Nieuw Amsterdam April 4th repositioning cruise: Will it change?

[jacksonx]

I am scheduled to go on the Nieuw Amsterdam ship out of Fort Lauderdale on April 4th to Spain April 17th.

We booked it through HAL directly, including the flight back.

 

I'm trying to figure out if this will be canceled or changed in some way. Details are sparse from HAL directly.

 

If Spain becomes a Corona virus target, would the ship go elsewhere, or would they potentially cancel the 13 day cruise entirely? Will HAL help with the flight back as it was booked through them?

 

Definitely still looking forward to the trip, but also don't want to be in Quarantine for a month!

[gailellen12]

I have friends that are traveling on this cruise and then another one before I join them in Barcelona for the Barcelona to Venice leg beginning in Barcelona on April 28 and ending Venice on May 10.  Holland America has apparently not made any decisions yet on their Mediterranean schedule and their latest update (Feb 28 ) continues to only mention Asia cruises being cancelled.  It is a waiting game at this point.   HAL is quite difficult to reach now by either email or phone - believe me I have tried!!

[cruisen cracker]

I'm in the "same boat" as you.  The way Spain has cracked down on their cases and the mass quarantine in the Canary Islands makes me worry.  With several thousand folks on a ship, how many 13 day cruises do you think happen without one person coming down with flu-like symptoms sometime along the way?  With a bunch tied up in cruise fares, airline tickets and airbnb deposits for a couple of weeks in Spain, I'm setting on edge, even with "Cancel for any reason " insurance.

[wyobean]

We are on the Veendam TA on 4-22 for 31 days.  We are proceeding as if it is a go. I figure they will contact me. I do see there is a case in Dublin which is one of our ports. We are retired so have no real schedule. I realize it is somewhat problematic for those on any kind of a schedule. 

[VMax1700]

14 minutes ago, cruisen cracker said:

mass quarantine in the Canary Islands

This comment is totally over the top.  One hotel on one island (Teneriffe) is quarantined because 2 guests from Italy tested positive.

[VMax1700]

20 minutes ago, wyobean said:

a case in Dublin

Currently there are no postitive cases of Covid-19 in Republic of Ireland (Dublin) however there is one case in Northern Ireland and she traveled from Milan via Dublin.

[cruisen cracker]

Maybe I should have said a bunch of folks in a large hotel.  That was "mass" to me.  Sorry I overstated.

[TriumphGuy]

1 hour ago, jacksonx said:

I am scheduled to go on the Nieuw Amsterdam ship out of Fort Lauderdale on April 4th to Spain April 17th.

We booked it through HAL directly, including the flight back.

 

I'm trying to figure out if this will be canceled or changed in some way. Details are sparse from HAL directly.

 

If Spain becomes a Corona virus target, would the ship go elsewhere, or would they potentially cancel the 13 day cruise entirely? Will HAL help with the flight back as it was booked through them?

 

Definitely still looking forward to the trip, but also don't want to be in Quarantine for a month!

You're not alone in wondering what's going to happen. We are booked on Nieuw Statendam for April 19 departure, 14 day Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam. We made our final payment on January 20, two days before the coronavirus was made public.
Like you, our greatest fear is being held in quarantine or stuck somewhere. We are retired, but that doesn't mean we want to spend three weeks in isolation, especially in a foreign country.
Right now we were planning on traveling Amsterdam to Paris on the Thalys train, then renting a car to spend a few days in Normandy. We made our cruise reservations through an online TA, flight reservations through HAL direct, train, car rental, hotel and airbnb independently.
Hopefully HAL will do the right thing and not endanger their customers if the virus really takes off.
On a separate note, I got my second pneumonia vaccine shot yesterday, always a good idea anyway and who knows, may help prevent complications if I should catch the virus.

[wyobean]

Report post

 

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Currently there are no postitive cases of Covid-19 in Republic of Ireland (Dublin) however there is one case in Northern Ireland and she traveled from Milan via Dublin.

The first case of coronavirus in Northern Ireland has been confirmed.

The first presumptive positive case of the virus was announced on Thursday and sent to a Public Health England reference laboratory for confirmation. 

On Saturday the Public Health Agency (PHA) announced the diagnosis had now been confirmed.

It is understood the woman affected is being monitored in her home after arriving in Dublin earlier this week on a plane from northern Italy with a child.

The woman had been on a skiing trip in northern Italy and flew back into Dublin Airport.

It is understood she then travelled to Dublin's Connolly Street station by bus before travelling to Northern Ireland by train. She was tested at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

A PHA spokesperson said the family "has asked that their privacy is respected at this time given the personal impact of this issue".

[Taters]

I was scheduled to cruise on Westerdam from Yokohama to Vancouver on April 25th, which HAL ultimately cancelled along with all of the other Westy cruises for the remainder of the Asia season this year.  I completely understand all of the stress everyone is going through, but I'd like to point out a couple of things:

 

Quarantining passengers on the Diamond Princess was an abysmal failure leading to the largest outbreak of COVID-19 outside of Wuhan, China, and this situation resulted in several deaths.  There will not be any more quarantines aboard cruise ships.

 

If they cannot get you into port they will find a place to take you, although I believe that they will make cancellations a lot sooner as they do not want a repeat of the Westerdam's Cruise to Nowhere. I believe that HAL will be a lot more proactive in every circumstance related to the virus.

 

HAL has been working around the virus situation for a month now and will do the best they can.  They have learned a lot.  In my case, it seemed they were working overtime as my refunds appeared on weekends as well as weekdays.  

 

After my Japan cruise was cancelled, I rebooked onto a 21 night cruise on Eurodam beginning April 11th.  At this point I do not feel the stress like I did over the Westerdam situation because I know that HAL will take care of us if something happens.  A new case of COVID-19 was discovered in Seattle today.  My B2B cruises on Eurodam includes Seattle.  I'm just going to wait and see, but chances are that this cruise might not happen, too, but I'm okay with that.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Taters

[anaco_angler]

I am surprised there have been so few responses to this thread. We are booked on a TA on the Rotterdam leaving Apr 6 and, like the OP, we have some concerns. Just as with the stock market, travelers do no like uncertainty, and there could not be more uncertainty at present. Since we are WA residents, we may feel the anxiety more acutely in light of the new cases and two deaths reported locally over the weekend. Like many our concern is not so much with catching the virus as it is with being quarantined somewhere and delayed returning home. Every country on our itinerary with the exception of the Azores has reported cases of Covid-19, though thankfully, with the exception of France, in very small numbers. It is not a time to panic, but to watch and weigh options.

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, anaco_angler said:

I am surprised there have been so few responses to this thread. We are booked on a TA on the Rotterdam leaving Apr 6 and, like the OP, we have some concerns. Just as with the stock market, travelers do no like uncertainty, and there could not be more uncertainty at present. Since we are WA residents, we may feel the anxiety more acutely in light of the new cases and two deaths reported locally over the weekend. Like many our concern is not so much with catching the virus as it is with being quarantined somewhere and delayed returning home. Every country on our itinerary with the exception of the Azores has reported cases of Covid-19, though thankfully, with the exception of France, in very small numbers. It is not a time to panic, but to watch and weigh options.

 

I think the main reason we are not seeing a lot of posts is that a) CC is not working well right now for any mobile devices and

b) while changes will most likely happen, no one really knows right now.  

 

This is an evolving situation and  I am sure HAL is having some challenges dealing with it.  The World Cruise itinerary has been amended so, hopefully HAL will now be able to address the TA's and earlier Med cruises.  

[anaco_angler]

Thank you, Kazu, I wasn't aware of problems with CC. Your second point is spot-on. There will most likely be changes but what they will be cannot be predicted in a situation that changes by the hour. For our own cruise we will hunker down and hold tight, at least until the 75% cancellation period expires. And we will try to remember that those diagnosed with the Coronavirus are not just numbers but real people with families who have concerns far greater than booked cruises.

[atexsix]

I feel your pain, believe me.  Our group is facing uncertainty with our RT Hawaii next month, since it leaves out of Seattle, so a lot of what ifs on that alone should the virus continue to escalate in the region. 

 

But everybody is facing some uncertainty on some level, regardless of where they are going.  There is the cruise itself and a lot of unanswered insurance related questions should a passenger initiate a cancellation or HAL.  Then there are secondary arrangements to consider like airfares, hotels, limos, tours....all of which took months of careful planning.  There's all the screening stress and associated worry such as people denied boarding for a sore throat or an untimely sneeze in the cruise terminal (yes I'm being facetious, but only half so as people are in over-reactive mode).  Then there's the ship itself and the not at all far-fetched possibility of a quarantine and the gazillion cans of worms that would open up.  I don't know what to tell the pet boarder at this point, other than if we're not home in 18 days, here's my card.  My employer is pretty understanding, but then I wonder should I take my laptop with me just in case?  And on and on.  Hardly the mood you want to have before a vacation.  Would it really be all that relaxing?  

 

I hate being stuck in wait/see, not when I travel, there are too many things that can go wrong on a good day.  I guess the best I can offer is we're all in this together! 

[jacksonx]

There is a rumor that the ship may be moved to Iceland/Norway.

I think that would be wonderful!

[DE Solo]

Iceland now has nine confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 260 Icelanders in quarantine in their homes, so I would not be quite so delighted to go there. 

[Devo1459]

At this point in time, I dont see how they can keep the Venice itineraries that are this summer.

 

 

[Devo1459]

We have two cruises planned this year.  One being the N Amsterdam out of Venice in July.  Although I am not overly concerned about getting the virus, the last thing we want is to be somewhere in the world and then we can't get back to the USA.  What a nightmare for those Diamond Princess passengers.  The next 60 days will be interested, I am not a dooms day kind of person at all but the cruise industry could take an astronomical hit.  We shall see.

If things continue to get worse then our refundable deposit last day to cancel date of April 10th will be the day we cancel.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

5 hours ago, jacksonx said:

There is a rumor that the ship may be moved to Iceland/Norway.

I think that would be wonderful!

What is the source for this? Anyone in the know, or just a theory?

[surfer100]

I was able to roll my money in this Apr 4 transatlantic to a holiday cruise.

 

I also wrote emailed to HAL to ask that they make rebooking more flexible over coronavirus concerns.

 

Received this reply:

 

"Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line regarding the Coronavirus. We ask that you please call our special line for this issue at 1-800-577-1729. This line is available 7a-5p, Monday-Friday, 8a-5p Saturday and Sunday. All hours are Seattle time (PST)."

 

As always with this type of CC informational post, YMMV, and any current offers may change or disappear. 

 

Good luck!

[jacksonx]

Well, after the announcement yesterday regarding the travel restrictions, I felt the only logical thing to do would be to cancel the cruise, which we did.

 

Good luck to those going forward!

[kcscrapper]

How will this ship board in FLL?  

Americans are banned from European travel; Europeans can't get to American for the voyage.

[cruiseing marly]

1 hour ago, kcscrapper said:

How will this ship board in FLL?  

Americans are banned from European travel; Europeans can't get to American for the voyage.

It’s taking a chance lots of sea days things can really change in eight days. Two doctors a few nurses at least the cruise will most likely have a light passenger load. The two transatlantic cruises i have done were met at the first European by about six ambulances to remove passengers . I’m still wondering how they could do a transatlantic without a port guarantee. Although there is still time to change there plans. Europeans could fly through London doesn’t mean for sure the cruise line would allow them to board. Lots of cases in Europe . Americans can get back may require a fourteen day quarantine . As long as it stays the same as now.