BEYOND frustrated with RCI on refund

[crazyank]

On 2/24/2021 at 4:38 PM, DCGuy64 said:

And yes, I'm a nitpicker.

That's for sure.

[msmayor]

It's possible that part of the wait is because you already received a 'refund' when you elected to take the FCC for the cancelled cruise.   Now you are looking to convert that to an actual refund of cash.  That RCL was even willing to do that puts them in a different category from other lines who have said, point blank...if you took the credit, that's what you get.

 

That FCC is also where any attempt at a credit card dispute may fail.  Anyone who agreed to accepting that credit in lieu of a cash refund at the start is likely enough evidence to satisfy the card issuer that there is nothing due.

[DCGuy64]

4 hours ago, crazyank said:

That's for sure.

Says the guy from Germany, LOL. "Ordnung muss sein." 😉

[cruisinfanatic]

Canceled a September cruise last week and got refund in 3 days. Shocked in a good way!

[JayinAZ]

I can't even get my TA to accept that Royal is allowing a change from FCC to refund.  Our March 14, 2020 cruise was canceled about an hour before we were going to leave for the airport on a redeye flight to Miami from Phoenix.  Close call!   Anyway, we opted for FCC and now would like the refund.  The TA is very popular and is a volume seller.  I emailed last week and said-

"Good evening,

I would now like to get a refund for this reservation, instead of keeping the FCC.  Do you need anything else from me?

Thanks,"

 

The almost immediate reply was-

 

"Hello,

 Thank you for your e mail

 I am sorry unfortunately the cruise lines have given you the FCC and will not get you a refund

 Thanks and have a great day"

 

So I replied with the link from Royal's FAQs saying you can change your mind from FCC to refund (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-i-change-my-refund-option-to-future-cruise-credit) and now the TA seems to have gone MIA.  

 

I would really like my $9k back now.  I wanted everything in writing but I will call the TA in a few days if they still don't reply.  

[Sunshine3601]

37 minutes ago, JayinAZ said:

I can't even get my TA to accept that Royal is allowing a change from FCC to refund.  Our March 14, 2020 cruise was canceled about an hour before we were going to leave for the airport on a redeye flight to Miami from Phoenix.  Close call!   Anyway, we opted for FCC and now would like the refund.  The TA is very popular and is a volume seller.  I emailed last week and said-

"Good evening,

I would now like to get a refund for this reservation, instead of keeping the FCC.  Do you need anything else from me?

Thanks,"

 

The almost immediate reply was-

 

"Hello,

 Thank you for your e mail

 I am sorry unfortunately the cruise lines have given you the FCC and will not get you a refund

 Thanks and have a great day"

 

So I replied with the link from Royal's FAQs saying you can change your mind from FCC to refund (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-i-change-my-refund-option-to-future-cruise-credit) and now the TA seems to have gone MIA.  

 

I would really like my $9k back now.  I wanted everything in writing but I will call the TA in a few days if they still don't reply.  

If you cannot get a hold of your TA call rcl direct and ask if you are eligible to convert your fcc to a cash refund.

[JayinAZ]

Do you know if there’s more to the eligibility than what royal has posted on their website?  That would be rotten. 

[Ourusualbeach]

8 hours ago, JayinAZ said:

I can't even get my TA to accept that Royal is allowing a change from FCC to refund.  Our March 14, 2020 cruise was canceled about an hour before we were going to leave for the airport on a redeye flight to Miami from Phoenix.  Close call!   Anyway, we opted for FCC and now would like the refund.  The TA is very popular and is a volume seller.  I emailed last week and said-

"Good evening,

I would now like to get a refund for this reservation, instead of keeping the FCC.  Do you need anything else from me?

Thanks,"

 

The almost immediate reply was-

 

"Hello,

 Thank you for your e mail

 I am sorry unfortunately the cruise lines have given you the FCC and will not get you a refund

 Thanks and have a great day"

 

So I replied with the link from Royal's FAQs saying you can change your mind from FCC to refund (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-i-change-my-refund-option-to-future-cruise-credit) and now the TA seems to have gone MIA.  

 

I would really like my $9k back now.  I wanted everything in writing but I will call the TA in a few days if they still don't reply.  

 

6 hours ago, JayinAZ said:

Do you know if there’s more to the eligibility than what royal has posted on their website?  That would be rotten. 

You stated you were in a March 14, 2020 sailing and that Royal cancelled the sailing.  
 

for cruises set to depart through May 11, 2020 that Royal cancelled guests who received an FCC have until Dec 31, 2021 to convert that to a cash refund.

 

the exception is that once that FCC is applied to a reservation it can no longer be converted to a refund unless Royal cancels the sailing that the FCC had been applied to.

 

[snaefell]

We originally booked Anthems' repo for April 2020,when Royal took Halifax off the itinerary we no longer wanted the remainder,rather than lose the deposit we paid to change to a cruise out of Singapore on Quantum for my birthday in March 2021,Royal then changed the itinerary for that cruise completely,after first denying that they had changed anything we were moved to an earlier cruise,missing my birthday,the rest is covid history!

When offered the refund last October I applied immediately,30-45 days was the quoted waiting time,,still waiting,our TA is saying that Royal have told them 20 weeks at least,just to rub salt in the wound I get a Happy Birthday email from Royal the other day,went them an email suggesting how the refund would make it a very Happy Birthday,like the others I have sent I won't hold my breath waiting for a reply.

If/when the refund does happen if is likely to be the last time Royal get any money from us!

[Biker19]

Just now, snaefell said:

I applied immediately,30-45 days was the quoted waiting time

Keep calling RCI weekly after that 30 days, don't count on the TA.

[atb]

We applied our FCC from our cancelled March 2020 cruise to March 2021 cruise.  Which was cancelled.  So we asked for a refund - for the FCC and the taxes etc.  We received the tax and port charge within a few weeks.  Still waiting for the refund of the FCC.

I still have FCC on other cancelled cruise floating on October and December 2021 cruises. 

I just want to be on a ship, I don't care where it goes, I don't care if I have to wear a mask. 

I just want to be on a ship. 

[JayinAZ]

On 3/2/2021 at 3:10 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

 

You stated you were in a March 14, 2020 sailing and that Royal cancelled the sailing.  
 

for cruises set to depart through May 11, 2020 that Royal cancelled guests who received an FCC have until Dec 31, 2021 to convert that to a cash refund.

 

the exception is that once that FCC is applied to a reservation it can no longer be converted to a refund unless Royal cancels the sailing that the FCC had been applied to.

 

"the exception is that once that FCC is applied to a reservation it can no longer be converted to a refund unless Royal cancels the sailing that the FCC had been applied to."

 

To make it clear and not confuse others, regarding the reply above, I only booked the 3/14/20 cruise which royal canceled. I requested the FCC which I got.  I never booked another cruise.  Royal then said you can change your mind from FCC to refund.  My TA as quoted said can't do that. "I am sorry unfortunately the cruise lines have given you the FCC and will not get you a refund" 

 

After a week of no reply after I emailed the TA the link to royal saying you can change from FCC to refund, I emailed again asking if I missed something or what the deal was and she replied with 

"I spoke to RCCl and they have processed your refund

 It may take upto 60 days

 Thanks and have a great day" 

 

A "sorry we either lied to you or don't know the policies" would have been nice, but at least I'll get my money back at some point.  Wish I could mention the TA's name because I am not impressed.  

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, JayinAZ said:

"the exception is that once that FCC is applied to a reservation it can no longer be converted to a refund unless Royal cancels the sailing that the FCC had been applied to."

 

To make it clear and not confuse others, regarding the reply above, I only booked the 3/14/20 cruise which royal canceled. I requested the FCC which I got.  I never booked another cruise.  Royal then said you can change your mind from FCC to refund.  My TA as quoted said can't do that. "I am sorry unfortunately the cruise lines have given you the FCC and will not get you a refund" 

 

After a week of no reply after I emailed the TA the link to royal saying you can change from FCC to refund, I emailed again asking if I missed something or what the deal was and she replied with 

"I spoke to RCCl and they have processed your refund

 It may take upto 60 days

 Thanks and have a great day" 

 

A "sorry we either lied to you or don't know the policies" would have been nice, but at least I'll get my money back at some point.  Wish I could mention the TA's name because I am not impressed.  

Glad to hear that you got the information you needed and were able to get everything resolved.

[mac_tlc]

On 2/23/2021 at 4:08 PM, mac_tlc said:

We "converted" a previously issued FCC to a refund on December 21, 2020. Still waiting for $1210. 65 days. Other refunds and/or FCC's I have had in the last year have taken anywhere from 3 - 123 days, with most in the 50-65 range. 

 

mac_tlc

We finally received the refund from a converted FCC. Took 76 days.

 

mac_tlc

[Jeff90]

14 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

We finally received the refund from a converted FCC. Took 76 days.

 

 

So glad that you finally got your refund. Gives me hope... I'm still waiting....patiently. What a mess this has been. 

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, Jeff90 said:

So glad that you finally got your refund. Gives me hope... I'm still waiting....patiently. What a mess this has been. 

Thanks. I called them twice in the interim to inquire about it. Both times they said it was "in process" and that they could see where the FCC was cancelled . That gave me a little hope that it was being handled. 

 

Hang in there!

[snaefell]

OMG now I do believe in miracles,refund finally arrived today,taken over five months but we got there,hope all you guys still waiting get a similar event soon!

[JayinAZ]

How did royal refund your money?  Was it a check sent by mail or was it credited back to the credit card you originally used?  Thanks. 

[Hammergirl]

I am in the same boat, but with an FCC.

 

1. Our first cruise was for August of 2020 that we cancelled. Took the FCC for the non-refundable deposit and was supposed to get a refund for the rest that we had paid.

 

2. The refund never came so I did a chargeback for it. Got the refund minus the $1000 that went to the FCC.

 

3. Then we wanted to apply the FCC to our March 2021 cruise and they had messed it up and gave me two FCC's, my kids each got one and my husband got none. So that took them forever to fix but finally got it fixed.

 

4. Then they cancelled the March 2021 at the beginning of January. We got a refund minus the $1000.00 that was supposed to go back to an FCC.

 

5. Now they are saying they are not giving me the FCC because they said we did a chargeback last June and they gave it to us as a refund. Then how did this FCC get applied to a cruise in December of 2020 if you supposedly issued me a refund in June of 2020?

 

6. They have told my agent that they have sent this to accounting and have them go through it before they will give me my FCC back. So they are holding my $1000.00 hostage.

 

I am beyond furious.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Hammergirl

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, JayinAZ said:

How did royal refund your money?  Was it a check sent by mail or was it credited back to the credit card you originally used?  Thanks. 

It is always processed back to your original form of payment 

[BecAus]

5 hours ago, Hammergirl said:

I am in the same boat, but with an FCC.

 

5. Now they are saying they are not giving me the FCC because they said we did a chargeback last June and they gave it to us as a refund. Then how did this FCC get applied to a cruise in December of 2020 if you supposedly issued me a refund in June of 2020?

 

6. They have told my agent that they have sent this to accounting and have them go through it before they will give me my FCC back. So they are holding my $1000.00 hostage.

 

I am beyond furious.

 

How incredibly frustrating for you!  Hope you get it sorted out soon to your satisfaction.

A year into this you would think they would be able to sort these things without stuffing them up to this degree!

Good luck!

[Hammergirl]

8 minutes ago, BecAus said:

 

How incredibly frustrating for you!  Hope you get it sorted out soon to your satisfaction.

A year into this you would think they would be able to sort these things without stuffing them up to this degree!

Good luck!

Right? They have had my $1000 since November of 2019, which is when I originally paid my deposit. I just want my dang money back at this point as no cruises are going to happen anytime soon. But the fact that they are flat out telling my agent that they are not going to reissue me my FCC until accounting can look into it (which you know is going to take FOREVER) is absolute nonsense. 

[laedw]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:04 PM, Trevoli said:

RCI cancelled my May 2020 cruise, that I'd booked thru a TA.   At first, we elected to take the FCC, but, after not seeing any cruises we were interested in (original itinerary not being offered), we elected to take a refund instead (we had already received port taxes and The Key refund).  TA made request on 17 Nov 2020, was told it could take up to 90 days, and would likely come in segments.  

 

It's been 90 days, and then some, and we haven't seen one dime of the ~$3K each of us is owed.  TA checked today, and was told they HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED THE REFUND.  This is complete BS, and seems like a real scam to me, to hold onto peoples' $$, collecting interest.  They've had our $$ for a year now.  Multiply that by perhaps thousands of fares, and you're talking about real money.

 

RCI won't talk to me, as trip was booked thru TA.  I have emailed RCI, but who knows how long it will take for them to respond, and when they do, I'm sure it'll be the usual  'sorry, covid and all....'.  We're a year into it, that excuse doesn't fly with me.

 

Any other ideas for how to pursue this, that is more likely to get me some real action?

 

Thanks, in advance.

My March 2020 cruise was booked through a TA.  She sent RCCL my request for a full refund.  I received a FCC instead in May.  My TA called again and requested a full refund. She was given the runaround.  In June, I filed a complaint with the FL attorney general's office against RCCL.  My full refund was expedited.   

[JayinAZ]

19 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It is always processed back to your original form of payment 

Oh great.  The card card I used a year and a half ago is long gone.  Seems every 6 months there is potential fraud so I get sent a new credit card.  Another hassle.  Ugh! 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, JayinAZ said:

Oh great.  The card card I used a year and a half ago is long gone.  Seems every 6 months there is potential fraud so I get sent a new credit card.  Another hassle.  Ugh! 

If the new one is with the same cc company they usually link the old card to the new one because of situations like this.