Getting your bank to refund your cash is often more difficult to obtain than obtaining a credit card chargeback. 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. Ned's annual holiday gift suggestions for travelers - 2022 version. King Day of Service with a great tour of civil rights landmarks. Today is Day 104, still no refund. 194 total complaints in the last 3 years. I purchased a cruise from Crystal Cruises in the amount of $18,028. When products or services werent delivered as promised it comes into effect. Started June 21, 2021, By As it relates to refunds, we continue working through our queue to address each guest's claim in the order it is received. 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 Crystal is insolvent then it is illegal for them to trade. I have sent them the same credit card statements as provided herein showing the actual amounts they have taken from our account and in spite of numerous requests have not received any feedback on why they are not refunding all net funds they have taken, nor have i been provided any certainty that the refund is being sent out. 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. Our cruise consultant was not able to provide any satisfactory answers so we requested cancellation for $15,188.02. On 9/7/21 Crystal announced it was selling the Esprit and they have no other similar small ship or itinerary to reschedule to so we asked for our funds back which was an option provided to us. Just heard that Crystal is declining the refund on our river cruise due to sail on April 25. Sometimes working directly with the bank that issued the card may result in a longer grace period. Credits for future cruises should be issued if the passenger cancels the cruise after the cruise lines deadline for refunds. Depressed now? She was born in Syracuse, N.Y., to a peripatetic family whose stops included Washington, D.C.; Honolulu; and Manila. It was about the crew, Ross says. Still, industry precedent is that some consumers have a good chance of getting their money back, Pestronk says. 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. 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. Unfortunately, the Miami-based cruise line never filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which could mean a mess for consumers. There is a limited trust pool of money at the credit card companies. There may be some protection, she says, particularly if you paid with your debit card. Started August 27, 2021, By I need to receive this refund as soon as possible or at a minimum know when I might receive this. Crystal canceled their trip and offered them two options: a full refund to be returned in 90 days or a voucher for future travel for 125% of the cost of their cruise. If you took the deal with Crystal, what you have now is a useless voucher. Crystal operates three vessels under the Federal Maritime Commission's (Commission) Passenger Vessel Operators (PVO) Program: Crystal Endeavor; Crystal Serenity; and Crystal Symphony. 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. 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. Voices, experts and personalities on the right and the left. "Unfortunately, it's taken a lot longer than we would have liked. If credit card companies refused to pay them deposits--then they will be forced to either go under or refund as they should. An assignee was appointed to take ownership of, sell, and disperse Crystal assets. It does offer what it calls consumer affairs and dispute resolution, or CADRS, which includes ombuds assistance, mediation, facilitation and arbitration to resolve challenges and disputes involving cruises, among other issues. Share. Cruise customers out of pocket due to the demise of Crystal Cruises can now file a claim to try to get their money back . The contract # was XXXXXXX. CC Help Jenn If Crystal is insolvent then to trade is a criminal offence. 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. It may be lost money. It's not QUITE true that the refund period means nothing. Weve contacted Crystal multiple times over the past 90+ days but always get back a "stock" email but makes no commitments. But if Crystal just doesn't have the money, how can they refund you ? Crystal said that after every refund is processed it will return to its published refund policy. Yet this is misleading at best, fraud at worst. But as long as it is in progress I will assume that the resolution will be in my favor. #1 - 2256286 (myself & spouse) Cancelled cruise: "7-night Legendary Rhine River Cruise" was to depart 9/6/2021 *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. Michelle Couch-Friedman, executive director of the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy, a consumer advocacy organization, says even those who act fast may still find they have lost their money. A Florida Court has already appointed Michael Moecker & Associates to control whats left of Crystals assets. What Credit Cards Provide the Best Travel Insurance? 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. Something about the timing of the cruise which makes no sense. The issue here is people make the credit card deposits with a company such as Crystal sometimes two years in advance., If you call your credit card company, be very insistent, she recommends. Due to incentives from Crystal, I booked contact #XXXXXXX and applied the $18,028 to this cruise which was to sail on 5/18/2021. Take a look at the findings of the report (bit.ly/cruisecomments); send your comments to secretary@fmc.gov. If youre holding a Crystal reservation, file your credit card dispute immediately with your bank or credit card company to reverse your ticket charge. 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. Crystal did not say what those channels consist of. Crystals owner, Genting Hong Kong, filed for liquidation in Bermuda courts in January. Looking forward to your help with this. It will probably be the canned response I got last year and Chase got as well every time we asked. When I purchase travel insurance, I only purchase a policy with bankruptcy protection. Im singularly unimpressed. Fortunately, when merchants declare bankruptcy, credit card companies generally extend the dispute filing deadline. Crystal is bankrupt and is being liquidated. Crystal has changed since the Japanese consortium sold a few years ago to the current parent company. 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. 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. Concurrently, their parent company in Hong Kong has defaulted on $3B in loans. The mission of Travelers United is to identify and promote ways to improve and enhance travel for consumers across all modes of travel. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. 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. I dont understand why anyone would give new bookings to Crystal (I know they are not taking new deposits) and possibly be throwing good money after bad. Rather than focusing on the number of complaints, BBB considers how frequently and effectively those complaints are resolved. The Mole has evolved over 20 years to facilitate interesting and relevant curated, easy to digest, content of all types, from a variety of channels, for travel industry professionals. 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. Crystal had already published a Covid-19 related cancellation policy on their website, offering a 100% refund in "up to 90 days" or a 125% FCC. The Federal Trade Commission is the place to explain your problem. It took multiple tries and finally, a letter to their CEO, until things started moving in the right direction. 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. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari. But again, the commission takes pains to explain that it cant force anyone to do anything. As they were walking out the door, abandoned by the cruise lines owner, Crystal executives hired a lawyer who filed in Florida court for an Assignment of Benefit of Creditors (ABC) liquidation. 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. Started June 21, 2021, By Ten days later, Crystal cancelled the cruise. This was not part of the contract when we put our deposit down. Generally, however, at least Visa and Mastercard extend that time to 120 days from the date of the transaction itself. The cruise line's parent company,. Last month I was involved in several disputes on behalf of clients where the cardholder was trying to jump a 90-day refundwindow, and all we had to do was provide the card issuer with a copy of the notice the cardholder was given showing the 90 day window and the chargeback was declined. Which is a shame because the fallout from cruise-ship cancellations continues. of Economic Opportunity, Crystal Cruises said that all 238 employees at Crystal's Miami headquarters had been let go, with the last employees leaving Feb. 9. But if you have a problem with a cruise, you have a problem. Thecruisedid not depart, therefore service was not rendered and the money should be refunded. Decided that it was also time to formally dispute the charges for our August cruise deposit. Booking number #XXXXXXX In the names of ****** and ********* ******. Please Read: COVID-related Discussion. Too many result in more funds being held by the CC company. We need these funds back. Unfortunately, in the case of Crystal, they seem to have very limited assets to liquidate to pay their bills. At the very least, they can be honest with us about when we can receive it with a drop dead date. I will stick with Regent, Oceania, and Silversea, who do actually give refunds in a timely manner. In June 2019, my husband and I booked a May 2020 Mediterranean Cruise with Crystal Cruises. By The Crystal Cruise bankruptcy is real. Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Crystal is not the only one having problems. CC Help Jenn Total Base $7,398.00 Total Tax $392.00 Grand Total $7,790 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. 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. Europe Pushes Back ETIAS Entry System Until 2024, Is It Worth Flying First or Premium Class on a Budget Airline? Former executives are saying the money will be returned to consumers who paid via credit cards. Please call American Express and a dispute can be filed. Denied boarding (bumping) compensation increased to a maximum of $1,550. 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.". Its a more difficult situation, says Couch-Friedman. LauraS Our money was very hard earned and we expect them to return it promptly as they stated: 60-90 days. Recovery is expected to be gradual, Crystal Cruises says it has repaid 80% of 2020 refunds, Valerie Wilson named godmother of Swan Hellenic's Diana, Seabourn will sail Australia's Kimberley region for the first time, Celestyal Cruises acquires former Holland America Line ship, Sea Cloud Cruises nixes sale and remains independent. 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ I'm in the same boat, see my post in the FCC topic started by JIM9310. Ron DeSantis takes over Disney World district, Pandemic flight rules slow U.S.-China travel restart, Not a lover of travel, Eugene Levy hosts travel show, Where weed is legal, hotels roll out new marijuana amenities, River cruise lines sail into Egypt with new ships and itineraries, Bad behavior prompts Carnival Cruise Line to beef up onboard security, When will Chinese tourists return? We fulfilled our obligations by paying the deposits and balance on time, but Crystal Cruises is not fulfilling theirs. . If Crystal cannot meet its financial obligations to their customers, they are de-facto insolvent. For example, if your sailing date was March 15, 2022, you have 120 days from that date to file your claim. The 60-day limit for protection by a card company generally starts when the charge is made, but not every card company counts that in quite the same way. I was told I would likely receive a refund within 90 days. This may offer a solution to one of the two problems you have if youre frustrated about getting a refund. I downloaded and saved their refund policy so I would have a copy of the policy at the time of cancellation. Here are 10 you cant miss, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, L.A. County residents without power since Friday ask why the city cant do better, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A record 6,542 guns were intercepted at U.S. airports in 2022, How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Rachel Bloom, More than 2,000 flights canceled amid workers strike at seven German airports, U.S. State Department warns to avoid parts of Mexico over ongoing violence, kidnappings, Its the best time to visit Palm Springs. Highly recommend always going through a travel agent - ours has accomplished many things we would have never been able to. Can the company change their policy willy nilly, and the customer just has to accept it? 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. Well see what happens.. Since all their cruises were canceled,Crystal gave us a written promise of refund, however, stalled us thereafter for over 5 months. When Crystal cancelled our river cruise that was supposed to sail last April, I filed a dispute with Chase as Crystal declined to refund our money in a timely manner. In other words, if you paid cash, you get cash. Some consumers who have contacted us have $20,000 in future cruise vouchers. By #2 -2256288 (our two sons) Crystal customers should immediately start to work on obtaining a refund. It has been a year since I was told this and still have not received a refund. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. 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. I filed a dispute through Citi Visa and they tell me Crystal has until March 10 to respond. I am now being told it could take months to receive the refund. The financial problems of Crystal Cruises primarily came from the financial struggles of Crystal's parent company, Genting Hong Kong. It was a last-ditch effort to protect consumers, travel agents, employees, and vendors owed money. As they canceled sailings due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, all cruise lines urged customers to take future cruise credits, in lieu of refunds. Details per Confirmation # It was more like they were treating you like family., Now, he says of the lines quick demise, Its like a grieving process. Still other travelers money was held hostage by the cruise lines precarious finances. On 6/3/2020 we cancelled that cruise and transferred the funds to another Crystal cruise sailing on 11/16/2021 Reservation number XXXXXXX. We even canceled 4 months in advance. Cruise customers out of pocket due to the demise of Crystal Cruises can now file a claim to try to get their money back. 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. So sorry to hear this. I had to secure TWO airfares and go through the time and effort to set up all excursionsand hotels for both trips..for them both to be cancelled. Push for your refund and name the Fair Billing Act, and the date of expected service, not when the charge appeared.. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. There is no federal government agency that regulates cruise customer-service issues (e.g. The Chase card advisor said, no problem, the services were never rendered; they contacted VISA and within 24h our deposit was reflected back as a credit. Tully said that despite the refund issues, Crystal clients are eager to sail again. So- more paperwork to fill out. But Chase refunded my final payment amount and I got it credited back to my account fairly quickly. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile. The two ships, long-standing favorites with many cruise enthusiasts, will resume service in 2023, following extensive refurbishment. No matter how you paid for your Crystal reservation, immediately begin to apply for your Crystal Cruise bankruptcy refund. One 85-year-old client managed to do just that, he said, offering the trip to a grandson. 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 cruises on the Website are protected under a consumer protection scheme. 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