CCMP

15 hours ago, dockman said:

Must be nice to sail  with HAL and get an offer for a free cruise??  Did OP spend a massive amount of $$ or play a ton in the casino?  If so maybe i can understand.

 

 I have been on 20 HAL cruises and never ever got any offer for free anything.

 

How do i get on the give me a free cruise list??  

Me, too!  I never even get offered free upgrades anymore.

On 2/4/2024 at 4:16 PM, kkon said:

Am I the only person having trouble finding a shore excursion that starts at noon when the Oosterdam docks in Ushuaia?

all of the shore excursions that are independent start at 0900 hours.the only excursions that start at noon leave from the ship, and some of these are already sold out.

Thoughts anyone?

Kevin

Maybe post this in the roll calls.  There is one for the first segment and one for the whole 31 day cruise.

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

Another option could be, if you don't want two balcony cabins next to each other would be one veranda cabin with one inside across the hall. Example would be VC5163 and K5161.  Good luck!  I hope you are able to figure out the best way to have your family cruise.

 

 

Totally agree with you.  We use this strategy, with the ocean view or verandah for us and an inside for our two adult daughters. Or they could even consider two inside cabins, if they want to save money or like it quiet and dark at nighttime.  Definitely would not want four adults trying to share one bathroom in a Vista.....

18 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

Great but airlines have cancelled so  many  flights .What about all the  airports which refuse permission  for planes from China to land?

Well, I posted that several days ago and was addressing folks who changed their flights to Tokyo from Shangahi due to the itinerary change.  But, a lot has changed since I posted that. HAL cancelled the Feb. 15th cruise (which I was booked on).  And Japan and several other countries turned away the Westerdam on the cruise which left Hong Kong on Feb. 1.  The people on the Westerdam now were supposed to fly back from Tokyo---but it sure looks like they won't be able to do that, as Japan won't let the Westerdam dock.  I did also see a posting yesterday or the day before on the HAL blog that said HAL would consider extra expenses. But as far as I can tell, the Westerdam is still stranded at sea as Guam, Taiwan, the Phillipines and Japan won't let the ship dock. I hope those folks can get home soon.    

I don't think I have seen this mentioned in this forum.  It seems HAL has changed one aspect.  I note this posting which says it was updated yesterday which will reimburse up to $250 per person for flight changes as a result in the change in embark/debark ports:

For guests who sail and are required to modify their flights as a result of a change to embark/debark port we will cover up to $250 per person in airline change fees for carriers who are charging fees. This excludes fare differences. Proof should be sent to the following address and compensation will be issued in the form of an onboard credit.

Holland America Line
Attn: Guest Relations
450 Third Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
Fax: (206) 905-8962
Email: guestrelations@hollandamerica.com

We aren't going in any event, but thought this may be of interest to some folks.  It certainly was not in any email I received, but I saw this posting.  

9 hours ago, ted144 said:

Bad HAL management decision- to tell people on a basically ONLY China trip (March 14-29) that a trip to Japan in its place is what they MUST take, or they can cancel on their own and lose half their money.  And deal with flight refunds on their own with the airlines. 
 

I don’t think it’s wrong to change ports on the March 14 (formerly China) two week cruise and offer Japan as a replacement. And it’s obvious they cannot go to China now. 
 

BUT, it’s obnoxious that HAL is not proactively at least offering refunds for those who signed up for China because that was the trip they booked.

 

Many, but not all, will be fine with a replacement trip to Japan.  It is a very different trip- only similar thing is the date.. How can they not give current passengers a choice?  Right now they have put some (previously loyal) passengers in a terrible position. Either take a trip you didn’t choose or cancel and lose 50% of your fare. Lots of irreparable damage to customer goodwill.  A very poor corporate decision. 

If we were only going to lose 50% of our fare, that would be great.  According to HAL, we would lose 100% of our fare but would get the taxes back.  HAL is not offering cancellation with a refund--at least as of my telephone call with a "specialist" yesterday 4:45 p.m. PST.  (Unfortunately, this is the first cruise we have ever booked that we don't have insurance....)  We are booked on the 15th -29th segment.

What HAL is offering (by phone call, not by email)  is to allow people to re-book to a different cruise (even much further out date-wise), but if you got a great deal on this cruise from the 15th-29th, you would have to pay any difference on a new cruise and the new cruise would be treated as non-cancellable even if it is months from now.  (HAL is kind of having its cake and eating it, too in the sense that if you are having to pay extra for the new replacement cruise, I don't think that new cruise should then be treated as non-cancellable unless you are truly in that short time frame before the new cruise. I understand their point of view if it is a straight dollar for dollar swap, but not if you have to pay more.)  The way we are looking at it,  we either have to pay a lot more now to change airfare at the last minute to Tokyo or we will have to pay a lot more to cancel and re-book another cruise.  HAL is not giving the option of just leaving our money on deposit with HAL and waiting to re-book when there is a good sale. As of last night, we were planning on paying the extra $$ for the airfare.  As of this morning, our minds changed due to the quarantine of the Costa cruise.  So, for now, we are holding tight as more could develop in the next few days given the quarantine of the Costa cruise and other news that could develop.  There are cases of this virus in both Japan and South Korea and I wonder if Japan or South Korea could decide to close its borders to folks/ships who have been in Hong Kong. I don't want to be quarantined or turned away from a port.....

Thanks!

5 hours ago, PhilbeachTraveller said:

As Bob++ says, taxis and trains are your best options, although you can take the number 15 bus from Dover to Canterbury (nice drive), which takes just over half an hour. Dover Cruise Terminal is a bit of a trek from town (not sure if there is a shuttle bus) so if you decide to do the Castle first, get a taxi there (or into town, or to the train station). A Tuesday in October shouldn't be overly busy. I usually go to the castle in the morning as there a couple of free tours (Underground Hospital & Operation Dynamo) where you have to queue up for and less people that time, but again, depends on how many of your fellow passengers decide to go there. Castle closes at 5 in October (and can be very windy up there so dress appropriately), as does the Cathedral (last entry 4.30). Cathedral opens at 9 and Castle at 10.

 

Can easily spend a whole day at each place, but as long as you leave the ship early, you'll be able to fit it all in. Canterbury has a very large university, so it'll be full of students and can get very busy, whatever the season, but it's a beautiful place and worth a wander round (again, weather permitting). If you want to eat at the Castle, do that first when you arrive from Canterbury as the main restaurant (NAAFI) closes at 2.30, although there is a coffee shop which stays open a bit later (Tearoom might not be open). English Heritage reckon the average visiting time to the Castle is 4 hour. 

 

Certainly don't need a tour company! Guided tours at the Cathedral are at 10.30, 12.00 and 2.00 and are about 40 minutes but your can get an audio tour if you prefer. There are several 'mini-talks' which are free and well worth attending. 

Dear Philbeach Traveler,  Thank you so much.  I had looked up that the Castle opens at 10 and closes at 5, but I was not aware the Cathedral closes at 5 also.  But, since it opens at 9, maybe we should try to get to Canterbury first and then head to the Castle later.  We will have to be time efficient!  Thanks.

6 hours ago, Bob++ said:

In short:

 

Take a train to Canterbury - the cathedral is a ten-minute walk from the station.

 

Take a train back to Dover and a taxi to the castle, then a taxi back to the ship. Dover castle has some good places for lunch.

Bob++, Thank you so much.  That is very helpful. 

Hi, we will be on a cruise docking in Dover on Oct. 8, a Tuesday.  We will be in port from 8 am until 7 pm.  This really means we have from about 830-6 pm.  We would like to see Dover Castle and Canterbury either on our own or with a small group tour.  Dover castle is open from 10 am-5 pm that day.  It looks like we could do this on our own with public transportation, but what would be the best way to do this?  But, we are definitively open to a small group tour if anyone has any recommendations.  So far, I see mainly day trips to and from London or tours that cover other spots.  I did see one tours by locals but it was $1008 dollars (which seems expensive but that was for the group, but it still seemed high), but he was not available on the 8th.   Any recommendations for tour companies or the best way to do on our own? Thank you.