Post COVID refunds

[DrJJ]

Viking cancelled my April 14 cruise on  March 11. On March 12 I notified both Viking directly and my travel agent that I wanted a refund rather than a voucher. I was told it could take up to 30 days for a refund. As of today I have not received the refund to my credit card. I am writing to ask if anyone who has requested a refund has received one?

[Alturia]

25 minutes ago, DrJJ said:

Viking cancelled my April 14 cruise on  March 11. On March 12 I notified both Viking directly and my travel agent that I wanted a refund rather than a voucher. I was told it could take up to 30 days for a refund. As of today I have not received the refund to my credit card. I am writing to ask if anyone who has requested a refund has received one?

Viking cancelled our April 6 cruise on March 11 or 12. We elected to receive a future cruise credit and just received it on April 7.

[Thom71]

Watching

[azjoy]

19 hours ago, DrJJ said:

Viking cancelled my April 14 cruise on  March 11. On March 12 I notified both Viking directly and my travel agent that I wanted a refund rather than a voucher. I was told it could take up to 30 days for a refund. As of today I have not received the refund to my credit card. I am writing to ask if anyone who has requested a refund has received one?

 

Our April 18 cruise was cancelled at the same time and our TA advised Viking on March 12 that we wanted the refund.  So far, we've received no credit - not even for the optional excursion we had paid for. 

 

While I appreciate the way Viking has handled this situation (much better than the airlines!), it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the actual refunds. 

 

FYI - We purchased trip insurance (from an outside company) for this cruise.  We notified them at the same time as Viking and  and they sent us a check for the full refund the next week! 

[stretchcruz]

18 minutes ago, azjoy said:

 

Our April 18 cruise was cancelled at the same time and our TA advised Viking on March 12 that we wanted the refund.  So far, we've received no credit - not even for the optional excursion we had paid for. 

 

While I appreciate the way Viking has handled this situation (much better than the airlines!), it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the actual refunds. 

 

FYI - We purchased trip insurance (from an outside company) for this cruise.  We notified them at the same time as Viking and  and they sent us a check for the full refund the next week! 

Did you receive a refund for the entire cost of the cruise from the outside trip insurance company or just for the cost of the insurance? We use insuremytrip. I haven't yet increased the amount of my trip coverage, so far only the deposit is insured but it includes medical, evacuation, etc. I normally wait until the date I would start to lose money to increase the coverage to the entire cost of the trip. (In this case June 5)

[jeffbook]

Our March 20 cruise was cancelled on March 11.  I spoke with Viking customer service on Wednesday, April 8.  I was told that Viking had to audit each cruise cancellation with regards t the total amount paid to Viking.  Needless to say, this is a totally unprecedented experience for Viking and the number of cancellations involving  refunds and voucher requests is more than substantial.  The Viking rep ventured that refunds would likely be sent out at the end of April or in May.  This was actually only an estimate by the rep. It would appear that patience in this situation  will be required on all of our parts,

[Jack E Dawson]

We were notified on March 11th of the cancellation of our April 6th cruise. We requested a refund immediately and were told it would take up to 21 business days for the credit to be issued to our credit card. About 10 days later, I requested a statement showing the amount that we had paid. A statement was e-mailed immediately and it matched exactly to our final payment receipt. I spoke to Viking on Friday, asking for an update on the refund, and was told that our refund had been processed on April 5th and the actual credit could take 30 days to show up on my credit card statement. So that takes it out to May 9th. As with every conversation I have had with Viking, the customer service agent was very polite, patient and helpful. 

 

Jack

[azjoy]

5 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

Did you receive a refund for the entire cost of the cruise from the outside trip insurance company or just for the cost of the insurance? We use insuremytrip. I haven't yet increased the amount of my trip coverage, so far only the deposit is insured but it includes medical, evacuation, etc. I normally wait until the date I would start to lose money to increase the coverage to the entire cost of the trip. (In this case June 5)

 

As I mentioned, we purchased insurance from a separate company so the the refund from the insurance company was just for the amount we had paid to the insurance company. 

 

We are still waiting for Viking to refund the cost of the cruise.  I'm not anxious yet, but I will be watching this thread to see if anyone reports that they HAVE received their refund from Viking and how long it took from date of request to date of refund.

[swanlake671]

We sent email to Viking request to cancel our July 6 cruise on March 4, 2020 for refund and received the confirmation email back on March 12, 2020 stating that the refund would take up to 30 days.  On March 23, 2020, we received a check for partial refund roughly about 10% of the total refund, so I called and talked to Viking representative regarding to status of the rest of the refund. The representative (a very nice and polite lady) looked at our account and told me the rest of the refund would be credited back to our credit card and bank account no later than April 10, 2020.  On April 8,  partial refund was credited back to our credit card and on April 10, 2020 we got the rest of the refund back to our bank account.  Viking is very right on schedule regarding refund (about 30 days from the day they sent out cancellation confirmation).  Also since we cancel our July cruise before the posting of no risk policy, we expect to lose the $200 cancellation fee and the trip insurance premium paid to Viking.  Nevertheless, Viking sent us FCV for those expenses. All in all, we are happy with Viking.

[Nippy Sweetie]

Still waiting for our FCV! 

[Squawkman]

7 hours ago, swanlake671 said:Nevertheless, Viking sent us FCV for those expenses. All in all, we are happy with Viking.

That has been our experience twice - when our Scandinavian cruise was cancelled  last year (Star engine issue - ours was the next cruise) and the same cruise again this year due to Covid-19. Last year, we had SBC from Viking from booking within 2 weeks of disembarking a different cruise. Viking sent us each a check via FedEx immediately.

[lackcreativity]

57 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

That has been our experience twice - when our Scandinavian cruise was cancelled  last year (Star engine issue - ours was the next cruise) and the same cruise again this year due to Covid-19. Last year, we had SBC from Viking from booking within 2 weeks of disembarking a different cruise. Viking sent us each a check via FedEx immediately.

The circumstances last year with Viking's cancellation of your Scandinavian cruise differ considerably from what they are facing presently. Even as I wait for the refund I requested back on March 13, I know that I must be patient. However, unless I receive that refund before my final payment on our October cruise is due April 28, then I will not make that payment. At this point I have mixed feelings about whether even that cruise will sail, so I am reviewing options to move that deposit forward to another cruise. 

 

Things are so complicated just on a personal level. I can't imagine what Viking is going through trying to make the best decisions for their crew, their customers, and the company. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by lackcreativity

[Squawkman]

24 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

The circumstances last year with Viking's cancellation of your Scandinavian cruise differ considerably from what they are facing presently. Even as I wait for the refund I requested back on March 13, I know that I must be patient. However, unless I receive that refund before my final payment on our October cruise is due April 28, then I will not make that payment. At this point I have mixed feelings about whether even that cruise will sail, so I am reviewing options to move that deposit forward to another cruise. 

 

Things are so complicated just on a personal level. I can't imagine what Viking is going through trying to make the best decisions for their crew, their customers, and the company. 

I’m well aware of the differences between this year and last year. My point is that Viking ultimately has done the right thing for us several times - other situations too complex to write about here. This year, we cancelled and requested FCV for Scandinavia in early March and arranged with our Viking agent to have it applied to our Cities of Antiquity cruise in mid December along with the SBC we had for Scandinavia. We did have to wait until just 2 weeks to get the FCV vouchers and could not solidify these arrangements until those voucher numbers were issued.

 

I fully understand where you are and would be working with my Viking agent to either apply the refund or cancel that cruise in favor of FCV. I have a similar situation with a November 1 river cruise where payment is due May 1. This cruise is relatively inexpensive, so I’ll probably pay and take my chances - if it runs, we’ll go; if cancelled, hopefully we’ll get 125% FCV for 2022.

[stretchcruz]

19 hours ago, azjoy said:

 

As I mentioned, we purchased insurance from a separate company so the the refund from the insurance company was just for the amount we had paid to the insurance company. 

 

We are still waiting for Viking to refund the cost of the cruise.  I'm not anxious yet, but I will be watching this thread to see if anyone reports that they HAVE received their refund from Viking and how long it took from date of request to date of refund.

Thanks azjoy. I figured that was what you meant but just wanted to clarify. We also purchase insurance from a separate company.

[DrJJ]

Just updating. I emailed tellus@Vikingcruises.com and received a prompt reply that my refund had been issued to my credit card on April 10. Unfortunately it has not yet been credited to the card. I will re-post here when it does.

[lackcreativity]

10 minutes ago, DrJJ said:

Just updating. I emailed tellus@Vikingcruises.com and received a prompt reply that my refund had been issued to my credit card on April 10. Unfortunately it has not yet been credited to the card. I will re-post here when it does.

I work as a bookkeeper for a small retail store, and I have had to explain to many customers that the banks are very quick to charge your account, but they often take a few days to post a credit, so that doesn't surprise me.

[Clay Clayton]

Recieved check today from Viking for the three days of prepaid gratuities that we didn’t use on our half transatlantic aboard Sky. Still waiting on the refund of our three days of cruise fare.  

[MrRandal]

On 4/10/2020 at 12:44 PM, DrJJ said:

Viking cancelled my April 14 cruise on  March 11. On March 12 I notified both Viking directly and my travel agent that I wanted a refund rather than a voucher. I was told it could take up to 30 days for a refund. As of today I have not received the refund to my credit card. I am writing to ask if anyone who has requested a refund has received one?

 

I cancelled a paid in full October 13 day Mediterranean cruise on April 1. I had a full refund, $18,000+ on my AMEX statement within 48 hours. This is just one of the reasons I love AMEX, some banks will float a refund for 30 days. I'm guessing the problem lies with your card issuer rather than Viking.

[azjoy]

On 4/11/2020 at 8:08 AM, azjoy said:

 

Our April 18 cruise was cancelled at the same time and our TA advised Viking on March 12 that we wanted the refund.  So far, we've received no credit - not even for the optional excursion we had paid for. 

 

While I appreciate the way Viking has handled this situation (much better than the airlines!), it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the actual refunds. 

 

UPDATE:  We have received refunds on our credit cards from Viking.  Credit for the cruise payments appeared today, April 16, while the credit for the optional excursion appeared yesterday (separate credit card).  All of the credits had a transaction date of April 14.  

[JerryInIL]

Is there any problem receiving credit card refunds due to a new expiration date on the card?  Our deposit on our card was 2 years ago and has changed.

[old biddy]

I think you will find the answer to this is 'yes'. Several years ago we had cancelled BA flights and when the TA tried to make the repayment to our card, it had expired and the payment wouldn't go through. We had to give her the new expiry date. It was a few years ago and things may have changed, also it was a UK credit card, I don't know if that will make a difference.

[DrJJ]

Reporting here to  update. As of today Viking has refunded all but $1000.00 (my original deposit) of my total cruise fare to my credit card. They contacted me today to tell me that the original deposit was made to a credit card that was no longer active. In any event I have been told they would be mailing a check for the remaining $1000.00.

[JerryInIL]

13 hours ago, DrJJ said:

Reporting here to  update. As of today Viking has refunded all but $1000.00 (my original deposit) of my total cruise fare to my credit card. They contacted me today to tell me that the original deposit was made to a credit card that was no longer active. In any event I have been told they would be mailing a check for the remaining $1000.00.

So about 5 weeks DrJJ?  Not bad.

[Oceans 8]

Our group of 8 requested a refund from Viking on March 14th for our March 20th Mediterranean Odyssey cruise that was cancelled.  We were told it would take 21 business days (or approximately 30 days in total) for our refund to appear on our credit cards.  Happily, our credit cards were credited back the full amount 23 business days later (or 32 days in total), with the total amount being credited back in three separate amounts (which added up to the total amount we were owed).  

[janetcbl]

We cancelled our September 2020 cruise. Except for the $100 cancellation fee,  the entire amount of the cruise as credited back to our credit card in  less than 24 hours!  Great service, Viking! Hopefully we will be rebooking for the same cruise in 2021!

Edited April 22, 2020 by janetcbl
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