Refund Policy for Changes to your Holiday
Contents:
- Refund Policy
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Full Terms and Conditions
Refund Policy for Changes to your Holiday
Your money is protected
When you book a holiday with Planet Cruise your money is always protected through ATOL or ABTA guarantees.
In addition, we have the added protection of an independent trust account and the Package Travel Regulations, so you can rest assured that both you and your money are being looked after.
Our refund policy
If for whatever reason you are due a refund, we will always refund your money as soon as we can.
Where your holiday is protected by one of our partners' guarantees*
We will process your refund as soon as we receive the money from our partner. Whilst we aim to do that straight-away, it can take up to 14 days from when we receive the money from our partners in busy periods.
Where your holiday is protected by Planet Cruise guarantees*
We will endeavour to refund your money as quickly as possible, ordinarily this will be within 14 days as per the Package Travel Regulations.
*Please check your booking confirmation to see how your booking is protected and who the principal provider of your holiday is. All holidays are fully protected. Our flight-inclusive packages, where we’re the principal, are financially protected by our Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL 2987). All other holidays, where we are the principal but do not include a flight, are protected by FFI (Financial Insolvency Insurance). Package holidays with flights, where we act as an agent for licensed tour operators, are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Package holidays without flights, where we act as an agent for licensed tour operators, are protected by the tour operator's ABTA bond (or other means such as FFI).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know how my package is protected and who my principal provider is?
Please check your booking confirmation to see how your booking is protected and who the principal provider of your holiday is. All holidays are fully protected. Our flight-inclusive packages, where we’re the principal, are financially protected by our Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL 2987). All other holidays, where we are the principal but do not include a flight, are protected by FFI (Financial Insolvency Insurance). Package holidays with flights, where we act as an agent for licensed tour operators, are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Package holidays without flights, where we act as an agent for licensed tour operators, are protected by the tour operator's ABTA bond (or other means such as FFI).
How do I know if my booking was one of our ATOL protected package holidays?
You will have received an ATOL certificate with the ATOL number 2987 with your confirmation documents and your holiday reference ID number will be preceded with a T. eg T123456.
How do I know if my booking is a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners?
You will have received an ATOL certificate with the cruise lines ATOL number (so not 2987) with your confirmation documents and your holiday reference ID number will be a six digit number eg 123456.
I have booked an ATOL protected package organised by Planet Cruise, what will I receive in the way of refund?
You will be issued a Refund Credit Note, your money is protected as your credit note benefits from the same ATOL protection as your holiday. If you accept the credit note but have not rebooked your holiday by 31st January 2022 you will be entitled to a full refund at that point, otherwise you can request a refund which we will endeavour to processed within 14 days of receiving the refund request.
What is the difference between ‘a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners’ and ‘one of our ATOL protected package holidays’?
For a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners we are acting as a travel agent and you enter into a contract with the supplier(s) of the package holiday or travel service(s) you have booked through us.
For one of our ATOL protected package holidays, we have sold the package to you as an "organiser", in accordance with the provisions of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 ("PTR").
Why was my package booked as an ATOL protected package holiday?
In many cases we package a cruise with flights and transfers for customer convenience, as the cruise may only be available on a cruise only basis, or we customised the holiday to better suit your individual needs and in doing so offered better value than the packages offered by our cruise line partners.
How do I know if I am entitled to a cash refund?
All bookings affected by changes due to coronavirus are entitled to a cash refund either after the expiry of the accepted Refund Credit Note, within 14 days of requesting a refund if you have requested a refund for an ATOL protected package operated by Planet Cruise or when we have received a refund from our suppliers if you you booked a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners.
What do I need to do to get a refund?
If you have booked a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners to get a refund you need to follow the instructions in our My Booking portal.
If you have booked an ATOL protected package operated by Planet Cruise, please follow the instructions in our My Booking portal.
Please bear with us, we have been working hard to develop the most efficient way to process the large volume of changes we are unexpectedly having to deal with and appreciate your patience.
Which cruise lines are doing direct refunds?
P&O Cruises and Cunard are refunding some customers directly, you will be contacted by email by the cruise line if you are eligible for a direct refund. These refunds are being processed up to 60 days after they receive a refund notification and will be sent by cheque. Until a refund is actioned any Future Cruise Credit (FCC) will remain on a customer's account, should a customer change their mind and make a booking using the FCC they are no longer entitled to a refund.
When will my refund be processed?
If you booked a holiday provided by one of our cruise partners we are processing refunds in departure date order when we have received a refund from the cruise line or supplier, currently the cruise lines are working to the timescale indicated above but this may be subject to change as they too are handling unprecedented volumes of booking changes and cancellations.
If you booked one of our ATOL protected package holidays we will endeavour to process your refund within 14 days of us receiving the refund request notification. Due to the volume of requests this is not always possible. please bear with us and rest assured that your refund will be paid to you in due course,
Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to recover the money we are owed by our suppliers in order to be able to refund our customers as soon as possible
Why has my refund taken so long to be processed?
The delay is due to the unprecedented volume of cruise changes due to coronavirus. We have had over 25,000 affected bookings compared to our usual handful per week, they are taking longer to process than usual despite expanding the team and working 7 days a week. We have every intention to deal with our customers in a timely manner and are sincerely sorry if we have not been able to do that in recent weeks, we are doing everything we can to service our customers’ bookings and appreciate your understanding.
In some cases the refund delay is due to a delay in receiving the refunds from our suppliers who are facing the same issues as us, we are doing everything we can to recover the money we are owed by our suppliers in order to be able to refund our customers as soon as we can.
What is a Refund Credit Note?
ABTA has developed a regulatory framework for refunds for its Members and their customers, based on a system of financially-protected Refund Credit Notes (RCNs) where the customer’s fundamental rights are preserved, as set out by law (the Package Travel Regulations).
This type of system is similar to those introduced in many other countries and is the framework under which ABTA will guide its Members and hold them to account.
How will I receive my Refund Credit Note?
You will receive your refund credit note by email.
How do I accept my Refund Credit Note?
In the email you receive with the information about your Refund Credit Note there will be a link to click on to accept your refund credit note you can also log in to our My Booking portal and can accept it from there.
What is the alternative to waiting for a refund?
To rebook your holiday making use of your Future Cruise Credit, or in some cases to accept a Refund Credit Note which does not need to be used until 31st January 2022, if you accept a Refund Credit Note your money is protected as your credit note benefits from the same ATOL protection as your holiday.
Full details on future cruise credits
You cannot include my Future Cruise Credit in my Refund Credit Note, how do I get the benefit of my Future Cruise Credit?
If you are entitled to a future cruise credit we will ensure that you receive the benefits when you rebook, we are prohibited from including in your credit note.
If, for example, your refund credit note is for £2000 and £1000 of that booking total was the value of the cruise. You have been offered a Future Cruise Credit of 125% of the value of your cruise, therefore your Future Cruise Credit is worth £1250, however the difference of £250 cannot be ‘added’ to your refund credit note, however you are still entitled to it and it is in our records. We will discuss your options when you contact us to rebook your cruise.
Can I use a Refund Credit Note or FCC on a cruise already booked?
Where possible we will accommodate the use of our Refund Credit Note for existing bookings.
Future Cruise Credits cannot be used for existing bookings.
Full Terms and Conditions for Planet Cruise Refund Credit Notes
1. The type of Refund Credit Note you receive will depend upon whether you have received a cash refund from the cruise line, either directly or through Planet Cruise.
Terms which apply if you have not received a cash refund from the cruise line
2. Your original booking remains on our system, but because of the coronavirus outbreak your holiday can no longer go ahead. You can therefore use the Refund Credit Note we have issued to select new holiday arrangements to replace those in your original booking.
3. The value of the Refund Credit Note shall be equal to the value of all payments you have made to us as at the date we issued your Refund Credit Note.
4. When you use the Refund Credit Note to change your booking, you will need to choose arrangements from the same cruise line and airline as in your original booking. You will also have to select arrangements which correspond with the terms and limitations of any vouchers or free amendment options provided by the suppliers in relation to your original booking. However, a new destination may be permitted**
5. In most cases suppliers will not allow passenger name changes, therefore all passengers noted on the original booking must travel on the new booking.
6. Where suppliers have issued voucher based-refunds, you will only be able to use up to the amount of the voucher for that part of the trip. Any costs over the value of individual supplier vouchers will need to be paid
7. If the new booking is of a lower value than the original, no cash refund will be due however we will issue a further Refund Credit note by way of refund of the balance. You may use this new Refund Credit Note to select new holiday arrangements with Planet Cruise. To the extent that any supplier voucher or free amendment options remain available to be used, paragraphs 4-6 above shall continue to apply.
Terms which apply if you have received a cash refund from the cruise line
8. You may be able to request a cash refund from your cruise line. That cash refund may be either paid directly to you, or if it is paid to us we will process it and pay it to you.
9. Upon payment of the cruise refund to you:
- Your original booking with us will be cancelled;
- The value of your Refund Credit Note will be the sum you originally paid to us less the price of your cruise; and
- You will be entitled to use the Refund Credit Note to make a new booking with Planet Cruise.
Terms which apply in all circumstances
10. You can use your Refund Credit Note immediately and up until 31st January 2022, following which it shall expire (the “Expiry Date”).
11. You can use your Refund Credit Note to choose holiday arrangements which depart anytime between 1st November 2020 and 31st December 2022*.
12. If you make selections which are of a higher value than the value of the Refund Credit Note, all additional costs must be paid.
13. If you do not use all or part of your Refund Credit Note before the Expiry Date, you may request a cash refund of the balance.
14. Your Refund Credit Note is ATOL protected until the 31st of January 2021 so your money is safe. This is per the latest advice from ABTA.
15. If you redeem a Future Cruise Credit which formed the cruise portion of your Refund Credit Note it will automatically be deducted from your Refund Credit Note based on the original cost of the cruise element of your booking.
16. The Refund Credit Note can be used for no other purpose than as set out above. It is non-transferable. It will also not be redeemable for cash other than as set out in these terms and conditions.
17. The legal and regulatory position concerning travel companies may change as a result of coronavirus. If any law, regulation or guidance issued by the UK Government, Civil Aviation Authority or ABTA requires us to change the Refund Credit Note (or these terms and conditions) in order to align it with such new measures, we reserve the right to do so.
18.You are eligible for a Refund Credit Note if your cruise holiday has been subject to a mandatory change on account of a pause in cruise line operations and your booking is one of our ATOL protected cruise package holidays. If your cruise or holiday has not been changed you are not entitled to a Refund Credit Note.
* Subject to cruise, airline, or any other supplier policy
** Subject to individual cruise line, airline or other supplier policy