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

[RocketMan275]

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.

 

Charlie, glad you posted this thread because it highlights the fact that few passengers ever take the time to read the cruise contracts. Essentially, all cruise lines have extremely similar contracts that allow them to change almost every aspect of the cruise. Here's just a portion of the Celebrity contract:

 

6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER:Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination,lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Carrier shall not be liable for anyclaim whatsoever by Passenger, including but not limited to loss, compensation or refund, by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement,substitution or deviation.

 

IOW, the Celebrity can change, without notice or consideration, the departure port, itinerary, activities, the ship, etc.

 

BTW, the contract for all the cruise lines are not significantly different.

[iancal]

No doubt all of the contracts are similar and all in very much in favour of the cruise lines. After all, it is their contract. Common carrier contract are seem to be very similar. And even if you want to pursue litigation or resolution the costs are prohibitive. Isn't great to be on the vendor side of a contract like this.

 

We would never expect communication on issues like this to come directly from the cruise line. Our TA is our agent and as such she represents us. We would expect data like cancellations to flow through her. Just as when we call a cruise line about an existing reservation we are asked if we book with a TA and if so to contact them.

Edited July 5, 2018 by iancal

[bUU]

No doubt the contracts are similar and all in very much in favour of cruise line. After all, it is their contract. Common carrier contract are seem to be very similar.

That is the nature of the mass market. Economies of scale; and limited promises that share risks rather than always taking the costs of all risks onto the carrier.

 

We would never expect communication on issues like this to come directly from the cruise line. Our TA is our agent and as such she represents us.

Test that. Ask your TA to sign something indicating she promises to act as your fiduciary in your transactions with carriers, resorts, etc. I bet she won't. Travel agents, like real estate agents, are agents of the seller, not of the buyer, unless they are explicitly buyers' agents. Generally, when they act on your benefit they are doing so because doing so actually benefits them, their agency and even the vendors, generally because of the (perhaps misplaced) trust it fosters and how that eventually can be parlayed into profit for that "other" side of the transactions.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

[knittinggirl]

We're considering ditching our agent. They've kept us hanging for days.

 

 

This and other stuff.

 

 

HAL said they were sending the letter, but still nothing from the agent.

[CJcruzer]

This is not a unique situation to HAL, although there are now a number of. cruises/ships affected due to the sale of Prinsendam.

 

4 years ago, booked a Celebrity Japan/China cruise, a year out. Two weeks later, cruise is chartered...moved booking to the next date, again that got chartered out. Finally the third and last cruise of the fall season for that itinerary stuck....was given OBC as "accept our apologies" . Unfortunately, Celelbrity handled this very poorly, I learned of the first cancellation through cruise critic. Celebrity issued a statement quite a few days later, with a separate toll free number to call, etc. When I called, not one of the customer reps knew anything about what I was talking about.

 

Quite a number of years ago I booked transpacific cruise with HAL, and received notification that the dates completely changed, they were sailing several weeks different from originally planned. I was offered OBC to rebook, with several sample itineraries mentioned.

 

So nonsense and miscommunication happens all across the board, on any or all cruise lines. not excusing it - just stating some facts.

 

I feel your pain, it is extremely frustrating.

[iancal]

Over the years we have had several communications relating to cruise come directly from out TA rather than the cruise line.

 

The latest was a fabulous Princess move over offer that came two months prior to departure. Our agent briefed us,suggested a few 'asks', then we got on a con call with the Princess rep. Essentially our TA ensured that we got the best offer possible for us and that we did not leave anything on the table so to speak.

 

The TA who arranged for our daughter's destination wedding went out of her way to resolve an issue with the resort. On site, their management refused to acknowledge the issue. After the event, at home, we raised the issue with our TA. A few days later we were surprised to have a resolution in our favour and along with the requested charge reversal. TA does a lot of wedding business with the property and used her contacts to speak to the right person.

[winddawn]

I agree with the others that if one books through a travel agent, the cruise line will not interact with that customer directly about that booking. All communications are sent to the travel agent whose job it is to keep you informed and assist you with that booking. The very definition of "agent" is someone who acts on behalf of another person or group. The customer makes that choice when they choose to book through an agent, so it is not appropriate to fault the cruise line for sending the communication to the agent instead of the passenger. In my cruising experience, I've never encountered a cruise line that doesn't handle communications that way. That is why the travel agent is paid a commission. Booking through a travel agent also exposes you to other things you would not encounter if you had booked directly with the cruise line, such as if the travel agent fails to pay the cruise line the money you paid on the cruise to the agent, you have no recourse with the cruise line. Your problem would have to be taken up with the travel agent, and if the money wasn't forwarded to the cruise line by due dates your cruise would likely be cancelled. That is a risk you take when you choose to book through a travel agent.

[iancal]

Absolutely. We will not deal with a TA who does not put our credit card payment through the actual travel supplier, not the travel agency. And we would never pay a TA by debit card. Having an agency bill is a huge red flag for us.

[MisterBill99]

Absolutely. We will not deal with a TA who does not put our credit card payment through the actual travel supplier, not the travel agency. And we would never pay a TA by debit card. Having an agency bill is a huge red flag for us.

Agreed. In fact I just had final payment for a Celebrity cruise charged today. I booked thru a very large online cruise TA and the post shows the charge being from Celebrity. For the same reason, you never want to pay by check (although I wonder if anyone pays for travel that way anymore).

 

As for the delay in telling customers about cancelations, I think the problem is that with the popularity of CC and FB groups, people find out about cancelations a lot quicker than the cruise lines manage to get the word out to agents. Clearly this is something that they need to work on improving

 

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[CJcruzer]

viking river cruises offers 3% if paying by e-check or whatever they call it. Have never done this, as my credit card carries travel insurance, and I must show a large percentage of full trip paid by that card (I forget what the proportion is, but I always pay with same credit card for ALL the travel related expenses).

[Fouremco]

As for the delay in telling customers about cancelations, I think the problem is that with the popularity of CC and FB groups, people find out about cancelations a lot quicker than the cruise lines manage to get the word out to agents.

HAL sending out the notifications to travel agencies:

 

[OlsSalt]

HAL sending out the notifications to travel agencies:

 

[/quote

 

 

I hate change. What am I supposed to do now with my can and string set up. Just dump it?

[ithaca gal]

I agree with the others that if one books through a travel agent, the cruise line will not interact with that customer directly about that booking. All communications are sent to the travel agent whose job it is to keep you informed and assist you with that booking. The very definition of "agent" is someone who acts on behalf of another person or group. The customer makes that choice when they choose to book through an agent, so it is not appropriate to fault the cruise line for sending the communication to the agent instead of the passenger. In my cruising experience, I've never encountered a cruise line that doesn't handle communications that way. That is why the travel agent is paid a commission. Booking through a travel agent also exposes you to other things you would not encounter if you had booked directly with the cruise line, such as if the travel agent fails to pay the cruise line the money you paid on the cruise to the agent, you have no recourse with the cruise line. Your problem would have to be taken up with the travel agent, and if the money wasn't forwarded to the cruise line by due dates your cruise would likely be cancelled. That is a risk you take when you choose to book through a travel agent.

 

As of 4:30 pm today, HAL still has neglected to inform my TA of the cancellation of my cruise. She called the Redeployment Department at 3 p.m. and was told that our September 3, 2019 cruise to Iceland was NOT affected. When I sent her a copy of the email that other passengers received on MONDAY, she called again … spoke to a different person in the Redeployment Department and was told that cruise was, indeed, cancelled.

 

Not acceptable processing by HAL.

[kazu]

As of 4:30 pm today, HAL still has neglected to inform my TA of the cancellation of my cruise. She called the Redeployment Department at 3 p.m. and was told that our September 3, 2019 cruise to Iceland was NOT affected. When I sent her a copy of the email that other passengers received on MONDAY, she called again … spoke to a different person in the Redeployment Department and was told that cruise was, indeed, cancelled.

 

Not acceptable processing by HAL.

 

I totally agree with you.

 

I am shocked at the OBC offers to the P'dam passengers who have had their cruises cancelled. I was chartered out on an Asia cruise and I can tell you that the OBC I received was MUCH better than what they are receiving.

 

I hope you get something, at least.

[bUU]

Over the years we have had several communications relating to cruise come directly from out TA rather than the cruise line.

Technically, they all should come from the travel agent, as agent for the cruise line. I think cruise lines find it just as well to send standard notifications though leaving the travel agent the responsibility for the specific notifications.

 

 

 

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