In an email to booked guests, Holland America Line has announced that Westerdam will not be resuming sailings from May 8 as planned, but instead is now scheduled to restart operations in mid-June. Affected guests can choose to accept equivalent cruises on a different ship or opt for a full refund.
Westerdam Delayed Until June
In September, Holland America Line had announced that the Vista-class Westerdam was to have begun sailing again with a series of 7-day Alaskan sailings from Seattle, Washington, beginning May 8, 2022. That restart has now been changed, with several early sailings canceled.
The letter reads, “In order to assure that we can deliver the best Alaska vacation possible as we resume full operation for the first time in three years, we have made the difficult decision to delay the start of one of our two Seattle vessels. As a result of this decision, the early sailings of Westerdam will be cancelled and her return to service will now be June 12, 2022.”
The ship’s first return-to-service sailing will be a 7-day Alaskan Explorer itinerary calling on Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, with scenic cruising along Puget Sound, Stephens Passage, and Hubbard Glacier, returning to Seattle on Sunday, June 19.
Further Westerdam sailings in June and throughout the summer have not been changed.
Guests Rebooked on Similar Sailings
For guests booked on the now canceled Westerdam sailings, their reservations are being transferred to comparable sailings on the slightly larger, Signature-class Eurodam. While the cruise itineraries are similar and both vessels are sailing from Seattle, Eurodam does depart on its 7-day voyages on Saturdays, whereas Westerdam departs on Sundays.
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Reservations are being transferred automatically, and guests are receiving the same or equivalent stateroom category with all incentives and promotions of their cruise fare protected. Guests who booked airfare through Holland America Line’s Flight Ease air program will also have those travel arrangements rebooked accordingly.
Guests who booked airfare independently can fill out a reimbursement form for consideration for Holland America to cover change fees for those travel arrangements. All other purchases through Holland America Line, such as shore excursions, gifts, dining and spa, will be refunded in the original form of purchase.
New booking arrangements aboard Eurodam will be confirmed no later than February 14, 2022.
Eurodam is currently sailing from Fort Lauderdale on a series of Panama Canal itineraries. On April 10, 2022, the ship will depart Fort Lauderdale to reposition to Seattle with a 20-day sailing that is scheduled to visit ports of call in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, California, and Canada along the way.
Refunds Also Available
If guests prefer not to accept the rebooked Alaska arrangements on Eurodam, they can choose to cancel their cruise vacation and will receive a full refund of all monies paid, which will be returned to the original form of payment.
If a future cruise credit was used to pay for the cancelled voyage, that FCC will be returned to the guest’s account for use on another voyage of their choice.
