HAL Cancelling Noordam Cruises from NYC November 2008 (Merger of Several Threads)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have a couple of future cruises booked for HAL but now I am really getting concerned what HAL will do with them!!

Thankfully we are not like some of you wanting to get to the next level just to get those medals. Should HAL start to mess up our cruises, i.e., change schedules - change too many ports -- sell our suite to someone else -- well that will be the end of HAL for us.

[peaches from georgia]

I'd be very interested to know the price of CHAcruiser's suite on the Rome-NY cruise and what the people on the Rome-FLL itinerary paid for the very same suite. There might lie the answer as to why some people were given only a very short time to keep their booking and some even were cancelled and their cabin resold with no notice at all. Very bad business. :(

[Krazy Kruizers]

I'd be very interested to know the price of CHAcruiser's suite on the Rome-NY cruise and what the people on the Rome-FLL itinerary paid for the very same suite. There might lie the answer as to why some people were given only a very short time to keep their booking and some even were cancelled and their cabin resold with no notice at all. Very bad business. :(

Good Point!! But I have a feeling we shall never know.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm shaking my head is amazement and disbelief along with amusement.

 

I remember hearing somewhere that when someone is at fault for something, pointing out the fault of someone else doesn't make it alright.

 

Did someone say that any other cruiseline is perfect? I didn't see that here. This is the HAL board and we're talking about a situation where HAL has fallen down on the job miserably. Whether or not another cruise line has done the same isn't the issue at all.

 

This is no small thing with many, many, many people affected. Only a small portion of all those people are represented here. Most of them have no voice and will eventually be notified and disappointed.

 

I understand that there are those who would have us believe that nothing can go wrong either in booking or sailing on a HAL cruise. As with anything else, it can and it does. Not to see that is to have blinders on.

 

Life can deal some pretty severe blows when we don't look at things realistically. HAL messed up big time here; you can't sugar coat that. And these cruises were not cancelled because of mechanical problems or anything like that. These were cancelled because HAL just decided they could get more money another way. Maybe they should have thought about that before making up their schedule and encouraging people to book!

[u4ea]

I agree with what has been said, but I think as long as HAL turns a profit, they can do what they want and/or deal with their screw ups, even if they lose customers. As long they get replacement customers and turn a profit. Reminds me of the bait and switch about a year ago. :(

Mark

[sail7seas]

forgeddaboutit. ;) Changed my mind. :)

[cruise_4_me]

You know, I have been following this thread with interest. We booked the Noordam for the 10/4/08 Rome-NYC sailing while onboard the Veendam 9/7/07.

 

I found out about the change of itinerary/final port by reading CC - HAL never contacted us. When I called them to inquire, they sent me to Ships Services, and the customer service agent a) couldn't initially find our booking, b)finally found our booking, c)gave us a new booking # and then said the suite we had booked had been given to someone else under the new booking voyage#, d) mentioned that we were on their list of booked pax to call...just hadn't gotten to us yet.... We've temporarily decided to stay w/this cruise.... but we are definitely looking around at other options. Plus... agent said she'd send me an email confirmation..... I have never received one. After a "not-so-great" Veendam cruise I was hoping for a better experience with the Noordam. HAL is surely a disappointment.

 

This happened to us for the 10/18 cruise. I only found out about the change when a friend decided to book this cruise and was told it had been changed. I called TA, which also didn't know about the change, and found out my room was given away. My TA did a great job and got it back. I find it amazing that HAL has my deposit, $1200, does not notify me about the change and then gives my room away. I hope that this will be studied in business schools oh how not to run a company.

[Copper10-8]

forgeddaboutit. ;) Changed my mind. :)

 

Great move!;) Not worth it!

[Krazy Kruizers]

This happened to us for the 10/18 cruise. I only found out about the change when a friend decided to book this cruise and was told it had been changed. I called TA, which also didn't know about the change, and found out my room was given away. My TA did a great job and got it back. I find it amazing that HAL has my deposit, $1200, does not notify me about the change and then gives my room away. I hope that this will be studied in business schools oh how not to run a company.

 

Thankfully you found out in time!!

[peaches from georgia]

....... I find it amazing that HAL has my deposit, $1200, does not notify me about the change and then gives my room away. I hope that this will be studied in business schools oh how not to run a company.

 

So evidently the Noordam NY/FLL situation is not a one-time occurence of cancelling without notice.

 

Where I got my MBA this case study would be in the Business Ethics class in additon to Management.

[knitlady037]

CHAcruiser, when I contacted HAL about our 10/8 cruise CSR said there were only 8 bookings on that voyage. Your suite must be a great one if someone else picked it also. This was as of 9/25. He thought that was very strange. Even stranger, he couldn't find us on the manifest.

After I gave him our booking # we came up, but still with a NY arrival destination. Have you checked your booking#? Thank goodness for these boards or I wouldn't know anything about this and would still be planning to buy airline tickets. Wonder when I will finally hear something from HAl or AMEX about this?

[HeatherInFlorida]

As usual, this board has been very helpful to several people. It's so clear that this was badly handled and I think if anyone posting here can post a legitimate reason for HAL handling it this way, then they should go ahead and post. No reason to think better of it. I think everyone might profit by a reasonable explanation.

 

But none has come through so far and that's probably because there isn't one ... doesn't make HAL a "horrific" cruise line;) . We're told that because it's a year away, no biggie. Maybe other people are cavalier about booking cruises, most of us aren't. We research and find the perfect cruise. If I suddenly found out that the cruise I've booked on Celebrity next October was cancelled or the deparkation point moved to a city I don't want to end up in, I'd be posting that all over the Celebrity board ... and they're my top favorite cruise line.

 

Maybe the shoe has to be on the foot of the person who feels they've gotten a raw deal. Sometimes we have to imagine how we would feel to understand other's reactions.

 

I always like to think that these boards are a place where we, as passengers, can come together and discuss both the good and the bad about a particular cruise line (in this case HAL because it's the HAL board) or cruising in general.

 

Obviously we all love to cruise on HAL or we wouldn't be here. I love both HAL and Celebrity, but if either one of them messes something up as badly as this I'm quick to criticize and there's nothing unreasonable about that.

[ekerr19]

First, I'll admit I haven't read the entire merged thread.

 

I keep hearing that the reason HAL is done this is from a financial standpoint; which may or may not be the case. Does anyone know for certain??

 

Having DONE this cruise, I will tell you, the ride down can be a VERY bumpy one during the winter months and many people are not that keen on the rough seas and having so many sea days. :)

 

Maybe it could have been handled better, but the reality is (in my mind) it's no different than cancelling individual cruises because groups want to charter the whole ship... :confused: unless I'm really missing something here.

 

I feel bad for those affected, no doubt - but the bottom line is it's a done deal - possible a "deal breaker" for some, but for most - probably not.

[CHACruiser]

I did not use a TA for this booking, but booked onboard our last cruise. The HAL "agent" I spoke with regarding our suite # was very clear..."that room (we had booked) is now booked to someone else". Initially, as mentioned, were were also NOT on the manifest....but after trailing us back to our onboard booking#, she did find us under the old #, and she did offer us a $75/pp onboard credit....I asked about paying our flight from FL to NYC and she replied "they just cannot offer that option." BTW, the cost of the NEW intinerary is about $100 (if I remember correctly), more than our original booking on the Veendam. I don't know guys, I don't have much experience with all this. Does anyone have any other cruiseline they feel is comparable to HAL??? DH is not a happy camper with all this. I guess my new signature on the CC board says it all as far as destination..;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Laura, it was on this thread we were told the change was for financial reasons. Whether that's true or not, we don't know.

 

The criticism of HAL is not about the fact they cancelled the cruises ... it's the way they are handling notifying the passengers who booked the cruises.

 

Obviously HAL can cancel whatever cruise they want ... while many aren't happy about that, the real issue here is the way HAL has handled notifying everyone. Even those booking directly with HAL were not notifed and when they call, many of HAL's reps aren't even aware of it.

[jaja]

I called my online TA on Saturday- he did not know anything about it-he called HAL-they were going to call the agency "sometime this week"--duh!!! that would bring their offer letter to me-next week--while I am away till the 14th--and would not be able to accept....(not that I would!-I will not pay to fly to FL to take the trip) --poor , poor execution of notification all around.....:( just my 2 cents....

and yes-as I mentioned before--I researched and planned THIS cruise for months- negotiated a good deal, got a nice OBC (now that is all gone)-it was to celebrate some special occasions...: yes-I am glad I know a year before...BUT that does NOT make it any easier to accept...this specific cruise cannot be duplicated for me...

jaja

[ekerr19]

I should have specified in my post - I believe they are probably losing money on the RT New York runs and can understand why they would want to move. I don't think it's a matter of making money, rather just not losing it in that market...

 

HAL has done this type of thing before though and as I said above, those people affected will have to decide whether or not the way it was handled will impact their decision to cruise with HAL in the future.

 

I just can't see how there could have been a way to handle it that wouldn't affect some folks negatively. :confused:

[hammybee]

I should have specified in my post - I believe they are probably losing money on the RT New York runs and can understand why they would want to move. I don't think it's a matter of making money, rather just not losing it in that market...

 

HAL has done this type of thing before though and as I said above, those people affected will have to decide whether or not the way it was handled will impact their decision to cruise with HAL in the future.

 

I just can't see how there could have been a way to handle it that wouldn't affect some folks negatively. :confused:

 

I believe the reason is financial. There would be no other reason to make such a massive change, even though the change is more than a year out. And the reality is, as you say, that the impact is no different than waking up one day and learning your cruise has been chartered.

 

It's becoming more and more curious that some travel agents remain oblivious and are learning from their clients that their cruise has been cancelled, even though their agency is aware of the change.

 

It's also curious how HAL is choosing to handle this, especially for direct bookings. It almost appears that they have thrown in the towel and do not expect to recover the majority of their now cancelled bookings.

[HeatherInFlorida]

................

HAL has done this type of thing before though and as I said above, those people affected will have to decide whether or not the way it was handled will impact their decision to cruise with HAL in the future.

 

I just can't see how there could have been a way to handle it that wouldn't affect some folks negatively. :confused:

 

Of course ... everyone will make their own decision about cruising with HAL. Here is just a good place for them to vent ... something we do frequently:) .

 

I think the way HAL might have handled it so people wouldn't be affected quite so negatively would be to have handled it. The problem is, they didn't. It was haphazard and, as many have said, even though they booked directly with HAL. many (including HAL reps) still don't know what's going on.

[hammybee]

Just trying to get this straight. HAL never contacted you about the change of itinerary and didn't give you the option of keeping your previous booking just to a different disembarkation port? They sold your suite to someone else without ever asking if you wanted to keep your booking out of Rome?

 

Did you ask how this could be done when you had paid for that suite? Were you able to get a suite that you would like or may have booked anyway to begin with?

 

This saga of the Noordam gets worse with every post. No excuse.

 

Given this was a direct booking I am in full agreement. There are no excuses for this. This is not business as usual and the incremental costs assosiated with creating a swat team - temporary manpower and OT should have been a part of the plan, for the new intinerary. How bizarre.

 

(And yes Heather, I am reversing myself as it relates to direct bookings. Those who used a travel agent should find themselves another agent and cruise.)

[innlady1]

This happened to us for the 10/18 cruise. I only found out about the change when a friend decided to book this cruise and was told it had been changed. I called TA, which also didn't know about the change, and found out my room was given away. My TA did a great job and got it back. I find it amazing that HAL has my deposit, $1200, does not notify me about the change and then gives my room away. I hope that this will be studied in business schools oh how not to run a company.

 

This is all very bizarre...it seems we should all be somewhat concerned about HAL's direction here.:rolleyes:

[jaja]

I should have specified in my post - I believe they are probably losing money on the RT New York runs and can understand why they would want to move. I don't think it's a matter of making money, rather just not losing it in that market...

 

HAL has done this type of thing before though and as I said above, those people affected will have to decide whether or not the way it was handled will impact their decision to cruise with HAL in the future.

 

I just can't see how there could have been a way to handle it that wouldn't affect some folks negatively. :confused:

 

"handle it that wouldn't affect some folks negatively"???????

they had already announced they were leaving the market at end of 2008--they should have just completed those few crusises they now have cancelled...!!! They knew they were leaving, they chose the date...

so is it so much to ask to fullfill the contract they made with the passengers ??? A few more cruises-would not make that big of a difference financially--but the cancellations will make a difference with customers and travel agents!!!!!!!!!!!

 

just more of my 2 cents...

[CHACruiser]

Final result: we have booked a cruise with Celebrity, our first with them. It is from Barcelona into NJ, a month earlier than HALs and a final port destination closer to our home in NY. More ports offered, 1 less sea day, and a pleasant Celebrity travel consultant to deal with. Thank you all for your support about our booking issue with HAL/Noordam ~ I'll keep you posted! I hope I am not a "traitor...."?

[cruisin0504]

Sorry - did not get to read the entire thread - but my parents are booked on the Noordam - out of NY on 3/19 for 10 days. Does anyone know if that is one of the cancelled trips?

[hammybee]

Sorry - did not get to read the entire thread - but my parents are booked on the Noordam - out of NY on 3/19 for 10 days. Does anyone know if that is one of the cancelled trips?

 

If it's 2008, your parents will be fine.