Can cruise companies refuse to give money back for cancelled cruises and give ONLY FCC?

[Cinziaeye]

We are scheduled (or rather, rescheduled) on a family cruise for June 13 on NCL.  Originally booked 7 cabins for June 2020.  When that was cancelled, we were offered a refund or FCC with perks to reschedule, which we did.  Now it looks like the rescheduled cruise will also be cancelled.  Half of the group no longer wants to reschedule, but we have been told that since THIS cruise was booked with FCC, that is the only refund we can get.  And even though we took insurance, the insurer is saying that we will not have lost anything as long as the cruise line offers full credit.  We booked this in 2019, knowing nothing about a pandemic and made the decision to rebook a full year out assuming all would be well by then.  But cruisers who booked during the pandemic knowing the full risks, ARE getting full refunds when their cruises are cancelled, not FCC.  How is this fair?  We allowed NCL to hold onto our money for an extra year.  And now we will only have 18 months to "use it or lose it".  Has anyone had any luck getting a refund rather than the FCC?  Any suggestions on how to handle this?

[Alakegirl]

Better ask on the NCL board, not the Celebrity board

[PTC DAWG]

22 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

Better ask on the NCL board, not the Celebrity board

That was my first thought, second thought to his query is no. 

[drew69]

4 minutes ago, Cinziaeye said:

We are scheduled (or rather, rescheduled) on a family cruise for June 13 on NCL.  Originally booked 7 cabins for June 2020.  When that was cancelled, we were offered a refund or FCC with perks to reschedule, which we did.  Now it looks like the rescheduled cruise will also be cancelled.  Half of the group no longer wants to reschedule, but we have been told that since THIS cruise was booked with FCC, that is the only refund we can get.  And even though we took insurance, the insurer is saying that we will not have lost anything as long as the cruise line offers full credit.  We booked this in 2019, knowing nothing about a pandemic and made the decision to rebook a full year out assuming all would be well by then.  But cruisers who booked during the pandemic knowing the full risks, ARE getting full refunds when their cruises are cancelled, not FCC.  How is this fair?  We allowed NCL to hold onto our money for an extra year.  And now we will only have 18 months to "use it or lose it".  Has anyone had any luck getting a refund rather than the FCC?  Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Actually, it is fair.  You were offered the choice of a refund when the original cruise was cancelled.  You  chose not to take the refund so now you must abide by that decision.  

[Cinziaeye]

I did post on NCL.  I was asking here to see if other lines were offering anything.  Sometimes that helps.

[wrk2cruise]

You will find that the NCL policy is not going to be any different than Celebrity.  If your form of payment is FCC then the FCC is just reinstated and any other balance is subject to refund or 125% FCC.

 

As @drew69 says, you had to option to get a refund before.  Of course none of us knew this would go on as long as it is.  I can't blame the cruise lines for holding firm on their policies.  They are not legally required to refund the FCC.

[Roy&Adrian]

Wasn't Celebrity's offer a little better than NCL's ?  Namely, a refund or 125% FCC with a 100% refund if the FCC is not used within a year (although we've since received an e-mail saying the 125% FCC has been extended - i.e. no refund just yet)

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Cinziaeye said:

We are scheduled (or rather, rescheduled) on a family cruise for June 13 on NCL.  Originally booked 7 cabins for June 2020.  When that was cancelled, we were offered a refund or FCC with perks to reschedule, which we did.  Now it looks like the rescheduled cruise will also be cancelled.  Half of the group no longer wants to reschedule, but we have been told that since THIS cruise was booked with FCC, that is the only refund we can get.  And even though we took insurance, the insurer is saying that we will not have lost anything as long as the cruise line offers full credit.  We booked this in 2019, knowing nothing about a pandemic and made the decision to rebook a full year out assuming all would be well by then.  But cruisers who booked during the pandemic knowing the full risks, ARE getting full refunds when their cruises are cancelled, not FCC.  How is this fair?  We allowed NCL to hold onto our money for an extra year.  And now we will only have 18 months to "use it or lose it".  Has anyone had any luck getting a refund rather than the FCC?  Any suggestions on how to handle this?

I'll go out on a limb and bet those same people you are referencing were offed the same options by NCL as you were. So it is fair and simple to understand. You were given the same choices and you elected to take the FCC over the deposit refund when NCL canceled.   

Edited February 18, 2021 by davekathy

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

Better ask on the NCL board, not the Celebrity board

Cinziaeye, Actually better to start with phone calls to NCL and try to go up their chain for a definitive answer.  Why bother asking us here on a Celebrity board?  None of us will be able to give you a definite answer.

Edited February 18, 2021 by TeeRick

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Cinziaeye said:

I did post on NCL.  I was asking here to see if other lines were offering anything.  Sometimes that helps.

True enough, but an hour after posting on the Celebrity board first.

 

As others have noted, what Celebrity might or might not do is really immaterial. Telling NCL that Celebrity would do this or that will get you nowhere.

[nocl]

Pretty much once you make the decision to accept FCC instead of a cash refund, you are  stuck with FCC. That is pretty much the standard approach in the industry.  They gave a bonus when you accepted the FCC in exchange they get to keep the cash forever. 

[goofysmom99]

This was on our local news last night. Reporter said that for all lines, once you accept a FCC, you will no longer receive a refund.