Cruise1st Australia Questions & Answers

Hi We paid Cruise 1st over $14000 for two cruises (Queen Victoria) departing Sydney in May 2020. We had a Westjet flight from Canada to Ireland included in the package. We have spent the best part of the last 10 months trying to get refunds. We have eventually through our own efforts obtained refunds from Cunard and Qatar Airlines but Westjet will only offer future flight credits good until May 2022. Naturally this is unacceptable to us as I doubt we will be travelling anywhere for a few years. Cruise 1st have failed to pay us a refund of the Westjet fares claiming they were non refundable tickets. We never knew this when the package was arranged. Anyway, I am not going to give up and will take action against Cruise 1st if they do not refund the approx. $1000 owing to us. Cruise 1st have lied to us over and over again. I wouldn't trust anything they are telling you. I can only suggest that you continue to insist that they refund all money owing to you.

Hi Angel. I had paid Cruise 1st $13,300 AUD for a holiday package departing in early May 20. It included 2 cruises, air fares with Qantas and Delta (USA) Hotel bookings and a 3 day bus tour in Alaska. They promised a full refund and they were true to their word. It did take a while. They paid me $12,800. Delta Air lines issued a credit for $500. They are under extreme pressure and I can appreciate the delays. I really think they did their best.. I communicated with them by email. It did take some time to get a reply, but they did reply and kept their word.

Paul D

Hi Paul .Thank you very much for the info .I dont know if in my case it will be the same as it is in a code share flight so it it looks a bit different and is like pass the buck modus operandi ,but thank you anyway Angel

Hi We paid Cruise 1st over $14000 for two cruises (Queen Victoria) departing Sydney in May 2020. We had a Westjet flight from Canada to Ireland included in the package. We have spent the best part of the last 10 months trying to get refunds. We have eventually through our own efforts obtained refunds from Cunard and Qatar Airlines but Westjet will only offer future flight credits good until May 2022. Naturally this is unacceptable to us as I doubt we will be travelling anywhere for a few years. Cruise 1st have failed to pay us a refund of the Westjet fares claiming they were non refundable tickets. We never knew this when the package was arranged. Anyway, I am not going to give up and will take action against Cruise 1st if they do not refund the approx. $1000 owing to us. Cruise 1st have lied to us over and over again. I wouldn't trust anything they are telling you. I can only suggest that you continue to insist that they refund all money owing to you.

We paid over $25,000 to cruise 1 st for two cruises and Canadian holiday should have departed May 2020 Cruise lines and Cathay pacific emailed us March 2020that they had cancelled and full refunds would be given Contacted cruise1st as unlike airline and cruise companies they did not contact us, all emails to them ou are only talking to emergency contact team, never a name....very disappointing we are still out of pocket over $2500 ......delta airlines and Rocky mountaineer and hotels that would not credit??? My question and why there should be an investigation into travel companies is that you pay in good faith months before you actually depart ....yet travel companies do not pay hotels or Rocky mountaineer until you have stayed etc Therefore where is my money..... Travel agencies have been receiving job keeper.... Was told I had a future credit with Rocky Mountaineer to the value of $ 700 Canadian yet for two adults same trip to rebook is $3000 ....go figure Cruise 1st have yet to answer my queries For those people who received full amount ....why not everyone Would never recommend Cruise 1 st to anyone

Go they Fair trading online site! Well worth the time and effort to do so!

We were e told the same but we kept on asking about our refunds.. We corresponded with our agent Ian Titman & he responded very quickly with information. Cruise1st have different team for each problem&makes hard to know what is happening. We still have not received anything yet but Ian told us this week that it should not take much longer. Keep on trying &hope that we all get our refund.

I do have a contact as well but when I saw this site I thought I would ask the question to see how others were going. I keep thinking they will go bankrupt and not have to pay. By the way thank you for answering.

I'm sorry that I can't add anything more yet. My cruise was scheduled for 12 April. Cunard have told me that they paid the refund to Cruise1st on 26&27 June. Cruise1st have told me that they received the refund from Cunard around 17 July but, for some reason would take 6 weeks to pass the refund on to me. Nothing received as yet, 6 August.

I feel for anyone with cruises that were scheduled for a later date than mine.

Hi, well I’ve had a very pleasant surprise. We just received our refund. I was very concerned due the lengthy wait and lack of communications, but in the end they have come through with the amount we had agreed on. So hopefully others will see their refunds as well. Rod C

That is good to hear.

I am still $2,500 SHORT. These people don't even answer my requests for further i information about the components of the refund. Will NEVER deal with Cruise1st ever again!

Will never, never deal with Cruise1st EVER AGAIN!!!!! STill NO RESPONSE to SEVEN e-mails flor Further Information!@!!

Customer Service is CRITICAL. None displayed by Cruise1st. The SILENCE is DEAFENING

Yes totally with you..we are not tech savvy.. husband 76..and finding this really difficult..as we are on a pension..and this was the first cruise we saved up for..

Hi Gary, You are extremely lucky, for sure. My trip was in February, 2020. To date Cruise1st has been deathly silent. So far, I've received about $2500 back, s shortfall of about $1800. Also the $900 out-of-pocket expenses are still outstanding. I booked on a trip to Airlie with Flight Centre for April. Yesterday, I received a Full Refund from Flight Centre. Guess who I am going to book my holidays through, next time?

Extremely Fed Up

My cruise was cancelled by Cruise1st in mid February. We had to come back to Sydney from Jakarta. This cost an extra $Criuse, etc900, or so. The original Cruise cost $4,033.84. To date we have received ONLY $2,506.79 - a SHORTFALL of $1,527.05 PLUS the $900 or so Out-of Pocket for our return to Sydney

We finally got about $5000 back from our payment of $12600 just before we went to mediation (we had filed a claim with QCAT here in Qld). We are expecting a further $2000 soon because Singapore Air is now issuing refunds and we agreed to withdraw our claim with the court if we get that refund within a month. Our $4000 cruise fee will only be a credit but MSC cruises will issue a refund if that credit is not used by Dec. 2021. So it looks like our $300 court fee is paying off although we will still be out $800 at the end. Cheers. Lynden

Good to see you got more back! I don't want a credit for the cruise I want the cash! Don't know how good the credit will be May have to pay more when you do decide to use it! Worth the $300 court costs! Mine is on 11th August by phone due to COVID.

I cancelled my trip today as I’m unsure if the cruise will go ahead in October. Will be up for cancellation fees however in the refund quote they initially tried to charge me for our friends accommodation costs as well so they could calculate a zero refund. After numerous emails of complaint and pointing out their dishonesty they decided to refund myself and friend just over $200, as if they were doing us a favour!! However our other friend is getting just over $700. Work that one out!! Today I received a reminder about the final payment and mine is $590 more than the other two couples when we were all given the same final payment price in November. WTH!! I have requested an explanation but haven’t received one yet. We have all decided to cancel our cruise as it’s not worth paying another $3800 which we might not get back and we are now turned off cruising. Looks like we will lose $2000 which is better than some. I have contacted Fair Trading and P&O about cancellation because we are cancelling and don’t want the offer of another cruise I don’t think we have much chance. Good luck with your claim. Cruise 1st is the most dishonest travel company I have ever dealt with. No integrity at all!!

Well said!! You should submit a case to Dept of Fair Trading tribunal !! This is outrageous!!

Not a cent no one responds.

Go to Department of Fair Trading and report them.

Still waiting on refund

Nothing, absolutely devastated, we were to sail 19/4 cruise was cancelled by RCL, requested refunds for fights, hotels & cruise, given amounts but no refund.

It's absolutely disgusting!! What are you going to do?

No we are waiting for funds from two February cruises, accommodation and flights. Very frustrating. I have another booked for next year and they are chasing the remainder of the deposit. Think I will cut my losses and cancel it now.

Yea

Waiting for my refund sent to Cruise1st over a month ago from Princess Cruises as I was on the Ruby Princess. I was told I would get a full refund from the cruise.

Oh God! Lucky you are alive! It's will take months to see any money! Good luck

In this instance I can't understand why the money was sent to Cruise1st anyway. The refund was between the passengers of the Ruby Princess and Carnival Cruises. Is there anyone else from that cruise still waiting for their refund

Did you book thru them? If so that's why

I booked through them originally back in July 19 for a Christmas Cruise. My husband died in October very suddenly and I had to cancel but instead chose to make another booking with Princess. I went on the Ruby Princess in March 8th 2020. Received a letter from the CEO of Carnival Cruises saying we all would get our full refund on the cruise. I received a cheque from Carnival in Apr/May for port taxes on the ports we missed out on. I enquired as to the $6000.00 owing and I was told that this money was sent to Cruise1st as they were the original agent.

So sad for your loss. Did you get the $6000 back from Cruise 1st ? May take months to get a refund!!

No have not seen a cent

Will take months!!!

Still waiting the final $3000 owed From April last year .... We had a couple traveling with us .We both booked on the same Phone Call .. They Received their full refund September last year ... Go Figure

I received a refund thru Fair Trading tribunal! All but $500! Worth pursuing!

Hi Jenny, we booked 2 package deals for two with Cruise 1st & both were cancelled due to the Virus. We have not received any money. This is what Cruise 1st advice. One package for last April had 2 cruises Princess line offered full refund, Carnival charged $1300. cancellation fee one of the flights had no refund (Alaska Air). We told Cruise 1st that they should be responsible as they booked the package & we were not advice with the conditions. The package for September , the tour for China no refund $800. The flights offered future credit. We paid $11290. for April & $4300 deposit for September. We are very worried, it is a lot of money that we saved for our retirement. Cruise 1st advice that it could take up to 12 or 18 weeks.

Good luck

Thanks Anita good luck to you our cruise was 15Th February They said 12 weeks for refund which was 11 weeks. I may inquire about the $1400 cancellation fee.

Try Department of Fair Trading and lodge a complaint!

Thank you will do I have phoned again and email each week but have heard nothing

Try Department of Fair Trading Lodge a complaint with them about cruise 1st.

Thank you yes I’ll contact them during the week

Hi Vickie v. No we didn't get away on our cruise. I am in the process of trying to get money back, but I am expecting a reasonable wait under the circumstances. My rep, Conor Day, has been in touch with me and it looks like I should get a full refund for the total package. However, still a long way to go - I will keep you posted. If they handle the refunds in an efficient and ethical manner, I will rebook another holiday thru them, and I will make posts on Product Review as to how that goes. I am aware of many really negative reviews about this company, and I think that it really must come down to the individual that you are primarily dealing with. Good luck with your own situation. Regards, Gary.

Our cruise was cancelled but we were told this only after we had flown to Singapore where we were meant to board. The cruise finished in Dubai, from where we would fly home. We booked and paid for a package deal which included flights, two hotel overnight stays, and cruise. On our return to Australia we were advised by our travel agent that only the cruise would be refunded. (Still waiting). We would have to claim insurance for our flights and hotel. How can this be right? Our trsvel agent told us she had received no notification from cruise1st regarding the cancellation of our cruise. Not good enough.

Gary, We have been told a told of things by a lot of people in Cruise1st, including Conor. Many of the people we have spoken to are apparently no longer working for the company. We have since found out that a lot of them should not have said what they did and it no longer stands, so when we were told to put in out of pocket expenses and we’d get refunds etc, they are not necessarily true. Good luck. I am really keen to know how you go, but I suspect they are just telling us a lot of what we want to hear to keep us at Bay. Please, please keep me posted. I

John, our Cruise from Singapore back to Sydney was Cancelled the night before we flew out to Bali, which was the first leg of our package with Cruise1st, We were told a lot of things by a lot of people about what to do and what we could claim and get back. At this stage it has all turned out to not be true, so after spending our $5,200 on a trip that didn’t really happen, we’ve then had to spend more to be able to leave the country(you can’t fly out of Sydney without a return ticket), and more on Accommodation just to be able to try and rescue some type of holiday. We were told at the time, we could claim these “out of pocket expenses” on our return, we find out these people who advised us no longer work there and it’s wrong information. Apparently P&O have fully refunded Cruise1st, but they are not passing it on to us. Although we have done everything they have told us to do at every point, we still have to just wait indefinitely as they do not return calls now or respond to emails. I so very much hope that you have more luck. Please, please, please keep me updated on how you go

OMG!!

Still waiting to see any money from Cruise1st and our cancelled Cruise was in February!!!!

Shocking!

My booking no. Is CRA-74992. Please get Meagan to call me back urgently.

I would like to know how you go Katrina. We have been given the absolute run around and Meagan is part of that. No email responses, no phone response. Terrible. Unfortunately they have a lot if our money. But that has not stopped me reporting them to ACCC and CLIA. It may be a job for Current Affairs actually, because it is now getting fraudulent what they are doing. Please, if anyone else having troubles contact me on halcrest1@gmail.com Vickie

Hi Vickie same problems here no answers from phone calls emails etc.despite having tried numerous times.We have a package which is supposed to leave on the 19th.april and another on the 6th.June so am waiting with anticipation as I am assuming that neither will go ahead.We have booked a number of holidays with them in the past however will not be booking anymore given the opportunity.Cheers Pauline

Me too ..our cruise was cancelled back in February, we were suppose to be on Diamond Princess.. but have rung each week...was dealing with a “Sue”::: but told she has left no they are saying another 4 weeks ...it’s bull...t who can we report this to

Cruise 1st is a terrible company., Only look after themselves and no-one else. They should be ashamed of themselves. If cancel even 12 months in advance they charge over $2000 who does that. They keep this money, not the other tour company as they state. NEVER USE CRUISE FIRST

Hi John, To be honest, we booked with cruise 1st in the past and we did not have any trouble with the trip. I guess that my suggestion to you is to book quickly a deal, pay and receive confirmation of booking and make sure the payment is done. I was upset because they published non existing fare. Hope it helped

I have booked with them before and had no trouble too, but that was because there was no trouble. The minute there was a problem, that’s when their systems go to pieces and their care and concern goes out the window

Thanks going no where now

Hi John just came back from a 26 day trip. The Barcelonia hotel was Barcelonia Colonial $247 a night and the Rome Hotel was the Venetia $187 but new owners wanted to renovate so we were transferred to the Royal next door same quality both with buffet breakfast. Last year Rome was same hotel and China same quality around 3.5 star. no problems with booking do a bit of research and contact them if any queries they all ways emailed me that they had received my ?? and contacted me within 24hrs. Prices are great e.g last cruise for airfares, 21day(9 and 12 day cruises) cruise, gratuities and hotels was $4,400 people from UK paid 2,000 pounds for first 9day cruise alone.

Good luck with that John. I am trying to get $19,000 of 2 cancelled trips off them and they will not answer calls or emails

Hi Vicki With lots and lots of emails we managed so far to get back $7900 but still a short fall of$6000. The thing I feel is not right is that on Cruise1st website under manage your booking that this page is now unavailable. Just before I got some money back I took a photo of the money that was sitting in my account under my CRA no and it said there was $9700 credit .a couple of days later I received $7900 ???? And now the page is unavailable?????. I’m more then happy to discuss our situation with anyone who wants to talk. I think it’s disgusting service. They aren’t accepting calls My mobile number is. 0457035316

Yes Gary, dodged a bullet

Cruise 1st would have sent you a document called Important Information and booking terms. Cancellation requirements are covered in this document.

How did you go with all this Richard

I hope all works out good for you. After we paid our money to Cruise 1st the support stopped. They didn't answer a phone msg left but did reply to an email. Only to tell us they couldn't help us and said to go to another website. Won't use them again.

Thanks John, I have my fingers crossed. Our flight times keep changing.......

email enquiries@cruise1st.com.au don't know owners phone 1800 633 300

You can email to feedback@cruise1st.com.au or call the team leader Sam on 03 84887851 Hope it helps !

I asked exactly the same questions to Cruise1st and still no answer re the tours and return to hotel????? Was told United journeys are only speaking to travel agents so it appears they are unavailable on line to us . As I have been unable to find United Journey,s on line my self and no answer re above , good luck getting answers

If you cannot find out details from Cruise1st then don't book go to another agent.