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TonyK

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If you chose the 125% FCC will that also be issued by April 30? Or was that just if you took the full refund? I just paid my deposit for a cruise in September and am hoping to not have to pay the rest of the cruise fair out of pocket as well.

 

Also, does the 125% include the excursions and packages you purchased? Or will those be refunded directly to my credit card?

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2 minutes ago, hail73 said:

 

Also, does the 125% include the excursions and packages you purchased? Or will those be refunded directly to my credit card?

From reading the RCCL post, the excursions. Etc can be included in the 125% FCC, but you must opt-in by April 8. Otherwise, they will be refunded at 100% to the original form of payment. There is an opt-in link in the email notice as well as their messages posted online.

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11 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

From reading the RCCL post, the excursions. Etc can be included in the 125% FCC, but you must opt-in by April 8. Otherwise, they will be refunded at 100% to the original form of payment. There is an opt-in link in the email notice as well as their messages posted online.

THANK YOU

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I was to sail March 15. RCC cancelled my cruise and I opted for 100%  cash refund in lieu of 125% FCC. I was offered those with RCC email on March 13 cancellation letter. I have now received 100% FCC emails. Customer service tells me they see notes on my account for cash refund but cannot do that now. Its a complete cluster. My suspicion is that if RCC refunded all the people that asked for it, they'd have to file for bankruptcy. Thus, RCC chose to refund some and FCC others regardless of what the customer asked for. There are hundreds of people in same boat. RCC is very inconsistent in the handling of this. I for one am so angry I'll like not ever use RCC again. If I cannot get my cash refund as RCC promised, I'll donate my FCC to a non-profit to help raise money. RCC is sliding towards irreversible bad publicity on this. 

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40 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

If I’m not mistaken, you must opt IN for the cash refund (the 125% FCC is the default rebate).  Then, regarding the Cruise Planner purchases, you must opt IN if you want the 125% FCC, with the cash refund as the default rebate.  I find it very confusing.  

Just opted in for the 125% on cruise planner purchases. Fingers crossed!

My heart goes out to all those working for RC right now, talk about a stressful job !

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2 hours ago, hail73 said:

Just opted in for the 125% on cruise planner purchases. Fingers crossed!

My heart goes out to all those working for RC right now, talk about a stressful job !

Yea me to, but I also feel sorry for the people who cant get their money back.

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12 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Me.

I have not yet received mine either. I called and when I explained the situation, the rep told me to that my reservation was just "sitting there" . Perhaps it was volume or glitches in the system but he investigated. We have been having ongoing email exchanges and are now on course for 4/13 or before.

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14 minutes ago, KyleW2 said:

I don't understand what is taking them so long. Quite frankly, it is pretty frustrating. Hopefully they can provide an explanation over the phone tomorrow.

 

5 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

I have not yet received mine either. I called and when I explained the situation, the rep told me to that my reservation was just "sitting there" . Perhaps it was volume or glitches in the system but he investigated. We have been having ongoing email exchanges and are now on course for 4/13 or before.

Personally, I will give them until the 13th before I get worried. 

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20 hours ago, KyleW2 said:

Still haven’t received a refund for cruise planner purchases or taxes and fees from a cruise I cancelled on March 11th. Anyone else in the same boat?

 

20 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Me.

Add me to that list.  I booked a couple other cruises during that billing cycle, and added another room to a third, so I had four deposits on the one credit card.  I really would like my $500 back from the one I canceled!  LOL In the grand scheme of things $500 isn't a lot, but when I sat there YOLO booking, choosing cruises that had good fares but I wasn't sure about the dates, I should've thought about what would be happening and reined myself in.  I also wasn't planning on adding a second room to an August sailing but that came up unexpectedly.  So add all that up and I needed to dip into my savings to pay that bill in full.  Totally my fault, but I wasn't expecting it to take so long and thought I could cancel before my billing cycle ended.

I do have to make sure I remember to get the two I'm keeping transferred to the TA before my 60 days is up.  I didn't want to bother them as they were nuts with all the cancellations. 

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I am guessing they want to wait for the full 30 days...they need your money!!

 

I cancelled mine the 24th or 25th..still shows as  an active cruise in my planner...

 

I didn't have anything extra booked..no drinks, no excursions so should be a straightforward credit back to my CC....time will tell!

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11 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

Personally, I will give them until the 13th before I get worried. 

From their email:

  • General Refunds/Reimbursements: Most refunds take 5-7 business days + the time it takes your bank to post to your account. If you have not received your refund by March 30th, please reach out to us.
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9 minutes ago, KyleW2 said:

From their email:

  • General Refunds/Reimbursements: Most refunds take 5-7 business days + the time it takes your bank to post to your account. If you have not received your refund by March 30th, please reach out to us.

Yes, that has been circulating but their initial email and on social media, they have always said by April 13th.  So I will give the benefit of the doubt and wait it out till then.  It's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon. ?

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Just as a frame of reference, I called Celebrity this morning regarding the refund of my deposit for the Alaska cruise I cancelled for next year. I cancelled through my TA 2 weeks ago; the Celebrity rep told me to expect the refund at the 4-6 week mark. So, I'm just kinda holding on and checking my bank and credit card balances every day.

No rush here, but I just like to keep myself updated.

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On a related topic: 

I talked with the rewards department today and learned that if you had RCCL Visa rewards applied as OBC, they are holding those and you can move the OBC to your replacement cruise. Call the rewards department (888-305-4626) and provide both your cancelled reservation number and your new one, and they will make the transfer. They told me this also applies to NextCruise OBC if you had it on the cancelled sailing.

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On 3/30/2020 at 7:58 AM, Carl Vitanza said:

RE: Liberty of Sea Cruise March 15, 2020

RCC cancelled my cruise on March 13. I was proactive watching cruises being cancelled all around the world at that time and cancelled my cruise on March 12 - one day before RCC cancelled the cruise themselves. I was given 100% FCC on March 12. RCC offered me 125% FCC or 100% cash refund on March 13 email. I went online and took the 100% cash refund. RCC has stiffed me on that offer. RCC admitted to me over the phone 2 days ago that they ignored my online request for 100% cash refund. RCC customer service person also admitted that they never told passengers that RCC would ignore March 13 offers for passengers who cancelled one day prior. Totally wrong ! Bottom line is that I was penalized for paying attention and cancelling one day before RCC cancelled the cruise themselves. I'm done with RCC. Many folks in same situation and I'm signing up for class action suit being formulated now.  

This is the same thing that happened to me but I cancelled on March 11 after a manager told me that there was no way that they would be canceling so I could not get my money back no matter what.  We canceled, then two days later we got the email saying that we could get on and get a full refund, so we filled out the online link, it said everything was checked out and now they are saying that it wasn't meant for us and since we canceled two days before, there is no refund for us to get.  Could I please be added to be a part of this class action lawsuit?

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So I had already filled out the refund link to get 100% back and so I went back to it to see if it had any information and now it is blank again.  RCC is saying I do not get a refund due to canceling 2 days prior to the cruise canceling, even though they were asked if getting a refund through the link would still be an option and they said yes.  Should I fill it out again and see if it gives me the same screen as before? OR could this potentially hurt me in this argument against them, if I fill it out once again? 

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@MikaelaJ I am unsure if there is a class action lawsuit.

RCCI did not say in any way they would honor refunds on cancellations prior to cancelled cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RCCI had to send out millions of forms and I am sure plenty of people received those forms who had already cancelled. Receiving that form does not entitle you to a refund or more FCC, regardless of whether or not you filled it out. You don't have an argument against RCC unless in writing it states that proactive cancellations would be honored.

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@Ampurp85 Many people were informed on March 13th that although they had canceled due to the virus, the cruise would still allow them to get the refund during all this.  Then a couple weeks later they were told this was untrue, a lot of people are going through the same thing as me, as well as having issues with getting refunds for all their other activities and packages they bought.  RCCI is screwing people over left and right, and being inconsistent in their policies and what they are informing their customers of. 

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I am sure the system is a complete and utter mess. Millions of people flooding the systems with request and cancellations that were not imminent. Plus the people who were trying to take advantage by upgrading, on top of the people who are trying to book. Refunds could take as little as 10 business days or as long as 90. With so much changing and evolving information, I am sure that emails went to people prematurely. However, each one of us signed a cruise contract and are legally bound by the stipulations therein. Just because you received an email, I received one and my next cruise with RCCI was in Oct, doesn't entitle you to that offering. I saw nothing from RCCI that said they were going to honor past cancellations. All of the letters were posted and it says nothing of that nature.

If you are talking about a small group of people on a particular sailing, that RCCI gave a few people their money back and higher FCC, then stop honoring. That was a flustercuck. It was not the offer of CCL. which has in writing it would honor anyone who cancelled after March 6th with the same choices as those who cruises were cancelled. More so RCCI has always been a little bit inconsistent in their policies. One rep might not allow this to happen, you get another that does. I am not a RCCI fanatic, just a realist and while from your moral standpoint RCCI is screwing people over. They are sound from a business point, in fact they are a million points ahead because the contract you signed when you put down a deposit, entitles you to far less....regardless of the circumstances.

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7 minutes ago, MikaelaJ said:

@Ampurp85 Many people were informed on March 13th that although they had canceled due to the virus, the cruise would still allow them to get the refund during all this.  Then a couple weeks later they were told this was untrue, a lot of people are going through the same thing as me, as well as having issues with getting refunds for all their other activities and packages they bought.  RCCI is screwing people over left and right, and being inconsistent in their policies and what they are informing their customers of. 

I would not say that Royal is "screwing people over left and right". They are cancelling 10's of thousands of reservations. It will take a while to process everything. 

Getting 100% credit versus 125% is not screwing people. If you cancelled with "Cruise with Confidence" then you are entitled to 100% not 125%. I know you are upset that someone "told" you otherwise, but when new policies are put in place, there is confusion.

I hope you get your full refund.

 

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@Poolside I feel that saying that they will give a full refund back to someone (me and a lot of others) and then changing their minds and sending credit instead without informing anyone beforehand is screwing people over.  People were then expecting that money, in a time when we as a people are struggling with this pandemic, and then they were not given it.  People were told they would get the full refund after the new policy was put in place (March 13) to get the refund, not before.  When people called on March 13th after already canceling to ask if they could still get the full refund despite canceling and RCCI said yes, then did not follow through with what they said. 

Thank you for hoping we get the refund, I understand giving the 100% credit is nice, but it will be useless for us, so we were really depending on the refund.  That is where my irritation is coming from.

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@MikaelaJ  @KyleW2 @hail73 @Carl Vitanza @nikken79 @Cruise Happy  Welcome all to the RCB forums!

Sorry to everyone who are working on obtaining refunds for RCL cruises.  Luckily (or unluckily) we cruised on the last Anthem cruise, but do have a fully paid for Harmony cruise on Nov 1st.  Were these promises of cash refunds from the 13th onwards documented in writing somewhere?  Thanks.

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@YOLO @Ampurp85 @Poolside Only in phone calls that they record, and I would assume have no requirement to share.  It seriously sucks so bad, this was supposed to be our honeymoon, then it got canceled, then our wedding (March 20) got postponed, and now we are dealing with needing the refund, otherwise we cannot afford a new honeymoon for whenever we finally get to have our wedding.  We were depending on that money to be able to have a honeymoon, and unfortunately, we will not be able to take another cruise before the credit expires due to my partners job.  I know people want us to just be happy with the credit, but I can't be because it is just money down the drain, since we likely won't be able to use it.

@Ampurp85 You are correct, they have nothing legally, I just wish their word had meant more, and they had kept it.  I am not talking about a small group of people who got their money back, I am talking about the people on this forum as well as on Facebook that are stating they had the exact same thing happen to them, where they were told they would get their refund and then did not. I am just upset and I feel like they do not care that they have people who are giving out incorrect information.  My experience with the people who work customer service has not been great.  I am not someone who yells at people over the phone or is disrespectful, I just explained the situation and asked questions, but I kept getting switched to new people who would tell me different than what the person I talked to before them did. I just wish I had never booked a cruise with them in the first place.  I understand your business side, please understand that I feel wronged and am upset about it.

 

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@MikaelaJ  That's seems to be human error though, it was not a written policy.  I never and I do mean never count on anything business related that is not in writing. Life never has been and will never be fair. Think of all the people who scored $18 drink packages. They as a company did not change their minds. They had the Cruise with Confidence policy and that was what was in effect when YOU decided to cancel. After COVID was declared a pandemic they changed their policy to better benefit the current disaster we are suffering through. Those who had previously cancelled tried to get RCCI to honor the new one.....some reps said yes, some said no. RCCI probably allowed a few people to get the refund before really think about the repercussions. It is very unfortunate but "I only cancelled 1,2,3 days and on and on" can be argued and before long everyone wants a full refund when that was not the policy.

I am in no way trying to be mean or belittle your experience. I wish to God you could have received your funds back, as I know people are in dire need of all the money they can get. I just hate to see people so stressed and putting more expectations on themselves when nothing can be done. My brother's best friend was feeling the same way you are as they had ten+ thousand invested in a cruise. Like you the cancelled on CCL before the cruise was actually cancelled. They expected $6260 in a refund and the rest in FCC. Literally hours later CCL cancelled the first batch of cruises and he called trying to get it honored and the first rep told him no, then another said wait. Weeks later still no refund but then a form came offering a full refund proactive to those who cancelled after March 6th. Now CCL has cancelled Alaskan, European and a cruises that leave from San Fransisco. Maybe RCCI might do the same.

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13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Yes, that has been circulating but their initial email and on social media, they have always said by April 13th.  So I will give the benefit of the doubt and wait it out till then.  It's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon. ?

Spoke with RC today and they said everything is delayed due to the mass amount of cancellations and that we can expect refunds within 30 days of cancellation, so I guess April 13th will be the day most of us get our refunds

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I got very tired of being on phone hold for hours or disconnected each time I tried calling. RCCL has no right to hang onto our hard earned vacation dollar that we put into their trust. Refunds should have been quick and automatic. They still owe us several $hundredsS for excursions and packages. It's been 3 weeks. All my other cancellation refunds with airlines, hotels, rental cars, excusions, shuttles, etc., were all refunded back to the original form of payment within 1 to 5 days. What is RCCL's problem. They have no claim to that money. I can wait the 30 days for our cruise fee but not the extras. That is BUNK! We now have our credit card company trying to help us out. I read on this forum somewhere that there is now a class action lawsuit formulating for people who want their money back but are simply getting "blown off" by RCCL

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Looks like a "Diamond Plus Member" is trying to defend RCCL! Maybe she/he works for RCCL or has become a "Diamond" due to RCCL given perks or whatever. Anyway, making excuses for a multi billion dollar corporation that apparently jumped the gun and prematurely sent out emails. What RCCL did was WRONG and DECEPTIVE. We have laws here in the USA against that. This is nothing short of "duping" their customers and keeping our money! Ampurp85, don't forget, each and every one of these cruises cancelled up to early June have already been paid for 100% by every booked passenger because RCCL require full payment 90 days prior to sailing date. That is hundreds of thousands of full paid fares that they are HOARDING right now but those ships are moored will little costs to them. RCCL is "making bank" right now with our money! They are loosing/gonna lose many if not most of these future customers. The PR is Bad. They just need to pay back our money and not lie and change their mind and jerk us around! 

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For a class action lawsuit to exist there has to be a loss or harm. NOBODY has had a loss or harm by RCCI. You were made whole in a manner that was better than stipulated in your contract. RCCI is dealing with millions of cancellations that don't just involve cruisers. They are dealing with employee contracts, vendors and other third parties. They are taking hits to their liquidity with cancellations. I am truly amazed at Americans..and people in general,  behavior during this pandemic. From people still partying and having no regard for others safety. To people who feel entitled to special treatment. Nobody has any patience.

@Cruise Happy I only reply because I am shocked at how much blame is being placed by people who play the "greedy corporation game. With interest rates so low and the cost it takes to keep empty ships, RCCI is not making bank. YOU and only you decided to book a refundable/nonrefundable fare to cruise, knowing that if you cancel you would be penalized. RCCI did the best they could by allowing for no penalty changes and FCC, refunds if they cancelled. You are assuming a lot about me..... I have been on 1 RCCI cruise, I own no stock with them but I have been doing accounts receivable for various law firms and large corporations for over 17 years. I am a realist, corporations do what they do because we allow them to do it. You're complaining about greed but you also want your profit sharing and 401k to do good. There is bad PR but COVID-19 is to blame for that. RCCI did not break any laws because they did not put in writing any promises they have not kept.

Again nothing against you venting your frustration but RCCI is not wrong, greedy, amoral, deceptive etc. This is not everyday, this is not normally how things work. Over 1000 people died yesterday. Corporations are not moving swiftly, banks don't work as fast. Most of us have nothing but time.....

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Also keep in mind that Royal offices are closed.  Employees are working from home like the rest of us.   They aren't used to that and every employee is dealing with children home from school, grocery store or toilet paper challenges and likely family or friends infected with COVID-19 just like the rest of us are dealing with this.

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What is interesting in my case is I called and cancelled 3/11, however did not receive notice until 3/14/2020 for the cruise planner cancellation which was after they cancelled the cruise completely (3/13/2020). This leads me to believe my cancellation was actually not put through by Royal whenever I called. I did receive an email stating my cruise was cancelled and I would receive the 125% FCC, confirmed this with a representative after Royal Caribbean said if you cancelled under Cruise with Confidence you were not eligible (They looked at my account and said my cruise was cancelled effective 3/13/20, the same day as RC canceled voluntarily). I then received an email 3/25/2020 saying that if you canceled with Cruise with Confidence, the booking was recorded as cancelled and you will not receive the 125%. 

At this point it is a waiting game. As long as I receive the refunds and the 100% FCC I am happy. The extra 25% would just be an added bonus.

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6 hours ago, KyleW2 said:

At this point it is a waiting game. As long as I receive the refunds and the 100% FCC I am happy. The extra 25% would just be an added bonus.

This is where I'm at, too. I've got more than one refund coming back, and already have my FCC from another cruise, so I'm just awaiting the funds to return to my account whenever that might be. Yes, I could use that money right now, but honestly, I'd already planned for it to be out of my account, so waiting is not really an issue for me.

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15 hours ago, KyleW2 said:

What is interesting in my case is I called and cancelled 3/11, however did not receive notice until 3/14/2020 for the cruise planner cancellation which was after they cancelled the cruise completely (3/13/2020). This leads me to believe my cancellation was actually not put through by Royal whenever I called. I did receive an email stating my cruise was cancelled and I would receive the 125% FCC, confirmed this with a representative after Royal Caribbean said if you cancelled under Cruise with Confidence you were not eligible (They looked at my account and said my cruise was cancelled effective 3/13/20, the same day as RC canceled voluntarily). I then received an email 3/25/2020 saying that if you canceled with Cruise with Confidence, the booking was recorded as cancelled and you will not receive the 125%. 

At this point it is a waiting game. As long as I receive the refunds and the 100% FCC I am happy. The extra 25% would just be an added bonus.

Mine was for a refundable deposit for a cruise in 2021.  There was a weekend of some really good prices, so I put down a bunch of deposits on sailings I was interested in, then narrowed it down afterwards what we were going to actually go on.  So it may go through a different department for processing, as there is no FCC involved.  I'm thinking that made it "quicker"...if you can call it quick.  LOL 

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