Ports of call cancelled

[FrankieSue]

Anybody has an opinion on why ports of call in Rhode Island and in Bar Harbor have been cancelled on the upcoming Ft Lauderdale to Montreal Zaandam itinerary? Rhode Island is being replaced with Portland, and Bar Harbor is replaced by a day at sea.

Edited March 22, 2023 by FrankieSue

[CruiserBruce]

Bar Harbor has said they don't want cruise ships stopping there. There is a thread around here somewhere on the topic.

[Caribbean Chris]

Portland is a charming small city so that’s a silver lining. 

[jlnprt]

I just got the notification. I'm sure it will still be a great cruise, and I'm not really surprised about Bar Harbor since I have been reading that they didn't want cruise ships. Looking forward to going to Portland as I haven't been there before. Dh isn't thrilled about another sea day. 

[cruisemom42]

Bar Harbor as of 2022 voted to limit the daily number of cruise ship passengers to 1,000. I will be stopping there in August on an Oceania ship.

[vacation 2011]

The Portland Maine being switched for Bar Harbor isn't bad but the change in port time originally 7-4 now 7-1 would be nicer 7-4.  Rhode Island now a sea day. An just adding 2 hours to Boston now 8-7 instead of 10-7. Then the change in cruise start date originally booked as May 2-13 5pm departure then changed to 4/19-4/29 5 pm departure then departure time changed to 4pm. None which are last minute changes but changes in what was advertised and paid for. Just getting a little annoyed. Not happy with Holland America right now.

 

[shippmates]

You will enjoy Portland.  Very easy town to do on your own.  If you have time visit Holy Donut just look for the line,  The donuts are good and some of the flavors are very different.  Enjoy your cruise.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm a little surprised at the Bar Harbor change. They are trying to limit the number of cruisers who visit. The town does get seriously overrun on a busy day. But Zaandam is a smaller ship, so I would have expected that one to be allowed in instead of a larger ship. 

 

Portland is fun. I did a walking/tasting tour with "Maine Foodie Tours," and it was one of the best I've done. The company has expanded beyond food tours and has changed its name, but if you search for Maine Foodie Tours, you should be able to find it. 

 

Great lobstah in Portland!

[REOVA]

12 minutes ago, vacation 2011 said:

The Portland Maine being switched for Bar Harbor isn't bad but the change in port time originally 7-4 now 7-1 would be nicer 7-4.  Rhode Island now a sea day. An just adding 2 hours to Boston now 8-7 instead of 10-7. Then the change in cruise start date originally booked as May 2-13 5pm departure then changed to 4/19-4/29 5 pm departure then departure time changed to 4pm. None which are last minute changes but changes in what was advertised and paid for. Just getting a little annoyed. Not happy with Holland America right now.

 

Just remember it's not in HAls control what the ports require. They also have to adjust like we do. 

[Hllb]

14 minutes ago, vacation 2011 said:

The Portland Maine being switched for Bar Harbor isn't bad but the change in port time originally 7-4 now 7-1 would be nicer 7-4.  Rhode Island now a sea day. An just adding 2 hours to Boston now 8-7 instead of 10-7. Then the change in cruise start date originally booked as May 2-13 5pm departure then changed to 4/19-4/29 5 pm departure then departure time changed to 4pm. None which are last minute changes but changes in what was advertised and paid for. Just getting a little annoyed. Not happy with Holland America right now.

 

Wait, they changed departure by weeks? They had to offer a full refund at that point, right??

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, Hllb said:

Wait, they changed departure by weeks? They had to offer a full refund at that point, right??

 

I would hope so. @vacation 2011, did they say why the departure was changed? Do you know what they planned in place of your cruise in your original time slot? 

Edited March 22, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[vacation 2011]

17 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I would hope so. @vacation 2011, did they say why the departure was changed? Do you know what they planned in place of your cruise in your original time slot? 

 

[vacation 2011]

NO explanation just has been changed, no offer of refund , had already paid in full. Seems they should change advisements to read 11 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale sometime in Spring to Montreal Canada with 4 to 6 ports. and possible Montreal or Old Quebec City departure. Then list ports that are possible then confirm ports and departure when they know, which should be scheduled at least  7-8 months prior to departure. Then only deal with changes last minute caused by last minute intrusions. Not a scheduled stop that just is dropped or changed within 30 days of voyage. They have clauses that cover them for everything so maybe if they are vague with their advertisements it would be easier to understand what control you don't have once you paid.

[Hllb]

1 hour ago, vacation 2011 said:

NO explanation just has been changed, no offer of refund , had already paid in full. Seems they should change advisements to read 11 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale sometime in Spring to Montreal Canada with 4 to 6 ports. and possible Montreal or Old Quebec City departure. Then list ports that are possible then confirm ports and departure when they know, which should be scheduled at least  7-8 months prior to departure. Then only deal with changes last minute caused by last minute intrusions. Not a scheduled stop that just is dropped or changed within 30 days of voyage. They have clauses that cover them for everything so maybe if they are vague with their advertisements it would be easier to understand what control you don't have once you paid.

Is there really a clause that covers the cruise leaving on a drastically different date? Port changes, yes, they're covered. But people choose cruises frequently based on dates due to work schedules, kids' vacation periods, etc. I mean, this change was during spring break so a family that could go on the original date, is likely not able to go when the week changed. That's crazy to me that they wouldn't allow a refund in this instance.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, vacation 2011 said:

NO explanation just has been changed, no offer of refund , had already paid in full. Seems they should change advisements to read 11 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale sometime in Spring to Montreal Canada with 4 to 6 ports. and possible Montreal or Old Quebec City departure. Then list ports that are possible then confirm ports and departure when they know, which should be scheduled at least  7-8 months prior to departure. Then only deal with changes last minute caused by last minute intrusions. Not a scheduled stop that just is dropped or changed within 30 days of voyage. They have clauses that cover them for everything so maybe if they are vague with their advertisements it would be easier to understand what control you don't have once you paid.

 

Just to be clear, you're talking about this year, Zaandam?

 

I just did a search and the website shows the Zaandam repositioning cruise as April 18-29, with 7 day Boston/Montreal itineraries after that. So if they pushed your repositioning back to May, what is the ship doing after arrival at FLL on April 18? And if your repositioning cruise is now May 2, what happens to the people booked on the 7-day itineraries out of Boston and Montreal?????

 

Bar Harbor and Newport still show up on the map for the repositioning cruise.

 

What are they up to with Zaandam??? They cancelled my winter Caribbean 2 weeks ago and still haven't filled that hole in the schedule--or sent me any notification; I found out on CC! I have learned that if I call HAL with questions, the agents have access to the same web pages I can see. So they have no additional information.

[Destiny0315]

Just to be clear here this Zaandam repo was changed from May 2, 2023 to April 18, 2023 in Mid June of 2022! There has been plenty of time for adjustments to be made or cancellation/refunds to be processed. As for the port changes and time changes, that is happening on a lot of cruises and not just HAL as the industry and the ports are adjusting to environmental and social changes in the world. As an example, a port like St. Petersburg in Russia was still on a lot of bucket lists not that long ago.

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

Just to be clear here this Zaandam repo was changed from May 2, 2023 to April 18, 2023 in Mid June of 2022! There has been plenty of time for adjustments to be made or cancellation/refunds to be processed. As for the port changes and time changes, that is happening on a lot of cruises and not just HAL as the industry and the ports are adjusting to environmental and social changes in the world. As an example, a port like St. Petersburg in Russia was still on a lot of bucket lists not that long ago.

 

I had the change reversed, sorry for the confusion. That's way before final payment. So only the port changes are after final payment? 

Edited March 22, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[OlsSalt]

3 hours ago, vacation 2011 said:

The Portland Maine being switched for Bar Harbor isn't bad but the change in port time originally 7-4 now 7-1 would be nicer 7-4.  Rhode Island now a sea day. An just adding 2 hours to Boston now 8-7 instead of 10-7. Then the change in cruise start date originally booked as May 2-13 5pm departure then changed to 4/19-4/29 5 pm departure then departure time changed to 4pm. None which are last minute changes but changes in what was advertised and paid for. Just getting a little annoyed. Not happy with Holland America right now.

 

 

You actually did get what you paid for ......if you read the fine print about itinerary changes.

 

HAL did not do this on whim and caprice. Many of us have had mid-cruise port changes - it comes with the realities of sea travel and most often variable weather conditions. Plus now including local opposition to cruise ships that happen, after intermarries were first published.

[Destiny0315]

As for the Bar Harbor change, the Zaandam was the only cruise ship scheduled for a port call there for the month of April (the 23) with the NCL Pearl next in on May 4. My guess is that even though Bar Harbor itself is a good place to visit most times of the year it is unable to provide the things that 1K+ cruise pax are looking for this early in the season. I agree that Portland is a good replacement but it is to short of a stay to fully take in the city. 

[vacation 2011]

That is correct the cruise date 5/3-5/13/23 changed on 6/7/22. I had booked 5/20/22 and paid in full at the time of booking. So I was stating facts pertaining to me, with all the changes that occurred . The first person asked if anyone had opinion on Port changes which I did wish Portland would be at lest till 4pm. Oh well. Sorry I added my frustrations regarding other changes and offended others, when I clarified" No refund offered" when asked by someone on thread, then went on a ramble regarding advertising Cruise voyages.  Smooth Sailing!!!!

[FrankieSue]

Sorry for all the upsets my initial question caused! I was just curious as to why the ports had changed. For my DH and I, the ship is our destination. Ports of call are just a nice break from the ship…. Everybody needs to «STAY CALM AND BE HAPPY » Happy sailings to all and again thank you for your inputs… this Board is full of knowledge and a treasure place of information! 💐❤️

[Guest ldtr]

As more ports are putting limits on the cruise ships (limit number of ships, size of ships, max number of passengers, etc) we can all expect more itinerary changes, especially with smaller ports that have been getting over whelmed with cruise ship passengers.  For that matter even some of the larger ports such as Barcelona is now limiting the number of ships.  For that matter even Juneau is looking at limiting the max number of ships in port.

[Colorado Klutch]

Sorry about the changes. 

I used to work in Portland pretty regularly many years ago. I really like that town. I especially liked getting the Two Lobster Dinner at DiMillo's which is a floating restaurant. It's still there, but a single lobster dinner is now $58.00. Yikes. 

[OlsSalt]

Building larger ships and adding more onboard frou frou was a strategic error for the cruise industry. Get back to basics - sea travel. Room and board, while getting there and back.

 

No jet lag, pack and unpack once. Salt air. A traveling house party with amiable guests, who understand they need to be self-contained, well-mannered, and share the space with fellow equally minded travelers.

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 minutes ago, ldtr said:

As more ports are putting limits on the cruise ships (limit number of ships, size of ships, max number of passengers, etc) we can all expect more itinerary changes, especially with smaller ports that have been getting over whelmed with cruise ship passengers.  For that matter even some of the larger ports such as Barcelona is now limiting the number of ships.  For that matter even Juneau is looking at limiting the max number of ships in port.

 

Juneau needs to limit the number of ships. I think Queen Elizabeth was one of SIX ships, and most were larger than QE (a Vista). There are so many passengers arriving on a single day that vendors aren't able to keep up with the demand for tours, both independent and ship tours.