Refunds from Oceania

[LHT28]

6 hours ago, lovetravel63-65 said:

We are in U.K and booked direct with Oceania for a cruise on 12 August and cancelled on 24 March got deposit back in our credit card account on 10 April so no complaints from us

Good  news

[Paulchili]

6 hours ago, lovetravel63-65 said:

We are in U.K and booked direct with Oceania for a cruise on 12 August and cancelled on 24 March got deposit back in our credit card account on 10 April so no complaints from us

I am happy for you but again wonder why you got a refund in 17 days while others have to wait 30 - 90 days?

Who & what decides that?

Edited April 26, 2020 by Paulchili

[KS&JW]

31 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

I am happy for you but again wonder why you got a refund in 17 days while others have to wait 30 - 90 days?

Who & what decides that?

It seems random.  I canceled two 2021 cruises on March 18.  I received one deposit within the week, the other I am still waiting.  Why?  who knows.  The one I am still waiting on I have had a deposit on for almost 2 years.  Does that make it more difficult versus the one I just booked in January?  Who knows. 

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by KS&JW

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, KS&JW said:

It seems random.  I canceled two 2021 cruises on March 18.  I received one deposit within the week, the other I am still waiting.  Why?  who knows.  The one I am still waiting on I have had a deposit on for almost 2 years.  Does that make it more difficult versus the one I just booked in January?  Who knows. 

 

I wonder if  different people are working on different  cruises  for  refunds/FCC  ?

 

It would be a horrendous job if only  a few staff  were looking after just deposit  refunds 😲

[johntor]

I was promised a full refund within 6 weeks after I cancelled 8 weeks ago for a September cruise.  As I had paid the full amount, the money involved is considerable.....no replies to emails

[jo-b]

We have just cancelled an O cruise for September expecting to "lose" £200 pp admin fee which is how I read the UK contract, our TA advised us that in fact as so far out no penalty other than loss of OBC we got and used on the cruise we were on when we booked onboard, a pleasant surprise. 

 

She has also chased O persistently  for the refund on our May cruise which was cancelled in mid march and we now have confirmation from O of the refund just waiting for it to show up on the CC. 

 

Really glad to have her help with this and the sterling work she did getting us home and fully refunded from an Asia cruise in February (when we thought we had dodged the speeding bullet getting out of HK unscathed , little did we know! ) 

[Medeba]

17 hours ago, jo-b said:

We have just cancelled an O cruise for September expecting to "lose" £200 pp admin fee which is how I read the UK contract, our TA advised us that in fact as so far out no penalty other than loss of OBC we got and used on the cruise we were on when we booked onboard, a pleasant surprise. 

 

She has also chased O persistently  for the refund on our May cruise which was cancelled in mid march and we now have confirmation from O of the refund just waiting for it to show up on the CC. 

 

Really glad to have her help with this and the sterling work she did getting us home and fully refunded from an Asia cruise in February (when we thought we had dodged the speeding bullet getting out of HK unscathed , little did we know! ) 

Are you expecting the refund direct from Oceania?  I thought if you had used a TA that the refund would go to them first then on to you.  Just curious.  I am awaiting the refund of a deposit which shows on my CC statement as a payment to my TA.

[jo-b]

Yes in this instance it’s coming direct from O. We had a refund earlier from Celebrity and then they paid the TA as we had paid them in 2 or 3 CC payments as the whole cost was over our CC limit. 

[royallondon]

Any inside knowledge of how to get a deposit refunded for a September sailing?  We have a final payment looming and don’t feel comfortable in paying it with so much uncertainty (in either the cruise sailing or getting the monies back of it doesn’t).  Our TA  insists we would lose the deposit paid in full despite “O” t&c’s eluding to a refund.

There seems to be so many inconsistencies from posters on this helpful forum.

 

Regards

[eldaradoe]

20 hours ago, johntor said:

I was promised a full refund within 6 weeks after I cancelled 8 weeks ago for a September cruise.  As I had paid the full amount, the money involved is considerable.....no replies to emails

they are quoting up to 90 days due to backlog

[Medeba]

45 minutes ago, royallondon said:

Any inside knowledge of how to get a deposit refunded for a September sailing?  We have a final payment looming and don’t feel comfortable in paying it with so much uncertainty (in either the cruise sailing or getting the monies back of it doesn’t).  Our TA  insists we would lose the deposit paid in full despite “O” t&c’s eluding to a refund.

There seems to be so many inconsistencies from posters on this helpful forum.

 

Regards

If you paid the deposit to your TA who then paid Oceania then technically your contract is with the TA and their T&Cs may say that you lose your deposit if you cancel.  I believe most (If not all) UK TAs have this written in their T&Cs. Some UK posters here will have a TA who honours Oceania’s refund policy. If you are over 70 you could point out that the UK government has advised against cruise travel and I would expect this would be written in your TA’s terms that they follow government guidelines. Other than that perhaps you could try pleading due to the extraordinary circumstances or ask them to transfer your deposit to another cruise for next year if you still want to cruise. Good luck.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Medeba

[royallondon]

Thank you Medeba for taking time to respond.

Unfortunately my age is against me on this one and the exceptional circumstances failed to get through the “fire wall”!

I’ve been waiting nearly 2 weeks for the TA to reprice the same cruise (LA to LA) and hotel stays for September next year but to date, no news.  I appreciate it’s difficult for the TA’s and cruise lines, but retaining good customers has to be in their mid and long term interest.

Regrads

[Medeba]

1 hour ago, royallondon said:

Thank you Medeba for taking time to respond.

Unfortunately my age is against me on this one and the exceptional circumstances failed to get through the “fire wall”!

I’ve been waiting nearly 2 weeks for the TA to reprice the same cruise (LA to LA) and hotel stays for September next year but to date, no news.  I appreciate it’s difficult for the TA’s and cruise lines, but retaining good customers has to be in their mid and long term interest.

Regrads

I’m so sorry for the position you are in. If we ever cruise again I will seriously consider booking directly with the cruise line assuming that their T&Cs are the same as now with regard to cancellations. I have to admit that I hadn’t realised that a UK TA would keep the deposit if you cancelled and for Oceania cruises that is a considerable sum. I only ever expected that a need to cancel a cruise would be for medical reasons which would be reclaimed through insurance. This pandemic has certainly made me be very cautious when booking any sort of holiday in the future.

[royallondon]

+1!

[jo-b]

My reading of the UK T&Cs for O was that there was a £200 pp "admin fee" charged if before 90 or 120 days can't remember which 

 

We had a cruise booked for 24 September 2020 when I contacted the TA she said no admin fee all we would have deposit reimbursed less the OBC we had already had on the cruise we were on when we booked. 

 

For our May cruise which we cancelled mid March when they changed Italy ports for Greece but before they cancelled it they offered us FCC but we said no we wanted a refund as Cruise only is regarded as a package under uK law and this was a substantial change. TA put it to them and they agreed eventually last week.

 

Refunds are dependent on the cruise line rules not your tA 

 

 

[LHT28]

41 minutes ago, jo-b said:

My reading of the UK T&Cs for O was that there was a £200 pp "admin fee" charged if before 90 or 120 days can't remember which 

 

 

Maybe the same as the  North America  T & C's  no admin fee if you cancel 121 days prior  for cruises 14 days or less

 

"The following cancellation charges will be assessed for all written cancellations received up to the scheduled time of departure.

Cruises 14 days or Less:

DAYS PRIOR TO CRUISE SAIL DATE - CANCELLATION AMOUNT 
91-120 Days Prior - $250 per guest administrative fee+
76-90 Days Prior - 25% of Fare 
61-75 Days Prior - 50% of Fare 
31-60 Days Prior - 75% of Fare 
0-30 Days Prior - 100% of Fare

For Owner's, Vista and Oceania Suites, the administrative fee for 91-120 days prior to sailing is 10% of the fare. "

 

 

[royallondon]

Yes you are correct with regard to “O”‘s T&C’s.  The issue I have is with the TA’s T&C’s which state a loss of deposit if cancellation is before final payment date.  They effectively will retain the returned monies from “O”.  
 

 I know, read the T&C’s but in honesty, I have never booked a holiday with the intention to cancel it.  A good insurance policy normally covers the “unexpected” like an idiot rupturing an Achilles playing badminton for the first time in 15 years!
 

I will need to review my preferred TA as not quite better then 5* when it comes to their cancellation policy.  

 

Thank you for your contributions, appreciated.

 

Regards

 

 

[roger b]

On 4/25/2020 at 8:53 AM, roger b said:

Should our claims be against the travel agent as we have a contract with them , in the U.K. they issue our contracts !! is it the same in the U.S.A ??

 Thanks Pingpong  for your detailed reply having gone further in to the payments it appears My T.A took the deposit and Oceania took the balance , what do the U.K posters think about going after the T.A for the deposit which should be paid in 14 days ??

[jean163]

Has this thread been stopped for some reason?  Nothing posted for a month now.

 

[Paulchili]

2 minutes ago, jean163 said:

Has this thread been stopped for some reason?  Nothing posted for a month now.

 

This is where the activity has shifted:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2744517-oceania-refunds-has-anyone-actually-received-any-cash-yet/

 

[Lucky O]

Oceania Cruise scheduled for July5 on Insignia from SF cancelled several weeks ago. They were supposed to refund full fare, but only returned 80%. Anyone else shortchanged by Oceania? Any ideas as to what options are available? Is there another way of shaming them on Cruise Critic?

Lucky O

[basor]

Just now, Lucky O said:

Oceania Cruise scheduled for July5 on Insignia from SF cancelled several weeks ago. They were supposed to refund full fare, but only returned 80%. Anyone else shortchanged by Oceania? Any ideas as to what options are available? Is there another way of shaming them on Cruise Critic?

Lucky O

You will receive your refund in several different amounts since port fees and taxes are refunded separately from the cruise fare and separate from any pre-paid excursions, etc......how many refunds have you received so far?

 

[Lucky O]

Two came at once labeled “Travel” & “Oceania”

[1985rz1]

9 minutes ago, Lucky O said:

Two came at once labeled “Travel” & “Oceania”

Have you checked with your TA to see the amount that is expected and in which categories.  Have you asked your TA for a cancellation invoice that specifies what was paid and what is being refunded?  All our refunds have been marked "Oceania."  I haven't heard of Oceania issuing a credit other than under  "Oceania."  Can you check with you CC company  if the "Travel" is from Oceania?

[Lucky O]