Deposit Theft by HA

[canoncruiser]

I took a wonderful Around South America cruise on the lovely Prinsendam a few years back. I remember the folks at the Future Cruise desk saying that HA does not hold on to deposits if the passenger cancels. Well, the times have changed! I booked a HA cruise through an online agency and because it touches Australia, I decided to cancel. Turns out HA is keeping my deposit-I note that there was no indication at the time of booking that the deposit was ‘non-refundable’. I do not want a Future Cruise Credit. I hope HA enjoys my money because that's all of it that they are going to get-ever!

[KirkNC]

You are not the first to get caught up in the non-refundable deposit confusion.  Usually if you pitch a fit they will roll it to another cruise but I have never heard of them refunding one.

[CruiserBruce]

Have you done a microscopic review of your booking? I suspect you will find mention of the nonrefundable aspect of your deposit, mas HAL started pushing non-refundable about 4 years ago, as the default option. 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

You are not the first to get caught up in the non-refundable deposit confusion.  Usually if you pitch a fit they will roll it to another cruise but I have never heard of them refunding one.

This is good to know, is it all FCC that are non refundable, or once you apply it to a sailing does it convert to non-refundable based on the conditions of the sailing? 

[Mary229]

I have to assume you used your credit to book a non-refundable fare and at that moment the refundable credit converted to a non-refundable deposit.  There is a do over period that I have used but it is only 48 to 72? hours.  During that period you can reconvert to a FCC or change the booking to a refundable-deposit fare.  

[Caribbean Chris]

What does the online agency you used have to say?
 

We book HAL and Celebrity cruises through a big box store and the website and printed confirmation both indicate if the deposit is non refundable. Sometimes there is a price difference - pay more for the cruise when you book , and the deposit is refundable.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, canoncruiser said:

I took a wonderful Around South America cruise on the lovely Prinsendam a few years back. I remember the folks at the Future Cruise desk saying that HA does not hold on to deposits if the passenger cancels. Well, the times have changed! I booked a HA cruise through an online agency and because it touches Australia, I decided to cancel. Turns out HA is keeping my deposit-I note that there was no indication at the time of booking that the deposit was ‘non-refundable’. I do not want a Future Cruise Credit. I hope HA enjoys my money because that's all of it that they are going to get-ever!

Did the online agency in any way inform you that your deposit was non-refundable? I know the online agency we use (always booking by telephone) always tell us whether it is refundable or not.

[KirkNC]

5 hours ago, zgscl said:

This is good to know, is it all FCC that are non refundable, or once you apply it to a sailing does it convert to non-refundable based on the conditions of the sailing? 

I am pretty sure it remains non-refundable on the roll over cruise.

[canoncruiser]

No the rep. did not-but things have been sorted after I wrote and complained. They are back in my good graces. ☺️

[ger_77]

1 hour ago, canoncruiser said:

No the rep. did not-but things have been sorted after I wrote and complained. They are back in my good graces. ☺️

I'm glad you are happy with the final outcome. 

 

Smooth Sailing!   🙂🙂🙂

[iancal]

I really do think the title of this thread is completely misleading and exceedingly disparaging to HAL.

 

To suggest that HAL, or any other reputable cruise line, would 'steal' your deposit is at the very least grossly unfair.

 

Let's hope the title can be corrected.

Edited July 9, 2021 by iancal