Question About On-Board Account

[IndyKid]

We just got home last night from our trip, received our statements for our on-board accounts. We both had a small amount of refundable credit due to a missed port stop, excursion fee, etc. The credits are showing as "Referred to Corporate Finance", what does that mean?

[Outerdog]

It means they will cut you a check.

 

[1965]

This is how they list it. You'll get your refund. Be careful to not throw it away. It does not arrive in a Princess logo envelope. I can't remember what the return address says, but it can be mistaken for junk mail. 

[IndyKid]

5 minutes ago, 1965 said:

This is how they list it. You'll get your refund. Be careful to not throw it away. It does not arrive in a Princess logo envelope. I can't remember what the return address says, but it can be mistaken for junk mail. 

Thanks. I found out that the checks come from a place called Bottomline Technologies. 

[PacnGoNow]

22 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Thanks. I found out that the checks come from a place called Bottomline Technologies. 

Yes and it says for Princess Cruises, very small print though.

In a windowed envelope.

[TM]

I had this same credit explanation on a cruise that I disembarked on September 5th.  Still have not received any refund.  It was for a bit less than $2 so not even worth my time to inquire about it.

[tonit964]

8 minutes ago, TM said:

I had this same credit explanation on a cruise that I disembarked on September 5th.  Still have not received any refund.  It was for a bit less than $2 so not even worth my time to inquire about it.

I know Carnival donates the nominal amount to St. Jude instead of cutting a check. Maybe Princess does something similar. 

[Honolulu Blue]

18 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

I know Carnival donates the nominal amount to St. Jude instead of cutting a check. Maybe Princess does something similar. 

Correct, on Carnival, refunds of under $10 are kept and donated to St. Jude.  I don't know what Princess does.

[david63]

1 minute ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Correct, on Carnival, refunds of under $10 are kept and donated to St. Jude.  I don't know what Princess does.

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

[Honolulu Blue]

10 minutes ago, david63 said:

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

I'm sure the nitty gritty of it (including permissions) is buried in their contract.  But it's not a secret that they do this, and even on Carnival you can get leftover OBC of any amount refunded directly to you if you ask for it before you disembark.

 

Why refundable OBC isn't be processed back to the credit card, you'll have to get someone else to answer.

[tonit964]

13 minutes ago, david63 said:

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

They don’t need permission to do that. It’s stated on your folio. 

[PacnGoNow]

I believe, if your balance is less than $25, you are told to cash out at GS, before the end of the voyage, if it is refundable OBC.

 

If it is $25 or over, then a check will be mailed to you.

 

I have always seen this posted in the Patter/Princess Events paper and also, it is shown on your folio.

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

follow the money - merchant fees for the cc refund

[Daisyloo]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

I don't know why Princess does refunds this way.  We sail on HAL and they refund your credit card as soon as the cruise is over. On Princess we got a check 2 months after the cruise.  

[Alberta54]

Twice I had a refundable credit under $25. The ship refused to give me cash telling me I would be sent a cheque. I have never received any cheque & when I followed up was told “the cheque is in the mail” which I didn’t believe. This is stealing passengers money in my opinion. If Princess is not going to give passengers their money they should be open & honest about it (not something Princess is known for). They shouldn’t tell passengers something that isn’t true. 

[JF - retired RRT]

On 12/18/2023 at 7:58 AM, david63 said:

Surely they have to have your permission to do that and if you don't give permission then you should get a refund. There's probably a statement in the terms & conditions that gives them permission.

 

It baffles me why they cannot just process the refund back onto your credit card (assuming that you registered one)

In the US, checks are the method of refund for anything over $25. If there's less than $25 in your folio, you have to go to Guest Services (or visit the casino😉).

[JF - retired RRT]

43 minutes ago, Alberta54 said:

Twice I had a refundable credit under $25. The ship refused to give me cash telling me I would be sent a cheque. I have never received any cheque & when I followed up was told “the cheque is in the mail” which I didn’t believe. This is stealing passengers money in my opinion. If Princess is not going to give passengers their money they should be open & honest about it (not something Princess is known for). They shouldn’t tell passengers something that isn’t true. 

If I hit that roadblock, I'd visit the casino. One or 2 "pulls" on the lowest amount machine (25 cents?) and go cash out.

Checks are never sent for less than $25.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Alberta54 said:

Twice I had a refundable credit under $25. The ship refused to give me cash telling me I would be sent a cheque. I have never received any cheque & when I followed up was told “the cheque is in the mail” which I didn’t believe. This is stealing passengers money in my opinion. If Princess is not going to give passengers their money they should be open & honest about it (not something Princess is known for). They shouldn’t tell passengers something that isn’t true. 

Agreed. Since the restart, I’ve noticed a lot of nee GS employees.  Also, have been told wrong information.  I usually go through the Suite/Elite line, as they are normally more informed.

 

Now, I do question them or their supervisor, if I feel it is incorrect information.

 

It does say on your folio, that if it is $25 or more, you will receive a check. Or, under $25, then see GS before disembarkation.  I would show that to them.

 

They really should just refund back to your CC on file.  If you owe them, they have no problem charging that card, even if it is under $25.  JMO 

[skynight]

49 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

In the US, checks are the method of refund for anything over $25. If there's less than $25 in your folio, you have to go to Guest Services (or visit the casino😉).

I don't believe that you have to go to passenger services. Believe that is an option.

[JF - retired RRT]

Just now, skynight said:

I don't believe that you have to go to passenger services. Believe that is an option.

So true. They certainly can't "force" you to collect unspent OBC.

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

If I hit that roadblock, I'd visit the casino. One or 2 "pulls" on the lowest amount machine (25 cents?) and go cash out.

Checks are never sent for less than $25.

 
Not arguing but I just got a check for a little over $8 from Bottomline Technologies.  Dang, I do my best to spend every last dollar of OBC on each and every sailing!  😆 

[Tranquility Base]

On 12/19/2023 at 5:13 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Why refundable OBC isn't be processed back to the credit card, you'll have to get someone else to answer.

 

On 12/19/2023 at 6:06 AM, voljeep said:

follow the money - merchant fees for the cc refund

 

On 12/19/2023 at 6:12 AM, Daisyloo said:

 We sail on HAL and they refund your credit card as soon as the cruise is over. On Princess we got a check 2 months after the cruise.  

For those passengers who live in a country where cheques have been relegated to museum exhibits, Princess have been refunding electronically for over a year.

 

[Thrak]

We disembarked Grand Princess on November 29. A couple of days ago we got a check for our refundable OBC. (We had $652 AUD which arrived as $428 USD which is a poor exchange rate but I knew in advance that Princess would use a "special" exchange rate that favors them.) Last year we ended up with a big chunk stuck in the casino because we didn't realize the place would be closed a day earlier than usual. (The last day was from Victoria to Vancouver and they never opened the casino.) A month or so later we received a check for the full amount.