Flexible Cancellation Policy - Extended Dates Again

[Torquer]

This is indeed good that HAL changed it policy again.  We have booked a May cruise to Norway in May and Norway is not even open to US citizens at the present time (since we can't get documentation of vaccination that meets their criteria).  Final payment was coming up in just a few weeks and this change gives us an extra 30 day before final payment to make up our mind.  I still think it is likely we will cancel but maybe a miracle will happen in the next few weeks.

 

Can someone clarify what refund/FCC we would get on our deposit if we cancel.  We booked the "Best Price" fare that has a "50% reduced deposit (non-refundable)."  The new policy says:

 

Book a cruise by March 31, 2022 (that departs through September 30, 2022) and you can cancel for any reason up to 30 days before departure and automatically receive a Future Cruise Credit with our Flexible Cancellation.

 

But on the bottom it says the amount of FCC "is calculated based on the cancellation fees retained by Holland America Line from our Cancellation Policy."  Then if you click on that link it says:

 

CANCELLATION POLICY EXCEPTION: If you have purchased a specially priced promotion that is 100% non-refundable from the point of payment, you are not entitled to any refund, payment, compensation or credit.

 

So is the deposit refundable or not?

 

 

[idiebabe]

1 hour ago, PSR said:

 

Won't that require the waiver of the PVSA rules for another year? Seattle cruises need to stop in Victoria, I think, without the waiver.

Yes, it probably would need the Waiver but feel more confident that the Cruises from Seattle would be able to Sail based on 2021.  A big plus, too, is less hassle sailing from a U.S. Port.  

[Mandalay1903]

14 hours ago, Torquer said:

Norway is not even open to US citizens at the present time (since we can't get documentation of vaccination that meets their criteria).

Just curious, what documentation can't you get as a US person to meet Norway's entry criteria?

 

According to the Norwegian Embassy site, they will accept the EU digital Covid certificate for entry into Norway. https://www.norway.no/en/usa/norway-usa/san-francisco/travel-restrictions---covid-19/

With a few weeks lead time we obtained EU digital Covid certificates (with QR codes) last fall prior to our visit to France. We got our certificates at no charge. Last I heard they started charging for foreigners but the service is still available. I need to look into whether there's a requirement to update our certificates now that we're boostered.

 

Hope this helps (unless I'm missing something), but be sure to give yourself some lead time if you go this route.

[Mandalay1903]

Upon further review, it looks like the EU made some recent rule changes for their digital Covid certificates, in which the certificates expire 270 days after receipt of the last vaccination dose. It was unclear to me on the EU Digital Covid Certificate site whether a booster would be factored into the expiration date timing.

 

With many vaccinations given last spring and summer, and boosters beginning this past fall, it seems to me that the EU will have to take another look at this timing.

 

(Our EU certificates were issued by France.)

[waiting2retire]

2 hours ago, Mandalay1903 said:

Just curious, what documentation can't you get as a US person to meet Norway's entry criteria?

 

According to the Norwegian Embassy site, they will accept the EU digital Covid certificate for entry into Norway. https://www.norway.no/en/usa/norway-usa/san-francisco/travel-restrictions---covid-19/

With a few weeks lead time we obtained EU digital Covid certificates (with QR codes) last fall prior to our visit to France. We got our certificates at no charge. Last I heard they started charging for foreigners but the service is still available. I need to look into whether there's a requirement to update our certificates now that we're boostered.

 

Hope this helps (unless I'm missing something), but be sure to give yourself some lead time if you go this route.

Would you please clarify whether you received your EU certificates electronically prior to arriving in France and what steps you took to make this happen?

[Torquer]

2 hours ago, Mandalay1903 said:

With a few weeks lead time we obtained EU digital Covid certificates (with QR codes) last fall prior to our visit to France. We got our certificates at no charge. Last I heard they started charging for foreigners but the service is still available. I need to look into whether there's a requirement to update our certificates now that we're boostered.

 

Can you please tell us how a US citizen (with only their CDC paper card) can get a EU digital covid certificate while still in the US?  I have done a lot of googling and have not found any website that says how this can be accomplished.

[Mandalay1903]

1 hour ago, waiting2retire said:

Would you please clarify whether you received your EU certificates electronically prior to arriving in France and what steps you took to make this happen?

 

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

Can you please tell us how a US citizen (with only their CDC paper card) can get a EU digital covid certificate while still in the US?  I have done a lot of googling and have not found any website that says how this can be accomplished.

 

Yes, I received my EU certificate electronically a few weeks prior to arriving in France. Following a lead I saw on thepointsguy.com website, which I validated elsewhere, I gave it a shot.  My application was initiated in September 2021, and I received my pass on October 11, 2021. I uploaded images of my passport and CDC vaccination cards. France issued a digital pass, and through a gateway converted it to an EU Covid pass.  There was no charge for this service. We visited France in late November used our pass successfully and frequently there during our two-week trip through Normandy and Paris.

 

However, I believe that as of October 31, 2021 France changed this process. According to the US Embassy in France website https://fr.usembassy.gov/how-to-get-a-french-health-pass/

France changed the method for obtaining the pass. Apparently, the new method involves having to visit a designated pharmacy in France and paying a EUR 36 fee.  https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-americans-can-apply-for-french-digital-health-pass/

 

This morning after reading about the topic of the EU expiring these passes several months after vaccination, I reached out to the agency that issued my pass (citing my dossier #) and asked how I could add my booster record to my pass. I might hear back, but from what I read I don't think it will be possible now for non-French citizens.

 

[Mandalay1903]

In hindsight, we were very fortunate to have hit this window for obtaining the French Pass Sanitaire/EU Covid Certificate. Had we not, we'd have had to find a French pharmacist (at a limited number of locations in Paris, and even fewer nationally) to issue a Pass based on our CDC vaccination cards (thereby not requiring further Covid testing), or have the Pass issued based on rapid antigen tests taken every 72 hours to keep the pass active (EUR 25 per test every 72 hours for a 15-day trip). This would have been a risk not acceptable to us on our land-based trip (not associated with a cruise) last fall.

 

We'll stay tuned as to how The Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and Scotland adapt to this fluid environment prior to our June HAL cruise. Each of those countries have different rules and directions. I can see how it is very challenging for the cruise lines to keep up with the requirements for these multi-country voyages, carrying passengers originating from a different variety of home countries.

[LeDemonBlond]

Our Alaska Trip is scheduled for May 14, 2022 from Vancouver. I have been hoping they would reduce the final payment from 90 to 60 days. I confirmed with my travel agent that is the case so we don't have to make a final payment now until March 14th. We will have  a better picture on what cruising and flying looks like by then. 

 

 

[bennybear]

19 hours ago, LeDemonBlond said:

Our Alaska Trip is scheduled for May 14, 2022 from Vancouver. I have been hoping they would reduce the final payment from 90 to 60 days. I confirmed with my travel agent that is the case so we don't have to make a final payment now until March 14th. We will have  a better picture on what cruising and flying looks like by then. 

 

 

Make sure to check if the penalty dates also have changed.  

[lderochi]

Yeah. I had completely forgotten about that change made earlier. Too much happening to keep track of. We are on a May 15 Alaska sailing. I rechecked our booking and the final payment date is now 3/16/22. So at least that’s an extra 30 days. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by lderochi

[Sea42]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:28 PM, Torquer said:

So is the deposit refundable or not?

We had a non-refundable deposit for our Aus/NZ cruise. We cancelled the cruise before HAL did and were allowed to use that deposit for another nonrefundable booking. I believe you are allowed to do this just once.

[Boatdrill]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:31 AM, surfone said:

 Surprised they are even sailing at about 25 percent.  Can't be profitable.  

They have to start somewhere....

[Boatdrill]

On 1/21/2022 at 1:40 PM, LeDemonBlond said:

Our Alaska Trip is scheduled for May 14, 2022 from Vancouver. I have been hoping they would reduce the final payment from 90 to 60 days. I confirmed with my travel agent that is the case so we don't have to make a final payment now until March 14th. 

 

 

HAL extending the final payment date is helpful to their customers, and I certainly have appreciated it. However it means a travel agent has to wait 30 days longer than originally anticipated to receive their commission.  

Edited January 23, 2022 by Boatdrill

[ScoutDiver]

With the cruises out of Vancouver right now, it may be a roll of the dice.   Extending the deadline may prevent cancelations in which the TA loses thes commission anyway.

 

I had a cold during my Christmas break.  I just had a PCR text to seeif that might have been omicron.  A positive test now would help avoid a last minute PCR test in  may (which could be positive still be cause of covid in December).

 

It is a high stakes role of the dice.  I am interested in Alaska.  I would not bother/waist my time  for the Caribbean party  or panama canal cruises.  

[Cruizer Diana]

36 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

HAL extending the final payment date is helpful to their customers, and I certainly have appreciated it. However it means a travel agent has to wait 30 days longer than originally anticipated to receive their commission.  

I noticed the payment change online a few days ago. Our TA spoke with HAL twice in the last two days and they insist that our 5/15/22 cruise to Norway still has the 90-day final payment requirement of 2/14/22. He checked with two supervisors. They won't budge. I don't get it!

 

We will cancel if they won't change the date to align with their current policy. We've recently had to jump through too many hoops and worry about last-minute protocol changes to pay 90 days out.

[zelker]

11 minutes ago, Cruizer Diana said:

I noticed the payment change online a few days ago. Our TA spoke with HAL twice in the last two days and they insist that our 5/15/22 cruise to Norway still has the 90-day final payment requirement of 2/14/22. He checked with two supervisors. They won't budge. I don't get it!

 

We will cancel if they won't change the date to align with their current policy. We've recently had to jump through too many hoops and worry about last-minute protocol changes to pay 90 days out.

 

If you haven't already done so, I suggest sending this link  Flexible Cancellation | Holland America Line

to your TA and make sure they know to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Terms and Conditions where it says, among other things -

 

Cruises through May 31, 2022 have a 60-day final payment window. 

 

Then have your TA explain to whomever they're talking to at HAL exactly where to find it on THE HAL WEBSITE!  Kinda hard to dispute.

 

[LocoLoco1]

Whew!! I think I get it. With this HAL guidance, as a fully Vax’d person and if in fact I maybe/maybe not had mild Covid earlier, I am inclined to book a Spring 2022 cruise now. In the unlikely event that I test Positive at the gangway.. so be it, I will simply go back home. I guess..

[zelker]

1 minute ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Whew!! I think I get it. With this HAL guidance, as a fully Vax’d person and if in fact I maybe/maybe not had mild Covid earlier, I am inclined to book a Spring 2022 cruise now. In the unlikely event that I test Positive at the gangway.. so be it, I will simply go back home. I guess..

Simply?  Not before you have to quarantine at a local hotel for 5 nights.

[iancal]

IF anything, this FCC  cancellation offer would be  a complete turn off for us. 

 

It locks us into the cruise line.  We have zero control over the expiry date or any other T's and C's.

 

 Given where covid has been and the future uncertainly this would be akin to buying a pig in a poke.  Great deal for the cruise line though.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by iancal

[Sea42]

15 hours ago, zelker said:

Simply?  Not before you have to quarantine at a local hotel for 5 nights.

I find it hard to believe they would take you into custody and demand you go to a hotel before you have gotten on the ship. Many people drive to the ports and I would hope they would be allowed to just go home.

[zelker]

2 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

I find it hard to believe they would take you into custody and demand you go to a hotel before you have gotten on the ship. Many people drive to the ports and I would hope they would be allowed to just go home.

But in fact that IS what they're doing.  If you have a car, that's a different story I guess.

[Sea42]

1 minute ago, zelker said:

But in fact that IS what they're doing.  If you have a car, that's a different story I guess.

Oh wow! I hadn't read that anywhere, just people leaving after being on the ship.

[Cruizer Diana]

16 hours ago, zelker said:

 

If you haven't already done so, I suggest sending this link  Flexible Cancellation | Holland America Line

to your TA and make sure they know to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Terms and Conditions where it says, among other things -

 

Cruises through May 31, 2022 have a 60-day final payment window. 

 

Then have your TA explain to whomever they're talking to at HAL exactly where to find it on THE HAL WEBSITE!  Kinda hard to dispute.

 

That is the point! I sent the link and wording to my TA. He spoke with HAL & supervisors twice, referring to the new policy. HAL restated that the final payment for our 5/15/22 sailing is 2/14/22!

 

HAL is consistently refusing to change our final payment to agree with their policy stated online.

[iancal]

3 minutes ago, Cruizer Diana said:

That is the point! I sent the link and wording to my TA. He spoke with HAL & supervisors twice, referring to the new policy. HAL restated that the final payment for our 5/15/22 sailing is 2/14/22!

 

HAL is consistently refusing to change our final payment to agree with their policy stated online.

That is an easy problem.  Cancel, get a refund.  Rebook inside the final payment window when you feel confident that the cruise is a go and you will feel comfortable travelling.