Help Please IN A PANIC

[Lilly-Ann]

Just going to be real. We leave for a cruise in 1 day. We canceled out flights and going to drive two days trying to be very careful. I was asleep just a few minutes ago and I received an email from Holland. In my sleep I opened it up hoping it was a free upgrade. HAHAH Been on 20 cruises and never received  one. So I got excited for a minute. It was the covid questioner asking me to go to the app and fill it out. Remember....I was asleep.  I opened my app and filled it out for both of us, It would not save. So I went through and marked them all no again...well I must have marked something wrong because t told me I would not be allowed to board. I am fully vaccinated, not sick, no symptoms of any kind....and to be honest with you we have not been out of the house for weeks and staying away from everyone. The first time in 20 cruises I have not been shopping. 🙂

 

 

 

I am freaking out it said I can't board. I need to get up in 5 hours I work from home and will now not be able to sleep, Has this happened to anyone else? Am I freaking out for no reason? It will not let me even look at my answers.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Lilly-Ann

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I would be on the phone to HAL as soon as the phone lines open in the morning. Good Luck!

[lupaglupa]

I agree with @SusieKIslandGirl - call HAL as soon as you can and explain the situation. Surely they will help you.

[ski ww]

Hope you get it sorted out, good luck.

[*Miss G*]

Technology is a pain sometimes.  I feel for you.  I hope they are able to fix it quickly.  All the best.

[puppycanducruise]

Good luck getting this worked out.  🤞🙏

 

[MISTER 67]

Sure hope you can rectify the situation.

[Cruisingfran]

Probably will give the questionnaire to you at the port. It happened to me on Carnival. If this was the questions about your present health, your exposures, your travel out of the country etc. But you should call them just to make sure because this is not carnival cruises.

[Lilly-Ann]

Waiting for a call back. I was told to just head to the pier and they will have to make that decision there. It is a 2 day drive....and don't want to drive that far with this all up in the air. They said they will call me back this afternoon, They said they cannot change my answers, I dont even know what my answers were, It will not let me look. 😞          This is just too much stress........ My own darn fault.

[jlnprt]

I sure hope you can get it worked out!!

 

[nhkroozer]

I would head toward the port, but be proactive and contact them and go up the ladder, ask for supervisor, and their supervisor until you get the right person that will help you. Be sure to get the name and title of everyone you speak with. Ultimately you want a senior contact at the port to walk you through it.

It will work out...smile 😊

[igraf]

Or, just cancel the cruise and book another.  Vacations are supposed to be fun.

 

I am assuming that you get a full refund if HAL turns you away.

 

igraf

 

 

[Herkimer18]

Not to worry!  Same thing happened to me and I received the same notice saying I could not board for our New Year's family cruise.  When I called I was told not to worry, go to the port and they would have a medical team there meeting with all the people who failed the screening questions.  I was so worried, I got there super early expecting a long line and medical personal.  Turns out it was just a small group of people with extra forms.  I explained what had happened, she gave me a new form and I was on the ship within fifteen minutes.  This was just last month, so I assume it will be just as painless and easy for you.  Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

[ontheweb]

22 minutes ago, Herkimer18 said:

Not to worry!  Same thing happened to me and I received the same notice saying I could not board for our New Year's family cruise.  When I called I was told not to worry, go to the port and they would have a medical team there meeting with all the people who failed the screening questions.  I was so worried, I got there super early expecting a long line and medical personal.  Turns out it was just a small group of people with extra forms.  I explained what had happened, she gave me a new form and I was on the ship within fifteen minutes.  This was just last month, so I assume it will be just as painless and easy for you.  Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Hoping for the sake of the OP that you are right. 🤞

[Lilly-Ann]

I just hung up with Holland. She said she CANNOT guarantee I  will be able to board "period".     The ship  has the right to deny boarding  at the pier. The decision will be made once I get there, If I decide to travel the 14 hour trip.

 

It doesn't matter if there was a mistake on the app. They cannot even tell me what the problem was or the question that is the issue.  Once I am at the pier the decision will be made then. She said there is no way around to fix this without going to the pier and letting them make the call.  The can give me a FCC or I can make the drive and hope for the best.

 

I am beyond frustrated. She was very nice...but said her hands were tied.

 

She read the health questions to me again and my answer was of course no to all...not sick, no fever, not been sick, ect. Not sure if this will help or not.

 

To be honest ....just being real. I have had a stroke before and maybe I hit a wrong button, She can't tell me. They won't even tell me what flagged it. It was just spinning on my app last night...then I got the alert.

 

 

This has been the most stressful vacation. Sorry for my "pity party"..I am just sad, We were going to celebrate my anniversary of being a  6 year leukemia survivor on this trip. 😞

 

 

 So sorry again for my little pity party  post. Thanks for all the encouraging words.

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Oh dear; I’m so sorry this has happened to you! Having a 2 Day drive really does complicate the matter. I’d think that they’d let you board if you explained your unique situation. They’ll likely have you take another test at the port to be safe, but I’d think they could understand that it’s possible to accidentally click the wrong answer. Of course I am not a Holland America rep, though, so I really don’t know. I wish you the best!!

[*Miss G*]

If you’ve passed the verbal health questions, have a negative test, are fully vaccinated, and are good to go with any other of their other precautions, then I would show up to board the ship.  The HAL rep isn’t going to give you a different answer because they can’t.  Go ahead and celebrate your anniversary.  And congratulations!!

[lupaglupa]

If you are certain you made a mistake and all of your genuine answers would not cause you to be held back, then I would go. I know it is frustrating not to know before you set out but I think HAL is not going to give you a go ahead over the phone.

 

One thought - if you do get turned away, can you make this a vacation at the port? We are looking at a possibly similar situation - non refundable plane tickets to Fort Lauderdale and a cruise from there. We decided that if the worst happens and we have to cancel the cruise, we can still enjoy some Florida sunshine. It makes me feel better to know we have a back up plan.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It will not be a problem Holland America will ask you at the port.

[dockman]

wow...just what NOBODY needs to hear the day before a cruise....fingers crossed that it works out for OP

[dockman]

what if OP never even saw the email?  not everyone checks email everyday...

 

.i got a phone call from princess a week or so before my cruise ..problem of course is that the princess number showed up on my phone with no identification so as usual i don't answer as i get plenty of spam calls.....so princess in their infinite wisdom apparently unaware of time zones calls me again the next day at 6 am Hawaii time....i was awake and did see it was from santa clarita and knew that is home of princess so i did answer this time...and they asked me the same questions that i had already tried to submit to their cruise personalizer but it would not accept the information....i wonder if i had not answered the phone if they would have sent me an email and what would have happened if i flew to port without checking emails?  not  a pleasant thought.

[jeh10641]

I agree with those who say go to the port. It is much better to speak to somebody in person. In December, we took our tests in Florida (we live near Seattle and took five days in Florida to see friends and family) two days in advance of our cruise. Had no response from testing service by cruise day. We went to the port early and explained our situation. We took another test there and were in our cabin in less than 40 minutes including the test and the wait. 

[MarkWiltonM]

I don't think the OP mentioned when/how she was going to take the required test for boarding. Just wondering since she has a two-day drive and the test must be done within two days of boarding. Does the OP have tests planned/scheduled?

[esther e]

I hope it all works out for you.  And I'm sure it will.  The lady from HAL had to say what she did -- otherwise it could open a can of worms in the future if it got known that she helped you along, if you know what I mean.  Things get deleted on my computer all the time -- somewhere good info is in outer space.  We are having marvelous weather right now, if that's any help.  Seriously I hope all works out for you and please don't worry. 

 

 

[Lilly-Ann]

Hello....what a day. We woke up and wondered  if we should drive two days with the chance of not boarding.  I was exhausted....so I thought maybe  it would not be worth  the trouble. Still very frustrated....I thought...yep!!!! We are going.  We already had our  appointment to get the required covid test. We  ..passed of course and driving towards  the port. It will be two days of driving.  We canceled our flights weeks ago. We knew we  did not want to take a chance of getting  covid on the plane. Boy.....am I going  to need a drink by the time I hopefully get on board.