FCC math

[sambamama]

I now have 3 cruises cancelled by HAL. The first is my Oct. 17 2020 TA on the Rotterdam that was paid in full. It was cancelled May 6, and HAL offered 200% in FCC. They said they would pay that in 60 days. I haven't gotten any of that. I then booked an April 17 2021 Mexican Riviera on the Maasdam that was cancelled. I put a deposit done and was going to pay the balance off with my FCC. That was cancelled, and the offer was to give 200% in FCC plus another $250. They sold the ship more than 60 days later, but I had not received my FCC. I then booked a third cruise, the same Mexican Riviera cruise on the Volendam for April 2022, which was just cancelled. I didn't put any money down as it was held by my promised but not given FCC. For this, I am supposedly getting 200% in FCC unless paid in full in which case it is 125%. Anyone had this situation where you were owed FCC but it had not come yet? Did HAL count it in the cruise cancellation? 

[Andi Land]

I have also had 2 cruises cancelled by Holland America. The way they handled the FCC was ridiculous. 
 

I had a $600 deposit on a Rotterdam cruise that was cancelled due to selling the ship. I opted for the 100% match in FCC. 
 

I put that deposit on a Volendam cruise that was cancelled. The offer of 100% was the same. I called this morning to find out how to transfer this to another cruise. 
 

I was transferred from reservations to a resolution specialist because what the reservation agent said made no sense. 
 

Basically, the “deposit” I had on the Volendam is considered as entirely FCC and I was entitled to no further compensation for the cancellation. They do not consider my original $600 deposit that I made for the Rotterdam cruise in the equation. What they are saying is that because I opted for 100% FCC at that point that I no longer have any “cash” on deposit and therefore do not qualify for anything further. The only was to get anything additional is if I had paid extra in cash. 
 

I then asked if I cancelled it entirely would I get my original $600 back. She said yes. I then asked again, if it’s considered as FCC and not cash how could they do a refund. The conversation went really downhill at this point and she said she’d just cancel my cruise and refund me my $600 because she was done. 
 

It was a really unpleasant conversation. 

[sambamama]

Wow! Just unbelievable! What is the point in getting FCC then? You might as well take a refund. You may want to look into filing a consumer protection lawsuit. HAL cancelled your cruise, and gave you nothing. Or email one of the executives. Or email Chris Elliott, who has a consumer protection website. Or report HAL to your state attorney General. 

[sambamama]

Did you book this yourself? Do you have a TA? This is wrong on so many levels. On Chris Elliot's website, he has emails for executive contacts for HAL. 

[sambamama]

You should have $2400 in FCC to put towards another cruise by my math. 

[Mary Ellen1]

Does anyone else read things like this and think, "the cruise lines are in much worse shape than we think?"  Seriously, are they slowly going bankrupt right before our eyes?  What if they don't come back?  😢

[sambamama]

You should have $2400 in FCC to put towards another cruise by my math. 

[sambamama]

Yes, that is exactly what I think. I think it has become a big pyramid scheme for HAL-they are robbing Peter to pay Paul. My TA told me they are paying the credit card refunds first to avoid charge backs, but that is so stupid. All that means is that people like me will file consumer protection lawsuits or credit card charge backs or report them to their state Attorney General who will do the lawsuit for them. And they have made it worse for themselves. They promised me 125%FCC in 60 days. It's now been 4 1/2 months and they have not updated me once-all they do is keep canceling more of my cruises. That doesn't placate or reassure me. 

[iancal]

If it were me waiting for a refund I would file a credit card claim on day 31!  No waitin, no phone calls or emails, no BS.  Just a timely refund, thanks.

[Andi Land]

7 hours ago, sambamama said:

Did you book this yourself? Do you have a TA? This is wrong on so many levels. On Chris Elliot's website, he has emails for executive contacts for HAL. 

I absolutely plan on sending an email to the office of the president. We’ll see what happens. 

[sambamama]

Well, I wrote the president and finally got some FCC. But they owe me $10,456 and paid me $2800.My TA had conversations with them, so I am sure this will change. 

[Adoptionmsw]

Why are people continuing to book future cruises that will only be cancelled until there is an effective vaccine? I am mystified. HAL is running a Ponzi scheme and there seem to be hundreds of willing victims out there. We’re four star and we miss cruising but we’re not willing to spend our hard earned money on a fantasy.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

[yerdua]

3 minutes ago, Adoptionmsw said:

Why are people continuing to book future cruises that will only be cancelled until there is an effective vaccine? I am mystified. HAL is running a Ponzi scheme and there seem to be hundreds of willing victims out there. We’re four star and we miss cruising but we’re not willing to spend our hard earned money on a fantasy.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I have one and only one future cruise on the books scheduled for August 2021. Used FCDs that we had purchased in 2019. Will not put up another dime until I am confident that it will actually sail AND that we will be ok with restrictions that will inevitably be in place. It's a Baltic cruise so it's not like we can just drive home if we don't like the rules. 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Adoptionmsw said:

Why are people continuing to book future cruises that will only be cancelled until there is an effective vaccine? I am mystified. HAL is running a Ponzi scheme and there seem to be hundreds of willing victims out there. We’re four star and we miss cruising but we’re not willing to spend our hard earned money on a fantasy.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

We’re booked and our cruise is not scheduled until November 2021.  I think by then the odds are very good that the cruise should be able to go and there will most likely be a vaccine.  🤞 

 

I didn’t spend a dime to book my cruise.  Just our FCD that we already had and if I feel it’s not safe, and cancel before final payment we get it back so I don’t see the harm at all.  And, it’s nice to have a cruise to look forward to after my cancelled ones this year (I cancelled, I didn’t wait for HAL).

 

I am 5*, a business person and retired financial planner.  I think I know a Ponzi scheme when I see one and I don’t think this is one at all.  What do you want the cruise lines to do?

 

If you want a Ponzi scheme, try getting your money back from flights that never went from Air Canada 😉 

 

 

[Hflors]

My December 9, 2020 cruise was cancelled on August 11, 2020.   Called on either the 12, or the 13th and told HAL to send a refund.  Today is September 30th.  On October 11th I will be contacting my cc company if I don't receive my refund by then.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Hflors
Miss spelling.

[Hlitner]

This thread certainly expresses the frustration of many and it is not just a HAL issue but seems to be across multiple cruise lines.  My first thought reading the OPs post is that it makes a great case for folks to be using decent cruise/travel agents rather then dealing direct with cruise lines.    But even one of our favorite cruise agents has expressed (to me) her frustration with dealing with many cruise lines during this COVID mess.  

 

While we have sometimes suggested folks contact Christopher Elliott with these kind of issues, the reality is that in a legal sense the cruise line's are not obligated to give folks anything for a cancelled cruise other then to refund 100% of what has been paid.  Boosting FCCs (to avoid giving refunds) is on a voluntary basis and is a bit of a "con."  Consider that the increased FCCs need to be used during a finite time period and most cruise lines (including HAL) have simply increased the price of most future cruises which in effect dilutes the FCC.  We only had one cancelled HAL cruise (so far) and HAL quickly refunded 100% of what we paid for the cruise and air and also gave us a FCC.  We used that FCC to book a similar cruise/itinerary for next year and the end result (after netting for that FCC) is that we are paying (out of pocket) about the same amount that we paid for the cancelled cruise.  In other words, the FCC simply covered most of the cost increase on the future cruise.  

 

I do think that some folks are being a bit unfair to the cruise lines.  Consider that COVID is not the fault of the cruise lines and no company is staffed to handle such a tremendous one-time disruption of their business.  Lots of errors have been made (by all the cruise lines) but we should also consider that the lines were forced to close their business offices and try to remotely manage 100s of thousands of cancelled reservations.  Add to this all the uncertainties about when (and how) cruising can resume, what ports will reopen to ships. what changes will need to be made to comply with new health-related restrictions/regulations, etc.  

 

That being said, it is unfair that folks are now being forced to wait for months to simply get their money back from cancelled cruises.  When HAL cancelled our Westerdam cruise (April cruise in Asia) our money was credited back to our credit card in 3 days!  But as time went on and the cancellations increased the cruise line quickly lost control of the process.  A good friend commented that her "understanding and empathy" ended at her pocketbook and many HAL cruisers find themselves in a position where HAL owes them thousands and even 10s of thousands of dollars.  Argh!

 

When will cruising resume?  Nobody knows.  The cruise lines are forced into a situation where they need to keep soliciting reservations (for future cruises) without any certainty that those cruises will happen.  Whether or not the future cruise happens is, to a great degree, beyond the control of the cruise line.  They are as much a victim as we cruisers!

 

Hank

 

Hank

[DaveOKC]

While I was not happy with HAL taking 6 months to get my FCCs straightened out, in the end they were very fair with me on the credits and how the refund was applied (long story but it saved me $200).

[sambamama]

Actually, I have a great TA. She has always gone to bat for me. I have never booked direct with a cruise line except when  I booked with NCL for a 5 night cruise to earn legal education credit (and that got cancelled!) My TA has checked on this periodically-she is just more patient than me. This is what happened when the dust finally settled. My Rotterdam TA scheduled to sail Oct 17 was cancelled May 6. It was paid in full, and my TA said I would get my FCC in 60 days. I told her to put to towards my April 2021 Maasdam cruise. The Maasdam cruise was cancelled July 15, so had I gotten my FCC when they promised it, that cruise would have been paid off. I got $2800 Sept. 24. I had put a $300 deposit down for the Maasdam cruise, and HAL gave me $600 for that instead of $3688. And I booked the Volendam April 2022 cruise with no money since I was owed so much FCC, which was cancelled in mid-September and I was given nothing as I never received any of the cruise credits I had been waiting for since May 6-and I should have $7458 more. Is this how they want to treat their loyal customers who they did not pay for so long who wanted to show support by taking FCC and buying new cruises? This leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I've been sailing on HAL since 1983.I have sailed on RCCL, NCL, and Celebrity, but I prefer HAL. Ive got 303 Mariner credits, many Carribean cruises, 2 Panama Canal, an Alaska, 2 TA,  a 20 day Hawaii and a 20 day South Pacific. Pretty good for a solo! I am also owed some shipboard credit for some prior blips on cruises-of course none of this shows up on my account. And the 2 $150 off  booking a new cruise is gone too since those cruises got cancelled! If this is how HAL means to encourage me to continue to sail with them, they have done a horrible job!!  Also, and I don't mention this often, I am a lawyer. So HAL picked the wrong person to screw with. So if my TA doesn't get the right results, I know exactly what to do. And really, other than time, it doesn't cost me a dime. I've been advising people what to do on social media when their travel companies stiffed them for COVID reasons and I've already fought and won some travel companies (airlines and tour companies) who tried to stiff me for travel they cancelled in COVID times.