Nieuw Amsterdam - December 14th - Azipod failure

[sail7seas]

On 12/15/2019 at 5:10 PM, kazu said:

HAL is being quite decent about this.  They are rebooking some on other cruises, assisting with the difference in cost in air fare, etc.

 

Here is their post from their FB page (in bold):

 

Due to an unexpected technical issue with one of two Azipod propulsion systems on Nieuw Amsterdam the roundtrip Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dec. 14 Caribbean cruise has been canceled. While the ship can safely sail with one Azipod, to do so requires approval from several regulatory authorities which is still in progress. Given the impact of the delay on delivering a satisfactory itinerary for guests, a decision was made to cancel the cruise at 2 p.m. EDT today.

All guests have been notified of the cancellation and will have the choice of remaining on board overnight tonight alongside in Port Everglades or disembarking the ship this afternoon. Holland America Line is working with guests to assist with travel arrangements and provide support. Several guests have been re-booked on other Holland America Line cruises departing Fort. Lauderdale today.

Guests will receive a full refund of cruise fare and taxes paid, hotel package costs, prepaid shore excursions and amenities, and any additional travel fees resulting from rebooking air tickets. They will also receive a 100% Future Cruise Credit equal to the amount of the cruise fare paid.

All of us at Holland America Line are incredibly sorry to disappoint our guests and impact their vacation plans in this way. While these types of incidents are incredibly rare, we never cancel a cruise unless we have no choice.

 

 

 

 

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, rafinmd said:

That hour delay is puzzling.  I think Nieuw Amsterdam is in HMC on the 27th.  One thing I wonder about is how well dynamic positioning will work on one azipod (if there is only one).

 

Roy

Not a problem.  The one pod will still steer completely, and provides more power than the collective of stern thrusters that other ships use for DP.

[Reader0108598]

12 hours ago, igraf said:

 

One could spend Saturday night and then catch an early Sunday flight home.  In coming cruise ships on Sunday would not be a concern as not too many people would book early morning flights home on disembarkation day.

 

igraf

 

I always spend the night in Fort lauderdale leave early morning works out great!

 

[DaveOKC]

15 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Yes and the only ones with reason for concern are those who booked a very early flight out when returning.

It would have to be a VERY early flight - we were an hour late on the NA last Saturday (arrived at 8 am - scheduled 7 am) and first people off were just before 9 AM.  We were at the ariport by 10 am and could have been there at least 30 minutes earlier than that if we had not took our time disembarking (had a late flight). 

[JennysUncle]

MarineTraffic shows the Nieuw Amsterdam underway just leaving for Port Everglades.

[catl331]

ETA PEG 19:00

[killsport]

Has anyone received their refund? Is there a process that needs to be followed or does it happen automatically? What about the FCC they offered? Thanks in advance!

[iamwiz82]

1 hour ago, killsport said:

Has anyone received their refund? Is there a process that needs to be followed or does it happen automatically? What about the FCC they offered? Thanks in advance!

 

We have not received our fare refund yet, however we received a refund of our excurions and OBC.

[CruiseGds]

I talked to Holland today and was told that the future cruise credit would not include the taxes or port fees. Those, of course, are significant costs ($480 for me on this cruise), so Holland's offer is not quite as generous as it first appears. Also, Holland would not tell me the amount they would refund for the cancelled cruise because I booked through Costco. Holland said the refund would show up on my credit card sometime this week.

[kaumond]

On 12/16/2019 at 12:02 AM, HappyInVan said:

 

 

Engineers build redundant systems to reduce risks. Based on hard earned lessons.

 

The Sky was a functioning ship, until it wasn't.

 

Except one of the 4 engines was down for a few days before we entered the storm...

[HappyInVan]

4 hours ago, kaumond said:

Except one of the 4 engines was down for a few days before we entered the storm...

 

 

Ooops. Maybe a warning sign?

[chengkp75]

13 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

 

Ooops. Maybe a warning sign?

Boy, you do love your conspiracy theories.  Nearly every cruise ship spends several weeks each year with one engine down for a complete overhaul, and not one passenger is aware of it.  Plus, routine maintenance can take an engine out of service for 2-4 days in between these overhauls, as often as every couple of months.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 12/23/2019 at 2:45 PM, CruiseGds said:

I talked to Holland today and was told that the future cruise credit would not include the taxes or port fees. Those, of course, are significant costs ($480 for me on this cruise), so Holland's offer is not quite as generous as it first appears. Also, Holland would not tell me the amount they would refund for the cancelled cruise because I booked through Costco. Holland said the refund would show up on my credit card sometime this week.

 

It's possible the taxes and port fees can't be refunded due to legal restrictions, including rules that say they will be refunded when you miss a port. They are always shown separately on HAL's website.

 

For future reference, Cruise Critic's rules say that you may not mention your travel agency by name. When you booked through "the big box store," did your credit card statement show the charge going to them or to HAL? If the charge went to the store and not HAL, then the refund would be processed the same way--HAL to store, store to you.

 

[chengkp75]

On 12/23/2019 at 2:45 PM, CruiseGds said:

I talked to Holland today and was told that the future cruise credit would not include the taxes or port fees. Those, of course, are significant costs ($480 for me on this cruise), so Holland's offer is not quite as generous as it first appears. Also, Holland would not tell me the amount they would refund for the cancelled cruise because I booked through Costco. Holland said the refund would show up on my credit card sometime this week.

FCC will never include port taxes and fees because these are "through" payments that the cruise line pays to the governments and are not profit centers for the line.

[rjraines1]

On 12/15/2019 at 3:34 PM, WScruiser said:

New info on disembarkation etc.  HAL is doing a pretty good job of communicating- guests can self-disembark now with all shipboard charges reversed plus a full refund of cruise fare, prepaid  excursions etc. plus a 100% future cruise credit equal to fees paid for this trip.  Terrible end to a great vacation,  but HAL is doing the best it can.

 

Guests can also use the ship as a hotel tonight, and leave tomorrow 

I beg to differ!  It's now 1/17/20 and no communication initiated by HAL and still no refund in sight.  HAL would not transfer our cruise funds over to the Koningsdam set to sail the day of the cancellation so we are officially out the cost of two cruises until HAL comes through.  Horrible experience for a first ever cruise.

[Motor City]

2 hours ago, rjraines1 said:

I beg to differ!  It's now 1/17/20 and no communication initiated by HAL and still no refund in sight.  HAL would not transfer our cruise funds over to the Koningsdam set to sail the day of the cancellation so we are officially out the cost of two cruises until HAL comes through.  Horrible experience for a first ever cruise.

 

"Stepping up" on social media and NOT following through? oh HAL, we all thought you were better then that...

Stories and reviews of this cancelled cruise and subsequent cruises on 1 azipod, will definitely come back to bite you.

[WScruiser]

Rjraines1, I’m so sorry you’re having such difficulty.  We’ve received all of our refunds - I wasn’t exactly sure what they were all for so I emailed guest services and received an itemization 

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 1/17/2020 at 10:46 AM, rjraines1 said:

I beg to differ!  It's now 1/17/20 and no communication initiated by HAL and still no refund in sight.  HAL would not transfer our cruise funds over to the Koningsdam set to sail the day of the cancellation so we are officially out the cost of two cruises until HAL comes through.  Horrible experience for a first ever cruise.

 

Did you book directly with HAL or with a TA (or big box store)? If you didn't book directly with HAL, talk to your TA. People who had used TAs said information came through them. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by 3rdGenCunarder

[rjraines1]

On 1/18/2020 at 12:03 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Did you book directly with HAL or with a TA (or big box store)? If you didn't book directly with HAL, talk to your TA. People who had used TAs said information came through them. 

 

I booked through Vacations to Go and they were fantastic at doing their best to assist me throughout the experience.  I have since settled with HAL and booked another cruise on Holland to use my future cruise credit.  Depending on our experience on this second cruise, we will decide whether or not we would ever use HAL again.