Alaska in 2021 after all !!

[Aquahound]

8 hours ago, RetiredRich said:

I don't know about the CDC ban but I don't think HAL would be offering the cruises if they were not possible.  I see where the cruise to Alaska will not be stopping in Canada and that is fine with me.  I paid in full for my cruise months ago to take advantage of perks.  Not booked all transport or motels yet.

 

As much as I agree that an Alaskan cruise without the obligatory Canada stop would be nice, the fact remains the foreign stop is obligatory by law.  I know others have also responded to you, but I'm really curious where/how you're being told that your cruise is still a go, and without a Canadian stop?

[RetiredRich]

My cruise has been all paid for and my lodging and transport been refunded from the first cancelled cruise.   I'm going to keep hope up and trust HAL to bump me to another time if they cancel my 2021 cruise.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Some websites are better than others at updating information, or removing outdated itinerary information.  The agency referred to by the OP is notoriously bad in both areas.

 

Facts:

1. Holland America has de-listed all 2021 Alaska cruises from their website

2. Holland America has blocked all 2021 Alaska cruises from new bookings by travel agents or their in house reservation staff

3. Holland America have cancelled all 2021 Alaska Land & Sea journeys and sailings beginning/ending in Vancouver and offered to move guests to the same sailing / Land & Sea journey in 2022

4. Holland America have cancelled all 2021 Seattle Based Alaska sailings through June 27th and offered to move guests to the same sailing in 2022

5.  Holland America has "frozen" all other existing reservations from July onward for 2021 Seattle based Alaska sailings while they work to see if any portion of the season can be salvaged

6. Holland America have made no changes to the remaining 2021 Alaska itineraries - they remain as originally published with the port stop in Victoria 

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

The Passenger Vessel Services Act is only a portion of the problem.  The other portion, and I actually think the more significant one, is CBP/INS.  If the cruises operate a solely domestic sailing with no foreign port stop the workers on the ship would need to be legally able to work in the US with a US work Visa, or be US citizens/permanent residents, and the cruise line would be required to follow all US labor and immigration laws.  Getting the appropriate work visas for tens of thousands of foreign cruise ship workers would be a nearly insurmountable issue.  Additionally hiring enough US citizens/permanent residents, and getting them the appropriate maritime credentials/experience would also be a huge issue at this point.

 

Short and long of it - Alaska 2021 on foreign flagged cruise ships isn't likely to happen.

[Lady Arwen]

50 minutes ago, RetiredRich said:

My cruise has been all paid for and my lodging and transport been refunded from the first cancelled cruise.   I'm going to keep hope up and trust HAL to bump me to another time if they cancel my 2021 cruise.

We’ve done all we can to help you and prepare you for the inevitable.  HAL will give you an opportunity to rebook for 2022 for sure.  Dreams are wonderful until they’re not.  Hang on to your dream until it’s over.  Goodbye and good luck.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, RetiredRich said:

My cruise has been all paid for and my lodging and transport been refunded from the first cancelled cruise.   I'm going to keep hope up and trust HAL to bump me to another time if they cancel my 2021 cruise.

Welcome to the 2021 Cruise Roulette Wheel Club. Some of my spins netted an additional 25% FCC, some did not. All have been bumped to 2022 now, so I’m officially out of the game until next year.

[HAL4NOW]

3 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Welcome to the 2021 Cruise Roulette Wheel Club. Some of my spins netted an additional 25% FCC, some did not. All have been bumped to 2022 now, so I’m officially out of the game until next year.

Were you able to keep all of the perks from the cancelled cruise when they bumped it to 2022?

We have a pile of OBC that I assume will carry over when they cancel our 2021 cruise, but I am still uneasy about the prepaid hotel service charges, the drinks package, the specialty dining, and the Buy One Gift One that we have shared with my DW's sister and BIL. 

[KirkNC]

Ah yes, hope is a wonderful thing!

[CruiseMGM]

12 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

We’ve done all we can to help you and prepare you for the inevitable.  HAL will give you an opportunity to rebook for 2022 for sure.  Dreams are wonderful until they’re not.  Hang on to your dream until it’s over.  Goodbye and good luck.

 

What Lady Arwen said! And I'll add that all the sage advice and facts offered, based on your original post, seems to have been ignored.... so goodbye and good luck to you. Happy sailing!

[KirkNC]

30 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

What Lady Arwen said! And I'll add that all the sage advice and facts offered, based on your original post, seems to have been ignored.... so goodbye and good luck to you. Happy sailing!

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

10 hours ago, HAL4NOW said:

Were you able to keep all of the perks from the cancelled cruise when they bumped it to 2022?

We have a pile of OBC that I assume will carry over when they cancel our 2021 cruise, but I am still uneasy about the prepaid hotel service charges, the drinks package, the specialty dining, and the Buy One Gift One that we have shared with my DW's sister and BIL. 

Yes, and no. Cruises that were officially ‘postponed’ to 2022 carried everything over. Cruises that were cancelled, with a suggestion to rebook, offered bonus FCC but lost the perks, including OBC. We had several ‘Have It All’ bookings. All of those were in the second category, and nothing carried over from any of them. That said, there are so many perks being offered on 2022 cruises that we rebooked offers with the same perks anyway.

[Hlitner]

Yes, hope is a good thing.  But when it comes to Alaska 2021 it is a hopeless exercise.  There is not going to be any Alaskan cruises in 2021 except by a few small US flagged vessels.  Why?  As has been posted many times, Canada has banned all cruises until next year and the CDC seems hell bent on keeping the cruise industry shut down until at least Nov 1.  And that Nov 1 date can easily be extended by the CDC for as long as they please (we are talking years) by simply extending the date under a similar emergency order that was used to authorize the original stoppage order.

 

So you may ask, why has HAL not just cancelled all the cruises?  Cancellation means they must start the refund process which is not in the best interests of HAL.

 

Hank