Unused refundable OBC

[davy jones]

How long does take for Princess to return unused OBC to your credit card at the end of a sailing?

[dreaminofcruisin]

1 minute ago, davy jones said:

How long does take for Princess to return unused OBC to your credit card at the end of a sailing?

 

They usually will mail you a check. Sometimes the return address doesn't say Princess, so open all your junk mail until you get it....

I'm guessing somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks.

[travellingnana]

15 minutes ago, davy jones said:

How long does take for Princess to return unused OBC to your credit card at the end of a sailing?

Pretty sure it comes from Bottomline Technologies. Last time it just took 2 weeks to get here. 

[PacnGoNow]

It took about 2 weeks tor our check also.  It is from Bottomline Technologies for Princess cruises, and comes in a windowed envelope.

 

[vjmatty]

They used to let you cash it out at the purser’s desk but now they have gone back to the 1980’s with snail mailing a paper check. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

22 hours ago, travellingnana said:

Pretty sure it comes from Bottomline Technologies. Last time it just took 2 weeks to get here. 

Yes, Bottomline Technologies.  They have improved the labelling with the window envelopes they are using now.  There did not used to be any indication of a connection to Princess...consequently many unopened envelopes got tossed out thinking it was junk mail!  Be careful in sorting through your mail.  On the refund I just got a couple weeks ago Princess Cruises *did* show through the window...but it was fairly small print.

[mtnesterz]

If it's less than $25, you may choose to receive payment at Passenger Services. If more, it is by mailed check. We received ours the 15th day post cruise. Can second the very plain looking envelope. Would be easy to consider it junk mail.

[geoherb]

I don't trust Princess anymore to mail the correct amount. Two years ago, I had more than $100 in refundable onboard credit. It came from a refund for port fees, a refund for the transfer from LaGuardia, and a refund for lousy internet service. I asked through Crew Chat if all of those items were refundable. I was told yes. But somehow Princess decided only $80 was.

 

I could tell immediately when I received my emailed statement that they had written off $23 and change as nonrefundable. The strange thing is I can't see how they got to the $80. There's no combination of the refundable things that add up to that amount. 

 

I wrote immediately after receiving the emailed statement. I wrote again after receiving the $80 check. I mentioned it again three months later. All I received back were the auto replies.

 

Finally, 656 days after my first contact with Princess about the problem, a customer service rep emailed me. Once again, she could not come up with a way to explain why $80 was refunded and $23.21 was not. She did, on her second email, say that I'd be receiving a $25 goodwill credit on my upcoming cruise. 

 

On all future cruises, though, I will be sure to spend all my refundable credit and not leave anything behind.

[Donwoods123]

On 8/3/2024 at 5:05 PM, PacnGoNow said:

It took about 2 weeks tor our check also.  It is from Bottomline Technologies for Princess cruises, and comes in a windowed envelope.

 

On our recent cruise on the Ruby, we received our check within 3 weeks.

 

 

[DeniseAtBeach]

Assuming OBC is a refundable one… last evening of our cruises, we usually head to the Casino, withdraw the amount of our leftover OBC to a slot machine and then cash out. Head to the cashier, complete cash out and leave with cash. Result is zero folio.

[voljeep]

22 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Yes, Bottomline Technologies.  They have improved the labelling with the window envelopes they are using now.  There did not used to be any indication of a connection to Princess...consequently many unopened envelopes got tossed out thinking it was junk mail!  Be careful in sorting through your mail.  On the refund I just got a couple weeks ago Princess Cruises *did* show through the window...but it was fairly small print.

yes, since 2018 ... certainly didn't look like any kind of other junk mail when expecting a refund - I've never ...

 

Bottomline Technologies

for Princess Cruises

 

in the return address

[davy jones]

The folio clearly separated refundable and nonrefundable OBC.  A folio was not given to us on disembarkation day and one was not emailed to us.  I can not access it on the app or website.

 

An online chat with Princess said that all OBC is nonrefundable.  That is not true.  They also said that it would take 7 to 10 days to receive a copy of the folio via email. 

 

I hope that they resolve this properly.  I enjoyed the cruise and have another one booked.  I hope that I don't have to stop sailing them over this issue

[Cruisemeister2002]

Never had refundable OBC. But the system seems archaic. If they require a method of payment so if a passenger spends onboard they can charge to a credit card why can't they refund to that card. Paying by check/cheque means you have a two week or more time to receive it. Then you have to presumably go to a bank to pay it in. Although now you can pay in via a banking App.

[beshears]

I have not read any the replies here, but I thought???? that ANY OBC a person had, had to be used up, before leaving the ship. Is this correct, and if not, how do some people get their OBC back when they don't use it while on the ship?

[Wishing on a star]

There is a very real problem here....

I have posted on the other recent thread, and also sent emails of concern to all three of the top executives that are listed there.  (Played telephone tag with one rep who seemed clueless, and seems to have done nothing at all to forward our concern to the right department or anything else.)

OBC paid by guests, with their credit card, that is unused, or is from cancelable services or goods is the GUESTS money.   

Any way to get 'creative' for Princess to keep that money in their pockets... not okay.

[wallyj]

2 hours ago, beshears said:

I have not read any the replies here, but I thought???? that ANY OBC a person had, had to be used up, before leaving the ship. Is this correct, and if not, how do some people get their OBC back when they don't use it while on the ship?

Unused REFUNDABLE OBC is supposed to be refunded via a check to address on file. Your folio will show if your OBC is non refundable or refundable.

[TRLD]

On 8/4/2024 at 7:00 PM, geoherb said:

I don't trust Princess anymore to mail the correct amount. Two years ago, I had more than $100 in refundable onboard credit. It came from a refund for port fees, a refund for the transfer from LaGuardia, and a refund for lousy internet service. I asked through Crew Chat if all of those items were refundable. I was told yes. But somehow Princess decided only $80 was.

 

I could tell immediately when I received my emailed statement that they had written off $23 and change as nonrefundable. The strange thing is I can't see how they got to the $80. There's no combination of the refundable things that add up to that amount. 

 

I wrote immediately after receiving the emailed statement. I wrote again after receiving the $80 check. I mentioned it again three months later. All I received back were the auto replies.

 

Finally, 656 days after my first contact with Princess about the problem, a customer service rep emailed me. Once again, she could not come up with a way to explain why $80 was refunded and $23.21 was not. She did, on her second email, say that I'd be receiving a $25 goodwill credit on my upcoming cruise. 

 

On all future cruises, though, I will be sure to spend all my refundable credit and not leave anything behind.

If you canceled the Internet service and what you received was a refund on money paid for the service, that should be refundable. If you did not cancel, and you received some OBC as a goodwill gesture because the service was poor, often those are nonrefundable.

[geoherb]

2 hours ago, beshears said:

I have not read any the replies here, but I thought???? that ANY OBC a person had, had to be used up, before leaving the ship. Is this correct, and if not, how do some people get their OBC back when they don't use it while on the ship?

 

Because some things are refundable. The examples I had in my response were a refund for the transfer from the airport to the ship. We also had port fees refunded for missing a port. The third type of refundable OBC was for lousy internet. They automatically credited people for 10 out of the 16 days. Other people may have refundable OBC from things they prepaid and canceled in time--shore excursions, specialty dining, and spa appointments. Others may have refundable OBC from paying ahead of time on their accounts more than they used.

[geoherb]

Just now, TRLD said:

If you canceled the Internet service and what you received was a refund on money paid for the service, that should be refundable. If you did not cancel, and you received some OBC as a goodwill gesture because the service was poor, often those are nonrefundable.

 

They automatically refunded everyone on the ship for 10 days worth of internet out of 16. When I asked through Crew Chat, I was told it was refundable. Plus there's no way I can come up with a combination of what I was told was refundable OBC that adds up to $80. I had $39 in a refund for the port shuttle, $13.79 in refunded port fees initially, $54.58 in refunded port fees after missing Nuuk, and $50 as a refund for the internet being down.

[TRLD]

11 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

They automatically refunded everyone on the ship for 10 days worth of internet out of 16. When I asked through Crew Chat, I was told it was refundable. Plus there's no way I can come up with a combination of what I was told was refundable OBC that adds up to $80. I had $39 in a refund for the port shuttle, $13.79 in refunded port fees initially, $54.58 in refunded port fees after missing Nuuk, and $50 as a refund for the internet being down.

Just to be clear you had a zero folio with none of the refundable OBC spent?

 

That they were shown as still being there and your last folio was showing a negative balance of that amount. 

 

On the emailed folio there should a line showing referred to corporate that would reflect the amount being refunded.

 

How were they each listed in the folio?  That reflects the status as they were entered into the accounting system.  Have seen CS make assumptions.

 

 

 

Edited August 7 by TRLD

[geoherb]

2 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Just to be clear you had a zero folio with none of the OBC spent?

 

That they were shown as still being there and your folio was showing a negative balance of that amount. 

 

How were they each listed in the folio?  That reflects the status as they were entered into the accounting system.  Have seen CS make assumptions. 

 

No. I spent a great deal of my OBC. I had $685 in OBC before getting on the ship. All of those credits show up as non-refundable. The amounts I listed for the refund in port fees, shuttle from the airport, and internet were in addition to that amount. I spent about $740 of it. That left $103.21.The refund for the shuttle from the airport showed up as refundable. The other three amounts did not have any notation next time. That's why I asked my question. After receiving the response on Crew Chat, I thought everything was fine and that I'd be getting that amount a few weeks later. 

 

As soon as I received the email of my final account, I knew that Princess was somehow trying to screw me out of part of that money. I wrote immediately questioning why I'd receive a refund for $80 and why they showed $23.21 as promotional credit (non-refundable). 

 

Even with the resolution through goodwill credit on my next cruise, no one from Princess has tried to explain how they came to their initial decision and how it added up to $80 in refundable and $23.21 as non-refundable. 

[TRLD]

43 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

No. I spent a great deal of my OBC. I had $685 in OBC before getting on the ship. All of those credits show up as non-refundable. The amounts I listed for the refund in port fees, shuttle from the airport, and internet were in addition to that amount. I spent about $740 of it. That left $103.21.The refund for the shuttle from the airport showed up as refundable. The other three amounts did not have any notation next time. That's why I asked my question. After receiving the response on Crew Chat, I thought everything was fine and that I'd be getting that amount a few weeks later. 

 

As soon as I received the email of my final account, I knew that Princess was somehow trying to screw me out of part of that money. I wrote immediately questioning why I'd receive a refund for $80 and why they showed $23.21 as promotional credit (non-refundable). 

 

Even with the resolution through goodwill credit on my next cruise, no one from Princess has tried to explain how they came to their initial decision and how it added up to $80 in refundable and $23.21 as non-refundable. 

Your final statement is basically an accounting format instead of the bill format on the ship.  As such it tends to be a bit confusing, but it should show all of the calculations.

 

So it shows the correct charged, and the amounts correct, only that 23.21 was listed as non refundable, instead of refundable.

 

Are you Elite? If so I wonder if you purchased the Internet with an Elite discount and as a result they cut the amount of refund? Just about the only thing I can come up with other than a coding error.

 

Did those that got their Internet as part of a package also get the credit?

 

 To bad these days you can not talk with accounting directly like you could in the precovid days.

Edited August 7 by TRLD

[geoherb]

8 hours ago, TRLD said:

Your final statement is basically an accounting format instead of the bill format on the ship.  As such it tends to be a bit confusing, but it should show all of the calculations.

 

So it shows the correct charged, and the amounts correct, only that 23.21 was listed as non refundable, instead of refundable.

 

Are you Elite? If so I wonder if you purchased the Internet with an Elite discount and as a result they cut the amount of refund? Just about the only thing I can come up with other than a coding error.

 

Did those that got their Internet as part of a package also get the credit?

 

 To bad these days you can not talk with accounting directly like you could in the precovid days.

 

The amount refunded for the 10 days of internet was $50--at the Elite discount rate of $5 per day back then. I not purchase Plus since I was going with so much OBC to cover my charges. I did pay for the internet ahead of time. 

 

The people who had Plus or Premier received $100 credit for the lousy internet.

[amajaa]

Last year we were able to get up to $200.00 cash from reception. But we are from the UK and I think that was easier than sending us a cheque as a USD cheque would be no good to us.

 

It was really handy as it gave us extra dollars for tips. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 8/4/2024 at 4:18 PM, mtnesterz said:

If it's less than $25, you may choose to receive payment at Passenger Services. If more, it is by mailed check. We received ours the 15th day post cruise. Can second the very plain looking envelope. Would be easy to consider it junk mail.

If it’s less than $25, you must collect it as Guest Services before leaving the ship as they don’t appear to send out checks for less than $25.