HAL starting a 30 day global pause of operations

[sailingdutchy]

Holland America Line Announces a Voluntary and Temporary Pause of its Global Ship Operations for 30 Days 

Due to the continued port closures and travel restrictions surrounding COVID-19 and in an abundance of caution, Holland America Line has made the decision to voluntarily pause global cruise operations of its 14 ships for 30 days, impacting sailings scheduled to depart through April 14, 2020.

“These are unprecedented times, and while no guests or crew have tested positive for COVID-19 on any of our ships, we must take a leadership position as a global citizen and ensure that we are doing everything we can to help stabilize the situation,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We know this decision will be disappointing and also inconvenience guests currently in transit, and for that we sincerely apologize. All of us at Holland America Line are fully committed to supporting all our guests through this change.

“Holland America Line operates 14 ships on all seven continents and we thank all of our guests, travel advisor partners, employees and business partners for their support during this challenging time,” added Ashford. “We look forward to welcoming our guests back on board soon.”

Three cruises that were scheduled to depart this weekend are now cancelled. Booked guests and their travel advisors are in the process of being notified. Guests on these three cruises cancelled this weekend will receive a 100% refund and 100% Future Cruise Credit. 

The cancelled cruises are: 

• Oosterdam: originally scheduled to embark Saturday, March 14 in San Diego, California.
• Nieuw Amsterdam: originally scheduled to embark Saturday, March 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Koningsdam: originally scheduled to embark Sunday, March 15, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Any guests on back-to-back cruises beyond the dates above will now need to disembark the ship. 

Other voyages that are currently in progress are planned to debark as follows:

• Eurodam: March 18 in San Diego, California, as scheduled.
• Veendam: March 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as scheduled.
• Zuiderdam: March 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as scheduled.
• Maasdam: March 20 in Hilo, Hawaii. This is a change from the scheduled disembarkation in San Diego, California, on April 3.
• Zaandam: March 21 in San Antonio, Chile as scheduled.
• Volendam: March 22 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as scheduled.
• Amsterdam: March 24 in Freemantle, Australia. This is a change from the scheduled disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 12.
• Rotterdam: March 27 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as scheduled.

Any guests on back-to-back cruises beyond the dates above will need to disembark.

Ships not currently in service due to previous cancellations are: Nieuw Statendam, Noordam and Westerdam. 

Guests who have booked their own air should first contact their airline to make ticket changes. Holland America Line will rebook all guests who purchased their air through the Flight Ease program and will endeavor to help others who booked their own air if they are encountering issues. 

Guests currently booked on cruises beyond this weekend that will now not be operating will receive a communication from Holland America Line in the coming days regarding their options.

To fully support guests on the cruises that were cancelled for this weekend and who are in transit, Holland America Line kindly requests that all those booked on cruises next week or later do not call reservations for assistance this weekend as hold times are expected to be very long. The line will be automatically working through the bookings of all impacted guests based on departure date and will send communications in the coming week regarding their options. We sincerely thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

Recognizing the vital role travel advisors play in the success of the cruise industry, Holland America Line will protect travel advisor commissions on bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full and for the total amount of the Future Cruise Credits when guests rebook. 

Holland America Line’s corporate employees remain working and will focus on supporting guests and travel advisors impacted by these changes and preparing for cruise operations to resume. As more details become known about future cruise itineraries, they will be communicated.

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by sailingdutchy
changed title

[SedNabokos]

The link to the blog post:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/news/holland-america-line-announces-a-voluntary-and-temporary-pause-of-its-global-ship-operations-for-30-days/

[CoachDT]

Be interesting to see what they offer to encourage FCC

 

[atexsix]

Our cruise is 4-15, guess we're still in limbo 😞

[mammy123]

I know this may sound lame, but I'm curious - - where do they dock their ships for 30 days. . . . 

[atexsix]

1 minute ago, mammy123 said:

I know this may sound lame, but I'm curious - - where do they dock their ships for 30 days. . . . 

They can put a few in Seattle, the cruise terminals are empty.

[NCTribeFan]

8 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Our cruise is 4-15, guess we're still in limbo 😞

 

Yeah, I'm on 4/21 FLL to Montreal.  So even though Canada won't let us dock, HAL hasn't cancelled the sailing, which is ridiculous.  But this is obviously changing daily, so I'm going to just wait and give them a few days.

 

I know we all want instant answers but I do feel for the people having to make these decisions and the logistics involved in it all!

[Sskarmar]

We are currently on Rotterdam headed from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale.The  Captain just said we would continue to FLL but might arrive early because Curaçao & Aruba could deny entry.

Everyone is fine. We have decided to forgo any excursions (should we be allowed to dock anywhere).

I feel for the crew members.

[atexsix]

6 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

Yeah, I'm on 4/21 FLL to Montreal.  So even though Canada won't let us dock, HAL hasn't cancelled the sailing, which is ridiculous.  But this is obviously changing daily, so I'm going to just wait and give them a few days.

 

I know we all want instant answers but I do feel for the people having to make these decisions and the logistics involved in it all!

I know, I thought we could end this drama, but no.

 

The people on the world cruises are in for a big surprise when they wake up in the morning, I think it's 5 or 6 am in the eastern hemisphere as I type this, HAL customer service will be a nightmare.

Edited March 14, 2020 by atexsix

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks OP for this news.

 

Sad for so many people.

[Vict0riann]

I'm sad for the crew and staff, too, but glad the decision has been made.  Now we wait to see what they will do for us...

[atexsix]

Just now, Vict0riann said:

I'm sad for the crew and staff, too, but glad the decision has been made.  Now we wait to see what they will do for us...

I am too, I'm sad for all of us, the current passengers, the crew, and the industry.  And I know they'll be okay, many lines have been around a lot longer than me, and survived not operating for several years during both world wars, hopefully it won't be anywhere near that long, because I miss these ships on a good day. I even dream about cruising.

 

< thinking happy thoughts for all impacted by this>

[FlaMariner]

One of the best things we can do to help is to not call......We know our cruise is cancelled.....It's just a matter of them working out the cancellation. 

 

Smooth sailing........in a future cruise.....

[llgator]

If we did a paid upgrade, will we keep that i wonder? Also we had a beverage package thrown in, not to mention the $200 on board credit. Will we keep those with our future cruise credits?

[MissBonnie]

We’re booked on the Maasdam on 15th April so our cruise could still be with a chance. Fingers crossed 🤞


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[beachbrat]

They failed to list Maasdam’s March 15th Papeete to San Diego cruise as cancelled! Many were en route to or already in Papeete!!! 

[SumoCitrus]

What happens to the Round the World cruise?

 

 

Nevermind I see it:

 

 Amsterdam: March 24 in Freemantle, Australia. This is a change from the scheduled disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 12.

Edited March 14, 2020 by SumoCitrus

[gigianne]

I think I read somewhere today that French Polynesia is closed to cruise ships.

[fabuloso]

What does 100% Full Refund and 100% Future Cruise Credit mean exactly?

[durangoscots]

6 minutes ago, SumoCitrus said:

What happens to the Round the World cruise?

March 23 in Australia..... going to be hard one to swallow for some people but they seem to have sort of been expecting it if you have been following the blogs.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

And with that, the 2020 GWV on Amsterdam will terminate on March 24 in Freemantle, Australia 

[SedNabokos]

7 minutes ago, fabuloso said:

What does 100% Full Refund and 100% Future Cruise Credit mean exactly?

 

It means you get what you paid for the fare back to your credit card (or whatever payment method you used) but you also get a future cruise credit for the same amount.

[awhcruiser]

 

 

[cruisegirl]

8 minutes ago, SedNabokos said:

 

It means you get what you paid for the fare back to your credit card (or whatever payment method you used) but you also get a future cruise credit for the same amount.

That’s a sweetheart deal but evidently it’s only for cruisers sailing this weekend. I doubt the rest of us cruising later this month will get that much although it sure would be nice and good HAL PR. 

[wyobean]

I really hate to see people expecting extra for compensation in this situation. This is no one’s fault. I will be happy to get a FCC or refund...whatever they decide. I am just hoping they don’t have to declare bankruptcy...then you get nothing.