WishboneS

On 7/12/2022 at 5:15 PM, Gray Lady said:

Since we have never been through the canal, or been on any cruise ship, do you have a favorite or two you would recommend? We were supposed to go on the NA in Alaska. I am guessing the minimum cabin would be one with a balcony? 
As for testing, I am in complete agreement with our great blogger here: Total Testing Solutions is the absolute best way to go. You do it on your timeline, and they don’t end the call until the results are in your inbox. 

We did the Canal many years ago.  We did the old locks.  We have traveled on many different lines Everything has changed over the years.  Family requirements and what you like to do helps drive which cruises you may want to do.  We started cruising when we were young and had children, back then we looked for cruise lines that were more for younger crowds.  Being retired now we are branching out and we are finding we like Celebrity, Holland, and Princess.  Each has its positives and negatives.  Our favorite is Viking but they are a bit more expensive.  Princess and Celebrity have a good mix of age groups, Holland has been for the older crowd in our opinion.  Do your research and figure out what you want from your cruise, relaxation or party atmosphere etc....Price, and what type of accommodations you might need or want can drive your decisions as well.  We try to budget our money a bit so we usually do inside cabins but for Alaska and the Panama Canal I would defiantly book

a balcony cabin. We have done a Viking this year and a Princess cruise so far this year, Alaska cancelled with Holland.  Had two great cruises so far.  Hope this helps.  Safe travels to you.

14 hours ago, Gray Lady said:

That is fine with me! Maybe more people will be more cognizant of their behavior if that is required. 

Panama is a great cruise.  We want to go again in the future.  We want to do the new Locks.  I don't mind getting tested happy to do it.  I mind the inability of getting the test results in a timely manner, but that's a whole other saga for us.  I think Alaska is probably having bigger issues because its more secluded and the people have not had so many opportunities to get the virus and perhaps don't realize they are spreading it.  Hopefully next year will be a better year.  There are amazing deals out there for all cruises.  oh the decisions 🙂

Grey Lady,

Hope you are well and recovered.  Its been a strange couple of years for us all.  We took a cruise in January to Spain and had to wear a mask the entire trip and test daily.  Not our trip of a life time either,  We just have to go with the flow until it settles out a bit.  Hope your next trip is wonderful where ever it takes you.  

8 hours ago, ewildcat7 said:

 

When were you notified that your tour is cancelled; i.e. how many weeks before 10 July?  We are on the Triple Denali on 17 July and have not yet received a cancelation, but are bracing ourselves....

we were notified about 2 weeks before we were due to leave.   We had our money back with in 14 days and we have our cruise credits on account.  It took about 2 weeks more for the credit to appear on our account.  The whole trip was canceled even though the ship is still scheduled to sail.  We feel for us that we dodged the bullet, we were notified our flights were canceled and delayed which we would have been stressed.  We have a new grandson so we are good with the decision HAL made for us.  We will re-book for next year.  Safe travels to you if all goes well.  I would love to hear how your trip was if you are able to go.  

We were booked on the Triple Denali before our cruise on Holland Cruise sailing 7/10/22.  Our whole trip was canceled and refunded by Holland.  I read your experiences and am wondering if you might be able to let us know other than possible covid issues why they may have canceled?  The letter stated staffing issues.  It worked out for us and its not an issue since there have been other things that worked in our favor for not going but just wondering from your perspective if there were issues.  Just wondering,  Thanks

On 6/24/2022 at 2:54 PM, Btimmer said:

We're leaving Monday, 6/27 for a triple Denali starting 6/28, and I confirmed with my TA earlier this week that all is still a go.  So, we're ready to head on out early Monday morning.

We were canceled on this exact trip?  Let us know how it was We were notified 2 weeks ago and got our refund yesterday.  

43 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

We are on a land/sea HAL cruise that begins on 6/28 in Fairbanks.  I'm currently on the phone with my TA and there are no indications that anything has been cancelled.  On the HAL site, excursions in Denali can still be purchased. 

We were on the Y1L:18-day Yukon+Triple Denali I believe the issues only apply to certain itineraries.  The cruise is sailing.  you may be ok to go,  Lucky you:)

Copy and pasted below.  Maybe this will help?

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 on our website; 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.

H

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Unfortunately we have additional no refundable plans for this time period and booked our air with HAL.  If they cancel I need to make a back up plan 

can you call your travel agent and ask for assistance?  I read somewhere that if HAL made your plans for you,  to not adjust anything through your App or on the computer, they are lagging behind on applying the credits.  My travel agent was the one who sent us the notification on the cancelation.  We booked our entire trip thru Holland.  I asked her to double check our reservations since I was still getting emails about the trip.  She assured me that everything was cancelled.  I would call the line directly otherwise.   

On 6/18/2022 at 8:57 AM, Mary229 said:

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

yes,  full refund back to your credit card, and full cruise credit for amount of your cruise tour, $200 each onboard credit.  must use cruise credit by 12/23

On 6/18/2022 at 8:57 AM, Mary229 said:

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

We received it 2 weeks before.  We didn't have a problem with it since we were happy to hear this given all the news we were seeing about the trip.   We hadn't scheduled our covid tests, and hadn't started our long drive to the Airport its all good.  

On 6/17/2022 at 1:05 PM, LJProk said:

I know when we were there the HAL hotel in Denali was open to book separate from HAL cruises. We met a couple that were doing the Denali part on their own and a family that was staying there for 2 weeks separate from a cruise. So still people there, just not as many. I do wonder if Princess is doing the same as the resorts in Denali are side by side. Or are they moving most staff to Princess to fullfill those cruise land tours over HAL?

We were canceled too for the same date.  When they sent the letter saying we would have to wear masks we considered canceling on our own, glad we didn't.  We went on a cruise where we had to wear masks the whole voyage in January and it was miserable.  We will book again next year hopefully all the staffing issues and all the sickness will pass and we can live a healthy cruise.  Hope to see you next year.

Curious,  If you were driving to the ship would they let you drive home?  Hope you recover with out any issues.  Netflix has some great shows.  Happy Viewing.

Thank you everyone for your responses.  Keep us posted on any changes and I love the pictures.  We are booked on the 14 day Caribbean cruise that leaves on April 2.  We are hoping on not having to do a ton of paperwork and covid testing if not necessary.  It takes the fun out of going on shore.  We will continue to monitor the regulations since things are beginning to get better.  Safe travels and have a wonderful time The panama cruise was one of our favorites.  

Are the islands you are visiting allowing you off the ship with your vaccination card or have you had to do paperwork /fees and additional covid testing to visit?  Is the ship testing?  Is it suggested that we use Princess sponsored tours?  We went a cruise in Europe where we had do do "paperwork" for every country we entered, the ship (Viking) tested us daily so that was covered.  What are you experiencing?