Already booked tours

[lizjohn]

We are gong on a Panama Canal cruise at the end of September leaving from Vancouver on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  All of our tours have been booked.  Our TA just called us the other day to let us know that he price of the cruise has gone down and they have been able to negotiate with Hal to get us free beverage cards and some credit towards tours.  My dilemma is do I cancel some tours now and rebook on board.  I was told that to use the tour credit we would have to book on board.    If I do that and the tour that we want  is sold out then we would have to take our second choice.  My DH wants to wait until we get on board, go to the tour desk and talk to someone,  then cancel with them and rebook right away.  I seem to remember that there was a cost to cancel a tour if it was within so many days until the tour was to happen.  

Hoping that someone with more experience than us can give us some advice.

[avian777]

Since you are using a TA, I suggest that you ask your TA if you will be allowed to cancel your booked tours (once you are onboard) without penalty and immediately re-book the same tours using your OBC.  If your TA doesn't know the answer to your questions, I feel fairly certain he/she will be able to get the needed information directly from HAL ... and may even be able to arrange a pre-cruise cancellation/rebooking for you. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by avian777

[kwb101]

HAL's cancelation policy is on this page, last item under FAQs:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html

Here's the text:

Cancellations for pre-paid tours are allowed up to 3 days prior to cruise embarkation and will be refunded to the credit card used for the purchase. If within 3 days of embarkation, all changes/cancellations must be done onboard the ship and refunds will be applied to your onboard account. If the credit is not fully utilized during the cruise, the balance will be paid to that passenger by the ship's Purser at the end of the voyage. If cancellation occurs onboard after the cancellation deadline for specific shore excursions, a 100% cancellation fee will apply. The ship's shore excursions office will be able to advise you of the cancellation deadline applicable to each tour. Optional  shore excursions during the land portion of a Land & Sea Journey are non-refundable within 3 days of your Land & Sea Journey departure date. Group shore excursions cancelled within three days prior to embarkation (sail) date are nonrefundable. Custom tours may have different cancellation deadlines which will be stated in the proposal. In the rare instance that tours are cancelled by Holland America Line or the tour operator, the full amount will be refunded within four to six weeks after the voyage ends.

 

One thing to consider is that if you cancel a sold-out tour, you will probably go to the bottom of the waiting list. Good luck! 

[Krazy Kruizers]

I agree with the above poster.  There is always the chance that there is a waiting list for a tour you cancel.  So before you cancel, ask the excursion person if the tour is sold old and if there is a waiting list.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Ask your TA if the credit must be spent on tours. I recall a promo several years ago that included credit toward tours. Onbord, the system couldn't tell the difference and it just became general obc. HAL might have improved their onboard accounting since then, but it's worth asking.

 

I suggest you prioritize your tours--which would you gamble with? And then keep that in mind when you talk to the tour staff about cancelling and rebooking. You can also get an idea of which tours are full by looking at them in your voyage personalizer. 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We have been primarily sailing on Princess where OBC can be used prior to the cruise to book excursions. I know that HAL doesn’t allow this, but in this situation it doesn’t sound like you are getting OBC, but credit towards excursions. Would HAL let you use this credit  toward excursions booked prior to the cruise?

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

We have been primarily sailing on Princess where OBC can be used prior to the cruise to book excursions. I know that HAL doesn’t allow this, but in this situation it doesn’t sound like you are getting OBC, but credit towards excursions. Would HAL let you use this credit  toward excursions booked prior to the cruise?

 

Probably not. I don't think I've ever heard of HAL credit that could be spent before the cruise.

 

[kwb101]

We are on Zuiderdam, and our excursion tickets all have a notice on the front that says  (in part) "10% cancellation fee". If you cancel and re-book, and you have more than a couple of excursions, it may get expensive. 

[rkacruiser]

58 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Ask your TA if the credit must be spent on tours. I recall a promo several years ago that included credit toward tours. Onbord, the system couldn't tell the difference and it just became general obc. HAL might have improved their onboard accounting since then, but it's worth asking.

 

This is helpful information for me.  Because I booked a non-refundable deposit fare and the price for the cruise subsequently dropped some, I was not eligible for the lower fare.  My TA was able to secure an increase in my OBC as well as a shore excursion credit.  I would like that shore excursion credit to become a general OBC.  (My guess is I won't know that until I embark the Volendam and get a print-out of my account during the early days of my cruise.)

[Sir PMP]

Don't cancel..

[caribill]

Do not cancel now.

 

Once on board ask at the excursion desk about it.

 

Make sure that if you can cancel on board and rebook (assuming not sold out) that the price has not increased so that the discount does you no good.

[lizjohn]

Thank you everyone.  We have decided to wait until we are on board and go to the excursion desk to talk to them.  Our first excursion is not until 11 days into the cruise, so we have time on board to figure things out.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, lizjohn said:

Thank you everyone.  We have decided to wait until we are on board and go to the excursion desk to talk to them.  Our first excursion is not until 11 days into the cruise, so we have time on board to figure things out.  

 

11 days is plenty of time to be within the cancellation period. But go and ask right away. A lot of people wait until they're onboard to book tours, so availability on day 2 will be less than on day 1.