Refund Status for canceled cruises: Retitled after merges

[Coral]

27 minutes ago, Coral said:

I would check with Princess because the default is to put it in a holding account. If you search holding account on this website, there are several charts.

 

You maybe waiting for nothing.

[ceilidh1]

6 minutes ago, Coral said:

Depending on who you speak to at Princess, these holding accounts may or may not exist. I'm not even kidding. With my TA hat, I just called on Monday to follow up for my client who is waiting on option 1 for March 14th (same as me). For the longest time, she had FCCs for option 2 but was waiting on refund of port fees and air and for the correct option1 FCC. About 10 days ago, the FCCs that she DID have disappeared, so I figured they must be working on it. I called Monday to follow up and the rep told me that nothing had been done in terms of FCC or refund but that she would escalate it as this was long past the timeframe it should be (did I mention that this booking has now been escalated 4 times and STILL nothing?) Anyways, I asked about the holding account and whether the refund portion had gone there - rep told me there was no holding account and money would go back to credit card. The previous time I called, the rep I spoke to told me the holding account was only for people that were ready to book and had holds on future cruises so the money could be transferred over. Honestly. NO ONE at Princess seems to know anything!

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Depending on who you speak to at Princess, these holding accounts may or may not exist. I'm not even kidding. With my TA hat, I just called on Monday to follow up for my client who is waiting on option 1 for March 14th (same as me). For the longest time, she had FCCs for option 2 but was waiting on refund of port fees and air and for the correct option1 FCC. About 10 days ago, the FCCs that she DID have disappeared, so I figured they must be working on it. I called Monday to follow up and the rep told me that nothing had been done in terms of FCC or refund but that she would escalate it as this was long past the timeframe it should be (did I mention that this booking has now been escalated 4 times and STILL nothing?) Anyways, I asked about the holding account and whether the refund portion had gone there - rep told me there was no holding account and money would go back to credit card. The previous time I called, the rep I spoke to told me the holding account was only for people that were ready to book and had holds on future cruises so the money could be transferred over. Honestly. NO ONE at Princess seems to know anything!

The one webinar made it sound like holding accounts were the norm. I know several who were waiting for refunds and they were in the holding account - they had to ask for a refund to get them. Honestly - how do people coincide "ready to book" when they don't even know when FCC would hit their account.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Coral

[ceilidh1]

5 minutes ago, Coral said:

The one webinar made it sound like holding accounts were the norm. I know several who were waiting for refunds and they were in the holding account - they had to ask for a refund to get them. Honestly - how do people coincide "ready to book" when they don't even know when FCC would hit their account.

For sure - one of the reasons I called a while back for my client was to request the refund from the holding account, only to be told that there wasn't one. There could be one, but some reps no nothing about it? Or maybe there isn't one? Or maybe some go into holding and some don't? Who knows? All I know is that neither my client nor I have our $$$ from Princess and I know 100% that Princess is aware we want it! LOL

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

For sure - one of the reasons I called a while back for my client was to request the refund from the holding account, only to be told that there wasn't one. There could be one, but some reps no nothing about it? Or maybe there isn't one? Or maybe some go into holding and some don't? Who knows? All I know is that neither my client nor I have our $$$ from Princess and I know 100% that Princess is aware we want it! LOL

When I was trying to get the status of my refund I was told that my port taxes and fees would be refunded to my credit card --- I chose Option 1.

 

[CaribbeanIsland]

45 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

When I was trying to get the status of my refund I was told that my port taxes and fees would be refunded to my credit card --- I chose Option 1.

 

I was told mine would be refunded to credit card. It went into a holding account. I also chose Option 1.

[ceilidh1]

8 minutes ago, CaribbeanIsland said:

I was told mine would be refunded to credit card. It went into a holding account. I also chose Option 1.

My point exactly - the answer is different each time you call. That's why I stopped even trying and disputed with my credit card. My bank can talk to them now. LOL

[Italy52]

9 minutes ago, CaribbeanIsland said:

I was told mine would be refunded to credit card. It went into a holding account. I also chose Option 1.

If you don't mind me asking, how long ago was your conversation with the Princess representative?  Also, how did you find it in your holding account--- just curious.

 

My conversations with a Princess rep was within the last couple of weeks; two reps confirmed the money would go back to my credit card.  Wondering if they changed their policy --- that is why I am asking about your timeline.

[suzyed]

On 6/29/2020 at 8:34 AM, lx200gps said:

Question for those who booked their cruise(s) through a TA. Will Princess discuss your refund situation with you if you phone them, or will they refuse and insist that you go through the booking TA?

 

Our April 4 trip was cancelled by Princess in mid-March, and we selected Option 1. Our 175% FCCs arrived a long time ago, no problem. Our TA has communicated with Princess numerous times on the refund status for our taxes, prepaid items etc., and was given a variety of different stories each time she called. Last week, for the first time, she was informed that Princess had Emailed directly to us in mid-May, asking whether we wanted the refund as a cash return or an FCC, though our TA had stated all along we wanted the cash. Our TA immediately realized that Princess used an incorrect Email address, (even though they continue to send us occasional Emails to my correct address), so that explains why we never received the mid-May Email. I now assume our refund  will take a long time to come, so I thought I would try and call myself, but I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize our chances of actually receiving the refund.

Our TA got absolutely NO information from Princess after they cancelled the Coral cruise (while we were on it).  We dealt with Princess directly.

 

[Aulanis]

14 hours ago, Coral said:

Though some of those (taxes, fees, etc..) go into a Holding Account unless you asked for a refund.

 

Well of course I like to be really different!  PrincessUK WONT tell us

any figures and keep referring us to our TA.   

I have told them several times that we do not want the Port Expenses and

taxes putting into a holding account and want them back in cash!   

This was  also advised to our TA and when it was passed by them

to PCUK they came back and said they were NOT refunding the PE&T. 

£600 each!!

 

 When we  eventually got figures form our TA we could not reconcile them.

We now believe they have added the  PE&T into the FCCs as  they are around

£600 each more than the  Cash refund  (WHICH WE HAVE STILL NOT GOT!!)

Neithger the TA not PCUK have confirmed this is what happened. When/IF

we ever get the cash I will be going back for them to convert the FCCs

back into cash as I am sure what they have done is illegal!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Aulanis

[eroller]

19 hours ago, roxievegas said:

 

I also disputed my charges for two cruises.  One was with Carnival on my costco credit card.  It took about 60 days from dispute, but I was notified that it was resolved in my favor..

My Princess cruise was with BA visa card - I disputed on May 8th and today is the last day that Princess has to challenge the dispute.  I called Princess earlier in the week - they said that they contacted BA at the end of May and was told that I had disputed it.  I called BA yesterday and they said that they had no heard from Princess???

Either way, when I log into my account with BA tomorrow - it should show that it is final.  I received a full credit on my account back in May, but they give you the song and dance that it could be reversed.  I do not like the way BA credit card handles their disputes.

 

 

 

Before my dispute was settled, low and behold my refund from Princess appeared on my account just a couple days ago.  About 116 days from the cancelation and refund request.  Quite unacceptable but I'm glad it finally appeared.  I certainly won't be so quick to book anymore cruises, and if I do I'll know going in that any refund will take 3+ months.  UGH.  

[SunLakesBob]

On 7/8/2020 at 10:02 AM, roxievegas said:

 

I also disputed my charges for two cruises.  One was with Carnival on my costco credit card.  It took about 60 days from dispute, but I was notified that it was resolved in my favor..

My Princess cruise was with BA visa card - I disputed on May 8th and today is the last day that Princess has to challenge the dispute.  I called Princess earlier in the week - they said that they contacted BA at the end of May and was told that I had disputed it.  I called BA yesterday and they said that they had no heard from Princess???

Either way, when I log into my account with BA tomorrow - it should show that it is final.  I received a full credit on my account back in May, but they give you the song and dance that it could be reversed.  I do not like the way BA credit card handles their disputes.

 

I did receive my refund from Princess to my Costco Citi card. Still waiting for Citi to refund my money. They keep extending it. First it was to verify the funds. Now it is to process the transfer back to me. I will be using a different CC going forward. Citi will have a significant loss as we cruise over 100 days a year.

[mackley1956]

113 days since we arrived home after our Australia cruise was terminated. Princess originally tried to give us the higher option; i.e., double refund in Future Cruise Credits instead of the option we chose, which was a combination of FCCs and cash back. Called them on June 27 about that, and finally got the FCC part straightened out about a week later, but still not one penny in refunds. Called again today and spoke to a veteran phone agent (23 years with Princess), and although she didn't really have any good answers as to when we might get some money back, she was sympathetic to our situation and escalated our request. However, I don't have much hope that will do anything; the last agent did the same thing and here we are. I did learn from her that the cruises that were terminated in mid-sail are being handled by a different group than the more straightforward flat-out cancellations. Suspected this to be the case since I've been reading this thread pretty regularly and seeing the response times all over the place. Happy to see that some people are finally getting their money back, maybe some day we'll get ours. 😬

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Thanks to cc disputes, I'm almost done with this Princess drama....

 

I will be 3 for 3 as cc (chase southwest) ruled in MY favor. (any doubts?) lol

and will be crediting my acct. shortly. (took a couple days for the other 2)

 

So thats May, June & Sept cruises All reimbursed, and I didn't have to WAIT for

Princess to do it. (some of the charges were from last summer, didn't matter, all refunded)

 

Disputes I filed online.  They told me I had to fill out a form & mail back, which I did.

It was very simple to fill out.  Within a couple weeks, I got notification refund on the way.

 

Am I worried about Princ stepping up to the plate to Also refund me?  Hell no!

 

I can't say it enough........ file dispute & Let your cc get the cashback for you. 😗

 

Adding to what I posted few pages ago.... this is a Big lesson to me.

In the future,  I will be booking more last minute.

I won't be booking Excursions in advance.

Basically I won't be doing Anything in advance that can be done closer to actual sailing.

Whenever That will be...... 😔

 

[ceilidh1]

25 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

Thanks to cc disputes, I'm almost done with this Princess drama....

 

I will be 3 for 3 as cc (chase southwest) ruled in MY favor. (any doubts?) lol

and will be crediting my acct. shortly. (took a couple days for the other 2)

 

So thats May, June & Sept cruises All reimbursed, and I didn't have to WAIT for

Princess to do it. (some of the charges were from last summer, didn't matter, all refunded)

 

Disputes I filed online.  They told me I had to fill out a form & mail back, which I did.

It was very simple to fill out.  Within a couple weeks, I got notification refund on the way.

 

Am I worried about Princ stepping up to the plate to Also refund me?  Hell no!

 

I can't say it enough........ file dispute & Let your cc get the cashback for you. 😗

 

Adding to what I posted few pages ago.... this is a Big lesson to me.

In the future,  I will be booking more last minute.

I won't be booking Excursions in advance.

Basically I won't be doing Anything in advance that can be done closer to actual sailing.

Whenever That will be...... 😔

 

I have also decided that I will be booking last minute and not paying in advance - the complete opposite to what I currently do, but I have learned the hard way. Ironically, this is the exact opposite behaviour that Princess need right now - they have really screwed themselves with the way they handled this.

 

I also had cancellations with Carnival (refunded in 30 days), NCL (refunded in 45 days), and RCCL (refunded in 47 days). Maybe I just lucked out with those lines, but I know which ones will be first to get my future business...

[sunviking82]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

I have also decided that I will be booking last minute and not paying in advance - the complete opposite to what I currently do, but I have learned the hard way. Ironically, this is the exact opposite behaviour that Princess need right now - they have really screwed themselves with the way they handled this.

 

I also had cancellations with Carnival (refunded in 30 days), NCL (refunded in 45 days), and RCCL (refunded in 47 days). Maybe I just lucked out with those lines, but I know which ones will be first to get my future business...

I think people lose perspective when it comes to money.  This is a completely unexpected situation and the system ( I can speak from experience) are not designed to handle the volume of the number of stops and starts that have occurred.  Like all situations like this  (9/11; Tech Bubble; Great Depression/Recession. . . ) we learn and change.  Systems and policies will be re-evaluated and improved.  Carnival owns Princess but they operate on separate booking systems.  I see this changing in the future as a cost cutting measure and obviously the CCL system is more efficient.  

 

Good news, we are all getting our money back and should be glad the cruise lines didn't just go belly up and you lost it all.  100 days to get my money back (12 K in my case) is worth the wait.  

[ceilidh1]

12 minutes ago, sunviking82 said:

I think people lose perspective when it comes to money.  This is a completely unexpected situation and the system ( I can speak from experience) are not designed to handle the volume of the number of stops and starts that have occurred.  Like all situations like this  (9/11; Tech Bubble; Great Depression/Recession. . . ) we learn and change.  Systems and policies will be re-evaluated and improved.  Carnival owns Princess but they operate on separate booking systems.  I see this changing in the future as a cost cutting measure and obviously the CCL system is more efficient.  

 

Good news, we are all getting our money back and should be glad the cruise lines didn't just go belly up and you lost it all.  100 days to get my money back (12 K in my case) is worth the wait.  

I haven't lost perspective at all...I've said many times on here, it's not the long wait that I have an issue with. It is the lack of consistency, lack of communication, and lack of transparency that has made me lose trust and confidence in Princess. I can call 5 times and get 5 different answers. I appear to know their policies better than they do. Does it mean I will never cruise with them again? Probably not...BUT I will be more selective how I do business with them in the future.

 

Happy to hear you have your money back and that 100 days was acceptable to you - I have never doubted Princess will pay what they have promised (also said that many times in this thread) but, given the situation right now, there are many people who simply can't (and shouldn't have to) wait that amount of time to get back their money. By the way, I am on day 121 of waiting so I would say that I have been more than patient...

[Italy52]

Update on our May 20, 2020 Alaska cruise cancelled by Princess on April 17, 2020.  We chose Option 1.

 

Anticipating that Princess was going to cancel us eventually, we cancelled our soda/water packages and one excursion -- took 106 days to get refund to our credit card.

 

Received 100% FCCs for our cruise fare (minus taxes & port fees) and FCCs for 25% of our cruise fare per Option 1 -- took 83 days to get FCCs.

 

$50 gift card -- still unaccounted for

 

$900 port taxes/fees -- still unaccounted for (should be refunded at some point to our credit card per 2 Princess reps.)

 

Glad that there has been some movement.  After May's settlement, will have to repeat the process with our August cancelled Alaska cruise.

 

Hope others are starting to get some restitution. 

 

 

[Cuedon]

Got money back for a May 30, 2020 on the Caribbean on the July 3, 2020 according to my CC statement... and paid for it back on 12/16/2019, so they got to hold onto it for half a year.

 

Really not getting FCCs though, which is leaving me wondering what's going on on that front.

 

On another note, looks like they're trying to get people back on too:

 

An exclusive offer just for you:

FREE Balcony^‡
+
$1,000 Casino Free Play^†
+
Princess Plus^††
with drinks, wi-fi & gratuities included

 

Running total:

6/8 refunds, 1/8 FCC, 0/1 reimbursement, 0/1 EasyAir

Edited July 9, 2020 by Cuedon

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Cuedon,  I just received the exact same offer.  In a normal environment, this would be a fantastic comp.

But seeing as how Princess wouldn't even let me apply my FCD towards this booking (last time they sent it)

I decided to wait until I got ALL my $$ Refunded.  I also got All of my FCD's refunded too.

So I'm happy to soon be back to square one.  Even steven, except for having to go cc dispute route,

instead of Princess refunding us.

 

Some people are jumping on board this type of offer.

NOT ME.

I am thinking long & hard about booking anything, even a comp. 

We have a few months to decide IF we want to take advantage of this.

At least they pushed cruising date out til Nov. 2021.   Thats better than what it was........ Time will tell.

 

[hpeabody]

20 hours ago, suzyed said:

Our TA got absolutely NO information from Princess after they cancelled the Coral cruise (while we were on it).  We dealt with Princess directly.

 

 

Me too, Susan.  This was all on Princess!   AFAIK Princess never contacted N regarding the World Cruise I was on. I never thought about dragging N into this mess.  After I got the FCC I did ask her to request that Princess not randomly apply it to an existing cruise, because I expect the 2 I had booked long ago will get cancelled too. I don't want to go through the worry and waiting for a refund again.  I will not book another cruise and will not pay Princess another dollar for the foreseeable future.

 

BTW,  I have now received travel expenses, FCC, cash refund to CC, OBC folio refund to CC (not a Bottomline check ?) All that took 104 days.   I have 3 shore excursions currently in dispute with Chase. (Chase has already given me the temporary credit have to wait 30 days for permanent credit)  I will likely appeal / re request the 1 item they denied on my travel expenses because it turns out a fellow passenger was reimbursed for same. 

 

I have received NOTHING for my Pause 2 cancelled Sept, 2020 Sky cruise.  I think that is now coming up on 60 days waiting.

[trinitygirl]

Yay!  Delighted to receive an email from my TA to say they’ve received the refund for my Alaska cruise (sail date May 2nd, cancelled in Early March) and are processing it back to my card.  Curious that there is no FCC showing on my dashboard - it might be that they have refunded the whole thing in cash?  Princess refunded my excursions separately, directly to my card a week ago.  Either way, keep the faith people, they’re getting there.  After this, all I am now waiting for is to hear from the Princess insurance people about my claim for $850 for the non-refundable portion of my flights to Japan for the Diamond Princess cruise cancelled back in February.  But all my flights, accommodation, excursions and now cruises have been fully refunded except for that $850.  It’s been a long wait but got there in the end.

[LDVinNC]

Done with Princess.  Just got a letter from my CC saying Princess will not refund a $320 charge - which was for an air upgrade - and say a random $157 credit covers it.  Still waiting for a $200 deposit made onboard to be cleared.  Fortunately they did refund the large amount of the fare.  Ridiculous this has taken so long.

[roxievegas]

I am just as frustrated with the credit card company as well as Princess.  Yesterday was the final day for Princess to dispute my dispute and as of this morning my credit card shows nothing.  They gave me a provisional credit for the full amount that we had paid to Princess, but that should no longer be temporary, it should be "settled".  

 

We did get the same casino offer as above, ours was for free Oceanview, and $500, plus all the perks.  I we decided to jump on it.  We picked a cruise for April 2021. Hopefully things will be sailing by then

 

To all:  Be safe

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Roxievegas,  even with a casino comp cruise, you owe out of pocket to book.

I wasn't willing to do that until I was reimbursed in Full for all our cancelled cruises.

My comp offer says can book thru Aug.28

Or, chances are, it will come around again...... I just checked and the last time they sent

this same offer was in April, and good for cruises thru April 2021.

Wasn't far out enough, so now their good for cruises thru Nov. 2021.

Different strokes, but I'm Not booking squat til were all paid up.

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by CalLuvsCrusingToo