Official: Oosterdam has been re-deployed April-Nov. 2017

[Tampa Girl]

What is the difference between HAL's restricted fares and its flexible fares? Price, discount...?

[Lady Arwen]

What is the difference between HAL's restricted fares and its flexible fares? Price, discount...?

 

It really depends on the flight. Sometimes, Flex fares are considerably more money, but our flight was slightly less, so no definitive answer. Flex fares with airlines are quite expensive. Also, you don't pay for your flight at time of booking, you pay at cruise final payment date. 100% refundable til then. Restricted fares, no refund.

[Tampa Girl]

With restricted (non-refundable) fares with an airline, what is the usual cost of changing flights? Is it a %?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

With restricted (non-refundable) fares with an airline, what is the usual cost of changing flights? Is it a %?

 

It varies by airline and sometimes whether the flight is domestic or international. Typically anywhere from $150-300pp and not based on fare paid but a flat fee. If you have some sort of elite status with the airline the change fees could be lower or waived depending on the carrier and your status with their program.

[kazu]

With restricted (non-refundable) fares with an airline, what is the usual cost of changing flights? Is it a %?

 

 

It really depends. Your best hope is a certificate that expires one year from when you booked. Doesn't leave a lot of options if you booked early.

 

Even for my FFmiles, I can get them back up to 22 days out but there is a fee of $180. So with tax for two flights (one going out and one coming back for two) it's over $400 and that's "refundable" technically speaking.

[Lady Arwen]

It varies by airline and sometimes whether the flight is domestic or international. Typically anywhere from $150-300pp and not based on fare paid but a flat fee. If you have some sort of elite status with the airline the change fees could be lower or waived depending on the carrier and your status with their program.

 

I learned from experience that it can be very costly to change/cancel flights. Even with insurance it is not a guaranteed full refund as there are so many restrictions. As noted by our fellow c.c.ers, it depends on your flight, your airline and your status.

 

HAL's fares work for us, but not for everyone and not for every cruise and not for every airline. You will need to do some research prior to booking your air.

[grayjay]

When trying to find alternatives for our April 2017 "Oosterdam" cruise I only saw 2-3 possibles. Looking at RCL/Celebrity/Azamara which we have cruised quite often - the same thing. It's obvious that a lot of cruise lines are re-deploying ships to other areas because of political unrest, refugee crisis etc. It really is a pity because especially the Eastern Med is bautiful ion spring and one of our favourites.

But now to my question: I'm trying to re-book to one of the two alternatives open to us, both of which are more expensive than the one we booked ( a Signature Suite on Oosterdam). Haven't got a new offer, yet.

Some CC members who have already posted have been offered good deals i.e. HAL has been very good to them in honouring commitments. Are there more success stories so that I might keep up hopes?

Thank you for your answers.

[Lady Arwen]

When trying to find alternatives for our April 2017 "Oosterdam" cruise I only saw 2-3 possibles. Looking at RCL/Celebrity/Azamara which we have cruised quite often - the same thing. It's obvious that a lot of cruise lines are re-deploying ships to other areas because of political unrest, refugee crisis etc. It really is a pity because especially the Eastern Med is bautiful ion spring and one of our favourites.

But now to my question: I'm trying to re-book to one of the two alternatives open to us, both of which are more expensive than the one we booked ( a Signature Suite on Oosterdam). Haven't got a new offer, yet.

Some CC members who have already posted have been offered good deals i.e. HAL has been very good to them in honouring commitments. Are there more success stories so that I might keep up hopes?

Thank you for your answers.

 

You need to call HAL and tell them which cruise you want, not what they offer. They will bend over backwards to help you. You can have the same category cabin, or if not available, they will give you a complimentary upgrade. Don't worry about the price, you will get the same price as what you originally booked on Oosterdam. They will not be contacting you.....you must call the number provided in the email sent to you. Do it before all the best cabins sell out!

[grayjay]

You need to call HAL and tell them which cruise you want, not what they offer. They will bend over backwards to help you. You can have the same category cabin, or if not available, they will give you a complimentary upgrade. Don't worry about the price, you will get the same price as what you originally booked on Oosterdam. They will not be contacting you.....you must call the number provided in the email sent to you. Do it before all the best cabins sell out!

 

Thank you for your answer! Unfortunately so far the European branch of Holland America has never been too eager in "bending over backwards" in all the contacts we had ever had in the past. Let's hope they'll do the right thing for us now. I have contacted them via the travel agency we have been booking with ( another mistake as I forgot to tell the cruise consultants on board to make it an open booking) and given them two alternative cruises - Westerdam and Koningsdam - both of which we'd like if we really had to pay the original prices.

[sail7seas]

You need to call HAL and tell them which cruise you want, not what they offer. They will bend over backwards to help you. You can have the same category cabin, or if not available, they will give you a complimentary upgrade. Don't worry about the price, you will get the same price as what you originally booked on Oosterdam. They will not be contacting you.....you must call the number provided in the email sent to you. Do it before all the best cabins sell out!

 

 

thank you for this post. It is very helpful and seems HAL is handling the situation with considerationfffor each c ruisers' wishes and needs.

[Lady Arwen]

Thank you for your answer! Unfortunately so far the European branch of Holland America has never been too eager in "bending over backwards" in all the contacts we had ever had in the past. Let's hope they'll do the right thing for us now. I have contacted them via the travel agency we have been booking with ( another mistake as I forgot to tell the cruise consultants on board to make it an open booking) and given them two alternative cruises - Westerdam and Koningsdam - both of which we'd like if we really had to pay the original prices.

 

We chose Koningsdam 14 night....now listed at twice the price of our 12 night Oosterdam. Cost us nothing!

[Lady Arwen]

thank you for this post. It is very helpful and seems HAL is handling the situation with considerationfffor each c ruisers' wishes and needs.

 

Yes, in our case HAL really stepped up to the plate. Very pleased.

[mustgo]

We also were very very pleased. We went from a 15 day TA in Sept to a 19 day in August. We paid for 4 additional days at the low rate (casino rate) we had for out first TA and also got the shipboard credit. I had booked direct with Holland and I called the number they gave us in the email to make the changes the next day. They offered me whatever I wanted. I was amazed. I have nothing but praise for Holland America at this point.

[Valley Girl of VA]

I had that same problem about 10 days ago when I noticed my cruise on the Zaandam for March 2018 had "disappeared" In fact, it had disappeared for 2 months. TA called HAL and they said it was cancelled for operational reasons. This was for a South America cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires and there was no other substitute. We just booked my group on Princess. It came down to Princess or Celebrity. Very disappointed in HAL. They offered us nothing perhaps because it was so far out and I had a group going with me.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Valley Girl of VA

[tgeonetta]

Curious what they will offer us. We were booked on a seven day out of Barcelona. The only thing now they have available are 12 day cruises.

[Lady Arwen]

Curious what they will offer us. We were booked on a seven day out of Barcelona. The only thing now they have available are 12 day cruises.

Call them immediately! They will give you a 12 day at no extra charge, but you must move quickly before it fills up. They will not contact you! Trust me, they will take care of you.

[Cindy]

Call them immediately! They will give you a 12 day at no extra charge, but you must move quickly before it fills up. They will not contact you! Trust me, they will take care of you.

 

 

 

That's really good advice! It sounds like HAL is stepping up to the plate for people who call and have a pretty good idea what they want.

 

Although my cruise on the Westerdam hasn't been cancelled, I'm certainly counting my blessings since TWO ships I was considering for next spring (Oosterdam and Celebrity Equinox) have been redeployed.[emoji15]

 

 

Cindy

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Tampa Girl]

I had that same problem about 10 days ago when I noticed my cruise on the Zaandam for March 2018 had "disappeared" In fact, it had disappeared for 2 months. TA called HAL and they said it was cancelled for operational reasons. This was for a South America cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires and there was no other substitute. We just booked my group on Princess. It came down to Princess or Celebrity. Very disappointed in HAL. They offered us nothing perhaps because it was so far out and I had a group going with me.

 

But you are talking about a cruise that was scheduled for 19 or 20 months away. Plane reservations are not even available yet. Why would you expect anything from the cruise line?

[Lady Arwen]

I had that same problem about 10 days ago when I noticed my cruise on the Zaandam for March 2018 had "disappeared" In fact, it had disappeared for 2 months. TA called HAL and they said it was cancelled for operational reasons. This was for a South America cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires and there was no other substitute. We just booked my group on Princess. It came down to Princess or Celebrity. Very disappointed in HAL. They offered us nothing perhaps because it was so far out and I had a group going with me.

 

Yes, your booked cruise was not until 2018 and you had plenty of time to rebook something else. Why were you disappointed in HAL? Cruiselines routinely re-deploy ships and cancel certain cruises, not just HAL.

[MaxeyMom]

:)If you were on the Oosterdam and your cruise was cancelled call your PCC or HAL now. Research and see what cruises are remaining and similar. Decide which you would like to switch to and they will make it happen.

I am so thankful to my PCC for all the work she has done to move me to the Koningsdam for almost the same TA. We are only loosing the Lisbon stop. I had not planned on trying out the Koningsdam since it was so much more expensive but now is my chance! I was given the same price as my Oosterdam TA. What a deal.

 

Thanks PCC. Thanks HAL:)

[sail7seas]

Yes, your booked cruise was not until 2018 and you had plenty of time to rebook something else. Why were you disappointed in HAL? Cruiselines routinely re-deploy ships and cancel certain cruises, not just HAL.

 

Did you tell them what they could offer you thatt would make you less disappointed in them? How are they to know?

 

Al;l cruise lines must make ityineary/deploymengt c hhange. Ships must to gto cdtry dock, gthey neecd up grading sandf safety inspecgtions, updates etc. I hope thies is the worst disappointmwnt any of us v suffer.

[Sequim88]

As I posted today in another thread - we too are now double booked on both MS Amsterdam and MS Oosterdam for 2017-06-11 our of Seattle - R/T. Going to have to contact our PCC for sure. We picked a very specific handicap accessible inside cabin. I'll need to review Oosterdam's deck plans now.

[jd1966]

Our Oosterdam Transatlantic on March 31 was canceled due to the redeployment. I contacted HAL and they booked another Transatlantic cruise for me at the same price despite the new cruise being over twice the cost!! Since the new cruise was three days shorter, they lowered the overall price by the original Per Diem price. They also added another $100 per person on top of the OBC we already had! You can't beat that kind of compensation. Kudos to HAL!!!!

[Sequim88]

My PCC has confirmed that we have been rebooked on MS Oosterdam from our original MS Amsterdam booking. Assigned to a very much equivalent to what we booked on Amsterdam accessible inside cabin. Bummer for all the Oosterdam bookings. She said they (PCCs) are all very busy helping people find other itineraries but that there sometimes are no true matches. :(

 

For us the switch is a plus. A little bigger ship with some newer features not on Amsterdam. I'm guessing if it was switched before bookings had already been taken then there would have been a little higher fare.

 

For all who are losing their Transatlantic I feel your pain. We love TAs and they are all to rare (twice a year) anyway.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

For all who are losing their Transatlantic I feel your pain. We love TAs and they are all to rare (twice a year) anyway.

The plus is HAl is protecting our per day fare from the Osterdam on alternate Transatlantics. The minus is there are none that end or begin in Barcelona next year, so have to go to Rome instead, which is more expensive for hotels and less convenient for transport to/from the port.