excellent overall cruise, but 1 complaint

[CyclingInvestor]

I just went on my first cruise in 23 years, the Veendam from VancouverBC to Seward June 14-21. Everything went as well or better than expected, from omelets and smoked salmon for breakfast to 2 nights in the Pinnacle Grill for dinner, excellent waiters and cabin steward, completely idiot-proof procedures - with one exception.

 

I had booked the Train / Bike excursion in Skagway. When I get to the dock, I was told by the HAL representitive that it was cancelled for liability concerns, and that my refund had already been credited. OK, stuff happens. I rebooked for the Train / Bus / Gold Camp excursion, and it was fun.

 

When I got to Frazier to switch from the train to the bus, I see a guy holding a "Train / Bike" sign. I chat with him a minute - it seems that the bike shop still ran the same excursion, just that Holland America had cancelled their affiliation for liability concerns. I wish that the HAL rep had said "we cancelled our affiliation with the Train / Bike" rather than that the ride was cancelled. I know, I should have called the bike shop to confirm when I was told it was cancelled, and it would have cost HAL their excursion fee if I rebooked it thru the bike shop instead of their other offering, but . . .sigh.

 

Still a great cruise at an excellent price, though.

[hammybee]

Speculation on my part, here....It's possible that the provider of the tour could not produce liability insurance satisfactory to HAL or any cruise line, for that matter.

[lovebug33]

Do you want to go on an excursion that they canceled due to liability concerns? I wouldn't! When we went to the Caribbean, my DH's only excursion he wanted to go on got canceled due to liability, but you could get it right there on the dock. No way I was going on it. The cruise lines have strict standards and I am all about that!

[CowPrincess]

If you post in the Alaska forum, specifically to a poster called Yukon, ask him for pics of the road down which you'd have biked. Seriously, it is a miracle that some lumbering RV driven by someone distracted by all the beautiful scenery, hasn't run into a group of cyclists and tossed them all over a cliff. I shiver when I think of it -- narrow, steep, winding road with no shoulders.

 

Glad that you otherwise enjoyed your cruise!

[Susie51]

I'm glad you returned safely and had a good cruise.

[CyclingInvestor]

If you post in the Alaska forum, specifically to a poster called Yukon, ask him for pics of the road down which you'd have biked. Seriously, it is a miracle that some lumbering RV driven by someone distracted by all the beautiful scenery, hasn't run into a group of cyclists and tossed them all over a cliff. I shiver when I think of it -- narrow, steep, winding road with no shoulders.

 

Glad that you otherwise enjoyed your cruise!

 

I came back on that road on the bus. I am an experienced cycle-tourist, and to me the road and shoulder looked quite safe - long sightlines, light traffic, a decent shoulder most of the way. I have ridden on far worse.

 

Anyway, I did not mind HAL cancelling the excursion, I only object to being told the trip was cancelled instead of that the affiliation being cancelled. I was just posting to vent a minor frustration.

 

I appreciate the well-wishes of this group. CC was helpful in choosing which cruise to take, giving info on things like flight timing and shuttles before the cruise, and how to enjoy life onboard.

 

Thanks all.

[Boytjie]

I came back on that road on the bus. I am an experienced cycle-tourist, and to me the road and shoulder looked quite safe - long sightlines, light traffic, a decent shoulder most of the way. I have ridden on far worse.

 

Anyway, I did not mind HAL cancelling the excursion, I only object to being told the trip was cancelled instead of that the affiliation being cancelled. I was just posting to vent a minor frustration.

 

I appreciate the well-wishes of this group. CC was helpful in choosing which cruise to take, giving info on things like flight timing and shuttles before the cruise, and how to enjoy life onboard.

 

Thanks all.

 

Not to get to nitpicking but did HAL say the excursion was cancelled or that the actual trip was cancelled? Since they said it was cancelled due to liability it would indicate that HAL cancelled their excursion IMO.

[swalm22]

Do you want to go on an excursion that they canceled due to liability concerns? I wouldn't! When we went to the Caribbean, my DH's only excursion he wanted to go on got canceled due to liability, but you could get it right there on the dock. No way I was going on it. The cruise lines have strict standards and I am all about that!

 

Stay complete behind you, I also would not take it because HAL will have a good reason to cancel.

[Lizzie1]

I'm taking the same trip, I think, in September. Any suggestions about other excursions? Any other comments about this trip - recommendations, etc.? This will be our first cruise. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Boytjie]

Not to get to nitpicking but did HAL say the excursion was cancelled or that the actual trip was cancelled? Since they said it was cancelled due to liability it would indicate that HAL cancelled their excursion IMO.

 

 

To add to my comment: HAL has no incentive to inform you of non-HAL excursions. Would they be somehow at risk if they told someone about an excursion that they cancelled due to liability issues yet the person went on the excursion independently and something happened?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

Sorry about your excursion. Really think it was for the best that it was cancelled.

[kryos]

When I got to Frazier to switch from the train to the bus, I see a guy holding a "Train / Bike" sign. I chat with him a minute - it seems that the bike shop still ran the same excursion, just that Holland America had cancelled their affiliation for liability concerns. I wish that the HAL rep had said "we cancelled our affiliation with the Train / Bike" rather than that the ride was cancelled.

Just a suggestion ... anytime you want to do ANYTHING in port that even SMELLS of a risk, book it on your own. HAL requires all of their shore excursion vendors to provide a certain minimum level of liability insurance. Depending upon the excursion type, some of them just can't rise to that liability protection threshold. It would be cost prohibitive. So, they simply offer their excursion cheaper, direct to the public. They can afford to offer it cheaper because now they don't have to cut the cruise line in for as much as 50% of their take.

 

I've done some strange excursions ... including tandem skydiving, a "U-fly" tour and SCUBA diving, and I will go aerobatic soaring this coming October while in Oahu. Needless to say, HAL hasn't been involved in any of those excursions and neither would they want to be.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

To add to my comment: HAL has no incentive to inform you of non-HAL excursions. Would they be somehow at risk if they told someone about an excursion that they cancelled due to liability issues yet the person went on the excursion independently and something happened?

Another "stunt" the cruise lines pull ... and I am sure this is not just HAL ... is that they will cut deals with vendors. If those vendors want to continue doing business with the cruise line, they have to agree NOT to offer their excursion independently to any cruise line passenger on the day that ship is in port. That means that if you feel HAL's price for a certain excursion is too high and you try to book it on your own, as soon as the vendor finds out that you are arriving by cruise ship, they won't take your money ... forcing you to go back to the cruise line and book ... AT THEIR PRICE.

 

Also, the cruise lines are known for chartering all of a vendor's equipment on the day the ship is in port. For example, a combination whale/dolphin watch and snorkel with the Pacific Whale Foundation back in January of 2006. Some people felt the price HAL was demanding was way out of line and they decided to book it from the dock when we arrived in Lahana. Well, guess what? Those people were able to book a whale/dolphin watch excursion, but not a combination snorkeling excursion and whale/dolphin watch. Why? Because the Pacific Whale Foundation only had one boat equipped for that purpose, and HAL had chartered it for the day. Gotcha!

 

Shore excursions are big money for the cruise lines and if they can "encourage" you not to book independently, they most certainly will do that.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Boytjie]

I've done some strange excursions ... including tandem skydiving, a "U-fly" tour and SCUBA diving, and I will go aerobatic soaring this coming October while in Oahu. Needless to say, HAL hasn't been involved in any of those excursions and neither would they want to be.

 

HAL not involved with scuba diving excursions? :confused: I dived both on HAL excursions and independently.

 

 

Another "stunt" the cruise lines pull ...

 

Some call it stunts, some call it doing busines.

[sail7seas]

Happy your first cruise in so many years was great. Happy you had a good time.

 

I think trying to quote exactly how the HAL rep phrased the info the tour was cancelled could simply be open to interpretation. Perhaps another person might have understood the message just a little differently??

 

In; any case, if HAL thinks the excursion not suitable for their guests, it is probably best no one does it. They must have very good reasons for it. They WANT to sell excursions and do NOT want to disappoint their guests. They had good reason for the cancellation IMO

 

[usha]

Glad to hear you had a great cruise.

Sorry that your excursion got canceled by HAL.

Who really understands why they didn't tell you you could book the adventure on your own?

As PeeWee would say:

"There are some things you wouldn't understand,

some things you couldn't understand,

some things you shouldn't understand."

I don't understand...:o

[Boytjie]

Who really understands why they didn't tell you you could book the adventure on your own?

 

Because they are in the business of selling excursions... their own excursions.

[lovebug33]

I think it's funny that people get upset that the cruise line books a company for the entire day. Cruise lines have to make money and so do the excursion companies. After seeing different reports, HAL does not make money off the fare, they make money off the extras. Whichever way the can do that, more power to them. This is a business, after all. And, if you were an excursion company, would you wait to take business that might never come or go for guaranteed business through the cruise line? I think that is a no-brainer. This isn't a stunt, it's smart business.

[TiogaCruiser]

Another "stunt" the cruise lines pull ... and I am sure this is not just HAL ... is that they will cut deals with vendors. If those vendors want to continue doing business with the cruise line, they have to agree NOT to offer their excursion independently to any cruise line passenger on the day that ship is in port. That means that if you feel HAL's price for a certain excursion is too high and you try to book it on your own, as soon as the vendor finds out that you are arriving by cruise ship, they won't take your money ... forcing you to go back to the cruise line and book ... AT THEIR PRICE. /quote]

 

I have no doubt that there is some agreement to this extent- (just looking at the websites of some of the vendors tells you that they will not book you directly if you are a pax) - HOWEVER- we were just in Alaska 2 weeks ago and I booked 2 excursions directly with the vendor, and they were aware we were on a HAL ship. (They asked in the paperwork we completed). Those exact 2 excursions were offered through HAL, and in the case of one, other HAL pax were on the same excursion we were on. For one of them, when we tried booking thru HA, HAL could only guantee one of us the excursion and the other would have been waitlisted.

[pipedreams62]

[brucory]

Ouch!!!

[happy cruzer]

Well, maybe there is no conspiracy here.

 

The HAL rep just told you what he was told. Someone in the HAL org knew the details but they may not even have been on the ship.

 

Plus the liability insurance is a big deal. That's a big reason some go on ship's excursions because they know the cruise line verifies the insurance. Alot of travel insurance won't cover an accident on a high risk excursion. So the tour provider's insurance is about all you get.

 

I do agree tours getting cancelled/changed for whatever reason is very disappointing. But it is the nature of travel even if sometimes avoidable.

 

Glad you had a good cruise.

[innlady1]

I'm with all of you who feel if a cruise line cancels a shorex because liability concerns, I'd think twice about taking an independent tour.

 

I keep thinking back to the thread last winter of the Celebrity shorex...the gourmet cooking shorex in Dominica...that ran off the road and all 18 or 22 or so paxs were airlifted to Miami...and the subsequent photos posted here of the rickety old ban that was used for it.

 

I'm glad that HAL for one, has some common sense when it comes to what's right and what's wrong with their shorex's. IMHO, it was irresponsible for Celebrity to offer a shorex in such a rattletrap of a vehicle.

[Taxguy77]

Last Nov., we had misinformation over the ships loudspeakers in two out of six ports!:eek:

I found out later from pax who had gone and found out. Thanks, Hal:rolleyes:

[SwimnwFishes]

I've actually done this excursion (not on HAL) and it was provided by a very safety conscious vendor. However, having said that, I help run a business that requires extensive liability insurance and I can speak from experience that the insurance companies are likely to change/modify/cancel/and/or increase cost of insurance on a whim. Of course, that cost is always passed on to the customer.

 

Perhaps the cost that HAL would have had to charge they felt would be excessive because some increase being passed from the vendor?

 

We loved the excursion. Probably one of our favorites of all time.