HAL's Oosterdam Cancels Calls After Pod Damage

[John Sisker]

To Whom It May Concern:

We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well.

Happy sailing,
John Sisker, SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at (800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com

Holland America Line's Oosterdam revised its Mexico itinerary after an
accident to one of two propulsion pods. The line said damage to the portside
azipod decreased cruising speed by about 20 percent. The starboard azipod is
completely functional. The ship cancelled a call in Puerto Vallarta and will
return to San Diego on Friday afternoon. The Oct. 14 cruise from San Diego
is expected to depart on schedule. The Oosterdam visited Cabo San Lucas on
Wednesday and will be at sea on Thursday and Friday until its arrival at San
Diego. All guests are welcome to stay onboard and disembark as scheduled on
Saturday morning. If any guests would like to disembark on Friday, they will
be able to do so during a time period that will be determined by government
authorities. Each guest will receive a $150 shipboard credit as well as a
future discount equal to 25 percent of the cruise fare paid. Shore
excursions booked in Puerto Vallarta will automatically be credited. For
more information, visit www.hollandamerica.com.

[F.]

I think you ought to hold of on these for a while

[A. Pismo Clam]

My wife and I were on that cruise. The problem occurred about 8 hours
from San Diego. HAL was most accommodating and gracious about the
incident. BTW, the food was excellent and the crew could not have been
more gracious. Well done, Holland America!!

Are there any set rules about making restitution on "acts of God" [i.e.
weather, dock damage, etc] versus "mechanical" problems that force
cruise lines to abandoned a specific port of call? Or is it just up to
the discretion of the cruise line's home office, on whether to issue
credits to passengers?

Alain...San Diego

[A. Pismo Clam]

[Dillon Pyron]

Thus spake "A. Pismo Clam" <opalockamishabob@'86DASPAMyahoo.com> :

>>
>My wife and I were on that cruise. The problem occurred about 8 hours
>from San Diego. HAL was most accommodating and gracious about the
>incident. BTW, the food was excellent and the crew could not have been
>more gracious. Well done, Holland America!!
>
>Are there any set rules about making restitution on "acts of God" [i.e.
>weather, dock damage, etc] versus "mechanical" problems that force
>cruise lines to abandoned a specific port of call? Or is it just up to
>the discretion of the cruise line's home office, on whether to issue
>credits to passengers?
>
>Alain...San Diego

It's all up to the line. They don't "owe" you a thing. For good PR
they'll usually give you something, from onboard credit to a future
discount.

When Carnival cancelled the sailings of the Elation out of Galveston
last year, they gave a $100 per person (not stateroom) onboard credit
for a future sailing. And protected our commissions. Didn't have to
do any of that, but it was good PR.
--
dillon

If you can't figure out how to unmunge my
address, email me and I'll explain it.