KirkNC

If anyone thinks AZ’s tours are expensive, check out Oceania.  They are significantly more.  Of all the lines we cruised we have found AZ to have lower costs then most.

The port of Souda is a dock not a tender port.  The tender port is in Chaina.  A thread a few days ago showed the drop off point.

I am sure it will happen, it’s just a question of when.  Personally I would prefer they wait a while.  I like knowing that we at least start with a clean slate.

I think they are usually on sea days.  We had several on our March cruise on the Quest.

21 hours ago, TVlife said:

Kirk, was your land tour supposed to go to Copper River Princess Lodge?  I see that they are closing that lodge for the rest of the summer, starting June 17.  I’m booked for a tour, early August, that includes Copper. I’m now wondering if we will be canceled. 
https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/copper-river-lodge/

No, that was not on the itinerary.

When we boarded in March, the earliest boarding time was 2:00 pm.

1 hour ago, Lalof said:

KirkNC, did you see what other cruises were going to be cancelled?  We are scheduled for the 6/29 land-cruise package.

No, the email just referred to my specific booking.

1 hour ago, cat shepard said:

@KirkNC
Kirk, can I ask you when you booked this cruise?
 

Was it a replacement cruise? Or was the entire cruise moved from last year to this year?

 

Ann

We booked it a few months ago when HAL canceled our Volendam cruise.  We were trying to use FCC (again) from the 2020 world cruise.

36 minutes ago, kangforpres said:

Man, and this was supposed to be the summer when the Alaska travel industry got back on it's feet.

 

Is the cruise portion still on? 

 

Not sure, also I am not sure everyone on the land portion got the email.  Maybe they just wanted to reduce the head count.

3 minutes ago, Gray Lady said:

How disheartening! Now I am waiting to see if our cruise tour is going to be cancelled. What day were you supposed to sail on the Nieuw Amsterdam? Curious if it is the same as us…June 26th. 

Yes, our cruise portion began June 26th.

33 minutes ago, Tracey/Thom said:

So sorry for you! It's about more than just the money (although FCC at 100% plus a full refund helps!), it's about the planning, and the time off work and everything else. 

 

We just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam 5/15/22, with a double Denali tour. They are obviously having major staffing shortages to cancel an entire cruise, but it would be better than going on the cruise and having an awful time because of the staffing issues. Our time on the ship was fantastic, but it was only half full, and the staff were working as hard and as fast as they could to keep up. Some passengers were rather unpleasant to them, which was difficult to watch.  I wouldn't be surprised if many staff quit as a result.

 

Our Land tour (2 nights in Denali) was not fun (due to staff shortages).  We had a 9 hour bus boring bus ride without a running water restroom on board from Whittier to Denali. We got there 1.5 hours after the 3 pm check in and NO ROOMS were ready. There were, literally, mountains of used sheets/towels piled in the public hallways. We didn't fuss, just went to find an early dinner. But they were short staffed too, and both nights there were long, long lines for a table. When you're halfway up a mountain, there are no other choices available. There was a Subway outside the McKinley Chalet Resort, which was not open for business. When we finally got to our room, the bed was made, but there was half-eaten food in the fridge. The bathroom/toilet had obviously not been cleaned. Luckily, we travel with sanitizing wipes and a bottle of Peroxide too. In the 2 nights that we were there, no one came to replenish the coffee supplies, the towels or empty the trash. We didn't scream and holler about it. It was obvious they were doing their best with who they had, but they just didn't have enough. 

 

But when you've paid a lot of money, and you're staying at a "resort" not a budget motel, your expectations do tend to be a bit higher. Particularly as the cruise was so wonderful.  We've decided we're not cruising for the rest of the year, as it may take a while to get all these things "back" to normal and even then, new staff tend to need training time. The ships are woefully understaffed because the State Department doesn't have enough staff to process all the visas needed for foreign workers.

 

While I really commiserate with your trip being cancelled, with such short notice, I do think they made the right choice, because otherwise your cruise would be miserable when you're expecting a truly wonderful Holland America experience.

Your experience certainly confirms why they did what they did.

2 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Kirk

 

I am so sorry. Now I question whether my August trip will go. We were just asked for final payment yesterday. I know they must hate to do this, but this is just crappy to do it less than two weeks before you go. 
 

Ann

Thanks, glad I haven’t pulled the suitcases out yet.

Just now, aliaschief said:

Kirk which ship was this on?

Nieuw Amsterdam 

Just got the email from Gus

Dear Travel Partner, We are very sorry to inform you that due to staffing shortages affecting the entire hospitality industry, we must regretfully cancel select 2022 Yukon & Denali Cruisetours. Your clients’ affected bookings are listed at the end of this letter. We encourage you to reach out to your clients as soon as possible to advise them of the cancellation of their Cruisetour, as we know the news will spread quickly once it is publicly announced. We are waiting until later 2:00 PM Pacific Time this afternoon (Friday, June 3) to send our email notification to your clients in order to give you time to contact them. Booked guests will receive a refund of all monies paid to Holland America Line to the original form of purchase. In addition, each guest will receive a Future Cruise Credit of 100% of the Cruisetour fare paid, which can be used on a new booking for any future voyage or Cruisetour that is booked by and sails by December 31, 2023. Please see below for terms and conditions for the Future Cruise Credit.  Our Future Cruise Credit program has been expanded and these credits can now be used for non-cruise fare items such as flexible Flight Ease flights (added before final payment), pre- and post-cruise packages, or standard or platinum Cancellation Protection Plan coverage for all guests on the new booking. We hope these credits will enable your clients to join us on another Alaska cruise this year or explore Alaska with us in 2023. We regret we are unable to offer a replacement Cruisetour option for 2022 due to the staffing issues which have resulted in reduced capacity on several journeys. As a further gesture of goodwill for your clients’ loyalty to Holland America Line, they will also receive $200 USD per-person Shipboard Credit on a new booking for any future voyage or Cruisetour that is booked by and sails by December 31, 2023. This offer will be in addition to any other promotion or incentives available. The credit may be used toward all purchases in the bars, boutiques, photo gallery and art auctions, as well as specialty dining, spa treatments and shore excursions. In the event any portion of the cancelled Cruisetour's fare was paid using a previously issued Future Cruise Credit, that FCC will be returned to their Mariner Account and extended to be used by December 31, 2023. Non-cruise fare purchases through Holland America Line such as Flight Ease air, pre- and post-cruise hotels and transfers, shore excursions, dining, gifts, and spa treatments will also be refunded to the original form of purchase. If any portion of your clients’ travel was not booked through Holland America Line, other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply. We recognize that this change may cause your clients to incur unexpected expenses, such as air change fees. Reimbursement of reasonable non-refundable expenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis. An Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursement Form is available ; please complete this form and submit it, along with any relevant receipts and documentation, for review by our corporate office. If they purchased independent vacation travel insurance, please submit a claim through their carrier before submitting a reimbursement request for denied or partially paid claims. Holland America Line understands and values the role our travel partners play in our success. Commission paid on paid-in-full bookings will not be recalled, and Future Cruise Credits are commissionable when applied to the cruise or Cruisetour fare of a new booking. Please do not cancel any affected bookings yourself through POLAR Online before our automated process runs, as this is necessary to protect commissions. Bookings cancelled outside of this process will not have commission protected.   Refunds will be processed early next week and should be credited to accounts within 10 to 15 business days. No further action is required, and please note the timing of the visibility of the funds is dependent upon your financial institution's internal process. We anticipate your clients will have their Future Cruise Credits applied to the Mariner Accounts by Wednesday, June 15. Should you have any questions please reach out to us at the appropriate office.

19 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

I would visit Ravenna.  Lot’s of history.   
 

 

I agree, beautiful mosaics.

1 minute ago, Gray Lady said:

Positive cases are up on land, so it follows that cases will go up on ships. We leave in less than three weeks and are being cautious to not pick it up beforehand. I notice HAL has said nothing about mask wearing while on the land tour. Has anyone talked about this? Has anyone worn a mask on land and still picked up the virus? Wondering what other mitigations could help???

Have not heard anything about masks. We will probably wear masks on the buses.  Masks are not bulletproof protection but they do help, particularly a N95.

So I just read the thread on offers (bad offers I should say) to passengers to delay their sailings on Alaska land/sea tours.  This got me thinking.  HAL apparently has reintroduced capacity limits and now introduced pre-land tour testing.  My conclusion or guess is that they are having trouble with Covid and hoping to mitigate the risk through these two measures.  Makes me a little nervous about what we are sailing into.

6 minutes ago, Gray Lady said:

Yes, I was wondering the same thing. We leave on Saturday, but Sunday was the “official” arrival day. First tour starts  Monday. Which day do they count from?

Good question. I don’t know the answer.  
 

I am guessing it is two days before your free night, in your case Sunday.  That is the “start of your tour”.

3 minutes ago, LJProk said:

So now I wonder if we need to test before leaving town tomorrow to join the land portion on Thursday . . .

I would think they would have sent you a similar notice if they were requiring testing for your trip.

10 minutes ago, Sebbiesgrammy said:

Thanks so much for starting this thread.  You think HAL read our posts and made this sensible decision?  I feel better about this trip now 😃

I actually do as well!

Both the Vancouver airport and the departure hotel HAL is using have testing facilities and accept appointments.  The airport facility was $85 and the hotel (which is having a sale) was $58. This compares to our test in March in the Lisbon airport which was 25 euros.  Our cost for testing for this cruise is $286 for the two of us.
 

I reiterate my position that HAL should be arranging this for the convenience of the passengers if they want to encourage more people to cruise.  Our only post Covid cruise so far on another line had free at the pier testing (Miami).   You just showed up and were tested.  Took ten minutes. 

Well we just received notice from HAL that a negative test IS required prior to the land portion of our trip in mid-June.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION
Please be advised that we have implemented a new requirement and cruisetour guests 2 years of age or older must now produce a negative COVID-19 test at the start of their pre-cruise land tour. The test must be medically observed and
can be an antigen test taken within two days of the start of your tour or a PCR test taken within three days of the start of your tour. You will not be able to
begin your cruisetour without proof of a negative COVID-19 test. At-home medically observed antigen tests  are allowed.

Well we just received notice from HAL that a negative test IS required prior to the land portion of our trip in mid-June.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION
Please be advised that we have implemented a new requirement and cruisetour guests 2 years of age or older must now produce a negative COVID-19 test at the start of their pre-cruise land tour. The test must be medically observed and
can be an antigen test taken within two days of the start of your tour or a PCR test taken within three days of the start of your tour. You will not be able to
begin your cruisetour without proof of a negative COVID-19 test. At-home medically observed antigen tests such as https://*****/optumtest are allowed.

Here are some pictures of VP

We have been to the Falklands four times and never seen a cruise ship docked.  It’s a tender with a fairly long ride to the dock.  Of our four visits, we have landed three out of four.  If you go, try and go to Volunteer Point.  It’s a two hour ride across the tundra (each way) and then more penguins (including king penguins) then I have seen outside of Antarctica and here you can get within feet of them.  There is a local guy named Patrick Watts who runs the tours, there not cheap, maybe $100/pp but well worth it.  The tundra ride is lots of fun as well.