How fast are you getting refunds from HAL?

[12cruise2]

We have been waiting 7 weeks now for Future Cruise Credit for $600 from HA for a cruise we cancelled before final payment.  Now, last Thurs. they cancelled two cruises we had already paid for that they will automatically refund to original form of payment.  We went ahead a day or two ahead and cancelled shore ex. the day we received the email from HA cancelling the cruise.  Usually cancelled shore ex have been refunded almost immediately; no such luck this time.  I'm curious as to what others' experiences have been with how long they have waited for refunds and FCC?  We could have used the FCC already on three cruises we purchased since we became eligible for that $600 FCC, but no amount of encouragement to HAL to process that FCC would get them to budge--oh, we're in line.  What have others experienced?  Seems like we need to cast a little shade on HAL for advertising cruises as if many ships are sailing and yet taking forever to issue refunds/FCC because of cancellations on many cruises that are actually not sailing.  We're trying to be faithful, but come on, now. 

[vinonme2]

Canceled a cruise early August, no FCCs  involved, received refund in 11 days.

[CJcruzer]

I have cancelled some shore excursions recently, due to cancelled cruises. Refunds t0 credit cards showed up on my credit card profile within 2 to 3 business days (do not include weekends).  There will be no email notification of this, just keep checking your credit card statement entries on a regular basis.

 

If shore excursions were purchased using HAL gift card, these are handled manually and may take up to 3 weeks to either be refunded to your original card, or sometimes a new card is issued for the refund amount.  I have had both cases, no rhyme or reason to it.

 

As soon as my cruise was cancelled by HAL (recently),  i filled out the form for FCC - as I had another cruise I wanted to book  (not a replacement cruise offered by HAL, but one of my own choice).   

 

My TA already had the new cruise on hold - and spoke with HAL that I wanted to use my FCC from the cancelled cruise (10% bonus of the deposit I had paid) - someone at HAL looked up my request form for FCC, saw that it had been approved.  The HAL rep said no problem, it will be applied to the new booking, but may be a while - in the meantime HAL issued an updated confirmation of booking showing deposit paid - BUT no amount deducted from the grand total until the FCC  is “created”.  Apparently HAL has something in their computer system which holds that booking with a paid deposit notification for these FCC’s awaiting action.

 

My TA forwarded the booking info to me with updated invoice,  and said in the eyes of HAL, I am booked and paid deposit.  When the FCC is manually “created” - it will be applied against total owing (both original  deposit amount and the 10% bonus).

 

Still waiting after 2-1/2 weeks but my booking is active, I have booked shore excursions, etc so just have to play the wait game.   My TA will be following up.

 

Hope this helps

 

Carol

 

[CJcruzer]

I just looked at the wording from my TA as to what HAL said

 

“But the booking deposit has been effectively satisfied and waived in the system for the FCC amount which will eventually show up.”

[Heartgrove]

Not a comment about HAL but we tried Viking Ocean this past Summer. Thankfully we did successfully sail on the cruise in July. They had what seemed to be a generous cancellation policy when we paid in full 96 days before the cruise. But there were caveats that exist even when cruising in normal times.

 

To start, normally full payment is due in one year before you sail. If you use the Viking cancellation policy, you are issued a FCC good for two years. In addition if you have prepaid by credit card for the additional cost excursions, that also is rolled into your FCC. No refund to your credit card. To use the FCC, the new cruise must be equal to or more than the FCC. Any unused FCC is lost. You essentially are stuck with cruising with them no matter what.

 

I will stick with a cruise line that actually does issue a refund if need be.

[12cruise2]

Just to clarify, we were told on the cancellation that all monies paid would be refunded to the original method of payment; there were no alternate options offered; I have noticed other options in the past, some as mentioned in the above posts.  Hopefully monies due will be forthcoming sooner rather than later.

[dobiemom]

4 hours ago, 12cruise2 said:

We went ahead a day or two ahead and cancelled shore ex. the day we received the email from HA cancelling the cruise.  Usually cancelled shore ex have been refunded almost immediately; no such luck this time. 

 

3 hours ago, CJcruzer said:

I have cancelled some shore excursions recently, due to cancelled cruises. Refunds t0 credit cards showed up on my credit card profile within 2 to 3 business days (do not include weekends).  There will be no email notification of this, just keep checking your credit card statement entries on a regular basis.

I cancelled a shorex for my 9/4 Alaskan cruise a few days before sailing. I received an email confirming cancellation and a refund to my credit card in 1-2 days. 

[zgscl]

HAL has been fast. For pre-purchased shorex/beverages/dining, etc. I have gotten it in 2-3 days. I also got refunds on a couple of billing errors they made in the neighborhood of $700 each within a week or so. Have not had any larger refunds such as a cancelled cruise. 

[Caribbean Chris]

16 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

Not a comment about HAL but we tried Viking Ocean this past Summer. Thankfully we did successfully sail on the cruise in July. They had what seemed to be a generous cancellation policy when we paid in full 96 days before the cruise. But there were caveats that exist even when cruising in normal times.

 

To start, normally full payment is due in one year before you sail. If you use the Viking cancellation policy, you are issued a FCC good for two years. In addition if you have prepaid by credit card for the additional cost excursions, that also is rolled into your FCC. No refund to your credit card. To use the FCC, the new cruise must be equal to or more than the FCC. Any unused FCC is lost. You essentially are stuck with cruising with them no matter what.

 

I will stick with a cruise line that actually does issue a refund if need be.

Thank you for sharing that policy. I’ll think hard before booking with Viking.  To know they’ll hold your money hostage like that doesn’t sit well with me.

[12cruise2]

Got our refunds for cancelled shore exs today.  Still awaiting $600 FCC from 7 weeks ago and about $7,500 for two cancelled-by-HAL cruises cancelled last week.

Thank you all for your comments.  Love it when we learn something in the process--wow re Viking Ocean cruises and their hanging onto money. 

 

[Brewgirl1]

We waited a very long time (months) for our cancelled cruise shore excursion money to be refunded. I finally gave up and called HAL, they said "Oh, I wonder why that happened?" They got right on it and we got all our money back. Same thing happened to my parents on the same cruise. Keep all receipts and don't lose track of what you are owed.

[Borge]

We booked a Caribbean cruise for November 2022 and paid in full, when the itinerary was drastically changed we opted for cruise credits. About 3 -4 weeks later we saw the credits in our account, but the taxes and port fees were to be refunded to our credit card. Almost 8 weeks later we are still waiting, I have spoken to our Holland Rep and have been told we are in a queue for the refund.

 

Also disappointed that the cruise credits and a cruise must be used by December 2022.

 

[slb1949]

Received this email regarding cancellation. We are sorry for the disappointment this may cause and appreciate your understanding. All guests will receive a full refund of all monies paid to Holland America Line to the original form of purchase. All non-cruise fare purchases through Holland America Line such as Flight Ease^® air, specialty dining, spa and shore excursions will be cancelled and refunded to the original form of payment

I have shore excursions booked and paid.   Would the refund be faster if I  cancel them myself online or wait for HAL to handle it all.  I did call and finally got a remark on my file made that we have a January hawaii cruise booked and would like monies refunded before October Final is due for the new one. 

[Loreto]

5 hours ago, slb1949 said:

Received this email regarding cancellation. We are sorry for the disappointment this may cause and appreciate your understanding. All guests will receive a full refund of all monies paid to Holland America Line to the original form of purchase. All non-cruise fare purchases through Holland America Line such as Flight Ease^® air, specialty dining, spa and shore excursions will be cancelled and refunded to the original form of payment

I have shore excursions booked and paid.   Would the refund be faster if I  cancel them myself online or wait for HAL to handle it all.  I did call and finally got a remark on my file made that we have a January hawaii cruise booked and would like monies refunded before October Final is due for the new one. 

We are in the same situation!  I think you were on our cancelled Nov.6 Sea of Cortez cruise.  We have been booked for Hawaii Feb '22 for 10 months, final payment is due Oct 21.  It would be nice to have the refund before that!

[12cruise2]

Exactly, Loreto and others--It should be the practice with HAL that if we rebook cruises of our own choice after anything is cancelled that we can get them to transfer all monies due us to pay for those bookings.  It's a computer click type of thing.  The airlines handle refunds quickly, putting the money in our FF account or in a wallet, available for use quite rapidly.  HA is using our money to their advantage, floating it, and I don't like it.  I still don't have my $600 from a cruise I cancelled 7 weeks ago posted in my future cruise credit, and of course not the approx. $7,500 from the two cruises HA cancelled last week.  It's like a bank putting a hold on a check you deposit for a few days.  The bank gets to use that money without paying us any interest, but we don't have access to use it!

I spoke briefly with the Future Cruise Consultant onboard late last week and of course he said re speed of refund, oh, a passenger on the future world cruise that was cancelled got his money back within a week or so, that kind of thing.  So, of course, they are (supposedly) getting the high rollers' money back quickly.

Edited September 17, 2021 by 12cruise2
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[FlorenceItaly]

There really is no reason why the refunds should be delayed other than they want to hang onto the monies.  The cancellation is done electronically.   I cancelled a cruise yesterday and received the cancellation booking confirmation as well as a separate note saying it could take up to 60 days for the refund.  We will see.

[slb1949]

One good news I had the covid tests scheduled and prepaid for the November cruise I cancelled the tests via a chat online received the refund within 24 hours. Wish Hal was that fast. Not traveling again until January 16 not looking forward to trying to find covid test again.   Have until around October  14-15 to pay final and book cancellation insurance.  My pcc only works Monday Friday 7-330.   Here’s to another challenge or is it new adventure. 

[12cruise2]

So now it's been another week of not getting the $600 due me, now week eight and a half.  I called HAL myself last Monday; they said oh, they tried to apply the money to a future cruise (the 9/4-9/11 Alaska cruises we went on and booked just 3 weeks in advance).  They said computer realized cruise was already paid in full, so money has just been sitting there.  They said TA had to call to get the funds released.  TA called; I didn't get a definitive answer; I called HAL again on Wed.  They said, oh the money is to be refunded (not posted to FCC)--of course I didn't ask questions when they said refund because I'd rather have it that way, now that I've already booked and paid for three other cruises without being able to use this money.  So, I'm going to stay on top of it.  This is really not good.  This may not be much money to some, but it's the principle of the thing for sure.

 

Has anyone who was on Zuiderdam cruises that HAL cancelled had any refunds back to their original form of payment yet--it's been a couple of weeks, and I was told it should be about 30 days.

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by 12cruise2
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[jebbs]

Well 12cruise2, I am cancelled from Zuiderdam, December 5, 2021 to Hawaii. Final payment was due September 6, and cruise line cancelled cruise on September 10. I have spoken with Customer Service, emailed my travel agent, and been in contact with my credit card company. The short answer is I am waiting for refund!  When cruise was cancelled on September 10, I was pro active and cancelled my shore excursions and those refunds have been processed and are showing on my credit card.

Per my independent travel agent, HAL will begin processing cruise fare refunds October 15 and get to mine midNovember! This is very frustrating as I would consider booking a similar December 2021 cruise to Hawaii with another cruise line  that is still sailing  if I could be confident that I would receive a full $6308 refund.

[Vict0riann]

HAL cancelled our cruise which included a TA to Fort Lauderdale as we are Canadian.  They did agree to transfer most of the funds to a similar cruise, without a TA.  There is over $3,000 still owing us.  That includes $2,800 of Flight Ease, as we had to re-book our flights and pay again for those.  We asked if some of that money owing us (as it is Flight Ease money!) could be applied to our new flights to upgrade us to business class, and the answer was a resounding no .

 

So, now we want that money back!  I can't find a form on the paperwork that I have.  ( I may have inadvertently deleted it.)  If anyone has a link to the form I would appreciate it.  I'm also going to be in touch with our PCC on Monday, but I figure, the sooner the better to get the form done.

 

@vinonme2, 11 days must be a record!  We still have not received refunds for shore excursions or the dinners we booked and the cruise was cancelled September 16!

 

 

[kazu]

30 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

So, now we want that money back!  I can't find a form on the paperwork that I have.  ( I may have inadvertently deleted it.)  If anyone has a link to the form I would appreciate it.  I'm also going to be in touch with our PCC on Monday, but I figure, the sooner the better to get the form done.

 

I checked the HAL site and it simply says guests may request 100% refund.  I don’t see any reference to a form now, at all.

 

I would contact your PCC as you plan to do and ask them to implement the refund for the difference as well as investigate your shore excursions you have not been refunded for.

[Vict0riann]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

I checked the HAL site and it simply says guests may request 100% refund.  I don’t see any reference to a form now, at all.

 

I would contact your PCC as you plan to do and ask them to implement the refund for the difference as well as investigate your shore excursions you have not been refunded for.

Thanks.  We'll try that.

[Mtn2Sea]

A little over a month ago, we cancelled our Eurodam cruise that left yesterday.  We were told we would get about a third of our money back in the form of FCC and the rest back to my credit card.  We had booked our flights through Flight Ease, which actually cost more than the cruise itself because we booked first class.  The credit on my card appeared in less than three weeks, but the FCC was not showing on my HAL account. I was talking to my travel agent regarding an issue with another cruise a couple of days ago and expressed surprise that I received the money on my credit card, but didn’t see the FCC.  I was expecting the exact opposite.  Since he still had the HAL agent on the other line, he asked her about the FCC.  Apparently the FCC wasn’t properly “tagged” or something like that.  Fortunately, the HAL agent said a fix was being done and I should see the FCC on my account within a week or so.

[FlorenceItaly]

On 9/17/2021 at 6:16 AM, FlorenceItaly said:

There really is no reason why the refunds should be delayed other than they want to hang onto the monies.  The cancellation is done electronically.   I cancelled a cruise yesterday and received the cancellation booking confirmation as well as a separate note saying it could take up to 60 days for the refund.  We will see.

UPDATE:  Refund on credit card today, so ten days later.  

[12cruise2]

I finally got our $600 refund from cruise cancelled in late July (dated 9/23 but didn't show up until yesterday 9/27).  They originally said it would be a future cruise credit, then they tried to apply it toward a cruise we booked after we'd made the final payment in full, so the $600 was just sitting there.  After I called them and our TA called them, they "got on it" and refunded the money, for which I was grateful, rather than book it as future cruise credit.

I also inquired with HAL re when would we be getting our full refunds for the Hawaii and Sea of Cortez cruises on the Zuiderdam that were cancelled.  The lady, who was very thorough in reading the notes, said they were told not to touch any money on those reservations until 10/15.  So, 10/15, they are supposed to start refunding our money.  HAL's delay excuse was that in case folks decided to use the money to book future cruises of some sort, category, they were to be able to move that money--which made no sense because, as I recall, that was not specifically mentioned in the letter from Gus A. we all got.  

Edited September 28, 2021 by 12cruise2
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