March Refunds Only - is there a "big black hole"

[versuco]

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

Contacted TA yesterday.  Told MSC issued fcc last week, but wait, for only 100%.

Request escalated yet again for full FCC.

 

11 months!

 

Mickey, where are you when we need you?

Good luck getting the other 25%.  When they messed up the amount of our FCC, I was told they could not correct it, but would refund the difference to my credit card.  Of course, that never happened.  On a side note, our original deposit was just refunded back to our credit card, but MSC has declined the credit card request for the final balance.  Seems strange they would approve the refund for the deposit, but not final payment.  Just another customer service blunder.  The credit card company is still working on it.  Almost a year now!

[Tiggertastic]

I’m nearer celebrating. So I got an email at the end of January giving me a voucher code for an fcc. It had no value on it but said if you want a refund to email the voucher code back to them which I did.

 

This week I got an email saying that they wanted me to give them my bank account number and sort code as ‘the payment was more than 12 months old they are no longer holding card details’. That’s not true, it’s not more than 12 months and as I paid by credit card I didn’t want to give me bank details by email.

 

I have to say the girl in finance was brilliant, I spoke to her and all she wanted was payment date and last 4 digits of card paid. She located the deposit and balance from one card and the excursions, meals, spa on another. 20 minutes later I got an email saying they’d processed a refund and we should get it in 7-10 days. Fingers crossed because if we do it means we got it between 110 and 120 days.

 

In comparison, celebrity cruises paid up in 5 days from cancel to money hitting the bank

 

ncl have made a right mess of it, they cancelled the cruise and within 48 hours issued an invoice saying we’d forfeited £2200 and getting £242 refund only on one cabin and giving us £500 and missing £1100 on another. 3 weeks later they’re saying they will sort it but who knows when?

 

so whilst MSC take forever, I can’t say they’ve been the worst 

 

 

[heatherb1958]

8 hours ago, dexddd said:

I'm not so sure about money being back.

I had a Twitter message from MSC confirming refund paid back to Travel agent and an e.mail on 6th Jan. from the travel agent confirming they have received the money back from MSC . I wrote to the CEO of the agency stating my disappointment and disgust , got a reply from the Sales and Operations Director , Shane Parker , I haven’t Googled him yet 😝, full of apologies and stating the 12th March for the refund . 

We have ABTA consumer protection so will not lose one penny , we just have to be patient a little while longer . I did think of taking them to the small claim court but that would take even more time .

 

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money

 

 

Well , we have a few weeks of idleness left before lockdown part 3 lifts so writing e.mails and sending messages is at least giving me something to do 😆. 

[drsel]

6 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

I had a Twitter message from MSC confirming refund paid back to Travel agent and an e.mail on 6th Jan. from the travel agent confirming they have received the money back from MSC

The travel agency has no right you receive your money and any Cruise payment should have been made directly to the cruise line, and received back directly from the cruise line.

 

I would avoid any travel agency which takes your money, because in case they shut shop or go bankrupt....?

By paying cash to any travel agency, you are taking on a double risk of default.

So many travel agencies have closed down permanently.

The major Cruise lines are likely to stay in business, unlike some travel agencies

Edited February 25, 2021 by drsel

[heatherb1958]

8 hours ago, drsel said:

The travel agency has no right you receive your money and any Cruise payment should have been made directly to the cruise line, and received back directly from the cruise line.

 

I would avoid any travel agency which takes your money, because in case they shut shop or go bankrupt....?

By paying cash to any travel agency, you are taking on a double risk of default.

So many travel agencies have closed down permanently.

The major Cruise lines are likely to stay in business, unlike some travel agencies

Here in the UK we have consumer protection and do not lose money as no agency can operate without an ABTA licence. If you book with an agency that is not a member of ABTA then more fool you. 
Yes it is disgusting that our money is still with the TA but they know and we know our money is safe, it is just taking time to get back to us . 
We did used to have some EU protection which is now watered down since leaving and some agencies have taken advantage of that by moving their head office to Spain so they do not have to adhere to ABTA rules . Some consumers will not realise this so buyer beware ! 

[dexddd]

Thanks all for the info.

 

At the end of the day, MSC has woefully screwed this up.

[Tiggertastic]

20 hours ago, Tiggertastic said:

I’m nearer celebrating. So I got an email at the end of January giving me a voucher code for an fcc. It had no value on it but said if you want a refund to email the voucher code back to them which I did.

 

This week I got an email saying that they wanted me to give them my bank account number and sort code as ‘the payment was more than 12 months old they are no longer holding card details’. That’s not true, it’s not more than 12 months and as I paid by credit card I didn’t want to give me bank details by email.

 

I have to say the girl in finance was brilliant, I spoke to her and all she wanted was payment date and last 4 digits of card paid. She located the deposit and balance from one card and the excursions, meals, spa on another. 20 minutes later I got an email saying they’d processed a refund and we should get it in 7-10 days. Fingers crossed because if we do it means we got it between 110 and 120 days.

 

In comparison, celebrity cruises paid up in 5 days from cancel to money hitting the bank

 

ncl have made a right mess of it, they cancelled the cruise and within 48 hours issued an invoice saying we’d forfeited £2200 and getting £242 refund only on one cabin and giving us £500 and missing £1100 on another. 3 weeks later they’re saying they will sort it but who knows when?

 

so whilst MSC take forever, I can’t say they’ve been the worst 

 

 

And just like that the money for the MSC cruise hit our credit cards in 48 hours from the email. So that’s 105 days for us. 
 

we also got an fcc from ncl for part of the £2200 missing so we move forward a little at a time.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Tiggertastic

[drsel]

Of late, the big three Cruise stock prices have been jumping almost everyday.

This is a good sign and shows investors faith that they will be in business soon.

 

Once the Cruises start getting sold out they will have good cash flow and be able to repay everyone.

[notme2012]

On 2/24/2021 at 10:26 AM, Tiggertastic said:

 

 

so whilst MSC take forever, I can’t say they’ve been the worst 

 

 

Here's the thing with every single cabin reservation, different cruise lines, etc., different things have happened. It is almost a year since all these cancelations started. One would think that the cruise lines would have automated this process. That there would be, at the very least, a consistent process. But no....

 

RCI/Celebrity has been the most proactive in issuing refunds, etc.  MSC the least.

[architect1337]

We booked a cruise last year, with MSC, for April, thinking it would be over. They wanted the balance in Feb but we refused as we knew the boat would never be sailing. Lo and behold, ship due to start sailing in May and only for Schengen passengers! Lost the deposit (few hundred) but based on comments here, could have been a lot worse (down a few thousand and joining the back of the queue for a refund / FCC). Same cruise, next year is more than a 1/3 more expensive.

[drsel]

1 hour ago, architect1337 said:

We booked a cruise last year, with MSC, for April, thinking it would be over. They wanted the balance in Feb but we refused as we knew the boat would never be sailing. Lo and behold, ship due to start sailing in May and only for Schengen passengers! Lost the deposit (few hundred) but based on comments here, could have been a lot worse (down a few thousand and joining the back of the queue for a refund / FCC). Same cruise, next year is more than a 1/3 more expensive.

if they cannot allow foreigners on the ship, they have to cancel your booking and give you a refund. 

Oh you could have asked for a refund at least 90 days prior to sailing

Edited March 3, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

I expect that by September 2021, foreigners will be allowed to sail on Cruises around Europe, with the requirement of a Covid negative certificate or vaccination or both

[dexddd]

Yep, prices up but NCL seems to be aggressive with crazy high prices compared to MSC at least.

 

Coming up one year wait on FCC.  Just cancelled June b2b, three rooms in YC. Told up to 60 days for refund.  We'll see.

[drsel]

28 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Yep, prices up but NCL seems to be aggressive with crazy high prices compared to MSC at least.

 

Coming up one year wait on FCC.  Just cancelled June b2b, three rooms in YC. Told up to 60 days for refund.  We'll see.

Norwegian will find it difficult to sell all the cabins at these high prices.

 

There should be plenty of last minute price drops, because they need to fill all the cabins, so that the tipping staff get their full salary from gratuities.

 

I remember seeing Norwegian Jade drop to below $35 per person per night for a Singapore to Dubai Cruise in Feb 2020

Edited March 3, 2021 by drsel

[mamaneedsavacay]

Two weeks shy of a year since my March 2020 cruise was canceled. Closest we came to getting anything was an FCC that was 100% and not the promised 125%.  While efforts were supposedly in progress to find and apply the additional 25% to a new cruise, that new cruise was also canceled.  TA confirmed that we could now request a refund of the original amount and has submitted that request multiple times since November, but still no refund. 

 

Just posting because... well. Still waiting. Thinking about the new money we are spending on this year's spring break, a year later. Would be nice to have last year's money back right about now. Maybe an anniversary gift...!

 

 

[dexddd]

8 hours ago, mamaneedsavacay said:

Two weeks shy of a year since my March 2020 cruise was canceled. Closest we came to getting anything was an FCC that was 100% and not the promised 125%.  While efforts were supposedly in progress to find and apply the additional 25% to a new cruise, that new cruise was also canceled.  TA confirmed that we could now request a refund of the original amount and has submitted that request multiple times since November, but still no refund. 

 

Just posting because... well. Still waiting. Thinking about the new money we are spending on this year's spring break, a year later. Would be nice to have last year's money back right about now. Maybe an anniversary gift...!

 

 

That is what TA told us.  MSC issued fcc for 100% a week ago, not 125%.  Back to escalated status which we know means back of line.  Nothing mentioned about refund other than if not used by end of this year.  But since we are in a black hole, would they even process it?

 

That is actually closer than the year we've waited but how much confidence those will be right or timely?

[shipgeeks]

Did the taxes and fees show up on your credit card statement?

[notme2012]

On 3/3/2021 at 6:12 AM, drsel said:

Norwegian will find it difficult to sell all the cabins at these high prices.

 

There should be plenty of last minute price drops, because they need to fill all the cabins, so that the tipping staff get their full salary from gratuities.

 

I remember seeing Norwegian Jade drop to below $35 per person per night for a Singapore to Dubai Cruise in Feb 2020

Cruise Lines have to do limited capacity. They also need to have a significant amount of cabins to use for isolation if necessary. And, there is pent up demand and reduced capacity. Look at how many ships have been sent to the scrapyard. The cruise lines will sell every cabin they have available. 

[Bluewake]

On 3/4/2021 at 6:33 AM, dexddd said:

That is what TA told us.  MSC issued fcc for 100% a week ago, not 125%.  Back to escalated status which we know means back of line.  Nothing mentioned about refund other than if not used by end of this year.  But since we are in a black hole, would they even process it?

 

That is actually closer than the year we've waited but how much confidence those will be right or timely?

 

We are a few days away from waiting one full year for MSC to issue the FCC for which we've been assured we are entitled.  The initial email said it would take "two weeks".   We've gone through multiple escalations, repeatedly been asked to "be patient", and given a variety of reasons for the lack of action.  

[dexddd]

3 hours ago, Bluewake said:

 

We are a few days away from waiting one full year for MSC to issue the FCC for which we've been assured we are entitled.  The initial email said it would take "two weeks".   We've gone through multiple escalations, repeatedly been asked to "be patient", and given a variety of reasons for the lack of action.  

Us too.  Sent simple letter to Miami a week ago and nothing yet.  TA also not happy with excuses and errors,  They are a large agency too.

 

Cancelled three YC b2b last week before final.  Told 60 days for that, we'll see.

 

I'm considering at day 366 to resurface this thread each day with a +1.

[crazyank]

SUCCESS!!!

After waiting months and getting nowhere with MSC about a refund we decided to take a different approach.

Since we had paid the entire cost of the cruise through Paypal my wife contacted them to see if there was anything they could do.  The answer was a definite Yes!  Paypal immediately contacted MSC and informed them that they had 10 days to return our money.  Paypal also told us that if MSC didn't answer within that time period they (PayPal) would refund our money and take it up with MSC. That is exactly what happened. Total time from the first phone call to the money appearing in our account.....12 days!

[dexddd]

3 hours ago, crazyank said:

SUCCESS!!!

After waiting months and getting nowhere with MSC about a refund we decided to take a different approach.

Since we had paid the entire cost of the cruise through Paypal my wife contacted them to see if there was anything they could do.  The answer was a definite Yes!  Paypal immediately contacted MSC and informed them that they had 10 days to return our money.  Paypal also told us that if MSC didn't answer within that time period they (PayPal) would refund our money and take it up with MSC. That is exactly what happened. Total time from the first phone call to the money appearing in our account.....12 days!

Thanks for the update and glad you got money back.  But how many people pay cruise with PP?

 

At the end of the day, why should any of us be waiting months or a full year for what was promised in 60 days?

[heatherb1958]

3 hours ago, crazyank said:

SUCCESS!!!

After waiting months and getting nowhere with MSC about a refund we decided to take a different approach.

Since we had paid the entire cost of the cruise through Paypal my wife contacted them to see if there was anything they could do.  The answer was a definite Yes!  Paypal immediately contacted MSC and informed them that they had 10 days to return our money.  Paypal also told us that if MSC didn't answer within that time period they (PayPal) would refund our money and take it up with MSC. That is exactly what happened. Total time from the first phone call to the money appearing in our account.....12 days!

Well done . 
Our money is still with the Travel agent here in the UK , they have had it since January as confirmed by MSC and the TA . We have been promised tomorrow the money will be processed 🤞🤞🤞, a whole 8 months since cruise officially cancelled 😡. 

[drsel]

6 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

Well done . 
Our money is still with the Travel agent here in the UK , they have had it since January as confirmed by MSC and the TA . We have been promised tomorrow the money will be processed 🤞🤞🤞, a whole 8 months since cruise officially cancelled 😡. 

this is ridiculous!  the travel agent has no right to hold your money.

The risk of a travel agent defaulting is much much higher than that of a multi-billion dollar company.

 

All money should be paid directly to the cruise line and not to the travel agent, so that the cruise line can refund money directly to the customer.

 

The travel agent gets paid commission directly by the cruise line, not from any customer.

[mickey89]

ABTA in the U.K. were a disgrace in 2020 when they fully supported the cruise industry to renege on their T&C and give vouchers in place of the entitled refund.  So glad I paid with a credit card as MSC refused refunds with no support whatsoever from ABTA.  We had to rely on Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act,  thankfully we got our money back.  MSC still not refunded money and ABTA promises aren’t worth anything when the going gets tough.