Oceania Refunds - Has anyone actually received any cash yet?

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 hours ago, Jay23 said:

The TA said it would go straight to our CC account and he was told it would take up to 90 days.    We did not have direct contact with Oceania.    It took 23  days so we were pleased with this service.    J

Things on your side of The Pond just cannot be that different than in the U.S..

 

Your credit card statement with the original purchase will show who charged your CC. And the person/business who originally charged your card (and appears on your CC statement) is who will receive the refund credit from Oceania via the CC issuer. AFAIAK, that statement charge should always say Oceania Cruises. All the TA should be doing is to take your CC number and transmit it to O. 

 

While I do understand that "packages" with cruise, pre/post cruise land, air, et al. may be popular in the U.K. and the T.A. may be the "gateway" for your funds, I do not see why anyone wouldn't want/demand a TA invoice that dissagregates the costs as well as the cruise line/air tix/hotel invoices/confirmations that are represented in the package.

 

As aforementioned, whether it's the U.S. or anywhere else, a TA not providing you with the Oceania invoice (the final/only document stating your contract with O) should be a "red flag" waving in front of you.

 

We used to use a top selling  O Connoisseurs Club TA based in Orlando. He had great commission sharing but his company policy was to provide only their invoice. It only took two significant FUBARS by his accounting folks (fixed but with effort I could have directed elsewhere) for us to jump ship.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[Francis06]

Hi , I am new to this forum.

I've been cruising several times with MSC & Costa, booked Ponant for end of August 2020 (hope it will not be cancelled!).
I have an issue with Oceania, they cancelled the Mediterranean cruise on Riviera starting April, 19th 2020, and they let me no choice :  FCC of 100%, but they refuse to reimburse my credit Card or make a FCC of 125%, which is a general practice.
Is it legal ? Has anybody encountered the same issue ?
I'd like also to get the answers of people booked on the same ship, what is their status ?

 

Thanks

[royallondon]

Hi Francis06, welcome to the forum.

I’m addition, there may be some information your looking for from posters of your specific cruise via the roll call facility.

At the top of this page there is a tab labelled “Roll Call”.  From the drop down boxes enter your cruise line, ship and month of sailing.  Find your cruise and contributions from fellow passengers.  Hope this helps and that you can find the answers your seeking.
 

Regards

 

 

[Francis06]

Thanks Royallondon for the tip !

 

this forum has indeed some advanced features, better than a Google search!

It will help me to fight against this unfair treatment from Oceania when discussing with unfortunate companions...

[eldaradoe]

2 hours ago, Francis06 said:

Hi , I am new to this forum.

I've been cruising several times with MSC & Costa, booked Ponant for end of August 2020 (hope it will not be cancelled!).
I have an issue with Oceania, they cancelled the Mediterranean cruise on Riviera starting April, 19th 2020, and they let me no choice :  FCC of 100%, but they refuse to reimburse my credit Card or make a FCC of 125%, which is a general practice.
Is it legal ? Has anybody encountered the same issue ?
I'd like also to get the answers of people booked on the same ship, what is their status ?

 

Thanks

the question is who canceled....did you or Oceania.....and they did not offer you 100% cash back or 125% FCC?

 

[Francis06]

8 minutes ago, eldaradoe said:

the question is who canceled....did you or Oceania.....and they did not offer you 100% cash back or 125% FCC?

 

Well, on 6th March, Oceania made a major itinerary change, replacing Italy by France, which corresponds to about 40% change. As I am living in the French Med seashore, I replied that such a change is unacceptable and is a break of contract, so I asked for a money refund, or as a backup a increased FCC. They refused to do both and transform it into a FCC of 100%; which I replied again is not acceptable, as a 100% cashback should be an option. A couple of week later, they cancelled the cruise, as all European countries were anyway not accepting ships in their harbours. They never offered 100% cashback nor 125% FCC, which I find at least unfair, maybe also illegal.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Francis06 said:

Well, on 6th March, Oceania made a major itinerary change, replacing Italy by France, which corresponds to about 40% change. As I am living in the French Med seashore, I replied that such a change is unacceptable and is a break of contract, so I asked for a money refund, or as a backup a increased FCC. They refused to do both and transform it into a FCC of 100%; which I replied again is not acceptable, as a 100% cashback should be an option. A couple of week later, they cancelled the cruise, as all European countries were anyway not accepting ships in their harbours. They never offered 100% cashback nor 125% FCC, which I find at least unfair, maybe also illegal.

So are you saying you cancelled  before the cruise was officially cancelled?

Did you book direct or with a TA?

[bigedwin]

Well, on 6th March, Oceania made a major itinerary change, replacing Italy by France, which corresponds to about 40% change. As I am living in the French Med seashore, I replied that such a change is unacceptable and is a break of contract, so I asked for a money refund, or as a backup a increased FCC. They refused to do both and transform it into a FCC of 100%; which I replied again is not acceptable, as a 100% cashback should be an option. A couple of week later, they cancelled the cruise, as all European countries were anyway not accepting ships in their harbours. They never offered 100% cashback nor 125% FCC, which I find at least unfair, maybe also illegal.

Unless you had insurance and you submit a claim, that is the correct outcome.

If you cancel for any reason the current cancelation policy is in effect. Your only recourse is insurance. Legally all cruise lines can change schedule of sailing due to unforeseen circumstances , this case pandemic was the reason for itinerary change.

They are being generous offering a 100% FCC. They do not have to give you that as that is not their standard policy.

IF THEY canceled and you were still booked Then and only Then they will follow their generous offer of giving you a full 100% refund (without you needing insurance submit all) or they generously provided extra offer to the people that THEY cancelled a 125% FCC.
So clearly not ilegal and you have no legal basis for a claim. This will be a good time to read over all the Oceania contract. You will clearly see they are fully within their right to do what they did and you will see you actually got a better resolution than their contract calls for. Good luck



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[Francis06]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

So are you saying you cancelled  before the cruise was officially cancelled?

Did you book direct or with a TA?

No, I never cancelled, I just said that such an itinerary update (40%) is a breach of contract from their side, so I asked for cashback. They put 100% FCC instead of cashback against my will, and were saying yesterday that the contract is no more existing. But in-between, I received some minutes ago an email from O-Florida, saying they will re-examine the case. Hope we finally find an agreement...

 

I book directly in Florida, although UK is closer for me.

[LHT28]

28 minutes ago, Francis06 said:

No, I never cancelled, I just said that such an itinerary update (40%) is a breach of contract from their side, so I asked for cashback. They put 100% FCC instead of cashback against my will, and were saying yesterday that the contract is no more existing. But in-between, I received some minutes ago an email from O-Florida, saying they will re-examine the case. Hope we finally find an agreement...

 

I book directly in Florida, although UK is closer for me.

If you booked  with the USA  then those rules apply  not EU rules

In North America  they can change all the ports   but as long as you go from A to B  as booked  you still have a cruise  ..maybe not the one you sign on for  but  they are still providing a cruise

Good luck

[Flatbush Flyer]

26 minutes ago, Francis06 said:

No, I never cancelled, I just said that such an itinerary update (40%) is a breach of contract from their side, so I asked for cashback. They put 100% FCC instead of cashback against my will, and were saying yesterday that the contract is no more existing. But in-between, I received some minutes ago an email from O-Florida, saying they will re-examine the case. Hope we finally find an agreement...

 

I book directly in Florida, although UK is closer for me.

"I asked for cash back." From your posts, it seems that something may have been "lost in translation." Easy to see how that could be taken as "Cancel me."

 

In any case, it appears that quite a number of newer posters here on CC haven't read through (or searched) the many many MANY posts on multiple CC "refund" threads that have asked/answered your/their questions.

 

Most importantly, as has already been mentioned a zillion times, folks need to read and understand the T&Cs of their contractS

 with both Oceania AND their TA.

 

There are TAs (even in the US) that clearly state they will keep (or bill you) for your deposit if you cancel - even before the Oceania penalty deadlines start happening.

 

In addition (once again), your Oceania T&Cs  clearly state that they reserve the right to modify your itinerary.

 

If THEY cancel your cruise before you cancel it, Oceania will reimburse a request for 100% refund (though now O has introduced a deadline -after they announce cancellation- for you to respond regarding your choice of refund or FCC).  But, you are also subject to the T&Cs of your TA.

 

Hopefully, from this whole travel industry fiasco, folks will learn to do their homework.

 

 

 

 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, bigedwin said:

Unless you had insurance and you submit a claim, that is the correct outcome.

If you cancel for any reason the current cancelation policy is in effect. Your only recourse is insurance. Legally all cruise lines can change schedule of sailing due to unforeseen circumstances , this case pandemic was the reason for itinerary change.

They are being generous offering a 100% FCC. They do not have to give you that as that is not their standard policy.

IF THEY canceled and you were still booked Then and only Then they will follow their generous offer of giving you a full 100% refund (without you needing insurance submit all) or they generously provided extra offer to the people that THEY cancelled a 125% FCC.
So clearly not ilegal and you have no legal basis for a claim. This will be a good time to read over all the Oceania contract. You will clearly see they are fully within their right to do what they did and you will see you actually got a better resolution than their contract calls for. Good luck



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Very unfortunate but also very true.

[londonlad35]

Hi everyone, in the absence of any communication from Oceania, does anyone know their approach to addressing the refunds? Ie on cruise start date, on date the refund request was received, or some other criteria?

 

My request was sent to them five weeks ago, the cruise would have sailed by now, and no word from Oceania. 
 

many thanks in advance for any insight anyone has, and apologies if this question has already been asked.

[LJRVancouver]

O is stating refunds will take 90 days.

 

My cruise just cancelled by O. My TA has requested a refund. I have not received any communication from O, except marketing. Nothing to tell me my cruise has been cancelled nor any confirmation that I have requested a refund although if I go online to my account the cruise booking is gone.

[Flatbush Flyer]

22 minutes ago, LJRVancouver said:

O is stating refunds will take 90 days.

 

My cruise just cancelled by O. My TA has requested a refund. I have not received any communication from O, except marketing. Nothing to tell me my cruise has been cancelled nor any confirmation that I have requested a refund although if I go online to my account the cruise booking is gone.

Don't blame Oceania for no info regarding cruise cancellation. Since you are using a TA, that cancellation notice would've been sent to them for transmission to you.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Don't blame Oceania for no info regarding cruise cancellation. Since you are using a TA, that cancellation notice would've been sent to them for transmission to you.

Yes - I have confirmation of cancellation from my TA and the timeline given is 90 days.

[clo]

I read a piece this AM on The Points Guy regarding refunds for cancellations on flights. They talked about a few airlines and also made the point that airlines look great compared to cruise lines refunds 🙂 or 😞 

[Paulchili]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

I read a piece this AM on The Points Guy regarding refunds for cancellations on flights. They talked about a few airlines and also made the point that airlines look great compared to cruise lines refunds 🙂 or 😞 

Yes - I've gotten my refunds from AA, UA, IB & KLM so far - longest wait was 10 days.

Cruise lines - I am past 60 days now and waiting.

[clo]

38 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Yes - I've gotten my refunds from AA, UA, IB & KLM so far - longest wait was 10 days.

Cruise lines - I am past 60 days now and waiting.

Just a few minutes ago I got an email from Norwegian Air notifying me that our refund should be showing up asap. We have another res with them in conjunction with a now-canceled Baltic cruise. I have to wait for them to cancel the flights but now have little doubt that it will be handled well. I deliberately wrote "little" cause they could go bankrupt. 😞

[ORV]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

Yes - I've gotten my refunds from AA, UA, IB & KLM so far - longest wait was 10 days.

Cruise lines - I am past 60 days now and waiting.

I wonder at what point it is okay to just go ahead and dispute it with your CC? I see some posters here on Cruise Critic talk about doing it right off the bat. I do feel anything over a month is excessive, yet the cruise lines are all mainly telling the customers up to 90 days. I wonder if that is legal? I'm sure it is or they wouldn't be doing it. 

 

I got a refund from Delta in 24 hours and with AA I had miles reposted to my acct almost immediately, and the taxes were back on my card within a week. Perhaps it has to do with the dollar amounts. Or perhaps the cruise lines are stretching it out because they can and they need to. I really can't defend them for this action and feel like it will come back to bite them in the butt in the long run. 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

I wonder at what point it is okay to just go ahead and dispute it with your CC? I see some posters here on Cruise Critic talk about doing it right off the bat. I do feel anything over a month is excessive, yet the cruise lines are all mainly telling the customers up to 90 days. I wonder if that is legal? I'm sure it is or they wouldn't be doing it. 

 

I got a refund from Delta in 24 hours and with AA I had miles reposted to my acct almost immediately, and the taxes were back on my card within a week. Perhaps it has to do with the dollar amounts. Or perhaps the cruise lines are stretching it out because they can and they need to. I really can't defend them for this action and feel like it will come back to bite them in the butt in the long run. 

I agree. I was ready to dispute the charges this Monday but decided to wait a couple more days - but not more than that.

When I spoke with them yesterday they promised to "expedite" it - whatever that means.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Paulchili

[Kevnzworld]

I canceled a November cruise two weeks ago, and still waiting for my refund of the deposit.  

[CintiPam]

Could some of the timing differences possibly be due to governments bailing out the airlines but not the cruise lines?  Also, IMO the airlines have larger financial resources plus their technology is much more sophisticated in order to handle the quantity of reservations, scheduling, etc.

[Paulchili]

4 hours ago, Kevnzworld said:

I canceled a November cruise two weeks ago, and still waiting for my refund of the deposit.  

Take long deep breath and relax - you’ve ways to go.

[bbtondo]

I'll ask the original question.  Has anyone got a cash refund (a refund credited back to their CC) for their full final payment amount for their cruise (Not a refund for  deposits, hotels, excursions, culinary classes, etc)   back from a cruise that was paid in full after final payment and Oceania cancelled?  My cruise was canceled March 31st (Final payment had been paid) and I immediately asked for a refund and have the response from O about the 90 days, yada yada. LOL