News article that Couple claimed HAL did not inform them of canceled Zuiderdam cruise

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This article popped up in my news feed this morning.

https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/cruise-line-admits-it-forgot-to-tell-passengers-that-trip-was-canceled

[cruisemom42]

At the end of the article there is a sentence that says "At this time, it’s unclear why there was an inconsistent message from cruise line employees."

 

I feel that's a phrase that could almost be a tagline at this point, we hear it so often....

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by cruisemom42

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

At the end of the article there is a sentence that says "At this time, it’s unclear why there was an inconsistent message from cruise line employees."

 

I feel that's a phrase that could almost be a tagline at this point, we hear it so often....

 

100% true!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I see two sides to this story where both are at fault, although I am leaning on a bit more fault on the passengers. This is my take, first they were evidently past HAL cruisers to know enough to have the Navigator App. The problem with the Navigator app is that unless you actually log off the app it will not update and make any changes, so it will appear everything is fine with the cruise. As I stated they must have been previous HAL cruisers to even know about the Navigator app so they would have had to go on line to do their on line registration. That would not have been possible and should have been the first alert. Their booking of the cruise and the cancellation appears to be within days of each other possible hours which was possibly why no email was received from HAL. The cruise was already in the cancellation stage when they paid it in full.

While I have run into my share of dealing with lots of temps working for HAL during the pandemic most are all now full employees of HAL and new hires but if given a reservation number and the voyage/voyage number was canceled it would definitely show that when pulling up a reservation number so I find it hard to believe they were told the cruise was still going. I do question  what was stated in that regards but that is between HAL and the passengers and HAL does record ALL phone calls. 

I do beleive they feel they were no notified but I also think it was up to the passengers to stay on top of their cruise. I think there is far more to this than what was stated.

[NCTribeFan]

If the Navigator app was a thing on my last HAL cruise (K'dam, Nov 2017), I didn't know about it.  

 

I found out the other day that my quasi B2Bs on NCL Bliss for April & May 2023 have been cancelled.  No email from NCL.  My TA wasn't informed.  Only reason we found out was a friend who was also booked found out on someone else's FB feed!  Still no word from NCL  I know they have my email because I get something almost daily with another great "special offer."

 

I had a B2B booked on MSC for this past January.  I got the cancellation email for one of the bookings but not the other.  At least I did receive the emails for both that my FCCs were available.

 

Unless you've changed your email address, there's no reason to not receive that cancellation email.  It should go out automatically to every email address associated with every booking number for that particular cruise.  No excuse for it not happening.  Seems like every line has issues with their IT, though.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by NCTribeFan

[GeorgiaPeach51]

For what it’s worth, we are on the upcoming Nieuw Amsterdam Panama Canal cruise out of Seattle.  We sail October 5, so 14 days away.  On our roll call are multiple people who are giving the heads up that the itinerary has changed fairly dramatically and they can see it on Navigator.  There are also multiple people who have signed out, logged in again; deleted and reinstalled the app, etc., and it still shows them the old itinerary.

 

Meanwhile, not a peep from HAL.  Yes, it’s Covid and yes things are in flux, but it is still a fact that some see the changes and some do not..and Heaven help you if you are not on CC....no clue and you don’t even know it!  
 

so, I might lean a little more towards blaming HAL, based on what I’m seeing pre-cruise.

 

Joanie

[Sir PMP]

Big deal..

[croozer]

It happened to me, too.  I would have had no idea that my Sept. 25 Zuiderdam cruise was cancelled if it hadn't been for me checking out Cruise Critic every day.  I already had my luggage tags and boarding pass, so I was good to go. I searched my computer for an email, checking my account, my spam folder and my trash.  Nothing (except for my confirmation and the notices about Visa, Covid Test, etc.) I kept checking my booking online and the countdown was active.  I was thinking of booking excursions or dining just to see if it went through but didn't want my credit card charged.  Finally, I called a number in Seattle on 9/2 and the person there said the cruise had not been cancelled and she saw my booking was still active, too.  I asked why other people had received cancellation notices but not me, and she said it was probably because the HAL was probably trying to keep capacity down for CDC requirements.  It sounded to me like she just made it up off the top of her had and I asked her if she could check into it and if she found out anything to contact me back.  She never did.  The next day I called a HAL reservation agent and rebooked.  I guess I fell through the cracks, which makes me feel very insignificant.  And I have to wonder--if I hadn't checked on Cruise Critic, would I be arriving at the pier with my suitcase to find no ship there?

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I see two sides to this story where both are at fault, although I am leaning on a bit more fault on the passengers. This is my take, first they were evidently past HAL cruisers to know enough to have the Navigator App. The problem with the Navigator app is that unless you actually log off the app it will not update and make any changes, so it will appear everything is fine with the cruise. As I stated they must have been previous HAL cruisers to even know about the Navigator app so they would have had to go on line to do their on line registration. That would not have been possible and should have been the first alert. Their booking of the cruise and the cancellation appears to be within days of each other possible hours which was possibly why no email was received from HAL. The cruise was already in the cancellation stage when they paid it in full.

While I have run into my share of dealing with lots of temps working for HAL during the pandemic most are all now full employees of HAL and new hires but if given a reservation number and the voyage/voyage number was canceled it would definitely show that when pulling up a reservation number so I find it hard to believe they were told the cruise was still going. I do question  what was stated in that regards but that is between HAL and the passengers and HAL does record ALL phone calls. 

I do beleive they feel they were no notified but I also think it was up to the passengers to stay on top of their cruise. I think there is far more to this than what was stated.

After reading that article there does not seem to be two sides to the story.  The entire story is that HAL screwed up, did not notify their passengers, admit they do not have a clue as to how this happened, etc. etc.  To make matters worse it seems that even HAL employees did not have much of a clue.   Nothing in the story would lead anyone to think that the passengers did anything wrong.  Bottom line was that HAL took payment for the cruise and never bothered to tell those poor folks that the cruise no longer existed. 

 

Hank

 

 

[croozer]

Apparently, Navigator still thinks I'm sailing this Sunday, too.  Oh how I wish it were so.

[Sir PMP]

34 minutes ago, croozer said:

Apparently, Navigator still thinks I'm sailing this Sunday, too.  Oh how I wish it were so.

'Smartphone"..

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

After reading that article there does not seem to be two sides to the story.  The entire story is that HAL screwed up, did not notify their passengers, admit they do not have a clue as to how this happened, etc. etc.  To make matters worse it seems that even HAL employees did not have much of a clue.   Nothing in the story would lead anyone to think that the passengers did anything wrong.  Bottom line was that HAL took payment for the cruise and never bothered to tell those poor folks that the cruise no longer existed. 

 

Hank

 

 

You nailed it. 

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, croozer said:

It happened to me, too.  I would have had no idea that my Sept. 25 Zuiderdam cruise was cancelled if it hadn't been for me checking out Cruise Critic every day.  I already had my luggage tags and boarding pass, so I was good to go. I searched my computer for an email, checking my account, my spam folder and my trash.  Nothing (except for my confirmation and the notices about Visa, Covid Test, etc.) I kept checking my booking online and the countdown was active.  I was thinking of booking excursions or dining just to see if it went through but didn't want my credit card charged.  Finally, I called a number in Seattle on 9/2 and the person there said the cruise had not been cancelled and she saw my booking was still active, too.  I asked why other people had received cancellation notices but not me, and she said it was probably because the HAL was probably trying to keep capacity down for CDC requirements.  It sounded to me like she just made it up off the top of her had and I asked her if she could check into it and if she found out anything to contact me back.  She never did.  The next day I called a HAL reservation agent and rebooked.  I guess I fell through the cracks, which makes me feel very insignificant.  And I have to wonder--if I hadn't checked on Cruise Critic, would I be arriving at the pier with my suitcase to find no ship there?

I wonder if any passengers did show up.

 

And the customer service representative making stuff up is just abominable.

[NCTribeFan]

I'm guessing the system is just as messed up for the customer service people.  If some pax can see it online, they probably see the same thing.  If it's still in their system, it's still a go as far as they know.

 

My Eurodam sailing that was for 11/14 has been changed to 11/16 with Aruba and Curacao cut from the itinerary.  The email I received shows the correct revised itinerary, but the website and Navigator do not.  Two sea days, then HMC, 2 sea days, Canal, Costa Rica, disembark the next morning.  Ha.  No.  Those first 2 sea days are at the end of the sailing, not the beginning!

 

Makes it difficult to know whether if I book any specialty dining that it will actually show up in their onboard reservations on the correct night.  Or if I book a spa appointment for a certain day and show up for it, will I be told my appointment was two days prior and I missed it because they've mixed up the days online?

 

Folks should be able to rely on the provider to keep them informed.  We should be able to trust that the information shown online or given by someone in customer service is correct.  But we know we can't and that's why many of us come here.

[Lido - Lanai]

12 hours ago, croozer said:

Apparently, Navigator still thinks I'm sailing this Sunday, too.  Oh how I wish it were so.

Try logging out of the Navigator app and then log back in.... I suspect it will be gone..... seems the only way to refresh Navigator's contents is to do this.

[rodndonna]

The last statement in the article states

At this time, it’s unclear why there was an inconsistent message from cruise line employees.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't find it all surprising there would be messaging inconsistencies in times of flux like we are now in and things changing daily. I would rather expect it until things become more stable, whenever that may be.

 

We're not sailing until December but still checking into things every couple of weeks and bracing for a variety of scenarios. 

 

 

[syesmar]

When the pre-cruise testing announcement happened, inconsistent information was also all over the place. I do feel for employees who haven’t been provided correct, up-to-date information. When HAL makes an announcement, they must “cover all bases” so to speak so that these types of issues don’t keep happening.

 

I remember a number of passengers for this sailing commenting here on CC that they weren’t notified when others had been. Thankful for Cruise Critic!

[grsnovi]

Although we've used the app on previous cruises, I would have never thought to use it prior to a cruise. My experience with the app has always suggested that it was a poorly cobbled together app that was of minimal use while on board.

[croozer]

32 minutes ago, grsnovi said:

Although we've used the app on previous cruises, I would have never thought to use it prior to a cruise. My experience with the app has always suggested that it was a poorly cobbled together app that was of minimal use while on board.

I'm with you on that.  When I have full access to a computer, with download, screen shot and printing capability, I have no use for an app.  Maybe on the ship, if I want to look at a menu or perhaps the day's events, I might glance at it.

[Taters]

This is no different from our experience about 18 years ago.  We'd booked our first transatlantic cruise on HAL with our daughter, who was 12 at the time.  We were going to spend her 13th birthday aboard and anticipated an amazing cruise.  Holland America later chartered the entire ship out for this sailing and didn't inform us.  I found out through Cruise Critic, of course.  When I called them to ask about it, they didn't seem to care, but did offer me the number for the company who chartered the ship and suggested that we could still go.  It was an organization who I didn't feel could offer an appropriate experience for a 12/13 year old.  LOL  Hard pass!

 

Anyhow, I am sad to see that HAL is still doing the same thing.  Technology has come a long way since then and it takes almost no effort to send email.

Edited September 21, 2021 by Taters

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, Lido - Lanai said:

Try logging out of the Navigator app and then log back in.... I suspect it will be gone..... seems the only way to refresh Navigator's contents is to do this.

I know people say that but it helps with certain things but not all.  It seems people can see things I can't and it's not because I'm systems illiterate.   Its just not there.

[Boatdrill]

There is NO excuse for HAL' failing to confirm, when asked, that the cruise was cancelled.

 

 

[Boatdrill]

6 hours ago, Taters said:

  Holland America later chartered the entire ship out for this sailing and didn't inform us.  I found out through Cruise Critic, of course. 

Frankly that's why I'm reading CC right now...to see if there's any news on a specific sailing.

 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

There is NO excuse for HAL' failing to confirm, when asked, that the cruise was cancelled.

 

 

Yes, inexcusable. It makes them seem totally untrustworthy. It's not like this is just beginning and they are going through an unprecedented situation; they have now been cancelling cruises for a long time.

[NCTribeFan]

And, like I said, it's happening with other lines, too.  And, yes, it's inexcusable. 

 

Still waiting to see what my TA says about the cancelled NCL cruises for which NONE of us (she booked multiple cabins for us), including her, received notification of the cancellations.  Are they offering anything to move us to a different/replacement ship?  Any future comp or OBC?  Anything?  Anyone?