New thread about passengers returning from the Westerdam

[AllureOfVacation]

I already posted it on the "news of the westerdam" thread, but I will copy it here as well! Greetings from Germany

 

copied post:

We arrived home yesterday from our first HAL cruise.

 

we are glad we are home. Our flight was the one that stopped in Pakistan. We were on the plane for about 20h in total, so this was no fun, but we all made it.

 

The 18 days of our 14 days of the cruise were really an experience, and we enjoyed it. We talked to so many passengers who also enjoyed it.

 

We were one of those among the last 240 on the ship. So it was empty. On the last evening we were invited to the Pinnacle Grill, there were two seatings.

 

In our opinion HAL handled the situation very well. Some things were not so good for 100% of every individual (flights...), but quick solutions were needed.

 

we are proud to say that we were part of the cruise!

 

The crew was amazing! Outstanding! Their personal situation must have been very difficult (majority from the Philipines: denied entry to Manila).

 

It was nice to have some conversations with Orlando Ashford to let him know about the outstanding service of the crew.

[Caribbean Chris]

Welcome back, AllureOfVacation! You have a great attitude, and an adventure you can relate for a long time into the future. I’m sure many of us would enjoy cruising with you someday to hear all about it.
 

When/What’s your next cruise going to be?

[AllureOfVacation]

12 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Welcome back, AllureOfVacation! You have a great attitude, and an adventure you can relate for a long time into the future. I’m sure many of us would enjoy cruising with you someday to hear all about it.
 

When/What’s your next cruise going to be?

Currently we have no further cruises booked, but with our 100% cruise credit certificate we go back to HAL and want to do a cruise on the Westerdam again 🙂

 

And somewhen in future we want to repeat an Asia cruise. 
 

We got in touch with so many people from different countries

 

I can not stop to talk about the awesome service the crew provided

[puppycanducruise]

Welcome home AllureofVacation.

Thank you for sharing your comments.

Have fun planning your next cruise.

[ger_77]

1 hour ago, AllureOfVacation said:

Currently we have no further cruises booked, but with our 100% cruise credit certificate we go back to HAL and want to do a cruise on the Westerdam again

I love your attitude; we would get along well if we cruised together.  Welcome home and stay well!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[ski ww]

Welcome back home. What ever happened to the other ship that was quarantined in Japan, can't remember her name? She dropped out of the news completely.  

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, ski ww said:

Welcome back home. What ever happened to the other ship that was quarantined in Japan, can't remember her name? She dropped out of the news completely.  

The Diamond Princess.  There's a major thread on the Princess Cruises CC message board.

[puppycanducruise]

1 hour ago, ski ww said:

Welcome back home. What ever happened to the other ship that was quarantined in Japan, can't remember her name? She dropped out of the news completely.  

The Diamond Princess is still in the news here in Ontario.

Some passengers from that ship are now in quarantine in Cornwall Ontario.

[ski ww]

Not the Diamond Princess, there was another ship, it was not a main line cruise ship, "Discovery" does that ring a bell? 

[colonialinnkeeper]

I believe it was called the World Dream.  

[fatcat04]

Thank you Westerdam passengers for coming here and sharing your experiences. I know the folks here on this board are so pleased you are home safe. During all of this you and the wonderful Westerdam crew were never far from our thoughts. 

[puppycanducruise]

38 minutes ago, ski ww said:

Not the Diamond Princess, there was another ship, it was not a main line cruise ship, "Discovery" does that ring a bell? 

If you are thinking of the World Dream, testing showed no one had the virus and the passengers were allowed to disembark (I think on Feb 10).

[ski ww]

Thank you very much, that's the one. She just dropped from the news & I never heard about her again, glad all is well for every one, safe travels home.

[RocketMan275]

On 2/18/2020 at 9:44 AM, HappyInVan said:

In Vancouver, the fear has abated. In the first week of February, lots of people wearing masks. This week, they have simply disappeared. All of those infected had returned from overseas. Only one case is still being investigated as a possible domestic infection.

The masks are most effective when worn by those who are infected.  Then the masks can trap droplets from sneezes.  I has surgery about a month ago.  I was a bit surprised when my surgeon visited my room wearing a mask just prior to my release.  When I asked about the mask, he said that was to protect me, not him.

[HappyInVan]

Some fear mongering in the media. Best to be careful on this forum...

 

"Coronavirus: How a misleading map went global"

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51504512

 

"Restaurant owner targeted by coronavirus rumour bewildered by lies spread online"

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/crystal-mall-coronavirus-rumour-1.5468104

 

 

[HappyInVan]

It's now Feb 23^rd. Everyone from the Westerdam should have made it home. You deserve a big thumbs up.

 

I'm going to sign off, but you guys carry on. Still would like to hear more details about your ordeal.

 

To recap, COVID19 surfaced in December in Hubei province. On 30 January 2020, SARS-CoV-2 was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO. Diamond Princess quarantined Feb 5^th.

 

To date, 79k confirmed patients, 2469 deaths. Outside China/HK/Taiwan and the Diamond Princess, now @1,200 infected.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_outbreak

 

 

South Korea is a prime example of what happens when people get careless. From Feb 18 to 23^rd, South Korea's infected jumped from 31 to 763. A big lesson for Happy Cruisers. Look at the infection map here...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_outbreak_in_South_Korea

 

 

 

 

 

[syesmar]

On 2/22/2020 at 7:10 AM, ski ww said:

...What ever happened to the other ship that was quarantined in Japan, can't remember her name? She dropped out of the news completely.  

 

On 2/22/2020 at 9:51 AM, colonialinnkeeper said:

I believe it was called the World Dream.  

Here’s a story that has some information: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/02/diamond-princess-evacuees-to-start-separate-quarantine-on-sebaru-island.html

Here’s a quote: “Sebaru island is currently housing 188 Indonesian crewmen who were evacuated from the World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong and arrived on Friday afternoon to start their 14-day quarantine period.

Muhadjir said that the Diamond Princess evacuees would be placed in a different "quarantine block" and kept separate from the World Dream evacuees...”

[HappyInVan]

51 minutes ago, syesmar said:

 

Here’s a story that has some information: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/02/diamond-princess-evacuees-to-start-separate-quarantine-on-sebaru-island.html

Here’s a quote: “Sebaru island is currently housing 188 Indonesian crewmen who were evacuated from the World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong and arrived on Friday afternoon to start their 14-day quarantine period.

Muhadjir said that the Diamond Princess evacuees would be placed in a different "quarantine block" and kept separate from the World Dream evacuees...”

 

 

Gasp!

 

"The 69 Indonesian crewmen, who were airlifted from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, and arrived back in Indonesia on Sunday evening, are due to start their 28-day quarantine period on Sebaru Kecil Island today."

[ski ww]

1 hour ago, syesmar said:

 

Here’s a story that has some information: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/02/diamond-princess-evacuees-to-start-separate-quarantine-on-sebaru-island.html

Here’s a quote: “Sebaru island is currently housing 188 Indonesian crewmen who were evacuated from the World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong and arrived on Friday afternoon to start their 14-day quarantine period.

Muhadjir said that the Diamond Princess evacuees would be placed in a different "quarantine block" and kept separate from the World Dream evacuees...”

I hope those crew members get some well deserved leave after they come out of quarantine. It must of been soon ordeal for them. 

[USN59-79]

Here is an update on a returnee.  We arrived home on Friday, 21 February.  I usually don't come down with a bad cold when we cruise, but this time I did.  After being home for about a week and a half it is mostly gone.  On arrival home we received some instructions from our local county health department, a face mask, and a form to record our temperature twice a day for two weeks.  We have done that and it has stayed normal or slightly below normal each day.  We also received a nice email from Orlando Ashford thanking us for putting up with the uncertainty and stating that in the next week we would receive an email to remind us of the process in submitting our expense reimbursements.  This has not happened yet.  I will be interested in how they respond to one fairly large expense.  While we were steaming toward Bangkok, we were given free internet and phone usage and those who hadn't booked their return flight with FlightEase were told to book a flight home from Bangkok.  We were up til about 3 in the morning trying to cancel an existing flight and book a new one.  We successfully booked a flight with EVA to Seattle, but later the Thai Navy escorted us away from their country.  We tried to cancel the EVA flight, but were told that it could not be cancelled.  Since we were told by HAL to book this flight, I wonder if they are willing to reimburse us for its cost.  (It was basic economy, about $1100. for two) We had booked three separate cruises on the Westerdam, 1 February to 14 March.  We were reimbursed the cost of the first two back to our credit card before we got home.  For the third cruise we heard nothing, so I asked my TA to check.  He said that we would be given a future cruise credit for that cruise.  The next day I got an email from HAL stating that we would be reimbursed for the cost, but it would take two or three weeks to happen.  Not sure why that one is being handled differently than the first two.  

Ray and Sara

[syesmar]

3 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Here is an update on a returnee...I will be interested in how they respond to one fairly large expense.  While we were steaming toward Bangkok, we were given free internet and phone usage and those who hadn't booked their return flight with FlightEase were told to book a flight home from Bangkok.  We were up til about 3 in the morning trying to cancel an existing flight and book a new one.  We successfully booked a flight with EVA to Seattle, but later the Thai Navy escorted us away from their country.  We tried to cancel the EVA flight, but were told that it could not be cancelled.  Since we were told by HAL to book this flight, I wonder if they are willing to reimburse us for its cost.  (It was basic economy, about $1100. for two)....

Ray and Sara

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, Ray and Sara!  Many prayers were said on your behalf and we are glad you are home!

I would absolutely contact HAL about your EVA flight.  Things were so hectic, I'm sure they are aware that things like this were happening, but they need to be notified in order for your case to be considered.  Is your Travel Agent able to handle these types of requests for you?  I, too, am curious about why your third segment is being handled differently; perhaps it is on account of the date that is still in the future.  I wish you all the best and hope things get worked out speedily and accurately for you!    

Edited March 2, 2020 by syesmar

[USN59-79]

Looks like the prayers helped.  The first portion in Cambodia had some mishaps, then we were fine for the last five days there.  Here is how it started:  We pulled up to a pier in Sihanoukville not sure what would happen.  Pretty soon the stewards came by the room and dropped off a Cambodian scarf for everyone.  Then the Captain asked everyone to look over to the pier and greet the Prime Minister of Cambodia who would be coming aboard for a visit.  Eventually two helicopters landed on the pier, one was empty and the other had the PM.  A lot of high ranking Cambodian military also came to the pier.  The next couple of days people started leaving for Phnom Penh with flights arranged by HAL.  We left with a large group on the third day.  We were bused with our luggage to the Sihanoukville airport where we boarded a plane for Phnom Penh.  Picked up our luggage at the Phnom Penh airport and joined a long line to the counter to get our ticket for Kuala Lumper.  Took about three hours to get to the counter and altho it was about 1 PM, we were given a ticket for 11:45 AM.  Turned in our luggage and went thru customs and immigration where they stamped our visa as having left Cambodia.  Went downstairs to the departure desk and asked the clerk when our plane would arrive.  He said he had no idea.  Later we found that the plane had never left Malaysia.  Next few hours we waited in the airport watching the interaction between U.S. Embassy personnel and Cambodian officials.  Seems there was now an immigration problem as we had a single entry visa for Cambodia and had already used it, so we couldn't leave the airport.  Eventually that got sorted out and we were told to go pick up our luggage and get on a bus for a hotel.  There were three or four buses and we got on the last one.  After close to an hour ride we were dropped off at a hotel.  Went into the lobby with our suitcases and the desk clerk said "Who are you?"  We had been dropped at the wrong hotel!  Of course there was no one with HAL with the group, so we just waited there for about three hours.  Finally another bus showed up and took us to the correct hotel, arriving about 11:00 PM.  After that, things vastly improved.  Desks were set up in the lobby for HAL, U.S. Embassy and three or four other foreign embassy employees.  The hotel had an excellent free breakfast, and we were told that HAL would pay $50. each per day for our other meals in the hotel.  Orlando Ashford arrived and had a meeting with about 3 or 4 hundred of us in a large ballroom.  We received a notice to stay in our rooms and medical personnel would stop by and check us for the virus.  That didn't happen so we finally went to the eighth floor medical area to get checked out.  We arrived at 6 in the evening and they were just closing and told us to come back the next morning at 9.  We did, and the next day we had a certificate saying that we were virus free.  On the fifth day we flew to Narita and then to Seattle.

Ray and Sara

[syesmar]

Thank you, Ray and Sara, for taking the time to share these firsthand details of your ordeal.  When we would hear news reports, we would wonder how things were for the passengers.  I pray those issues with HAL / reimbursements get straightened out.

Glad you are home!

[Yodalicious]

 For the folks that had been confined To their cabins.  Could those with a balcony go out there, or did they have to stay inside the cabin?

 

[USN59-79]

33 minutes ago, Yodalicious said:

 For the folks that had been confined To their cabins.  Could those with a balcony go out there, or did they have to stay inside the cabin?

 

We were never confined to our cabins.  While in the hotel in Phnom Penh, we were never confined to the hotel.  We went downtown twice after being notified that no more flights would be posted on that day.