Getting your airfare cancelled when your cruise gets cancelled

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, oldfashioncruiser said:

Is anyone else finding that flights have gone up in price for next year?

 

Well, since you don't mention:

 

1) Cities involved

2) Airline involved

3) Dates for both previous and future flights

4) Previous priced paid

5) Future price quoted

 

It's really hard to give an informed opinion.  So let's go with "yes, I have found flights higher and no, I have found flights cheaper".

[AF-1]

I am looking at flights now for Europe.  Pricing on Delta; my preferred airline, are the same as when I started checking in Feb.  So personally I have not seen any spike in prices.

[oldfashioncruiser]

FlyerTalker,   One example is my fall South American cruise where the price on Delta/American is $2000 higher than when I booked back when flights first came available   Milwaukee  to LA/ Buenos Aires  to Milwaukee.   I also dive and have been looking for flights for week dive trips to the Caribbean in August.  I normally pay $900 for first class - Milwaukee to Cozumel  and now they are $3000 and coach $1400.   Prices to other islands are much higher than I have ever seen them.

[AF-1]

oldfashioncruiser;  wow that is extremely high.  I have not seen those prices;  wonder if it has to do with the cities I am flying to. 

[oldfashioncruiser]

Have no idea.  Maybe they are discouraging leisure travel.      My other thought about our fall cruise is that if this continues throughout this year, will people be quarantined when coming back to the US from foreign countries.   Hate to get stuck in Brazil after the cruise.   So many unknowns!!

 

[CruiserBruce]

They just starting publically talking that fares will go up as long as they have to run half full to maintain social distancing. Haven't seen it yet on the flights I am monitoring, but it was implied that the fare increases would not take effect until after the subsidies run out in the fall.

[Reva_Dearchi]

On 4/22/2020 at 8:10 PM, Psoque said:

Hi.  I'm assuming that many of us have had our cruises cancelled so far, and I'm assuming that getting the (independently purchased) flights cancelled is the unfortunate chore that comes with cruise cancellations.

 

I recently had to deal with one of the US based airlines to cancel a non-cruise related round trip flight that we had for late May, and I wanted to share my success in making a request for a refund.

 

We had a non-stop, round trip flight, from Chicago to Frankfurt, which we purchased in February of this year.  We were wondering if the airline will cancel the flight on us, so that we did not have to argue with them.  However, the airline, instead of just cancelling the flights, without telling us, re-booked us on a multi-connection flight that now departs more than 6 hours before the original departure time.  The fact of the matter is that, 6 hours is actually the magic number for this particular airline (the biggest one in Chicago) that makes the change "significant."  Also, change from nonstop to a roundabout connecting itinerary would also be a "significant" change, according to the US Department of Transportation.  The US Department of Transportation is telling airlines that they must allow for refunds if the itinerary is changed "significantly."

 

Cancellation interface on this particular airlines is designed to refuse refunds.  To request for a refund, it asks you first to "cancel" the reservation.  If you blindly follow that instruction, you will be given just an option to either accept a voucher or re-book on another flight.  The option for actual refund was hard to find online...I believe the website has recently been tweaked to make sure request for a refund will be hard, and there is a trap to make some customers accept a voucher in the process of cancelling a reservation.  So I figured out that I have to talk to a human being on the phone.

 

Anyways, a couple of days ago, I called the airline to see what they can do.  I was polite, but I made the mistake of asking the agent "what can they do."  He said, there are flights (whether they were even operating or not, now knows?) that he can potentially switch to that leaves Chicago at a time less then 6 hours from the original itinerary.  He basically ignored the fact that the original flights were nonstop.  I asked him if I can cancel the whole thing and get a refund.  He refused to give me a refund, only a (time limited) voucher, so I politely said I'm just going to wait, and asked him to do nothing to the reservation.

 

I did more reading online, and figured out that I have to be still polite and extra nice but be extremely direct.  So I called the airline again this evening and as soon as I introduced myself, I said to the agent "I had a nonstop round trip itinerary, and you changed it to a connecting itinerary that leaves more than 6 hours before the original departure time.  I would like to cancel this reservation and receive a refund, not a voucher."  I also added "I believe US Department of Transportation is advising all US airlines to issue a refund when a significant change was made to the original itinerary."  Then the agent did something on the computer and then told me she will process a request for a refund.

 

I'm not exactly sure if the second agent was just competent and understanding, or perhaps this airline changed its policy since the last call, but I am reading on the internet that what you tell this particular airline during a request for cancellation/refund is making a difference in the outcome.

 

It would be great to know from others how their flight cancellation negotiations with the airlines are going.  I guess if the flights are entirely cancelled by the airlines, it would be easier to us to deal with.

 

I have a cruise on Crystal Symphony in September, and the flights are with the same airline.  I'm already dreading the possibility of the need to make a phone call (or series of phone calls) to the airline to cancel/get a refund for the flights for this cruise, if the cruise gets cancelled.

 

 

Air Canada is horrible.  They CANCELLED my flight reservation to Barcelona due to COVID 19and are only giving out vouchers for future flights.  My family members who were to fly on Norwegian and Lufthansa were told they would receive full refunds due to the flight cancellations.  Air Canada is being really shady telling folks to go into their system and cancel your reservation to get the voucher but I said NO because I did not cancel...THEY did!  I don't want them to be able to say that I cancelled so am bound to the terms of me actually cancelling.  I have written back and forth with them several times but continuously get the same canned response that they are only offering vouchers.  I had to file a dispute with my credit card company and am now awaiting a response.   

[AF-1]

Well I just had my second cruise cancel yesterday; so I will have to cancel my second int'l flight in less than two months.  I am ok with e-credit.  Hope all are having a good day;  2020 has not been nice to a lot of people so far;  I hope the next six months see improvement

[ISLABONITA]

2 hours ago, Reva_Dearchi said:

Air Canada is horrible.  They CANCELLED my flight reservation to Barcelona due to COVID 19and are only giving out vouchers for future flights.  My family members who were to fly on Norwegian and Lufthansa were told they would receive full refunds due to the flight cancellations.  Air Canada is being really shady telling folks to go into their system and cancel your reservation to get the voucher but I said NO because I did not cancel...THEY did!  I don't want them to be able to say that I cancelled so am bound to the terms of me actually cancelling.  I have written back and forth with them several times but continuously get the same canned response that they are only offering vouchers.  I had to file a dispute with my credit card company and am now awaiting a response.   

Doesn't look like they fall under the DOT rules but if so you need to submit a claim, also dispute it ( the charge) on your credit card even if you have paid for it last year. https://onemileatatime.com/canada-refund-flight-cancelled/

Edited May 8, 2020 by ISLABONITA

[Reva_Dearchi]

3 hours ago, ISLABONITA said:

Doesn't look like they fall under the DOT rules but if so you need to submit a claim, also dispute it ( the charge) on your credit card even if you have paid for it last year. https://onemileatatime.com/canada-refund-flight-cancelled/

All I can hear in my head is the Canadian national anthem and thinking "Oh Canada..."  I'll just hope Mastercard puts up a good enough fight!  I booked this trip for a very specific reason and going over seas within the next 2 years doesn't fit into my family's plans.  This was the perfect time for everyone and now I might have to take a loss because corporate bureaucracy finds it acceptable to keep customer funds to help their bottom line?   This is just beyond annoying to me!   Needless to say, Air Canada if off my list of airlines to select ever again!

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, Reva_Dearchi said:

All I can hear in my head is the Canadian national anthem and thinking "Oh Canada..."  I'll just hope Mastercard puts up a good enough fight!  I booked this trip for a very specific reason and going over seas within the next 2 years doesn't fit into my family's plans.  This was the perfect time for everyone and now I might have to take a loss because corporate bureaucracy finds it acceptable to keep customer funds to help their bottom line?   This is just beyond annoying to me!   Needless to say, Air Canada if off my list of airlines to select ever again!

MC will only pass on the info you provided and let the airline respond accordingly and take the appropriate action, when AC responds..

 

Do you know what Canadian law is for such situations?

 

What about your travel insurance, how and when would their coverage kick in?

 

Were these refundable tickets? Rhetorical, then again it was not stated from what I read.

 

Were there no flights from BUF or you and the family closer to YYZ???

 

Yes, this type of situation can be very annoying and upsetting, especially when things go sideways with no way to correct it on our own without any prior planning for these types of situations.

 

Good luck regardless...

 

bon voyage

[Bramcruiser]

Canadian law is the least protective when it comes to airline passenger rights which I always thought was strange given our reputation. Air Canada and Westjet are allowed to just offer vouchers and not cash refunds unlike rulings that have come out in the US and the stricter European rules. 

 

Anyway, we might still make lemonade out of the lemons that the cruise line threw at us. July 2020 cruise to the Norwegian fjords was cancelled. I wasn't at first sure if we should take the FCC or the refund. So I went after the airlines first. TAP and KLM are an laughable lot considering they are ignoring their own European laws in favour of keeping the cash in their hands. Despite refundable business class tickets they only want to offer vouchers. But after some time thinking about this, we kept promising friends in Switzerland that maybe one day we will visit. So perhaps 2021 is the year we say goodbye to cruising altogether and do a land vacation in Switzerland using our vouchers and get the refund from the cancelled cruise to make it happen? Yeah that sounds like a plan. The only scary thing is whether we will see any of the cash from the cruise as we've heard lots of complaints about any action on refund requests amongst the cruise lines. Its an upside down world we are in right now.

[Reva_Dearchi]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:16 PM, Bo1953 said:

MC will only pass on the info you provided and let the airline respond accordingly and take the appropriate action, when AC responds..

 

Do you know what Canadian law is for such situations?

 

What about your travel insurance, how and when would their coverage kick in?

 

Were these refundable tickets? Rhetorical, then again it was not stated from what I read.

 

Were there no flights from BUF or you and the family closer to YYZ???

 

Yes, this type of situation can be very annoying and upsetting, especially when things go sideways with no way to correct it on our own without any prior planning for these types of situations.

 

Good luck regardless...

 

bon voyage

I recently read somewhere where Canadian law just came up with a policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic  saying the airline could in fact give out vouchers.  Our travel insurance was for cancellations due to illness, loss of job, etc.  standard reasons but did not include "cancel for any reason" clauses.  The insurance company quickly sent out mail saying "sorry but..." We are only 1.5 hours from Toronto by car and could get direct flights to Barcelona for less than half the price as compared to Buffalo.  We've done international travel twice before on Air Canada out of Toronto.  The flights were non-refundable and non-transferable if I were to cancel.  I think that's why Air Canada is telling its customers to go into their system and cancel the reservation.  I refused to do this since I am not the one cancelling. I can't wait to see what the credit card company comes back with. 

[bennybear]

Air passenger rights is a Canadian consumer rights group on Facebook and they are advocating exactly what you did,  a chargeback to your CC.  Best of luck! 

[MHF]

Would suggest all US flyers read the new DOT regs that came out today.  The new regs cover changes to schedules as well as time to refunds.  The regs seem to be more stringent.  However, the airlines either haven't gotten the message or the regs are so new that the customer service guy I called this evening hadn't gotten the message.  He even told me to call back tomorrow!

[ISLABONITA]

Are these the links ? this is what I am seeing.

 https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news

 

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/FAQ_refunds_may_12_2020

 

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2020-05/Refunds - Second Enforcement Notice (May 12 2020).pdf

Edited May 13, 2020 by ISLABONITA

[CruiserBruce]

No changes here...technically they should have refunded my most recent funds within 7 days...they quoted 3-4 weeks, and it appeared in 3 weeks. No definitions of "significant" changes in routing or timing, leaving that definition to the airlines. So not much "new".

 

Note the lack of "mandate" here...the Trump Administration is hoping the airlines will comply.

[ISLABONITA]

https://loyaltylobby.com/2020/05/13/us-dot-reminds-airlines-again-about-refunds/?omhide=true

 

1. What rights do passengers have if an airline cancels a flight or makes a significant schedule change? What is a “significant change” or “cancellation” requiring a refund?

 

2. What rights do passengers have if they choose not to travel due to safety or health concerns related to the COVID-19 public health emergency?

 

3. What rights do passengers have if they purchased their airline ticket from an online travel agency?

 

4. May airlines and ticket agents retroactively apply new refund policies?

 

5. May airlines or ticket agents offer credits or vouchers to consumers in lieu of refunds?

 

6. How quickly must airlines and ticket agents process refunds?

[EllieinNJ]

After two months of fighting with United we finally got our refund credited to our credit card.  Hang in there and you will also get it.

[Reva_Dearchi]

On 5/11/2020 at 7:03 PM, bennybear said:

Air passenger rights is a Canadian consumer rights group on Facebook and they are advocating exactly what you did,  a chargeback to your CC.  Best of luck! 

Thanks!!! I filed the dispute against Air Canada with my credit card company and I was advised today that they won the dispute for me and my card was credited the full amount for all 3 round trip tickets from Toronto to and from Barcelona.  Kudos to Synchrony Bank!

Edited May 18, 2020 by Reva_Dearchi
left out a sentence

[ISLABONITA]

Glad that worked.. as suggested , even here in the US ,Delta is resisting a refund and I advised the same to my friend who had her flight canceled for June 4th.

[zdcatc12]

On 5/18/2020 at 10:44 AM, ISLABONITA said:

Glad that worked.. as suggested , even here in the US ,Delta is resisting a refund and I advised the same to my friend who had her flight canceled for June 4th.

Cancelled a flight with Delta last week because of an impossible connection, i.e. leaving 3 hours before arriving, and had my refund within 3 days.

[GORDONCHICK]

We have a trip to Israel booked for November.  Our airfare was booked with American.  Our non-stop flight from DFW to Tel Aviv was canceled.  We weren't rebooked because the trip is so far out and they were dealing with more current flights.  I called and asked about rebooking but they wanted us to pay the higher price for connecting flights - not even non-stop.  $600 more per person for that.  We live in OKC, but frequently will drive to DFW or DAL if it saves a significant amount.  It's a 2.5-3 hour drive.  The flights from OKC to TLV were $500 more per person.  Did some checking and found flights from OKC for $300 more than we paid (we do have to connect twice, cuz OKC isn't direct to tons of airports) on Delta, and we don't have to drive to Dallas.  So I contacted AA and requested a refund.  Not a problem since they canceled our flight (and they only had one non-stop flight per week DFW - TVL to begin with, and now none).  The trip includes a week on our own and two weeks on a tour.  The tour hasn't canceled yet, but last I heard, Israel still has the 2 week quarantine thing going on.  If they keep that, the tour will be canceled.

[alexandra cruiser]

On 5/13/2020 at 8:55 PM, EllieinNJ said:

After two months of fighting with United we finally got our refund credited to our credit card.  Hang in there and you will also get it.

I just requested a refund,,,and was very happy I got it,,,was thinking they d try to stick my with credit..But they cancelled flight and gave me no trouble.

Now,of course,I ll wait the 25 days told me,,to see if it indeed was taken off card.

Sad, know many of us out there really NEED a cruise,,so far I ve cancelled 2 of them.