HAL Cancelation Question

[fkfad]

We are booked on one of the apparent to-be-canceled Volendam cruises out of Rotterdam in July.  We booked this cruise using a "Come Back and Play" casino offer, which included a "free" cabin and "free" casino play.  It was a deal we couldn't pass up.  Now, with the cruise getting canceled, I'm wondering if they will honor this offer when we re-book this cruise?  The only reason we booked this cruise was because of the offer (due to the fact that we were just on a HAL cruise in January and we don't normally book two cruises in the same year).  Ugh!!  Has anyone experienced such a situation?

 

[rochelle_s]

 

 

How disappointing to have your cruise cancelled but at least the reasoning behind these cancellations is  worthwhile and shows HAL as a socially conscious business. They are not only doing the talk but putting some concrete steps in place to help, even at a a financial cost. Kudos to them.

 

I had a free casino booking cancelled this past November and was able to rebook to this coming July. I did not even have to do a refund, they just transferred everything over.

 

My advise would be to find another cruise you would be interested in taking and then give them a call and see about rescheduling.

 

I had no issues at all and I hope the same is true for you. Best of luck and good luck in the casino when you do get onboard.

 

Rochelle

 

[fkfad]

Thank you for your quick reply and excellent advice!  

[blueexpedition29]

FKFAD - this happened to me for  TWO  "free" casino offers.  When i received the OFFICIAL cancellation notice from HAL it informed me of the AUTOMATIC transfer of my bookings to alternative dates for comparable sailings of each of the bookings.  They also had a "Drop Down" feature on the site that let you select certain other cruises.  In each case the promotions all transferred AND there was an additional $200 OBC provided!  In one case the alternative worked for me and in the other, I selected one of the alternatives.  Hopefully they will do something similar for you.  please report back here when you hear from them.

 

I thought this was handled very well by HAL under the circumstances. 

 

 

[Ilovesailaway]

On 5/13/2022 at 8:08 AM, rochelle_s said:

at least the reasoning behind these cancellations is  worthwhile and shows HAL as a socially conscious business

I'm in the dark here. Why are they canceling?

[VMax1700]

3 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I'm in the dark here. Why are they canceling?

Volendam is moored in Rotterdam and being used to house displaced Ukrainians who have had to leave their homes through Russian aggression in the area.

Edited May 14, 2022 by VMax1700

[Ilovesailaway]

35 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Volendam is moored in Rotterdam and being used to house displaced Ukrainians who have had to leave their homes through Russian aggression in the area.

Thank you

[fkfad]

Holland America did a great job taking care of our canceled Volendam cruise (for the most part).  We never received the email that contained the instructions on selecting an alternative cruise.  After calling several times and sending a couple of emails to Holland America, I read on the Boards about someone calling the general reservation number (vs. the casino number), and this woman took care of it.  We received the email within the hour!  I was then able to select the alternative cruise we wanted (which is sailing out of Amsterdam on the same day our previous cruise was sailing out of Rotterdam), and our FlightEase flights (perfect flights for this trip) were moved over to our new booking.  We were booked in the same category (Vista Suite) and given $400 in OBC.  Our casino offer was honored.  Yay!!  

[AFNavigator]

On 5/13/2022 at 7:08 AM, rochelle_s said:

 

 

How disappointing to have your cruise cancelled but at least the reasoning behind these cancellations is  worthwhile and shows HAL as a socially conscious business. They are not only doing the talk but putting some concrete steps in place to help, even at a a financial cost. Kudos to them.

 

I had a free casino booking cancelled this past November and was able to rebook to this coming July. I did not even have to do a refund, they just transferred everything over.

 

My advise would be to find another cruise you would be interested in taking and then give them a call and see about rescheduling.

 

I had no issues at all and I hope the same is true for you. Best of luck and good luck in the casino when you do get onboard.

 

Rochelle

 

Yes, using the Volendam to temporarily house Ukrainian refugees is socially conscious but we don't know the business case associated with the decision.  This isn't a charity case that Holland America is doing for free.  The Netherlands government chartered the Volendam.  As a result of being a government charter, it is doubtful Holland America is providing this vital service at a financial loss.

 

It is very possible the charter arrangement will profit Holland America more than the company would have realized from operating the Volendam on lightly filled cruises over the same time period.  It also enables Holland America to push passengers to its other other under-capacity European based ships this summer.

[CoryG413]

So, here we are, several days later.  Still nothing from Holland America about either rebooking the cruise or getting a refund.  We completed their form about the rebooking, sent multiple emails and our travel agent has been calling every day.  And all that she has been told by HAL is that we have to wait.  Meanwhile any ability to make plans for the summer are ticking by.  And presumably HAL keeps taking reservations on the ships that the cancelled travelers wish to rebook.

 

I am glad that the refugees are being helped.  But that help is coming from the government, not HAL.  Holland America is not donating the Volendam, they are renting it under a contract with the government.  And that contract had AT LEAST ONE option to extend, which was exercised.  I would not feel comfortable if I had a Volendam booking in the fall -- it is likely that the same thing will happen to those cruisers.  Again, HAL knew that we would not be sailing, but kept taking reservations, holding our money and allowing us to make ancillary travel arrangements.  And now they are simply not responding to requests for rebooking or refund.