Princess Tax & Port Charge Refund - How Long a Wait?

[Longwood50]

I had a cruise in the Mediterranean that was cancelled and I opted for the FCC  That has been posted to my Princess account but I have not received back the credit for the Port Charges and Taxes.  Have others gotten those back and how long has it taken? 

[cruzsnooze]

I haven't even gotten my FCC yet let alone the port fees and it's now 60 days. 

[Daisyloo]

Our cruise was for March 13.  We cancelled on the March 9,  and Princess cancelled the cruise on the 11th.  We got our taxes and port fees back with a few days, but we are still waiting to see the FCC in our account. 

[waterbabyfish]

Our cruise was a transatlantic scheduled for April 19, it was  canceled on March 12 and just got our FCC the end of April, still waiting on our taxes and fees.

[Coral]

I cancelled on March 6th and have not gotten my taxes or fees (or refund).

 

Your taxes and fees maybe in a "holding account". Try to do a search on that. This will be reserved for taxes and fees on your future cruise or you can request a refund.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Coral

[cherylandtk]

If you opted for Option 1, you will not be refunded the fees, taxes and air charges. They have been placed in a holding account, and no, you cannot see them in your Personalizer.  If your FCCs have been fully processed for your cancelled cruise you should be able to call Princess and ask them for the amounts; they do not send a statement.
 

If you opted for Option 2, or cancelled on your own and/or were not given Option 1 or 2,  those Refundable fees, taxes and charges will be refunded.  Eventually.  I hope.

[Greenmack]

I have called numerous times after choosing option 1 as my March 12th cruise was one of the first ones cancelled. I chose Option 1 and have been told several times that port fees, excursions, beverage packages etc will be placed on your Visa. I received my cruise credits quickly but not the refund. There is a recent article on the Cruise Critic website stating that the backlog with both visa companies and cruise lines processing refunds is causing considerable delays.

[Coral]

20 minutes ago, Greenmack said:

I have called numerous times after choosing option 1 as my March 12th cruise was one of the first ones cancelled. I chose Option 1 and have been told several times that port fees, excursions, beverage packages etc will be placed on your Visa. I received my cruise credits quickly but not the refund. There is a recent article on the Cruise Critic website stating that the backlog with both visa companies and cruise lines processing refunds is causing considerable delays.

Honestly - that article was so poorly written. Any high school journalism student would write a better article. They did not interview the cruise lines or the banks. There were no credible sources listed on that article. Take it with a grain of salt. I have had other travel related refunds that were processed with the same credit card within 14 days. No problems processing it.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Coral

[rogueriver]

1 hour ago, cherylandtk said:

If you opted for Option 1, you will not be refunded the fees, taxes and air charges. They have been placed in a holding account, and no, you cannot see them in your Personalizer.  If your FCCs have been fully processed for your cancelled cruise you should be able to call Princess and ask them for the amounts; they do not send a statement.
 

If you opted for Option 2, or cancelled on your own and/or were not given Option 1 or 2,  those Refundable fees, taxes and charges will be refunded.  Eventually.  I hope.

 

We chose Option 1 and was told in a recent call with Princess that we should have our refund for taxes/port fees in a couple weeks (not holding my breath on that!).  I have seen several people on CC mention a "holding account" but have not seen this verified by Princess.  Did you receive information directly from Princess regarding the holding account?  

[Greenmack]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Honestly - that article was so poorly written. Any high school journalism student would write a better article. They did not interview the cruise lines or the banks. There were no credible sources listed on that article. Take it with a grain of salt. I have had other travel related refunds that were processed with the same credit card within 14 days. No problems processing it.

Of course there are different articles all saying different things but I would question whether timely travel refunds under different circumstances can be compared to tens of thousands of claims by those from cancelled flights, cruises, inclusive holidays etc.

[Coral]

47 minutes ago, Greenmack said:

Of course there are different articles all saying different things but I would question whether timely travel refunds under different circumstances can be compared to tens of thousands of claims by those from cancelled flights, cruises, inclusive holidays etc.

I just don't think getting quotes off of a cruise board is enough to write an article. Ask the cruise line directly, ask the credit cards what their backlog in, etc..... Not quote someone from a cruise board. Poor journalism. How can you write an article about refunds with out talking directly with either end????

 

I do think you can compare cruise line refunds with airlines, hotels, travel insurance and resorts. They were greatly affected also.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Coral

[cherylandtk]

5 hours ago, rogueriver said:

 

We chose Option 1 and was told in a recent call with Princess that we should have our refund for taxes/port fees in a couple weeks (not holding my breath on that!).  I have seen several people on CC mention a "holding account" but have not seen this verified by Princess.  Did you receive information directly from Princess regarding the holding account?  

TAs got it, and one very kindly posted the chart on this thread way back on page 27, post # 673

[Longwood50]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

Your taxes and fees maybe in a "holding account". Try to do a search on that. This will be reserved for taxes and fees on your future cruise or you can request a refund.

No my understanding is that taxes and port charges have to be refunded so they would go back to the method you paid them with.  The FCC show up when you log into your Princess Account.  

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

No my understanding is that taxes and port charges have to be refunded so they would go back to the method you paid them with.  The FCC show up when you log into your Princess Account.  

They changed this. It now goes into a holding account. You can ask for a refund.

[muffydawg]

On 5/14/2020 at 3:28 AM, Longwood50 said:

I had a cruise in the Mediterranean that was cancelled and I opted for the FCC  That has been posted to my Princess account but I have not received back the credit for the Port Charges and Taxes.  Have others gotten those back and how long has it taken? 

Yes. Port fees, charges 100% refunded. 60 days from the date I submitted request selecting Option 2