Does HAL notify customers of excursion cancellations?

[quack2]

I have had two Alaska excursions cancelled, but HAL has not provided any notice to me of the cancellations.  I've learned about the cancellations by noticing that there is no longer a time associated with the excursion.  In addition, the excursion is no longer shown as available on the website or on the downloadable excursion guide PDF.

 

Given that cancellations may cause a change in other excursion plans, shouldn't HAL be letting me know when something changes?

[Mary229]

Yes, they should do a better job of informing guests.  

[Cruising-along]

That's strange, I've even gotten notifications when there's a slight change to my excursion such as timing etc. Always have been notified of any cancellations. 

[Cruising-along]

Sorry, duplicate post.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Cruising-along

[VMax1700]

Likewise here.  Received notification recently for a change in timing for a tour in September.  Also have previously received cancellation notices.

[Taters]

I've had shore excursions canceled by HAL for many different reasons, but it's usually been because a cruise was cancelled or that a port has been eliminated or changed to a different date.  I usually find this out when looking at my reservation or seeing a credit from HAL on my credit card account.  They've never notified me of any cancellations.

[OlsSalt]

Again the issue may be if one uses a travel agent, the notice may go to the travel agent. We always book through HAL and we always get a standard notice that asks us to go into our reservation to see what recent changes have been made.

 

There is not a specific notice about XYZ excursion - just a generic notice that "changes to the existing reservation" have been made. It is my job then to figure out what those changes were. 

 

Choosing a mass market cruise line for us, means we do not have a high threshold demand for individual personal attention. The generic notice is okay with us.

Edited April 27, 2022 by OlsSalt

[TabithaK]

I booked an Alaska cruise directly with HAL. They emailed me yesterday that my excursion into the Yukon was cancelled

[NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope]

HAL sent me an e-mail when an incoming excursion was cancelled. I did not book directly with HAL. Maybe check spam folder?

 

[Tracey/Thom]

I booked directly with HAL. They sent me an email letter yesterday saying an excursion had been cancelled. I quickly chose another one, which was my third choice, because the one I'd want to replace the cancelled one with, was already fully booked (I joined the waitlist).

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Again the issue may be if one uses a travel agent, the notice may go to the travel agent.

Do you have reason to think this may be the reason, or are you just speculating? 

Just because someone uses a TA to book the cruise, it does not follow that they would also have the TA also book all their shore excursions for them. 
I know I book using a TA, book my own shore excursions, and have been notified by HAL when a tour was canceled. I have also been notified by HAL when I have cleared the wait list for a desired tour. 

[54Carol]

We booked the White Pass Train excursion (Alaska) in August.  Received an email stating it was cancelled.  So we booked a different White Pass Train excursion and received another email today stating this one was also cancelled.  We also had one cancelled while on ship and received a letter at our door.

 

[BermudaBound2014]

It’s not just HAL- there is some chatter on the ncl board also. Apparently Alaska is struggling to get workers for the season. Tours cancelled, shops not yet open (although it os a bit early). Maybe try a mom and pop independent where you can actually speak with someone ahead of time if there is an activity of particular interest. Alaska is super easy to do independently. Best to all!

[zgscl]

I have always been notified by HAL of cancellations or even if the day or time changes. It is sometimes a few weeks after the change happened, but they eventually tell me. 

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, RuthC said:

Do you have reason to think this may be the reason, or are you just speculating? 

Just because someone uses a TA to book the cruise, it does not follow that they would also have the TA also book all their shore excursions for them. 
I know I book using a TA, book my own shore excursions, and have been notified by HAL when a tour was canceled. I have also been notified by HAL when I have cleared the wait list for a desired tour. 

Yes, and despite "you no longer have control of your booking and the cruise line won't speak to you", every cruise line will sell you excursions pre-cruise if you call them even if you booked with a TA.

[SharonN]

I've received several emails over the past 2 weeks about some of the excursions for our early June Alaska cruise being cancelled for Operational Reasons. All of them were refunded immediately and the emails suggested alternate excursions that were very similar which we booked. One was related to the issues Canada is causing in Skagway not allowing crossing of the border there on a tour. The others I suspect the tour companies decided or found out they couldn't go ahead with them at this point. The time changed on another. So yes they are definitely sending out emails and we used a TA so that shouldn't be an issue. Definitely check  your email spam and blocked senders setups.

[Alberta Quilter]

OP, is it possible that the reason the tour and/or tour times no longer show is because they are sold out?  Why don’t you call the shorex department and inquire?  Maybe you were lucky to book a popular tour early.

[Lalof]

We booked our land/sea Alaska trip thru an agent, but booked our excursions directly on Navigator. We have had one excursion change and one cancel and received email from HAL for both. Maybe it depends on the email attached to the excursion booking.

[OlsSalt]

On 4/27/2022 at 4:48 PM, RuthC said:

Do you have reason to think this may be the reason, or are you just speculating? 

Just because someone uses a TA to book the cruise, it does not follow that they would also have the TA also book all their shore excursions for them. 
I know I book using a TA, book my own shore excursions, and have been notified by HAL when a tour was canceled. I have also been notified by HAL when I have cleared the wait list for a desired tour. 

 

Just speculating, since this has come up on other threads - indicating HAL will deal only with the travel agent and not directly with the passenger on some matters.

[CarolR]

We just had our white pass/salmon bake excursion canceled without notification.  My husband happened to look at our credit card statement and noticed the refund.  When I called holland america I found out the excursion is still available so I have no idea why it was canceled.  I rebooked and had to pay an additional $20 per person. Needless to say I will be calling back to get the $40.00 refunded since they canceled for no reason.

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Just speculating, since this has come up on other threads - indicating HAL will deal only with the travel agent and not directly with the passenger on some matters.

Excursions are not one of the areas that HAL and in fact all cruise lines will only deal with a TA if you booked in that way.

[ski ww]

12 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Excursions are not one of the areas that HAL and in fact all cruise lines will only deal with a TA if you booked in that way.

We had an itinerary change on our July cruise, HAL sent us an email telling us our excursion for that port were cancelled and telling us the cost have been refunded to the credit card used to pay for them.

[edgeman61]

We have only had two excursions cancelled by HAL in our 6 cruises with them, once due to not enough people booking for the excursion to make and the other because of a port change due to the tides (seriously!).

 

For the one cancelled for lack of interest, we were informed the afternoon before and told we were rebooked on an excursion with space available but that we could cancel if desired.  Turns out we saw some of the best whale feeding activity we've ever seen.

 

The one cancelled for a port change, we had been booked to go to Bath in England to see the Roman Baths but because of the low tides we couldn't get to the port so they substituted Cobh in Ireland (where we had already been, albeit on a different cruise).  We opted to go to Middleton to see the distillery (Jameson, Redbreast, Middleton and all of the Spot's), we had a great time and brought home some distillery exclusives for our collection.

 

On other cruise lines we have received similar treatment, they usually wait until the last minute to inform you that your excursion  was cancelled, at least with a port change everyone onboard is in the same boat so you have a shot at getting something you are interested in.  For a cancellation due to "operational issues" you're pretty much stuck with whatever is left.

 

I've never experienced this with HAL but RCL has sent us emails prior to departure telling us of excursion cancellations giving us enough time to book our "second choice".