eurolady

We were on the July 27 Jupiter cruise with pre and post stays in Reykjavik.  We used the same cabdriver for going from hotel to port, port to hotel and hotel to airport.  Our driver responded immediately to our texts and was always on time.  If you are looking for reliable transport in Iceland contact Marino Ellertsson at:    mogm1992atgmaildotcom.   

3 hours ago, vslparis said:

I was told that they are using our daily saliva test results today ( Friday , so last day before disembarkation ) as the one which will we provide to the airlines for our return. We will get paperwork that confirms that the test was negative and we will present that paperwork to the airline.  According to the attestation form - “ the test was a viral test that was conducted on a specimen collected from me during the 3 calendar days proceeding the flight’s departure “. That means if the test is done today, then it will be good for a departure on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Based on your days, I would say that you are good to go on Thursday as long as your test is done  no earlier than on Monday  . That is what is in place right now; not sure when you are going so keep an eye on that. Your airline should have something about this in their requirements to fly back to the US .

Thank you for your reply.... it's appreciated.

? What is the date on the Covid test the ship provides for return to the US? Our sailing arrives back in Reykjavik on a Tuesday, but our flight departure is 2 days later on Thursday. 

Well here is the downside to Flight Ease....I am scheduled to depart on Feb. 29 on the Westerdam that is now trying to find a port in Asia....any port to take her.  If I cancel I cannot get the Business Air Flight $ that I paid for my flights back.  This is inspite of the fact that my flights were fully refundable by the airline due to the coronavirus crisis in Asia.  If I had booked these flights on my own I would have my $ (which is 2/3 of the cost of the trip) 100% refunded or at the very least been charged a rebooking fee and able to use the rest within a year......I will never use flight ease again with HAL.

6 minutes ago, jabcruiser said:

You are communicating with the wrong people.  They have no decision making power.  Personally I would present my case in a calm and rational statement to someone who can make a final decision:  OAshford@hollandamerica.com

He knows they did wrong. See what happens. Certainly can't hurt and at least you will know you went to the top.  Also, I agree to spread the word throughout all your social media contacts, local TV consumer reporters, etc.

Jane

Thank you Jane for your input.....I did not mention the emails that have gone unanswered!

I have spoken to HAL's hotline twice a day....each time I call I get a different person and a different response...most are clueless (hangup and callback if you get anyone named Annie😲)....each time there is a different answer to the same questions or the conditions are a different rendition....nothing is offered in writing....almost all calls require hold time while the person on the line goes back to a supervisor.    I am shocked at the lack of and quality of customer service displayed. 

49 minutes ago, eurolady said:

It is unconscionable that HAL has yet to make a decision on our Feb.29 sailing.😱

Just received an upgrade offer for this sailing LOL😂....HAL is really out of touch with reality.😠

It is unconscionable that HAL has yet to make a decision on our Feb.29 sailing.😱

What about the Feb. 29 sailing?  Who in their right mind would want to be on this ship and where in the world will they be allowed to go?  HAL needs to take the Westerdam for a time out, scrub it from stem to stern and redeploy it to a safer venue.

bump

This should be sent out to all the news media...they have the resources to verify and there is a story here somewhere:

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/01/articles/disease/coronavirus-celebrity-holland-america-line-and-seabourn-cruises-refuse-to-cancel-or-refund-cruises-to-china/

Based on the response I got from HAL from the 3 people I spoke to....they are clueless....or just maybe money grabbing.

But it on Amazon for $160

Thank you for your response....Do you happen to recall the name of the taxi company that left you by the wayside?

We are on a HAL ship docking at 8PM on a Saturday evening in Oct. We would like to take a flight out at 11:30PM on Hawaiian Airlines. We are looking for advice on a reliable taxi/transfer service that would pick us up and take us to the airport. Is there anyone out there with some experience with this and a recommendation? ....much appreciated.

My wife and I did a very similar cruise on P&O last year and travelled in March. We didn't stop in Bodø or Narvik but did stop in Åndalsnes, Tromsø and Alta. We should also have stopped in Stavanger but high winds in Alta delayed our departure by about 18-20 hours making it impossible to make up the time. Temperatures in Alta, the most northerly port, can range from -25°C in January to a balmy 0°C in March, so layers are the order of the day. The Northern Lights themselves can be very fickle - we saw them from the ship on our first night in Alta and faintly the second night (we opted not to buy the expensive excursion which would take you to a secluded spot inland and hopefully better viewing possibilities). The main problems are cloud, light pollution and Northern Lights that are much fainter in reality than the vivid pics that you see online. We count ourselves very lucky to have seen the lights - a friend who did a similar cruise on a different line the year before saw nothing. If you want a flavour of what to expect, some photos can be found on my Flickr account here.

I "liberated" myself from my PCC....she provided no value added and was harder to contact than the regular reps who generally were more helpful.

Yippee, going through some old boxes in the garbage this morning I found my Yellow Fever vaccine certificate .... from Jan 1969!

 

Amazon - Prinsendam, here I come....next year. Thank you CDC for your new one shot lifetime recommendation.

We are in the same situation....my husband also has his old army certificate....he is now 71 and without a spleen and a doctor that absolutely refused to provide a waiver letter. (We are pursuing looking for another doctor) Last year we booked and cancelled a HAL cruise over this after receiving the following from HAL:

"Guests must consult their physician to determine whether he or she believes they have a condition which would prevent them from receiving the Yellow Fever vaccination. If that is their conclusion, guest must obtain a signed letter, on their Doctor’s letterhead, stating their conclusion and the basis for it. Guest must have the original letter with them. All other guests must have original documentation showing they have been immunized within the preceding 10 years, preferably the “International Certificate of Immunization” booklet. Please note photocopies are not acceptable."

I know what the current CDC ruling is, but has this changed for HAL? I contacted them myself and even their own reps don't seem to know what the right answer is......my question is....do you have anything from HAL in writing that accepts the original yellow fever certificate from nearly 50 years ago? Really hoping that is the case.

I just read recently about another CC member wanting to stop using her PCC....for a lot of reasons I won't go into....I would like to do the same. My question is.....who do you contact at HAL to take care of it?

We were on the RP for a Baltic Cruise in an inside cabin.....could overhear the conversations of our neighbors clearly to the point we started whispering to keep our own privacy.....never experienced this on any other cruise.

To each their own. Always leave this junk in the cabin on departure......Personally I would prefer a couple drink coupons instead..

First of all the ship,the service and the food are all excellent. Love this small ship.

 

 

Princess Machu Picchu tour

I would not advise doing this tour through Princess .We had several problems and the cost was high,$2100.00 per person for a two night excursion.

 

1. No information was provided by Princess as to the schedule. When we asked,we were told we would find out at the hotel. Surely they could have communicated with the tour operator given us am idea of what was going to happen.They scheduled a passenger meeting but refused our request to have someone from the ship attend so we might get some information.

 

The first day we docked in Pisco and had to get up at 5:30 am. Little did we know there would be a 5 hour bus ride to Lima for the flight to Cusco. A box lunch was the only food provided and it was not very good. We arrived at the hotel around 6pm

 

The 5 star hotel,which was very nice served us a bowl of rice for dinner with no other options. I was so tired I just skipped this dinner after waiting one hour to be served.

 

The next day it was up at 5:30 am again for a 40 minute bus ride along with a 1.5 hour train ride. The another 40 minute bus ride. We spent 2.5 hours at the site. Back to the hotel and a somewhat better dinner although no vegetables or salad. Other diners in the restaurant had much better food than out group.

 

The day of the return to the ship,we had to get up at 3:30 am to board a 7am flight back to Lima.

 

Also there was supposed to be a Princess representative or nurse on this trip. We never saw this person nor did they introduce themselves

 

A written complaint while on the Ocean Princess generated a letter from Isabel Perez denying any partial refund

 

Do your self a favor and spend at least three days on this excursion and do not do it through Princess. Very Disappointing. Unlikely We will ever do any land add ons with Princess again if this is how they treat passengers.

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Oskidunker

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I took this same trip last year.......and I can confirm we had the same experience......many of those on the tour complained especially those that got sick from the cheap buffet that was billed as lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge and turned out to be lunch at a low cost cafeteria run by the lodge near the site entrance.....My advice is don't miss seeing MP just don't do it with Princess.

I would not advise doing this tour through Princess .We had several problems and the cost was high,$2100.00 per person for a two night excursion.

 

1. No information was provided by Princess as to the schedule. When we asked,we were told we would find out at the hotel. Surely they could have communicated with the tour operator given us am idea of what was going to happen.

 

The first day we docked in Pisco and had to get up at 5:30 am. Little did we know there would be a 5 hour bus ride to Lina for the flight to Cusco. A box lunch was the only food provided and it was not very good. We arrived at the hotel around 6pm

 

The 5 star hotel,which was very nice served us a bowl of rice for dinner with no other options. I was so tired I just skipped this dinner after waiting one hour to be served.

 

The next day it was up at 5:30 am again for a 40 minute bus ride along with a 1.5 hour train ride. The another 40 minute bus ride. We spent 2.5 hours at the site. Back to the hotel and a somewhat better dinner although no vegetables or salad. Other diners in the restaurant had much better food than out group.

 

The day of the return to the ship,we had to get up at 3:30 am to board a 7am flight back to Lima.

 

Also there was supposed to be a Princess representative or nurse on this trip. We never saw this person nor did they introduce themselves

 

A written complaint while on the Ocean Princess generated a letter from Isabel Perez denying any partial refund

 

Do your self a favor and spend at least three days on this excursion and do not do it through Princesd

I can reconfirm what was reported here....we had a similar experience last year....complained along with many others.....Princess obviously never listened.....go see this site....just don't do it with Princess.

We are new to MSC and are trying to figure out if the vouchers for drinks must be purchased prior to the cruise or we can purchase them once on board?

We are sailing the Fantasia in Feb. and are from the US....so all the prices we can see right now are in USD, but on the ship we will be billed in Euros. Do we prepay in USD, or is the price added to our shipboard account in Euros later....How does that work?

If we can wait, it appears that it would be a much better deal for us in euros, based on the looking at one of the websites for europe. MSC needs better info on their website LOL!