Help! HAL has cancelled my cruise- looking for alternatives

Hi

I hope some of you can provide me with some advice. I found out today that HAL has cancelled my cruise- it was the Vandeem due to go to the Caribbean. It's now going to Cuba.

HAL don't have any alternative cruises that suit us so we're looking at another cruise line as our flights are booked. We've been on 5 cruises in total all with HAL and really like them.

We don't want a "party" board full of screaming kids- sorry parents!! We just want to chill- having had a look Princess cruises they would perhaps fit the bill.

Any advice of a cruise line similar to HAL?

Many thanks

El

You will probably find Celebrity to be more similar to your HAL experience than any other mass market line.

Princess and Celebrity are both nice, but if it is a cruise of 7 days or fewer, you will always be likely to have more kids on board. And whatever cruise you choose, there could be a group booking that includes a large number children, teens, or even more objectionable people! :)

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Hi

I hope some of you can provide me with some advice. I found out today that HAL has cancelled my cruise- it was the Vandeem due to go to the Caribbean. It's now going to Cuba.

El

So...do you have a bias about Cuba?...it is in the Caribbean and the Cuban ports are just a couple of ports in a list of several Caribbean ports where the ship will call.

IOW, HAL is not offering a "Cuba only" cruise.

So...do you have a bias about Cuba?...it is in the Caribbean and the Cuban ports are just a couple of ports in a list of several Caribbean ports where the ship will call.

 

IOW, HAL is not offering a "Cuba only" cruise.

Are there any places you have no desire to visit? I'm sure there is. I have no desire to visit Cuba either. I also have no desire to return to Jamaica or Nassau. It is called "choices". Just because the OP does not want to spend her $$$ on visiting an Island she has no desire to see, does not make her bias.

well they did not cancel your cruise they just changed their ports of call

You can check for other cruises going the same time if you already have flights booked

check what other lines are sailing out of the same port around your dates

Princess, Celebrity would be similar to HAL

or try Oceania their ships are smaller & more adult oriented

I assume that the OP's HAL sailing was chartered ?

Depending on the HAL offer to rebook , I may look a little harder @ HAL options.

In any case , without OP sailing date and itinerary interests flexibility , it is hard to recommend choices.

Cruise dates and length are important when expecting less kids onboard .

So...do you have a bias about Cuba?...it is in the Caribbean and the Cuban ports are just a couple of ports in a list of several Caribbean ports where the ship will call.

 

IOW, HAL is not offering a "Cuba only" cruise.

If I had booked a cruise because I was interested in one or more of the ports of call and then the line changed the itinerary to remove one port and replace it with another, my wanting to change cruises does not indicate "bias" - it simply shows that I knew what I wanted.

I once had been booked on an MSC ship from Venice to New York. When, due to late final delivery, the itinerary was changed to Bremen to New York I rebooked on a HAL ship - Rome to Fort Lauderdale: did that reflect "bias" about Bremen, or the North Sea, or MSC?

I agree Princess is a bit closer to HAL though the only cruise I did was 30 years ago, we have done 4 HAL cruises since. Though a largely British line I think Fred Olsen is not dissimilar to HAL, the shops are probably a bit smaller and older, as are the clientele, and a bit less glitzy overall. We have done a couple of Fred cruises they often have good itineraries, no casino and all that stuff, more lectures, though again possibly not as good as HAL. You would have to like British food !

I suspect you'd be happy with Princess or Celebrity. I have cruised with both and give Celebrity just a slight edge.

Hope you find a cruise you'll enjoy. :)

Hi

 

 

 

I hope some of you can provide me with some advice. I found out today that HAL has cancelled my cruise- it was the Vandeem due to go to the Caribbean. It's now going to Cuba.

 

 

 

HAL don't have any alternative cruises that suit us so we're looking at another cruise line as our flights are booked. We've been on 5 cruises in total all with HAL and really like them.

 

 

 

We don't want a "party" board full of screaming kids- sorry parents!! We just want to chill- having had a look Princess cruises they would perhaps fit the bill.

 

 

 

Any advice of a cruise line similar to HAL?

 

 

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

El

Oceania - what HAL aspires to.

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Look to see which ships are at your embarkation port, those would be your choices. Unless you chose to redo your flights.

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...

Any advice of a cruise line similar to HAL?

Many thanks El

1. celebrity

2. Princess

3. Oceania

Because I'm lazy and don't want to research this one ;)

Which port(s) were dropped from the itinerary to include Havana and Cienfuegos?

Is the OP sure his/her cruise was outright cancelled or was it just modified? Pre-cruise, what options has HAL offered to people who were booked on the Veendam cruises? Or, are they doing the "we have the right to substitute ports" thing?

Just curious.

(myself, I'd love to do a stop in Havana - so much history that has been denied to US citizens!)

Because I'm lazy and don't want to research this one ;)

 

Which port(s) were dropped from the itinerary to include Havana and Cienfuegos?

 

Is the OP sure his/her cruise was outright cancelled or was it just modified? Pre-cruise, what options has HAL offered to people who were booked on the Veendam cruises? Or, are they doing the "we have the right to substitute ports" thing?

 

Just curious.

 

(myself, I'd love to do a stop in Havana - so much history that has been denied to US citizens!)

There's a thread running on the Holland America forum about this. Apparently it was an Amazon cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2503111

There's a thread running on the Holland America forum about this. Apparently it was an Amazon cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2503111

Thanks. When the OP said it was supposed to go to the Caribbean and then Cuba, I would have never figured that it was really an Amazon cruise:

"I hope some of you can provide me with some advice. I found out today that HAL has cancelled my cruise- it was the Vandeem due to go to the Caribbean. It's now going to Cuba. "