UPDATE - I just don't understand Holland America

[Jade13]

Thanks all of those that posted.

 

I took your advice and called my TA and they contacted Holland America and this is what they said.

 

We can change his flight to the day before but it will cost him 150.00 per person and then i have to find my own Hotels on top of it.

 

Does anyone have a phone number for Holland America Customer Service i think it is about time i have a talk with them.

 

Oh forgot to mention in last post our total time from the time we are to land in Minneapolis St. Paul to the time we take off is 1hr 10 minutes

This doesn't leave anytime for circling the airport, the line up at customs declaring our luggage going back through security and then getting to the terminal that we leave from

 

I just read your original thread

 

#1

Today, 12:01 AM

moffl vbmenu_register("postmenu_12588073", true);

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Jan 2006

Posts: 10

 

 

I just don't understand Holland America

"Hello All:

 

Well we finally got our travel arrangements including air from Holland America and it just keeps getting better and better for the Jan 13 sailing of the Veendam.

 

They have booked us to fly out of Northern Canada and into St. Paul and onto Tampa and Board the ship before it sails all in the same day. Must be Nice to sit in Houston and think the rest of the world has your weather. Just in case you people at Holland America don't understand we could be delayed anywhere along this as where we come from it is not unusual to get a snow storm and get delayed 2 -3 maybe more hrs before even leaving Canada for St. Paul. Then of course there is the great possibility that we will circle St. Paul for 1 hr as usual in January.

If we are lucky enough they just may have the plane that we are to fly to Tampa on waiting for us in the next lane so that we don't have to kill ourselves running 1.5 miles to get on the plane.

 

My wife and i have sailed 6 previous times and have always paid the cruise line to make all the arrangements and they have always flown us in the day before.

 

I for one have to admit that this will be our 4th on Holland and every year it seems things get worse.

 

Maybe just me but after forking out good hard earned money and then told that if we miss the ship they will fly us to the next port and that is 4 days into the 14 day cruise. If i had wanted a 10 day cruise i would have booked one for alot less money.

 

Last time for Holland America"

 

 

 

The cruise line usually flys you in the same day unless you ask for diviation and to come a day early. You have to pay a diviation fee to come in on a different day and of course your own hotel (usually the ones offered by the cruise line are not a good deal).

 

It sounds like you expect them to pay for your hotel? I understand you are in Canada but their are US citizens in cold states like Maine and Boston and New York and MN who have the same weather delay concerns.

 

The confusion seems to be that you did not ask for air diviation a day early but just expected that HAL who do this for you and with no additional charges?

 

I wouldn't call them unless you have some flight options for exactly when you want to come in. We always come a day early (and pay for a hotel).

[moffl]

hello all:

 

we have used a very well known internet company and they have always been exceptionally good. When i booked this cruise it has always been the same and that is the cruise, air fare transfers to and from ship along with all fees and taxes. We have always been flown down the day before and had a hotel room provided and then taken to the ship.

 

There was no mention of flying down and boarding the ship the same day otherwise i would not have accepted it

 

PS When we get our pricing it was always including everything air hotel transfers taxes etc

[moffl]

I just read your original thread

 

#1

Today, 12:01 AM

moffl vbmenu_register("postmenu_12588073", true);

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Jan 2006

Posts: 10

 

 

I just don't understand Holland America

"Hello All:

 

Well we finally got our travel arrangements including air from Holland America and it just keeps getting better and better for the Jan 13 sailing of the Veendam.

 

They have booked us to fly out of Northern Canada and into St. Paul and onto Tampa and Board the ship before it sails all in the same day. Must be Nice to sit in Houston and think the rest of the world has your weather. Just in case you people at Holland America don't understand we could be delayed anywhere along this as where we come from it is not unusual to get a snow storm and get delayed 2 -3 maybe more hrs before even leaving Canada for St. Paul. Then of course there is the great possibility that we will circle St. Paul for 1 hr as usual in January.

If we are lucky enough they just may have the plane that we are to fly to Tampa on waiting for us in the next lane so that we don't have to kill ourselves running 1.5 miles to get on the plane.

 

My wife and i have sailed 6 previous times and have always paid the cruise line to make all the arrangements and they have always flown us in the day before.

 

I for one have to admit that this will be our 4th on Holland and every year it seems things get worse.

 

Maybe just me but after forking out good hard earned money and then told that if we miss the ship they will fly us to the next port and that is 4 days into the 14 day cruise. If i had wanted a 10 day cruise i would have booked one for alot less money.

 

Last time for Holland America"

 

 

 

The cruise line usually flys you in the same day unless you ask for diviation and to come a day early. You have to pay a diviation fee to come in on a different day and of course your own hotel (usually the ones offered by the cruise line are not a good deal).

 

It sounds like you expect them to pay for your hotel? I understand you are in Canada but their are US citizens in cold states like Maine and Boston and New York and MN who have the same weather delay concerns.

 

The confusion seems to be that you did not ask for air diviation a day early but just expected that HAL who do this for you and with no additional charges?

 

I wouldn't call them unless you have some flight options for exactly when you want to come in. We always come a day early (and pay for a hotel).

 

Just to let you in on a little secret i have always paid for my hotle room as it was calculated into the price that i paid

[Jade13]

Well, we are expecting highs in the eighties this weekend! :)

 

Maybe OP confused Houston with Seattle, HAL's home base. An easy error to make.

 

That was the OPs point. It is hot in Houston.

[pms4104]

hello all:

 

There was no mention of flying down and boarding the ship the same day otherwise i would not have accepted it

 

Unless I misread your first post in your other thread, it sounds like you understood upfront that you were traveling home to ship same-day ...

They have booked us to fly out of Northern Canada and into St. Paul and onto Tampa and Board the ship before it sails all in the same day.

[jhannah]

The $150 quoted charge per person is most likely a difference in fare. When you pay deviation (a fee that goes to the cruise line) you also are responsible in any difference in fare between what the cruise line booked and what you request. I know it's crazy, but fares can vary that widely from one week day to another.

[moffl]

Unless I misread your first post in your other thread, it sounds like you understood upfront that you were traveling home to ship same-day ...

They have booked us to fly out of Northern Canada and into St. Paul and onto Tampa and Board the ship before it sails all in the same day.

 

I found this out after i had received my Holland America package by courier. Just to clear up any misunderstanding I booked this cruise just like any other cruise but this time i get the jolt of being told that we are doing it all in one day which is not what we asked for or payed for but it is now the game he said she said but bottom line is if anyone farts we are going to miss that ship

[Jade13]

The $150 quoted charge per person is most likely a difference in fare. When you pay deviation (a fee that goes to the cruise line) you also are responsible in any difference in fare between what the cruise line booked and what you request. I know it's crazy, but fares can vary that widely from one week day to another.

 

 

Some online Agents also charge for diviation (The one I have used would unless I had it all worked out prior to transfering the booking), so in that case it could be $75.00 diviation HAL and $75.00 diviation agent x 2 = $300.00

[happy cruzer]

Well, if you like everything else on HAL, don't give up on the cruiseline because of cruise air. Almost all lines do cruise air the same and most folks either book their own air or pay an air deviation fee plus any difference in cost of their preferred flights to get the air travel they desire.

 

I am one of those crazy people that fly on day of the cruise but only if the next port is the next day and easily reachable. I even self insure in those cases.

 

But for a cruise like yours that doesn't dock again for 4 days. I would be doing the air dev for 1 day early and taking the insurance.

 

My point the cruise lines do this the same, you need to be careful on all.

[pms4104]

My 2 cents ... whether we have booked thru HAL directly or thru a T/A, we have always received confirmations and invoices thruout the booking/payment process that state clearly what our arrangements are. Meaning, we know upfront whether we will be overnighting pre-cruise or not. 'Tis unfortunate that your T/A does not provide that important service.

 

I am sorry that your arrangements are not as you'd expected, and I hope sincerely that you will be able to work out a re-route, tho likely there will be some charges involved. It is possible that your T/A was not clear on your desires, or failed to convey them accurately to HAL.

 

My comments are not meant to be snotty or unfeeling, but I believe it is inappropriate to dis HAL when there are other parties at play here.

[pms4104]

Further, I justed looked at my HAL brochure and it states clearly that when your air travel is arranged thru HAL, you are enrolled automatically in HAL's Fly Cruise Plan which entitles you, among other advantages, to their AirPlus Service. This allows each guest to select which airlines they prefer, upgrade flight class and/or travel to and from (dis)embarkation port on dates other than those usually booked.

 

I am sorry you were not aware of your entitlements before your air was assigned to you.

 

Wishing you clear skies and not a burp in the system.

[debsea]

We have often found HAL's airfares to be bettter than we could book ourselves. We have always specified that we wish to arrive the day before departure, and HAL has made our bookings accordingly.

[Boatdrill]

Hello All:

 

I for one have to admit that this will be our 4th on Holland and every year it seems things get worse.

 

Maybe just me but after forking out good hard earned money and then told that if we miss the ship they will fly us to the next port and that is 4 days into the 14 day cruise. If i had wanted a 10 day cruise i would have booked one for alot less money.

 

Last time for Holland America

 

 

Why is the air routing HAL's fault ? :confused:

 

You had (have) other options.

[moffl]

Why is the air routing HAL's fault ? :confused:

 

You had (have) other options.

 

What options

 

1. i stated exactly what i wanted

2. ta knew what i wanted when i stated air fair hotel room etc etc.

 

3. i caught it in time to have it changed but HAL said that there were problems and nothing was confirmed and they would get back to us and never did just went ahead and booked the flight even though they along with the TA where advised that i was not happy and wanted to change it so instead of 100.00 for 2 people it went to 300.00 for 2.

 

4. Bottom Line i purchased air through HAL and wanted it changed and they just went ahead and booked it anyway even though they new i did not want it that way

 

that is why it is their problem

 

What other options pay 300.00 instead of 100.00 to change the flights plus pay for a hotel. I don't mind paying the 100.00 for both and hotel rooms but to add another 500.00 - 600.00 for that on top of the 5500.00 already and that doesn't includ the tips on the ship for all this grief when someone at HAL would have done what they said they would do and that was they would be contacting ta when they had found out from NWA about the flight restructuring was completed.

 

ps they have no problem leaving me in Tampa until 6:30pm when we get back

[Philip217]

You not only didn't understand Holland America.

You didn't understand cruise air travel in the 21st century.

 

One should NEVER even think of buying air travel from a cruise line (would you buy a cruise from an airline??).

 

The rare exceptions are long-haul flights like Trans-pacific and Trans-atlantic. Even then, you can usually get a comparable or better deal on your own.

 

Hopefully after reading all the posts on this thread, you will have a better understanding of cruising and air travel.

[LouisV]

My Mom and I are booked on a Nov/08 cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. Living in BC, we often find that flying out in winter is a crap shoot. This time we are driving to Spokane WA and flying out from there. I think it will be cheaper to then flying out of Canada.

[pms4104]

[quote name='moffl']What options

1. i stated exactly what i wanted
2. ta knew what i wanted when i stated air fair hotel room etc etc.

3. i caught it in time to have it changed but HAL said that there were problems and nothing was confirmed and they would get back to us and never did just went ahead and booked the flight even though they along with the TA where advised that i was not happy and wanted to change it so instead of 100.00 for 2 people it went to 300.00 for 2.

4. Bottom Line i purchased air through HAL and wanted it changed and they just went ahead and booked it anyway even though they new i did not want it that way

that is why it is their problem

What other options pay 300.00 instead of 100.00 to change the flights plus pay for a hotel. I don't mind paying the 100.00 for both and hotel rooms but to add another 500.00 - 600.00 for that on top of the 5500.00 already and that doesn't includ the tips on the ship for all this grief when someone at HAL would have done what they said they would do and that was they would be contacting ta when they had found out from NWA about the flight restructuring was completed.

ps they have no problem leaving me in Tampa until 6:30pm when we get back[/quote]
Your points #1 and #2 above give clear reason why, when dealing with T/A or HAL, it is a good idea to put your request/desire in writing and to get a written confirmation detailing that your wishes have been honored. Sorry, I still am not entirely certain this is HAL's goofus situation. Do you have email or whatever in writing to your T/A saying what you wanted? Do your confirmations and invoices reflect a pre-cruise night in Tampa? Does your T/A have anything in writing from HAL (like her agency copy of your confirmed booking) detailing what you wanted and paid for? If indeed, your T/A knew what you wanted and ordered such from HAL, it should be up to the T/A to straighten this out or to absorb your extra costs ... call it professional courtesy, if you will. With a paper trail, it would be easier to dis HAL, but I suspect the fault lies elsewhere. So, this time out, you end up paying extra to get what you thought you requested originally ... and the next cruise booking, you'll be certain to get written confirmation that your desires have been honored and forwarded to the cruiseline. Both you and your T/A should take some responsibility for this snafu. I'm all out of opinions and comments ... gotta pack for our departure this weekend for our cruise.

[jhannah]

[quote name='Philip217']... (would you buy a cruise from an airline??).[/quote]Why not? American Airlines and others run travel agencies of their own. AAdvantage Vacations will sell you a cruise in a heartbeat. And you'll get AA miles in the process.

[fann1sh]

Moffl, I really do understand your side of this problem. I'm a Canadian citizen, too, despite being "transbordered" into Michigan. In past, when dealing with difficult routing like yours, it was routine for cruise companies to bite the bullet and plan an extra day to get you to the ship, without you having to pay for a "deviation".

However, as everyone says, things have changed. It seems like Seattle no longer cares if people actually make to the ship, as long as the air booked "theoretically" gets them there. At least in one instance, a Captain left a large group of people behind, rather than hold the ship (once again) for hours after slated departure. Apparently, tried to teach Seattle a lesson. Looks like they didn't learn it.

Unfortunately, if you can't back up what you asked for with proof in writing, you have to share the blame here. :o I hope that doesn't sound harsh.

Time to bite the bullet and save your vacation. Get a 3 way dialogue going between that internet agency, yourself, and HAL. (I suspect I know which internet travel agency, since you mentioned Houston.)

If it was me, I'd pay whatever was necessary to make sure I got to the ship on time. Or, did you buy HAL Platinum CPP? If you're soured on this trip, cancel, take your lumps for the 10% (15% for regular CPP?) and start over - but document everything for the new cruise.

I truly am sympathetic :) but fix it or get out now. You and I both know you're NOT going to be at the pier on time - especially with having to clear customs - and missing 4 days will ruin your fun.

[hammybee]

[quote name='moffl']hello all:

we have used a very well known internet company and they have [B]always [/B]been exceptionally good. When i booked this cruise it has [B]always[/B] been the same and that is the cruise, air fare transfers to and from ship along with all fees and taxes. We have [B]always[/B] been flown down the day before and had a hotel room provided and then taken to the ship.

There was no mention of flying down and boarding the ship the same day otherwise i would not have accepted it

PS When we get our pricing it was [B]always[/B] including everything air hotel transfers taxes etc[/quote]

Sometimes [B]always [/B]means someone assumed what happened before would happen again, without having a conversation about it. I cannot imagine a cruise line, any cruise line, would know what you [B]always[/B] did, unless your TA, told them exactly what you needed to do, [U]this time.[/U]

This is sounding more and more like a communication breakdown between you and your TA and I am not defending HAL or any cruise line.

[hammybee]

[quote name='moffl']Thanks all of those that posted.

I took your advice and called my TA and they contacted Holland America and this is what they said.

We can change his flight to the day before but it will cost him 150.00 per person and then i have to find my own Hotels on top of it.

Does anyone have a phone number for Holland America Customer Service [B]i[/B] [B]think it is about time i have a talk with them.[/B] /quote]

About 15% of the price you paid for your cruise is your TA's commission. And despite this, you want to talk to HAL about a airline arrangement made for you by your TA. Something is not right with this picture. Consider insisting on a three-way conversation, you, your TA and HAL and work through this mess.

[moffl]

[quote name='hammybee'][quote name='moffl']Thanks all of those that posted.

I took your advice and called my TA and they contacted Holland America and this is what they said.

We can change his flight to the day before but it will cost him 150.00 per person and then i have to find my own Hotels on top of it.

Does anyone have a phone number for Holland America Customer Service [B]i[/B] [B]think it is about time i have a talk with them.[/B] /quote]

About 15% of the price you paid for your cruise is your TA's commission. And despite this, you want to talk to HAL about a airline arrangement made for you by your TA. Something is not right with this picture. Consider insisting on a three-way conversation, you, your TA and HAL and work through this mess.[/quote]

it would be nice to have a 3 way conversation but the old he said she said atitude applies to ta and HAL.

I don't think i am being unreasonable in saying okay i caught the mistake lets deal with it and make it right. Like i said i was prepared to pay 50.00 per person and hotel room before HAL had booked the flights. But to tell me now that i have to pay an extra 200.00 because no one listened to me is pure cow manure.

Thanks for all of your input I just wanted everyone to know don't believe a word from your TA or cruise line because it obviously doesn't mean a thing even when you catch their mistake they still make you pay for it. Wish me luck and fair weather and no other planes in Minneapolis on the 13/01/08 and for god sakes if you see 2 old people running please move as i don't want to hurt you when i bump into you

[hammybee]

[quote name='moffl'][quote name='hammybee']


Wish me luck and fair weather and no other planes in Minneapolis on the 13/01/08 and for god sakes if you see 2 old people running please move as i don't want to hurt you when i bump into you[/quote]

I do wish you the best of luck and fair weather and hope that the folk at the Minneapolis airport get the hell-o out of your way cause you're gonna make it, afterall. :)