So...What are my options??

[Alibaster McGillicutty]

We are booked for May 3, 2020 out of Seattle (Alaska round trip.)  We had to pay in full by end of January so it is paid for.

 

First offer was to stay booked and get $200 OBC........or cancel by end of March and get FCC (I am not sure how much is FCC and what is refunded to credit card.)

 

We never received an email about this offer;

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/news/coronavirus-travel-advisory/BookWithConfidence.html

Does this apply to us?

The way I read, it does and we can cancel 48hrs before our cruise.

 

We have other reasons to hold out until after 3/31 such as air and hotel and their cancellations options.

 

Thanks,

Ali McG

 

 

 

[strickerj]

Yes, this should apply to you. I didn't receive the email either but after reading about it here, I logged in and saw the OBC had been added to my reservation.

[wyobean]

I would wait and see what comes out by Friday when their announcement is due.

[richwmn]

7 minutes ago, wyobean said:

I would wait and see what comes out by Friday when their announcement is due.

What announcement is that? Carnival Cruise Lines, not Carnival Corporation, said they would make an announcement on Friday. That would be for Carnival Cruise Lines only, not HAL, Seabourn, Cunard, or any of the others.

 

[wyobean]

You don’t know that anymore than I do. Why not just see. You’ve waited this long....

[richwmn]

30 minutes ago, wyobean said:

You don’t know that anymore than I do. Why not just see. You’ve waited this long....

If you were replying to me, Carnival Corporation has to this point allowed each of its brands to act independently. So an announcement on Friday by Carnival Cruise Lines has nothing to do with Holland America or the other brands.

On the other hand, several days ago Royal Caribbean International, the umbrella corporation, made a corporate announcement that all their brands would extend the pause another 30 days and in the case of several ships even longer.

 

[darwinsrule]

1 hour ago, wyobean said:

You don’t know that anymore than I do. Why not just see. You’ve waited this long....

 

^^^THIS^^^  Even if it isn't this Friday the cancelation is coming sooner rather than later. 

 

We know one thing, any cruises scheduled to Alaska before July 1st either begin or end in Canada, or require a stop here.   The Canadian government is not changing its mind on the port closure to cruise ships.  Period.  On top of that the border between Canada and the U.S. is effectively closed for recreational travel.  There are so many other priorities our governments need to deal with right now, as much as it sucks, this will pass.  If we don't get to do Koningsdam in August so be it, the world will not end. Alaska will still be there next year.  

[AlanF65]

7 hours ago, Alibaster McGillicutty said:

We are booked for May 3, 2020 out of Seattle (Alaska round trip.)  We had to pay in full by end of January so it is paid for.

 

First offer was to stay booked and get $200 OBC........or cancel by end of March and get FCC (I am not sure how much is FCC and what is refunded to credit card.)

 

We never received an email about this offer;

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/news/coronavirus-travel-advisory/BookWithConfidence.html

Does this apply to us?

The way I read, it does and we can cancel 48hrs before our cruise.

 

We have other reasons to hold out until after 3/31 such as air and hotel and their cancellations options.

 

Thanks,

Ali McG

 

 

 

The port of Seattle is closed until the epidemic is clear, your cruise will be cancelled by HAL, just wait and you will get 100% cash back or 125% FCC if its is the same as the rest of cancelled cruises. You can' sail out of Seattle. You can't stop in Canada.

 

The port of Seattle has suspended cruise ships until the public health emergency ends and it is deemed safe.

 

https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2020/03/25/normally-a-bright-spot-in-the-alaska-recession-tourism-outlook-dims-with-coronavirus-uncertainty/

 

https://www.portseattle.org/news/port-seattle-expects-delay-start-2020-cruise-season

 

The start of Seattle’s cruise season will depend on the status of the public health emergency and the advice of local, state and federal public health officials. The CDC has issued a nonessential travel warning and a temporary no sail order for cruise ships, and the State and King County have imposed a number of strict limitations to limit the spread of COVID-19.

In conjunction with public health officials and our cruise line partners, the Port will regularly reevaluate this situation as the nature of this crisis evolves. Once the public health emergency ends and it is deemed safe, we believe that the launch of cruise in Seattle will provide critical economic relief to many struggling businesses in our region and beyond. Even when cruise season resumes, the Port will be working with public health officials, cruise lines and others to ensure that strong protective measures are in place to prevent future health issues on cruises that would impact travelers and local residents, such as pre-screening before boarding and stronger quarantine measures for on-board illness. 

 

[saltshell]

Peter Greenberg advises to be brave and hold out until they cancel so that you receive best refund. He has a recent and very good site. PeterGreenberg@petergreenberg.com. Will professionally answer questions. 

[Crazy For Cats]

Carnival just announced a delay in their cruise cancellation decision until a March 30.  I would assume HAL would not announce anything ahead of Monday.

[Sherry H]

Well, I was feeling pretty good having discovered the most recent cancelation policies announced by HAL (Bookings & Cancellations/Book with Confidence) would allow me to cancel 48 hours ahead of my April 19th cruise and still receive FCC.  However,  one of my fellow passengers is telling me that only applies to new bookings.  We who booked and paid by final payment date (Jan) must adhere to the March 31st deadline to receive FCC.

[AlanF65]

2 minutes ago, Sherry H said:

Well, I was feeling pretty good having discovered the most recent cancelation policies announced by HAL (Bookings & Cancellations/Book with Confidence) would allow me to cancel 48 hours ahead of my April 19th cruise and still receive FCC.  However,  one of my fellow passengers is telling me that only applies to new bookings.  We who booked and paid by final payment date (Jan) must adhere to the March 31st deadline to receive FCC.

That is wrong, the march 31 deadline was extended, the language that confused people was for those that booked after March 2nd with the Cruise with confidence plan were moved to the new extended cancellation policy.

 

"At Holland America Line the health and safety of our guests is of the highest priority.

In order to give travelers greater peace of mind surrounding their upcoming vacation plans, Holland America Line is extending our Short Term Cancel Policy for cruises or Alaska Land+Sea Journeys departing through July 31, 2020 (previously only through May 31 departures).

With the extended date to July 31, guests who booked departures April 1, 2020, through July 31, 2020, under the Book with Confidence program will now be covered under the Short Term Cancel Policy instead.

Cancellations will need to be finalized 48 hours in advance (previously the policy stated 72 hours in advance)."

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/news/extension-of-short-term-changes-to-cancellation-policy-to-july-31-2020/

 

 

[Nymich]

18 hours ago, saltshell said:

Peter Greenberg advises to be brave and hold out until they cancel so that you receive best refund. He has a recent and very good site. PeterGreenberg@petergreenberg.com. Will professionally answer questions. 

Brought to you by PeterGreenberg.  Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[Alibaster McGillicutty]

Thanks all!

I was thinking we have the option of waiting up until 48hrs before we set sail to cruise.  Even though we never received notification of that other than reading it on their site.

We had planned on making a call by 3/31 as that was the original option given to us bit now we will wait.

 

And yes, we totally expect May 3 to be a no-go given the issues now.

 

Thanks,

Ali McG