“They had my money all this time and I didn’t get any service at all,” said nurse Jennifer Perkins.
The cruise planned for spring 2020 was called NurseCon at Sea. It was considered the best healthcare conference and was hosted by nurse Blake, a renowned social media influencer. However, the inaugural cruise never started due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perkins, along with three other friends, paid in full for the cruise, so they were disappointed when he was late and wanted a refund. “I have a lot of bills. I’m the only source of income for a family of four, so it’s undeniable that it would be helpful right now,” Perkins said.
The money also goes to nurse Julie Walker, a Raleigh nurse. “For me, they had my money from 2019 and no services,” Walker said.
Instead of refunds, the cruise was rescheduled for the spring of 2021. However, now the 2021 NurseCon cruise has been postponed again due to the pandemic and was pushed back in April 2022.
“Many of us have asked for refunds and been told no. There are no refunds that we can navigate in 2022,” Walker said.
In addition to the frustrations of these nurses, the cruise line offers refunds to its customers who have booked directly through them. But these front-line workers booked through the third-party NurseCon website and not directly with the cruise line, and the NurseCon policy is not a refund.
“The most discouraging part is that Nurse Blake is a nurse,” Perkins said. “2020 was the year of nursing and one of us refuses to acknowledge that it is a pandemic, we do not know when it will end and we continue to keep our money without providing any service.”
More than 63 complaints involving cancellations have been filed with the Florida Attorney General’s office.
NurseCon said in part, “NurseCon at Sea is a small business created by a registered nurse to bring nurses together and celebrate our profession as first-class healthcare workers. this global pandemic “.
They added that their event is directly related to the cruise line’s ability to sail; unfortunately, they had no choice but to reschedule the conference. The company also added, “It is important to know that our refund policies have always been clearly explained on our website and during the registration process and require confirmation from the participant at the time of purchase. Participants who do not wish to browse next year can apply for a full credit and we have also waived the fee for participants trying to transfer their registration to someone else. stay grateful for the support we continue to receive from our breastfeeding colleagues. “
These are options that neither Walker nor Perkins think are correct.
“I really just want my money back because we don’t know,” Perkins said. “There is no way to say ‘okay, we will go in April 2022.’ Well, that was the plan this year and the cases started to go down and now we are in the middle of another increase, so who is saying even with the vaccine that there will be no new increase. It’s so unpredictable. “
Troubleshooting solution:
This is a good reminder if you are booking any type of trip in the future, read the fine print. If you use a third party company, as opposed to direct booking with the cruise line, airlines or hotel, you know that the refund and cancellation policy is sometimes different. It is also a wise idea to look at travel insurance and make sure it covers the COVID-19 pandemic.
Copyright © 2021 WTVD-TV. All rights reserved.