 14 Sailing: (CXL Mar 13) received FCC a week ago, taxes & MoveUp refunded yesterday.   Also had taxes refund in April.  So I'm ahead on this one
2. Mar 21 Sailing: (CXL Mar 13) Charter - Charter Company got word from Celebrity how to handle on Mar 27.  Awaiting refunds from Charter Company.
3. Mar 28 Sailing: (CXL Mar 13) Received FCC a week ago, no taxes yet
4. Apr 12 Sailing: (CXL Mar 24 ) Received FCC 5/2 (it is for $63 more than expected oddly), no taxes yet
5. Apr 20 Sailing: (CXL Mar 24 ) Nothing
6. May 3 Sailing: (CXL Mar 24 ) Nothing 

Edited May 7, 2020 by cle-guy

[MermaidMom]

2 hours ago, zanderblue said:

 

I think it is more about what Celebrity asked the airline to do with the air reservation. Or maybe more importantly what you asked Celebrity to do with air reservation.

If it is non refundable fare and your agent (Celebrity in this case) cancelled then that’s pretty much it. 

On the other hand, if air reservation was left intact until airline cancelled then you would have a better chance to get refund of cash or future vouchers.

If you didn’t ask Celebrity specifically to do anything about air, then I’d say you are in a much stronger position.

To move forward, I’d be inclined to ask Celebrity if they cancelled the air reservation and if so why? Particularly, if you didn’t ask them to do so.

We booked air through Celebrity and were already in Fort Lauderdale when they cancelled our cruise for the 14th.  I followed the process for a refund and Celebrity automatically cancelled our air without asking any questions.  I had to re-book a flight home.  I expect to be refunded for my air and will take issue if I'm not...Celebrity gave us no options!

[Ontario Cruiser]

Good luck with refund for cruiseair with Celebrity if you live in Canada I got nowhere. They without telling us issue an open ticket.

So I have put in a dispute with our credit card.

OntarioCruiser

[cruise kitty]

Daughter & Son in  law just received a full refund for their cruise....  they were booked for Hawaii out of Vancouver on April 12th....  they booked air separately & received vouchers for that.  

[twentyknots]

On 5/7/2020 at 5:51 AM, twentyknots said:

Our TA requested a refund on March 26 for a April 12 sailing on the Relection.  Part of the refund hit my credit card last night.  There were 4 seperate line items: $180.00 upgrade from balcony to Sky Suite; $276.32 taxes and port fees; $418.00 for something: and $2299.04 for something else.  Total credits $ 3173.36.  Our total cruise cost was $4254.32, so that leaves $1080.96 unaccounted for.  I can only guess that the $418.00 might possibly be a credit for the 4 perks but it's only a guess.

Called TA yesterday.  She had no explanation for the missing $1080.96.  We did however, determine that the mystery $418.00 is most likely gratuities.  At $19 per day per passenger for a suite it equals $418.00 for the 11 night trip.  Don't understand their breaking this out since I didnt prepay gratuities.  The 4-pack of perks included gratuities.  We agreed to wait a week before calling and asking about the remaining credit.

[jerbeth]

1 hour ago, twentyknots said:

Called TA yesterday.  She had no explanation for the missing $1080.96.  We did however, determine that the mystery $418.00 is most likely gratuities.  At $19 per day per passenger for a suite it equals $418.00 for the 11 night trip.  Don't understand their breaking this out since I didnt prepay gratuities.  The 4-pack of perks included gratuities.  We agreed to wait a week before calling and asking about the remaining credit.

We, too, had three credits yesterday for our 04/05 Silhouette cruise which leave a balance of $1,100+ still due.  Sent a note to TA hoping they might be able to explain.  Maybe if we are patient enough......

[NHDOC]

I got notified this morning from Visa that one of the charges we disputed with Celebrity for a cancelled cruise was approved as being a valid dispute and went from provisional to permanent.  So that's progress.  Still waiting on two others to be made "whole" on the canceled trips and still no sign of the 25% credit they promised us on March 7, so that's now over 60 days. 

 

I find it amusing that Celebrity quotes their turnaround times for credits in "business days" but then told one customer "credits are only issued on Wednesdays and Sundays".  So, apparently the whole "business day" thing is just another excuse for making it seem like they are working faster than they actually are when it is clear they are working 7 days a week on this but only counting 5 of them towards their committed times to resolve them.

[wrk2cruise]

I requested a refund for a flight about 10 days ago which was handled promptly and professionally with a short call to their reservations number.  They stated 10 day response.

 

I really appreciated the communication and update to the timeline which I can certainly live with.    I wish Celebrity would do the same.  They certainly have the technology as within hours of the expansion of the CWC program I had a personalized email addressed to me specifically about my upcoming November reservation.

[Reva_Dearchi]

18 hours ago, doodlefan said:

We received a full refund for our 2 rooms on the Silhouette March 27th cruise today!  YAY!!   We put in for a full refund on March 15th (after they cancelled on March 13th)

 

We also had non refundable air booked through Celebrity Air (one way) the other way we booked on our own direct with Air Canada.  So far I don't see a refund for that.  It was said that they won't refund that because it was non refundable, which is crazy because that just means WE couldn't change it or cancel it, but Celebrity is the one who booked it and we didn't  get to go so I think they DO owe us a cash refund for that.  They originally said go to the airline for the refund, but the airline said, you didn't book with us, go to your travel agent, which in this case is Celebrity Air.  I will follow up once my sister checks her visa over the next few days since she put the Air portion on her visa. 

 

The other part of our airfare we booked direct with Air Canada and as most Canadian know, they have been "allowed" to offer us only credit for future travel unlike USA and Europe who have laws that the airline must refund Cash.  

 

So hang in there folks, looks  like they are slowly, and with no obvious pattern, starting to refund.  Good luck

We booked our own flights outside of the cruise line.  My family members who were to fly on Norwegian and Lufthansa from Toronto to Barcelona were told they would receive full refunds due to the flight cancellations. Air Canada however, like you said, are refusing to give refunds and  They CANCELLED my flight reservation.  Air Canada is also being really shady telling folks to go into their system and cancel your reservation to get the voucher but I said NO because I did not cancel...THEY did!  I don't want them to be able to say that I cancelled so am bound to the terms of me actually cancelling.  I have written back and forth with Air Canada several times but continuously get the same canned response that they are only offering vouchers.  I had to file a dispute with my credit card company and am now awaiting a response.   

[NHDOC]

For those of you considering filing credit card disputes I was told by Visa that we could dispute charges made up to 18 months ago as long as the trip that was supposed to take place was canceled no more than 120 days ago.  In other words, if an airline or cruise line canceled a trip in the past 4 months you can dispute the payment for it even if you made that payment 18 months ago.  I am not sure how the other credit cards handle the timeframes but the dispute process with Visa is certainly very consumer friendly.  Just don't let that 120 day window close.

[Jimmys Chippy]

Silhouette Cruise for 1st May 2020

Cancelled 27th March 2020

Refunded 8th May 2020

 

Cruise was booked direct with Celebrity.

[hcat]

We have 1 more to go  ( unless BofA  does  charge  backs???) . 

 

 It seems that shortly after we filed the first few disputes  (one at a time),  Celeb then issued  refunds, while the card company indicated the dispute was  still under investigation. We had trouble getting through to  BofA to let them know,  so we assume they will figure it out at some point.

 

Our final one for a refund (for now),  was  a 2022 cruise that we cancelled on April 8, 2020.   We were told 4 to 6 weeks for a  refund, so we will  call  X today  to confirm the status & wait 45 days before further action if the refund does not hit our card.

 

We still have a booked cruise on X for 2021..Hope to use our fcc and redeem our remaining BOA  cruise points, once all the adjustments are made.  After that, not sure but so far Viking looks good.  It is  more expensive than X,  but there's quite a bit uncluded and seems more our style...the way X used to be!

 

[RosieRoo]

The refund for my deposit on a cancelled Celebrity cruise came back as a credit to my CC but listed as Royal Caribbean. I have never seen that before.  

[NHDOC]

9 minutes ago, RosieRoo said:

The refund for my deposit on a cancelled Celebrity cruise came back as a credit to my CC but listed as Royal Caribbean. I have never seen that before.  

Sounds like they have entered a "creative bookkeeping" era.  Probably a sign that Celebrity is out of money to issue refunds which we all know is the real reason things are taking so long. 

[RosieRoo]

2 minutes ago, NHDOC said:

Sounds like they have entered a "creative bookkeeping" era.  Probably a sign that Celebrity is out of money to issue refunds which we all know is the real reason things are taking so long. 

Weird thing is, I had a Royal Caribbean cruise March 22nd that they cancelled and I have not received any refunds from them on that one. “Creative bookkeeping” for sure. 

[Jimmys Chippy]

59 minutes ago, Jimmys Chippy said:

Silhouette Cruise for 1st May 2020

Cancelled 27th March 2020

Refunded 8th May 2020

 

Cruise was booked direct with Celebrity.

I’d like to add that I got my cancellation email from Celebrity exactly two weeks ago today, if that makes anything relevant to the refund timeframe.

[omeinv]

6 minutes ago, NHDOC said:

Sounds like they have entered a "creative bookkeeping" era.  Probably a sign that Celebrity is out of money to issue refunds which we all know is the real reason things are taking so long. 

They are hardly out of money to issue refunds, Just today they reported 2.5 Billion (B) of cash and cash equivalents on hand.  In the same filing they reported that 45% of those entitled to refunds chose cash, while 55% chose the future cruise credits. 

 

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-caribbeans-stock-rallies-after-covid-19-related-business-and-liquidity-update-2020-05-08

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[NHDOC]

When I called in a couple of weeks ago inquiring about one of my refunds I was told the delay was caused by a problem with their bank.  I know lots of people who have the same problem.  No money in the account. 

 

RCCL is the only of the big three lines who hasn't said they have secured money to remain solvent.  Both CCL and NCL have issued press releases since the shutdown saying how many billions they have raised to cover operations (and presumably refunds) during the shutdown but nothing from RCCL which leads me to believe they are the least solvent of the three.

 

FWIW also my brother received an email from Celebrity last night offering him a free verandah cabin on any one of a number of cruises at the end of the year.  He has been known to spend a great deal of time in the Casino and this was sent as an incentive to get him back onboard.  He won't set foot on another cruise ship until there's a vaccine, so in this case they literally can't give cabins away.