Dear Travel Partner,
Due to continued global public health circumstances, Holland America Line has made the difficult decision to extend the suspension of global operations of its fleet for another 30 days, impacting sailings scheduled to depart through May 14, 2020.
The impact of this decision will be far-reaching; to your clients, your business, and our industry. For any of your clients who have a booking and expected to sail with us before May 14, 2020, we apologize and sincerely share in their disappointment. At the same time, we know that you share in the support of our strong commitment to the health and safety of our guests, our crew, and the communities that we visit.
For more information on Holland America Line’s voluntary 30-day pause, please visit our News page.
In light of this extension, we are offering two forms of compensation for your clients to choose from for their cancelled voyage(s) through May 14: a generous future cruise credit (with additional compensation for selecting this option), or a refund to their original form of payment. For our valued Travel Advisor partners, we will protect your commission on bookings for cancelled cruises that were paid in full and for the total amount of the future cruise credits when your clients rebook.
We believe this compensation model shows our deep support for the critical role you have played in our success. We hope you will help guide your clients through the generous compensation options we’ve made available, with all details outlined below.
Option #1 — We would love to welcome your clients on board a future Holland America Line cruise. As an incentive to plan another voyage, your clients can choose to defer a refund, and instead receive a future cruise credit for 125% of the base cruise fare paid plus an onboard credit of US$250 per person, which can be applied toward any future cruise(s) through December 31, 2021. Non-cruise fare purchases through Holland America Line will be refunded via the method of payment used to purchase the services. The terms and conditions of the future cruise credit appear below.
Option #2 — If your clients do not wish to receive the 125% future cruise credit plus US$250 onboard credit per person, a 100% refund of all monies paid to Holland America Line will be reimbursed to the original form of payment. This includes Holland America Line’s FlightEase air, Cancellation Protection Plan, Holland America Line pre- or post-cruise hotel packages or transfers, prepaid shore excursions and amenities purchased through Holland America Line, and taxes, fees, and port expenses.
While the ultimate decision is up to you and your clients, we hope they strongly consider choosing Option 1, transferring the money they have paid and accepting the future cruise credit. This represents a much higher value and maximum benefit for your clients. The future cruise credit can be used on any voyages that are booked through December 31, 2021.
We recognize that for some people, choosing the future cruise credit may not be financially possible. That is why we are presenting two options, and have an electronic form available here where guests who are booked in this specific time period can request a cash refund.
If your clients do not respond by June 1, they will be deemed to have elected a 125% future cruise credit plus US$250 onboard spending money as outlined in Option 1 above. Please note, your clients may cancel the future cruise credit at any time and the value, less the 25% bonus amount, will be refunded. Please note: The above programs are not applicable to guests booked on a charter sailing.
The internet portal for selecting the option your clients prefer is now active at https://book2.hollandamerica.com/cp/.
If any portion of your clients’ travel was not booked through Holland America Line, other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply. Most airlines and other travel-related services such as hotels, transportation, and tours are allowing refunds or waiving change fees due to the COVID-19 pandemic; please work directly with those operators regarding their charges.
Please note that due to the unprecedented volume of bookings impacted by cancellations, processing your clients’ election of Option 1 or 2 will take up to 60 days as our team works through each booking.
Should you have any questions, please contact us at the appropriate office:
Seattle Office (USD/CAD currency):
Contact us at 1-800-577-1729 or 206-626-7385. We are available Monday – Friday, 7:00am – 5:00pm PT.
Rotterdam Office (EUR currency):
Contact us at 00800 1873 1873. We are available Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm.
For Netherlands contact us at 0800 724 5425. We are available Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm.
Southampton Office (GBP currency):
Contact us at 0344 338 8605. We are available Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm.
Sydney Office (AUD currency):
Contact us at 1300 987 321. We are available Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 7:00pm.
For your clients who have sailings that have been cancelled, we are hoping you will help guide them through the generous compensation options we’ve made available. We also ask for your patience and understanding as our call volume will be at unprecedented levels.
Finally, we have received an outpouring of support in the wake of this temporary suspension and many have asked what they can do to help. This has meant a lot to all of us at Holland America Line and the answer is simple; book your clients on a cruise. There is nothing that will be more important to a quick recovery for the cruise industry than consumer confidence. There are many great offers available right now with very flexible cancellation terms close in. It’s actually a very good time right now to book your clients on a cruise for later in 2020 or 2021.
Again, we extend our deepest apologies for this cancellation. Please know that we share in your clients’ disappointment and deeply appreciate their patience and understanding of these circumstances.
We appreciate your loyalty and we look forward to our continued partnership.
Sincerely,
Orlando Ashford
President, Holland America Line
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