HAL just canceled our June 14th 2022 Triple Denali trip

[Sebbiesgrammy]

Word is that the situation isn't going to get better any time soon and that more than a dozen cruise tours have been cancelled while not everyone has been notified yet.. Unlike past cancellations, HAL isn't automatically rebooking us on the same land/sea Alaska next year due to the uncertainty.  Seems the problem may be related to the scarcity of major medical care in more remote locations so maybe only tours that include the Yukon are the issue?? Just guessing.   So, after disappointing my young boy scouts, we're opting for a NCL to Bermuda that is easy out of NYC during the same time.  Yesterday TA had to confirm cancellation with HAL on the phone to be sure before I committed to alternative and during the call, HAL sent me an official reminder about vaccination and masking which included the very trip that's cancelled. They still haven't sent me the "official" cancel notice with the Ts  and Cs and it still shows up on my account 11days before original departure date.  Right hand, meet left hand.... We like HAL and understand this is not their fault but I wonder about long term effects for Akaska/Yukon touring.  I'm guessing we'll start to see new itineraries for summer travel instead of focusing the majority of their fleet in one place. And now my 10 year old grandson has FCCs that he must use before the end of next year which means grammy will be committed to another family cruise, shucks!!  😀 Like lots of folks, my FCCs have great-grandparents now going back to 2020.

[Mary229]

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

Edited June 18, 2022 by Mary229

[Sebbiesgrammy]

47 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

12 days notice if you consider that my TA found out on Thursday and gave me notice then but HA has still not cancelled to me directly so TA got on the phone with me still on the line and it was verbally confirmed and TA was admonished not to touch the reservation or try to make any changes as they are still trying to update databases. Seems to me that they knew as early as June 3 notice to OP but delayed telling the rest of us to avoid a rush to the gates.  Compensation is good. 100% refund of all $ paid, FCC to each passenger(including the children) of entire cruise fare and $200 OBC pp.  They will also consider reimbursment for other prepaid expenses like air fare.  Good deal if you can get to use it by 12/23.  Problem is, we'll have to cancel other things to use it in time.  The backlog is overwhelming as, since I am an eternal optimist, I planned other travel away from HAL and will be challenged to fit it all in before I ;have to take my "dirt nap"

[Btimmer]

@Sebbiesgrammywhich ship were you booked on?  Is there a list of the cancelled cruises available yet?
 

We and our 11 year old granddaughter are booked on a triple Denali which starts 6/28 in Fairbanks & then southbound on the Noordam.  Just yesterday I received an official HAL notice about no Covid test being required to fly back to the USA from Vancouver (which we've really already known about).  

[RSWBADGER]

20 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The  Lodge announced weeks ago that they were taking no more reservations for summer 2022.  Princess has closed one of their lodges for the summer, they have a number in different locations throughout the area

We have made the difficult decision to close the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge for the season effective June 17 due to ongoing staffing shortages.

 

Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge | Hotel in Copper Center, AK (princesslodges.com)

[WishboneS]

On 6/17/2022 at 1:05 PM, LJProk said:

I know when we were there the HAL hotel in Denali was open to book separate from HAL cruises. We met a couple that were doing the Denali part on their own and a family that was staying there for 2 weeks separate from a cruise. So still people there, just not as many. I do wonder if Princess is doing the same as the resorts in Denali are side by side. Or are they moving most staff to Princess to fullfill those cruise land tours over HAL?

We were canceled too for the same date.  When they sent the letter saying we would have to wear masks we considered canceling on our own, glad we didn't.  We went on a cruise where we had to wear masks the whole voyage in January and it was miserable.  We will book again next year hopefully all the staffing issues and all the sickness will pass and we can live a healthy cruise.  Hope to see you next year.

[Sebbiesgrammy]

On 6/18/2022 at 11:41 AM, Btimmer said:

@Sebbiesgrammywhich ship were you booked on?  Is there a list of the cancelled cruises available yet?
 

We and our 11 year old granddaughter are booked on a triple Denali which starts 6/28 in Fairbanks & then southbound on the Noordam.  Just yesterday I received an official HAL notice about no Covid test being required to fly back to the USA from Vancouver (which we've really already known about).  

We were booked on Nieuw Amsterdam for June 29. TA got cancel notice on June16, was allowed to tell us next day.  Booking is still "active" in my account and HAL is still sending me health and safety notices as of yesterday. And still, no official notice of canceled cruise/tour or compensation terms.  We couldn't wait and so we booked the 6 of us on NCL to Bermuda out if NY. No air, no masks, less hassle.  Not the trip we wanted but there's always an adventure somewhere 😀

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, Sebbiesgrammy said:

We were booked on Nieuw Amsterdam for June 29. TA got cancel notice on June16, was allowed to tell us next day.  Booking is still "active" in my account and HAL is still sending me health and safety notices as of yesterday. And still, no official notice of canceled cruise/tour or compensation terms.  We couldn't wait and so we booked the 6 of us on NCL to Bermuda out if NY. No air, no masks, less hassle.  Not the trip we wanted but there's always an adventure somewhere 😀

Thanks for your response.  Fortunately we live in Seattle and can fly to Fairbanks inexpensively.  We do have a backup adventure available.

[Guest ldtr]

On 6/18/2022 at 2:47 AM, Sebbiesgrammy said:

Word is that the situation isn't going to get better any time soon and that more than a dozen cruise tours have been cancelled while not everyone has been notified yet.. Unlike past cancellations, HAL isn't automatically rebooking us on the same land/sea Alaska next year due to the uncertainty.  Seems the problem may be related to the scarcity of major medical care in more remote locations so maybe only tours that include the Yukon are the issue?? Just guessing.   So, after disappointing my young boy scouts, we're opting for a NCL to Bermuda that is easy out of NYC during the same time.  Yesterday TA had to confirm cancellation with HAL on the phone to be sure before I committed to alternative and during the call, HAL sent me an official reminder about vaccination and masking which included the very trip that's cancelled. They still haven't sent me the "official" cancel notice with the Ts  and Cs and it still shows up on my account 11days before original departure date.  Right hand, meet left hand.... We like HAL and understand this is not their fault but I wonder about long term effects for Akaska/Yukon touring.  I'm guessing we'll start to see new itineraries for summer travel instead of focusing the majority of their fleet in one place. And now my 10 year old grandson has FCCs that he must use before the end of next year which means grammy will be committed to another family cruise, shucks!!  😀 Like lots of folks, my FCCs have great-grandparents now going back to 2020.

Considering that the people on the tours are vaccinated and as such the odds of them needing medical intervention (serious cases) is quite low, it is unlikely that medical services is the reason.

 

Many businesses in Alaska are very short staffed. They are dependent on seasonal workers from out of state to fill many of the tourism related jobs.

 

Many of those jobs are going unfilled. If they do not have the staff to fully open and operate the lodges and transportation, they do not have much choice but to limit the numbers of customers.

Edited June 20, 2022 by ldtr

[ewildcat7]

I started my own thread a few days ago, but nobody has replied, so I figured I would post it here to see if anybody can help:

 

My family and I are scheduled for the 17 July Triple Denali on the Nieuw Amsterdam and we are trying to anticipate if we will get the cancelation notice from HAL.  My wife is monitoring a different cruise board and, between the two of us, we are very surprised at how few people are posting about cancelations.  Does that mean that it is not happening to very many people?  I know these message boards are only as good as the people who choose to write on them, so it is hard to figure out how widespread these cancelations are or which cruises/packages are the ones being affected.  Has anybody been able to figure out the pattern?

[Sebbiesgrammy]

19 minutes ago, ewildcat7 said:

I started my own thread a few days ago, but nobody has replied, so I figured I would post it here to see if anybody can help:

 

My family and I are scheduled for the 17 July Triple Denali on the Nieuw Amsterdam and we are trying to anticipate if we will get the cancelation notice from HAL.  My wife is monitoring a different cruise board and, between the two of us, we are very surprised at how few people are posting about cancelations.  Does that mean that it is not happening to very many people?  I know these message boards are only as good as the people who choose to write on them, so it is hard to figure out how widespread these cancelations are or which cruises/packages are the ones being affected.  Has anybody been able to figure out the pattern?

I don't know if this is meaningful at all, so please don't use it as a "sign" of impending cancellation, but starting about 4 weeks ago I noticed that the HAL planning tool showed all Y1L 18 on Nieuw Amsterdam marked as unavailable until the end of July.  Not a single cabin category in any sailing for weeks.  The cruise itself seems ok, but when cancelling because of land portion, they cancel the entire itinerary and since you won't see cruise credits for weeks, you can't rebook just the cruise with FCCs

[Freckles1983]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

Considering that the people on the tours are vaccinated and as such the odds of them needing medical intervention (serious cases) is quite low, it is unlikely that medical services is the reason.

 

Many businesses in Alaska are very short staffed. They are dependent on seasonal workers from out of state to fill many of the tourism related jobs.

 

Many of those jobs are going unfilled. If they do not have the staff to fully open and operate the lodges and transportation, they do not have much choice but to limit the numbers of customers.

Still completing the tail end of our Alaska / Yukon land tour and most windows of stores had “hiring now” signs in place.  So there is a ton of work available.  It has impacted service and timing but you can tell everyone is working hard and trying their best.

 

42 minutes ago, ewildcat7 said:

I started my own thread a few days ago, but nobody has replied, so I figured I would post it here to see if anybody can help:

 

My family and I are scheduled for the 17 July Triple Denali on the Nieuw Amsterdam and we are trying to anticipate if we will get the cancelation notice from HAL.  My wife is monitoring a different cruise board and, between the two of us, we are very surprised at how few people are posting about cancelations.  Does that mean that it is not happening to very many people?  I know these message boards are only as good as the people who choose to write on them, so it is hard to figure out how widespread these cancelations are or which cruises/packages are the ones being affected.  Has anybody been able to figure out the pattern?

Our tour director on our trip told us that the rest of June land tours had been cancelled.  

[WishboneS]

On 6/18/2022 at 8:57 AM, Mary229 said:

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

We received it 2 weeks before.  We didn't have a problem with it since we were happy to hear this given all the news we were seeing about the trip.   We hadn't scheduled our covid tests, and hadn't started our long drive to the Airport its all good.  

[WishboneS]

On 6/18/2022 at 8:57 AM, Mary229 said:

@Sebbiesgrammy how far in advance did they give you notice?   I just reread and you indicated less than 2 weeks.  That is unacceptable.  Are they giving you compensation?

yes,  full refund back to your credit card, and full cruise credit for amount of your cruise tour, $200 each onboard credit.  must use cruise credit by 12/23

[Mary229]

19 minutes ago, WishboneS said:

We received it 2 weeks before.  We didn't have a problem with it since we were happy to hear this given all the news we were seeing about the trip.   We hadn't scheduled our covid tests, and hadn't started our long drive to the Airport its all good.  

Unfortunately we have additional no refundable plans for this time period and booked our air with HAL.  If they cancel I need to make a back up plan 

[WishboneS]

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Unfortunately we have additional no refundable plans for this time period and booked our air with HAL.  If they cancel I need to make a back up plan 

can you call your travel agent and ask for assistance?  I read somewhere that if HAL made your plans for you,  to not adjust anything through your App or on the computer, they are lagging behind on applying the credits.  My travel agent was the one who sent us the notification on the cancelation.  We booked our entire trip thru Holland.  I asked her to double check our reservations since I was still getting emails about the trip.  She assured me that everything was cancelled.  I would call the line directly otherwise.   

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, WishboneS said:

can you call your travel agent and ask for assistance?  I read somewhere that if HAL made your plans for you,  to not adjust anything through your App or on the computer, they are lagging behind on applying the credits.  My travel agent was the one who sent us the notification on the cancelation.  We booked our entire trip thru Holland.  I asked her to double check our reservations since I was still getting emails about the trip.  She assured me that everything was cancelled.  I would call the line directly otherwise.   

Our cruise isn’t until late August.  I need to arrange something by mid July in the current environment.  Right now I am asking on the cruise air board if American Airlines refunds fees and taxes to your credit card if you cancel a flight.  You see I have points that I could book with but only if I can get the heavy fees refunded in case my HAL fare is a go ahead.  I can book hotels with points and those would be cancellable. 

[WishboneS]

Copy and pasted below.  Maybe this will help?

 

In the event any portion of the cancelled Cruisetour's fare was paid using a previously issued Future Cruise Credit, that FCC will be returned to their Mariner Account and extended to be used by December 31, 2023. Non-cruise fare purchases through Holland America Line such as Flight Ease air, pre- and post-cruise hotels and transfers, shore excursions, dining, gifts, and spa treatments will also be refunded to the original form of purchase. If any portion of your clients’ travel was not booked through Holland America Line, other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply.

We recognize that this change may cause your clients to incur unexpected expenses, such as air change fees. Reimbursement of reasonable non-refundable expenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis. An Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursement Form is available on our website; please complete this form and submit it, along with any relevant receipts and documentation, for review by our corporate office. If they purchased independent vacation travel insurance, please submit a claim through their carrier before submitting a reimbursement request for denied or partially paid claims.

H

[Btimmer]

We are on a land/sea HAL cruise that begins on 6/28 in Fairbanks.  I'm currently on the phone with my TA and there are no indications that anything has been cancelled.  On the HAL site, excursions in Denali can still be purchased. 

[WishboneS]

43 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

We are on a land/sea HAL cruise that begins on 6/28 in Fairbanks.  I'm currently on the phone with my TA and there are no indications that anything has been cancelled.  On the HAL site, excursions in Denali can still be purchased. 

We were on the Y1L:18-day Yukon+Triple Denali I believe the issues only apply to certain itineraries.  The cruise is sailing.  you may be ok to go,  Lucky you:)

[eggemon]

We are on Y1L starting July 6, and there is no indication (yet) that our cruisetour is canceled. Not that I want it to be canceled -- it would be the third year in a row for that -- but I would not mind all that much if I found out ASAP. I would not be very happy to learn it was canceled a week from now, but that seems more likely (based on the experience of others). In any case, we will be understanding and go with the flow (not much else we can do, after all 😃

[Mary229]

20 minutes ago, eggemon said:

We are on Y1L starting July 6, and there is no indication (yet) that our cruisetour is canceled. Not that I want it to be canceled -- it would be the third year in a row for that -- but I would not mind all that much if I found out ASAP. I would not be very happy to learn it was canceled a week from now, but that seems more likely (based on the experience of others). In any case, we will be understanding and go with the flow (not much else we can do, after all 😃

I agree. My anxiety is related to my other plans.  I would gladly take the current offer being extended.  

[Charleston Lady]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I agree. My anxiety is related to my other plans.  I would gladly take the current offer being extended.  

Yes, Mary 229! We are set to fly into Vancouver (through HAL air) on 8/6 to do a Rocky Mountaineer trip followed by a Y3C triple Denali on Zuiderdam starting 8/17. So what happens to our air if HAL cancels land/sea trip? They are waiting so late to notify we could already be gone! We have made final payment on RM and it is not refundable. Our wonderful TA contacted HAL before we made that payment explaining the situation and he said there was no evidence that our Y3C would be canceled. Pretty sure that reassurance means exactly nothing! Guess that's why we pay all those $$$ for insurance.😳

[ewildcat7]

4 hours ago, eggemon said:

I would not be very happy to learn it was canceled a week from now, but that seems more likely (based on the experience of others).

From HAL's perspective, I can only imagine how many thousands of dollars it costs them for every passenger that they have to cancel.  So I can't really blame them for waiting until they absolutely HAVE to do it before notifying passengers.  As a passenger myself, I would love as much lead time as possible, but that just does not seem like how they are going to do business.

 

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I would gladly take the current offer being extended.  

Is there a way to volunteer?  I vaguely remember reading somewhere that HAL was contacting people asking them to voluntarily cancel - I don't know if this is true or what they were offering.

[Mary229]

6 hours ago, Charleston Lady said:

Yes, Mary 229! We are set to fly into Vancouver (through HAL air) on 8/6 to do a Rocky Mountaineer trip followed by a Y3C triple Denali on Zuiderdam starting 8/17. So what happens to our air if HAL cancels land/sea trip? They are waiting so late to notify we could already be gone! We have made final payment on RM and it is not refundable. Our wonderful TA contacted HAL before we made that payment explaining the situation and he said there was no evidence that our Y3C would be canceled. Pretty sure that reassurance means exactly nothing! Guess that's why we pay all those $$$ for insurance.😳

Exactly the same except later in August.  I have already booked a refundable extra ticket with Southwest to Bellingham and will today be booking a refundable American Airlines  ticket from Calgary home plus a few refundable hotel days in Calgary. When I booked RM I was given a provision to move my booking to another year but I have not inquired  whether that is still the policy.  I think at this point I would rather just do the RM this year anyway even if HAL cancels.