Refund from a Cancelled Cruise

[lv2golf]

Our family cruise to Bermuda (6 rooms) was cancelled on April 3, 2020 and as of today we have only received about 1/3 of our refund.

Our agent , Costco, saids Royal is taking up to 90 to process refunds.  We are at day 83.  Should be concerned??

 

Has anyone else had problems with Royal Caribbean

[rockmom]

TONS of threads on this, you are not the only one.  

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, lv2golf said:

Should be concerned?

Yes, call RCI directly.

[1025cruise]

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Yes, call RCI directly.

Not a good idea. They used a TA, all communication needs to go through the TA. RCI won't talk to them.

But yes, please just be patient.

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

RCI won't talk to them.

That's usually the case, but we have reports of some being able to talk to RCI directly about refund issues (only) even when booked with a TA.

[CruisinNole]

I spoke with Royal regarding my refund even though I booked through a TA. I also requested the refund through Royal's website, not through my TA. 

[Snit13]

I think it is the luck of the draw.  I always book directly with cruise line whether it be Royal or Celebrity.  April 9 cruise was canceled March 17 and I had full refund April 26 or 29th.  June 12 cruise was canceled May 20 and I had full refund May 29.

[kaclmay]

Just curious - did Costco tell you when Day 1 was?  Was that the day the cancellation was announced, or the day of the email by Costco officially telling you it had been canceled?   Is that 90 business days or no?  We chose a FCC for our May 2 cruise that was canceled on March 24 by RCCL, booked through Costco as well.  To my understanding, we are to receive port fees/taxes and prior purchases such as a drink package, refunded to us - but we've received nothing thus far. 

[bearette]

The only person who can tell you is Costco, you can call them and ask. I used them as well and had an issue so better to call and have not needed to then to not call and wish you did.

[lv2golf]

The official cancellation date with RCCL is April 3, 2020. Costco has never mention  90 business days and No where on RCCL's web does it mention business days. On RCCL's current home page under health alert, they say full refunds would be sent out in 45 days.

[CruisinNole]

1 hour ago, lv2golf said:

The official cancellation date with RCCL is April 3, 2020. Costco has never mention  90 business days and No where on RCCL's web does it mention business days. On RCCL's current home page under health alert, they say full refunds would be sent out in 45 days.

My TA and I both called Royal regarding my refund and were both told that it is "business" days, not calendar days. Maybe another rep would have told us "calendar" days. Regardless, it took me nearly 3 months to get my total refund so whether you count "business" or "calendar" days, it can be a long wait time.

[Pianogrl44]

I’m actually wondering if part of the problem is that we booked through C***co.  We were on day 90 yesterday after requesting refunds for our March 15 and 22 cruises on March 25th.  We still haven’t received the bulk of our refund for both cruises and it’s so incredibly frustrating to have no answers.

[Biker19]

41 minutes ago, Pianogrl44 said:

 We still haven’t received the bulk of our refund for both cruises and it’s so incredibly frustrating to have no answers.

Call, the RCI CSRs are real good at making up answers.

[Tee & Chilli]

My experience....Canada cruise canceled by Royal on June 2. I received my deposit refund June 23. This was before final payment.

[island lady]

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Call, the RCI CSRs are real good at making up answers.

 

OMG...I am so glad I was not sipping my bottle of water at the time I read this...you would owe me a keyboard.  😄 😄 

[Lady Hudson]

FYI — received taxes, etc. today for an August 27 cruise.  No cruise fare because it was a free cruise.  I thought that was pretty quick for a refund — less than a month.  Katherine

[watson61]

Mine took 90 days. I requested a refund on March 24 for my canceled April 12 cruise, received $250 (my deposit) on May 6 and just got the balance today.  I booked this one through an online travel agent which I don’t usually do, but I’m glad I did it this time.  They called RC twice to move this along. I tried calling once but the hold time was ridiculous so I hung up. 

[MLBFan24]

Oddly enough, I booked with a travel agent, but one day, after waiting too long for the refund, I decided to call Royal directly instead. I expected to get shut down because I purchased through a travel agent.

 

However, that day must have been the perfect day because the wait time was only 8 minutes (this was in May), and the Royal rep was kind of enough to look into the account. It was the usual spiel of "it's processing" and "continue to wait", which was the answer I expected. Anyways, the full refund came a month later as promised within the refund deadline.

 

So never say "never" about speaking with a Royal rep if you went through a travel agent. It could happen (as I see others have had that luck as well). 

Edited June 24, 2020 by MLBFan24

[polaris86]

I am still waiting for about $700 from a Costco booking of two staterooms on a cancelled April cruise. Requested refund 3/24. Received most of it on 5/3 and a little more on 5/27 but nothing since.
 

Costco is no help, rep told me there’s nothing they can do and I just have to keep waiting. Will never book with them again.

[pcur]

On 6/28/2020 at 12:48 PM, polaris86 said:

I am still waiting for about $700 from a Costco booking of two staterooms on a cancelled April cruise. Requested refund 3/24. Received most of it on 5/3 and a little more on 5/27 but nothing since.
 

Costco is no help, rep told me there’s nothing they can do and I just have to keep waiting. Will never book with them again.

 

It isn't Costco's fault RCCL is taking so long.  I book all our cruises with them, and receive stellar service.

 

I cancelled a cruise on 6/18/20 and received my refund last night on 6/28:  taxes and fees in one credit and the rest in another credit.  It was only my deposit.

 

I'm thinking that if there are more "buckets" of money involved in a cancellation (drinks package, shore excursions, obc, etc.) then it may involved more departments than just one.  Whereas a single deposit made on one day is more straightforward.  

[polaris86]

15 minutes ago, pcur said:

 

It isn't Costco's fault RCCL is taking so long.  I book all our cruises with them, and receive stellar service

They could be more helpful in facilitating between the customer and RC. I’d like to know what my refund status is as I’m still missing several hundred dollars after patiently waiting more than 60 business days. Costco said they would not put me on the line with an RC rep or ask for a status update on my behalf.

[pcur]

15 minutes ago, polaris86 said:

They could be more helpful in facilitating between the customer and RC. I’d like to know what my refund status is as I’m still missing several hundred dollars after patiently waiting more than 60 business days. Costco said they would not put me on the line with an RC rep or ask for a status update on my behalf.

Yes, it's very frustrating.  They are very strict with their policies.  I don't know if any other agency could do it, either.  

 

I would suggest you escalate WITHIN Costco and ask to speak to a manager or supervisor.  Ask that person to check for you.  They may have more access to other RCCL staff than the regular CSR's at Costco.

 

Good luck.

[Dennis#1]

We are having the same problem.  Our May 3rd on Oasis was cancelled.  Requested refund in mid March.  To date, I have received 4 small refunds that add up to about 12%  of what they one me.  Most frustrating.

[molly361]

7 hours ago, pcur said:

 

It isn't Costco's fault RCCL is taking so long.  I book all our cruises with them, and receive stellar service.

 

I cancelled a cruise on 6/18/20 and received my refund last night on 6/28:  taxes and fees in one credit and the rest in another credit.  It was only my deposit.

 

I'm thinking that if there are more "buckets" of money involved in a cancellation (drinks package, shore excursions, obc, etc.) then it may involved more departments than just one.  Whereas a single deposit made on one day is more straightforward.  

That's great.  I cancelled a cruise that had NOTHING to do with suspended sailings on May 15th and still do not have credit.  My TA said they were a "g;itch" and my refund request is now lumped in with all the other suspended sailing ones.  

[lv2golf]

Finally got our final refund from RC for the cancelled cruise of April 3, 2020.  88th day after requesting the refund.

Thanks for all the info.