cruiseing marly

On 3/9/2020 at 11:35 AM, The Beaver said:

I am still hoping to go on  May 10th and will wait for " the drop dead date" of March 31st to recoup the cancellation fee to decide whether to cancel or not.

That still 60 days there is at least a chance it may be over in that region by then.

8 hours ago, iancal said:

HAL’s performance on the Westerdam fiasco would certainly give me concern....from a decision making process through to the customer communications. 
 

Hopefully there will be an improvement in both.

Were you booked on one of the westerdam cruises. I thought they did a pretty good with our cancelation . I didn’t think they caused any of the fiasco. The virus is going to cost the travel industry 100's of billion's dollars. Lets just hope it is controlled soon.

1 hour ago, suec12 said:

On the May 15 Zuiderdam roll call near the end is a post that seems to say HALis not using flights in (or out?) of Italy thru May 31st? We are supposed to depart Venice May 15 - so now what? It would be nice to get more info about how the cruise may move forward at the same time we are informed that evidently, we will not be departing Venice.

Its still a long way out if required HAL will change the departure port .  Lets hope its under control by then and travel is not restricted by then . If it isn’t we have lots to worry about . Our flight is booked May 10 Venice to Frankfurt then home. Will not be taking that flight if the cruise ship is not going to Venice . You still have to worry about were its starting from . Spain is also a worry thats were ours begins . Would really prefer everything just goes the way its supposed to not promising right now.

Like all the travel stocks it will go up when the fear of travel goes down. Lots of money will be made for those with money to invest.

18 minutes ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

On our 24-day European cruise last summer we took a $199/pp upgrade from VE to SS. We were able to chose a cabin (i.e. not a guarantee) and we received double days.

 

😎We both agreed the upgrade was well worth the extra money we paid.

That was a really good deal!!

9 hours ago, oakridger said:

Really what you get is about 50% more space and the bathroom has two sinks and a full shower/tub plus another shower.  The verandah is larger too.  No other perks since an upgrade doesn't get double Mariner points.  Same room service menu as a veranda.  I love Signature Suites!!!!

 

If you want it, don't wait to respond!

~Nancy

 

 

Pretty sure a paid upgrade gets double days for a suite. The comp upgrade does not.

9 minutes ago, bcummin said:

I am trying to understand the situations between the Westerdam and the Diamond Princess.

Diamond Princess had COVID-19 that spread like wildfire during their "quarantine."

Only one Westerdam passenger has tested positive, and that was in Malaysia.

The simple explanation is that  either Holland America deserves far more credit than is being given, or the contagious virus was not onboard the Westerdam.  But the truth may be more complex.

Barbara

 

(P.S. My heart is still questioning the diagnosis in Malaysia.

And my heart is thankful that HAL President Orlando Ashford has been in Cambodia)

I do agree the Malaysia case of the virus doesn’t make a lot of sense with how spreadable this is . 

16 minutes ago, freetalkfreelaugh said:

You order your groceries on line and they deliver to your house and leave them at the front door. You should not go grocery shopping and if you need anything Amazon will deliver everything to your house. 

You could also ask friends os family to stock your living Quarters . We cannot let this get out of control !! have someone bring a car to the Airport to drive home in . Avoiding contact as much as possible with others on your trip back.

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, dillpickle48 said:

From what I know of Australians who have returned from the Westerdam,  local news has reported that they are at home in self isolation.  Don't know exactly what this means.  Someone must be making sure they have food etc. No indication as to passengers who were on the same plane or came in contact with them at the airport or further transportation.  Seems a bit of a mess.

There a lots of people in  self isolation were i live . People arriving from China have been  typically self quarantined for 14 days. They talked to one one the radio two days ago. His wife and daughter drove to the air port in two cars. He took one home they went to relatives. His wife  had  made frozen meals for his next 14 days . His neighbours are leaving any other needs on his door step. then calling him to advise him its there. Thats how responsible handle the situation . That is being done by over 100 returning from China the last few weeks.

35 minutes ago, BarbarianPaul said:

My heart goes out to all the passengers stuck in Cambodia, and it sounds like there’s a lot of them. What bothers me the most is that HAL is not staying in contact, and seems to have washed their hands of any further responsibility once they got folks off the ship as fast as possible. But maybe it’s not true. Does anyone know if HAL has offered to assist stranded passengers? Who’s paying for their hotels?

 

And why does it seem that HAL is all alone in this mess, other than, of course, the Diamond Princess? Wasn’t the Crystal Serenity facing some challenges? Not sure, but I think the Seabourn Ovation was supposed to be in Hong Kong the same day as the Westerdam on Feb. 1. How did they avoid this? Or did they bypass Hong Kong?

I read the were having 50 dollars food paid for a day have no idea how far that goes in a Cambodian 5 star hotel. I was making the assumption HAL was also was paying the  hotel but not sure.

1 hour ago, SoFla_KJ said:

I’ve been following HAL’s updates on Facebook and I came on here to see what the comments were like. I wonder if HAL is deleting negative comments because I’ve noticed overwhelming positive responsive that don’t seem to grasp the negative news constantly surrounding this. I woke up to a New York Times news alert about the confirmed passenger and every comment on HAL’s Facebook is “good job” or “thanks” or something similar. It honestly feels like fake comments since every posts responses are like that. I know they probably aren’t, but the negative ones are probably removed. 

I don’t  think their have been that many negative posts on cruise critic . Holland America's Facebook page is designed as a positive forum.They outline that when you join. There is enough negative about this health event other places. Lots of positive comments here as well. 

I read facebook posts that are saying the Westerdam passengers are not being accepted by some airports and being sent back to Cambodia . I was wondering why they were didn't charter planes to the main destinations . Then those countries would had the option to quarantine them if appropriate . Thats what would have made the most sense to me. Or they could have Quarantined them on the ship . 

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

It’s been published on Bloomberg News - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-15/american-passenger-on-westerdam-cruise-contracted-coronavirus

Why is the testing period so much different in Malaysia than in Japan. And in the rest of the world. I do think the wording the press should be using is suspected case!! The  science does not seem  to be appropriate . Im hoping they are wrong with their diagnoses . Other wise this well speed up the spreed !!

15 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have little interest in a FCC as we choose to cruise on many different lines.  When it comes to the 4/11 cruise, we would be very happy if it did happen.  But we simply want HAL to make a decision about the Asian cruises and make that decision soon.  If Japan is unwilling to open up its ports then HAL will have no choice but to cancel all the Asian cruises and relocate the Westy.  That sucks for both HAL and all the passengers, but without the Japanese ports there is no reason to keep the ship in the Far East.  If HAL cannot operate those cruises they would have little choice but to simply refund everyone's money unless some folks would be willing to accept a FCC.  But taking a 100 percent FCC makes little sense when compared to a refund.

 

Hank

Its been my experience that if they cancel its either a refund or a 125% credit on anther cruise . They canceled Egypt the offer the gave to us was attractive enough to book a different cruise. They do not want to give up the money so they work hard to get you on a comparable .i noticed a cruise that has a couple of Israeli ports. Thats on our bucket list as well no Egypt though.

7 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Your post is a bit depressing.  HAL is still selling berths on your cruise as thought everything is normal.  It is very interesting  that nobody has contacted you about changing your flights.  And assuming you booked via EZAIr we know that you would not normally be able to go into your own account and change your flights which likely do not even exist since many airlines have suspended or significantly reduced their flights into China.  We are really puzzled as to why HAL is waiting so long to either cancel all their Asian cruises or at least announce some kind of alternative.  

 

Hank

P.S.  We are booked on the 4/11 Westy cruise and have not received any kind of guidance from HAL.  They do have a special phone number listed on the web site, but one suspects that calling them would not get any answers other then "we are reviewing our options.

 

Hank

We are booked on that cruise as well. Holland America is really hoping to be able to have us with them. If Japan gives the Okay it will happen. If it cant be done it will be the fault of the Virus. I bought insurance on the cruise . Also on the flight i don't usually do that .I think it will take at least two more weeks before it is announced .Was really looking forward to it we were going all the way to Vancouver. Not sure if there will be a cruise we want to change to in April . Its really hard to be patient .

26 minutes ago, rich_cathybrock said:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5074/ - Interesting. 

 

The only update to the effect that Westerdam has conditional clearance to disembark appears to be on CC.  Nothing on HAL site and nothing else on news that I can see as of now.

 

Praying that these good people get safely and soundly back onto terra firma as soon as possible.  Anthem was cleared to sail earlier today too, as, I believe, was a Costa ship under suspicion last week, so remaining cautiously optimistic Coronavirus is isolated incident on Diamond Princess at this time.

 

My continued prayers go out to all who have been impacted by this horrible event.   

 

In HAL website

50 minutes ago, Level six said:

So Actually, I did just not show up.  I say cancel, but I was a no show

I would contact HAL through my agent. They may do something for you if you did it to avoid health complications. Also getting to Hong Kong instead should be enough for a refund.

28 minutes ago, bobnatt said:

This is a situation that is truly an act of god and the cruise lines should be more concerned about their reputation rather then their internal rules or next quarters earning report.  This is what should be done for this on the cruise now: 1. Full refund (not credit) 2. FCC credit for the same level cabin for any cruise in the next two or three years 3. Full payment for the air fares and hotels  and 4. an inconvenience fee for an amount which I would peg as $10,000. They shouldn't worry about precedent as this is a once in a lifetime situation.

I thought HAL gave a fair compensation. I quite sure a lot of people would have been really mad if they decided not to let them board in Hong Kong . They would have had to remove the 600 that were to stay on board.  There was no answer that would pleased all their patrons. I would not have been happy with the outcome of our trip but blaming them is just wrong !!!!

6 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Yes.  So from HAL's announcement about the Feb 29 departure from Japan, it seems like they've decided to muddle through on a cruise-by-cruise basis.  At least that's my interpretation.  Maybe others see something different?

Agreed looks like they will cancel one cruise at a time. I'm not sure what they can do other than that. Its a tough situation if they cancel all the cruises tell Vancouver and Japan opens there port as they are affected with the virus ,that will also upset people. Right now there damed with do and damed if they don't.

1 hour ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

 

So how far away would a port be that they had to travel at 21 knots to get there next week? I guess it's impossible to say, since "next week" could mean anything from Sunday 2/9 to Saturday 2/15.

 

Assuming (with no basis at all) the middle of next week that would be 4 days. Assuming, (also with no basis) a steady 21 knots that would be perhaps 2000 nautical miles (give our take 1000 nm, depending on whether they arrive Wed, Mon, or Fri, making this whole exercise futile. And yet I persist!)

 

They are currently off the west coast of Luzon, heading southwest. So it's looks like it's heading for the Singapore or through the Straits of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, since per vesselfinder that seems to be the route being taken by the vast majority of ships on that course and location. Singapore could be plausible. I'm guessing they're maybe 1000 nm, or 2 days at 21 knots, away so that would be next week. Kuala Lumpur of Phuket in Thailand, slightly farther. I suppose I can't rule out Bangkok either, that's on the same general heading. Yungun in Myanmar.

 

Much further than that and you're crossing the Bay of Bengal. The closest port on the west side of that bay may be Columbo, Sri Lanka, which would take about 6 days to get to. Since that would still be next week I suppose that and perhaps Madras, India would be about the farthest away they might be heading, based on my numerous dubious assumptions.

I think that running at that speed is required for Maximum water production. Going a slow speed they have to buy shore water.

If suite is in the category name (vista suite) you'll pay the HSC for a suite.

I agree that is what the email said 13.50 for inside ocean and veranda 15.00 for suites no mention of type of suite .

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I was not aware of this. But, I have no problem with this increase. HAL's staff is deserving of very bit of the service charge that we pay in my opinion.

 

Inflation in the U. S? Yes. Why would we not expect inflation in the Philippines and Indonesia as well? These good HAL crew members are working to support their families and to better themselves for the future.

I think it's well deserved as well we always tip extra . Some don't so we heartily approve as well !

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Sorry it was 13.50 and 15 dollars for suites .

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Received an email yesterday the service charge is raised to 15 dollars effective may 1st . Surprised no one appears to be talking about it .

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It is easy enough to turn any one smoking in ! I'm sure they would stop as it will get expensive !

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