Email from Orlando Ashford - Great response to a crisis

[ASIWISH]

Dear Holland America Line Guest,  I want to personally thank you for choosing Holland America Line for your upcoming cruise. These continue to be unpredictable times, and I remain personally committed to ensuring our guests can cruise with confidence in this period of much uncertainty. Please be assured that Holland America Line takes the health and safety of our guests and crew very seriously.

To protect the health and safety of all on board, we are closely monitoring the evolving situation. Holland America Line has deep partnerships with the global health experts from the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and together, we have developed enhanced screening, prevention and control procedures for our ships to keep guests and crew safe. You can learn more about our enhanced pre-boarding and on board health protocols, along with other important information, from our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Grant Tarling, here.

Nevertheless, we understand our guests have questions about their upcoming cruise. As such, I’d like to share these policy updates that provide options and flexibility should you want to reschedule your vacation currently booked between now and May 31, 2020, as well as incentives to proceed with your plans.

Guests who choose to keep their booking as currently scheduled for departures between March 6 and May 31 will receive the following Onboard Credit (OBC) amounts:

$100 per stateroom ($50 per person) for 6-day cruises (or fewer) $200 per stateroom ($100 per person) for 7-day and longer cruises If you choose to continue to sail with us, we will automatically apply your onboard credit to your booking. There is no need to call us.

For guests who booked prior to March 6 and decide to change their vacation plans, we will allow those booked on sailings between now and May 31, 2020, the option of cancelling their booking (no later than March 31, 2020, with a minimum of 72 hours in advance of their departure date). However, this new cancellation program will apply to sailings departing through and including March 9, 2020, which are now within the 72 hour window.

Any cancellation will receive a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the amount of your cancellation fee, which can be used for another cruise in 2020 or 2021. The FCC must be booked by December 31, 2020. This applies to bookings on spring 2020 Land+Sea Journeys and cruises for all destinations. FCCs are nonrefundable, non-transferrable and do not have to be used on the same destination that was cancelled.

We also know that there are people with specific individual health situations that impact their ability to safely travel during these times. For those guests who are able to provide supporting documents from their health care provider, Holland America Line will issue them a Future Cruise Credit. For information on submitting a request with documentation under this “Compassion Policy,” please contact your travel advisor or our Reservations Department. This offer is available for guests booked on any sailing, regardless of departure date.

I continue to believe that travel has the power to change us and our world. For 147 years, Holland America Line has been a recognized leader in cruising and weathered many storms. We look forward to introducing guests to new places, people and cultures for years to come.

Orlando Ashford President, Holland America Line

[awhcruiser]

Pretty sure everyone who has a cruise on HAL has received this email!

[ASIWISH]

You mean he didn’t sent this JUST to me?

 

😏

[mrspeck]

Was happy to see they followed suit with princess, etc.  We have a May 31 booking out of Amsterdam on the Nieuw Statendam,  so it will be nice to have this month to make some decisions.  I really don’t want to have to cancel!

Edited March 7, 2020 by mrspeck

[Loreto]

We leave in a few days for our Circle Hawaii cruise, and I just got the Orlando Ashford email.  We plan to keep our cruise and hope for the best.

Karen

[awhcruiser]

We do too.  Hard to pass up the 200 OBC!

[AJY64]

I have a cruise booked which begins on June 8th.  Any idea about the policy for cruises after May 31?

[JMAUST]

I read it twice and am still a little confused. 
are HAL giving OBC for the value of your outlay for the cruise, shore excursions and any other precooked activities and wine packages

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, JMAUST said:

I read it twice and am still a little confused. 
are HAL giving OBC for the value of your outlay for the cruise, shore excursions and any other precooked activities and wine packages

No. If you stay on board,  you will get a small OBC. If you cancel, they will give you a future cruise deposit equal to your cancelation penalty. At least that's our understanding. 

 

We are researching our options for our May Med cruise.

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, JMAUST said:

I read it twice and am still a little confused. 
are HAL giving OBC for the value of your outlay for the cruise, shore excursions and any other precooked activities and wine packages

 

6 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

No. If you stay on board,  you will get a small OBC. If you cancel, they will give you a future cruise deposit equal to your cancelation penalty. At least that's our understanding. 

 

We are researching our options for our May Med cruise.

And your shore excursions and any other pre-booked expenses will automatically be refunded when you cancel the cruise.

Our cruise is April 2 out of Australia.  As of now, unless HAL cancels the cruise or half the ports, we plan to keep our booking.  

 

[CruisingAndDiving]

2 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Pretty sure everyone who has a cruise on HAL has received this email!

Yep.

 

Just booked the April 19 TA on the Zuiderdam from Fort Lauderdale to Rome this morning and received the email as well.  I'm ok with the extra $200 OBC

 

[suec12]

I find the email confusing - we are past final payment about 60 days until departure - so would we get some $$$$ and some FCC if we cancel? 

[SedNabokos]

15 minutes ago, suec12 said:

we are past final payment about 60 days until departure - so would we get some $$$$ and some FCC if we cancel? 

 

Yes, you would get back the $$$ you would normally be entitled to, plus FCC for the amount that would normally be forfeit.

 

So if your "cancellation fee" at 60 days is 50% then normally you would only get 50% of your payment back (in cash) but now you'll get 50% cash and 50% FCC

 

If you're at 75% "cancellation fee" then you would get 25% back as cash and 75% as FCC.

 

Your guest booking confirmation will tell you what your cancellation fee is at any given date before departure.

[MuddyDragon]

• Any cancellation will receive a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the amount of your cancellation fee, which can be used for another cruise in 2020 or 2021 ...  I have already paid in full for my cruise .... My cruise leaves on April 4.  So, for example, if I have paid in full in the amount of $3,000 ... I will have a future cruise credit in the amount of $3,000 ???  I have a difficult time understanding the email ... It's me; not HAL's email ......... Can someone please help me with this?  Thanks!

[crystalspin]

On your booking confirmation, on probably the second page, is a small chart about what penalty comes due when. This is set off by "Final Payment DATE" not when you actually paid in full (if you did it early). If you are in 100% forfeit, then what you said is true. If you are in 75% forfeit, you would get back $750 refund, $2250 FCC.

[baggal]

7 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Pretty sure everyone who has a cruise on HAL has received this email!

 

No.  We have a cruise departing Copenhagen July 2 and didn't receive the email.  For the meantime, probably only sent to those sailing through May 31.  Doesn't matter though - we are a few weeks before final payment and are going to cancel.  

[ready2cruzagain]

8 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Pretty sure everyone who has a cruise on HAL has received this email!

 

We didn't get the letter and are booked on Holland.

[ski ww]

We have not got the email yet. We're departing Amsterdam 5 July and we are NOT cancelling. That $200 OBC will be nice, thanks HAL. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

The offers sound fair to me.

[TN Fem]

8 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Pretty sure everyone who has a cruise on HAL has received this email!

we are booked to leave next Saturday and didn't get this email yet. 

[gphb]

46 minutes ago, ski ww said:

We have not got the email yet. We're departing Amsterdam 5 July and we are NOT cancelling. That $200 OBC will be nice, thanks HAL. 

 

If you use Google (gmail) as your email provider, it may automatically be flagged as spam.  It was for us, just found it.

[ski ww]

After reading it again for the third time this only applies to cruises departing until the 31 May, not after. I guess we have to wait and see what happens for those departing after that. 

[puppycanducruise]

We don't want to cancel, so the extra OBC will be nice.

Hope things settle down soon.

[ChrissyG1968]

1 hour ago, gphb said:

 

If you use Google (gmail) as your email provider, it may automatically be flagged as spam.  It was for us, just found it.

I just checked my spam folder and bam there it was. Thanks for this. Now we'll just purchase one 250 dollar beverage card instead of 2 ☺️

[FlaMariner]

We are sailing 4/21 (Zaandam) and no email yet (& checked Spam file) but appreciate the extra $200 bucks!!!!!!  Perhaps wine package #3 is in our future. Yippee!

 

Thanks HAL....glad to do our part and we will "savor the journey" and enjoy the deals while others panic.  

 

(And we are prowling the 90 day ticker for more opportunities to cruise while it's "on sale")

 

Smooth sailing.......