BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes. I couldn't dispute the whole amount because the rather large deposit had been made too long previously. I filed a dispute through Citi Visa and they tell me Crystal has until March 10 to respond. Crystal did not say what those channels consist of. Guest killed by freak wave on Antarctic cruise, Hundreds of tourists stranded at Machu Picchu amid Peru protests, UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge winners announced, BA flight makes emergency landing after strange smell reported, TravelMole has over 200,000 registered travel industry members and subscribers throughout the world. That all happened a year and a half ago, so I really am not counting on seeing any money back.. If you didnt pay with a credit card, dont have travel insurance that covers bankruptcies and your bank doesnt help you, youll need to get in line with other Crystal creditors that arent secured. Some travel insurance policies have bankruptcy coverage. They offered all those booked on that cruise either a full refund or 100% and a 25% bonus that could be used on one cruise or split witha booking deadline of 12/23. CC Help Jenn But yes, I finally did get all money back. Very sad. Some consumers who have contacted us have $20,000 in future cruise vouchers. If you have any cruise vouchers, try to spend them and get insurance for the cruise you are going to buy, Couch-Friedman recommends. I did not cancel. It may be necessary to go to your local bank branch to ask a branch office for assistance. Sounds like Crystal responded to your dispute in record time. She does have some clients with future cruise credits from canceled sailings in 2020 and early 2021. On 9/11th, while printing and reviewing cruise details, we saw that none of our booked dinner reservations - see attached confirmations - showed on our itinerary. Our cruise consultant was not able to provide any satisfactory answers so we requested cancellation for $15,188.02. We need these funds back. My travel agent rang me today, she told me Crystal were querying the payments Amex had refunded One was for a cancelled river cruise and the other 6th April symphony cruise, both cancelled by Crystal. Help Ukrainian Families in Need: World Central Kitchen Donation Match. Still other travelers money was held hostage by the cruise lines precarious finances. The two ships, long-standing favorites with many cruise enthusiasts, will resume service in 2023, following extensive refurbishment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. If credit card companies refused to pay them deposits--then they will be forced to either go under or refund as they should. BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. *Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. 5waldos, January 31, 2022 in Crystal Cruises. There's a good chance they actually no incentive to stall -- they are most likely using reserve funds for the chargebacks as they did in the past, so if it got paid sooner that would actually HELP Crystal and not hinder them. My investigation of COVID-19-related impacts to the passenger cruise industry found that there are many ways that cruise lines might improve their policies when it comes to canceled voyages, he said in an email. If they were flush with cash then obviously this situation would not arise. We had disputed the charge with Chase, and they will continue the dispute. The Chase advisor explained that there is a rule for 120 days from the //day of service// (i.e. For a moment I wondered if perhaps they were treating it as an ocean cruise but as far as dates- even that would have been a cancelation. Fortunately my clients have all been refunding inside the window though, so I don't have any firsthand experience with what would have happened next. One year ago our cruise was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. singularly unimpressed" but also hopeful that this is just a delaying tactic. Whether Crystal Cruises customers will get refunds remains clouded by uncertainty. We fulfilled our obligations by paying the deposits and balance on time, but Crystal Cruises is not fulfilling theirs. All of the river cruises are cancelled through late May. Today is Day 104, still no refund. Your best course of action is to file a credit card dispute. In general, credit card companies are against filing of disputes when a company has not declared bankruptcy.. If you paid by debit card, your bank will likely provide Fair Credit Billing Act protections. Your post probably should have been added to one already in existence. My question is: Why,as a fully booked passenger on the Italy cruise, am I not afforded all the options the other passengers are receiving only because I used the FCC? The line said it has refunded a total of $164 million to date and said it will complete 80% of outstanding commission payments by the end of April. The line operated two ocean vessels, the 848-passenger Crystal Symphony and 980-passenger Crystal Serenity, five river cruise ships, and an expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, which launched in summer 2021. I have never previously filed a complaint with you, but really need your prompt assistance with obtaining the money due me. We are going on 8 months since we cancelled and 1.5 years since we paid in full. But I'm feeling very optimistic about everything as are our clients.". I am not sure this is the thread.I'm not really savvy on the forums. There is a number of threads already on this topic. Nothing about refunding after months , and at their discretion. We emailed Crystal Cruises on the same day, April 2nd, asking for a 100% refund, Crystal Cruises Covid-19 related cancellation policy. The total was $15,580.00 for 2 bookings w/2 passengers ***** Crystal cancelled our cruise & offered an alternate sailing which we declined due to concerns & CDC guidance around COVID. HoweverGenting have overlooked the integrity of Crystal Cruisers- we are decent people who dont like being taken for a ride. -Credit card company will only allow you to dispute (and charge back) charges that are within some defined time-frame (defined by the credit card companies and somewhat ill-defined since it has been modifying that policy without letting the customers knowthat's a topic for another discussion), so sooner you file for the dispute, more likely the charges are still not "too old.". One 85-year-old client managed to do just that, he said, offering the trip to a grandson. CC Help Jenn And try to confirm that Chase does the same. Share. 2023, International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, Inc. All rights reserved. It said it continued to issue refunds. Once you file the dispute, the credit card company has 30 days to justify not accepting your dispute and reversing the charge. Airlines Refunds: DOT enforcement notice that all airline tickets canceled by the airlines must be repaid to include all airfare, taxes and added fees with cash not airline credits. Many many threads about refund policy and actual hapenning already. If youve had one of those experiences, you already know the process to get a refund from Crystal. Exactly. Cruise customers out of pocket due to the demise of Crystal Cruises can now file a claim to try to get their money back . International Association of Better Business Bureaus. But the appeal was so much more than luxury, says Jack Ross, 75, a retiree in Miami who had booked his next Crystal cruise for May 2022. But dont get too excited. "We are unable to give you that information.". We were only offered FCC. Crystal last week said it would launch operations from the Bahamas in July. Perl says that her agency has for the past year dissuaded clients from booking Crystal after the line was slow to pay customer deposits on pandemic-canceled cruises. Started August 27, 2021, By The mission of Travelers United is to identify and promote ways to improve and enhance travel for consumers across all modes of travel. Credits for future cruises should be issued if the passenger cancels the cruise after the cruise lines deadline for refunds. After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. #2 -2256288 (our two sons) I enjoy all the pampering, but you can probably get pampering close to being equal elsewhere. Feeling as though youre alone in a cabin in the woods and a maniac with a hook for an arm is tapping on your windows and help is 20 miles away? You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By Exclusive sports coverage of Arizona high schools, Sun Devils, Suns, Cardinals and Diamondbacks plus access to USA TODAY Sports+ at no additional cost. Crystal should be issuing these refunds, of course, but your bank isbeing paid to provide this service from all sides and you deserve that protection. The other card was through a credit union. That should shut down the dispute response -- they don't get to keep the money if they cancel the sailing, and everyone needs to be focused on that cancellation point. Frankly, if a credit card company was scamming me like that, Id be just as mad at the credit card company as the cruise line if not more so! Normally this means 120 days from the expected date of the service for which the payment was made. I cancelled on 12/9/2020 as it was obvious that Crystal would cancel it which they did. We paid Crystal Cruise Lines a net $12,414.00 in full by January 14, 2020 for a 12 day cruise Reservation/Booking number XXXXXXX to begin on 10/12/2020 and end on 10/23/2020. By Crystal is bankrupt and is being liquidated. Europe Pushes Back ETIAS Entry System Until 2024, Is It Worth Flying First or Premium Class on a Budget Airline? Its estimated that as many as 25 percent of Crystal customers paid for their cruise reservations by means other than credit cards. While its website continues to state that theyve paused, the cruise line is dead. Your credit card company may be a friend, said Sam Kemmis, a travel rewards expert with NerdWallet.com, a personal finance website. Sometimes it is even better than insurance. (Credit card customers must dispute the charge within that time limit.). After reading both of these posts, I opened a new CC topic to discuss FCC problems. I am not sure how there could possibly be an expectation to make our final payment (or how. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. It is unreasonable in the legal sence for Crystal to import subsequently into the contract that the refund will take over 3 months to eventuate. Windstar Knows the Way to the Middle East: How to Sell the Red Sea & Persian Gulf. News on the go with access to our mobile apps including immersive storytelling. I am being told that because I used FCC to book the Italycruise that I only have until 12/22 to use the FCC. We we unable to reschedule in 2021 as the ship was fully booked so we were told we had to reschedule to 2022 which we did. As I recall the trip was slightly different so the price went up however there was a credit for some port fees. Their actions should be known to the public. Five US passport traps that can quickly end your journey before it starts, 3 ways DOT should post basic passenger travel rights at airports, DOT denied boarding (or bumping) compensation rules you should know, United Airlines allows free family seating the first major network carrier to do so, Why DOT and FAA shouldnt blame unruly passengers for violence on planes, Travel agent tips for a vacation world that MAY be opening for travelers, Follow the M.L. "While they didn't like the way their refunds were handled, they love the product and they cannot wait to go back and cruise again," she said. Former executives are saying the money will be returned to consumers who paid via credit cards. That includes Crystal Cruises, part of the Genting Group. Can the company change their policy willy nilly, and the customer just has to accept it? We booked a cruise with Crystal Cruise in April to tour Europe. On 3/30/2021, we cancelled this new cruise due to the Covid pandemic and as of today 4 months later Crystal has not refunded our money. Not like this is something that Crystal doesn't know that they are doing. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry. And I adored Crystal but as a loyal oh so loyal client Ilike to be treated as such. Have an issue with deceptive hotel pricing, resort fees or timeshares? Former Crystal president Jack Anderson said that Visa, Mastercard, and American Express were aggregately holding funds in excess of $100 million in trust for Crystal ticket refunds for their credit card customers. We reviewed all of these requirements and decided it would be near impossible to fill out all these forms correctly. Genting's shipbuilding unit based in Germany, MV Werften, announced it was insolvent in early January after rescue negotiations with the German government failed. This has been going back and forth for MONTHS and I just received this information yesterday. Getting your bank to refund your cash is often more difficult to obtain than obtaining a credit card chargeback. Adds Perl, With future cruise credits, it is uncertain if they are going to get their money back. Details per Confirmation # All Rights Reserved. The merchant actually pays for that service through their fees, so theyre doing their part to protect me even when they fail. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions.
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