As a result of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, cruise lines around the world are canceling their scheduled flights, many cruisers are wondering why the process of generating a voucher for a future cruise (known as Future Cruise Credit) and refunds for canceled flights takes so much a lot of time?

 

Since there is no single reason, the answer comes down to a large volume in the first place. Under normal circumstances, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to receive a refund due to a canceled cruise. But due to a pandemic that forces cruise lines to cancel flights through the summer and beyond, hundreds of thousands of people are suffering at the same time - often on the same day.

 

The cruise industry has never experienced so many canceled cruises in such a short period of time before. Coupled with layoffs and technical problems caused by social distancing rules that require employees to work remotely, and increased processing times for credit card transactions, have resulted in a huge delay in processing requests.

 

What are the tourists who are waiting to do?

 

First, cruisers who have canceled flights should always keep track of the latest news on their cruise line and cruises in general. Due to the rapidly changing situation, emails can be out of date by the time they are sent to recipients. In this regard, the website of the "For Gates Ukraine" company publishes the latest and most relevant news of the cruise world. LINK TO NEWS PAGE

 

Secondly, if instead of a voucher for a future cruise (FCC), which in most cases is issued for a large amount or with a bonus onboard credit, you still want to receive a cash refund, you must inform the cruise company or contact your personal agent. ... By default, most cruise lines issue an FCC with a bonus credit if they do not receive a refund application. IMPORTANT: many cruise lines do not provide a refund, but only issue the FCC, so it all depends on the specific cruise line and the payment method for which the cruise was confirmed.

 

Third, expect any request currently sent to the cruise line to take a long enough time to process. Many posters on the Internet are full of the fact that cruise lines accept payments in a matter of seconds, and make refunds within three or more months. Unfortunately, the situation is not so different from how other providers related to tourism and not only work. It is important to remember the scale of these cancellations and that the situation is unprecedented.

 

Finally, save all documentation from your original cruise, including flight and payment details, cabin category, booking number, and confirmation of the future cruise voucher or return confirmation. Having this information on hand is always a good idea in case you need to call your personal agent.

 

We understand that everyone wants to quickly rebook their cruises or get a refund, but in this period of economic difficulties, we advise you to be patient when working with cruise lines, tourism professionals and other people, and not to forget that each cruise line consists of people who are similarly affected by the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

 

Cruise department manager

Maxim Knysh