Holland America COVID Isolation Cost Failure to Reimburse

[terrydtx]

12 hours ago, we135b said:

Sorry to hear. I agree completely. They've not been up front about this either. Nine months on, it's clear that they've been either not able or not willing to meet their commitments. I would have preferred the truth that they were unable to pay rather than the repeated empty promises month after month. As it is, the sight of a HAL advertisement or commercial evokes nothing but this aggravating memory so there's no way I could sail with them. I've switched over to RCCL and will try others. Celebrity is a new favorite of mine.

Getting our Covid quarantine FCC reimbursement in less than 6 months is what has kept us cruising with HAL. First we needed to use the credit for a cruise this year and then we booked the Volendam for our Canada cruise next year because of the great deal we got for a suite. We also have been sailing with Celebrity in only Sky Suites. We have 4 booked over the next 2 years, but the current pricing increases for Suites and Aqua Class cabins had a lot to do with us staying with HAL and booking with Oceania as our alternatives. Our future cruises include 4 Celebrity, 2 HAL and 1 with Oceania.

Edited April 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[flyer79]

We were supposed to be on the same Alaska cruise as the OP.  Made it to Fairbanks and Denali and got covid there.  Got to do a couple days of quarantine in Denali and then they bussed us to Anchorage to finish it.   Our reimbursement was not lightning fast but was within 120 days as I recall.    TA did most of the communicating for us.   Maybe that made a diff.

 

 

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, flyer79 said:

We were supposed to be on the same Alaska cruise as the OP.  Made it to Fairbanks and Denali and got covid there.  Got to do a couple days of quarantine in Denali and then they bussed us to Anchorage to finish it.   Our reimbursement was not lightning fast but was within 120 days as I recall.    TA did most of the communicating for us.   Maybe that made a diff.

 

 

Our TA handled both our insurance claims and HAL reimbursement, which made our stress so much less. She also filled out and filed the insurance claims for us.

[we135b]

9 hours ago, flyer79 said:

We were supposed to be on the same Alaska cruise as the OP.  Made it to Fairbanks and Denali and got covid there.  Got to do a couple days of quarantine in Denali and then they bussed us to Anchorage to finish it.   Our reimbursement was not lightning fast but was within 120 days as I recall.    TA did most of the communicating for us.   Maybe that made a diff.

 

 

TA sounds like the way to go. TA might have known better which people to approach and might have had some leverage. I never thought of using one.

[we135b]

10 hours ago, BillGray said:

Ditto for my wife and I.  We have been waiting for six months for a $4500 quarantine reimbursement that HAL has said will be mailed to us. 

It's sounding like there are more people not getting reimbursed than those who have. Not sure what the discriminator is. Fingers crossed that they'll come around. Prior to this thread, I had given up all hope.

[Native Floridian 26]

On 3/30/2023 at 7:32 AM, shippmates said:

Have you tried filing a claim with your travel insurance company?  That may be a better option at least there you would get cash instead of an FCC if that is the case.

 

I'm living this right now.  Hubby was isolated for 4 days during the Transatlantic on NS last week.  We are filing with our trip insurance for reimbursement under trip interruption.  When they reimburse for isolation, do they base the payment on the sick passenger or also spouse?  The cruise is messed up for both, but not sure who they do it.  I was told the FCC is based on both people, but I'm not working on that yet.

[shippmates]

It would only be on your husband as he was the only one in isolation.  Hope you are able to get some answers.  Hope everyone is on the road to recovery.

[Native Floridian 26]

6 minutes ago, shippmates said:

It would only be on your husband as he was the only one in isolation.  Hope you are able to get some answers.  Hope everyone is on the road to recovery.

Thank you!  He's fine now and luckily we ended up enjoying the rest of the trip.  I'm still fine, but testing every couple days to make sure I didn't get it.

[flgus]

I've been trying for months to get HA to recognize that I've emailed them a claim (3 times).  I've called the 800 number twice and both have "not been able to find it".  Here is the last email I sent them.

__________________________________

Hello,

 

I've been trying for several months to submit an out of pocket expense form.    My booking ID is XLMXVV.  I've called the 800 number several times to check on status but the emailed form hasn't made it to my account.

 

Can you help me figure out why my emails appear to not be going through to you?  I appreciate the help.

 

Thanks

 

Gus Deibner

__________________________________

 

At this point I'm not expecting a reply....

 

[blkadr08]

49 minutes ago, flgus said:

I've been trying for months to get HA to recognize that I've emailed them a claim (3 times).  I've called the 800 number twice and both have "not been able to find it".  Here is the last email I sent them.

__________________________________

Hello,

 

I've been trying for several months to submit an out of pocket expense form.    My booking ID is XLMXVV.  I've called the 800 number several times to check on status but the emailed form hasn't made it to my account.

 

Can you help me figure out why my emails appear to not be going through to you?  I appreciate the help.

 

Thanks

 

Gus Deibner

__________________________________

 

At this point I'm not expecting a reply....

 

Take heart!  We were isolated in Vancouver in April 2022 and ran up a $7000+ tab, which Holland promised to cover.  Like you, no amount of calling, texting cajoling or threatening for almost exactly a year got so much as a response from Holland.  Sat on hold for two hours on three occasions before giving up.
 

 The good news:  We just got a check from HA for the entire amount!  So, don’t give up hope!

[eggemon]

1 hour ago, blkadr08 said:

The good news:  We just got a check from HA for the entire amount!  So, don’t give up hope!

That is great news for all of us still waiting these many months! Thanks for sharing! 

 

[we135b]

6 hours ago, blkadr08 said:

Take heart!  We were isolated in Vancouver in April 2022 and ran up a $7000+ tab, which Holland promised to cover.  Like you, no amount of calling, texting cajoling or threatening for almost exactly a year got so much as a response from Holland.  Sat on hold for two hours on three occasions before giving up.
 

 The good news:  We just got a check from HA for the entire amount!  So, don’t give up hope!

That is great news. I'm very happy for you and, you are right, it does restore a smidge of hope for me. Thanks for sharing and happy cruising!

[we135b]

7 hours ago, flgus said:

I've been trying for months to get HA to recognize that I've emailed them a claim (3 times).  I've called the 800 number twice and both have "not been able to find it".  Here is the last email I sent them.

__________________________________

Hello,

 

I've been trying for several months to submit an out of pocket expense form.    My booking ID is XLMXVV.  I've called the 800 number several times to check on status but the emailed form hasn't made it to my account.

 

Can you help me figure out why my emails appear to not be going through to you?  I appreciate the help.

 

Thanks

 

Gus Deibner

__________________________________

 

At this point I'm not expecting a reply....

 

I used US postal in addition to email to deliver my reimbursement form. Even at that, I had to go on hold for three hours to verify on the phone that the form had been received. Otherwise, it's questionable if they would have ever acknowledged receipt. Clearly, standing by their commitment to reimburse is not a high priority.

[Tampa Girl]

On 3/30/2023 at 12:38 PM, we135b said:

You are correct. I started feeling symptoms on disembarkment day and I requested a test because I knew if I tested after I got of the ship,Holland America might not feel accountable for my isolation. I was actually fairly confident that I did NOT have COVID as my symptoms were very mild. Of course, I was wrong. In hindsight, I should have tested after getting off the ship so I could execute the isolation on my own terms. That is, not in a $4000 hotel. But I never dreamed that a large corporation like Holland America would not follow up on their commitment.

 

I really question why HAL would have any legal responsibility.  It was disembarkation day.  The cruise had ended.  Are you trying to blame HAL for your Covid?  The fact that you tested at a time when you were supposed to be getting off the ship raises a question of your purpose, which appears to have been made solely for getting HAL to pay for a post-cruise excursion.  Not sympathetic.

[we135b]

20 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I really question why HAL would have any legal responsibility.  It was disembarkation day.  The cruise had ended.  Are you trying to blame HAL for your Covid?  The fact that you tested at a time when you were supposed to be getting off the ship raises a question of your purpose, which appears to have been made solely for getting HAL to pay for a post-cruise excursion.  Not sympathetic.

I hate when people try to take advantage of companies for their own gain also, however, I don't think that is my case. HAL made the commitment to their customers to reimburse COVID related costs so their customers could cruise without exposure to high cost risk. At the time, Canada required 10 days of isolation before you could leave the country. I wouldn't have gone on the cruise if I knew this was my risk to finance. To be clear, HAL made this commitment and I'm expecting them to honor it.  Regarding contracting COVID, feeling symptoms on disembarkation day suggests that I contracted COVID some time prior on the seven day cruise. Regarding my intentions, you are correct.  As I indicated in the comment your quoted, had I tested after I got off the ship, I was concerned that HAL might not have felt obligated to reimburse my isolation. I didn't write this for sympathy. I wrote this to understand how my situation compared to others and to warn others that HAL did not fulfill their commitment. Hope that clarifies.

Edited May 31, 2023 by we135b

[floridababa]

We filed the claim with the insurance company and got reimbursed within 3 weeks.

I guess we got lucky

[we135b]

15 hours ago, floridababa said:

We filed the claim with the insurance company and got reimbursed within 3 weeks.

I guess we got lucky

That's great to hear. My insurance company was not so generous. Lol. I really thought that HAL would meet their commitment though so, at the time, I wasn't concerned.

[we135b]

😃WHATTT?!!! After 15 months of waiting, I got my COVID reimbursement check from Holland America for the full amount! Thanks all for the comments and positivity. While the experience was not a good one, it was nice to develop a relationship with this forum. I look forward to more discussions with you guys!

Edited October 20, 2023 by we135b

[mawvkysc]

1 hour ago, we135b said:

😃WHATTT?!!! After 15 months of waiting, I got my COVID reimbursement check from Holland America for the full amount! Thanks all for the comments and positivity. While the experience was not a good one, it was nice to develop a relationship with this forum. I look forward to more discussions with you guys!

Congratulations 

[Suzy Bell]

I'm so happy for you and you have given me hope for my outstanding claim which was submitted on December 20, 2022.

 

[we135b]

3 hours ago, Suzy Bell said:

I'm so happy for you and you have given me hope for my outstanding claim which was submitted on December 20, 2022.

 

Thanks Suzy. Maybe it might be a good idea to try calling again as futile as it might feel sometimes. Maybe there were budget policy changes or something. Good luck to you.

[trtog7]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:10 AM, we135b said:

I will try that writing their president or some executive. I would hope ethics would be a company value. It would have been much better if they never committed to reimbursing because I could have taken different actions. Like stay at a cheaper hotel.

I wrote the President for a different refund that I was having trouble getting and got a larger amount as OBC.

[we135b]

41 minutes ago, trtog7 said:

I wrote the President for a different refund that I was having trouble getting and got a larger amount as OBC.

That's awesome. I guess they know we're getting pretty upset if we're writing the president. lol. Great to hear.

[cartervan]

Oh wow--I should have realized that we were not the only ones dealing with all this COVID reimbursement hassle!  We also were on an Alaska Land/Sea cruise in July of 22, and, just like another person's story, got as far as Denali before my husband tested positive for COVID.  After two days in isolation at the lodge we were bussed back to Anchorage where we were put up in a (supposedly $400 a night) hotel room with kitchenette but no nearby restaurants in an industrial part of town, and told to order food from Walmart. However, HAL gave us the (apparently standard) letter saying we would be reimbursed for meals and for the cost of the room. Since we did have travel insurance, we first applied for what they were supposed to pay.  I won't go into all the painful details of the year-long struggle with insurance (which turned out to be worthless--our lawyer says it's a clear case of fraud) and with HAL.  No reimbursement yet. We have twice mailed in all the required paper work. ( The first time HAL says they never received it). After I pushed for it, we did get Cruise Credit posted to our account, and so booked another cruise for February to cash in on that.  However, in our continuing efforts to get what was promised us, HAL suddenly decided that only half of our Cruise Credit was owed to us and added another $900 or so to what we owe for our February cruise!! Hours and hours on the phone. Dozens of e-mails and letters. Unbelievable! 

[Vict0riann]

We are still waiting for our payment, too, from our September 2022 Alaska cruise.  It's not a lot, the ship made arrangements for us to rent a car and drive home to isolate, so car rental and ferry.  Our PCC did manage to get our FCC expedited some months later, but we've heard nothing more.