HAL Refund runaround

[lazey1]

2 hours ago, strickerj said:

I understand refunds will take time to process given the volume, but I don't think it's entitled for the OP to expect some (automated) acknowledgement that the request was received, and for the rest of us to receive some acknowledgement on the Alaska/Canada cruises that are de facto canceled by Canada's port closures. We understand there's a queue, but the OP hasn't even received confirmation that he's in it.

And that responsibility rests solely with the booking agent, in this case Costco.

[Captain Ricky]

This could have some impact on refunds or at least the future stability of HAL.  The Saudi's have made a big investment in Carnival.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/8dd37fe5-64d0-4524-b115-86aa5a6a7bd0

[Captain Ricky]

If you can't open FT try this

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/saudi-arabia-takes-8-percent-stake-in-carnival-cruise?puc=minyanvill&cm_ven=MINYANVILL

[idiebabe]

I booked with Costco for a 4/21 Cruise.   I received an email from HAL on 3/30 with Option #1 or Option #2 and a link to choose which Option.  The next day, 3/31, received an email from Costco with same info on the Options plus a link. Easy process.

 

We took FCC plus 25%, etc. and  was told up to 60 days for Refund on Flights, Port Fees, etc. and 10 days for FCC to be applied to Mariner #.  

 

The refunds will understandably take time with all HAL has to deal with now!  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by idiebabe

[twins_to_alaska]

On 4/6/2020 at 12:31 PM, kelmac said:

Okay, RCL and Celebrity are letting the refunds flow!  Holland America you can do this.

As someone waiting for refunds from both RCL and Celebrity the refunds are hardly flowing. 🙂

[Fredspak]

This was my response from HAL regarding refund of over $2,000 credit on my on-board account:

 

"Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line.

Refunds are on a delay and are expected to be completed over the next 45-60 days. 

Please feel free to contact us if we may be of additional assistance or visit us online. We look forward to welcoming you onboard in the near future!"

 

Can we assume they are also taking 45-60 days to suck money out of people's accounts who owed something at the end of the cruise?  NOT!

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, Fredspak said:

Can we assume they are also taking 45-60 days to suck money out of people's accounts who owed something at the end of the cruise?  NOT!

 Again, what would you do if you were suddenly confronted with a financial obligation that seriously exceeded your reserves...perhaps by numbers like 1000x? You could, amongst other things, file for bankruptcy. Or, you could do, as Carnival Corp is, on behalf of HAL, raising money by borrowing and (not likely in a personal situation), selling assets or securities. 

 

Neither of these solutions that Carnival Corp is doing occur overnight. The frustration is understandable, but the lack of thought and understanding about what is going on in the world is not.

[Yokeko]

On 4/5/2020 at 7:20 PM, Boatdrill said:

Not so fast. Under normal circumstances, HAL refunds are credited back in 7-10 days. Sometimes sooner. 

You know that HAL is under enormous pressure on many fronts.  

 

 

Yes, HAL is under enormous pressure. So is Princess, yet if you jump over to that board, you will see that their customers seem to be getting refunds in a timely manner. That may be changing for them soon, but HAL seems to refunding no one. We love HAL, so this is all very sad and whittles away at loyalty. At this point, I will be pleased (and surprised) to get the refund at ANY time in the future. 

[travelhound]

2 hours ago, Yokeko said:

Yes, HAL is under enormous pressure. So is Princess, yet if you jump over to that board, you will see that their customers seem to be getting refunds in a timely manner. That may be changing for them soon, but HAL seems to refunding no one. We love HAL, so this is all very sad and whittles away at loyalty. At this point, I will be pleased (and surprised) to get the refund at ANY time in the future. 

Yup, it does appear that some of the Princess customers are getting refunds.  This is very good news for all Carnival customers, because HAL is a sister company of Carnival Corp.  It may take some time, but Carnival appears to have enough liquidity to survive this crisis.

[babydrum]

On 4/5/2020 at 10:08 AM, Seasick Sailor said:

Rich, see post #4. The OP did a no-no..

Joy

Why is purchasing a cruise from Costco a no-no?  I've done it before because they had a great OBC which had cash value and all of the incentives being offered by cheaptickets.com.  I assume they are a no-no too but I'd like to know why so that I don't make that mistake in the future.  Thanks.

[richwmn]

15 minutes ago, babydrum said:

Why is purchasing a cruise from Costco a no-no?  I've done it before because they had a great OBC which had cash value and all of the incentives being offered by cheaptickets.com.  I assume they are a no-no too but I'd like to know why so that I don't make that mistake in the future.  Thanks.

Mentioning specific Travel Agencies, Travel Agents, or Personal Cruise Consultants on these forums is against the rules you agreed to when you joined Cruise Critics.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by richwmn

[Seasick Sailor]

1 minute ago, richwmn said:

Mentioning specific Travel Agencies, Travel Agents, or Personal Cruise Consultants on these forums is against the rules you agreed to when you joined Cruise Critics.

 

Thank you Rich. I did not get to the post in time. See you at our Daily date tomorrow. 

[babydrum]

30 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Mentioning specific Travel Agencies, Travel Agents, or Personal Cruise Consultants on these forums is against the rules you agreed to when you joined Cruise Critics.

 

Ah, got it. Thanks.

[npcl]

On 4/10/2020 at 4:30 PM, CruiserBruce said:

 Again, what would you do if you were suddenly confronted with a financial obligation that seriously exceeded your reserves...perhaps by numbers like 1000x? You could, amongst other things, file for bankruptcy. Or, you could do, as Carnival Corp is, on behalf of HAL, raising money by borrowing and (not likely in a personal situation), selling assets or securities. 

 

Neither of these solutions that Carnival Corp is doing occur overnight. The frustration is understandable, but the lack of thought and understanding about what is going on in the world is not.

Will they did hit their revolving line of credit for 2.8 billion and between bonds, convertible bond, and equity offering raised another 6.25 billion.  Since their deposit liability was only 4.6 billion and 45% of the passengers on canceled cruises are taking FCCs, so they should now have sufficient cash.

[CruiserBruce]

Just now, npcl said:

Will they did hit their revolving line of credit for 2.8 billion and between bonds, convertible bond, and equity offering raised another 6.25 billion.  Since their deposit liability was only 4.6 billion and 45% of the passengers on canceled cruises are taking FCCs, so they should now have sufficient cash.

Yes, they should, when all the transactions are complete. Again, these things take time. And, now as they will be canceling through June 30 (for HAL and Princess, Carnival for longer, don't know about the other members of the Carnival family) they have even more refunding to do.

[Tom O.]

2 hours ago, babydrum said:

Why is purchasing a cruise from a big box store a no-no?  I've done it before because they had a great OBC which had cash value and all of the incentives being offered by an online agency.  I assume they are a no-no too but I'd like to know why so that I don't make that mistake in the future.  Thanks.

(Italics are replacement text by me, so I wouldn't repeat naming specific agents.)

It is not a no-no, but you cannot expect the level of service that you would get from a regular travel agent. If everything goes well, then you come out ahead, if not ........

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, Tom O. said:

(Italics are replacement text by me, so I wouldn't repeat naming specific agents.)

It is not a no-no, but you cannot expect the level of service that you would get from a regular travel agent. If everything goes well, then you come out ahead, if not ........

Disagree! We’ve had exemplary service from the big box.  They’ve gone to bat a few times for us and made sure things were right.   Love having them in my corner!  They beat any of the other TAs we’ve used over the years for service and price.

Edited April 15, 2020 by bennybear

[mrmoviezombie]

9 hours ago, bennybear said:

We’ve had exemplary service from the big box.

Totally agree, we have always had very good service. Including properly addressing an instance when the customer service rep made a mistake. It was with not properly informing us when we switched to a non-refund deposit offer that it blocked the HAL protection insurance unless we bought it then and there. At final payment, when this was discovered a supervisor reviewed the calls and compensated us an amount.

Just so you know, they record *ALL* the calls, and can review them at any time.

[Cruising-along]

10 hours ago, bennybear said:

Disagree! We’ve had exemplary service from the big box.  They’ve gone to bat a few times for us and made sure things were right.   Love having them in my corner!  They beat any of the other TAs we’ve used over the years for service and price.

 

As have we!  Big Box has been our TA of choice for a number of years now.  Always have gotten excellent service, more so than others we've used in the past.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Cruising-along said:

 

As have we!  Big Box has been our TA of choice for a number of years now.  Always have gotten excellent service, more so than others we've used in the past.

I've  used the same TA for many years.  Her service is exemplary and her prices closely match the Big Box.    I'm seriously considering switching to the Big Box because I'm not sure how much longer my TA will do business.  

[DFD1]

I was in the Travel Agency business for almost 10 years as a young man. 

 

I now use the largest cruise travel agency in the world....big box on steroids.  I've used them for many years. They have gone to bat for me more than once...sometimes involving thousands of dollars.

 

I would not be without them when it comes to cruising.