HAL cancels cruises until March 31

Holland America Line is extending its pause of cruise operations for all departures up until March 31 2021, bringing it in align with Carnival sister brand, Princess Cruises.

The line said that it continues to prepare and develop its plans to meet the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The line also will cancel select longer voyages, and cruises of eight days or longer that call in the United States until November 1 2021. Cruises impacted are:

• All cruise departures from January 1 through March 31, 2021.
• Cruises of eight days or more that call at a US port through Nov. 1, 2021.
• Select longer voyages in Asia, Australia/New Zealand and South America through mid-April 2021. Some departures will be rescheduled to comparable dates in 2022.

Guests with impacted cruises booked up to 31 March will automatically be cancelled, and no action is needed when opting for the Future Cruise Credit (FCC). Those who have paid in full will receive 125 per cent FCC of the base cruise fare paid to Holland America Line. Those with bookings not paid in full will receive an FCC of double the amount of their deposit. The minimum FCC is $100 and the maximum will be an amount up to the base cruise fare paid.

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Last week, Princess Cruises announced it had cancelled all cruises through to March 31, 2021 as well as all cruises longer than seven days in and out of the United States through to November 1, 2021.

Japanese cruises have been cancelled through to June 25, 2021.

“We are focused on preparing our ships to meet the CDC health and safety requirements for our eventual return to service,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. “We also appreciate the continued support we have received from our guests, partners and travel advisors, reinforcing for all of us why we do what we do.”

Guests currently booked on cancelled voyages can either receive a refundable Future Cruise Credit (FCC) equivalent to 100 per cent of the cruise fare paid plus an additional non-refundable bonus FCC equal to 25 per cent of the cruise fare.