Any news from the Amsterdam?

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Captain updated again.

 

http://captainjonathan.com/15th-may-manila-bay/

 

The wheels of officialdom and paperwork grind very slowly but among many other things he says his relief lives in the Philippines and the crew threw him a retirement party.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Cruising Is Bliss

[Storylady]

23 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Update from Manila Bay;  Nothing appears easy in the world we currently live in! Typhoon VongFong (AMBO) is approaching the Philippines from the south, forcing the closure of the port of Manila and all airline flights postponed and/or cancelled until Midnight on May 16th. Several of the 23 cruise ships in Manila Bay, incl. Eurodam, have already left the bay to head to open sea in an attempt to stay clear of the approaching typhoon and its powerful winds and rain. Amsterdam will soon follow and head to open sea and will try again to disembark her non-essential Filipino crew again after VongFong passes. What is a mother to do............

 

 

 

Due to the Typhoon Philip Stolte has now posted he will fly home on the 21st of May.

 

”Surprise, surprise, now flying home on the 21st !” Posted by Philip Stolte.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Storylady

[Copper10-8]

6 hours ago, cruzingnut said:

 

Maybe instead of waiting til the end of the world cruises to do the Neptune Ceremony, it should be done the first time we cross the Equator. 🌏🌎🌍  We crossed it many times and were supposed to do it this month but it hasn't been done at all.  Oh dear, King Neptune must be severely peeved!  😱🤴

 

Linda R.

 

This lady has something to do with that! She is working for King Neptune

 

[Himself]

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

This lady has something to do with that! She is working for King Neptune

 

She looks like she just got fired from Housekeeping.

[hey-buc]

The Captains latest email.

http://captainjonathan.com/15th-may-manila-bay/

 

[cruzingnut]

8 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

This lady has something to do with that! She is working for King Neptune

 

 

I LOVE this picture....oh, boy, do I miss Barbara!!  Best port lecturer of all time! 

 

Linda R.

[Sir PMP]

2 hours ago, hey-buc said:

The Captains latest email.

http://captainjonathan.com/15th-may-manila-bay/

 

He's now waiting for captain Jeroen Schuchman to replace him.

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, cruzingnut said:

I LOVE this picture....oh, boy, do I miss Barbara!!  Best port lecturer of all time! 

 

I do agree!  She had sailed to so many ports and had such a wealth of knowledge:  so helpful for a cruise guest!  Plus, she was a very pleasant and up-beat woman as well!

[Fredspak]

57 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I do agree!  She had sailed to so many ports and had such a wealth of knowledge:  so helpful for a cruise guest!  Plus, she was a very pleasant and up-beat woman as well!

So true!  What a contrast from her "King Neptune" photo (above).  😄

[Copper10-8]

6 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

He's now waiting for captain Jeroen Schuchman to replace him.

 

He wrote his relief lives in the Philippines. Not sure if Capt. S does

[Copper10-8]

7 minutes ago, Fredspak said:

So true!  What a contrast from her "King Neptune" photo (above).  😄

 

She dresses up like the "pirate mom" for every King Neptune ceremony/equator crossing ceremony. It's her bread and butter and she loves doing it 🙂

[Sir PMP]

31 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

He wrote his relief lives in the Philippines. Not sure if Capt. S does

Yes, he lives in Manila, Manila and Castricum, Olanda...with his beloved Cheryl...

[Copper10-8]

Amsterdam is back in Manila Bay after outrunning Typhoon Vongfong, and the flotilla of cruise ships is forming again. Eurodam is not yet back but is on the way. Noordam is now six days away from Manila; Westerdam nine days away from Singapore, and Maasdam eleven days away from her layup port of Labuan, Malaysia

[rkacruiser]

4 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Maasdam eleven days away from her layup port of Labuan, Malaysia

 

Why has Malaysia been selected as the layup area?

[Fredspak]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Why has Malaysia been selected as the layup area?

Maybe because it will be more convenient for repopulating with crew if/when the ship returns to service?

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Why has Malaysia been selected as the layup area?

 

 

Can't tell you but it wouldn't surprise me if cost was a factor............

[SeaDog-46]

Bob - Labuan in Brunei Bay is a dedicated official layup area in Malaysia.

There are layup companies there that act as agents & suppliers.

Crew changes through the local airport.

Onboard generators to run dehumidifiers for internal spaces if required.

Latitude is 5N & therefore outside the typhoon area.

[asebastian]

Labuan is also a duty-free island, happy times for remaining crew on board!

[Copper10-8]

Three British crew (No, not Capt Mercer yet) on their way home from Amsterdam today, via Manila.  😁The Filipino crew (non-essential) is still waiting for the test results taken by their government to return before they can go

 

[Copper10-8]

And some shots of Amsterdam (and the flotilla of cruise ships), taken from Eurodam in Manila Bay

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Bob - Labuan in Brunei Bay is a dedicated official layup area in Malaysia.

There are layup companies there that act as agents & suppliers.

Crew changes through the local airport.

Onboard generators to run dehumidifiers for internal spaces if required.

Latitude is 5N & therefore outside the typhoon area.

 

Thank you John.  I was wondering why this area was called "Brunei Bay".  Doing some searching, I see that it is very near Brunei.  
 

[SeaDog-46]

Hi Bob - Brunei Bay is a very large bay partly in East Malaysia & partly Brunei.

We were not far from there at Kota Kinabalu on Statendams last voyage.

 

Part of chart of Brunei Bay & ships at layup at Labuan [NOT current].

[rkacruiser]

17 minutes ago, SeaDog-46 said:

We were not far from there at Kota Kinabalu on Statendams last voyage.

 

That's what I recalled seeing the map.  Our visit to the Malaysia  ports were memorable for me.  During my 2008 cruise on the Amsterdam, we visited Brunei.  That has been a favorite port visit since then.  

[Sir PMP]

I wonder if Captain Jonathan is off the ship now, no news lately..

[bcummin]

I would guess that he would wait until his crew has safely left the ship to go home.

Barbara