How long is reasonable to wait for deposit return

[momof4boys]

On 3/28/2020 at 8:20 PM, julig22 said:

Nobody has said it will take 90 days to get your refund.  So far, we are 5 business days into the refund process for the March 13-April 11 cancellations.  Outside that time period, the process is probably different. 

 

I would expect that if you had a simple CC transaction to book your cruise, your refund will also be simple and there is no reason to believe that it won't be in your account soon (BTW - you probably will NOT get a notification from NCL - it will just magically show up in your account).  But not every transaction is a simple credit card reversal.  Some people paid by check.  Some people paid with multiple credit cards.  Some people may have closed the account.  Some people may have moved.  Some people have applied for refunds for cruises that they canceled, not NCL.  Some people have applied for refunds and canceled the CC transaction.  Some people have applied for refunds and used their FCC as well.  And probably many more creative actions. Those are the transactions that will take time - so allow 90 days covers every situation, including the fast ones.

 

To the OP who had their Asia cruise cancelled, what did they tell you about refunds?  I had a couple of modified cruises and they notified us in late December - my airfare and transfers were credited to my CC immediately and they gave us a list of options with timelines to decide between rebooking and refunds.  So in your case, I would think that your refund should have already been issued, unless you chose a different option?

 

I'm not defending NCL in any way but perhaps a little more understanding?  Not an excuse, but nobody who had a cancelled cruise was expecting this money back - it was spent.  If your argument is that you are paying interest, then call your bank and explain - contrary to popular belief,  they might temporarily suspend the charges (to be clear, I don't mean doing a chargeback) or reverse the interest if you ask.  As to the argument that they took your money right away, not entirely true.  They might have gotten a credit but for large purchases, it could be up to 55 days or more before they get anything. I time major charges so that they hit at the beginning of a billing cycle (30 days) plus 25 days grace period, so the money is in my bank, not theirs.

 

Respectfully disagree. We have known since mid March that we would not be allowed to port in Canada...yet just got a cancelation email yesterday with our options. We want our money back and they said it would be 90 days not up to 90;days.  We got our CCL refund back in about 8 days.  Big difference. We will not book with NCL again.  

[julig22]

11 minutes ago, momof4boys said:

Respectfully disagree. We have known since mid March that we would not be allowed to port in Canada...yet just got a cancelation email yesterday with our options. We want our money back and they said it would be 90 days not up to 90;days.  We got our CCL refund back in about 8 days.  Big difference. We will not book with NCL again.  

When I posted this nearly a month ago, the wording for refunds at that time specified up to 90 days.  Wording has changed for every subsequent round of cancellations.  I believe some have gotten refunds, I really don't know, since I chose to rebook with fcc. 

[WillCruiseForMoney]

"How long is reasonable to wait for deposit return"

 

We were booked on the Sun, departing 10/18/20 Panama Canal, which was canceled by NCL on 4/13.

Within 3 days my Cruise Next certificates were back in my account

On 4/25 my deposit was credited back to my credit card

All done without filing any paperwork or special request

 

In contrast, we were scheduled to be on the Grand Princess on 3/29, which was cancelled by Princess on 3/12.

Princess gave option for full refund and some extra future cruise credit, or no refund and a much larger future cruise credit.

On 3/13 we filed their form for the the full refund option 

On 4/22 the future cruise credits were posted to our accounts

No word on the cruise refund or the $500 of prepaid on board credit we had purchased - hoping they refund by the 90 day mark

 

So for those that think other cruise lines are treating this any different than NCL, perhaps not.

 

[trivia addict]

Two weeks ago I cancelled a September NCL cruise  to Hawaii. The balance had not yet been paid. Within a week, the credit for my deposit for that cruise showed up on my credit card.

Alternatively,  on March 27, I cancelled a Bermuda cruise on Royal Caribbean for May 11. The entire cost had been paid. Still waiting for that refund.

 

[JandC_Cruising]

Much to my surprise I received two credits on my credit card on 4/22.  This was for payments on two cabins for an August Bermuda cruise that I cancelled on 4/3 before final payment was due.  I was not expecting it so quickly.  It actually took me a minute to figure out why my CC balance was so low.

I received the cruise next certificates back in my account within 5 days of cancelling and then the balance of the deposits took 19 days.  Far less than the 90 days "quoted".

[Roger88]

Deposits usually are saved  on the legal accounts of the company, not on a credit\loan accounts. These deposits are subject to be returned in case of any unforeseen situation. If I am not mistaken its stated somewhere in your contract that the deposit is to be refunded within like 2-3 weeks since the announcement. Moreover it should be refunded in full unlike the total booking sum that you might have paid. So yes, it wont take 90 days to get back into your pocket   

[scifimonkey]

I am the OP and am still waiting. It is now almost 4 months since I was notified by NCL that my cruise was cancelled.......................They have clearly given up on my future business and that of all the people that I tell about this!

[esm54687]

1 hour ago, scifimonkey said:

I am the OP and am still waiting. It is now almost 4 months since I was notified by NCL that my cruise was cancelled.......................They have clearly given up on my future business and that of all the people that I tell about this!

It may be worth engaging your credit card company at this time. Many posters here in NCL and the other cruise line threads have reported success when they fully disclose the cancellation / refund conditions you accepted (instead of just filing a dispute).

 

However, some have also reported that the credit card company stated that in these unprecedented times with an enormous amount of refund requests (not just the cruise industry but all of the travel / hospitality industry) that the financial infrastructure is overwhelmed and the extended time is normal. It seems Amex is the most friendly returning funds. 

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by esm54687