In the event of cancelled Panama Canal

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

According to news sources there are auctions to get to the front of the queue and recently Eneos offered nearly $4 million to get to the front!

https://fortune.com/2023/11/08/panama-canal-congestion-record-4-million-skip-line/

 

 

 

The auctions are for ships that do not have a reservation made in advance. This permits cargo ships to pay a substantial additional premium to skip the queue of ships waiting, that also don't have reservations.

 

Cruise ships, both full and partial transits know their schedule in advance and make reservations about 2 years in advance. They pay a fee for the reservation and they pay an additional premium to guarantee a daytime transit.

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, Wehwalt said:

I'd be curious to know if HAL is having to pay above the odds for the full transits it can't possibly cancel, for example the GWV in January.

 

Negative, HAL will already have made a reservation for the transit and paid the additional fee to guarantee a daytime transit.

 

Cruise ships know their schedule well in advance, making reservations, so have no requirement to participate in the auction. The auction is for cargo ships that arrive at the Canal without a reservation.

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

Zaandam is a small ship and uses the original locks. It is the larger ships that are in competition with the mega freighters and tankers that use the new locks. Sail small and enjoy, sail large and maybe not go where you want.

 

The size of a cruise ship is irrelevant to completing a scheduled Canal transit.

 

It is not only post-Panamax size ships that can participate in the auction. Smaller Panamax size cargo ships can also participate in the auction to skip the queue. Cruise ships make reservations well in advance and will not be displaced by any ship (Panamax or Post-Panamax) that win the auction.

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, Al2863 said:

Does going through the original locks solve the current problem?  Sorry for my ignorance, just learning about all the cancellations 

 

Negative, the size of a cruise ship is irrelevant, as they will have a confirmed reservation and most likely have paid the guaranteed daylight transit fee. Panamax size ships can use any of the locks depending on operational requirements and Post-Panamax must use the new locks.

[VermeulT]

I've been keeping an eye on some last minute sailing specials.  The Dec 3rd Rotterdam 12 day partial transit is as little as $599pp for an inside.  The itinerary still includes Columbia, the partial transit, and Costa Rica.  The port charges are almost more than the actual fare. 

 

If they dropped the transit on this and made it Southern or South/Western (maybe add Belize?) I'd jump on it.  I've done Panama once.  And while I hope to again some day, my wallet is currently wishing for the change in itinerary.

[PointsNerd]

Has anyone heard anything about changes to the December 3rd Panama Canal Sunfarer itinerary?  The site shows that the original ports of call are the same.  Would they announce to booked guests via email or would they just update the website?

[Haljo1935]

5 hours ago, PointsNerd said:

Has anyone heard anything about changes to the December 3rd Panama Canal Sunfarer itinerary?  The site shows that the original ports of call are the same.  Would they announce to booked guests via email or would they just update the website?

If you are booked on an itinerary that changes, you will receive an email. It may not be timely, but it will eventually come. We have known of changes for quite some time before getting official email notification. 

If you're already onboard, you will receive the change notice in your cabin. This one came while we were AT the new port, but it did come, lol.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

If you are booked on an itinerary that changes, you will receive an email. It may not be timely, but it will eventually come. We have known of changes for quite some time before getting official email notification. 

If you're already onboard, you will receive the change notice in your cabin. This one came while we were AT the new port, but it did come, lol.

LOL, a letter telling you that you are not where you think you are.

[Haljo1935]

20 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

LOL, a letter telling you that you are not where you think you are.

Exactly and thank goodness so I knew Maps, etc was not wrong!

[PointsNerd]

Is there ever any compensation for these changes? OBC, discount, refund, or anything of substance? 

[Haljo1935]

14 minutes ago, PointsNerd said:

Is there ever any compensation for these changes? OBC, discount, refund, or anything of substance? 

Good question w/no short answer. Biggest factor is why the change and if another port was substituted or if it resulted in a sea day. You will get credit for applicable unused port fees.

The captain also makes a difference. In Feb we had multiple changes during the cruise. The net change was down 1 port and 3 shortened port days. For that cruise, we all did receive a small amount of OBC courtesy of the Captain. 

For the recent one in Italy changing Salerno to Italy we did not get anything as thete was no net loss. That has been my usual experience. 

It's part of cruising and something you accept could happen. 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, PointsNerd said:

Is there ever any compensation for these changes? OBC, discount, refund, or anything of substance? 

 

By booking a cruise and paying the deposit, you have accepted the cruise line's terms and conditions, which clearly provides the option for them to make changes to the itinerary, for basically any reason. It also includes situations when you are eligible for a refund.

 

Personally, I consider the published itinerary as nothing more than a suggestion, with the final itinerary confirmed upon disembarkation.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Exactly and thank goodness so I knew Maps, etc was not wrong!

Amazing Grace---I once was lost by now (have been) found (on my cruise ship in a previously unkown port). 😉

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Amazing Grace---I once was lost by now (have been) found (on my cruise ship in a previously unkown port). 😉

Yes, you get it. You totally get it!!

[RuthC]

7 hours ago, PointsNerd said:

Is there ever any compensation for these changes? OBC, discount, refund, or anything of substance? 

Sometimes you get a glass of cheap plonk at dinner. 
Other times you get lucky, and don't get the glass of cheap plonk. 

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes, you get it. You totally get it!!

Thank you. And just out of curiosity where were you supposed to be and where did you end up?

[Haljo1935]

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Thank you. And just out of curiosity where were you supposed to be and where did you end up?

Scheduled Salerno Italy; went to Sorrento Italy (very close)

[Trapper44]

On 11/12/2023 at 11:56 PM, PointsNerd said:

Has anyone heard anything about changes to the December 3rd Panama Canal Sunfarer itinerary?  The site shows that the original ports of call are the same.  Would they announce to booked guests via email or would they just update the website?

On the October 22nd Sunfarer, we received a letter a day or two before entering the canal, stating that all canal excursions were cancelled. I understand that about the same time on the November 12th Sunfarer the captain announced that all excursions were cancelled for the canal. On ours we still went thru the lock into Lake Gatun. Almost as soon as we were in the lake the captain announced that the canal had requested, we go back out due to upcoming traffic. So, we turned around and went back out the same lock we had just left. We were inside the canal less than 30 minutes. Judging from these two cruises I doubt Holland will make any announcements unless they eliminate the canal.

 

[rafinmd]

I am on the November 12 cruise.  The stated reason for cancelling the tours is massive demonstrations in Panama, so I would expect HAL to assess the situation as late as possible.  Our notice came at 10AM on the second day before entering the canal.  I have attached the Captain's letter about the situation.

 

Roy

notours.pdf

[CHOPPERTESTER]

It is what it is. We're on the next 12 night Rotterdam to the Canal and purposely avoided using our HIA excursion credits for anything in the Canal/Colon. I imagine those on board would have been scrambling to try and use them in Cartagena, Puerto Limon or Jamaica if they hadn't booked excursions for those ports already. HIA excursion credits are use 'em or lose 'em, no other use on board.

 

Let us know if you get any port fees refunded for not stopping in Colon. The few hundred in fees for the Canal are, of course, not refunded for the short trip through the locks and back.

[rafinmd]

3 hours ago, CHOPPERTESTER said:

Let us know if you get any port fees refunded for not stopping in Colon. The few hundred in fees for the Canal are, of course, not refunded for the short trip through the locks and back.

Just under $11.00

 

Roy

[Woodholme Cruiser]

On the Rotterdam for a partial Panama Canal transit on February 4th. I know about the changes for Cayman Islands and Aruba.  Has anyone heard about any other changes.  Having been to so many islands so many times, as well as a full transit 20 years ago, this cruise was more an opportunity to get out of the cold winter February of Maryland., but I did want to see the new structure of the Canal.  I may just stay on the ship and relax.

[CruiserBruce]

31 minutes ago, Woodholme Cruiser said:

On the Rotterdam for a partial Panama Canal transit on February 4th. I know about the changes for Cayman Islands and Aruba.  Has anyone heard about any other changes.  Having been to so many islands so many times, as well as a full transit 20 years ago, this cruise was more an opportunity to get out of the cold winter February of Maryland., but I did want to see the new structure of the Canal.  I may just stay on the ship and relax.

Have you asked on your Roll Call?

[cruiseaholic78]

Our partial Canal for next October roundtrip Boston has just been revised and the ports afterwards all changed. Many are canceling as they had booked to see the Canal and had already visited many of the Islands on the new itinerary.

As we have already been through the P.C. previously and not visited some of the new ports we are not that bothered. We also got a great price reduction the day before the announcement so I did wonder if this was going to happen.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by cruiseaholic78

[Ipeeinthepools]

On 11/13/2023 at 8:16 AM, PointsNerd said:

Is there ever any compensation for these changes? OBC, discount, refund, or anything of substance? 

 

If you don't enter the canal you should expect a refund of $400 - $500 in port fees.  I wouldn't expect any significant refund or OBC to the base fare.