Wow, they really must not want my business

[spartancruisers]

In early January 2020, my wife and I scheduled the Encore for April 12 to 19 2020.  Obviously very soon thereafter, COVID was an oncoming train at that point.  I told my wife no way we're getting on that boat.  Because the cruise lines were so slow to react and provide options to travelers, I tried to cancel immediately.  In late February 2020, NCL told us we could cancel but would have to forfeit 75% of our money if we did, so we did not.  A week later I heard the cruise lines wised up and they were offering credit.  I jumped at the chance since it represented at least 100% of the money and our cruise was happening soon!  No longer than a week after that, NCL decided to change their policy again to offer FCC or refunds.  Now I'm being told that because I took the credit, even though their policy changed a week later and I did not have the refund option at the time, I can't get a refund?  The numbers of people that told me there was "no way" to return money to a customer was ridiculous.  Their employees want me to believe their internal system prevents them from returning customers' money.  Laughable.

 

Regardless of the specific timing of certain company policies, etc etc, it seems like a really bad idea for their approach to be to hang onto a few thousand dollars of my money at the risk of many times that money if they just did the right thing.  Because even if they open back up and we take a cruise in 2022, there's no damn way I'm using these guys again.  Who knows what happens to the entire industry, but they better hope its not what they deserve.

[hftmrock]

you can only get the promotions that are available at the time you do them. if you decided to cancel a week before, you would have had to take the 75% penalty and that would not change. then you got a NEW promotion for the FCC and you JUMPED on it which means you were satisfied with that promotion. a NEW promotion came out for anyone that decided to wait that long however you agreed to the promotion of FCC. It was good enough of a promotion to take it when you did and subsequent promotions do not enter into this. you took the 'peace of mind' promotion for FCC credit.

 

While it feels like you missed out on further promotions, you were not entitled to them and should be happy you were made 'whole' by FCC.

 

You say in the title that NCL doesnt want your money but you have a FCC credit to go back on and if you want to spend it on NCL as you appear to , there is no difference between an FCC and a refund that sounds like you would put back in NCL anyway

 

I understand the frustration but you accepted what they were offering at the time

[SeaShark]

Once you "jumped at the chance", you were given a credit and your booking was cancelled. From that moment forward you were no longer booked on the cruise.

 

When the Government forced NCL to suspend operations, they offered all booked guests on affected sailings a credit (either 150% or 125% depending on sailing date) OR the option to request a 100% refund.

 

Since you did not hold a valid booking, they can't offer the choice of refund options...those options only apply to people holding a booking.

[spartancruisers]

I accept fully we took the first opportunity to protect ourselves.  I don't accept that, given the circumstances, refund offers can't and shouldn't be offered to persons that want a refund but were only offered a credit at the time.  It was literally a matter of days.  The credit card company did refund the money and I fully expect that to carry the day.  The notion that a booking was or wasn't active is an irrelevant accounting matter.

[hamrag]

36 minutes ago, spartancruisers said:

.....I heard the cruise lines wised up and they were offering credit.  I jumped at the chance since it represented at least 100% of the money.....

 

.....Their employees want me to believe their internal system prevents them from returning customers' money.  Laughable....

 

In your own words, you jumped at the chance.....and now you criticise NCL for offering that 'peace of mind' policy.

 

I don't believe you have been told that 'their internal system prevents them from returning customers' money'. Rather, my hunch is you have been advised that since you were not a customer when the enhanced offer was made then you have no entitlement to participate in such offer!  🙄

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by hamrag

[Budget Queen]

3 minutes ago, spartancruisers said:

I accept fully we took the first opportunity to protect ourselves.  I don't accept that, given the circumstances, refund offers can't and shouldn't be offered to persons that want a refund but were only offered a credit at the time.  It was literally a matter of days.  The credit card company did refund the money and I fully expect that to carry the day.  The notion that a booking was or wasn't active is an irrelevant accounting matter.

It is a DONE DEAL   you canceled your cruise and AGREED to the terms.    You had no reservation when new terms were offered.       

 

With your claim they don't want your "business",  is faulty-   you have a FCC to use.   

[skywonder]

45 minutes ago, spartancruisers said:

In early January 2020, my wife and I scheduled the Encore for April 12 to 19 2020.  Obviously very soon thereafter, COVID was an oncoming train at that point.  I told my wife no way we're getting on that boat.  Because the cruise lines were so slow to react and provide options to travelers, I tried to cancel immediately.  In late February 2020, NCL told us we could cancel but would have to forfeit 75% of our money if we did, so we did not.  A week later I heard the cruise lines wised up and they were offering credit.  I jumped at the chance since it represented at least 100% of the money and our cruise was happening soon!  No longer than a week after that, NCL decided to change their policy again to offer FCC or refunds.  Now I'm being told that because I took the credit, even though their policy changed a week later and I did not have the refund option at the time, I can't get a refund?  The numbers of people that told me there was "no way" to return money to a customer was ridiculous.  Their employees want me to believe their internal system prevents them from returning customers' money.  Laughable.

 

Regardless of the specific timing of certain company policies, etc etc, it seems like a really bad idea for their approach to be to hang onto a few thousand dollars of my money at the risk of many times that money if they just did the right thing.  Because even if they open back up and we take a cruise in 2022, there's no damn way I'm using these guys again.  Who knows what happens to the entire industry, but they better hope its not what they deserve.

NCL should have done better by its customers in this situation and back dated the offer. Some cruise lines like Disney did back date the offer. Vote with your wallet and take your business to another line next time, one with better customer service. that is what many will do.

[seaman11]

 

they must not want anyones business the way they are handling things, i was told the fccs are trickling in.  hey how about you look it up and transfer the fcc i used on the now canceled cruise by you  and put it in my account so i can put it on another cruise. smh. 

[SeaShark]

20 minutes ago, skywonder said:

NCL should have done better by its customers in this situation and back dated the offer. Some cruise lines like Disney did back date the offer. Vote with your wallet and take your business to another line next time, one with better customer service. that is what many will do.

 

Easy to say, but...

 

How far back should they back date it?

 

Before you answer, consider that however many days you choose, there will be someone just outside your window that will feel cheated because it still doest affect them....

[skywonder]

30 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

 

they must not want anyones business the way they are handling things, i was told the fccs are trickling in.  hey how about you look it up and transfer the fcc i used on the now canceled cruise by you  and put it in my account so i can put it on another cruise. smh. 

Well said, that would make sense, something NCL seems to be lacking.

Edited May 4, 2020 by skywonder

[hallux]

I posted this in another thread on the exact same topic - 

So, let me try to put this in perspective.

 

People that book early are always begging for the cruise line to compensate them when the fare drops for later bookings.  Some people respond to that by asking if those people would be willing to be charged more if the fare actually goes up (obviously they wouldn't).  The people that booked early were fine paying the fare as presented when they booked, any change lower is a bonus.

 

Same deal here - if the cancellation terms were changed to be less beneficial to the customer, would you expect NCL to pull back what was initially offered for early cancellations if the terms changed to be more beneficial to NCL?  Didn't think so.  The terms offered when you cancelled were the terms you agreed to, that different terms were offered even a day later doesn't matter. 

 

Here's that thread by the way - 

 

[z4oslo]

34 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

 

they must not want anyones business the way they are handling things, i was told the fccs are trickling in.  hey how about you look it up and transfer the fcc i used on the now canceled cruise by you  and put it in my account so i can put it on another cruise. smh. 

 

To put it in perspective, they have to deal with about 53000 cancellations.. each week. 

[Two Wheels Only]

12 minutes ago, hallux said:

The terms offered when you cancelled were the terms you agreed to, that different terms were offered even a day later doesn't matter. 

 

Every Karen thinks than they got a great deal until someone else gets a better deal. Then Karen wants the better deal and after speaking to the manager and getting denied the better deal, Karen posts on CC.

 

We've seen this movie before....

[FLcruisergrl]

1 hour ago, skywonder said:

NCL should have done better by its customers in this situation and back dated the offer. Some cruise lines like Disney did back date the offer. Vote with your wallet and take your business to another line next time, one with better customer service. that is what many will do.

And how far do you suggest they “back date” it? From Feb 1st? Jan 1st? There’s got to be a line drawn.

[Paul Bogle]

I understand your position and am glad you were able to cancel and can rebook a future cruise. With that said NCL is very skimpy with making adjustments for price reductions on bookings after final payment. The most common offer is a one time 25% onboard credit. I just don't see why anything would be offered for a better unbooking offer after one has already unbooked. 

[knight2096]

1 hour ago, skywonder said:

NCL should have done better by its customers in this situation and back dated the offer. Some cruise lines like Disney did back date the offer. Vote with your wallet and take your business to another line next time, one with better customer service. that is what many will do.

Disney and a few other lines did the smart thing. A very wise decision on their part.

[esm54687]

OMG... I completely agree and I have the exact same issue but with Microsoft...... I chose not to purchase $1000 worth at their IPO in 1986 and now they won't let me purchase it at that price with all the earnings, splits, etc. They cost me $1,800,000 because of their hatred towards investors.

 

My point is..... good or bad.... you accepted the T&Cs of the cancellation at the time.  If by chance NCL revised their offer to only 105% FCC would people call and ensure the 20% was removed? 

Edited May 4, 2020 by esm54687

[skywonder]

24 minutes ago, knight2096 said:

Disney and a few other lines did the smart thing. A very wise decision on their part.

Yeah I look at it this way, now people can see what cruise lines went that extra mile to take care of their customers and what cruise lines did not. Makes choosing a future cruise much easier for many. That is the great thing about a free market.

[seaman11]

2 hours ago, z4oslo said:

 

To put it in perspective, they have to deal with about 53000 cancellations.. each week. 

well i dont blame the reps, i justs saying the system stinks and it updated.  plus if the rep cant go see its cancelled and not transfer the credit over than thats a problem for trying to keep ppl rebooking. 

[julig22]

4 hours ago, spartancruisers said:

I accept fully we took the first opportunity to protect ourselves.  I don't accept that, given the circumstances, refund offers can't and shouldn't be offered to persons that want a refund but were only offered a credit at the time.  It was literally a matter of days.  The credit card company did refund the money and I fully expect that to carry the day.  The notion that a booking was or wasn't active is an irrelevant accounting matter.

Please report back on that credit card chargeback.  Despite your thinking, you were not due anything but fcc, as so many have already posted.  So unless there is travel insurance attached to that card, I would expect NCL (and therefore the bank) to deny the claim and withdraw the temporary credit.  Another post stated that they were charged the 25% penalty (cancelled over 90 days out) when they did a chargeback, so NCL is checking and responding.

[seaman11]

3 hours ago, skywonder said:

Yeah I look at it this way, now people can see what cruise lines went that extra mile to take care of their customers and what cruise lines did not. Makes choosing a future cruise much easier for many. That is the great thing about a free market.

You would think if they want pax rebooking. that they would sort all this out quickly and efficiently. if i have to phone up several times, that blocks others from getting through and so on.  its really not that complicated. for example they cancel your cruise, and you paid $1500 simply move that $1500 over to the new cruise you selected.  they know the funds are there because they are the ones that canceled and they have them.   telling us its coming in dribs and drabs and to wait is ridiculous. and leaves a bad taste in the customers mouths. 

[MoCruiseFan]

14 hours ago, spartancruisers said:

I accept fully we took the first opportunity to protect ourselves.  I don't accept that, given the circumstances, refund offers can't and shouldn't be offered to persons that want a refund but were only offered a credit at the time.  It was literally a matter of days.  The credit card company did refund the money and I fully expect that to carry the day.  The notion that a booking was or wasn't active is an irrelevant accounting matter.

No it means you did not have a cruise booked that you could cancel.  You committed fraud.  I pray the powers that be catch up to you and deal with you to the fullest extent of the law.

[mjkacmom]

14 hours ago, Paul Bogle said:

I understand your position and am glad you were able to cancel and can rebook a future cruise. With that said NCL is very skimpy with making adjustments for price reductions on bookings after final payment. The most common offer is a one time 25% onboard credit. I just don't see why anything would be offered for a better unbooking offer after one has already unbooked. 

NCL has the same policies as all of the other mainstream cruise lines. 

[seaman11]

3 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

No it means you did not have a cruise booked that you could cancel.  You committed fraud.  I pray the powers that be catch up to you and deal with you to the fullest extent of the law.

[Sam Ting]

4 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

No it means you did not have a cruise booked that you could cancel.  You committed fraud.  I pray the powers that be catch up to you and deal with you to the fullest extent of the law.

Lol every going on in this world and this is what you are praying for?