HAL cancelled our cabana 2 days before sailing

[Destiny0315]

9 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I would venture to guess that in cases like this one and the earlier one about the loud music, HAL offered a solution to the person with the complaint -- and that part of that solution involved not continuing to post about it on social media.

Most media outlets (national, local, and social) are overrun right now with Southwest Airline stories. This would unlikely get noticed anyways.

[lagirlforjesus]

I apologize for the late response to the issue but we had internet problems on the ship and then while we were in the middle of trying to get this resolved our flights were cancelled on Southwest.  Needless to say, we were in a pickle for several days.  Then we were visiting family and just returned home yesterday.  

 

Holland America did not resolve our situation.  They offered us dinner in the Pinnacle Grill for one night and then offered us a small cabana to use.  This cabana did not fit our entire party so we did not use it.   They left this offer of the Pinnacle Grill and the smaller cabana on our voicemail.  My husband had gone to meet with guest relations and was finally able to sit down with the manager to tell her our predicament.  She listened to our story and smiled sympathetically but offered no help to our situation.  We asked them to provide us with the "Have it All" package as a solution to our predicament and they said, "no." 

 

End of story.

 

Again, I do apologize for not coming back quickly to update but to be honest the Southwest cancellations threw our whole family for a loop.  No way to get home and no help.  We took it in stride and were able to reserve a car and we were thankful to be able to get home.  It was a very long drive but we finally made it.  

 

I'm disappointed that Holland America did not provide us with a viable solution to the cancellation of our family cabana.  The ship was packed the entire week of our cruise and we were sad not to be able to soak in the sun with our kids in privacy after a very long year.  I won't go into the details regarding why the year was so long but it was a crushing year for our family and that time spent together in privacy was the major factor for booking that cabana.  They gave our cabana to someone else that they thought was more important than we were and then they didn't rectify the situation.  I can allow for human error but I believe a company should try to make things right when they've made a large mistake. 

[lagirlforjesus]

On 12/22/2022 at 6:05 PM, Copper10-8 said:

 

Please walk over / do not telephone to the front office with your supporting paperwork and request to have  a meeting with the guest relations manager (no one below) and plead your case/ask to have her/him explain what happened to your original booking of the fam. cabana. Follow that up by asking her/him what the ship/HAL can do for you to make the situation better and take the bad taste out of your mouth. Plan B is to request a similar meeting with the hotel general manager. Good luck to you!   

Copper, thank you so much for this advice.  I didn't know that this was how things should be handled.  My husband followed this advice and we will do this in the future.  We talked to the guest relations manager.  They would not budge on offering us anything that would make up for the huge difference in our cruise experience after spending thousands of dollars to take this cruise.  I'm sure many on this board take regular vacations but this was a very special vacation for us after a crushing year for our family.  I am a meticulous planner and was careful to budget as I planned.  

I still pose the following question:  How can we be assured that what we book on Holland America will actually stay booked? 

 

The answer: You can't.

 

Second question: Will Holland America make things right?

 

The answer: No.

 

This leads me to my next steps.  I will no longer cruise HAL.  I would be saying this same statement if another cruise line did not make things right after such a huge mistake.  I will also contact my local papers to see if there is any interest in the cancellations that HAL is making when someone books a family cabana.  I have a few outlets for this kind of news story.  I'm going to start with Clark Howard (my favorite budget podcaster).  If he's not interested then I'll think of a few more outlets that report on travel specifically.  I think  there might be a story there if HAL has been cancelling numerous family cabanas as others have reported here.

 

Thanks to everyone that weighed in with advice, humor, etc.  It was vastly entertaining to read all of your responses.  This is definitely a motley crew.  LOL.

[canadianbear]

17 minutes ago, lagirlforjesus said:

I apologize for the late response to the issue but we had internet problems on the ship and then while we were in the middle of trying to get this resolved our flights were cancelled on Southwest.  Needless to say, we were in a pickle for several days.  Then we were visiting family and just returned home yesterday.  

 

Holland America did not resolve our situation.  They offered us dinner in the Pinnacle Grill for one night and then offered us a small cabana to use.  This cabana did not fit our entire party so we did not use it.   They left this offer of the Pinnacle Grill and the smaller cabana on our voicemail.  My husband had gone to meet with guest relations and was finally able to sit down with the manager to tell her our predicament.  She listened to our story and smiled sympathetically but offered no help to our situation.  We asked them to provide us with the "Have it All" package as a solution to our predicament and they said, "no." 

 

End of story.

 

Again, I do apologize for not coming back quickly to update but to be honest the Southwest cancellations threw our whole family for a loop.  No way to get home and no help.  We took it in stride and were able to reserve a car and we were thankful to be able to get home.  It was a very long drive but we finally made it.  

 

I'm disappointed that Holland America did not provide us with a viable solution to the cancellation of our family cabana.  The ship was packed the entire week of our cruise and we were sad not to be able to soak in the sun with our kids in privacy after a very long year.  I won't go into the details regarding why the year was so long but it was a crushing year for our family and that time spent together in privacy was the major factor for booking that cabana.  They gave our cabana to someone else that they thought was more important than we were and then they didn't rectify the situation.  I can allow for human error but I believe a company should try to make things right when they've made a large mistake. 

Thank you for coming back and letting us know what the outcome was.  I’m disappointed that  you were not offered anything except a Pinnacle dinner.  We’ve never stayed in a cabana but it was a shame they couldn’t give you two side by side or something but busy cruise I suppose 2 weren’t available.  I would be very upset to have a cabana I booked for my family being taken away for “someone more important”-shame on HAL.  I’d also be tempted to email the President of HAL about it so he’s aware of what happened. 
 

Sorry to hear you were involved in the mess with the airlines.  Certainly not a relaxing family holiday it sounds like you needed.  

[OlsSalt]

Early in my travel days, my mother passed on advice she had acquired during her travel days and it still remains among the best travel advice for me - she told me to set aside some travel budget money for WHEN you get taken; not IF you get taken.

 

Because it can and will happen. When it does, one has already budgeted for this event and then can  move on. It was in the budget. I was already paid for. It happened. 

 

We used to get taken all the time in our early days of Innocents Abroad  -early 1960s Europe on Five Dollars a Day travel days - mystery items on restaurant bills, inaccurate rates of exchanges, counterfeit bills,  items purchased that quickly fell apart, unlisted prices and add-ons...etc. etc.

 

My favorite was the nice waiter-recommended "very small bottle of wine" already on the table in a  very modest French countryside restaurant, only to learn when the bill came it was $20! (Remember this was back in the Europe on $5 a day days)

 

I share your total frustration and agree it is simply not right and not fair, and who needs a mind-numbing runaround on top of the contract item betrayal.  

 

Recently had a major cabana disappointment myself, with no resolution.  But when faced with a brick wall like we both had to face, the choice really gets down to seething and be miserable trying to break the brick wall,  or tap into the "count on getting taken travel budget" and  carry on.

 

Then blast them out of the water when you get home.  Thanks for passing on your story - HAL definitely needs to up its game about cabanas. It is a stupid hill for HAL to die on, when it so easily destroys a customer relationship for this premium indulgence expectation. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

WWJD?

[Arizona Wildcat]

Interesting saga.  On a holiday cruise our dinner table that was organized with friends was cancelled and we were told the only way we could all sit together was to dine an hour earlier.  They gave our assigned table to someone else.  How or why I will never know.

On night 3 they found a table near the kitchen entrance for our group.  We accepted the table and suggested a night in the steakhouse as compensation.  Spoke to the restaurant manager and he agreed to add a couple bottles of wine up to $100 each.

Bottom line is travel is chaotic today.  Customer service is almost dead.  Thus one has the choices of staying home or being flexible.   Flexibility is definitely needed for traveling today.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, lagirlforjesus said:

I apologize for the late response to the issue but we had internet problems on the ship and then while we were in the middle of trying to get this resolved our flights were cancelled on Southwest.  Needless to say, we were in a pickle for several days.  Then we were visiting family and just returned home yesterday.  

 

Holland America did not resolve our situation.  They offered us dinner in the Pinnacle Grill for one night and then offered us a small cabana to use.  This cabana did not fit our entire party so we did not use it.   They left this offer of the Pinnacle Grill and the smaller cabana on our voicemail.  My husband had gone to meet with guest relations and was finally able to sit down with the manager to tell her our predicament.  She listened to our story and smiled sympathetically but offered no help to our situation.  We asked them to provide us with the "Have it All" package as a solution to our predicament and they said, "no." 

 

End of story.

 

Again, I do apologize for not coming back quickly to update but to be honest the Southwest cancellations threw our whole family for a loop.  No way to get home and no help.  We took it in stride and were able to reserve a car and we were thankful to be able to get home.  It was a very long drive but we finally made it.  

 

I'm disappointed that Holland America did not provide us with a viable solution to the cancellation of our family cabana.  The ship was packed the entire week of our cruise and we were sad not to be able to soak in the sun with our kids in privacy after a very long year.  I won't go into the details regarding why the year was so long but it was a crushing year for our family and that time spent together in privacy was the major factor for booking that cabana.  They gave our cabana to someone else that they thought was more important than we were and then they didn't rectify the situation.  I can allow for human error but I believe a company should try to make things right when they've made a large mistake. 

That’s too bad but not super surprising coming from hal.  They will never admit they are wrong nor do anything to make the wrong right.  A couple weeks back on the Princess board I read something about a cabana and a balcony dinner gone wrong.  Princess screwed up.  She was very upset rightfully.  Princess bent over backwards to make it right.  It’s not so much the mistakes, it’s how you fix them.  Hal’s best defence is to deny and take no responsibility for anything. Super disappointing.

[colin v]

So HAL screwed you on your pre-paid cabana booking and offered 2 other smaller cabanas (at the same rate?!?), or a comp cabana and 4 comp Pinnacle Grill Dinners, which didn't suit you. You are going up one side and down the other of HAL and probably let it ruin your vacation. FWIW - I may do the same.

 

Southwest screwed you on your flights with no ride home and no help, with the same 2 minors in tow, and you "took it in stride".

 

How did Southwest make it right? Did they pay for your car rental and any hotel/food/fuel costs incurred?  Or maybe you will NEVER fly Southwest again and include that as part of your news story?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ON cruiser]

29 minutes ago, colin v said:

How did Southwest make it right? Did they pay for your car rental and any hotel/food/fuel costs incurred?

Unlike HAL, the US Dept. of Transportation has made it clear to Southwest, and Southwest has in many media statements agreed, to compensate those who suffered due to their operational failures.  With respect to the poster above, I see no equivalency with what the original poster experienced with HAL and what happened to them, and many others, on southwest.  

Edited January 18, 2023 by ON cruiser
typo correction

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, ON cruiser said:

Unlike HAL, the US Dept. of Transportation has made it clear to Southwest, and Southwest has in many media statements agreed, to compensate those who suffered due to their operational failures.  With respect to the poster above, I see no equivalency with what the original poster experienced with HAL and what happened to them, and many others, on southwest.  

Actually as I understand it they did not pay for the cabana that got canceled (charge removed when Cabana got canceled). Pretty much the same with SW after SW refunded their customers for the flight that did not occur. The big difference in with SW passengers incurred additional costs for hotels and alternative transportation, not so with HAL.

Edited January 18, 2023 by ldtr

[HALcruiser2001]

15 hours ago, ldtr said:

Actually as I understand it they did not pay for the cabana that got canceled (charge removed when Cabana got canceled). Pretty much the same with SW after SW refunded their customers for the flight that did not occur. The big difference in with SW passengers incurred additional costs for hotels and alternative transportation, not so with HAL.

 

Net result IMO.  Don't fly SW.   Don't cruise HAL.

 

Simple.

[bennybear]

Just wondering why so many shoot the messenger.  This was wrong and shouldn’t have happened.  And I too believe everyone makes mistakes. It’s all in how they are handled.  Disappointed in HAL

 

[canadianbear]

7 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Just wondering why so many shoot the messenger.  This was wrong and shouldn’t have happened.  And I too believe everyone makes mistakes. It’s all in how they are handled.  Disappointed in HAL

 

Totally agree.  I feel sorry for their family by HAL cancelling their cabana-it’s just not right. You reserve & pay in advance for a reason.   I’d be totally ticked off if we booked a family cabana with our grandkids to have it suddenly cancelled by HAL.  And, HAL could have easily tried to make it right but they didn’t-a Pinnacle dinner?  Give me a break. 

[HALcruiser2001]

2 hours ago, canadianbear said:

Totally agree.  I feel sorry for their family by HAL cancelling their cabana-it’s just not right. You reserve & pay in advance for a reason.   I’d be totally ticked off if we booked a family cabana with our grandkids to have it suddenly cancelled by HAL.  And, HAL could have easily tried to make it right but they didn’t-a Pinnacle dinner?  Give me a break. 

 

I would/will be upset if that happens to me, but in reality, they did not have to pay for it and gave them some meals.  What makes it "right"?  A few free dinners?  Gratis cruise?

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

Net result IMO.  Don't fly SW.   Don't cruise HAL.

 

Simple.

or if any one thing can ruin your cruise, such as loss of a cabana, missing a port then maybe cruising is not for you. As the cruise contracts say changes can happen, and liability for failure to provide a given service is limited to the cost of thrme service. in this case no cabana no charge. Worse with ports missed.

[canadianbear]

21 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

 

I would/will be upset if that happens to me, but in reality, they did not have to pay for it and gave them some meals.  What makes it "right"?  A few free dinners?  Gratis cruise?

But they DID pay for it before they even sailed.  It was reserved for them.  Then it was taken away for someone-like who?  A rich family, the president of HAL, who knows but it still was not right.  
 

What would make it right is when you pay in advance & reserve something it should not be taken away & given to someone else.

[HALcruiser2001]

22 minutes ago, ldtr said:

or if any one thing can ruin your cruise, such as loss of a cabana, missing a port then maybe cruising is not for you. As the cruise contracts say changes can happen, and liability for failure to provide a given service is limited to the cost of thrme service. in this case no cabana no charge. Worse with ports missed.

If HAL cannot manage a reservation, then I have little reason to sail them again.  I booked my Feb cruise for a 60th bday.  If HAL screws up the Cabana reservation, I am unlikely to be a return customer.  So far only 2 cruises as cruising is generally not my style.  Both were with HAL.  In total I have about $30k in cruises with them and 0 mariner *.  More than I have ever paid for any 3 vacations.

I won't let it ruin my cruise, as it is out of my control, but should they not deliver what was ordered it will be a huge disappointment and I will be unlikely to ever book a cruise with HAL again.  

Edited January 18, 2023 by bdd123

[HALcruiser2001]

11 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

But they DID pay for it before they even sailed.  It was reserved for them.  Then it was taken away for someone-like who?  A rich family, the president of HAL, who knows but it still was not right.  
 

What would make it right is when you pay in advance & reserve something it should not be taken away & given to someone else.

HAL gave them the cash back.  I get what you are saying completely and agree.

 

EDIT:  But how does HAL make it right after you travel to the port for embarkation?  Nothing, IMO.  The only thing that would make it right is to bump someone else and ruin their holiday.

If you are in an inside state and the ship is not at capacity, they could offer an upgrade to something with a veranda.  But what if you are in a suite already?

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by bdd123

[morpheusofthesea]

Came on this board for the first time because we booked a cruise on a HAL ship for an upcoming cruise and we booked and paid $399/ wk for a cabana. So this post was timely. First this poster must not be a cruiser. To join any forum for the first time just to rant is callow. The capacity of the Eurodam is 2104 guests with only 14 cabanas. 'First come first serve' seems like a nice marketing ploy to entice guests to book early, but who wants to book a high end suite with a small balcony? Thus the need for the availability of some  more private real estate on deck. These cabanas (14) should be reserved foremost for the high end suites and should only be offered to the general population once on board as 'first come first served', if available still.

Edited January 18, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, bdd123 said:

If HAL cannot manage a reservation, then I have little reason to sail them again.  I booked my Feb cruise for a 60th bday.  If HAL screws up the Cabana reservation, I am unlikely to be a return customer.  So far only 2 cruises as cruising is generally not my style.  Both were with HAL.  In total I have about $30k in cruises with them and 0 mariner *.  More than I have ever paid for any 3 vacations.

I won't let it ruin my cruise, as it is out of my control, but should they not deliver what was ordered it will be a huge disappointment and I will be unlikely to ever book a cruise with HAL again.  

If everyone that stated  that they would never sail a particular line again actually lived up to that promise cruise ships would be much happier places. Unfortunately people say that, complain about the cruise line but then continue to sail  and complain.

 

for everyone that leaves from cruise line a, another leaves from cruise line b and another from cruise line c so it generally all works out.

 

There is no perfect cruise line. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by ldtr

[canadianbear]

9 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

HAL gave them the cash back.  I get what you are saying completely and agree.

 

But how does HAL make it right?  

By not giving away pre-paid, pre-reserved cabanas.  

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

By not giving away pre-paid, pre-reserved cabanas.  

 

I'm sorry that the OP is upset.  But has anyone considered that the OP's reservation was the mistake?  Maybe the Cabana was already booked when the OP made the reservation.  Perhaps canceling the OP's reservation was the most fair solution. 

[HALcruiser2001]

Just now, canadianbear said:

By not giving away pre-paid, pre-reserved cabanas.  

Maybe I was not clear.   We all have to agree that they should not give up a reservation, that is a given.

Assuming that they gave up the reservation  purposefully or mistakenly.  How does HAL reimburse you?

The only real option is to either say tough luck or give you something of equal or better value.

[canadianbear]

6 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

Maybe I was not clear.   We all have to agree that they should not give up a reservation, that is a given.

Assuming that they gave up the reservation  purposefully or mistakenly.  How does HAL reimburse you?

The only real option is to either say tough luck or give you something of equal or better value.

Quote from OP:

We asked them to provide us with the "Have it All" package as a solution to our predicament and they said, "no." 
 

That’s how they could have made it right.