Princess Cruise Lines Future Cruise Credit Refund

[curtgunn]

We bought 2 future cruise credits for $200. They expired 2/24/20. Our future cruise credit ID numbers were 0xxxxxxx and 0xxxxxxx. We called and talked to Princess a couple of times and did not receive a satisfactory response as to when to expect the refund. So I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Their response to the complaint on 4/22/20 from Alexiss Taylor of Customer Relations was “I kindly ask for Mr. Gunn's continued patience as he awaits the arrival of his refund check.” Then on 5/19/20 she again responded "We are truly sorry for Mr. Gunn's continued dissatisfaction. Please know that we are working to expedite the process as quickly as possible. I kindly ask for Mr. Gunn's continued patience as he awaits the arrival of his refund check.” I has been almost 3 months since she said that the refund check would be sent to me and that the process was being “expedited”. Then on 6/22/20, I sent an email to the CEO and others that I got from Elliott.org website asking about it. I have received no response from my email. Of course since I am writing this to you I have not received any refund from Princess Cruise Lines yet. My question to you is how long does it take to write a check and send it? I would greatly appreciate anything that you can do to get me my refund that you owe me.

Note: Edited by a moderator to remove FCC numbers

 

[weihlac]

We bought 2 future cruise credits for $200. They expired 2/24/20. Our future cruise credit ID numbers were 0xxxxxxx and 0xxxxxxx. We called and talked to Princess a couple of times and did not receive a satisfactory response as to when to expect the refund. So I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Their response to the complaint on 4/22/20 from Alexiss Taylor of Customer Relations was “I kindly ask for Mr. Gunn's continued patience as he awaits the arrival of his refund check.” Then on 5/19/20 she again responded "We are truly sorry for Mr. Gunn's continued dissatisfaction. Please know that we are working to expedite the process as quickly as possible. I kindly ask for Mr. Gunn's continued patience as he awaits the arrival of his refund check.” I has been almost 3 months since she said that the refund check would be sent to me and that the process was being “expedited”. Then on 6/22/20, I sent an email to the CEO and others that I got from Elliott.org website asking about it. I have received no response from my email. Of course since I am writing this to you I have not received any refund from Princess Cruise Lines yet. My question to you is how long does it take to write a check and send it? I would greatly appreciate anything that you can do to get me my refund that you owe me.

Note: Edited by a moderator to remove FCC numbers

Given the current chaos involving cruise lines and their lack of business income, it may take 3-6 months.

 

[Yul Ullu]

Given the current chaos involving cruise lines and their lack of business income, it may take 3-6 months.

I see that type of answer on this site quite often, and I struggle with it. Do cruise lines make allowances when customers have difficulties making a final payment? Same question for airlines and other travel industry operators. Because if customers are supposed to be patient and wait 3-6 months because the industry is in trouble, shouldn't that same type of consideration be given to customers when they are struggling to pay, for whatever reason?

It seems that the deck is stacked against the consumer, and more so to those who book early.

 

[Neil Maley]

I see that type of answer on this site quite often, and I struggle with it. Do cruise lines make allowances when customers have difficulties making a final payment? Same question for airlines and other travel industry operators. Because if customers are supposed to be patient and wait 3-6 months because the industry is in trouble, shouldn't that same type of consideration be given to customers when they are struggling to pay, for whatever reason?

It seems that the deck is stacked against the consumer, and more so to those who book early.

The cruise lines do not have unlimited amounts of cash sitting to refund. They require cash from new bookings to process refunds. There had never been anything ever in the travel world like this and they are doing the best they can.

You’ll simply need to wait- there are people with thousands of dollars of paid in full canceled cruises that are waiting too,

 

[justlisa]

I mean, your options are to wait for the money or for the company to tell you sorry we don't have the money so accept the loss. As the saying goes, you can't get blood from a stone.

These credits were bought years ago if they expired in February. That means you're out on a credit card dispute too.

 

[weihlac]

I see that type of answer on this site quite often, and I struggle with it. Do cruise lines make allowances when customers have difficulties making a final payment? Same question for airlines and other travel industry operators. Because if customers are supposed to be patient and wait 3-6 months because the industry is in trouble, shouldn't that same type of consideration be given to customers when they are struggling to pay, for whatever reason?

It seems that the deck is stacked against the consumer, and more so to those who book early.

The cruise industry is in a unique position unlike anything experienced before (other than during WWII). They shut down all cruises in March, but still had (and have) ships at sea with large ongoing expenses and zero income, plus billions in refunds due. Unlike the US and some foreign airlines which received large bailouts, the cruise lines have tried very hard, and successfully, to avoid any regulations by incorporating in places that will not/cannot bail them out.

As some smaller airlines and cruise lines have already gone out of business, it remains to be seen how well the larger cruise lines will fare.
People awaiting refunds will have to wait and hope that they will eventually receive the refunds. It may not happen until cruising restarts and the cruise lines have some cash flow which they can apportion to refunds. People who cruise do so in an entirely discretionary fashion; if they are unable to make final payments because of changes in their circumstances, some will lose their deposit. The same applies to car/mortgage payments, etc. Reality sets in.

 

[jsn55]

I see that type of answer on this site quite often, and I struggle with it. Do cruise lines make allowances when customers have difficulties making a final payment? Same question for airlines and other travel industry operators. Because if customers are supposed to be patient and wait 3-6 months because the industry is in trouble, shouldn't that same type of consideration be given to customers when they are struggling to pay, for whatever reason?

It seems that the deck is stacked against the consumer, and more so to those who book early.

I understand what you're saying, and you're right in theory. It's important to understand reality. Revenue stops, employees are barred from coming to work. Refund requests pour in. No cash to refund. No idea when revenue will resume. Must prioritize the life of the cruise line and pay the employees who are working on refunds and issuing future cruise credits ... mostly from their homes

The recent discussion about ElAl Airlines just shutting down everything and doing nothing for their customers is an extreme example of bad management from the consumer perspective. But ElAl knows that they'll get a government bailout, so they chose to leave all their customers hanging. They took the easy way out. Most travel providers are making a large effort to take care of their customers. The problem is far greater than an "industry in trouble." The entire world is in trouble economically, and there's no end in sight.