Holland America Line
Reviews and Complaints

We booked a cruise in Dec. 2021 w Holland America (HA) - 34 Nights S Pacific, sailing w Noordam on Oct. 8, 2022. The ship did not go into post Covid service until April 24, 2022.

At 68, we r regular cruisers in the past 2 decades. We r 3 Stars Mariner w HA, Gold level w RCL, Princess & Azamara. This is the first time we cruise since the Global Pandemic. We choose the cruise because we have never been to the S Pacific, our 41 years Anniversary is on Nov. 8, and Bora Bora (2 days stop) is our Lifetime Dream destination.

We made the final payment on 7/7 (last payment date), after some good struggles. Another couple, we always travel with, backed out in late June - Covid concern & too many Sea Days. We pushed on, looking forward to an exciting, new experience, and Bora Bora.

On Sept. 28, ten days before sailing, the bomb dropped. We receive an email at 12:40 AM subjected "Itinerary Change Notification (ICN) - it is over 12 lines long, exceeding 125 words.

In Summary, HA cancel 2 port visits, replace 2. Bora Bora, our bucket list destination, is now replaced w Raiatea on another island. A 19 Sea Day cruise turns into 22. We have been on cruises that change the itinerary due to Hurricane, local political unrest - circumstances that r beyond the cruise line control. But we have not experienced such drastic, extreme changes. Our booking agent agreed - she has been in the industry for over a decade. Worst, there is no apology or Sorry for the inconvenience in the ICN - not a word.

We called HA at 8 AM EST, in a panic mode, spent hours talking with 3 different levels of HA Representatives (HAR) about booking cancellation, future cruise credit, upgrade, seaboard credit compensation, who to complaint to in HA. We just hit the wall, nothing changes. The last HAR at the highest up position, Chris, was rude and corky. He referred us to read the fine prints and footnotes, & suggested we contact Gus Antorcha, the President of HA or Jan Swartz, the Group President.

I can tell HA is dragging out the sailing, they want to save fuel and port fees. HA locks up the passengers longer on the ship - hoping more $$ will be spent on Board. For e.g., our last leg from Brisbane to Sydney was originally scheduled for 2.5 days, it is now 3.5 days. According to Google, the distance between the 2 Ports is 475 nautical miles and it only takes 24 hours at standard service cruise speed to travel.

This is very bad:

1. This is not the itinerary that we paid for. We would not have taken a cruise w the new itinerary, in the first place. There is a contractual issue here.

2. HA absolutely put their own interest No. 1. There is no way HA knows the changes only 10 days before sailing. In Brisbane, HA could have stay an extra day or 2, as a good gesture. There are lots to do, wine and dine, in Brisbane and it does not affect the earlier port stops.

3. Gone are the detail, superb, considerate Customer services & experience. Customer loyalties and its retention r thrown over board. I m self employed, in the Service industry, this is a bad route to take and it would cost in the future.

In conclusion, it hurts, it wastes our time & HA time, it creates a lot of stress on us. We have very short time to decide what is the best option. We have plenty of 2nd thoughts. I do not need to write the complaint here (first time for me) if someone in HA would listen. We know what we would do in the future cruise. You draw your own conclusion. GOOD LUCK!

Herbert CHIU

Richmond Hill, ON, Canada

In May, 2022, we were alerted that Holland America changed our itinerary from a 10-day cruise to an 11-day cruise. They indicated that they would reimburse for any disruptions to our travel. I immediately submitted a reimbursement form with appropriate documentation of our flight change costing $300 and a fee of $99, total $399. On July 21, 2022, Guest Relations responded by asking for documentation from the airline that any flight changes would incur change fees, of which I supplied also that same day.

It is now September 23rd and I have emailed Guest Relations three times with no response. Yesterday, I was passed around. A customer service rep said nothing had been done with my case and she was checking. I was on hold for 2 hours and 22 minutes before finally just hanging up. How would you like it if someone had $399 of your money for over 4 months? It is very disrespectful that I have received no communication or responses after repeated attempts. Holland America made this change, we did not. It was clearly indicated that they would reimburse for any travel disruptions.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Today 9/22/22 I attempted to book a cruise from Aukland to Sudney Australia for Jan 27th 2023 on the Noordam, 15 day cruise. I have a flier I received from H.A. which states that I should book before Oct 15th 2022 to be able to get the fare as stated in the flier which is $999/person for a Verandah. Upon talking to the Sales clerk at H.A. she denied this was available and was now $1699/person.

The flier never stated any limitations if completed by Oct 15th so I don't understand what happened. We tried different sailing dates but she didn't find any that met the flier.

We still want to cruise but feel we were duped.

Thanks

William Hunter

678.314.9878

I took the Koninsdam cruise on September 3rd (room number 5028) with my spouse and under two year old daughter to celebrate her pre-birthday on the Cruise and invested our hard earned savings from the last two years on this cruise and flew to Vancouver all the way from Montreal to get on this journey.

During the trip on September 9th, I was pulled off by two gentlemen from the Security team into a private room for an investigation and false allegations were made on me that someone saw me on the 12th floor observatory/library room masturbating with my pants down and watching Chinese Porn on my cellphone.

During the investigation, I was asked uncomfortable questions. I even gave a statement advising of the false claim and reported what I was doing at the time in question. I am a respectable and law abiding citizen and at no point I had done any sort of misconduct pre-boarding, post-boarding or while being on the ship. I did ask the security officers to check the surveillance cameras on the floor and zoom into those to make sure I am not at fault and I was given a clean chit to go back and proven not guilty.

However, this whole experience was harassing, mentally torturing for me and me family. My spouse is an anxiety patient and she rushed down to the investigation room along with me daughter who was sleeping at that time to be by my side. I was in deep shock myself during the investigation and until now. My spouse and I were deeply frightened post this experience and wanted to get off the board as soon as possible as we felt threatened. We quietly had our dinner and then stayed in the room for the rest of the day to ensure we our safety and we still are in deep shock and trauma. This experience on the second last day of the cruise left use with an impression of never taking the cruise ship with Holland America and infact share this experience with my broader social group.

We even spoke to a guest relation officer Czareena later in the evening in regards to the same and we were told that someone will get back to us on our complaint, however no one got back to us until next morning post breakfast when we proactively asked for help again at the front desk on the 3rd floor. At that point, my little daughter was little cranky and we decided to offboard the ship and took the email address and phone number from the guest service rep to report the incidence as our grievance was not addressed.

Even at the time of getting off the ship I was stopped when my key card was scanned at the exit gate and the officer went inside for a minute or two before they let me go. Yet again, I was humiliated and my spouse and child were standing there in public waiting for me when other people were staring at me.

Not only into was harassing , embarrassing , torturing experience but we felt unheard when my concern was not addressed by the ship staff and I was told to keep waiting. I would like to appeal for a resolution for experience that I had gone through. We just wasted $6,000 worth of our saving spent on cruise and flight that left us with bad memories and trauma instead of making it a memorable birthday celebration for our little daughter. I have contacted and send an email to the president, guest relations , Vice President and it’s been over a week and no response and this is extremely frustrating

My bank statement reveals that I was double billed for my personal expenses

on Aug. 8, 2022. Mariner I.D. [protected]. Cruise D8C. On Nieuw Amsterdam

leaving Vancouver July 31, 2022.

Amount billed is $222.60 US dollar. Charged twice. Please reimburse my credit card account.

Denise Aumais

33B Chuckery Hill Road

Picton, Ontario, Canada

[protected]

I, Karl and Katharina Berger head taken the New England cruise on August 20. till August 27.2022. Montreal, Canada to Boston Mass. Unfortinal, Katharina got sick on August the 23. and got the Medical service right away till August 26. there they diagnosed her of a heart attack and took her at the Bar Harbor Medical Hospital. Holland America put a charge of $ 4,163.49 on our Citi Visa card. We never received a Ship total itemized Statement charge. Please send us the itemized charges.

Thank You, Karl Berger

[protected]@sbcglobal.net

[protected]

I was recently enjoying a cruise on NIEW AMSTERDAM and had my tour disrupted after only 2 days with intense pain. After initial treatment in the ships infirmary I was transferred to the hospital in Anchorage for emergency surgery. When I departed the ship I was not given a list of charges and I still have no accounting on the over $3k in added charges from Niew Amsterdam. I desperately need this accounting for both trip insurance and medical insurance claims. I am requesting Holland America provide this information to me ASAP. My credit card has already been charged, I just don't know what it was charged for and until I can get an accurate accounting I will dispute the charge with my bank. I tried to call HAL last Friday and waited on hold for 3-1/2 HOURS before anyone answered, and I was then told by that person that the computer system was down and no information was available. REALLY? HAL has some ground to make up here. I have e-mailed HAL guest services and have received no response.

Good afternoon,

I wanted to share with you my experience of the trip of a lifetime that I recently booked with Holland and America on the Inside passage tour to Alaska (August 03 to 10 on your ship Zuiderdam), that I took with my wife.

This trip was to celebrate my wife's 50th birthday, our 25th wedding anniversary and my retirement from 35 years in law enforcement. To add to the mix, my wife is in a wheelchair currently and has limited mobility.

I surprised my wife with this trip, which took several years to save, and I also booked to renew our vows, which she was thrilled with. My experience was not the best, and just writing this letter makes me upset because I feel that I have been cheated, and what should have been a holiday to remember can not be replaced. After 35 years of service, I also realize that "complaining does little", but I am hoping that maybe somebody might review what happened and improve someone elsa experience. I will say that your crew (the workers - the cleaning staff, and the servers were some of the friendliest people I have encountered; they always stopped to speak to us and offered us help with the wheelchair).

When we boarded the ship, I spoke with guest services about the wedding vows and was told they would check the captain's availability and let me know. Later that day, I was told it would be Friday the 5th for the vows and that the wedding package included dining at the pinnacle grill. I confirmed that date and asked that our two travel companions be able to join us and that I was happy to accept the additional cost for the pinnacle grill.

I was informed on Thursday, August 04, that because the pinnacle grill changed its theme on Friday, there would be additional costs for us to eat there (the first up sale by your company). Even though the date of the vows was set by your company, the guest services director/manager would not move on to the increase in costs, and this issue dragged on for three days until I was offered August 06 as an option. Three days of being stressed into my holiday of a lifetime.

Our wedding vows took place on August 6, and I will admit they were lovely and very romantic, but more importantly, with my wife stuck in a wheelchair, my commitment to stay with her was very poignant. Our meal in the pinnacle grill was outstanding, and the serving staff treated us well. We actually asked the staff to share the wedding cake with other staff members.

The following day, our wedding album, well, a single photograph and album, was delivered to our suite with a nice message wishing us a happy 30 years of marriage. Oh, and the offer to buy more photographs (another upsell). I thought my wife had tears of joy until she pointed out the mistake.

I immediately took the photograph album back to guest services to express our disappointment, which was the final straw for me. The guest service manager Christina came to see me and said, "oh, we aged you, sorry", which she thought was funny. I can not tell you how upset I was, and still am, that your company can laugh off and trivialize such an important milestone in our marriage. I walked off in disgust, telling her I didn't want the album.

The following day, I bumped into the captain at the Crows nest coffee shop, and I took the opportunity to express my disappointment to him and explain how upset my wife was. He said he would look into the matter.

I heard nothing back the following day from either the Captain or Christine, and on the last day, when I checked my account, I saw that the wedding package had been refunded. My wife and I were speechless at your company's callous and insensitive approach. To think that simply refunding my money, knowing that we were celebrating 25 years of marriage, clearly shows a complete lack of empathy and an understanding of the value of 25 years of marriage. To write us off that quickly as just complainers still upsets me now. I honestly expected that the album would be corrected, and an apology and perhaps some additional photographs, so we had something to remember and share with our family. No follow-up from either the Captain or Christina on the issue.

There is no polite way of expressing these, but your company took away what should have been a cherished memory and something that we could have shared with our children and theirs. A lifetime trip will be remembered with sadness for all the wrong reasons.

With regrets

Craig Collins

115 Crystalridge Drive

Okotoks

Alberta

Canada

tel: [protected]

e:[protected]@gmail.com

On Aug 21, 2022, I called holland america to try to find out about a refund request submitted at the beginning of May, 2022.

The automated message stated that they are so busy that they can not take phone calls and gave me an email address. I have sent 3 emails to that address and each time I have received this reply:

"[protected]@HollandAmerica.com

To:

ricbar

Tue, Aug 23 at 2:28 PM

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

www.reservations_accounting@hollandamerica.com (www.reservations_accounting@hollandamerica.com)

The email address you entered couldn't be found. Please check the recipient's email address and try to resend the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk."

This appears to be another way that Holland America seeks to avoid providing refunds.

On Apr 25, 1922, I received an email from Mr. Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America Line, and I quote the first line; We are very sorry to inform you that upcoming Westerdam cruise (boking XQ2V2G) has been canceled...

The cruise was scheduled to embark on Dec 5, 2022. Mr Antorcha offered to transfer my booking to an alternative cruise departing Feb 14, 2023. I declined the offer.

This was done on a Cancelation Preference form that gave three options. Replacement voyage, an alternative voyage or cancellation with full refund. I chose cancellation and did receive my deposit of $300 back.

In addition, Mr. Antorcha offered "Reimbursement of reasonable non-refundable expenses..." On May 2, 2022, I submitted an Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursement form together with relevant receipts and other backup information which Holland America Guest Relations received on May 6, 2022.

The form stated that normal processing would take 4-6 weeks. To this date, I've heard nothing from the office responsible for reviewing my claim although I was assured by a guest relations representative on Jun 21st, that my request was in the reviewing office.

Other than the Jun 21st conversation with a guest relations rep, I can get no information about the status of my request despite sending several emails that do not get answered and several phone calls, two of which were never answered because I was put on hold for so long that my phone eventually died.

I will be submitting a formal complaint to the New York State Atty. Generals office and Federal Trade Commission, regarding Holland America cruise line's unethical business practices. The company's employees misrepresented their refund policy which turned out to be a credit and not a refund which was highly deceptive and dishonest. I told my cruise rep that I was considering canceling my cruise for September 16 because of my mother-in-law's declining health. My cruise consultant at Holland America suggested reducing the time spent abroad, flying in on the day of the cruise, and returning immediately after the cruise arrived at the final port. She asked for an additional $400 deposit which she clearly stated was fully refundable on a recorded call. She told me I had to cancel the cruise by July 18, and I proceeded in writing to cancel the cruise on the 13th, expecting a full refund of my deposit. She told me that because I changed from a veranda to an oceanview, I forfeited my refund and will get a credit for future cruises, which was never mentioned before canceling the cruise. I have never dealt with a company this unethical, and they need to be held accountable for their deceptive business practices. I have my team creating a website that will allow customers to post reviews of their experiences with this company which will be displayed any time someone searches for Holland America cruise lines. Additionally, considering the other reviews regarding their refund policy, contact John Ciaccio Warren on Facebook to discuss initiating a class action lawsuit against Holland America cruise lines.

I'm Jean Sumampong. My email address is [protected]@hotmail.com.phone and my phone number is [protected]. We were on the cruise with my husband Ernest Sumampong last July 6, 2022 for 10 days on the Jewel of Scandinavian. We had a Covid test done on July 3,2022 done at a local clinic. I called Holland America cruise line that I don't have the result of the Covid test for were leaving on the 4th of July because I don't want to be delayed on my cruise. Per say the man who answered the phone said "as long that I have a letter from health personnel where the test was done it's okay. We will have a complementary test for Covid to be done on the ship before

embarking. When we arrive on the ship, I showed my letter that we have a Covid test done but we don't a result for we leave early for the cruise. The lady on the cruise line that we will have a test again. I saw on my statement that we were charge for the Covid test. I went to personnel and complained about the charges per say "they don't know "So I'm asking for a consideration for a refund of the charges of Covid for I have a valid reason. I was told it's complementary.

Saturday july 30.2022 aboard Koningsdam.

Stateroom 7130,should have received a welcome bucket of 5 Heineken beer and one bottle of Merlot as ordered by Mrs.Marion McComb via Visa.Mrs,McComb was charged $76 US,but the order never arrived in stateroom 7130.

booking # XN7Q2L/2

On Sunday, Aug 7, 2022 we had a 7 day cruise booked. Booking #XQXN2T.

Holland made flight arrangements. We arrived at the airport at 5:15 am eastern time. Our flight was to leave at 7 am eastern time. At first the flight was listed on time and then changed to 8:30, then 9:30, then 10:30.

We telephoned Holland America's emergency number at 7:05 am eastern time and got voice mail. We left a message with a phone number and explained our predicament. At 7:07 am eastern time we telephoned Holland America's regular number and again received a recording and we again left a message and phone number.

We saw where office hours for these numbers are Monday-Friday 5 am to 7 pm Pacific time and the Customer Relations department was closed on the weekend.

We then met with the air representative at the airport to see if we could reschedule our flight in order to arrive at Seattle in time to board the ship.

The representative advised us that there were no connecting flights that would get us to Seattle on time.

We returned home and waited for the emergency number office to open and spoke with someone who said they could try to get us into Juneau. However, this was a 7 day cruise and the first three days were sea days. We asked the person what we could do and she advised us to contact customer service who would be open the following day. We asked her to please notify the ship that we were not going to make it in time and she stated she was in contact with them.

Upon contacting customer service the following day, we were advised that since we used a travel agent we would not be able to do anything. We would have to go through the agent.

Our agent got as much information as she could and advised us that we were being penalized $8,874.36. The entire amount of the cruise was $9,404.76.

This situation was completely out of our control and to have to pay that large amount of money is unbelievable and painful. Not only was our vacation ruined, but we still had to pay for it.

It is amazing that upon booking, the cruise line wants all the cash up front, but if something goes wrong, the cruise line has intention to compensate client.

I would greatly appreciate your comments on this. I find it difficult to believe that you treat your clients so badly.

Booking ID# XP4DCP -voyager #N245

Subject: On board tested covid positive and quarantined in hotel as per Holland America letter and guidelines for the refund and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by me.

As Per Holland America's guidelines, on July 22, 2022 and August 3, 2022 submitted the out-of-pocket expense claim form prescribed by Holland America and all supportive documents due to on board tested Covid positive.

I have yet not received the refund of $6910.14 despite all documents submitted nor received any response to my emails. Tried numerous phone calls to follow up but none got responded or even got connected!

Earnestly request to expedite the refund/ reimbursement payment.

Tushar Desai

[protected]

[protected]@gmail.com

We booked our trip on the Eurodam for a 7 night Alaskan cruise (7/30-8/06) back in December of 2021. After 9 months of excitement, prepping, planning and saving for not only a big 35-year wedding anniversary, but also a 7-year wedding anniversary trip, as well as my mom's first time back to Alaska in over 50 years, Holland ruined it all before we were ever able to even get on the ship. Despite having all of our paperwork and negative testing ready, paperwork in which I double checked with Holland guest services via phone and email multiple times before the sail date arrived, someone denied half of our party boarding when we arrived for sailing day. After all the hoops we jumped through to get to that day, all the hours waiting on hold, after all the money spent on travel and covid testing, we were crushed and we cried hard and my parents contemplated not even getting on the ship because they were so devastated. If I would have known the absolute nightmare that Holland was going to put my parents through that next 7 days and after, I would have agreed with them not getting on board, after all. After being denied boarding I had to arrange more travel back home and then spend well over an hour on hold with Holland, only to get part of a refund, which I'm still waiting on two weeks later. I've tried calling back multiple times to try to expedite the partial refund, but I've been on hold for over 2 hours each time without even speaking to a person once.

Back to my parents. They get on the ship, still upset, mom still crying, and get to their room to wait for luggage to arrive. They packed two suitcases and two backpacks. After a little while one suitcase and one backpack show up. They're communicating with ship staff to see when the rest of their luggage with arrive. Hours go by, they're still waiting, and staff is saying they have no idea where my dad's suitcase and my mom's backpack is and that they're still searching for it. Needless to say, they NEVER got their luggage. My dad was in the middle of the ocean with no socks, no underwear, not a single change of clothes, no toothbrushes, no toiletries. My mom missing her brush, bras, tennis shoes and big jacket for the cold Alaska air, just to name a few things. I called and called around trying to see if I could track down their luggage on my end to see if it was still at the port. No help. No idea where the luggage could be. They begged and begged for guest services on the ship to help them and all guest services could be bothered to do was give them $25 onboard credit and free laundry, but what on earth is free laundry good for when my dad has absolutely NOTHING to wear while his clothes are being laundered. Not to mention that the ship doesn't even have socks, underwear, jeans or toiletries on board to buy. It was 90 degrees in Seattle when they got on the ship, so my dad only had the shorts he was wearing. The only thing he could find to purchase on board was a pair of sweatpants that were too big for him. At one point the supervisor at guest services refused to even talk to them about their issue. That whole first day, wasted on fighting for their things and they almost completely missed dinner because of it.

The next day was even worse. Still no clothes, no toiletries, no brush. My mom has thick curly hair that was matted and messed and she couldn't do anything with. Still no help and to add insult to injury they had to attend formal night in the dining room looking a wreck. My parents had to keep apologizing for their appearance because of the disgusted looks they were getting. The ship finally found my parents luggage at the port and said they'd try to get it to them in Juneau, then in Ketchikan, but the luggage never arrived and finally somebody in port communicated with me to come pick it up in Seattle on day 4 of their cruise. The rest of the trip was the same and the only real help they got was from complete strangers on the boat. My dad was so desperate for clean clothing he finally agreed to take some fresh laundered underwear and socks from another guest. My mom got tennis shoes from another guest, since all she had was the sandals on her feet and it was getting colder and colder as they made their way to Alaska.

How dare you, Holland America, for letting my parents go through that absolutely HUMILIATING nightmare and to not offer any help. To leave them high and dry with nothing in the middle of the ocean for 7 whole days. I'm completely appalled at the way they treat their guests. My mom has been trying to get help with refunds for clothing and toiletries they had to buy, with the money they didn't really have to spend on those things, and it takes hours and hours to get a hold of someone, if we get ahold of anyone at all, and still, nobody cares to REALLY do something. Nobody cares to make it right. All the stress, money wasted and disappointment on our end doesn't matter to Holland America. None of their guests actually matter to them. We were told my refund could take at least 4-6 weeks to receive and my half of the group wasn't even allowed on the ship. I'm paying for a vacation I didn't even get to take. If I want any help at all I have to call my own bank. Holland takes zero responsibility for their actions and they simple don't care. I wouldn't waste my time or money on them ever again. They should be ashamed of themselves. (I'm attaching a screenshot of one of the times I waited well over two hours on hold and still never reached anybody at guest services.)

We recently took an Alaskan Cruise with Holland America. We left from Seattle. While visiting the Hubbard Glacier we ended up with engine trouble, Perhaps from ice hitting the propeller. We don't know for sure. The ship was crippled and couldn't travel at it's normal speed and had a shaky ride. We made it to Sitka (late) and then limped back to Seattle missing 2 scheduled ports and scheduled excursions. There were a bunch of unhappy people. They gave us $100 for onboard spending. In Their Passenger Bill of Rights agreement there is specific information about refunds as a result of mechanical/other failures. Most recently, they have now offered 25% off our cruise costs toward another cruise with them within the next year. Certainly not a refund. They are not responsive to e-mails or phone calls (waited 90 minutes fpr a response once) and their chat doesn't chat, at least not within the first 30 minutes.

The cruise left Seattle on July 10, 2022 and was for seven days.

Respectfully, Dr. Otis LoVette

Our cruise (Departed Seattle on July 10, 2022 on the Westerdam) missed two ports of call due to engine malfunction. We had 4 days on water with very bumpy conditions due to the engine failure. Also, I have called repeatedly and held for as long as 90 minutes with no response and tried to chat with no response. I was also trying to get a copy of my onboard expenses.

I decided weeks after my mother past in September that I was going to take my 85-year-old father, whose dream has always been to go to Alaska, to make his dream come true with the best cruise experience I could give him. My parents had always planned to do it together but then my mother became ill and my a couple of years, my father could not leave her side. I thought that this summer was my only chance to do this with him because his health has been declining since my mother’s passing. I booked everything this past February and added to the trip as time went on. I wanted this to be the best trip he has ever taken, even though he has traveled all over the world.

On Saturday, June 25th, he and I drove to Boston and stayed in a hotel at the airport because my Dad was nervous about getting to the airport so early in the morning. Everything went extremely well at the hotel and the airport the next morning. We arrived in Seattle at 11:22 am, and had our bags in hand just a few minutes later. The gentlemen who was pushing my Dad in a wheelchair thought we should talk to someone from Holland America to see what we should do next. I had planned to take a taxi but when we spoke with the young man from Holland America, he changed my mind. As far as I’m concerned, that was the worst decision I could have made. The young man told us that if we took a taxi and it didn’t get to the terminal in time, the ship would leave without us but if we took their bus and the bus was late, the ship would wait. I was not concerned either way since we had more than 3 hours before the ship sailed. The gentleman brought us to the area to wait for the bus, and took the wheelchair back with him. It was a very long walk, thank God he had the wheelchair. After about an hour of waiting I wanted to get my Dad a taxi but I had no way to get him back to the area where we could get one. We then waited almost 2 hours before the bus showed up.

When we finally got to the ship terminal it was 2:20 pm. We had an appointment to have the Covid test but there was a problem with the family in front of us and it took what seemed like forever. After we finally got our tests and were waiting for the results, I overheard a women, who appeared to be in charge, say that they are closing things up and no one else would be able to board even though there was another bus on the way with passenger for our cruise on it. I asked her what we were supposed to do. She shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Minutes later our test was done and we both passed. When that women heard that, she told us to get on the elevator and go through security. We did and as soon as we got through security we were told that we would not be allowed on the ship. We were told that the Captain said he needed to leave right away. However, the Princess’s cruise on the other side of the terminal did wait for the last bus to come in and everyone was able to get on that ship. We went back downstairs and again I asked the woman who seemed to be in charge what we do now. She had me wheel my father into a small area and once again she walked away because the last bus had just arrived. I decided to bring my Dad outside to see what she was telling all of those people. She finally told all of us that they may allow us on the ship in Juneau but was not sure. Once again I asked her what we do now, she took down my name and stateroom number and she said she would be in contact with us. She didn’t take my phone number or any other information in order to do so. She also gave me a phone number (which I already had) to call for help but of course they were not open until Monday morning. Everyone from Holland America left the area and locked us out of the terminal. My father and I were extremely upset, confused and exhausted. We had no idea where to go or what to do. I was able to change our return flight to the next day but that is the only thing I was able to do on my own. There was a wonderful young man there who worked for SMS (Matt Baines) who was willing to help us. He helped us all get taxis, helped me find a hotel, went back into the terminal got us all some snacks and badly needed water. We were out on the sidewalk for about 2 hours. Thank God there was someone around who cared what happened to us, unlike everyone from Holland America!

After a $100 taxi ride to a hotel at the airport, we checked into the hotel with no luggage including our toiletries because we put them all in our big luggage so we wouldn’t have to carry them for the rest of the day. The next morning I called the “emergency” number. I spoke with a wonderful lady (Joan Spring), I was trying to find out if there was anyway that we could get on the cruise in Juneau and how we could get our luggage off the ship. She was not able to help me but gave me another phone number to call. I called that number and the young lady didn’t understand anything I was saying. She then connected me with someone who could help. I did not get this next woman’s name. For over an hour, she worked very hard to figure out what they could do to help. She found a flight for that day but told me that I had to find my own hotel. I had been having a very difficult time with that but as soon as I found one and was about to book it, she came back on the phone and informed me that they would not allow us to board the ship in Juneau because they would have to pay a fine. I asked why she had wasted her time and mine if they never let anyone board in Juneau, she then implied that they did not believe my story, “it was my word against an incompetent employee” (her words not mine). She proceeded to lecture me on the fact that I should have flown in the day before, even though we arrived in Seattle in more than enough time to get to the ship. We flew home on Monday with no issues. Alaska Airlines is the best! However, my Dad and I have been exhausted and stressed since we returned.

On Tuesday I called several times to find out about my luggage. The only reason I was able to get help is that one young man I spoke to was going to transfer me to people who could help and he sent me to Princess’s sales desk instead. That man was able to give me the correct number. It was amazing to me that no one at Holland America could give me that number but someone from Princess could. I was finally able to speak with Chris and Scott at the prosperities claims department. They could not be more helpful. They confirmed that our bags were definitely on the ship and that it was wise to wait until they returned to Seattle before they tried to send them back to us.

I spent more money on this trip then I can really afford because I wanted it to be perfect for my father. He has always been there for my and I wanted to repay him in some small way. A trip of his dreams turned into a complete nightmare! I know this summer is my last chance to get him to Alaska and to knock it off his bucket list. He was a helicopter pilot in the Army many years ago and the highlight of this trip for him was to go in a helicopter to the top of glacier. I pray that we will someday get to do this together.

Thank you for your time,

Laurie Ford

Booking # XP5DHN

I submitted this complaint over two weeks ago and have not heard back yet.

Mariner number [protected] & [protected]

New Statendam booking XQHC2T

VOJAGE J247

COMPLAINT to Holland America Line

July 10th 2022

Before booking and prior to sailing I triple-checked that masks were NOT mandatory.

Because my tonsils have been removed (badly) as a child I have a problem with airco and wearing facemasks. I would not book a cruise if I needed to wear one, as it totally destroys our vacation.

Upon arrival on the ship it became clear that:

MASKS MUST BE WORN everywhere at all times, except when eating/drinking or inside the stateroom.

We recently found out that the ship had several Covid cases from the previous cruise and while I read yesterday online that HAL would no longer demands testing or facemasks anymore, the opposite is the case for us, because we are on a contaminated ship.

HAL has failed their moral duty to inform us that New Statendam has been infected with covid and therefore, masks must be worn.

I would have cancelled the booking, which I was entitled to up to 24 hours before, I also bought the additional insurance for that reason.

Passengers had to show a negative test to be allowed on this cruise, but HAL was not oblighed to inform us regarding events that directly may effect our health and wellbeing?

Peter Frensdorf