Due to continuing civil unrest in Egypt, Holland America Line has decided to cancel their entire eastern Mediterranean cruise season aboard ms Noordam.
The Noordam will instead be redeployed to the western Mediterranean for the spring and summer 2014 cruise season. The Noordam was originally scheduled to sail a variety of eastern Mediterranean cruise from Venice through spring and summer 2014.
Guests who were booked on one of the cancelled sailings will be able to select any 11-14 night western itinerary and be rebooked into the same category of stateroom. Guests will further be compensated with an onboard credit. Guests who were booked on a sailing longer than 14 nights will be rebooked accordingly. All guests also have the option of opting for a full refund.
Statement from Holland America Line:
“Holland America Line has made the decision to re-deploy ms Noordam to central and western Mediterranean cruises for spring and summer 2014. The change was driven by the cancellation of port calls to Egypt through the season due to the on-going unrest in the area. These adjustments created further operational and port implications which resulted in the decision to alter the ship’s itineraries. The new itineraries will ensure the smoothest execution of ms Noordam’s overall schedule next summer.
Guests currently booked on affected departures and their travel sellers are being notified of these changes. Guests may select any 2014 Europe 11- to 14-day itinerary and receive the same stateroom category for the original cruise fare paid, plus a shipboard credit based on the stateroom category previously booked. Guests booked on longer voyages will also be offered comparable sailings and a shipboard credit.
We sincerely regret impacting the travel plans of those guests already booked and are committed to making the process of rebooking to another sailing as smooth as possible. All guests may choose to receive a full refund if they elect not to rebook. “
2 replies on “Holland America Cancels Entire Season On Noordam”
Safety first. I think Holland America has acted very responsibly.
Smart decision. Anyone traveling to the Middle East previously, now or in the foreseeable future (without a great need to do so) should have a sanity check. Considering the times we live in, it’s one thing to put yourself in potential harms way on a day to day basis, but the Middle East, no thank you.