Holland American Cruises: Buyer Beware You're Not Booking with Certainty for anything

[CharlieOnTheWaves]

Folks,

I consider myself a pretty experienced cruiser. And I have gone on a number of lines. I have had now three instances of booking a cruise on Holland America and then having them cancel the cruise subsequently. Once a second leg of a cruise back to back was cancelled and I had to stumble on this fact. Then without much apology got rebooked to a completely different destination.

Then booked a So American cruise on board a HA future cruise desk... Same deal about six months later, they pulled that itinerary for that date. Same thing... No direct contact to me just indirectly through my agent. No apologies, no sweeteners for make up... just an arrogant attitude of 'so what'!!

The final straw just happened. I booked a year and three quarters ahead a Prinsendam cruise for Aug of 2019. They sold the ship. They sent an email to the agent. Nothing to me.

But today and email with a new booking #. Because my agent gave me a heads up, I knew what was happening. But absolutely no where did they admit to a switch to the Rotterdam. Again, no apologies, no acknowledgement, no nothing to me directly other than a new booking ID.

Beyond arrogant! The original cruise was a more expensive price point because of the smaller ship. They know that and there has been no contact to adjust the pricing to the new cruise. No additional benefits for the the inconvenience/disappointment of the change. And the room assignment which had been the aft vista rooms at the end of the ship... I'm now placed into the center of the port side.

So... Caution to all. I wouldn't book again with them ever. I would suggest that customer service is much more attentive on Celebrity which I am rebooking to now.

Do not use them. With this attitude, it doesn't bode well for the chances you take if you get in the way of any of their corporate plans.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Folks,

I consider myself a pretty experienced cruiser. And I have gone on a number of lines. I have had now three instances of booking a cruise on Holland America and then having them cancel the cruise subsequently. Once a second leg of a cruise back to back was cancelled and I had to stumble on this fact. Then without much apology got rebooked to a completely different destination.

Then booked a So American cruise on board a HA future cruise desk... Same deal about six months later, they pulled that itinerary for that date. Same thing... No direct contact to me just indirectly through my agent. No apologies, no sweeteners for make up... just an arrogant attitude of 'so what'!!

The final straw just happened. I booked a year and three quarters ahead a Prinsendam cruise for Aug of 2019. They sold the ship. They sent an email to the agent. Nothing to me.

But today and email with a new booking #. Because my agent gave me a heads up, I knew what was happening. But absolutely no where did they admit to a switch to the Rotterdam. Again, no apologies, no acknowledgement, no nothing to me directly other than a new booking ID.

Beyond arrogant! The original cruise was a more expensive price point because of the smaller ship. They know that and there has been no contact to adjust the pricing to the new cruise. No additional benefits for the the inconvenience/disappointment of the change. And the room assignment which had been the aft vista rooms at the end of the ship... I'm now placed into the center of the port side.

So... Caution to all. I wouldn't book again with them ever. I would suggest that customer service is much more attentive on Celebrity which I am rebooking to now.

Do not use them. With this attitude, it doesn't bode well for the chances you take if you get in the way of any of their corporate plans.

 

You need to be pro active! Same thing for us on a cruise 2020 out of our home town San Diego. Received an email and a call from my PCC from HAL. Awesome in regards to the fact they realized our suite which was booked was not the same on Rotterdam and we received an upgrade.

This was a first for us also with 12 HAL cruises. Sorry things did not work out for you. I made sure that our cabin would not change.

Denise 😃

[JimnKaren]

Letter to Orlando. State what happened and see what someone in his office can/will do for you.

 

 

We still have not received 'official' notification that our Rotterdam cruise for next September was canceled. However, others on the roll call did get a notice. Nothing to me or my TA. I am really bummed about the lack of official communication on something like this.

 

 

Jim

[MisterBill99]

When you book with a travel agent, all communications are supposed to be through them. While your complaints about your sailings being canceled are valid, complaining that HAL did not contact you directly is not.

 

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[Vict0riann]

Same thing happened to us for our Prinsendam cruise in August 2019. Just notification we were switched to the Rotterdam. We also had major itinerary changes to another Prinsendam cruise (when they removed all Turkey and Black Sea ports) a couple of years ago. That said, we have cancelled on them, too, and they didn't fuss!:cool:

 

I think it is all part of what happens in life!

[iceman93]

Just like MisterBill99 said, if you're not getting contacted about these changes then blame your travel agent, not HAL.

[Fouremco]

Our very first HAL cruise was a b2b for which they cancelled the first leg. Fortunately, we were able to secure the same cabin at the same price when booking the same cruise, but now as the second leg. No apologies, no OBC or anything else thrown our way. Luckily, we've not run into that problem again. I don't know if HAL cancels any more cruises than Celebrity, where the problem seems to arise from whole ship charters being sold to organizations well after individual passengers have already booked, but as you've been burned by HAL three times, I don't blame you for not booking again.

[OlsSalt]

Rule of thumb - when booking more than a year in advance is it reasonable to expect absolutely no changes? No excuses for not handling this better, but the risk is entered into up front when booking that far in advance for anything.

 

We just had our flight departure time to FLL materially changed for the third time by Alaska airlines and we only booked it a few months a go. Looks like a lot of the "hospitality" industry is getting further and further removed from the paying customers themselves, which is not a good business plan. But only when we start voting with our feet. We are now only minor league cogs in a vast electronic squirrel cage.

 

Many of us are looking for the best deal for the lowest price and we get what we are looking for more often than not. But rarely do we ever get 100% personal service for our hot dog prices.

[MisterBill99]

Just like MisterBill99 said, if you're not getting contacted about these changes then blame your travel agent, not HAL.

It appears their main complaint is not being contacted personally by HAL more than the lack of timely notification.

 

As for switching to Celebrity, the OP will find that they also regularly cancel cruises for charters, and I doubt they'll contact them directly when it happens, either.

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

While I feel the pain of the OP, as I have had cruises cancelled (due to charters), this kind of situation happens on EVERY SINGLE CRUISE LINE. Ships get sold, drydock schedules are adjusted, deployment plans change, charters happen. It's part of the industry for schedules to be disrupted. How they handle it is what ultimately matters. It seems increasingly, with all the lines, that the attitude is take the new new offer or leave it - too bad so sad.

[OVgirl]

Folks,

I consider myself a pretty experienced cruiser. And I have gone on a number of lines. I have had now three instances of booking a cruise on Holland America and then having them cancel the cruise subsequently. Once a second leg of a cruise back to back was cancelled and I had to stumble on this fact. Then without much apology got rebooked to a completely different destination.

Then booked a So American cruise on board a HA future cruise desk... Same deal about six months later, they pulled that itinerary for that date. Same thing... No direct contact to me just indirectly through my agent. No apologies, no sweeteners for make up... just an arrogant attitude of 'so what'!!

The final straw just happened. I booked a year and three quarters ahead a Prinsendam cruise for Aug of 2019. They sold the ship. They sent an email to the agent. Nothing to me.

But today and email with a new booking #. Because my agent gave me a heads up, I knew what was happening. But absolutely no where did they admit to a switch to the Rotterdam. Again, no apologies, no acknowledgement, no nothing to me directly other than a new booking ID.

Beyond arrogant! The original cruise was a more expensive price point because of the smaller ship. They know that and there has been no contact to adjust the pricing to the new cruise. No additional benefits for the the inconvenience/disappointment of the change. And the room assignment which had been the aft vista rooms at the end of the ship... I'm now placed into the center of the port side.

So... Caution to all. I wouldn't book again with them ever. I would suggest that customer service is much more attentive on Celebrity which I am rebooking to now.

Do not use them. With this attitude, it doesn't bode well for the chances you take if you get in the way of any of their corporate plans.

 

From a number of posts regarding the redeployment of cruises due to the sale of Prinsendam, the email notifications (which your TA got and not to you directly) had instructions about the different options going forward. With a replacement cruise and how pricing might be affected. Perhaps you might want to contact your TA and have them forward the original email that Holland America sent to them.

And of course, if you prefer to have any direct communications with the cruiseline, you would have to book directly with them.

We've had a lot of cruises cancelled because of charters. It actually took me 3 tries/years to get a cruise on Koningsdam for a preferred week in February because of 2 cancellations in 2 years. I know I could have taken other dates, but I just kept booking until it all worked out.

 

Hope you can find a cruise to replace this one. Smooth sailing.

[Sopwith]

A word to the wise: when you book any kind of travel through a TA or an OLTA you don’t exist. The service provider will not deal with you directly unless something requires them to after you have checked in. If you don’t want an agent standing between you and the provider you need to book direct.

[kazu]

While I feel the pain of the OP, as I have had cruises cancelled (due to charters), this kind of situation happens on EVERY SINGLE CRUISE LINE. Ships get sold, drydock schedules are adjusted, deployment plans change, charters happen. It's part of the industry for schedules to be disrupted. How they handle it is what ultimately matters. It seems increasingly, with all the lines, that the attitude is take the new new offer or leave it - too bad so sad.

 

I agree. I feel for the OP too and especially since this is the 3rd time :(. I don't blame them for their angst at all.

 

But, at least, the cancellation is with nearly a year's notice and no one would have flights booked at this stage of the game.

 

That's the only silver lining I can find in this whole affair.

[cruzn single]

If you want direct interaction from any travel provider, then book the cruise, flight, hotel, rental car, etc. yourself. The provider has to contact travel agent if that is the person making the booking!

[cbr663]

I would certainly be as frustrated as the OP. It shouldn't be that difficult for anyone to take a cruise. For the OP, HAL has become unreliable and I understand the desire to look elsewhere. I would also.

[DaveOKC]

To the OP - sounds like HAL has it out for you! Three cancellations is alot - we have taken 20 plus cruises on HAL without a single one. I have had many cancellations/changes on airlines, but not on a cruiseline. Of course, the further out you book the more likely it is to happen.

 

I wish you better luck on your next favorite line..

 

 

By the way - welcome to Cruise Critic (I see that you are a new poster).

[JimnKaren]

I told my TA about the situation with our Rotterdam cruise (based on info on CC). She had not received any notification about any changes.

 

What also puzzles me is that I can still see my reservation when I log onto the HAL site. It's like someone in the office in Seattle knows more than other people and the information is not getting anywhere efficiently.

 

I am afraid that Orlando will get yet another letter from me about the way things are done under his administration.

 

Jim

[shrimp56]

We had our Rotterdam Sept 3 cruise canceled. My complaint isn't with the cancellation per se, but the backasswards way they handled the timing of the letter to the TAs in relation to the lack of schedule updates on the website.schedule.

 

We took our first Princess cruise last April on Diamond Princess in Japan. The ship was too big. Unloading the ship at a port took too long. Some things were better than HAL, some were not, but I was impressed in general with their communication after the booking. Princess knows who they are and executes their vision well on land as well as onboard. HAL hasn't a clue who it is anymore. Poor communication, and inconsistent messages wear one down.

 

If we weren't 4 star, as much as we love our Dutch ships, we would have bailed before. Our next 2 cruises are on HAL (Zaandam and Prinsendam), but then our next two are on Princess: A return to Japan with a DiaPrin cruise and, after the miserable OBC offer from HAL, we have replaced the canceled Rotterdam cruise with a July Sapphire Princess one that has a better itinerary for us.

[sail7seas]

Folks,

I consider myself a pretty experienced cruiser. And I have gone on a number of lines. I have had now three instances of booking a cruise on Holland America and then having them cancel the cruise subsequently. Once a second leg of a cruise back to back was cancelled and I had to stumble on this fact. Then without much apology got rebooked to a completely different destination.

Then booked a So American cruise on board a HA future cruise desk... Same deal about six months later, they pulled that itinerary for that date. Same thing... No direct contact to me just indirectly through my agent. No apologies, no sweeteners for make up... just an arrogant attitude of 'so what'!!

The final straw just happened. I booked a year and three quarters ahead a Prinsendam cruise for Aug of 2019. They sold the ship. They sent an email to the agent. Nothing to me.

But today and email with a new booking #. Because my agent gave me a heads up, I knew what was happening. But absolutely no where did they admit to a switch to the Rotterdam. Again, no apologies, no acknowledgement, no nothing to me directly other than a new booking ID.

Beyond arrogant! The original cruise was a more expensive price point because of the smaller ship. They know that and there has been no contact to adjust the pricing to the new cruise. No additional benefits for the the inconvenience/disappointment of the change. And the room assignment which had been the aft vista rooms at the end of the ship... I'm now placed into the center of the port side.

So... Caution to all. I wouldn't book again with them ever. I would suggest that customer service is much more attentive on Celebrity which I am rebooking to now.

Do not use them. With this attitude, it doesn't bode well for the chances you take if you get in the way of any of their corporate plans.

 

Most cruise lines have the same policy as to direct interaction with booked guests s. IF you use a TA ., all communication must go t hrough them, The Travel AGENT is your Agent ;) Sorry for the disappointments you have had with HAL cruises you have booked. YEt, thus far , you continue to book Hope you are happy with Princess , "X"

Edited July 4, 2018 by sail7seas

[Harry1954]

Cruise lines are a business. Sometimes a situation arises where an opportunity to do something good for the stockholder occurs ... assuredly the powers to be would weigh the impact on their consumers and then act prudently. This is probably one of those cases. We have known for years that Prinsendam was the ugly duckling of the fleet .. but we loved it and went on it often, knowing it would be pulled some day. Sorry you were affected, but it was not without warning for years.

harry

[CineGraphic]

Princess once cancelled a cruise we were booked on "due to redeployment", they gave everyone affected $25obc.

[knittinggirl]

You need to be pro active! Same thing for us on a cruise 2020 out of our home town San Diego. Received an email and a call from my PCC from HAL. Awesome in regards to the fact they realized our suite which was booked was not the same on Rotterdam and we received an upgrade.

 

This was a first for us also with 12 HAL cruises. Sorry things did not work out for you. I made sure that our cabin would not change.

 

Denise [emoji2]

 

 

 

Is this the Incan empires in February on volendam? I have phone messages And emails, but no answers. I have two cruises i think will be cancelled and the TA told me they’re still there. That maybe because they WILL BE cancelled.

 

 

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[ithaca gal]

Most cruise lines have the same policy as to direct interaction with booked guests s. IF you use a TA ., all communication must go t hrough them, The Travel AGENT is your Agent ;) Sorry for the disappointments you have had with HAL cruises you have booked. YEt, thus far , you continue to book Hope you are happy with Princess , "X"

 

Several of us booked the September Iceland cruise on the Rotterdam through a TA and had to find out HERE that it has been cancelled. Our TAs have not received notification YET from HAL. I'm beyond disgusted with HAL for how they are handling the situation and the non-existent communication for some passengers/TAs.

[triplestar]

Here in New Zealand it was exactly the same. I learnt of the cancellation of 3rd September cruise via the roll all, but as it was still showing on my account I phoned my travel agent. He had had no notification from Holland America. Once he contacted them & told them it was a pretty poor show that he had not received any notification, they sent him the details which he forwarded to me. I sat on the info for 2 days then cancelled my booking. Now we just await to see how long it takes HAL to give the refund. I live in hope that they may repeat the itinerary next year.

[knittinggirl]

Several of us booked the September Iceland cruise on the Rotterdam through a TA and had to find out HERE that it has been cancelled. Our TAs have not received notification YET from HAL. I'm beyond disgusted with HAL for how they are handling the situation and the non-existent communication for some passengers/TAs.

 

 

 

My TA emailed, and said HAL said our bookings were ok. Also said to wait until Monday. royal Caribbean strung us along for months after the cruise disappeared from the sales page. They finally announced and made the offer the week of Thanksgiving;g with a two week deadline. I hope HAL does better.

 

 

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