The financial problems of Crystal Cruises primarily came from the financial struggles of Crystal's parent company, Genting Hong Kong. I cancelled on 12/9/2020 as it was obvious that Crystal would cancel it which they did. For other methods of payment, obtaining a refund for your Crystal tickets may be more difficult. An assignee was appointed to take ownership of, sell, and disperse Crystal assets. See details. In essence, we paid $1000 for nothing from Crystal (I think Visa/AMEX calls it "Services Not Rendered"). Some cruise lines were (and are) overwhelmed with refund requests. I am doing exactly that. Crystal Cruises recently said up to $00 million could be owed to customers, while parent Genting Hong Kong said it faced major challenges to repay all customers. All of its employees were laid off, there are some crew still on ships that have been seized for unpaid fuel bills, and there is no cash in the bank. This x10! Welcome to Cruise Critic SteamboatWillie118. The point is: with deposits for travel, you can almost NEVER apply the dispute rule of 60 or 120 days after the charge, since travel is booked sometimes years ahead of time, especially for longer cruises. Ross and his wife, Vicki, put down a deposit of $2,100 for a cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii. On 7/14/2020 at 8:44 AM, ltuckchapman said: 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. Beware of booking a cruise with Crystal Cruises. CC Help Jenn 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. The mission of Travelers United is to identify and promote ways to improve and enhance travel for consumers across all modes of travel. Many many threads about refund policy and actual hapenning already. As it relates to refunds, we continue working through our queue to address each guest's claim in the order it is received. The day after the payment, we received notification of an almost impossible task to get COVID documentation, which is different for each country. Guests who had their cruises canceled due to the. The management has made a faux pas here. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By 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. Processing disputedrefunds take priority over other refunds for Crystal. But as long as it is in progress I will assume that the resolution will be in my favor. BBB is here to help. The cruise in question must have more than 50 beds and must have originated from a U.S. port, which would include Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. We waited until Crystal cancelled our cruise (2 April 2020). She was born in Syracuse, N.Y., to a peripatetic family whose stops included Washington, D.C.; Honolulu; and Manila. 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. Some cruise lines were (and are) overwhelmed with refund requests. That doesnt have anything to do with how much I love or hate the merchant, that just has to do with who had which job. Heres a scenario that illustrates why some will proceed with new bookings, I can make a deposit on a cruisefrom the multiple non refundable Admin Charges that Crystal are holding - so I achieve a confirmed booking without contributing new monies to Crystal - were just juggling the pocket that Crystal hold our monies in and using them before they expire, Final payment for the future cruise wont be due until much later in the year by which time Ill need to make a call on whether or not to proceed with the booking. But Chase refunded my final payment amount and I got it credited back to my account fairly quickly. Ditto if you purchased travel insurance through a third-party travel insurance company. Powered by Invision Community. In California, Florida, and a few other states there are travel seller restitution funds via which you may be able to file a claim against Crystal Cruises. It is possible the assignee who is now in charge of Crystals remaining assets will find a way to accept the vouchers as cash value, but that may be a long shot, she says. Website launched for Crystal Cruises refund claims. -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.". So, hopefully, I will get the deposit part refunded sometime. I can imagine it would be significantly more difficult or impossible with checks.. Needless to say - we will never book anything with Crystal again. 2022. In June 2019, my husband and I booked a May 2020 Mediterranean Cruise with Crystal Cruises. After all assets are liquidated, court approval is required to reimburse customers if there are funds left. Booking number #XXXXXXX In the names of ****** and ********* ******. As of February 16, there was no such information online. "Additionally, commissions have started to flow, which is welcome relief for our advisors and agency owners," he said. What you're saying is entirely reasonable. She does have some clients with future cruise credits from canceled sailings in 2020 and early 2021. Bookings Detail: Hence, Crystal is not only out of business, but they have few assets to pay bills. Crystal is not keeping their word (i.e. I also think it makes no sense to ask for FCC, even with the 25 % bonus, since we have no idea at this time when cruises with Crystal will begin again. Its a more difficult situation, says Couch-Friedman. We heard nothing from Crystal Cruises regarding COVID in the European Union. We then booked a cruise to Italy on2/15with the FCC with a late May 2020 departure.. 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. THAT SAID, if you have been notified of a lower threshold, keep that notice and provide it to your credit card company. This complaint is against Crystal Cruise Line. (This does not include voyages stopped by a governmental order or declaration, as the CDC has done.). Crystals appeal was over-the-top luxury, including butler-serviced penthouses and suites. 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. Others who waited received 25% bonus and airfare considerations. We even canceled 4 months in advance. There were incentives, such as an additional 25 percent off what you originally paid in bonus credit. It took them only 5 days after I filed. In-depth coverage of the Valleys real estate market and whats being built and redeveloped in your city. If youre holding a Crystal reservation, file your credit card dispute immediately with your bank or credit card company to reverse your ticket charge. According to a filing with Florida's Dept. Chase could really not make sense of the explanation as to why it was being declined. Total per booking: Base rate per passenger ********* Tax $196.00 Total $3,895.00 per passenger What Credit Cards Provide the Best Travel Insurance? ", "I always knew that they'd do the right thing," she said. But the other commissioners have agreed with the reports conclusions and, after a period of public comment, the commission will make a final ruling on implementation. Looking back I wish I would do it much sooner. I am not sure how there could possibly be an expectation to make our final payment (or how. Beloved for their 6-star, personalized service, their comfort and the sophisticated atmosphere, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will continue to operate under the " Crystal Cruises " brand. By SteamboatWillie118, March 9, 2021 in Crystal Cruises. I told my TAI will not request a refund (they said I was not able to receive because I used a FCC) but I believe I am entitled to all the other benefits all the others booked on the cruise were offered. I have called repeatedly. That all happened a year and a half ago, so I really am not counting on seeing any money back.. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. The dispute resolution isnt necessarily going to be automatic. Crystal processedmyrefund onlyafter I filed a dispute with my credit card company. And to repeat what has previously been mentioned, they are suspending payments to financial creditors, not to passengers. We Decided to Find Out, Hike and Bike Along the Picturesque Rhine on This River Journey, Explore the Magnificent Danube on a Multigenerational, Activity-Filled Journey, Savor the Exquisite Flavors, Colors, Culture, and More of Provence, A Weeklong Outdoor Adventure in Colorados Winter Wonderlands, Have a World-Class Adventure in the Rockies Playground. *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. -The 90 day "guideline" is something Crystal just decided on their own. If you took the deal with Crystal, what you have now is a useless voucher. I will stick with Regent, Oceania, and Silversea, who do actually give refunds in a timely manner. Friday, 10 Mar, 2022 0. Windstars 2023/24 Middle East program kicks off in November. Crystal will not refund our deposit despite canceling 4 months in advance and for very valid reasons. Mr. Anderson said that Genting effectively washed their hands of Crystal. As a result, Crystal soon had a bank account of zero, followed by a U.S. court ordering the seizure of the Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity due to unpaid fuel bills. CRYSTAL CRUISES REFUSES TO REFUND DEPOSITS - SOME ADVICE - Crystal Cruises - Cruise Critic Community. 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. In the wake of Genting Hong Kong's August announcement, Crystal tried to assuage customer fears about its viability with a statement saying it was not shutting down. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles. Started August 27, 2021, By I filed a dispute through Citi Visa and they tell me Crystal has until March 10 to respond. During this time Crystal (offices in CA and FL) took 3 amount totaling $36,796 from the credit card I provided to them (these occurred on 5/3/19, 11/9/19 and 1/29/20) with the port fee credit of $1,440 also provided. i waited for100+days before filing my dispute. 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. There is no clear pathway that we can set a consumer on who has a voucher.. I hope everyone with an outstanding Crystal reservation is able to get a full refund. Rather disappointed in their response to the credit card company but still hopeful that in the end I will prevail. I had to fight that as they originally said I only had until 12/21. #2 -2256288 (our two sons) )., Thats the word from the Federal Maritime Commission, a small federal agency that focuses on vessels and the ocean. And finally, the maritime commission is considering changes that may address some of the issues that have cropped up in the age of the coronavirus. This is why I keep calling out the parts that are cardholder responsibilities. On record-keeping, why do airlines play dumb with Congress? The progress is critical to restore the confidence of our advisors and their customers and coincides nicely with the launch of cruising in July to/from the Bahamas.". Crystal thencancelled that cruise. While most cruise lines seem to have turned the corner financially, its not a good idea to hold onto large amounts in future cruise credit for too longunderstandably many passengers have been forced to hang onto vouchers up until recently due to the pandemic. That cruise was cancelled due to the pandemic. The other card was through a credit union. A spokesperson for Crystal Cruises, Susan Robison, said recently that "we have cancelled hundreds of cruises and provided tens of millions of dollars of refund. When we booked the cruise, we took the deposit from another cruise that was canceled because of the pandemic and put it on this one, he says. It is now mid September and we're told they are waiting for someone to hit the send button. I was told I would likely receive a refund within 90 days. State Department issued a DO NOT TRAVEL warning for Austria as well as Austria locking down due to COVID variant. Book now from $515! LauraS We were scheduled for a 3/29 Sailing from Hong Kong to Singapore. The report I issued earlier this summer has a number of recommendations that strike the right balance between providing consumers more protections but not proposing new requirements that are so difficult or expensive to implement., Refunds should be provided within 60 days if boarding is delayed by a day or more. "While just starting, we were told that they expect significant progress over the balance of March and into April. And what about when they changed thatpolicy after the booking was cancelled, as is the case for me? Crystal Cruise Reviews Overview Reviews Deals Cruiser Rating 4.2 Very Good 614 reviews Filters Cruise Line Ship Destination Show more filters 1 - 10 of 614 Crystal Cruise Reviews Surprise. N.Y., to a filing with Florida & # x27 ; s Dept reservation able... That said, if you purchased travel insurance company of travel crystals appeal was over-the-top luxury including. 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