Ship Excursion - Don’t Believe the Ship Won’t Leave You

[annnrl]

In October my husband and I took a 21 day Panama Canal cruise from Vancouver to Ft. Lauderdale on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  My husband and 40 other passengers booked a ship excursion to go zip lining in Costa Rica.  A rain storm came through and Holland America cancelled all of the excursions except theirs (they didn’t know this at the time). In order to get out of the rain forest they had to zip line on medal cables in thunder and lightning and pouring rain, walk almost 4 miles in calf high mud, and be shuffled all around for three days wearing the same gross smelly clothes. Three days later (after the canal) they were flown to Panama to rejoin the ship. (Three people actually were flown to 5 countries before they could get back onboard.) Holland’s idea of compensation for this fiasco was a refund for the excursion, $150 OBC, and a $100 off of my husband’s next cruise. They also offered to show them a movie of the Panama Canal.  We put in a claim to the insurance company who just told us yesterday that they are only going to refund us $111 because he technically didn’t miss a port because the canal passage isn’t a port. Holland’s reasoning behind not waiting was purely financial.  The captain stated that they would have lost the $300k that they already paid and they would have to pay that amount again for the new spot.  We have been on over 35 cruises and we never thought something like this would happen.  It’s amazing that no one was killed. (Other passengers have tried to post their story on Holland’s Facebook page, but it keeps getting taken down.)

[3rdGenCunarder]

Where did your husband stay in Costa Rica? Did HAL pay for any of his accommodations? Did he have out-of-pocket expenses to claim on insurance?

[Charles4515]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Yes, many cruisers are gullible enough to believe the cruise line excursion sales pitch that they won’t leave passengers on a cruise line excursion. Been telling people that was not true who said they would never book a private excursion. So glad you posted an instance when they did not wait. However the cruise line will get passengers back which they did. Unfortunately acts of nature happen and the ship has to vacate the port for various reasons. Sorry your husband had a bad experience and cruise but sometimes the unforeseen occurs. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Charles4515

[VMax1700]

I am sure that being separated from your husband in those circumstances was stressful for both of you.  

Which insurable risk were you claiming from the insurance company?

 

 

[Homosassa]

Very OLD news.

 

And kudos to HAL for doing everything possible to get the passengers back to the ship.

 

Imagine the difficulties and expenses if you had to do this on your own.

 

(By the way, having been at the Park where this excursion went for zip lining, it is the rule that the zip lines shut down in heavy rain and absolutely in a lightning situation. And except for the trail up to the zip line top which, while unpaved, is well maintained, the walkways in the park are paved. The walkway to the gondola that takes one up most of way to the zip line, is also paved.)

 

 

[Tampa Girl]

"Purely financial?"   A mere $300K is IMHO a good reason to not wait.  That is the chance we take when we go on any excursion, HAL or otherwise.    And delaying traffic in the Canal so that a few excursion participants can get back to the ship, however long it takes, is reason to not wait.  Sorry about your experience and thank you for advising that we cannot always count on a ship to wait on the return of its excursions.  But of all "ports" or whatever the insurance company deems that it was, a major canal is the one place that we should be aware that your experience can re-occur for others.

[annnrl]

Thank you to those who welcomed me for posting my first post.  In answer to where they stayed - They spent a few hours sleeping in a hotel each night. They had to put the same gross clothes back on after they showered. HAL did make sure they were fed. However, to those who think I am lying, here are a few pictures of the so called “paved road”.  HAL should have cancelled the excursion.  When HAL made the decision to leave 41 people behind, they should have been compensated and not just given a token.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

Sleeping for a few hours? What happened that they couldn't get a full night's sleep? And was it the same hotel each night? 

[annnrl]

They stayed in two different hotels.  During the day they were put on a bus for two hours each way, to get their passports (HAL found a way to get them to the passengers).   They also had to go to customs, they also spent a lot of time waiting to see where they were going next. My husband had to be in the lobby at 3:00 a.m. to be taken to the airport.  On the third day when they arrived in Panama they were driven on a bus around Panama for 8 hours waiting to be allowed back on the ship. 

[OlsSalt]

During the rainy season in Costa Rica, everyone is stuck wearing damp clothes - nothing dries out. Even for land travelers. One is visiting the rain forest tropics, where one can and will  feel damp for days on end.

[Torquer]

I read all about this when it happened, and it is good to hear a first-hand perspective (actually second-hand since it was the OP's husband) on the incident.  This was indeed an extraordinary event and extremely rare for any cruise line. I really can't fault HAL for not waiting since then all passengers would have missed out on the next day(s) activities.  However, I am shocked at the compensation HAL offered.  I would have expected a pro rata per day reimbursement for cruise days missed until your husband returned to the ship.  Anything less is unacceptable and you need to keep complaining to HAL until you get it.  Have you written (on paper via US mail) a letter to HAL's president?  I would start there and tell him your adventure and HAL's reaction are being discussed on Cruise Critic now.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, annnrl said:

They stayed in two different hotels.  During the day they were put on a bus for two hours each way, to get their passports (HAL found a way to get them to the passengers).   They also had to go to customs, they also spent a lot of time waiting to see where they were going next. My husband had to be in the lobby at 3:00 a.m. to be taken to the airport.  On the third day when they arrived in Panama they were driven on a bus around Panama for 8 hours waiting to be allowed back on the ship. 

 

If their arrival in Panama was early in the day, it's possible that they got to Colon before the ship did. I haven't done a full transit in many years, but I've done three partials in recent years, and one of the annoying things about shorex is that you can end up in the port before the ship with not much to do (unless you want to go to the casino). I've done a tour to the new locks and the "historic former US base," which was a very slow and boring tour of what had been base housing, to give us something to do/look at between the locks visit and getting to the port.

 

[Mosaic]

Thank you for posting.  And yes, I am very surprised by some of the other comments posted here.  We are going through the Panama Canal in 2 weeks and your words matter...

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

Have you written (on paper via US mail) a letter to HAL's president?  I would start there and tell him your adventure and HAL's reaction are being discussed on Cruise Critic now.

I dare say that the president of HAL has received detailed reports on this incident and it has been discussed in depth with the General Counsel's office and the insurers regarding the liability that HAL may have.  So it won't be a surprise to him if you write.  While providing the "other side" of the story, I'd avoid the histrionics and stick to what your husband observed and experienced in a calm, respectful, and factual manner.

 

Should you have received additional compensation from HAL?  Probably, for good will if nothing else.  How much should that additional compensation be?  That's subject to negotiation with you and the rest of those on this ill-fated excursion.  Good luck.

[SilvertoGold]

OP annnrl:

 

  I am amazed that HAL did not cancel other excursions. What was so different about that  shorex that is went ahead?  Length, distance from ship, number of people signed up? HAL had a choice to make and lost. 

 

  While HAL put the pax in hotel and fed them, I am amazed that these pax were not compensated for this mess (avoidable, as other shorex were cancelled) with more than a small amount of OBC and FCC.  Does HAL not do "goodwill" any longer?  OBC and FCC is cheap for HAL.  They get it all back when you spend it onboard and the difference between that drink/speicalty dining/etc that you use the OBC/FCC for and the actual cost to the ship is small.  HAL really shouldn't be so cheap. And just 41 pax involved!

 

Thanks, OP, for all this info, very cautionary and educational.

[Hllb]

I am glad to hear they took relative care of the passengers. I am very surprised at the lack of compensation. Am I to understand that he missed the panama canal? Likely the MAIN reason for someone to take that cruise? I would be very upset by that as well, and would have expected better. 

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, cruising sister said:

Unfortunately it was discovered that they were pressured to try to get in because of the large amount the line had paid for port fees.

Unless this was for the Panama Canal, this explanation is not correct.  No ship pays port fees prior to entering the port, with the exception of the Canal, where the deposit is needed 24 hours in advance.

[Guest ldtr]

Cruise lines will either wait or they will pay for getting people from the ships excursion back to the ship at another port.  In this case they really could not wait so they made arrangements to get people to the ship at another port.

 

My understanding of the Panama canal passage is that the cruise ships pay for a priority passage and get a time slot in advance.  If they miss their time slot then all kinds of costs and potential delays occur.  That matches with what the OP said.  The one thing that they glossed over was how long they might be delayed getting a new slot and if it would negatively impact the remaining passenger on board by causing issues with the rest of the schedule.   Doing what they can for the 40 is one thing negatively impacts a couple of thousand other guests is another.

 

A few years ago I was on a Princess ship in Lima.   About 150 passengers took the 3 day, 2 night Machu Picchu excursion.  On the way back they were split on 2 different planes from Cusco back to Lima.  There was a bird strike on the second plane as it was taking off.  Take off aborted, plane slide off runway, airport closed for the day.   The ship waited as long as it could, but had to leave port.  It made a special stop in Manta, Ecuador to pick up those passengers.  The cruise line picked up all costs.  The hotels they were put in were very nice, but due to the travel requirements (in late up early the group reports not much sleep.

 

On that same trip there was also a group from CC (15 to 20 if I recall correctly) that organized an independent trip.  I remember before the cruise that someone mentioned what could go wrong they were on the same airplane as the Princess excursion.  Needless to say those folks were on their own.  Hand to book and pay for their own hotels and travel.  They did not catch up to the ship until the scheduled port in Costa Rica.

 

There was also 4 people that were doing it independently, but had booked through American Express.  American Express did an excellent job of taking there of their travel arrangements and they also managed to board in Manta.

 

In the case of the OP good thing that they were on the excursion instead of doing it on their own. If they had been they would have been on their own to catch up to the ship at their own expense.  A totally different issue then asking the cruise line for compensation.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by ldtr

[Charles4515]

5 minutes ago, ldtr said:

In the case of the OP good thing that they were on the excursion instead of doing it on their own. If they had been they would have been on their own to catch up to the ship at their own expense.  A totally different issue then asking the cruise line for compensation.

 

There are private tour operators that guarantee they will be responsible for geeting you to the next port if you miss the ship. I only use those for excursions that are take us a distance from the ship. 

 

Never came close to missing on a private excursion but the closest I came was on a ship excursion in of all places, Costa Rica that went a long way from port. Since I could not find a private excursion I had booked with the cruise line. We were in a small bus and the bus broke down. The tour operator was able to send a bus back from the ports to retrieve us and we made it back at the scheduled departures time. I don't know how long they had waited. I do know that the bus should neve rhave been used. The driver was having technical problems the whole way to the rain forest. So don't trust the cruise line to vet the tour companies they contract with.

[cruising sister]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Unless this was for the Panama Canal, this explanation is not correct.  No ship pays port fees prior to entering the port, with the exception of the Canal, where the deposit is needed 24 hours in advance.

It was Alexandria Egypt on the Brilliance of the Seas . Lots of explanations and rumors floating around. We all got our money back even though more than halfway through the cruise. I know the shore excursions were very expensive and we booked through the ship due to the distance to see the pyramids and the guarantee to get back to ship. Unfortunately we never end docked. 

[Mary229]

@chengkp75 it was the canal.  I wonder if the issue is not only the money but rescheduling transit.   Do you have any input on this?  

[chengkp75]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

@chengkp75 it was the canal.  I wonder if the issue is not only the money but rescheduling transit.   Do you have any input on this?  

Are you asking about the OP's cruise or cruisingsister's cruise?  I was questioning whether cruisingsister's cruise was the Panama Canal, because that is the only place that I know requires port fees in advance with no refund, though Suez may be the same, it's been a few years since I transited Suez.

 

As for the OP's cruise, this would most likely have resulted in a 24 hour delay from time the ship estimated arrival after delaying in Costa Rica, as getting a daylight priority slot would have meant bumping lower priority ships.  Container ships are just about as high priority as cruise ships, they pay a premium for a guaranteed slot, but they will take night transits just as well, and pay about the same as a cruise ship.  Tankers and bulkers are the lowest priority (especially in ballast ones), so the first to get bumped.

[Destiny0315]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2888244-bus-will-miss-ship-departure-in-costa-rica-tonight/#elShareItem_826985296_menu

Here is the link to the original post about this event and responses made to it on a thread in this forum from 4 months ago including some first hand information about it at the time.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, Destiny0315 said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2888244-bus-will-miss-ship-departure-in-costa-rica-tonight/#elShareItem_826985296_menu

Here is the link to the original post about this event and responses made to it on a thread in this forum from 4 months ago including some first hand information about it at the time.

 

Thank you for finding this thread. Interesting details there.

[OlsSalt]

16 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Thank you for finding this thread. Interesting details there.

Nice to learn dry clothes were offered,  while their wet ones were cleaned and dried.  And first class air was arranged to get to Colon. HAL came through as best they could, under the circumstances IMHO.