Cunard's Cancellations/Refunds Update 23rd April 2020

[VK3DQ]

Have not got a refund for our cancelled 1st April departure on QE     

The only way left might be to sue for bankruptcy

 

 

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, VK3DQ said:

Have not got a refund for our cancelled 1st April departure on QE     

The only way left might be to sue for bankruptcy

 

 

You are not the only one there are thousands in the UK who have booked with Cunard/P&O and cancelled prior to April 1st who have not had a refund but some have so refunds are being paid albeit slowly. In this unprecedented times in the world  waiting is a small price to pay when people are losing their lives. Cunard say they will refund 60 days so be patient.

[57eric]

On ‎5‎/‎8‎/‎2020 at 8:20 AM, ExArkie said:

It appears to be something that no one ever bothered to mention. I ran into the same thing with a booking for which final payment was a couple of weeks ago. There are a few posts back and forth in the closed cancellations thread, starting with post #1442 on page 58.

 

Bottom line - it appears that, while the final payment date moved from 120 days to 60 days before sailing, the penalty phase still begins at 120 days.

The quoted post, which came from the US, seems to be at odds with what I see on the Cunard website for US bookings departing through September 30:

 

Cancelation Fee schedule will be as follows

• 31 to 59 Days to Sail: 50% of net fare
• 15 to 30 Days to Sail: 75% of net fare 
• 0 to 14 Days to Sail: 100% of net fare 

 

[ExArkie]

1 hour ago, 57eric said:

The quoted post, which came from the US, seems to be at odds with what I see on the Cunard website for US bookings departing through September 30:

 

Cancelation Fee schedule will be as follows

• 31 to 59 Days to Sail: 50% of net fare
• 15 to 30 Days to Sail: 75% of net fare 
• 0 to 14 Days to Sail: 100% of net fare 

 

Yes, it is in conflict. However, my US booking for an August sailing had a penalty starting at 120 days. If I had cancelled between the old final payment date (120 days) and the current final payment date (60 days), I would have forfeited the deposit. I called Cunard twice to verify (two different people on the phone) after our travel agent had been informed of that situation. This is their policy, regardless of the Web site wording.

 

The same situation has occurred to others, evidently, so it was not a one-off error.

 

 

[ExArkie]

22 hours ago, morrfran said:

Here in the US, for the past 2-3 years, the balance has been due 4 months prior to cruise date. At least on those I've booked.

(These are US bookings) Our last Cunard trip was December 2018. The documentation I have shows that the payment for that one was due 90 days prior to sailing. Our previous trip was December 2017, which shows a final payment date 120 days prior to sailing. So, I'm guessing that they changed the payment deadline sometime between those two sailings.

 

And, in case you were wondering why two sequential December TAs, I was teaching a class in the UK those years, returning home on QM2 at the end.

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by ExArkie
Corrected a mistake

[Neuhoftraveler]

58 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

And, in case you were wondering why two sequential December TAs, I was teaching a class in the UK those years, returning home on QM2 at the end.

I wasn't wondering, just jealous.

[57eric]

1 hour ago, ExArkie said:

Yes, it is in conflict. However, my US booking for an August sailing had a penalty starting at 120 days. If I had cancelled between the old final payment date (120 days) and the current final payment date (60 days), I would have forfeited the deposit. I called Cunard twice to verify (two different people on the phone) after our travel agent had been informed of that situation. This is their policy, regardless of the Web site wording.

 

The same situation has occurred to others, evidently, so it was not a one-off error.

 

 

Hmm, that seems nothing short of deceptive.  However, in all likelihood, it is moot, as I think the odds are very much against an August sailing not being cancelled.

[morrfran]

1 hour ago, ExArkie said:

(These are US bookings) Our last Cunard trip was December 2018. The documentation I have shows that the payment for that one was due 90 days prior to sailing. Our previous trip was December 2017, which shows a final payment date 120 days prior to sailing. So, I'm guessing that they changed the payment deadline sometime between those two sailings.

 

Interesting. My more 'recent' bookings have all had balance due 120 days prior to sailing--including the December '20 Christmas cruise I'm hoping will be a 'go'. I booked this after canceling a QM2 February booking earlier this year. So glad I made that decision when I did. The refund processed very quickly. To be fair at that point they didn't have thousands to deal with.

[Glamorkat]

8 hours ago, majortom10 said:

You are not the only one there are thousands in the UK who have booked with Cunard/P&O and cancelled prior to April 1st who have not had a refund but some have so refunds are being paid albeit slowly. In this unprecedented times in the world  waiting is a small price to pay when people are losing their lives. Cunard say they will refund 60 days so be patient.

A Refund in 60-days is a LIE (at least in the US). My cancellation was completed in early March and I have been waiting 64 days now san-refund. I have talked to a few different representatives. While the representatives have been very nice, they have and supposedly referred my information to two different supervisors which neither have bothered to  respond. (One was 15 days ago and the other 5 days ago). I have been more than patient, but my patient is gone. To add insult to injury, we were suppose to be boarding Wednesday. 

[majortom10]

18 minutes ago, Glamorkat said:

A Refund in 60-days is a LIE (at least in the US). My cancellation was completed in early March and I have been waiting 64 days now san-refund. I have talked to a few different representatives. While the representatives have been very nice, they have and supposedly referred my information to two different supervisors which neither have bothered to  respond. (One was 15 days ago and the other 5 days ago). I have been more than patient, but my patient is gone. To add insult to injury, we were suppose to be boarding Wednesday. 

We have not received a refund either and we should be on QM2 now so know how you feel.

[Colin_Cameron]

13 hours ago, VK3DQ said:

 The only way left might be to sue for bankruptcy

There are two possible outcomes from that course of action.

 

a) Nobody gets anything.

b) Everybody gets nothing.

 

They may own some of their office buildings (or they may rent them) but I doubt that would even pay the lawyers fees. The ships (most? all?)  have been used to secure the recent loans to keep the corporation afloat. Which leaves what?

 

If you’re happy to settle for a one millionth share of the corporate goodwill then go ahead.

 

P.S. I miscounted the zeros on the back of my envelope. You’re probably looking at less than one ten-millionth share of not a lot.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Colin_Cameron

[bazzaw]

23 hours ago, VK3DQ said:

Have not got a refund for our cancelled 1st April departure on QE     

The only way left might be to sue for bankruptcy

 

 

I am wondering if the lack of refunds in Australia has something to do with our Laws??? My very limited understanding is that there used to be some kind of Govt Fund or Govt laws regarding travel agents folding, but that is now all gone???  "Laws" can be used in two ways - for you and against you!!!!

[bazzaw]

20 hours ago, majortom10 said:

You are not the only one there are thousands in the UK who have booked with Cunard/P&O and cancelled prior to April 1st who have not had a refund but some have so refunds are being paid albeit slowly. In this unprecedented times in the world  waiting is a small price to pay when people are losing their lives. Cunard say they will refund 60 days so be patient.

Please stop quoting "60 days" - until you can answer the question - 60 days from when!!!!

[bazzaw]

Kind of interesting -  my "first" cancelled Cunard cruise wasn't even supposed to depart until 06 May (only last week ) - BUT it was cancelled by Cunard (not me) on 19 February. W -A -A -Y back then, there was no "60 days" - nor "click here on this website link to apply for a refund."  No - there was just an email to say that the cruise was cancelled and we would receive a refund. Foolish me-- it didn't say exactly when the refund would happen , but on the basis of that promise , I booked a couple more Cunard cruises 😞 These have now also been cancelled by Cunard and they are now communicating "60 days" .  It's all a shambles really - none of us knew what was going to happen. But I can't say that I have any confidence in Cunard anymore.  They are still trying to sell cruises today!!!! - I would have thought that the suckers would have woken up to them by now -  so many anguished cries of "Do you think that my January cruise will go ahead" and " Cunard is asking me for a final payment for my XXXX cruise, should I pay it?.   Pathetic madness everywhere.  

[BigMac1953]

This is now a rather pointless thread.

 

Mickey Arison is not about to stuff a suitcase full of dollar bills and head off to South America.

 

In case it hasn't been noticed, there's a global emergency going on.

 

Anyone so desperate for their money back probably shouldn't have booked a cruise in the first place.

 

There is no doubt that everyone wanting refunds will get them. If it was all to happen faster, then it would lead to people being laid off so in the end would take even longer.

 

Please be patient and have some empathy with the Carnival management who no doubt are doing their best to keep the company afloat and safeguard tens of thousands of jobs.

 

There are millions of people worse off than you who are struggling to find food to eat which is far more important than you receiving bits of paper with numbers printed on.

[ToadOfToadHall]

40 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Anyone so desperate for their money back probably shouldn't have booked a cruise in the first place.

 

That sums it up in a nutshell.

 

Anyone who'd already committed funds to a cruise, or any holiday in fact, must have been in a financial situation to do so.  Therefore, not getting your money back is obviously a financial loss (a product/service has been paid for but not received) but it can't be causing anyone financial hardship because said person has already paid said money. Financial hardship is caused to someone who has an unexpected expense that they do not have the means to pay; a holiday cannot be an unexpected expense.

 

     

[Host Hattie]

Actually it doesn't, please be mindful that lots of people have lost income as a result of this crisis, so what once might have been an affordable expense no longer is.

This thread is for people to share their refund experiences not to be told how they should have managed their finances in very different times.

 

[Colin_Cameron]

There are people in a situation now that they didn't expect to be in (that would be all of us) and some may well need the money. But it's not the 'not getting it back' that is the problem. Had the cruise or holiday gone ahead they would still have been without the money. They would have had a holiday, but still no money.

[resordanis]

3 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Kind of interesting -  my "first" cancelled Cunard cruise wasn't even supposed to depart until 06 May (only last week ) - BUT it was cancelled by Cunard (not me) on 19 February. W -A -A -Y back then, there was no "60 days" - nor "click here on this website link to apply for a refund."  No - there was just an email to say that the cruise was cancelled and we would receive a refund. Foolish me-- it didn't say exactly when the refund would happen , but on the basis of that promise , I booked a couple more Cunard cruises 😞 These have now also been cancelled by Cunard and they are now communicating "60 days" .  It's all a shambles really - none of us knew what was going to happen. But I can't say that I have any confidence in Cunard anymore.  They are still trying to sell cruises today!!!! - I would have thought that the suckers would have woken up to them by now -  so many anguished cries of "Do you think that my January cruise will go ahead" and " Cunard is asking me for a final payment for my XXXX cruise, should I pay it?.   Pathetic madness everywhere.  

I agree with you Bazzaw totally. Your first cruise was cancelled way before all this happened and you thought your refund would have happened quickly.  Our 15/3 was also cancelled and we thought we would get a refund also quite quickly. I find a lot of people here are only worried about their cruise happening in the future. There are a lot of us who are awaiting refunds and have had no communication from Cunard.

[Windsurfboy]

Cunard/P&O together announced 450 redundancies. Sorry for staff,  but also sorry for all of us awaiting refunds, they will be even slower

[si_boy]

34 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Cunard/P&O together announced 450 redundancies. Sorry for staff,  but also sorry for all of us awaiting refunds, they will be even slower

And the remaining staff are being asked to work 20% less hours for 20% less pay from the start of July to end of November.

 

[Host Hattie]

The job cuts are already being discussed in this thread

 

[Glamorkat]

I want to give a hopeful update. We finally got our long awaited refund today! For reference, our cancellation was processed on March 11th. Our amount is rather small compared to others, but we are greatful to have gotten it back at this time. So there is hope!  Stay safe everyone. 

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for letting us know, it's good to hear that there's some progress.

[Edithclara]

Congratulations Glamorkat.