Expense Checks For 7/11 Crown

[24 FAN]

Just want to know if anyone rcvd their expense money yet from Princess. I am out almost $2200 and my charge bill is coming due in 9 days. I don't have the money to pay it off in full and was hoping the check would have been here by now. I wonder if Princess is going to pay my interest charges if I am unable to pay the full balance. I sent in my expense request on 7/22/06. I think they have sufficient time. I did receive a confirmation on 7/25 that my request was recieved..Come on Princess hurry up so we can put that bad day behind us and move on.

[LAC2]

Don't understand. Would you have paid your cc bill in full if the "incident" had not happened?

[fuacruiser]

I believe passengers were supposed to pay their own way home from the port canaveral and then Princess would reimburse them for their expenses.

[Mur-cruiser]

Don't understand. Would you have paid your cc bill in full if the "incident" had not happened?

 

Good question!

[Lynnees]

I don't believe he is talking about the regular expenses. He/she is talking about the extra expenses he/she had to go to just to get home - extra plane fares, hotel fares etc. He/she certainly would not have been expecting to pay those kind of expenses.

 

Marilyn

[hamptod]

Don't understand. Would you have paid your cc bill in full if the "incident" had not happened?

 

TheOP is talking about expenses incurred after the incident to travel home:rolleyes:

 

Hamptod

[ForEternity]

Princess seems to have been telling everyone it would be 4-6 weeks after the expenses were approved that a check would be sent. Heard that from a few people now.

[LAC2]

Didn't understand. Thanks for clarifying.

[24 FAN]

Thanks for the info..Yes the expenses I refer to is to get home. I was not expecting an extra $2200 to go on my credit card.

[hillslife]

We got a call they approved our refund and it would be 4-6 weeks before we got a check....we are in the same boat (so to speak) we are waiting for a large sum also and the bill is due 8/20!!!

 

Hadn't planned on that extra expense on top of our shipboard account. Good luck - but I wouldn't count on Princess picking up your interest....

[Host CJSKIDS]

We were in the same boat as the 3/19 Star sailing. (I'm sure not all of you are not waiting as didn't Princess offer you the option of letting them book your airfare home and they would have paid it? I did it on my own as well.)

 

Princess told me the same 4 to 6 weeks pat answer and they had also stated that they were going to expidite the payments to those of us who lost all of our belongings and got ill, but that didn't happen. Sorry to tell you but it took 3 for most of us to get paid back. Hopefully they learned from our experience and will pay you back a bit quicker. Remember, it's not really Princess but their insurance so it's a couple step process.

[24 FAN]

Thats Ok As Long As The Check Comes Soon. I Had Heard They Would Book The Airfare For You,but The Line At The Pursers Desk Was About A 2 To 3 Hour Wait.

[margoula]

We got a call they approved our refund and it would be 4-6 weeks before we got a check....we are in the same boat (so to speak) we are waiting for a large sum also and the bill is due 8/20!!!

 

Hadn't planned on that extra expense on top of our shipboard account. Good luck - but I wouldn't count on Princess picking up your interest....

:cool: hmmmmm...just curious...you got a call...from Princess?...so far, I have had to call to see when our refund and reimbursement could be expected...very interesting

[Ky woman]

We have been called several times over the receipts we have sent--so far no check and they refuse to pay for the parking at Red Hook Pier. We were told if we had a problem with that we should write to the company which we will do. They did say it would be 3-6 weeks before a check would be issued for the other expenses so they still have time.

[24 FAN]

Well it is 8/14 and my charge bill is due and still no check from Princess. Guess I will pay what i can and hope the interest on the unpaid balance is not that great.

[CroozinFamily]

We have been called several times over the receipts we have sent--so far no check and they refuse to pay for the parking at Red Hook Pier. We were told if we had a problem with that we should write to the company which we will do. They did say it would be 3-6 weeks before a check would be issued for the other expenses so they still have time.

 

 

Princess said they would pay us for any additional expenses we incurred to get home. You were going to have to pay for parking regardless, so that was not an additional expense. Unless you couldn't get home until after Thursday and you incurred additional charges, I don't think they should be refunding the parking. Now, the cost of transportation to get from the airport to the pier should be covered.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Well it is 8/14 and my charge bill is due and still no check from Princess. Guess I will pay what i can and hope the interest on the unpaid balance is not that great.

 

24 Fan, Princess has already credited you the full fare you paid for the cruise, rorrect? Can't you use that you pay your travel expenses? That's what I did.

[piper28]

You were going to have to pay for parking regardless, so that was not an additional expense. Unless you couldn't get home until after Thursday and you incurred additional charges, I don't think they should be refunding the parking.

 

I figure out odds of getting parking back are slim, but here's my personal argument for it: supposedly they're refunding the airfare for the original flights to/from the cruise (I'm not referring to the flights from orlando here). IMHO if they're doing that, it's only right they refund parking. Now, if they only refunded the return airfare from the original flights, then I'd be back to agreeing that parking shouldn't be refunded. But personally, I feel parking in analagous to the airfare to/from NY for those that get that refunded.

 

Now, I don't really expect they're going to see my way and approve it, and I'm not going to fight it when they reject it. But I do feel one can make an argument it should be included.

[24 FAN]

Thats not the point CJSKIDS. Pay us quickly for the pain that we endured. I don't know about you,but my 9 year old wound up in the hospital for a day and is still having nightmares. Don't feel sorry or support a big company like "princess". By the way,it is 8/15/06 and STILL NO CHECK.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thats not the point CJSKIDS. Pay us quickly for the pain that we endured. I don't know about you,but my 9 year old wound up in the hospital for a day and is still having nightmares. Don't feel sorry or support a big company like "princess". By the way,it is 8/15/06 and STILL NO CHECK.

 

Since you're a new poster, you probably don't know what I went through with the 3/19 Star Princess that caught fire but trust me, it wasn't a pretty situation. I do know what you're going through. I was left ill , in Jamaica with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Lost almost all my clothes that I owned due to the fact that I'm a notorius overpacker and since I live in Florida the clothes with me were not my travel or summer clothes but my everyday clothes. Add toilitries, makeup, cameras, presription glasses and sunglasses, luggage, shoes,purses, etc and it adds up to a huge bill. Not only did I have to pay the $3000 it took for me to get home, but on top of that I had medical bills and new clothes to purchase so I had something to put on my back.

 

Was I angry, did I want my check right away? You bet, but it doesn't work that way. Since you didn't wait to have Princess fly you home and decided to do it on your own, (don't blame you I did the same thing out of sheer frustration) then you chose to spend the extra money. The payments didn't get rushed for us and it looks like they won't be rushed for you. It's not just Princess, it's also their insurance company and guess what, they don't care what any of us went through, it's all business to them.

 

As I got a full refund just like you did, money that we had already spent months prior, I elected to use that to pay my travel expenses. There were plenty of us in that same boat and it took 3 to 4 months for all of us to be repaid our out of pocket expenses. What is fair, no, is it life, yes.

 

I am in no way posting this to minimize your anger and frustration, I totally understand it. I posted it since I completely understand how you feel as just wanted to let you know what we went through so your expectations of "the check is in the mail" were based a bit more on reality and not the short time frame that you (and I) had hoped for.

[TNTLAMB]

cjskids, I am really amazed at the amount of progress you have made in the healing process from your traumatic experience on the Star. I had my doubts, I really felt you might end up carrying a lifelong chip on your shoulder. Not only is your experience helpful to those who have had similar experiences, but the fact you can make such a tremendous amount of recovery in a relatively short time is also an encouragement. Kudos to be able to take a traumatic experience, recover to ther point you have and then be able to help others!!!

[Host CJSKIDS]

cjskids, I am really amazed at the amount of progress you have made in the healing process from your traumatic experience on the Star. I had my doubts, I really felt you might end up carrying a lifelong chip on your shoulder. Not only is your experience helpful to those who have had similar experiences, but the fact you can make such a tremendous amount of recovery in a relatively short time is also an encouragement. Kudos to be able to take a traumatic experience, recover to ther point you have and then be able to help others!!!

 

Thank you TNTLAMB, that was a very thoughtful post, it really was and believe it or not the amount of support that I received here from everyone went a long way in helping me recover. Thanks again for your kindness.

[Luis]

Since you're a new poster, you probably don't know what I went through with the 3/19 Star Princess that caught fire but trust me, it wasn't a pretty situation. I do know what you're going through. I was left ill , in Jamaica with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Lost almost all my clothes that I owned due to the fact that I'm a notorius overpacker and since I live in Florida the clothes with me were not my travel or summer clothes but my everyday clothes. Add toilitries, makeup, cameras, presription glasses and sunglasses, luggage, shoes,purses, etc and it adds up to a huge bill. Not only did I have to pay the $3000 it took for me to get home, but on top of that I had medical bills and new clothes to purchase so I had something to put on my back.

 

Was I angry, did I want my check right away? You bet, but it doesn't work that way. Since you didn't wait to have Princess fly you home and decided to do it on your own, (don't blame you I did the same thing out of sheer frustration) then you chose to spend the extra money. The payments didn't get rushed for us and it looks like they won't be rushed for you. It's not just Princess, it's also their insurance company and guess what, they don't care what any of us went through, it's all business to them.

 

As I got a full refund just like you did, money that we had already spent months prior, I elected to use that to pay my travel expenses. There were plenty of us in that same boat and it took 3 to 4 months for all of us to be repaid our out of pocket expenses. What is fair, no, is it life, yes.

 

I am in no way posting this to minimize your anger and frustration, I totally understand it. I posted it since I completely understand how you feel as just wanted to let you know what we went through so your expectations of "the check is in the mail" were based a bit more on reality and not the short time frame that you (and I) had hoped for.

 

Thank you for sharing what you went through, I guess we all have to be patient, but it does seem unfair that people have credit card debt because of this and may face interest charges- however I never thought that the ship was making arrangements for anyone the letter from the President delivered to our stateroom said they would have free phone usage for us to make our travel plans- I just am thankful that at the last minute I did bring the cell phone. Again thanks for your post it was nice of you.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thank you for sharing what you went through, I guess we all have to be patient, but it does seem unfair that people have credit card debt because of this and may face interest charges- however I never thought that the ship was making arrangements for anyone the letter from the President delivered to our stateroom said they would have free phone usage for us to make our travel plans- I just am thankful that at the last minute I did bring the cell phone. Again thanks for your post it was nice of you.

 

No problems Luis. I know it's horrible to wait, and the wait just seems to go on and on. Once you get refunded, it will help to close the book as they say and move forward, it really does.

Yes, it's unfair that people have credit card debt. Of course, Princess figures that since they refunded everyone's cruise fare in full quickly ( money that was already spent and no one was expecting that they would get back) then people should have the funds to pay their credit card debts. I realize that this may not be the case because not everyone pays off their credit card debt on time or they were paying off the cruise over time, but as far as they're concerned the refund should cover it. If your cruise fare refund went to a credit card and was paid in full, then you have to request that credit card send you a check, don't assume they will. This of course will take time as well.

 

Trust me, I kept after Princess. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I called and was told "the check is in the mail". Don't bother calling 1-800-Princess as they have no idea when you're check is going out. Their screen and the date they give you is the date that the approval was sent over to accounting requesting a check.

 

For anyone who wants to know, this is the process in refunding your travel expenses.

 

1) your packet of information is received and processed by Princess. Hopefully it all get approved and stamped that it can go for payment.

 

2) A request is sent from that department over to the accounting department, which is a different building by the way. It now enters into a list of refunds that need to be processed for any reason what so ever.

Checks are only cut on Fridays, occasionally on Mondays if they weren't able to be processed on Fridays.

 

3) Once the check is cut, a call then goes over to the person who is handling the Crown incident checks. He or she must them go over to the accounting department and bring the stack of checks back to their building. They are then sorted, checked off against the list and put into an envelope to be mailed. Next day they're mailed off.

 

Now, this is how it was done for the Star. They don't have a large department working on the checks, one to two people only so as you can see it takes time. If they didn't hire others to do it any differently for the Star Princess passenger, I highly doubt they've changed the system this time around as it's only a matter of months. Customer relations and the departments that handle this are only open during normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm, not 7 days a week like Princess reservations.

 

Hope this information helps. Again, I know your pain and understand it all. Everything will get better as time goes on.

[margoula]

Thats not the point CJSKIDS. Pay us quickly for the pain that we endured. I don't know about you,but my 9 year old wound up in the hospital for a day and is still having nightmares. Don't feel sorry or support a big company like "princess". By the way,it is 8/15/06 and STILL NO CHECK.

:mad: I'm with you....sorry that your child is hurting....and

we all suffered mental anguish on that cruise.....I agree....Princess is a big corporation....don't feel sorry for them...their staff caused this accident...they should be processing everything as quickly as they can.