News on the Westerdam

[gilboman]

53 minutes ago, BarbarianPaul said:

You're right, but personally I still don't feel like embarking so many passengers from Hong Kong was a good idea, and clearly the governments of Guam, the Philippines, Japan, and all the other countries contacted by HA for potentially disembarking passengers on the Westerdam feel the same way. The proximity to China and population density need to be taken into account as well. And the local Hong Kong government had declared an official state of emergency days before the Westerdam was to dock, and closed virtually every museum and tourist attraction in the city. Is that a place you really want to dock your ship??

 

In any event, instead of arguing, lets just pray the Westerdam finds a place to dock, and all its passengers get safely returned home. But its certainly a possibility that whoever lets them in will also want everyone on board to get tested, and that might mean some kind of Diamond Princess-esque quarantine.

 

 

i mean if being totally safe, should not let that amount of pax board anywhere. 

 

i mean westerdam will eventually have to dock and the pax are safe. maybe they can cruise for the 14 day restriction to lapse and then dock in an asian country or even the US??  Too bad the hkg cruise port is closed too as a lot of the pax embarked on there and hkg is still "relatively safe" in terms of corona virus though it'll be hard to return to their homes for pax with the limited flight options 

[kazu]

An update from a passenger on FB on the Westerdam who is part of the Holland America group:

Copying and pasting:

 

We are on the Westerdam in SE Asia and while we are experiencing cancellations of ports and such we just HAVE to say how much we appreciate Captain Vincent Smit, Jeremy and all the crew and staff.  They are working SO hard. We can't applaud them enough!💗

[3rdGenCunarder]

8 minutes ago, kazu said:

An update from a passenger on FB on the Westerdam who is part of the Holland America group:

Copying and pasting:

 

We are on the Westerdam in SE Asia and while we are experiencing cancellations of ports and such we just HAVE to say how much we appreciate Captain Vincent Smit, Jeremy and all the crew and staff.  They are working SO hard. We can't applaud them enough!💗

 

I'm glad to hear passengers feel well cared for. I feel very sorry for the captain. He has no control over the situation--several countries and HAL in Seattle are calling the shots, and changing the call frequently. But he has to be the "face of HAL" in terms of dealing with the passengers. I hope he gets a good long vacation after this is over. 

[bobpatj]

The Captain reported this morning that they have a possible 2 options to choose from, but no decisions made at this time.  He'll get back to us later today.

[DFWGUYZ]

Ship Mask?

[sppunk]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

An update from a passenger on FB on the Westerdam who is part of the Holland America group:

Copying and pasting:

 

We are on the Westerdam in SE Asia and while we are experiencing cancellations of ports and such we just HAVE to say how much we appreciate Captain Vincent Smit, Jeremy and all the crew and staff.  They are working SO hard. We can't applaud them enough!💗

We have 2 friends on the Diamond Princess right now and ironically they say the sabe about Princess” captain and crew. 

[Vict0riann]

If passengers have been given a full refund AND a future cruise credit, they will not have much to complain about.  And as long as no one gets ill, it will have been the adventure of a lifetime!  Something to put in their memoirs....

[SilvertoGold]

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm glad to hear passengers feel well cared for. I feel very sorry for the captain. He has no control over the situation--several countries and HAL in Seattle are calling the shots, and changing the call frequently. But he has to be the "face of HAL" in terms of dealing with the passengers. I hope he gets a good long vacation after this is over. 

 

A good, long vacation for the Hotel Manager and Cruise Director, as well.  And a lot of praise for how well they are handling this mess.  The logistics of continuous, unplanned sea days along with the anxiety of things becoming much worse doesn't make it easy for the rest of the crew.  

Edited February 8, 2020 by SilvertoGold

[DrFUN]

Would someone please post who is serving as Hotel Manager? Thanks—and hope you all get home soon. 

[kazu]

35 minutes ago, sppunk said:

We have 2 friends on the Diamond Princess right now and ironically they say the sabe about Princess” captain and crew. 

 

The crew have a huge challenge.

I remember the efforts when we did the Hawaii, Tahiti and Marquesas and missed ports and had to change itinerary.  That was NOTHING compared to this.

They are truly rising to the occasion from the sounds of things in a very difficult if not impossible situation.

[Taters]

Just an FYI that NCL has cancelled all of it's Asia cruises on NCL Spirit through December 7, 2020.  I wonder if this is the route that HAL is going to take.  Pure speculation, I know, but I am stressed about whether or not I have a vacation in April on Westerdam.  My heart goes out to all currently sailing.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22418-norwegian-cancels-spirit-s-2020-asia-program.html?fbclid=IwAR0zVRdO7CMCwjf6y9GwTGNHUEzWk9fm2Ss_D0seuc_EwJc6a93Drt93kYI 

 

[travelingfrog]

Completely agree with BarbarianPaul, what misjudgment  of the situation. Regent is refusing to accept Hong Kong passengers and refunding their money plus a future cruise credit.  First, I disembarked the Westerdam with my mom in Hong Kong on Feb. 1, and did not feel comfortable being made to do so. I can’t believe they didn’t change ports and felt like my health, and my older mother’s,  was being put in jeopardy. If you weren’t there,  you can’t know how we felt. 

 

Also, someone said that the captain and Jeremy are working very hard, but how exactly? When we were onboard as the virus news started to break, the captain just robotically read various messages from the HA home office for several days, and Jeremy (cruise director) is doing what exactly? I didn’t sense any emotion from the captain at all. He seemed lost and in over his head. Please report this situation correctly and with a cool head. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, travelingfrog said:

Completely agree with BarbarianPaul, what misjudgment  of the situation. Regent is refusing to accept Hong Kong passengers and refunding their money plus a future cruise credit.  First, I disembarked the Westerdam with my mom in Hong Kong on Feb. 1, and did not feel comfortable being made to do so. I can’t believe they didn’t change ports and felt like my health, and my older mother’s,  was being put in jeopardy. If you weren’t there,  you can’t know how we felt. 

 

Also, someone said that the captain and Jeremy are working very hard, but how exactly? When we were onboard as the virus news started to break, the captain just robotically read various messages from the HA home office for several days, and Jeremy (cruise director) is doing what exactly? I didn’t sense any emotion from the captain at all. He seemed lost and in over his head. Please report this situation correctly and with a cool head. 

 

The captain has to do what the company tells him to. Ad libbing could lead to confusion or false information spreading through the ship. He's probably exhausted from all the changing orders--go here! no, go there! Wait, you can't go there, either!

 

Each passenger is worried about what he/she will do. The captain is worried about all the passengers and all the crew. I was on a QM2 Christmas cruise when a woman went overboard on the first sea day. The ship did a zig-zag search, the Coast Guard flew around all day, but at dusk, the Coast Guard called off the search and the captain had to make the announcement. Short of "abandon ship," it's probably the worst announcement he would have to make. I saw him the next day and I swear, he looked like he had aged 10 years. it's a big responsibility being captain, even if a lot of the authority lies with the home office. 

 

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, Taters said:

Just an FYI that NCL has cancelled all of it's Asia cruises on NCL Spirit through December 7, 2020.  I wonder if this is the route that HAL is going to take.  Pure speculation, I know, but I am stressed about whether or not I have a vacation in April on Westerdam.  My heart goes out to all currently sailing.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22418-norwegian-cancels-spirit-s-2020-asia-program.html?fbclid=IwAR0zVRdO7CMCwjf6y9GwTGNHUEzWk9fm2Ss_D0seuc_EwJc6a93Drt93kYI 

 

 

The Spirit was already in Europe for major refurbishments, so it was relatively easy to reposition it there.  However, if the virus continues to spread, I think more ships will be moved out of Asia.

[iancal]

Smart, proactive move by NCL.  
 

The reality is that they probably saw new bookings drying up and existing ones being cancelled.  It would not surprise me if a few other cruise lines follow suit.

[shrimp56]

Marine Traffic is showing DiaPrin at sea outside the Yokohama/Tokyo harbor heading away from shore. Doing 14 knots and have been underway for 4 hrs. 

[teamflames]

42 minutes ago, shrimp56 said:

Marine Traffic is showing DiaPrin at sea outside the Yokohama/Tokyo harbor heading away from shore. Doing 14 knots and have been underway for 4 hrs. 

Probably generating new water supply

[shrimp56]

Thanks. That makes sense. 

[dillpickle48]

Diamond Princess is due to return to dock tomorrow morning.  Any new cases will then be looked after.

[Alphen]

As of this moment, I think a decision has been made where to go with Westerdam, AIS position is showing past the gap between Taiwan and Philippines on a southwesterly heading, doing almost 21 knots.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Alphen

[Wehwalt]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

Smart, proactive move by NCL.  
 

The reality is that they probably saw new bookings drying up and existing ones being cancelled.  It would not surprise me if a few other cruise lines follow suit.

I suspect so, with Diamond Princess and Westerdam leading the way from the Far East. This probably has hurt cruising in Asia for years. Not just China, I think, but Japan. While the Japanese authorities were doing what they had to, the plight of Diamond Princess and her passengers is getting an awful lot of publicity, mostly negative.

[buchhalm]

From Australian media reports:

Apart from the ports mentioned (in this forum)  GUAM is also refusing entry to the ship.

 

An US territory is refusing entry to a ship owned by an US company? Even though the ship itself is registered in the Netherlands?

[Moparop]

Per my parents who are on Westerdam, all passengers were required to surrender their passports to prove that none of them had been to mainland China. If that is true they will arrive at a port next week. 

[Floridiana]

2 hours ago, Moparop said:

Per my parents who are on Westerdam, all passengers were required to surrender their passports to prove that none of them had been to mainland China. If that is true they will arrive at a port next week. 

 

That sounds hopeful

[Viv0828]

12 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

If passengers have been given a full refund AND a future cruise credit, they will not have much to complain about.  And as long as no one gets ill, it will have been the adventure of a lifetime!  Something to put in their memoirs....

 

i disagree. for some people, like those with chronic anxiety or those who suffer from other illnesses, it will have been a trip through hell. i would NOT consider it an "adventure of a lifetime", especially if i were confined to a 15 by 15 space for 2 weeks.