Maasdam 1/5/08 -- Ship Chartered !!

['The Bear']

This is the same ship that the 'Jazz at Sea' group had >800 pax on, and HAL wouldn't disclose that fact to the unfortunate lowly others who booked this cruise !!

 

Anyway, perhaps it is this group who were able to get another 400 pax for the sailing, who are doing the chartering; or perhaps they are being inconvenienced as well ! (Perhaps Carol at JazzSea could confirm for us.)

 

This was to be the first half of a B2B, and, of course I've already booked air-fare, at a great rate, as well as acoomodations both before & after. So I will incurr a considerable loss if I rebook at a later date with the pittance offered as an OBC.

 

In addition, I had friends joining us on the second half of this vacation and their time-off has already been booked and can't be changed. So, it appears that I'm stuck to the second cruise & I'm booking the Emerald Sea (Princess) for the initial half of the B2B. Even though, historically, I'm not much of a fan of these behemoths.

 

What is becoming increasingly annoying is the fact that I have to find these things out on my own and then get my TA to follow-up; and she has trouble getting a straight answer from HAL Corporate --- only after being on hold with 3 or 4 people does she ever get a straight, honest (?) answer!

 

Due to the above, this will probably be my last HAL experience, because I just can't trust them. And I so loved my initial cruise!!

 

Thanks for allowing me to vent!!

 

Gord

[Krazy Kruizers]

'TheBear'

 

So sorry to hear this. Book a lot of back-to-back and always hope that nothing like that will happen to us. Like you we book first class air months in advance and that would be a big problem for us.

[sail7seas]

Ditto.

 

I'm sorry this has happened to you, Bear.

 

[InTheWASide]

Sorry to hear that happened, but better to find out 6 months in advance than to have it not be a full charter, and hear a woeful tale about groups dominating every aspect of a cruise.

 

I understand some things are difficult because they had been arranged, but there is a lot of time in which a lot of things can happen.

 

Nevertheless, I'm sorry to hear your cruise plans have been altered

[bepsf]

Another good reason to not book air and hotel before final payment.

Sorry this happenned to you, Bear.

[Golfette]

Bear, this is all new to me. Had you already paid your final payment when they did this? Bepsf indicated you hadn't. What difference would this have mean't? Can they NOT do this to you if you've already paid your final payment?

[sail7seas]

Golfette: It is highly unlikely it would happen after final payment as that would make it far too little time for a charter to be organized. I've never heard a charter taking over a ship at or after final payment.

 

Brian....... Many of us need to book our air earlier in order to get preferable flights. If we were to wait for 70 days prior, we could easily end up with horrible scheduling. We never wait that close to our travel date to book.

Same for hotels. Some of the pre cruise hotels we use book up. We could well find them full if we wait that long to book.

 

[twinkletoes4445]

Bear, this is all new to me. Had you already paid your final payment when they did this? Bepsf indicated you hadn't. What difference would this have mean't? Can they NOT do this to you if you've already paid your final payment?

 

I've never read of this happening after final payment has been made. I have read of this happening 6 or so months out. The big problem, from what I have read, is getting HAL to fess up to this.

 

There's a poster here named Shonuf. This happened to her last year. And a month or so later, she told another poster about this. This poster was asking questions about the same cruise that Shonuf was on (and had been bumped from) and had no clue that the ship had been chartered and they had been bumped.

 

As for booking a room and air prior to making the final deposit...well, we sailed the Saturday before Super Bowl, so it would have cost us a fortune had we waited...and we may have not even been able to get a room or flight no matter what we were willing to pay. Generally, I book all our air as soon as our land vacation plans have been made, and have never had a problem. This is a problem with cruising...we don't have this issue with any of our land vacations. We've never had a condo or hotel room yanked from us because of a charter.

 

The Bear...I am sorry this happened to you. I do understand how frustrated you must be. Shonuf went round and round with HAL over the same issue. You'd think they'd just tell everyone and be done with it...so you can make other plans.

[twinkletoes4445]

Many of us need to book our air earlier in order to get preferable flights. If we were to wait for 70 days prior, we could easily end up with horrible scheduling. We never wait that close to our travel date to book.

Same for hotels. Some of the pre cruise hotels we use book up. We could well find them full if we wait that long to book.

 

[/b]

 

We're the same way. We shouldn't have to "wait" to see if the ship will be chartered out from under us before we make our flight and hotel plans, but I guess that's the way it is. I now know this, so I will go into planning a cruise with this understanding. I don't like it, but it seems it is what it is.

[twinkletoes4445]

Bear, this is all new to me. Had you already paid your final payment when they did this? Bepsf indicated you hadn't. What difference would this have mean't? Can they NOT do this to you if you've already paid your final payment?

 

Another thing you might do is do a google search with your sail date and "groups." Sometimes things will pop up. We'd thought about doing the Zuiderdam next Feb. (again, because we loved it so much).

 

If you get to the point where you are making your final payment, I wouldn't worry.

[bepsf]

Brian....... Many of us need to book our air earlier in order to get preferable flights. If we were to wait for 70 days prior, we could easily end up with horrible scheduling. We never wait that close to our travel date to book.

Same for hotels. Some of the pre cruise hotels we use book up. We could well find them full if we wait that long to book.

 

 

Point taken - I guess in some respects I'm just a procrastinator...

;)

['The Bear']

All,

Thank-you for your concern on this matter of my inconvenience re Maasdam 1/5/08 being chartered.

 

After a whole night to calm down (get my blood pressure under control :) ) & digest my possible actions, I'm going to follow through with the Princess Cruise (Emerald), and make the best of the mega-ship. After all, it can't be that bad, ----- it is a cruise !! :o

 

In the final analysis I will be out $500; but I could easily spend that in a day or two at the bar :D , (someday my liver will thank me for this!!)

 

Happy Cruising everyone!

Gord

[onthegogirl]

Bear,

 

You are making lemonade out of a rotton lemon. Bravo! :) May you find the Princess experience a wonderful adventure into the world of mega ship cruising. Hope you will let us know how the first half of your trip compares to the second.

 

Carole

[infohunter]

Another thing you might do is do a google search with your sail date and "groups." Sometimes things will pop up.

 

Always a great tip... but don't forget that there is a sticky at the top of this forum that has group info in it. As you read that thread RICHWMM has a link to a web page he is maintaining with the group info the folks send him. The direct link is http://www.wa70.com/hdisplay.php. A great resource for all of us.

[kryos]

Brian....... Many of us need to book our air earlier in order to get preferable flights. If we were to wait for 70 days prior, we could easily end up with horrible scheduling. We never wait that close to our travel date to book.

Same for hotels. Some of the pre cruise hotels we use book up. We could well find them full if we wait that long to book.

Then if HAL chartered out the ship, and the OP had a confirmed booking, sounds to me like HAL should eat the cost of the cancelled air tickets and hotel charges. HAL could always turn those tickets right around and give them to someone on the charter. Believe me, the airlines will work with HAL ... they buy so many airplane seats. Same with the hotel. Surely someone on the charter will want a pre or post-cruise stay. HAL could just turn that room reservation over to them. HAL won't lose a dime, but without reimbursement, the OP will.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

We're the same way. We shouldn't have to "wait" to see if the ship will be chartered out from under us before we make our flight and hotel plans, but I guess that's the way it is. I now know this, so I will go into planning a cruise with this understanding. I don't like it, but it seems it is what it is.

Yeah, but the only problem with booking hotels and flights way ahead of time is ... what if something happens on your end? What if you have no choice but to cancel your cruise? While you may be within the cancellation penalty-free period for the cruise, you would lose probably the entire cost of your airline reservations, and at least partial on your hotel rooms.

 

That's why I prefer to wait until final payment to book airline tickets and hotel ... because I know that after final payment, the only way I am going cancel that cruise is if it is for an insurance-covered reason ... and then those other items would be reimbursed to me too.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Golfette]

Thanks everyone - I appreciate your answers. Bear, you are terrific to take such an upbeat view of the situation. I really admire you! As to megaship sailing, I was on the Sapphire Princess. It is a whole other world. Try to think of it as visiting a big city & approach it from that point rather than as a cruise ship. I'll be interested in your impressions when you get back. Good sailing!

[sail7seas]

All' date='

Thank-you for your concern on this matter of my inconvenience re Maasdam 1/5/08 being chartered.

 

 

In the final analysis I will be out $500; but I could easily spend that in a day or two at the bar :D , (someday my liver will thank me for this!!)

 

Gord[/quote']

 

THAT is the part that gets me!!!

It's one thing to be disappointed and inconvienced. But I think it SO wrong that HAL goes and charters out the ship and cancels booked guests and the cancelled guests lose money. IF they cancel a cruise from under them, IMO, they should be making them whole.

For Bear to be losing $500 on this is plain and simple wrong IMO

For those who think I never have a negative thing to say about HAL, please take note of this post. ;)

[jhannah]

Note taken! And I fully agree. If HAL (or any cruise line) wants to cash in on the group business, then they're making enough to insulate those whose rug is pulled out from under them from ANY financial loss. The hassle of making new arrangements -- or not being able to make other arrangements -- is enough to have to deal with.

[jazzsea]

Yes. I have chartered the Maasdam. I'm very surprised that Holland America did not give you our information. As I told you earlier, I would honor your reservation and make you a part of our group. I am Carol Neumann and my email is: jazzsea@aol.com

[sail7seas]

Well, there you go, Bear. At least you now have 'choices'.

 

If all Charter Leaders (is that the proper term?) were like you, Carol....... many of us would have less stress in these cases.

 

Thanks for your contributions and help.

 

[twinkletoes4445]

Always a great tip... but don't forget that there is a sticky at the top of this forum that has group info in it. As you read that thread RICHWMM has a link to a web page he is maintaining with the group info the folks send him. The direct link is http://www.wa70.com/hdisplay.php. A great resource for all of us.

 

I'd forgotten about the sticky! And thanks for the other link (I'm going to bookmark this). :)

[twinkletoes4445]

Yeah, but the only problem with booking hotels and flights way ahead of time is ... what if something happens on your end? What if you have no choice but to cancel your cruise? While you may be within the cancellation penalty-free period for the cruise, you would lose probably the entire cost of your airline reservations, and at least partial on your hotel rooms.

 

That's why I prefer to wait until final payment to book airline tickets and hotel ... because I know that after final payment, the only way I am going cancel that cruise is if it is for an insurance-covered reason ... and then those other items would be reimbursed to me too.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

We always buy insurance so if something does come up, we're covered, and it doesn't matter whether I booked the flight and hotel 6 months out or 2 months, it's handled the same way by the insurance company. I'd rather book my flight ahead of time, and get the seating and flight I want, and a good price, rather than wait.

 

As for the hotel, we never have had an issue with cancellation. We book hotels all the time, thinking we will be in a particular place at a particular time (we travel for business) and as long as you give them 24 hour notice, cancellation isn't a problem.

 

We had no choice but to book our hotels and air in advance for our last cruise, it was during Super Bowl. But we would have done it anyway. To me, I'd rather have all the bases covered. We don't go into booking a cruise thinking we might have to cancel, so there's no reason for us to wait until the final deposit is due. And even then, you're what...still a good 70 days out from your cruise. A lot can happen in those 70 days. At least we know we have out flight and hotel covered.

 

Like Krazy Kruisers...we book exactly what we want in advance.

[jazzsea]

FYI. We are just regular people. Age range is between 45 and 91. Lots of dancers and lots of fringe dresses, boas and spats. You'll see 1920's period dress and hear some of the greatest New Orleans and Chicago style Dixieland Jazz. We put wine in each cabin and give two cocktail parties along with a few other goodies.

 

There is nothing strange about us. We dance, do banjo sign-alongs and have a party for ten days. This is not your ordinary cruise, it is way more fun than that.

[sail7seas]

.....Of course, one would have to Love Jazz in order to enjoy being a part of that group. Someone who doesn't love Jazz might be better cruising another time. :)