Status of CC Refund for April 1st Cruise on Splendor

[cruisealert]

I opted to get full refund for our cruise. Sad situation worldwide!!

 

We were told reimbursement could take up to 90 days. If you get paid, please let me and others know, so we have an idea of how process is working.

[Pcardad]

I've seen a refund in 3 days and also 35 days....those are the extremes I have seen. But I have only had two. Both Feb 12.

[ddsun1]

Same here, Cruisealert.

 

We did not cancel prior; then our much anticipated April 1st cruise on Splendor was cancelled by Regent.

 

Told up to ninety days for reimbursement.  

 

One week from today, we would have happily been on our way to Aruba!

[CruiserFromMaine]

We elected he refund option a couple days after Regent canceled the cruise but it hasn’t posted yet to our credit card.

[Pam]

Anybody I have ever received a refund from, in all walks of life, has told me three to four billing cycles.  It usually turned up earlier than that, but that was the message everybody gave me.

 

Also, their agents are working shortened hours, from home.  They don't have the efficiency of their office routine right now.

 

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Pam

[DaveFr]

1 hour ago, Pam said:

Anybody I have ever received a refund from, in all walks of life, has told me three to four billing cycles.  It usually turned up earlier than that, but that was the message everybody gave me.

 

Also, their agents are working shortened hours, from home.  They don't have the efficiency of their office routine right now.

 

 

+1 Pam. In my experience companies get less grief by underpromising and over performing then they do if they overpromise and under perform.

 

Dave

[Travelcat2]

The last that I head, Regent Customer Service agents are not working shortened hours.

[ronrick1943]

I personally with what's going on 30 days would be acceptable, once they process the cancel it should be automatic.  60 to 90 days is just way to long to wait.  Under normal conditions a refund takes 7 to 10 days for most things.

[JIMinNC]

We cancelled our June Alaska cruise on Monday under the original Terms and Conditions, accepting the 91-120 days 15% cancellation penalty. With all the uncertainty about whether cruise lines will be viable as the spring/summer goes on, we decided we would rather take the penalty and get in line for the refund sooner rather than later. Since the pre-cruise Denali excursion and a couple of pre-booked Regent Choice shore excursions will be refunded at 100%, our real penalty is more like 13% of our total payment. 

 

The agent I talked to when I was verifying what the penalty would be told me cancellations under the normal terms and conditions should be processed in 7-10 days. When I called back a bit later to actually execute the cancellation, that agent said it might take longer, so who knows what is right? We did receive a revised email invoice from Regent on Monday evening March 23 showing the refund to the credit card on that date, but so far, nothing has actually hit our card yet. My assumption is the invoice we received is generated from the reservation system, but the actual card refund must be processed separately in accounting/finance and that is where the hold-up will be. Just a guess on my part, though.

 

My concern is the reason NCL/RSSC set up the 90 day refund policy for the March/April cruises they cancelled was they are banking on cruises being restarted within that window and providing the cash flow to fund the refunds. Since it is looking unlikely that cruises will begin again anytime soon, I'm wondering if the company has the cash flow to make any of these refunds right now (including ones like mine under the original T&Cs) given the volume of cash outflow they must be facing with nothing coming in.

Edited March 27, 2020 by JIMinNC

[AshD]

Greetings,

We were booked on the canceled 14 March Splendor cruise and opted for the FCC. The refundable part of our booking (port fees and taxes?) hit the card yesterday, 26 March. The speed may be due to a much smaller amount than 100% refund, but we applaud Regent for their timely processing of this matter.

(We’re now booked for November 2020 and Feb 2021 ☺️)

Cheers!

AshD

[Pam]

15 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

The last that I head, Regent Customer Service agents are not working shortened hours.

 

Okay, I thought everybody was.  But what kind of power do the agents have? I don't think they have all that much.

[Travelcat2]

6 minutes ago, Pam said:

 

Okay, I thought everybody was.  But what kind of power do the agents have? I don't think they have all that much.

 

They don't have power but may have answers to questions.  IMHO, your TA should have the best information.  Communication between us and our TA has been excellent.  I have had no reason to call Regent.  I've worked with them over our previously cancelled cruise as well as the soon to be cancelled May cruise.

[Pam]

Jackie, I use the same TA that you do.  I haven't called them, or Regent; IF Canada is sure to open their ports on July 1, our cruise could possibly be a go.  If it is, we'll be on it.  Otherwise, I am patiently waiting and reading these forums.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Pam
spelling

[Travelcat2]

37 minutes ago, Pam said:

Jackie, I use the same TA that you do.  I haven't called them, or Regent; IF Canada is sure to open their ports on July 1, our cruise could possibly be a go.  If it is, we'll be on it.  Otherwise, I am patiently waiting and reading these forums.

 

Just heard from "our" TA that an announcement from Regent will be forthcoming today or Monday.  Not sure if it will will be for April/May or will go beyond that.

 

 

[RachelG]

Jackie, is that announcement from Regent regarding just Alaska cruises, or all cruises?  I have been trying not to bother our TA as I know they are so busy with all the changes and cancellations, but I am thinking our June Splendor cruise (starting in Rome and ending in Barcelona) is probably not going to happen.

[Pam]

Our cruise isn't until the end of June, so I haven't expected to see anything that far out.  Thanks for the info!

[Travelcat2]

22 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Jackie, is that announcement from Regent regarding just Alaska cruises, or all cruises?  I have been trying not to bother our TA as I know they are so busy with all the changes and cancellations, but I am thinking our June Splendor cruise (starting in Rome and ending in Barcelona) is probably not going to happen.

 

Wish that I had that answer but we are also trying not to bother our TA.  We are in communication about our May 12th cruiser.  Regent wants to book air.  They may change the itinerary on your Splendor cruise (the May 12th cruise was originally a cruise that began and ended in Italy and is now an Athens to Athens cruise visiting Greek Islands and Istanbul).

 

I'll post about our May 12th cruise once I have a definitive answer.

[ronrick1943]

OK, real time.  Regent cancelled one of our cruises, so for that cruise we choose a full refund. 1.  Regent thur our TA send a copy of the cancellation to us via e-mail on March 13th showing the cruise was cancelled and the amount of refund (this was a Regent invoice). 2.  We were told it could take up to 90 days.  3. Today (Dated March 27th) via e-mail we got a letter from Regent direct stated that they now have the information to cancel the cruise and asked for a full refund, they will verify the information and process the refund--and it should take up to 90 days.  Now they had the correct on March 13th, what happened to the 14 days - it should be a matter of entering the card number and push enter.

[Cef123]

In reply to Cruisealert re. timing of refunds.

 

We made the difficult and sad decision to cancel our December Splendor Cruise and opted for the full refund. We had paid significantly more than just the deposit. That was on March 13th via our TA who told us 7-10 days for the refund to be deposited back on our credit card. Nothing appeared from anyone (TA or Regent). Not complaining... understand how overwhelmed everyone is. We called our TA again on 3/25 to check on status, they checked with Regent who assured them that the refund had 'been processed'. Finally, today 3/28, the refund has shown up on our card, interestingly with a posting date of 3/25!. So, I guess this is truly what was promised if we use 7-10 business days as the timeline. I'm really quite impressed with Regent's response time and service, given the extreme circumstances. 

Hoping beyond hope that we'll be able to cruise on wonderful Regent soon again. We have a big anniversary coming up in May 2021..... maybe, just maybe....... Sigh!

Stay well everyone.

[JIMinNC]

As a follow-up to my post #9 above, we received our refund overnight last night for the June Alaska cruise we cancelled. We cancelled via phone with Regent on Monday, March 23 and the credit posted to our card account as of March 27, so four days to receive.

 

As I said above, we only got back about 87% of what we paid since we were inside 120 days (pre-cruise and excursions were refunded 100%, cruise fare refunded at 85%) and opted to cancel under the original terms and conditions rather than wait for Regent to cancel the cruise, which we assumed might have meant having to wait up to 90 days for the refund. Very pleased with the response time and also the fact that the two calls we made to Regent to discuss our options and then cancel were answered promptly. I had no wait on one call and only about a 15 - 30 second hold on the other.
 

Very disappointed that our first Regent cruise wound up this way, but we'll see how everything sorts out over the next year or so. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to try again in the future.

[Pcardad]

Some refunds are automatically done by computer, some have to be done manually.

[Travelcat2]

19 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Some refunds are automatically done by computer, some have to be done manually.

 

Really good point.  Glad that you are contributing to the Regent board!

[CruiserFromMaine]

It might be a good point but it’s incomplete. What determines whether it’s manual or computerized?
 

56 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Some refunds are automatically done by computer, some have to be done manually.

. 

[Pcardad]

31 minutes ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

It might be a good point but it’s incomplete. What determines whether it’s manual or computerized?
 

. 

 

My guess is that a standard cancellation is done by computer and happens quickly. A refund as a result of a worldwide-health crisis and brand new Regent policy governing refunds that was not coded for when the software was designed would have to be done manually?

[CruiserFromMaine]

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

 

My guess is that a standard cancellation is done by computer and happens quickly. A refund as a result of a worldwide-health crisis and brand new Regent policy governing refunds that was not coded for when the software was designed would have to be done manually?

That makes sense. Thanks. I’m sure the folks processing them manually hope that Regent’s IT department gets them automated soon. I know I do.