Started August 27, 2021, By I booked relying on the Crystal term of contract that I could cancel before 6 months before sailing and get a full refund, ( $200 being a FCC). They are not members of the BBB. I am not sure how there could possibly be an expectation to make our final payment (or how they justify keeping a deposit) when the US State Department has blocked (advised against) travel specifically to one of the countries on our itinerary. This will ensure you fulfill the policys timing requirements. 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. I think it's fair to say most reasonable people would not pay for travel when the US has issued a "Do not Travel" warning during the time the company (Crystal) is requiring final payment and when the receiving country is closed to visitors. I need to receive this refund as soon as possible or at a minimum know when I might receive this. Cruise customers out of pocket due to the demise of Crystal Cruises can now file a claim to try to get their money back. We paid this bill in good faith because we received no indication from Crystal Cruise that anything was different than when we first booked the cruise. Welcome to Cruise Critic SteamboatWillie118. Some cruise lines were (and are) overwhelmed with refund requests. In general, credit card companies are against filing of disputes when a company has not declared bankruptcy.. In the unlikely event of the Company's insolvency, appropriate measures shall be taken to refund any money the Customer has paid to the Company. Denied boarding (bumping) compensation increased to a maximum of $1,550. Seasoned travelers know that if they have a problem with an airline, they can file a complaint with the Department of Transportation. Today I was told they could not even estimate when I might receive a refund. Followers 1. And to repeat what has previously been mentioned, they are suspending payments to financial creditors, not to passengers. I am at approx 150 days with another line. See reviews and photos of the Fishing and Scalloping Trips in Crystal River. Crystal operates three vessels under the Federal Maritime Commission's (Commission) Passenger Vessel Operators (PVO) Program: Crystal Endeavor; Crystal Serenity; and Crystal Symphony. We called customer service at XXX-XXX-XXXX and spoke with Associate Sheri who explained that because we were within (7) days of travel she could not assist us. recommended it be done immediately and I gave her permission. They cancelled the cruise. LauraS 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ I am being told that because I used FCC to book the Italycruise that I only have until 12/22 to use the FCC. Crystal, as you said, should be issuing the refund. 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. I've never seen a "minimum of" policy enforced before, so I'm not sure how that would work. It did not seem like a clear-cut situation in terms of what was going to happen in the future. Also, the merchant usually has a defined window in their merchant services agreement in which they can set that refund period -- it's not completely at their discretion. Submitting a response indicates a willingness to work with customers to make things right. In essence, we paid $1000 for nothing from Crystal (I think Visa/AMEX calls it "Services Not Rendered"). Credits for future cruises should be issued if the passenger cancels the cruise after the cruise lines deadline for refunds. Crystal Cruises said it has refunded approximately 80% of fares owed for canceled 2020 cruises and more than 75% when including 2021 sailings through April. Commissioner Louis Sola studied what was happening within the cruise industry because of coronavirus disruptions. The state's lawmakers emphasized the need for transparency rather than criticizing the resort fees. The Miami Herald reported Aug. 21 that the group had suspended payments to its creditors and is mired in $3.4 billion in debt. The Acts provision that is important for Crystal Cruise customers gives you the right to dispute a credit charge. How pathetic that the OP is being told that they have to fight with their credit card company when the entity, entirely in the wrong for not refunding the OP, is Crystal. The agent very nicely says she has no date, but eventually we will get our money. CC Help Jenn 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. Ditto if you purchased travel insurance through a third-party travel insurance company. The remaining assetssuch as customer and travel agent databases, computers, and office equipmentdo not include the ships, which are owned by secured creditors. Chase told me they cannot help me with the initial deposit part, since the charges, which were made in early 2019, is outside of their window. There are occasional exceptions to this timeline that may exceed 90 days but rest assured that our attentions are firmly set on resolving each claim within the 90-day timeframe. Surely we are not the only exception. I'd rather invest that money elsewhere. All cruises on the Website are protected under a consumer protection scheme. They might come in handy in the future. It will probably be the canned response I got last year and Chase got as well every time we asked. Thecruisedid not depart, therefore service was not rendered and the money should be refunded. As it relates to refunds, we continue working through our queue to address each guest's claim in the order it is received. Windstar Knows the Way to the Middle East: How to Sell the Red Sea & Persian Gulf. #2 -2256288 (our two sons) I am not sure how there could possibly be an expectation to make our final payment (or how. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we postponed to January 2022. The booking number is XXXXXXX. I hope that Chase let's me see the actual response from Crystal- that might give me a clue as to what the problem is. Name: ***** & Ulisese **** and Alexander & Siaosi **** In other words, if you paid cash, you get cash. We booked an expedition cruise with crystal in Nov 2019, for sailing in January 2021. This was not part of the contract when we put our deposit down. 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. Your best course of action is to file a credit card dispute. 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. By State Department issued a DO NOT TRAVEL warning for Austria as well as Austria locking down due to COVID variant. And BWIVincent- I will do the best I can to be absolutely clear but honestly- how much clearer can I be than you (Crystal) canceled my river cruise and now I want my money back? Exclusive sports coverage of Arizona high schools, Sun Devils, Suns, Cardinals and Diamondbacks plus access to USA TODAY Sports+ at no additional cost. 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. Crystal has held a significant portion of this money since 2018. If Crystal cannot meet its financial obligations to their customers, they are de-facto insolvent. We have no obligation to "give them" 90 days for a refund. That cruise was cancelled due to the pandemic. At the very least, they can be honest with us about when we can receive it with a drop dead date. Windstars 2023/24 Middle East program kicks off in November. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. Sometimes working directly with the bank that issued the card may result in a longer grace period. 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. Too many result in more funds being held by the CC company. It said it continued to issue refunds. Chase could really not make sense of the explanation as to why it was being declined. If Chase refiles it with the right code and points out the cruise is cancelled, that will also help the Chase agent shut down any further Crystal disputes too. 2 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Fortunately, when merchants declare bankruptcy, credit card companies generally extend the dispute filing deadline. (Ross May / Los Angeles Times; Getty Images), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, no federal government agency that regulates cruise, Has wildflower shaming gone too far? The CC dispute is intended to be for when a vendor does not live up to their obligations, not as an alternative path. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry. Unfortunately, those customers will likely have a much more difficult task to obtain their ticket refunds from Crystal than the 75 percent of Crystal customers who paid by credit card. Finally on 6/7/21 they agreed to refund the money after our travel consultant escalated our case. CRUISES. -The 90 day "guideline" is something Crystal just decided on their own. Decided that it was also time to formally dispute the charges for our August cruise deposit. Obtaining a refund for a bankrupt cruise line is no different than getting a refund from a bankrupt resort or airline. Crystal is not the only one having problems. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. The management has made a faux pas here. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By CRYSTAL CRUISES REFUSES TO REFUND DEPOSITS - SOME ADVICE. One year ago our cruise was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. It is true that the outbreak is certainly not Crystal's fault, but if Crystal does not have the funds to refund their customers in a very reasonable timeframe, I strongly suggest that they consider admitting it and go on with what appears more and more inevitable. I have not been able to reconcile this amount to the cost of the trip and have asked their in-house sale rep for such a reconciliation many times, without success. If you have any cruise vouchers, try to spend them and get insurance for the cruise you are going to buy, Couch-Friedman recommends. Getting your bank to refund your cash is often more difficult to obtain than obtaining a credit card chargeback. Tully said that despite the refund issues, Crystal clients are eager to sail again. #1 - 2256286 (myself & spouse) Help Ukrainian Families in Need: World Central Kitchen Donation Match. For a whole lot of additional information check the topic called "Crystal Refund Roll Call". (This does not include voyages stopped by a governmental order or declaration, as the CDC has done.). Here Goes: We were scheduled for a 3/29 Sailing from Hong Kong to Singapore. Many many threads about refund policy and actual hapenning already. 194 total complaints in the last 3 years. Please call American Express and a dispute can be filed. There are glimmers of hope, both near and longer term. So as bad as we think 90 days is, for many companies it could technically be even longer if they wanted to further upset 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. It was about the crew, Ross says. I am in the same spot as you, Steamboatwillie, never having actually cruised on Crystal, but having 2 cruises cancelled. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By Travelers Unitedis a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Bookings Detail: It took me 9 months to get the remaining money from Crystal (the portion that I couldn't dispute with the credit card company). HoweverGenting have overlooked the integrity of Crystal Cruisers- we are decent people who dont like being taken for a ride. Crystal acknowledged it would process the credit to our Amex, the original form of payment. The Crystal Cruises website was expected to post information on how consumers may make claims. I did not cancel. Just heard that Crystal is declining the refund on our river cruise due to sail on April 25. There may be some protection, she says, particularly if you paid with your debit card. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. We were told it would be 90 days to get a refund. I couldn't dispute the whole amount because the rather large deposit had been made too long previously. -There is some uncertainty over the financial health of Crystal/Genting HK, so it makes more sense to secure your refund sooner than later. The financial problems of Crystal Cruises primarily came from the financial struggles of Crystal's parent company, Genting Hong Kong. Very sad. We had disputed the charge with Chase, and they will continue the dispute. It's not QUITE true that the refund period means nothing. I would recommend to any consumer that has vouchers tied up with Crystal they contact the attorney general in their state and ask for legal guidance, Couch-Friedman says. I gave Crystal 3 weeks and then I contacted the credit card company. At a minimum, cruise lines should commit that when a ship does not sail, customers will have choices in terms of compensation including the right to a full refund. Healy acknowledged Crystal Cruises has limited assets.. File a claim if it does. Have a travel problem, dilemma or question? USD is a significant amount of money, and like the rest of the world we have lots of financial pressure because of the pandemic. LauraS We remain optimistic. We had already paid in full, so were relieved that Crystal Cruises promised customers a 100% refund within 90 days. She was born in Syracuse, N.Y., to a peripatetic family whose stops included Washington, D.C.; Honolulu; and Manila. We waited until Crystal cancelled our cruise (2 April 2020). Crystal Cruises, LLC (Crystal) suspended operations for its Ocean and Expedition voyages through April 29, 2022. Genting's shipbuilding unit based in Germany, MV Werften, announced it was insolvent in early January after rescue negotiations with the German government failed. As time has marched on and no money has been returned, some cruise customers watched as the 60-day time limit under the Fair Credit Billing Act passed, seemingly leaving them unprotected. Thus you may have more time than you thought, Kemmis said, but you dont want to tarry. 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. 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. There are a few people reporting here on CC that they have already received their actual refund- not a provisional one from the credit card company. The mission of Travelers United is to identify and promote ways to improve and enhance travel for consumers across all modes of travel. 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. Has anyone else had their dispute declined? Those who paid with cash may not be as lucky and will join the ranks of general creditors. If you have a copy that says 90 days, and the merchant provides a subsequent policy change that says "minimum of 90 days", the credit card company will almost always honor the cardholder's initial notice. Looking back I wish I would do it much sooner. So sorry to hear this. Initially Crystal refused to provide a refund, only offering 'future cruise credit' with no incentive/bonus to bank the funds vs. taking a refund. (Complaints about individual cruises go to complaints@FMC.gov.). Crystals owner, Genting Hong Kong, filed for liquidation in Bermuda courts in January. Crystal is not keeping their word (i.e. Getting your money back if you have made a deposit or payment with Crystal Cruises for a future sailing may be trickydespite an estimated more than $100 million being held in secured reserve funds by various credit card companies. Cancelled cruise: "7-night Legendary Rhine River Cruise" was to depart 9/6/2021 "Unfortunately, it's taken a lot longer than we would have liked. Sounds like Crystal responded to your dispute in record time. Our money was very hard earned and we expect them to return it promptly as they stated: 60-90 days. "Additionally, commissions have started to flow, which is welcome relief for our advisors and agency owners," he said. 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