ROYAL CARIBBEAN REFUND

[South Florida Girly]

Really curious to know:

1. Who has received a refund

2. Those who have explained to  RCCL you cannot travel due to being immunocompromised and Royal Caribbean just doesn't care? 

3. Has anybody gotten their cruise credit's extended to be used in 2023?

4. Who's willing to file a class action lawsuit against Royal Caribbean in hopes of getting a full refund for services not rendered? 

5. How many of you have disputed this with your credit card, and won? 

Edited January 14, 2022 by South Florida Girly

[Frustrated Cruiser]

I’m wondering all those things as well. We were to cruise in April 2020 and took the Future Cruise Credit thinking we would be going again soon and didn’t think the pandemic would be like it is.
My daughter is a transplant recipient. We have asked for an extension to 2023. Gave doctors notes saying she absolutely can not go on a cruise. RC doesn’t care. I have emailed RC 6 times asking for just an extension due to her health concerns.  Seeing cruise ships coming back with passengers being positive, ports being cancelled, some people being quarantined for the cruise in the small room just doesn’t appeal to me either. The last email I got was basically it wasn’t going any further and sorry but not sorry. They gave us an option to transfer it to someone else (no one I know what’s to go or has $6500 in cash. So am I just supposed to forfeit the $6500??

We have been loyal RC cruisers, I’m almost past asking for extension anymore and just want a refund and will never cruise with RC again. My relatives and few friends don’t want to cruise with them either bc of this. 

[Ready2cruise]

I'm initiating a dispute today. I called to cancel cruise and get a fcc, because our flight went through 3 itinerary changes, now its just blank.  I have gotten nothing but the run around from RCL. I never recieved a email stating I canceled and will recieve a fcc. I called back a 2nd time and actually recorded the conversation. Fyi, the ppl who are taking the calls cant do anything! The guy basically slipped up and told me, the refunds and fcc are being forwarded to a team in the United States, and they are taking there sweet time, because basically RCL is keeping themselves a float(literally) with ppl money. I loved cruising because of the access it gives you, but Im definitely becoming a island hopper.

[Jim Lamb]

I recently went through the same thing. After three calls, each call lasting more than an hour of conversation, not "on hold" time, I was told that I would receiving our refund including cashing in on the future cruise credits, within 45 days of the first call. After two more calls after 45 days plus, our refund was processed into two different refunds that came a month apart. I believe Ready2Cruise is right in the assessment that they are taking their sweet time to refund anyone so they can continue to pay bills.

[Rick G]

I have no complaints against RCCL. 1/6 I called and told them I wanted to cancel my 2/5 cruise and wanted a refund. They asked why I wanted to cancel and I told them it was because of COVID. I also re-booked for 1 month later. I got a full refund yesterday and it's in time to pay the balance for the re-booked cruise. I think the key to the refund is the reason you are canceling. 

 

[South Florida Girly]

@Rick G Don't you think re-booking a month later is the reason they offered you a refund? Because they knew you'd be spending money with them any way a month later? 

So if I call and say I'd like to cancel my April cruise because of Covid, they will give me a full refund? No questions asked? Did you mention any type of underlying condition, or disagreement on mask policy? 

[Rick G]

I don't believe rebooking is anywhere in the contract as terms to get a refund. The lady led me into the question and it was on a recorded line. I realized what she wanted me to say and after I did she told me she could do the refund. I had a pretty heavy penalty for canceling and getting a refund so I was waiting to see if they would take fee's out. I didn't say anything other than what she was asking. Just sharing my experience, for whatever that's worth. 

[Jon]

As of yesterday I was also denied being able to cash my future cruise credits back in for a refund. My cruise was suppose to be back in May 2020. It was cancelled under the cruise with confidence program. I could only get a future cruise credit for the money I had paid in. So with my family being unvaccinated an unable to cruise by their protocols I called Royal Caribbean yesterday and was on the phone for over 2 hours with the resolutions department arguing about wanting my money back that was rightfully mine. They continued over and over saying that couldn’t refund me for my future cruise credits. He said it was corporates decision. I asked him where his corporate headquarters was located and that I wanted to talk to them. He responded he needed to look that up. I told him it’s in Miami and how embarrassing you don’t even know where your company is located. I finally got the phone number from him which will probably do no good to call and will be a waste of my time.  What they are doing is is unfair and unethical. This was going to be our first cruise with Royal but I can promise you that me nor my family will never support or step onto one of their cruise ships after this experience!!!! 

[South Florida Girly]

Thanks for your input, @Jon. It really is disgusting that they are holding peoples money hostage. What they are doing is using our money to fund their new biggest ship, Wonder of the seas. 

I was supposed to take a cruise around Europe, May of 2020 when I accepted the FCC. This was BEFORE Italy decided that if you wanted to get off the ship, you needed to be booked on an excursion offered by the cruise line. Although this is not the cruise lines fault, this is where they need to be flexible in understanding that not all people have an additional $1,000 per person total to do excursions in every port. I lost my job due to Covid, and the new job I have is $6,500 less in salary. I do not have $1,000 extra to spend on excursions. Not only that, the same cruise I was booked for is more money than what I originally paid, so what good is that extra cruise credit? 

Do you know anyone that's filed a dispute with their credit card and won? 

 

[Brooke]

I’ve had this same issue! We were suppose to cruise back in Dec 2020. They cancelled and we had the option to get a refund or take FCC. I’ve cruised a ton and was like sure FCC is fine. They keep extending the FCC use obviously due to COVID trends. Well now they require everyone to be vaccinated. I’ve called numerous times trying to get a refund. No budging at all, pretty much sorry you chose FCC. Well at that time vaccinations weren’t required. The landscape has changed which I believe now should ensure an option to get a refund. As long as vaccinations are required to cruise, there’s no way we can even use the FCC. They then said we could gift them. Which isn’t an answer or a solution to the situation. 

[Lil w]

We have been trying to get a refund as our cruise was canceled from June 2019. Royal Caribbean does not care about anyone but their pockets. We have been calling and emailing with no response. 

[Brum]

I have had quite the ordeal with Royal Caribbean.

We initially booked in 2019 for a May 2020 sailing. That one was cancelled due to COVID, so we gave them another chance and rebooked for May 2021. That was again was cancelled due to COVID. So we rebooked for September 2022.

Last December we got word that someone had chartered our ship for our Sept. 2022 sailing and the cruise was cancelled, this time not by the government, but by RCCL. By this time, my family was DONE trying to work with them. Rebooking windows were small, and to allow a ship that was in that window for us to be chartered felt like a huge middle finger to those of us who rebooked when the cruises were cancelled due to the pandemic. Three strikes, you're out, we figured. The email from the company said that we could get a full refund.

I called to get that refund and was told that the refund would be processed in 45 days. About a month and a half later, we had our port fees and taxes refunded and future cruise credits. I called and they told me they had changed their minds and would only give us another future cruise credit. I was absolutely livid. I escalated it as much as I could but the answer was the same, even from the executive level of the company.

At this point, I never want to give RCCL another dollar of my money. But it is either walk away from the $4,000 we have given them so far, or go on a spite cruise. I'm going on my spite cruise, but this will be the first and last cruise I ever take with this company. As someone who has done a number of cruises, they really lost out on a lot of potential future revenue from my family because of this shady setup. I have spent 10's of thousands of dollars cruising in my lifetime. This is the last bit of that pie they will ever receive from me.

[Ex RCCL Customer]

Y’all are not alone! We had a cruise, paid for in full, canceled last Spring (2021). Refund never appeared. Even an attempt  to reclaim via credit card company was rejected by RCCL!! 
After >5 months culminating in threat of small claims court in Miami, funds (several thousand dollars) finally returned. Can never risk $$$’s with them again. Complaint filed with Miami BBB. 

[Jim Lamb]

Brum, file a claim with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services against Royal. Let the Governator know whats going on!

[Brum]

Thanks for the info everybody!

[SMPhilly]

We were denied boarding in April of 2022 and we had an unvaccinated 3 year old in our party. We all did COVID tests on the day of boarding but Royal needed it to be a day earlier. So we were denied boarding. When I called for refund they are calling it a no show and neither are refunding nor giving us future credit. $1400

Does anyone know what can be done about this?