HAL ridiculous fee to cancel transfer

[Ingnacious]

A quick rant….

 

We decided we wanted to cancel our transfer in Amsterdam from the ship to the airport, I had read and was advised by others that it was faster to do on it our own. Our TA called HAL to cancel, and she was told we would only get $19.50 back out of the $78 we had paid. They charge a $58.50 cancellation fee! That is absolutely nuts. This is our first cruise with HAL. Policies like this will make me think twice about booking with them again,

 

Rant over.

[kazu]

 

this is a first that I’ve heard of this.  By chance are you way past final payment?  It sounds like the penalties are being applied that would be as if you were cancelling the cruise?  The transfer might be rolling into your cruise fare just as the air flights do.

 

I hope your TA didn’t cancel it.  At that penalty you might as well do the HAL transfer

[Ingnacious]

9 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

this is a first that I’ve heard of this.  By chance are you way past final payment?  It sounds like the penalties are being applied that would be as if you were cancelling the cruise?  The transfer might be rolling into your cruise fare just as the air flights do.

 

I hope your TA didn’t cancel it.  At that penalty you might as well do the HAL transfer

We are a little over 30 days out from the cruise. We did not cancel the transfer. I just hope we don’t sit forever waiting for people. Especially since Schiphol has become notorious for their long lines.

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, Ingnacious said:

We are a little over 30 days out from the cruise. We did not cancel the transfer. I just hope we don’t sit forever waiting for people. Especially since Schiphol has become notorious for their long lines.

 

That does explain it, then.  Glad you didn’t transfer and get dinged.

Hoping you don’t have a long wait.  Normally a number will be coming in on the same flight.  I’ll be in Schipol in 2 months.  I think it’s the boarding flights that incur the notorious lines.  Hopefully it’s not too bad leaving 🤞 

 

edited to say - to put your mind at ease - had this been a regular shore excursion you wanted to cancel, there would have been no penalty.

[Heartgrove]

Regarding transfers, we have done ship to airport transfers three times at other cities and the longest we may have waited is less than 15 minutes. There should have been a suggested "no earlier than ... " disclaimer line in the description. Once you get past the final payment date, you are basically locked into what you have planned fairly as it does work both ways.

[Alberta Quilter]

Yes, the standard cancellation penalties apply to hotel/transfers if cancelled after final payment.  I had that happen years ago for a hotel booking.  The closer one is to sailing, the higher the penalty rate.

[dfish]

I’ve done ship to Schipol transfers twice and maybe waited 15 minutes to leave.  

[Vict0riann]

You might wait until you are on board and find out if you can cancel = as long as it is more than 3 days before the tour.  You might just get OBC for it.  But we had no problems with Schiphol in the Spring.  We had a tour of Rotterdam and then transfer to Schiphol.  It went well.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Vict0riann

[Ingnacious]

18 minutes ago, dfish said:

I’ve done ship to Schipol transfers twice and maybe waited 15 minutes to leave.  

I hope we are as lucky!

[Mary229]

For future regency you can book your debarkation transfers onboard. There is no reason to book them ahead of time.

 

agents get commission on just about everything done at time of booking so they sometimes build a “package”

Edited August 3, 2023 by Mary229

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

That does explain it, then.  Glad you didn’t transfer and get dinged.

Hoping you don’t have a long wait.  Normally a number will be coming in on the same flight.  I’ll be in Schipol in 2 months.  I think it’s the boarding flights that incur the notorious lines.  Hopefully it’s not too bad leaving 🤞 

 

edited to say - to put your mind at ease - had this been a regular shore excursion you wanted to cancel, there would have been no penalty.

More a matter of waiting to see if your luggage ever shows up.

[Guest ldtr]

From the HAL Web site

 

Your entire booking including cruise fare, air add-ons, ground transfers, pre-cruise and post-cruise hotel and tour packages, excluding Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses, is subject to the same cancellation policy. 

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

More a matter of waiting to see if your luggage ever shows up.

 

Apple air tags 😉. I’ve had my luggage lost twice (and not in Schipol) and knew where it was before the airline did 😂. they asked how I knew and as soon as I said air tag you could hear the groan on the other end.  I had my luggage the next day 😉. thankfully, both times were when I returned home - not on the way there.

[RuthC]

I usually use ship to airport transfers, as except for two ports, it is less expensive to take the transfer than a cab. 
Since every one is disembarking the ship during the same time frame, those heading to the busses are all leaving more or less as a group. There is usually a jam-up of people at the bus door attempting to get on; there is barely a wait before the bus leaves. 

Not everyone can be the first one on the bus, remember! Someone is going to be last, and that person has no wait at all. 

[PSR]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

I usually use ship to airport transfers, as except for two ports, it is less expensive to take the transfer than a cab. 
Since every one is disembarking the ship during the same time frame, those heading to the busses are all leaving more or less as a group. There is usually a jam-up of people at the bus door attempting to get on; there is barely a wait before the bus leaves. 

Not everyone can be the first one on the bus, remember! Someone is going to be last, and that person has no wait at all. 

 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?

[Mary229]

11 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?

No matter who is transferring us my DH directly observes the luggage storage.  If we are on a group shuttle he steps off at every stop to be sure our luggage is not left at a wrong stop (or that someone accidentally takes our luggage)

[RuthC]

40 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?

I remember a couple of transfers where the luggage was sent in a truck, left in a secure area in the airport, and we had to pick it up there. 
For the last many years I have been disembarked in a wheelchair, so there is a porter who brings the luggage along with me. IIRC, it is not automatic, nor would I want it to be. I want to SEE my luggage. 

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, PSR said:

 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?

Our last trip this year we had to carry our own to the bus. Which os fine as we know it gets on the bus. We usually don't take HAL transportation as we find it cheaper to Uber but it also depends on what port as some are best for taxis, some Uber and some HAL. 

[REOVA]

10 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

edited to say - to put your mind at ease - had this been a regular shore excursion you wanted to cancel, there would have been no penalty.

Dont forget, it depends on the cruise contract. Even some excursions have penalties above and beyond the usual 48 hour cancelation. Some may be 90 days prior to departure so it's good to read the terms. 

[colin v]

10 hours ago, Ingnacious said:

A quick rant….

 

We decided we wanted to cancel our transfer in Amsterdam from the ship to the airport, I had read and was advised by others that it was faster to do on it our own. Our TA called HAL to cancel, and she was told we would only get $19.50 back out of the $78 we had paid. They charge a $58.50 cancellation fee! That is absolutely nuts. This is our first cruise with HAL. Policies like this will make me think twice about booking with them again,

 

Rant over.

If you call the airline and tell them you want to cancel your return ticket what would their cancellation penalty be? 

Personally, I would cancel the transfer and spend my entire vacation trying to nickel and dime my $58.50 back on the ship - (complimentary bathrobe or 7, a few bread plates)

 

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Apple air tags 😉. I’ve had my luggage lost twice (and not in Schipol) and knew where it was before the airline did 😂. they asked how I knew and as soon as I said air tag you could hear the groan on the other end.  I had my luggage the next day 😉. thankfully, both times were when I returned home - not on the way there.

Another vote for AirTags. In April our second leg of our flight to FLL was canceled but they kept our luggage. During the wee hours while we slept near IAH our luggage flew to DEN, then met up with us in ORD. His bag remained at the terminal in ORD while we flew to Ft Meyers. 2 hours after landing we watched on FindMy on my iPad as his tag entered the taxiway and down the runway at ORD. We won’t travel without AirTags again!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by TiogaCruiser

[kazu]

23 minutes ago, colin v said:

If you call the airline and tell them you want to cancel your return ticket what would their cancellation penalty be? 

Personally, I would cancel the transfer and spend my entire vacation trying to nickel and dime my $58.50 back on the ship - (complimentary bathrobe or 7, a few bread plates)

 

 

They are past the penalty period.  they will be dinged with it all.

personally I would leave well enough alone.  I don’t bite off my nose to spite my face.  A bird in the hand…..

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Apple air tags 😉. I’ve had my luggage lost twice (and not in Schipol) and knew where it was before the airline did 😂. they asked how I knew and as soon as I said air tag you could hear the groan on the other end.  I had my luggage the next day 😉. thankfully, both times were when I returned home - not on the way there.

 

Schiphol lost my luggage at the end of a two-week business trip in France and Germany last summer. Remember all those pics of luggage pile-ups?

 

Oh, they (and I) knew exactly where it was. They just couldn't manage to get it to me for nearly a month.

 

Luckily, as with you, it was at the end of my trip. But I was starting to have nightmares that I was going to have to re-purchase all of my best working/career clothing, and that would have far exceeded the luggage allowance.... 😱

[cruiseaholic78]

Just like to advise you all Schiphol have really got their act together after the chaos last year. We have traveled through there twice this year without any problems or delays.

happy travels

Rosalyn

 

[whogo]

I did not realize until after final payment that I had stupidly booked transfers in Fort Lauderdale. Holland America would refund nothing for a cancellation. Let's say it was an outrageous $78 each for what was a $20 taxi fare for two. I told HAL that I might just take the taxi anyway.  Shortly before the cruise, HAL wanted to know if I would use the transfers. I told them I would tell them for $78 each. They did not go for it. We did take the taxi.