Still waiting for refund...104 days later

[schmoopie17]

We were booked on the Panorama for Dec 31st. Due to the Covid fiasco, we canceled on September 24th. We were told that refunds would take 60-90 days to process. We are now on day 104, and counting. Is anyone else experiencing extended wait times for refunds? Thought I'd ask here before calling Carnival and spending hours on hold.

Edited January 9, 2022 by schmoopie17
Correction

[CC Rider 69]

55 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

We were booked on the Panorama for Dec 31st. Due to the Covid fiasco, we canceled on September 24th. We were told that refunds would take 60-90 days to process. We are now on day 104, and counting. Is anyone else experiencing extended wait times for refunds? Thought I'd ask here before calling Carnival and spending hours on hold.

I'd called a long time ago. We cancelled our 12-26-2021 cruise on 12-24-2021, and had a full refund (trip-excursions-steakhouse) credited to our credit card on 12-29-2021.

[G&TQ]

How did you pay? and did you pay direct to carnival?  I paid using gift cards and they had the wrong address so took even longer to get my refund.  About 5 months and only when I pushed for supervisor and up the chain through the various departments.   Now that was back in 2020.

 

 

[Katshia]

When I canceled it took about a week for the refund to go through even though they told me the same. I would defiently speak to someone about that! 

[Clarasgrandma]

We had a cancellation paid by gift card that was well over 90 days in waiting for refund.  I finally contacted my PvP and had the funds transferred to other cruises that had been booked. We put it towards three different bookings.

[AfricaTravellers]

I would definitely call right away. I had an 8-day girl’s trip booked for October 9th for 3 of us. I got Covid and had to cancel on October 6th. The other 2 cancelled as well. I was expecting (hoping for) a cruise credit. We were all given full refunds to our credit cards that were processed the same day and the gift card refund for me (split payment between cc and gc) was in my (US mail not email) mailbox - and this is no joke - on October 11th. 

[CC Rider 69]

16 hours ago, G&TQ said:

How did you pay? and did you pay direct to carnival?  I paid using gift cards and they had the wrong address so took even longer to get my refund.  About 5 months and only when I pushed for supervisor and up the chain through the various departments.   Now that was back in 2020.

 

 

Paid directly on-line with Carnival and with a credit card.

[samiam0403]

I would definitely give them a call. I canceled 3 Australia cruises with Carnival on Thursday, 6 January. As of this morning (10 January), I have 2 of the 3 deposits already credited back to me in full. Sure, it took 3.5 hours of sitting on hold, but it was worth it. 

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

I received my refunds for 2 separate cruises in about a week. These were cancellations made last month. Call them and make sure your your refund is being processed.

 

[nwaguy66]

Sorry you are having trouble.

 

we received our refund in 7 days.   Our pvp is always so helpful 

[Alekezam]

On 1/10/2022 at 5:46 AM, CC Rider 69 said:

Paid directly on-line with Carnival and with a credit card.

I'm pretty sure the question was directed toward the OP. 

 

I think a little more context from the OP might shed some more light on his/her situation but he/she has yet to respond since first starting this thread. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Alekezam
Grammar

[shoppingfever]

On 1/10/2022 at 1:37 AM, AfricaTravellers said:

I would definitely call right away. I had an 8-day girl’s trip booked for October 9th for 3 of us. I got Covid and had to cancel on October 6th. The other 2 cancelled as well. I was expecting (hoping for) a cruise credit. We were all given full refunds to our credit cards that were processed the same day and the gift card refund for me (split payment between cc and gc) was in my (US mail not email) mailbox - and this is no joke - on October 11th. 

Did they send a carnival gift card? I paid for mine with gift cards, and if we decide to cancel I am curious how it would be refunded. 

[spiritkat090909]

Gift cards become quite the challenge as a method of payment when refunding. As long as you go and don't have to change anything...great savings! But...if you have to cancel anything or change a date...a big mess. They are handled by a separate department that has an even longer hold time for the agent when you call in. Add 30 mins minimum hold time AFTER you get a normal agent.

 

In the past, if you used a gift card for online miscellaneous extras like gratuities or shore excursions, for example, and the price went down, you could cancel & rebook.  NOW you don't dare. I'm waiting for a gift card refund on a cancelled booking with lots of 'stuff'.  I expect to sail on the next booking before the 'stuff' portion is refunded. A cancelled shore excursion on that record was done about 30 days ago...no gift card refund yet.

 

When they DO come, they will be in individual fedex envelopes (in our area).  I've had as many as 10 arrive at the same time. Super waste of postage.

 

[matymil]

1 hour ago, spiritkat090909 said:

Gift cards become quite the challenge as a method of payment when refunding. As long as you go and don't have to change anything...great savings! But...if you have to cancel anything or change a date...a big mess. They are handled by a separate department that has an even longer hold time for the agent when you call in. Add 30 mins minimum hold time AFTER you get a normal agent.

 

In the past, if you used a gift card for online miscellaneous extras like gratuities or shore excursions, for example, and the price went down, you could cancel & rebook.  NOW you don't dare. I'm waiting for a gift card refund on a cancelled booking with lots of 'stuff'.  I expect to sail on the next booking before the 'stuff' portion is refunded. A cancelled shore excursion on that record was done about 30 days ago...no gift card refund yet.

 

When they DO come, they will be in individual fedex envelopes (in our area).  I've had as many as 10 arrive at the same time. Super waste of postage.

 

I had such an issue with getting refunds of gift cards over the last year. I had to contact them on two orders that they just lost. Like they had no excuse after months, they just werent sent out. I completely understand that they must be going through alot right now but we are almost years into this. You would think they'd have a better way to refund people. Also, when i cancelled my first cruise in March 2020 it took over 4 months to get my refund.

[schmoopie17]

Been traveling, so haven't checked back in until now.

 

We charged the deposit to our credit card. Carnival swears they refunded the deposit a few days after we canceled, but the credit card company investigated and found no credit. It is now four months since they claim to have refunded us. The credit card company suggests filing a written complaint to dispute Carnival's claim of refunding the money. I will do it, but also won't hold my breath. In any event, there will be no further Carnival trips in our future.

[cruizergal70]

5 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Been traveling, so haven't checked back in until now.

 

We charged the deposit to our credit card. Carnival swears they refunded the deposit a few days after we canceled, but the credit card company investigated and found no credit. It is now four months since they claim to have refunded us. The credit card company suggests filing a written complaint to dispute Carnival's claim of refunding the money. I will do it, but also won't hold my breath. In any event, there will be no further Carnival trips in our future.

I don't understand why you waited four months for this. The refund period has greatly been reduced since 2020. Most refunds are coming in the 2-3 week time range. 

 

Contact Carnival,  ask for a manager or dispute specialist,  and have them walk through everything they have in their system. Get specific dollar amounts and dates credited. Have your credit card statements up on your screen to follow along. Also verify you are looking at the correct card if you have multiple credit cards.

[schmoopie17]

We waited because we were initially told it would take up to 90 days with all the covid crap going on. We have been traveling this winter and haven't given it much thought until I checked the credit card a couple weeks ago. It is definitely the correct card...the initial charge was on this card.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

We waited because we were initially told it would take up to 90 days with all the covid crap going on. We have been traveling this winter and haven't given it much thought until I checked the credit card a couple weeks ago. It is definitely the correct card...the initial charge was on this card.

Have you checked all your statements? I have had credits from Carnival show up on a prior statement (somehow).

[schmoopie17]

 

I checked all previous statements back to September, the month the credit was requested. And as I stated above, the credit card company did their own investigation of my account and they did not find the credit. They are advising me to file a written appeal to their Consumer Affairs Department so they can follow up with Carnival on my behalf. I know, I can also call Carnival (again) and sit on hold forever (again), but I refuse to go through that ordeal again. And having the credit card company verify that no credit was received carries more weight than just me saying it.