Gina.SSF

I almost can’t believe it, but I finally got my refund. It took 136 DAYS from the time I canceled my June 6 Vista cruise to actually getting the $3,500 in my bank account. Here’s two things I learned the hard way:

1. There’s no such thing as “patience and understanding” when dealing with a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Instead of waiting out the 90 days patiently, I should have been calling at regular intervals and (politely) demanding my money. Carnival said one reason my refund took so long was that “it kept getting skipped over somehow.” It didn’t even enter processing until I started calling around the 90-day mark. 
2. I wish, wish, wish I had filed a chargeback. It would have saved me the disappointment of checking my bank account every day for four months and seeing no refund. My money could have been in my account earning interest, instead of Carnival’s. 

I’ve done three cruises in the past few years (Mexico with Carnival in 2017, Alaska with Princess in 2018, and the Mediterranean with Holland America in 2019), but I am probably not giving Carnival any more money any time soon.

I hope all you folks still waiting for your money back stay safe and receive good news soon! 
 

I’m a longtime reader of the CC boards, but I’ve never had a reason to post until now. I called in mid-March to cancel my June 6 cruise aboard the Vista. Although I was originally told to expect all my cruise fare back within two weeks, I patiently waited the 90 days from my cancellation. On day 92, I called my TA, Costco, and they talked to Carnival and told me that while the cruise line was “no longer giving guidance” on wait times,  a note about my case had been sent to the “accounting department.”

We’re now past 110 days from the time of my original cancelation, and I called Costco again. They called Carnival, and I was told that my refund didn’t even ENTER PROCESSING until I called on day 92 to check. I’m now being told to expect my refund sometime this month.

I’m very frustrated with the Carnival response, and I really wish I had filed a chargeback in March instead of trying to be patient and understanding. If the cruise line was issuing slow but steady refunds, like by sail date or cancellation date, that would be one thing, but the refunds are seemingly being issued at random. That's definitely no way to treat customers.