Veendam ex-Cuba Pricing and Itinerary

[Crazy For Cats]

39 minutes ago, cowmilker said:

Crazy For Cats, thank you so much for the heads up. I am delighted.  We will almost certainly just stay on this cruise. Holland has done a great job under very adverse circumstances.

This is a huge relief.  Any price reduction will just be gravy at this point.

I’m very happy that San Juan was added, it is beautiful at Christmas.  I also enjoy Key West.  I’m assuming that pricing will reflect what is in line with other similar itineraries.  Most likely we too will stay on board for this cruise.

[Crazy For Cats]

On 6/13/2019 at 9:55 AM, cowmilker said:

I am rather anxiously awaiting the verdict as well.  Our cruise is for December 18 on the Veendam.  Thankfully, I had not done anything about flights, so they are also waiting in the wings.  However, I have an AirBnB booked for after the cruise as a placeholder between cruises (we depart again on Jan 5 for South America), so if we change cruises or cancel the Veendam altogether, we'll be in a bit of pickle.

I'm sure the whole thing is a logistical nightmare for the cruise lines.  It's a mess for me, and we're just two people planning one trip.

The title of the itinerary has been updated to 10 Day Southern Caribbean Seafarer Holiday.  Pricing has not yet been changed.

[cowmilker]

22 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

The title of the itinerary has been updated to 10 Day Southern Caribbean Seafarer Holiday.  Pricing has not yet been changed.

 

HAHAHAHA  Well, that was certainly creative.

[madera1]

After reading this post I just looked up our Dec 11th sailing and it shows they will stop at Key West and Half Moon Cay along with Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman with two days at sea. Now will wait and see what the new pricing will be but likely to just remain on ship since we have flights already booked.

[NavArch64]

We are not happy with HAL … just received an email that says no new pricing until June 21. So, …. we know the revised itinerary, but not the new pricing. This is a change from the promise of both by June 15. My patience is wearing thin. Orlando is going to risk making the loyal customers unhappy. Not good!

[3rdGenCunarder]

14 minutes ago, NavArch64 said:

We are not happy with HAL … just received an email that says no new pricing until June 21. So, …. we know the revised itinerary, but not the new pricing. This is a change from the promise of both by June 15. My patience is wearing thin. Orlando is going to risk making the loyal customers unhappy. Not good!

 

We blame Orlando for a lot of things, but this isn't his fault. I appreciate your frustration--I'm not good at waiting for details like this, but I suspect they're doing the calculations by calendar. You're well outside final payment, but there are a lot of people who are inside that time period, and their numbers have to be crunched first. 

[NavArch64]

A few details … we have a Lanai S/R at $1699 … premium price for the Nov 6 Cuba itinerary. The same S/R is $849 for the Nov 13 EC itinerary. HAL knows that the Market price for a EC/WC itinerary in Nov is $849 for a Lanai. So, … we are being "gamed" to see how long we wait at the double Market price for 7d on Veendam in Nov. I don't like being "gamed". (PS Oct 23 is the 1st Cuba sailing … Nov 6 is the 2nd. Not too much work for a repricing by Jun 15.)  

[Crazy For Cats]

I took a quick look this morning and the port fees have been adjusted.  They came down a bit.  Hoping that they keep their commitment to having this finalized today.

[KirkNC]

Watch what they do with the prices.  Cuba cruises charged a premium.  When they announced the sale of the Prinsendam and rescheduled our cruise to the Rotterdam, there was no change in offer price despite the fact the Prinsendam Cruise was 30% higher then similar cruises onHAL ships.  We canceled the cruise, not sure if they ever adjusted the price or not.

[NavArch64]

I misstated the ex Cuba Veendam voyages earlier …. Oct 23 is the 1st, Oct 30 is the 2nd and Nov 6 is the 3rd. Since our booking is the 3rd voyage … Jun 15 (today) does not seem unreasonable for repricing as originally promised. Jun 21 is an unreasonable delay, given HAL's 146 years of experience in the passenger services business.

[NavArch64]

I may have slightly misstated the price for the Lanai S/R on the Nov 13 Veendam sailing … it just showed as $879 on the HAL website … much lower than the $1699 still showing on our account for a Lanai S/R on the Nov 6 sailing. I would expect then, that the Jun 21 pricing for the Nov 6 sailing should decrease accordingly. Or, will HAL add the additional OBC of $100 and offer $979 to offset the supposed compensation for the itinerary change. This will be interesting to watch as it unfolds.

[Shmoo here]

Two days ago, the "old" itinerary with the  Cuba ports were on my booking.

 

Today:

Ft Lauderdale

Key West

at sea

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

at sea

Half Moon Cay

Ft Lauderdale

 

 

[Loreto]

9 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Watch what they do with the prices.  Cuba cruises charged a premium.  When they announced the sale of the Prinsendam and rescheduled our cruise to the Rotterdam, there was no change in offer price despite the fact the Prinsendam Cruise was 30% higher then similar cruises onHAL ships.  We canceled the cruise, not sure if they ever adjusted the price or not.

We booked the 30 day Amazon Explorer 2019 to be the final cruise of the Prinsendam with Cuba as the final 2 ports in June 2018.  We payed a premium for our verandah on the ship and got zero perks for booking early.  In July 2018 we got the word that the Prinsendam was going to the new owner early, the new ship was the Volendam and Cuba was dropped.  HAL offered us a paltry $200 to keep the booking, which we decided to do.  The price did not drop until many months later.  Key West and Jamaica were substituted for Havana and Cienfuegos...very disappointing, but we will still see the Amazon for the 2nd time.  We did Cuba in March 2018 and were excited to go back. It is what it is.

 

Hopefully your new cruise itinerary will be reduced.

Karen

[Gigi1977]

On 6/13/2019 at 8:13 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Be patient. It's probably a mad scramble at HQ. Remember, HAL wasn't the only cruise line going to Cuba, so all the cruise lines are trying to lock in alternate ports. I suspect they're trying to keep the non-Cuba ports the same and just substitute for Cuba. That's the least drastic revision, but given the limited options for ports not already on the schedule and in that area, it's going to be difficult. Lots of variables. For example, changes in itinerary could mean more sailing and more fuel consumption. HAL can't announce ports and prices until they've got everything figured out. 

 

 I WISH they had kept all ports same except Cuba.  We were booked on Cuba (2 ports) Jamaica, Grand Cayman/Eastern Caribbean 14 day back to back.  Our ports are now Eastern/Eastern 3 of 4 ports identical-back to back with same pricing per my PCC yesterday.   That’s NOT going to work.  Told him letter said new pricing- we are in a wait and see mode. But we will cancel before paying Cuba pricing for 2 E Caribbean cruises. $100. OBC not going to cut it.  

[Crazy For Cats]

This morning I find myself disappointed with HAL.  They missed their self imposed deadline to have the Cuba cruises completely updated.  I’ve reached out to them hoping to get a response.  While initially pleased with the new ports I have had some time to reflect on our cruise schedules.  I have an Eastern Caribbean cruise in November to celebrate a birthday.  I would not have booked two cruises so similar in back to back months.  Even though air is booked for both I am considering cancelling the December cruise.  Time will tell and pricing will be an important factor.

[Azure Moon]

I would appreciate it if Holland America gets the pricing sorted out before June 21st.  As others have stated, the substitute port itinerary (Key West and Half Moon Cay) should have lower pricing.  It shouldn't be too hard to figure it out.  They've been to both of those before so should know their worth, port fees, taxes, etc.

 

This would be our first Holland America cruise - November 6, 2019.  

[NavArch64]

OK … new pricing is in for revised Nov 6 itinerary … very fair at market rate … we are happy and will stay booked. Hope everyone else is satisfied. Should make interesting dinner conversation in the MDR.

[Crazy For Cats]

56 minutes ago, NavArch64 said:

OK … new pricing is in for revised Nov 6 itinerary … very fair at market rate … we are happy and will stay booked. Hope everyone else is satisfied. Should make interesting dinner conversation in the MDR.

Glad to hear you got favorable pricing.  Did they include the extra OBC?  I’m still waiting on 12/18 to be updated.

[NavArch64]

Yes … OBC went from $25 to $125 per person.

[Rickster50]

Well I have decided to cancel our second 7 day cruise (14 days originally). The ports instead of the 2 Cuba ports of Havana and Cienfuegos are now Key West and Half Moon Cay which we visit on the first leg. No point in going to the same island twice. It is what it is!

 

Rick

[madera1]

4 hours ago, NavArch64 said:

OK … new pricing is in for revised Nov 6 itinerary … very fair at market rate … we are happy and will stay booked. Hope everyone else is satisfied. Should make interesting dinner conversation in the MDR.

Still waiting for pricing for the Dec 11th sailing. That date doesn't show the Veendam cruise on the Holland website. 

Edited June 18, 2019 by madera1

[kazu]

For those who were on the Cuba cruises, may I ask a favour?

 

Please post on the Holland America Board’s Future Cruise Listing if you are taking an alternate itinerary with your details and were listed for a Cuba cruise.

 

I’ll be removing the Cuba cruises from the Future Cruise Listing since they have all been cancelled.

 

Thank you 🙂 

 

Here is the link to the thread - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2671279-holland-america-boards-future-cruise-listing-updated-june-14th-2019/

 

[drowelf]

On 6/14/2019 at 3:55 AM, wander said:

I know it may be hard, but be patient and avoid rash actions.  Several times things disturbed our itineraries and we ended up with financially good deals.  If you do not like the deal - then cancel.  Just my suggestion,

 

Our most extreme example was our 24ish day cruise for early November the year of 9/11.  We were to sail from Spain, through the Med and then into the Suez canal.  As the canal was not a place for cruise ships to be at that time, and it was an integral part of the cruise heading for India the whole itinerary had to be changed.  Cruise critic role calls went wild, with even wilder speculations for various cruise lines similarly effected,  In my specific cruise caee, hundreds of CC passengers cancelled  almost immediately - fearing that the cruise line would force them to sail in dangerous waters, etc.  For these folks there was NO refund, no future cruise credit, etc. Wow, the language folks used about being "forced" to either lose their money or possibly risk their lives.  My question to them was - did they really think the cruise line wanted to risk our lives, crew lives and damage to the ship?  I think not, but can you imagine the logistics of planning a new route AND arranging all the necessary logistics - like food shipments, securing dock space, shore excursions, etc?  All in less than 2 months?

 

So sometime in the middle of October we got the new itinerary and the terrific perks offered.  We were re-routed around Africa with several ports on the west side of Africa, South Africa, Namibia, and then numerous "new" ports on our way to Singapore.  This involved 14 more cruising days, tips paid for us, AND credit for some shore excursions - ALL at NO ADDITIONAL COST.   or, if someone could not do the extended itinerary OR did not want to sail - FULL refund if they had held on to see the new itinerary.  They also had a shorter option for those who needed to get home close to the original cruise ending date. We were retired, flexible and took the new offering - and what a fantastic experience on a ship that was only half full.  On a per day cost - the cheapest cruise we ever sailed on..   

 

 

If you have the option sometimes waiting is the best thing to do. We've had a couple of similar situations with world turmoil and waiting to see what happened and each time it turned out to our advantage. 

 

The first was an around Hawaii Cruise in October of 2001. The Islands were deserted and we ended up getting a very nice (and free) upgrade on the ship. Quite enjoyable. We wondered if the cruise would be cancelled, but other than a dearth of visitors to the islands, things were alright. To give an idea of how deserted, after the cruise we spent a final couple of nights in the Waikiki Marriot. I was chatting with the day manager and asked about hotel loads. He replied that normally at that time of the year it was in the high 90s, but it had been averaging in the low 30s since 9/11. A really big difference. 

 

The second was in between the Arab Springs in 2012. We had a Nile River cruise scheduled for February of 2012. We kept waiting and waiting for the tour company to blink and cancel it. Had our TA calling every couple of weeks just to check. But it never was, all our friends and relatives said we were crazy to go to Egypt during this time, but we went anyway. And it was GREAT! We were the only couple to show up, so basically for a 2 week tour (7 days split between pre/post and 7 on the Nile), we had a private tour. 1 Guide & a Driver for the 2 of us. Since the Guide did not have to herd the normal group of cat like tourists, we got more time at every site, along with more details. Sure did we have to be a little more aware, yes, but our Guide and Driver took excellent care to insure we were always safe. 

 

 

 

 

[Crazy For Cats]

Just checked my December 18 pricing.  It didn’t go down all that much, about 558 pp including taxes.  They only added $50 pp OBC and “lost” my CCL shareholders credit.  Placed a call to my PCC and it sounds like I need to prove the perks we had before the change.  Disappointing.

[cowmilker]

1 hour ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Just checked my December 18 pricing.  It didn’t go down all that much, about 558 pp including taxes.  They only added $50 pp OBC and “lost” my CCL shareholders credit.  Placed a call to my PCC and it sounds like I need to prove the perks we had before the change.  Disappointing.

Well, this means I should hear something from my TA tomorrow.  As of noon today, he hadn't been updated with anything.

I had to laugh a little though. If my pricing went down that much pp, I'd be dancing a jig.  But then, we're those cheap cruisers who book the cheapest room out there.

Edited June 19, 2019 by cowmilker