Refund following cancellation

[Royal JacMac 63]

Hi

I'm a regular cruiser but first time on Forum. Seeking assistance.

We had a cruise cancelled on 12th March 2020. On several occasions both pre and post cruise, our booking agent assured us of a full monetary refund in the event of cancellation. They are now refusing a monetary refund as initially promised, and are offering cruise credit for the cruise portion and vouchers for flights / transfers etc. Communication has been fraught. Anxiety levels are high.

I've submitted a complaint with the booking agent 3 weeks ago - no response. I've raised a case with ABTA 1 week ago. They state their response time is currently 28 days.

Is there anything else we can do to get our money back?

Thanks  

[Essiesmom]

You should be asking this on the forum here for the cruise line that you were to sail.  Also ask on the forum here for UK/Europe cruisers.  Many answers you will get will be from the point of view/practices of the US, which do not apply in your situation.  EM

[SteveH2508]

3 hours ago, Royal JacMac 63 said:

Hi

I'm a regular cruiser but first time on Forum. Seeking assistance.

We had a cruise cancelled on 12th March 2020. On several occasions both pre and post cruise, our booking agent assured us of a full monetary refund in the event of cancellation. They are now refusing a monetary refund as initially promised, and are offering cruise credit for the cruise portion and vouchers for flights / transfers etc. Communication has been fraught. Anxiety levels are high.

I've submitted a complaint with the booking agent 3 weeks ago - no response. I've raised a case with ABTA 1 week ago. They state their response time is currently 28 days.

Is there anything else we can do to get our money back?

Thanks  

Did you pay by credit card? If so, you have Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 on your side as well. That would be your next stop - then court I guess. 

 

Your booking agent is also breaking the law. You are entitled under the Package Travel Regs. 2018 to a refund within 14 days if the cruise line cancelled your sailing. 

[Royal JacMac 63]

Hi

Thanks so much. Really useful stuff here.

Best wishes

[Royal JacMac 63]

6 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

You should be asking this on the forum here for the cruise line that you were to sail.  Also ask on the forum here for UK/Europe cruisers.  Many answers you will get will be from the point of view/practices of the US, which do not apply in your situation.  EM

 

Hi EM

Thanks so much for your response.

Yes I'll follow your guidance.

Best wishes

[Host Kat]

On 4/18/2020 at 6:37 AM, Royal JacMac 63 said:

Hi

I'm a regular cruiser but first time on Forum. Seeking assistance.

We had a cruise cancelled on 12th March 2020. On several occasions both pre and post cruise, our booking agent assured us of a full monetary refund in the event of cancellation. They are now refusing a monetary refund as initially promised, and are offering cruise credit for the cruise portion and vouchers for flights / transfers etc. Communication has been fraught. Anxiety levels are high.

I've submitted a complaint with the booking agent 3 weeks ago - no response. I've raised a case with ABTA 1 week ago. They state their response time is currently 28 days.

Is there anything else we can do to get our money back?

Thanks  

 

@Royal JacMac 63

 

Howdy and welcome to Cruise Critic!  

 

Thank you for your first new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum for general questions about cruising. 👍

 

Since you are from the UK but did not mention your cruise line, I have moved your thread to the  UK Cruisers forum. That's a forum for cruising questions related to the UK or UK based ships. Your thread will be on-topic there. Also, don't forget to check out The Pub forum for chitter-chatter with other UK cruisers.

 

Cruise Critic is a great resource for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you found us!   Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community Categories list. Read a few threads in the forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads on the top of the first page of threads in a forum. You will find very important instructions or information there.

 

Please remember the following stated in the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships:

 

Browse Before You Post
Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics.

 

Anytime you need to start a new thread/topic on a forum, first make sure you are in the correct forum for your topic. Word your new thread title in a way to help the members know exactly the information you seek. This greatly helps the members browsing through the thread titles and if they know the information they will reply to you. It is best to limit each inquiry to only one topic or concerning one cruise line, one ship, one port of call, etc. and of course, on the correct forum.   You will get more replies that way. Be sure to mention your cruise line, ship, port or sail date in your inquiry as that sort of information will help the members have the information they need in order to reply back to you.

 

I sincerely hope this information will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[nosapphire]

Have a look on this forum, about 2 threads down (titled ABTA lobbying for no refunds)Aulanis has very helpfully posted a copy of the ABTA page. THere is also some discussion about refunds which will help.

If this was a package tour booked in the UK, then the legislation is still a full refund if the tour company/tour agent cancels. Technically speaking, the refund should be within 14 days - but think we can all understand that the volume of refunds mean it is almost impossible for tour companies to get all refunds out within this time.

You should remind your tour agent that the legislation has not changed, and the reason you booked a package tour was to be protected by this legislation, so you do not want a credit note, you want a refund.

They may say they are following ABTA guidelines, so repeat that you expect them to follow UK legislation, not ABTA guidelines.

It is no good complaining to ABTA as they are an industry body set up for the benefit of the industry, not the consumer - Trading Standards will be more help.

The consumer group Which? has also raised this as a current problem, and has already spoken to some travel companies.

 

[Royal JacMac 63]

Hi

Thanks so much for your succinct comment. This is really helpful and good to know.

Best wishes

[Bloodgem]

Hi, welcome to CC (Cruise Critics).

Your TA (Travel Agent) may be prioritising the cancellation of holidays over complaints. That is what the TA I use is doing.