Cancelled my first Crystal Cruise and rebooked on Celebrity

[Jim_Iain]

We have never sailed any line except Celebrity but decided to give Crystal Cruise line a try.   I booked a May 29th trip on Serenity out LA as a surprise.   Shhh  don't tell Iain.

 

After reading a post on CruiseCritic I cancelled and hoping I will get a refund of my deposit back.   I've filed a dispute with my Credit Card just in case.   Has anyone ever dealt with a cruise ship going bankrupt?  

 

Good reason to stick with Celebrity. 

 

 

 

[jelayne]

Lucky you hadn’t made final payment.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Have never booked with anyone but celebrity. Saw the news today about Crystal. Good luck getting your deposit back. Thankfully the passengers got back to Florida.

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have never sailed any line except Celebrity but decided to give Crystal Cruise line a try.   I booked a May 29th trip on Serenity out LA as a surprise.   Shhh  don't tell Iain.

 

After reading a post on CruiseCritic I cancelled and hoping I will get a refund of my deposit back.   I've filed a dispute with my Credit Card just in case.   Has anyone ever dealt with a cruise ship going bankrupt?  

 

Good reason to stick with Celebrity. 

 

 

 

 

Crystal was part of a large cruise company (Genting) it was Genting that went bankrupt so I don't think that is a reason to book Celebrity. Royal Caribbean could get in trouble in these times too. Also did you know that Royal guranteed their loans with Celebrity as collateral? I think your credit card dispute will work. Also they always say never to buy the Cruise Lines insurance. Always buy third party. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Charles4515

[Jeremiah1212]

Your credit card agreement will outline how your particular card account handles insolvency. In my experience with people jumping the gun filing disputes related to slow refunds, you very well may further complicate and delay your refund by disputing it so early. Since Crystal’s product is quite expensive, the bank’s reserves may deplete quickly. 

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Your credit card agreement will outline how your particular card account handles insolvency. In my experience with people jumping the gun filing disputes related to slow refunds, you very well may further complicate and delay your refund by disputing it so early. Since Crystal’s product is quite expensive, the bank’s reserves may deplete quickly. 

 

I really doubt any banks reserves are that low. Credit Card issuers can easily cover the losses. They may even have insurance against defaults. . There is no way Crystal is going to refund the deposit. So I see only two possibles, dispute the charges or be covered by insurance. I believe disputing the charges won't have any negative effect. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Charles4515

[Jim_Iain]

12 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Your credit card agreement will outline how your particular card account handles insolvency. In my experience with people jumping the gun filing disputes related to slow refunds, you very well may further complicate and delay your refund by disputing it so early. Since Crystal’s product is quite expensive, the bank’s reserves may deplete quickly. 

Just checked with Chase Sapphire and they said that there were recent changes to the Travel Protection Coverage  due to insolvency on almost all charge cards.  

 

Basically you will be covered on a deposit under the terms that you did not take the trip and have a fully refundable deposit.    You will however no longer be covered for additional costs like  hotels, cars, lodging  etc. under the Travel Protection Coverage due to trip interruption caused by insolvency of a travel provider.

 

She said my account had already been given a temporary credit back to my credit card.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

Just checked with Chase Sapphire and they said that there were recent changes to the Travel Protection Coverage  due to insolvency on almost all charge cards.  

 

Basically you will be covered on a deposit under the terms that you did not take the trip and have a fully refundable deposit.    You will however no longer be covered for additional costs like  hotels, cars, lodging  etc. under the Travel Protection Coverage due to trip interruption caused by insolvency of a travel provider.

 

I book all my trips with Chase Sapphire but I would never use their included Travel Protection for a cruise. I wonder if the major third party insurers are also changing their coverage. If that is the case there would be no reason to buy their policies. 

[cdn_tbird]

31 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have never sailed any line except Celebrity but decided to give Crystal Cruise line a try.   I booked a May 29th trip on Serenity out LA as a surprise.   Shhh  don't tell Iain.

 

After reading a post on CruiseCritic I cancelled and hoping I will get a refund of my deposit back.   I've filed a dispute with my Credit Card just in case.   Has anyone ever dealt with a cruise ship going bankrupt?  

 

Good reason to stick with Celebrity. 

 

 

 

This is a copy & paste from the story here on CC.

According to the statement, the cruise line is notifying guests. Crystal will provide a full refund of cruise fare paid, which will be processed automatically to the original form of payment, according to the statement. Booked passengers need take no action. If guests paid with a future cruise credit, full value of that credit will be returned to their Crystal Society profile account.

 

While it looks like you might have jumped the gun, it doesn't hurt to be safe rather than sorry.

 

Crystal Cruises Temporarily Suspends Sailings After Owner Genting Goes Bankrupt (cruisecritic.com)

 

[Denny01]

Thanks Jim for that info. And it sounds as if you’ll get your deposit back……so you now tell Iain! 

 

Funny how it works stepping away from ‘our’ favorite Cruise Line and trying other companies. we did the same with Crystal on the Symphony out of New Orleans and enjoyed the ‘luxury line’ approach…..but we learned what it was like on a much smaller ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico trying to get through a major storm. It didn’t matter where your SR was, its as a wild ride. I’ll not talk ‘my Iain’ (Karen) into trying a small ship crossing an ocean again. Oh well. 

 

den

 

 

[C-Dragons]

My DH was just reading about Genting going under and Crystal “suspending operations” until April.

There are people currently onboard the ship who were supposed to dock in Florida but are on their way to Bimini. 

[TrulyBlonde]

I believe if it is new money it had to be held in an escrow account so I think you should be OK. Amex Platinum is the best when it comes to getting refunds so just keep a note of that.

[TrulyBlonde]

1 minute ago, C-Dragons said:

My DH was just reading about Genting going under and Crystal “suspending operations” until April.

There are people currently onboard the ship who were supposed to dock in Florida but are on their way to Bimini. 

They are back in FLL now after a wild ride on the ferry to get them there. Lots of stuff on the Crystal board.

[C-Dragons]

2 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

I believe if it is new money it had to be held in an escrow account so I think you should be OK. Amex Platinum is the best when it comes to getting refunds so just keep a note of that.

Yes, totally agree!

[TrulyBlonde]

24 minutes ago, cdn_tbird said:

This is a copy & paste from the story here on CC.

According to the statement, the cruise line is notifying guests. Crystal will provide a full refund of cruise fare paid, which will be processed automatically to the original form of payment, according to the statement. Booked passengers need take no action. If guests paid with a future cruise credit, full value of that credit will be returned to their Crystal Society profile account.

 

While it looks like you might have jumped the gun, it doesn't hurt to be safe rather than sorry.

 

Crystal Cruises Temporarily Suspends Sailings After Owner Genting Goes Bankrupt (cruisecritic.com)

 

The problem will be with the FCC in the event that Crystal goes under and does not resume cruising. Those FCC's are then worthless. 

Something for everyone to be aware of when they take FCC. You had better use it quickly or it could evaporate.

[Jim_Iain]

26 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

My DH was just reading about Genting going under and Crystal “suspending operations” until April.

There are people currently onboard the ship who were supposed to dock in Florida but are on their way to Bimini. 

I was just reading another post and the ship that docked in Bimini today transferred passengers to a Ferry Service back to Miami.    Passengers are feeling abandoned and let down.

[Belle5129]

I was this close to being in your situation. We have always sailed Celebrity with a few Royal Caribbeans thrown in when the kids were younger. We wanted to try something different and Crystal seemed like a good fit. It was really pure luck that I hadn’t actually made the time to book it. I hope everything gets settled for you and everyone else. Have been following the saga and it is really unbelievable, what a terrible situation. 

[goofysmom99]

Sometime last year, my TA advised me to wait on booking with them.  

[hcat]

Hi Jim..

Hopefully your temp credit will ripen to dispute resolution in your favor.

Did you  book directly with  Crystal or through a TA?

Did Crystal require a large dep?  Hope not!

 

We are happy all our refunds with X are completed.  We have only one dep for BEYOND and a largevp fcc we hope to apply to that ...

 

What a nightmare for the  Crystal passengers.  Something like that happened awhile ago..ship was impounded and pax stranded,,can't recall details. Awful!

[Arizona Wildcat]

46 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just reading another post and the ship that docked in Bimini today transferred passengers to a Ferry Service back to Miami.    Passengers are feeling abandoned and let down.

A fuel supplier to Crystal got a sheriff's line on on the ship that was due to dock in Florida.  The ship would have been held until the some $5M in past due fuel bills were paid.  No Crystal ship is likely in Florida for a while.

FWIW - good friend is a BK attorney.  Suggested sorting this out by April is unlikely.  He thought April of 2023 more likely unless creditors agree to a big hit.

[canderson]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I booked a May 29th trip on Serenity out LA as a surprise.   Shhh  don't tell Iain.

If you had already bought insurance for your cruise, have a look at it carefully as some offer to cover any unrefunded pre-payments AND associated costs should a service provider whose services are covered under your contract becomes insolvent and the service not provided.  Think of it as the ultimate 'trip interruption' insurance -- interrupted before it even starts.

[Mike981]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have never sailed any line except Celebrity but decided to give Crystal Cruise line a try.   I booked a May 29th trip on Serenity out LA as a surprise.   Shhh  don't tell Iain.

 

After reading a post on CruiseCritic I cancelled and hoping I will get a refund of my deposit back.   I've filed a dispute with my Credit Card just in case.   Has anyone ever dealt with a cruise ship going bankrupt?  

 

Good reason to stick with Celebrity. 

 

Glad to hear that it sounds like you are going to get whole on this.

I also have been toying with giving Crystal a shot and would have loved to have followed along on your trip and learned from you. I hope everyone effected doesn't suffer to much and that you will be able to find another cruise to surprise Iain.

[Alsmez]

We were supposed to be on our first-ever Crystal sailing in two weeks. Ended up not being able to get time off and canceled the day before final payment (and received our deposit refund a couple of weeks later, whew!). Totally dodged a bullet! We'll look forward to being back on Celebrity when the stars align.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Hi Jim..

Hopefully your temp credit will ripen to dispute resolution in your favor.

Did you  book directly with  Crystal or through a TA?

Did Crystal require a large dep?  Hope not!

 

We are happy all our refunds with X are completed.  We have only one dep for BEYOND and a largevp fcc we hope to apply to that ...

 

What a nightmare for the  Crystal passengers.  Something like that happened awhile ago..ship was impounded and pax stranded,,can't recall details. Awful!

I booked direct with Crystal.   They have a "Relaxed" deposit policy and is currently 15%.   Pretty stiff compared to Celebrity. 

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

We were supposed to be on our first-ever Crystal sailing in two weeks. Ended up not being able to get time off and canceled the day before final payment (and received our deposit refund a couple of weeks later, whew!). Totally dodged a bullet! We'll look forward to being back on Celebrity when the stars align.

Someone must be looking out for you..   As they say - "Good Karma".  

Edited January 24, 2022 by Jim_Iain