Holland America Extends Pause To Prepare

Holland America Line is extending its pause of cruise operations for all departures through March 31, 2021 as it continues to prepare and develop its plans to meet the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It will also cancel select longer voyages, and cruises of eight days or longer that call in the United States until Nov. 1, 2021.

Cruises impacted by this pause in operation are:

• All cruise departures from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2021.
• Cruises of eight days or more that call at a U.S. 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 and their travel agents are being notified of the cancellations and options for Future Cruise Credits and rebooking.

Holland America Line has begun to prepare ships and implement procedures to meet all requirements for approval to sail following the pause. More details on the company’s return to cruise will be announced as soon as possible.

Guests with impacted cruises canceled through March 31 automatically will be canceled, and no action is needed when opting for the Future Cruise Credit (FCC). All guests will receive an FCC per person as follows:

• Paid in Full: Those who have paid in full will receive 125% FCC of the base cruise fare paid to Holland America Line.
• Not Paid in Full: 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.

The FCC is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and may be used to book sailings departing through Dec. 31, 2022.  Non-cruise fare purchases — such as shore excursions, gifts, dining and spa — will not be transferred to a new booking and will be refunded to the original form of payment. Other funds such as air fares paid to Holland America Line may be transferred to a new booking or will automatically be refunded via the method of payment used to purchase the services.

Guests booked on several longer voyages to South America aboard Westerdam, Asia aboard Noordam and Australia/New Zealand aboard Oosterdam will be rebooked to similar dates and itineraries in 2022. Those booked on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise, scheduled to depart July 9, 2021, aboard Zaandam, will move to a similar date in 2022.

All guests moving to a new voyage in 2022 will receive a $150 per person shipboard credit, protected pricing and equivalent stateroom category.

Guests who prefer a 100% refund of monies paid to Holland America Line can visit the Cancellation Preferences form to indicate this preference no later than Dec. 31, 2020.

The above options are not applicable to guests booked on a charter sailing. Other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply if the cruise was not booked through Holland America Line. See the terms and conditions in the Cancellation Preferences form for all details.

Holland America Line previously paused global cruise operations and canceled all departures on all ships through Dec. 31, 2020, and select Hawaii and Grand Voyage itineraries for early 2021.

Go to www.hollandamerica.com for more.