How long is reasonable to wait for deposit return

[tomk3212]

It all depends on the type of refund you're requesting .  Drink/dining/excursion/spa packages, pre-paid gratuities, yes 7-10 business days should be the limit.  The cruise itself?  If I'm not mistaken when you fill out the online form it tells you up-front that it'll take 90 days.  Ditto the COVID-19 letter you may have received from NCL.  So when you request the refund via the online form you're implicitly allowing them 90 days to process your refund.

 

Does this suck?  Yup!  Am in the same boat myself (pun intended...) as i just canceled our 4/18 departure TA cruise.  The problem is if you dispute the charge with your CC company you may be implying fraudulent activity on your CC; that's how Wells Fargo & Citizens Bank interpreted a couple of online transactions I disputed a few years back.  Also you can absolutely forget about EVER sailing with NCL again as your name now goes on their 'do-not-book' list.

 

As several previous poster have pointed out; patience is a virtue.  I'd wait the 90 days then start agitating.

 

My 2 cents.

 

[fshagan]

I have had instances where I had to do charge backs on my credit card. They always take at least 45 days, and often 90 or more, to get fully resolved. During that time the amount is still on your account, and may reduce your available credit (but it does not increase your minimum payment or incur interest during the dispute). I've never lost a chargeback so I don't know if the bank charges interest if you lose the dispute. They might.

 

To me, it matters if the cruise date has passed already or not; at that point you can say you didn't get the service you paid for. The credit card company may still refuse to press your claim with NCL because of their promise and your agreement to it when applying for the refund. But you will be able to join the inevitable class action lawsuit that will come out of this mess.

[spanishguy1970]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Just curious since I've seen you allude to something like this before but has this happened to someone you personally know or is this one of those "heard it on the internet" things.  I can't imagine in the future that NCL would turn down anyone's money.

 

Thx.

there is this conspiracy that if you dispute the charge NCL will ban you for life...hmmm at this stage and the way it's going i doubt very much that will happen. They will be begging for us to come back not to mention find ways to get their former loyal customers back 🙂

[boatseller]

These post get more hysterical each time, mostly people not understanding what the dispute process is for and how it works.  There is no fraud involved, you just feel inconvenienced.

 

I'd bet some are happy to take advantage of the ~60 day float then get from credit cards.

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, boatseller said:

I'd bet some are happy to take advantage of the ~60 day float then get from credit cards.

You betcha.  But so easy to forget.  Of course, that works best if you pay off your credit cards every month.

[julig22]

Someone started a thread a few weeks back asking for REAL results - one person replied that AMEX refused to process the chargeback because NCL was offering refunds/credits, so not a valid dispute.  Others had gotten temporary credits, which is standard procedure.  I have not seen anyone post that they have won or lost a dispute under the current circumstances with NCL.

[ray98]

There will be no charge backs because the CC companies have no reason to suspect fraud.  NCL, just like the other lines, have published policies on how they are addressing this nightmare.  The CC companies will let that play out.

[NLH Arizona]

If you go to your credit card company, be honest and say that NCL has offered a refund, but you feel the 90 days is too long to wait.  Otherwise, it may look like you are trying to double dip.

[Jobeth66]

For any cruise that the sail date has already passed, there's no reason NOT to do a chargeback.  You paid for a service, you did not receive the service, there is no fraud involved in filing a dispute for a failure to provide said service.

 

[Sam Ting]

If you go to your credit card, be honest and say you paid for services not provided.  They will issue a temp credit,  If they do not hear back from NCL that the services were provided then you win automatically.  It may be easier for NCL this way anyway since they wont have to issue a credit as the credit card company already took the money back anyway.

[julig22]

11 minutes ago, Jobeth66 said:

For any cruise that the sail date has already passed, there's no reason NOT to do a chargeback.  You paid for a service, you did not receive the service, there is no fraud involved in filing a dispute for a failure to provide said service.

 

Most credit cards require that you work with the merchant first.  So if you have requested a refund through NCL and haven't gotten it yet, your dispute is that you haven't gotten your refund, not that they didn't provide the service (that would be double-dipping).  If you wait until after your cruise date to contact your CC without going through NCL, the merchant has time to respond - and if that response is that you need to request the refund through NCL, you may be beyond the refund window and be stuck with FCC that you don't want. 

 

Just  possibilities - there are many other scenarios - nobody knows at this point how NCL will respond to chargebacks.  My bet is that they send out an automatic denial, which may or may not lengthen the time it takes to get your refund.

[hallux]

Not to mention that NCL having to dedicate resources to investigating the chargeback claims will divert resources from processing the refund requests, further delaying the refunds for those that were patient.

Edited April 13, 2020 by hallux

[luv2kroooz]

What could be the reason for NCL denying a chargeback?

 

Facts: April cruises could have been cancelled in mid March, but cancellation announcements were delayed until April. Then once they did get around to cancelling, a form needed to be completed, but that form was delayed in being posted to the website by ten days. Then, once the form is completed refunds will be issued after 90 days from the date the form is completed and submitted. 

 

If this is their argument, it's not very strong.

[luv2kroooz]

30 minutes ago, hallux said:

Not to mention that NCL having to dedicate resources to investigating the chargeback claims will divert resources from processing the refund requests, further delaying the refunds for those that were patient.

Speaking of wasted resources, think about all the resources spent processing forms and taking inquiries from people that want refunds. Would have been much more efficient to just issue refunds. It has been reported that less than 50% of Carnival guests are taking the FCC...and Carnivals offer includes generous OBC that NCL does not offer.

[Ozzieru1e]

Thanks everyone for your comments.  My suspended cruise was 4/05/2020 & I requested refunds of beverage/dining/prepaid service charges on 3/09/2020 plus shore excursions refund on 3/10/2020.  I submitted my cruise Refund Form 3/23/2020 since NCL suspended my cruise & I didn’t want FCC.  On 4/03/2020 I received email from NCL with FCC amounts to include 25% bonus FCC...to make manners worst the FCC wasn’t equal to 100% of my credit card payments for the cruise fare...seemed to have excluded Admin Fee & Gov’t Taxes Fees & Port Expenses!!!  Also my 2 CruiseNext coupons used on the suspended 4/05/2020 cruise were not put back into my account.  I read a Cruise Critic Topic involving CruiseNext in which someone received CruiseNext coupons deposited back into their account by contacting www.ncl.com/case-submission.  So I completed a Guest Relations form & received email 4/11/2020 indicating they will respond to my concerns ASAP...I’m giving them a week to respond.

The credit card I used for cruise payments have a zero balance so whenever I receive full refund for my suspended cruise I hope the bank will issue a check for the $6K NCL owes me.

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, Ozzieru1e said:

seemed to have excluded Admin Fee & Gov’t Taxes Fees & Port Expenses!!!  Also my 2 CruiseNext coupons used on the suspended 4/05/2020 cruise were not put back into my account.

Did you book through a travel agent?  I've never paid an admin fee which is why I ask.  I had 2 cruises cancelled and the FCC was calculated correctly on both.  I did not have any beverage or service charges, but the FCC included the airfare, taxes, port fees and transfers.  The CN certificates were deducted from the 100% FCC but the value included in the additional 25%.

The CNs from my March 20 cruise are in my account, the ones from my May 5 cruise are not.

[Ozzieru1e]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

Did you book through a travel agent?  I've never paid an admin fee which is why I ask.  I had 2 cruises cancelled and the FCC was calculated correctly on both.  I did not have any beverage or service charges, but the FCC included the airfare, taxes, port fees and transfers.  The CN certificates were deducted from the 100% FCC but the value included in the additional 25%.

The CNs from my March 20 cruise are in my account, the ones from my May 5 cruise are not.

 

I booked using Caesar’s Entertainment which gave me 20% discount off my Haven suite.

I did not want FCC so based on your method of calculating FCC, my FCC amounts made be correct.  However I requested a refund so I’m expecting my 100% refund to include all my credit card payments minus NCL Standard Travel Protection cost...my understanding is the travel protection isn’t refundable unless I accept FCC!  In 8/2019 down payment for a Haven suite was $1500 so I charged $1000 & NCL used 2 CruiseNext coupons.  I think refunding all my credit card payments minus travel protection plus redepositing CruiseNext coupons in my account should be easy math.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Ozzieru1e

[julig22]

6 minutes ago, Ozzieru1e said:

 

I booked using Caesar’s Entertainment which gave me 20% discount off my Haven suite.

I did not want FCC so based on your method of calculating FCC, my FCC amounts made be correct.  However I requested a refund so I’m expecting my 100% refund to include all my credit card payments minus NCL Standard Travel Protection cost...my understanding is the travel protection isn’t refundable unless I accept FCC!  In 8/2019 down payment for a Haven suite was $1500 so I charged $1000 & NCL used 2 CruiseNext coupons.  I think refunding all my credit card payments minus travel protection plus redepositing CruiseNext coupons in my account should be easy math.

The other thing to verify is who made the payment to NCL.  I use a travel agent but they use my credit card information to pay NCL, so any refunds are made back to my credit card. Some agencies pay NCL and you pay the agency, so refunds in that case would be made to the TA, not the client.

 

I though I'd read that they were refunding the insurance as well (as a separate entity), but I could be wrong.

[Ozzieru1e]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

The other thing to verify is who made the payment to NCL.  I use a travel agent but they use my credit card information to pay NCL, so any refunds are made back to my credit card. Some agencies pay NCL and you pay the agency, so refunds in that case would be made to the TA, not the client.

 

I though I'd read that they were refunding the insurance as well (as a separate entity), but I could be wrong.

 

I received a 20% discount off my suite costs so I don’t know what type of arrangement Caesars Entertainment & NCL have other than encouraging their casino customers to cruise on NCL.  All payments were personally made by me using one credit card.

 

Yes I can receive the Standard Travel Protection but only if I accept FCC in lieu of a refund!  Essential Travel Protection is refundable which was less costly.  I wanted the ability to cancel for any reason since I have a 95 year old mother...I didn’t want to risk losing so much money if something prevented me from going on my reserved cruise.

[Ozzieru1e]

5 hours ago, NLH Arizona said:

If you go to your credit card company, be honest and say that NCL has offered a refund, but you feel the 90 days is too long to wait.  Otherwise, it may look like you are trying to double dip.

 

In April NCL told me to check with my credit card company because they claim they paid my shore excursions ($151.20) 3/10/2020.  I filed a dispute claim & received reimbursement shortly afterwards; however, NCL claim beverage/dining/prepaid service charges ($568.80) refunds are still pending.  I was told 7-10 business days for refunds & so far 25 business days have gone by for refund of gratuities/prepaid service charges.  I can’t help but feel NCL is giving us the runaround.

[NLH Arizona]

51 minutes ago, Ozzieru1e said:

 

In April NCL told me to check with my credit card company because they claim they paid my shore excursions ($151.20) 3/10/2020.  I filed a dispute claim & received reimbursement shortly afterwards; however, NCL claim beverage/dining/prepaid service charges ($568.80) refunds are still pending.  I was told 7-10 business days for refunds & so far 25 business days have gone by for refund of gratuities/prepaid service charges.  I can’t help but feel NCL is giving us the runaround.

Didn't comment on what their intensions are, just that it is best to be honest about them offering a refund, so it doesn't look like you were hoping to double dip.

[Ozzieru1e]

8 hours ago, boatseller said:

These post get more hysterical each time, mostly people not understanding what the dispute process is for and how it works.  There is no fraud involved, you just feel inconvenienced.

 

I'd bet some are happy to take advantage of the ~60 day float then get from credit cards.

 

My issue is NCL said within 7-10 business days I would received refunds on gratuities/prepaid service charges/shore excursions.  In April NCL advised me to contact my credit card bank because NCL claim they paid back shore excursions to my credit card a month ago.  I filed the dispute claim to resolved the manner & NCL shortly afterwards finally paid back the shore excursions which was a small dollar amount.  Now I have to follow up on gratuities/prepaid service charges refunds.  Even though my suspended 4/05/2020 cruise date have passed, I hadn’t made up my mind concerning disputing the cruise fare.  I submitted Refund Form 3/23/2020 & received email 4/03/2020 for FCC amounts even though I was requesting a refund not FCC.  To date, I have not received anything concerning Refund amounts or redepositing of CruiseNext coupons into my account.  

Bank transactions are so easy to complete with computers so the only reasons for refund delays is NCL wants to hold onto our money as long as possible!

 

[ellasmomanddad]

With the 70+ form if you have an underlining condition you will be denied boarding correct?

 If that’s the case and your final payment was due in February for a June 28th Cruise ( they changed our final payment from 90 to 120 days)  would that be cause for a chargeback? I’m asking because 

1. These requirements came after final payment.

2. They are denying boarding but only offering fcc.

3. The Doctor already said he would never sign that form during a pandemic for anyone because he has been sued for far less by ambulance chasers.

[julig22]

9 minutes ago, ellasmomanddad said:

With the 70+ form if you have an underlining condition you will be denied boarding correct?

 If that’s the case and your final payment was due in February for a June 28th Cruise ( they changed our final payment from 90 to 120 days)  would that be cause for a chargeback? I’m asking because 

1. These requirements came after final payment.

2. They are denying boarding but only offering fcc.

3. The Doctor already said he would never sign that form during a pandemic for anyone because he has been sued for far less by ambulance chasers.

I would say no.  For the following reasons.

1.  Unless you booked your cruise during those few days just prior to the implementation of the Piece of Mind policy, your final payment was always due 120 days prior to sailing, which I assume you paid in February and did not dispute - so irrelevant at this point.

2. Not being able to board because of a medical condition would be an insurance issue or a refund with penalty (I'm guessing 75% refund if you had cancelled when that policy went into effect in mid-March).  If you had cancelled and challenged it at that time, you would have had a better position. It looks like you are still eligible for a 50% refund under their standard refund policy.  Plus, I'm not sure that the health certificate requirement still exists; there is currently no mention of it in the faq's about denial of boarding.

3. Chances are that if you wait, your cruise will be cancelled anyway and you will get a full refund.

4. Chargebacks usually require that you have worked with the merchant.  Since your request is outside of the refund policies, it would be doubtful that NCL would approve the chargeback, which is also preemptive at this point.

[ellasmomanddad]

They implemented peace of mind March 1, payment was due February. If they didn’t put the requirements for 70+ until after final payment I would think it would supersede the Peace of Mind. And the medical paper is still in effect but hasn’t been updated in the past month. It’s close to the bottom of the peace of mind policy but it’s still there.