Cruise line gives refunds to some, credits to others as ships remain docked by pandemic

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Cruise ships, with thousands of people tightly packed for extended periods of time, have long been known as efficient incubators of illnesses.

“People on a large ship, all together, at the same time, all the time — you couldn’t ask for a better incubator for infection,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said in February.

On March 11, Limon received a confusing e-mail from Online Vacation Center, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., travel adviser he and Appel had used to book their cruise. Under the heading “Temporary Cancellation Policy,” it pointed out that their cruise was still scheduled to sail.

“But If you wish to cancel your reservation due to the virus, Celebrity and Online Vacation Center is making a temporary exception to their policy,” it said. Instead of assessing thousands of dollars in cancellation penalties against Limon and Appel, it would let him cancel and give him a 100 percent credit toward a later cruise.

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“In regards to VIP package your reservation falls in the following canceling period 120-45 days prior to sailing,” it said.

That e-mail left Limon slightly rattled, because their cruise was 44 days away. Limon believed he had to cancel immediately and hope that Celebrity would extend a one-day grace period to allow his cancellation and a credit.

“We considered ourselves far too vulnerable to walk into a breeding ground for viruses,” he said of himself and Appel, a cancer survivor with an immune deficiency disorder.

Then, two weeks after he canceled, Celebrity halted all cruises, including his, and began offering 100 percent refunds, instead of credits, to those who were still booked as of that date. Limon called Online Vacation Center, believing his credit would be quickly converted into a refund.

It wasn’t.

“Given my age and Cheryl’s health issues, we’re not interested in a cruise at a later date,” Limon said. “If a credit is all we get, then it really means we forfeit all our money on a cruise we don’t take.”

Christine Munsen, Online Vacation Center’s sales manager, said in an e-mail to Limon on April 8 that it had tried to persuade Celebrity to convert his credit into a refund but was told that once it had been processed as a request for a credit, it could not be changed.

“They have since strictly enforced that the new offer would not be retroactive,” Munsen explained, referring to Celebrity.

I sent Online Vacation Center’s March 11 e-mail to a Celebrity representative, pointing out that it implied that Limon faced a tight deadline to chose a credit. The Celebrity rep said she was unaware of any 45-day deadlines.

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In fact, since March 6, Celebrity had been allowing customers to cancel up to 48 hours before departure for a full credit.

But it wasn’t until March 24, when Celebrity completely shut down, that it began offering full refunds to passengers on canceled cruises.

“At the time of these transactions Celebrity was not offering a refund for [Limon and Appel’s] specific sailing as Celebrity did not officially cancel their sailing until 3/24,” an Online Vacation Center representative said in an e-mail.

One thing seems clear to me: Given the confusion created by Online Vacation Center’s March 11 e-mail to Limon, and the overall unprecedented nature of the pandemic, Celebrity, now that it is aware of Limon’s request for a refund, should step up and do the right thing.

Give Limon and Appel back their money.

Got a problem? Send your consumer issue to sean.murphy@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @spmurphyboston.