Crystal Refund Roll Call

[seattleskibums]

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

I don't think the Crystal Society FB page is hosted by Crystal.  As I understand it two "civilians" are the moderators.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Knowing absolutely nothing about Facebook, except that its CEO is very rich and looks like he’s still in high school, we did a little research.  It would appear that the Crystal Society Family page is hosted by Crystal Cruises. Here are a few of the group’s rules:

 

Be Kind and courteous: Any posts or comments that are inappropriate, offensive, commercialized, spam-like in nature, or that otherwise violate Crystal Cruises’ Terms of Use will be deleted without prior notice.

 

Respect Everyone’s Privacy: We will delete any posts containing private information such as names (of third parties), phone numbers, addresses, booking number, credit card information or any content that invades personal privacy.

 

Sharing Content: By posting, you grant Crystal Cruises a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable license to reproduce, transmit, display, disclose and otherwise use your communications.

 

Perhaps Santonio's three comments were deleted because they included info about his/her cruise cancellation that violated the privacy clause.  Maybe Santonio should try to post again without any info specific to his/her refund to see whether that is permissible. 

 

[seattleskibums]

28 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

All online forums including FB groups have rules which members agree to adhere to - if they don’t then it’s not surprising that posts are deleted.

 

That certainly looks to be the case here.  We are very happy to say that “apparent censorship” can be struck from our earlier post listing some of Crystal’s deceitful practices.

[oakridger]

Thanks for the correction and information Stickman and seattleskibums!  I guess i should read "the fine print" more closely!!

 

~Nancy

[Stickman1990]

200 days wait for a refund today - thought it was worth recognising the milestone of 200 days

 

I cancelled this deposit on 18 March - ironically I had rebooked that same cruise as it was a better deal and subsequently cancelled that booking on 18 July and received my refund for that booking on 18 September - just 62 days....

 

There's no logic to the refund timing and process....

[seattleskibums]

2 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

200 days wait for a refund today - thought it was worth recognising the milestone of 200 days.

 

We recently received our refund on Day 202.  Maybe Monday will be your lucky day.  Good luck!

[SusieQft]

2 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

I cancelled this deposit on 18 March - ironically I had rebooked that same cruise as it was a better deal and subsequently cancelled that booking on 18 July and received my refund for that booking on 18 September - just 62 days....

Maybe they got confused if you had 2 bookings for the same thing.  I'm sure their refund department, if it has enough people to be called a department, is easily confused these days.  It might be worth having your TA remind them that this refund is still outstanding.

[Stickman1990]

48 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

Maybe they got confused if you had 2 bookings for the same thing....  It might be worth having your TA remind them that this refund is still outstanding.

I don’t think that’s the issue given each booking has its’ own Reservation number I can’t see how that would be the case - plus the refund on this booking should have been well underway by the time I cancelled the second booking four months later 

 

They’re certainly aware of the issue and length of time it’s been outstanding - both via our TA and through direct discussions 

[Noggins]

8 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

200 days wait for a refund today - thought it was worth recognising the milestone of 200 days

 

I cancelled this deposit on 18 March - ironically I had rebooked that same cruise as it was a better deal and subsequently cancelled that booking on 18 July and received my refund for that booking on 18 September - just 62 days....

 

There's no logic to the refund timing and process....

Knowing your sense of humour never leaves you, can I just say that, if I was in charge at Crystal I would undoubtedly award you free laundry for life for reaching this significant milestone.....

 

And, in what I would like to think is a positive sign, I received the final part of a refund for a cancelled 18th March cruise (not Crystal) only yesterday. Do you believe in signs, Terry...?

 

Adrian

[Raptordash]

 SusieQft,

Regarding my October 26, 2021 cruise on Serenity which you have on your spreadsheet:

Deposit of $3010./cabin for 3 cabins was made in January 2020.

I cancelled on 8/3/20.

I received a permanent credit of $2510./cabin for 3 cabins from Chase Sapphire Reserve on 10/4/20. This reflects the $500/cabin administration fee still held by Crystal.

 

Marc

[Santonio]

20 hours ago, Benita said:

A little off topic, but related. For awhile, we were comparing how long Crystal was taking for refunds vs other lines.  I cancelled a Viking River cruise for May 2021 yesterday morning. It was getting towards final payment and I don't think I will be cruising by then. It was only a deposit and I figured I would see it sooner or later. Sooner, it was. I just looked on my credit card app and Viking has given me a refund. Less than 30 hours, probably a record. 

Benita, again off topic (not Crystal) but thank you for posting this.  I did go ahead and make the final payment to Viking for a May 2021 cruise (CC) as I've read via the Viking forums that they do pay fairly quickly.  I'm glad you reconfirmed that.

[WaterBB]

sail date: March 22, 2021

 

Xld & refund request: May 11, 2020

 

requested refund of deposit on May 11 (less the $500 admin fee*)

 

orig booked thru an online agency.  asked agent about refund (via email) was sent a quoted paragraph from Crystal that refunds could take longer than 90 days.

 

finally contacted credit card co early Sept.  still waiting. 

 

 * Crystal's website, if i understand it correctly, indicates the $500 admin fees are waived.  However, I am not sure if they are waiving the admin fee for 2021 cruises that the passenger has canceled.  

 

 

[roger b]

12 hours ago, WaterBB said:

sail date: March 22, 2021

 

Xld & refund request: May 11, 2020

 

requested refund of deposit on May 11 (less the $500 admin fee*)

 

orig booked thru an online agency.  asked agent about refund (via email) was sent a quoted paragraph from Crystal that refunds could take longer than 90 days.

 

finally contacted credit card co early Sept.  still waiting. 

 

 * Crystal's website, if i understand it correctly, indicates the $500 admin fees are waived.  However, I am not sure if they are waiving the admin fee for 2021 cruises that the passenger has canceled.  

 

 

  I had my deposit back after 130 days and the $400 admin fee was given against a future cruise .

[CRUISELUVRS]

To: Person monitoring Crystal Refun Spreadsheet

I don't see our name CRUISELUVRS

[CRUISELUVRS]

oPPS,

To: Person monitoring Crystal Refund Spreadsheet

I don't see our name CRUISELUVRS on the sheet, but good news follows.

Sail date December 9, 2020

I called Crystal and cancelled June 18, 2020

Crystal cancelled our cruise July 31, 2020

I requested refund from Crystal June 18, 2020, minus the $400.00 admin fee, which we put toward an already booked cruise for June 2022.

I called Capital One about a week ago (I think) and asked them to get my $$ from Crystal. They said they would send my a packet with requested information and proof of charges to send back to them.  Then I called them back and again explained about our cruise critic spreadsheet which showed that it seemed only folks who requested a refund through their credit card were receiving refunds. I again explained what refund we wanted and that they can see the charges on my account. I never did receive the packet from Capital One, but on Oct. 2 I received my refund from Crystal AND a credit posted as "Purchase Interest Charge of $107.81 !!!!! All in at 106 days from the date of cancellation.

We received our refund from American Airlines with no problem.

Crystal down, one to go to get refund from Vantage Deluxe World Travel.  That's another story, which I hope, will be successful.

[Desert Cruisers]

We have had 9 cruises with different cruise lines cancelled this year.  Crystal has been the slowest in refunding our money. 

 

We put down $200 refundable [$100 pp] for a 12/2 sailing on the Serenity.  Crystal cancelled this sailing on 7/30.  We submitted a refund request which was verified by a customer representative on 7/31. As of 9/26, we had not received a refund.  Filed a CC dispute 9/26.  Crystal has until 11/24 to respond. 

 

In comparison, we cancelled a Celebrity cruise for December on 8/3 and the refund [$900] was back in our CC account on 8/5.  An earlier Celebrity sailing was cancelled by the cruise line 3/24.  Even given the complexity of unraveling a "paid-in full" fare [taxes, commission, etc.], we received full CC credit on 5/10.

[SusieQft]

3 hours ago, CRUISELUVRS said:

To: Person monitoring Crystal Refun Spreadsheet

I don't see our name CRUISELUVRS

 

The spreadsheet has 3 tabs.  Your listing is in the second tab, "Deposit Only."  I just updated it to show your reimbursement on Oct. 2.  If you had paid in full before cancelling, let me know and I will move your listing to the first tab, "Full Cruise Fare."

[CRUISELUVRS]

Oh, sorry.  Yes, we had paid deposit June 28, 2019, paid in full March 9, 2020. Yes, we had paid in full before cancelling.  Thank you for monitoring this sheet, really appreciate it.  Because of this spreadsheet we realized the only way we could possibly get our refund would be to file with our credit card company.

[B-2-Bs Best!]

Long awaited refund turned over to Amex, and, resolved in a little over a week!!~

[BettyNL]

16 minutes ago, B-2-Bs Best! said:

Long awaited refund turned over to Amex, and, resolved in a little over a week!!~

Congratulations & thanks for giving me hope !!

[John Wooden]

Has anyone canceled a cruise since March 28, 2020 and received a full refund from Crystal without going through their credit card company and how many days did it take?

 

Has any canceled a cruise with Crystal in the same time having paid cash and received  a full refund and how many days did that take?

 

Please supply dates if possible.

[CruisinCindy]

Final Update for my spreadsheet entry:  Received notification from VISA that the last disputed charge (of 3) has been resolved and the temporary credits I was issued are now permanent as of 9/28.  The only thing I'm missing is $400 which is supposed to be applied as OBC or FCC on my next cruise...(I may be chasing Crystal around to find that, but that's another battle....)

 

  Since the final total of the refund is over $2500, (their credit transfer limit) VISA will be sending me a check for the full amount so I can deposit it in whatever account I want.  By the way, for those getting credit card refunds and seeing that credit on your account,  I was told by VISA that it's important to know that you should not attempt to transfer those funds electronically yourself from your credit card to your checking/savings accounts.  If you do that, it will be treated as a credit/cash advance and you will be charged.  You have to call Customer Service so they can take that credit off your VISA and convert it to a check to you without triggering that cash advance feature.

 

Sorry to read that so many here still have not received their refunds from Crystal yet.  I took a cue from that and filed with my CC company within a month of cancelling the cruise, so my refund was processed without such a long wait.  I'll have to check the spreadsheet now to see what the final day count was...

 

Good luck to all, and hope to see you on the high seas sometime!

[Sdancer]

2 hours ago, CruisinCindy said:

 

By the way, for those getting credit card refunds and seeing that credit on your account,  I was told by VISA that it's important to know that you should not attempt to transfer those funds electronically yourself from your credit card to your checking/savings accounts.  If you do that, it will be treated as a credit/cash advance and you will be charged.  You have to call Customer Service so they can take that credit off your VISA and convert it to a check to you without triggering that cash advance feature.

 

 

You are absolutely correct about calling VISA Customer Service to get your credit off your VISA account.

I had a credit card refund from another cruise line for $4500 a few months back. I called the Customer Service and was offered a check to be mailed to me.

I asked instead that Customer Service deposit my refund to my checking bank account on file, the one I use to pay my credit card bills.

I got it in my checking account in just two business days. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Sdancer

[CruisinCindy]

5 minutes ago, Sdancer said:

You are absolutely correct about calling VISA Customer Service to get your credit off your VISA account.

I had a credit card refund from another cruise line for $4500 a few months back. I called the Customer Service and was offered a check to be mailed to me.

I asked instead that Customer Service deposit my refund to my checking bank account on file, the one I use to pay my credit card bills.

I got it in my checking account in just two business days. 

 I guess it depends on the bank - I spent 10 minutes trying to get the Customer Service rep to do exactly that - transfer my funds directly to my checking account on file but he said they had a $2,500 limit for doing that.  Anything above $2,500 gets a check mailed.

[Stickman1990]

5 hours ago, John Wooden said:

Has anyone canceled a cruise since March 28, 2020 and received a full refund from Crystal without going through their credit card company and how many days did it take?

 

Has any canceled a cruise with Crystal in the same time having paid cash and received  a full refund and how many days did that take?

 

Yes

I cancelled a deposit, which I had paid by a bank transfer to Crystal, on 20 April and received refund on 28 May - 38 days. I was pleasantly surprised - that's my best result so far - others have been from credit card disputes at 62, 95 and 110 days - and one outstanding at 202 days....

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Stickman1990

[Lord Haw Haw]

15 hours ago, John Wooden said:

Has anyone canceled a cruise since March 28, 2020 and received a full refund from Crystal without going through their credit card company and how many days did it take?

 

Has any canceled a cruise with Crystal in the same time having paid cash and received  a full refund and how many days did that take?

 

Please supply dates if possible.

This just received, maybe the staff are away on training to learn how to process refunds at a Six-Star level?

 

Please make sure to let the new President know your thoughts at 

OfficeofthePresident@crystalcruises.com

 

Good Day Mr. XXXX,

 

We appreciate your email to the office of President, Jack Anderson, in regards to your refund status. We are responding on his behalf.

 

Please accept our sincere apologies for any behavior that was perceived as impolite or uncaring. Considerable efforts are invested in the training of our staff and we always strive to provide a Six-Star luxury service. Please know your feedback has been provided to the appropriate department leaders for their reviewal.

 

We would like reassure you that refunds are being processed. The fact is we are working in a methodical and orderly manner by cancellation date in our system and moving forward. Your booking has a cancellation date of April 1^st and your refund will process when those transactions are reached. Regrettably, I do not have a firm date for that to occur.

 

We are working very hard to accommodate any refund and/or offer related to the voyage cancellations.  We sincerely apologize for the delayed refund and are treating this process as our highest priority.  We thank you for your understanding and we appreciate your patience.

 

Best Regards,

Oscar Vicente

Special Assistant to the Office of the President

1501 Biscayne Boulevard | Suite 501 | Miami, FL 33132