Negative Balance, NCL asking for final payment.

[valleyvillage]

My cruise was paid in full, but I suddenly get a message saying "Don't lose your cruise. Make your final payment now!"

I click the link to pay and it shows balance due: $-8.76.

I even tried entering CC info to "pay" and the charge was declined. The screen said to call NCL so I did and they could not see a final balance due, negative or positive.

Would love to know if this has happened to others. Thanks!

[Aesop081]

Never had this happen. Spidey senses are tingling though. Check with your credit card company to ensure that wasn't a phishing expedition. After all, no one thinks twice about small balance payments. But with the all the card data, it could be painful.

[zqvol]

Likely a decrease in port fees after booking, so you may have a credit when you board the ship.

[Shidah]

I had that happen once with a CAS cruise. They assured me it was paid and sent me cruise documents to show that. It eventually cleared itself. You’ll be fine.

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I think it's a robo-post. I got a similar email from Princess today just because I clicked through an email from them about a week ago. I'd take the above advice.

[shof515]

it might be a glitch in the system. Last year, i had the same problem. Somehow someway they merged the specially dinning service charge fee together. I received a balance due email and i requested NCL to send me invoice . On the invoice i seen that guest 1 had a 24 dollar specially dinning service charge and guest 2 had a 0 dollar. This was not normal compare to other past invoices. Thus causing the balance due email message i received.

 

The NCL rep i spoke to also noticed this glitch and was able to balance everything out so that guest 1 had the 12 dollar service charge and guest 2 had the 12 dollar charge. this corrected that balance due problem. Both me and the rep was confused on how this happen

Edited September 11, 2018 by shof515

[adam_s_allen]

Maybe buy $10 of OBC and see if after you pay for that it balances out?

[Shellbelle28]

My cruise was paid in full, but I suddenly get a message saying "Don't lose your cruise. Make your final payment now!"

I click the link to pay and it shows balance due: $-8.76.

I even tried entering CC info to "pay" and the charge was declined. The screen said to call NCL so I did and they could not see a final balance due, negative or positive.

Would love to know if this has happened to others. Thanks!

Call customer service immediately. It could cause you to lose your booking even though you are paid in full.

 

I had this happen to me when making an excursion purchase. The Shorex people didn't click a button on the reservation and it created a credit balance but I was getting those "Don't lose your cruise" messages and when I asked my PCC, he said I needed to call right away and get it fixed (evidently it isn't something a PCC has access to.)

 

I know it is a PITA to sit on hold to get something fixed that's not your fault, but that is better than your reservation getting dropped!

[valleyvillage]

So, I decided to purchase a specialty dining package and once that was paid, the negative balance went away. Thanks for all your ideas!

[Shellbelle28]

So, I decided to purchase a specialty dining package and once that was paid, the negative balance went away. Thanks for all your ideas!

Glad that fixed it!

 

I looked back at my emails, and my issue was not exactly the same as yours like I thought. I reserved a shore excursion over the phone, which didn't require payment but showed as a balance due. So my account really did show something owed, it was just in error, shouldn't have been charged until on board.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

We have 2 reservations and one of them has the exact same credit balance of $8.76 !!!!??? Account shows "Fully Paid" as both cabins were fully paid ages back. Could be a port tax credit, but not sure why on the one cabin and not the other. Will check in the AM.

[rtkenmore]

My cruise was paid in full, but I suddenly get a message saying "Don't lose your cruise. Make your final payment now!"

I click the link to pay and it shows balance due: $-8.76.

I even tried entering CC info to "pay" and the charge was declined. The screen said to call NCL so I did and they could not see a final balance due, negative or positive.

Would love to know if this has happened to others. Thanks!

 

We had something similar happen our last cruise when it was switched from east to west due to the damage last year. It was almost a nightmare to figure out because as long as the negative balance was showing, the system wouldn't let us make reservations or book excursions.. It kept saying you had to make a payment but there was nothing due.

 

Keep calling and get a supervisor on the line who will eventually realize what is going on and forward you to the right department to reset your My NCL account correctly.

[karenj4546]

My negative balance is -603.20. Had the exact same thing happen and called NCL. They said I'd lose the trip if I didn't pay it (this is a B2B 28 day trip). I paid. Hoping it gets worked out......

[designergirl]

Same thing just happened to me for my 11-day Breakaway sailing Jan 6, a CAS cruise. I posted about it here just days ago and the folks here on Cruise Critic eased my mind saying that I would probably receive a credit one way or the other... perhaps a refund to my CC or as a credit on my onboard account.

 

However, I can never let anything go so I kept at it. After speaking with four reps and getting no where... they kept saying I would have to cancel and rebook in order to get my money back, but then I would lose my onboard credit.

 

Quick recap: I paid the balance in full about 10 days prior to final pay date. A few days later I checked my online account to see if all was okay. My account stated that it was "Payment Complete" but I had a negative balance of $46.60. Apparently NCL reduced the Taxes and Fees for my cruise sometime after I paid in full and before I logged in to check on my account. I took screen captures of everything! When my final pay date arrived, all of a sudden the negative amount simply disappeared, like it never existed.

 

I emailed the CAS people. At first I received the same response as I did from the regular reps. I then emailed again attaching all my screen captures that proved the overpayment on my account prior to final payment. I finally received a response from Corporate saying they would refund my CC within 7 to 10 business days. I haven't seen the refund yet, but I am hopeful.