Holland America Line pop quiz

[Copper10-8]

Which was the first HAL ship with Azipod propulsion?

[Aquahound]

2 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Which was the first HAL ship with Azipod propulsion?

 

Just a shot in the dark.  I'll say Vista Class - Zuiderdam.

[Alphen]

6 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Which was the first HAL ship with Azipod propulsion?

Amsterdam? Hence, the crew bar name?

Edited March 12, 2022 by Alphen

[Copper10-8]

5 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

Just a shot in the dark.  I'll say Vista Class - Zuiderdam.

 

Good one, but no 😉

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

The Amsterdam.

[rafinmd]

22 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

Just a shot in the dark.  I'll say Vista Class - Zuiderdam.

Ah. but the first HAL ship with Azipods still in the fleet.

 

Roy

[Copper10-8]

39 minutes ago, Alphen said:

Amsterdam? Hence, the crew bar name?

 

Winner! The former Amsterdam (2000-2020) was the fourth, and last ship, of HAL's "R"-class vessels (Rotterdam, Zaandam, Volendam and Amsterdam) but the first equipped with ABB Group's Azipod propulsion system and, also yes, the former "OB" (officer bar) on Amsterdam was known as "Het lekkende azipodje", Dutch for "the little leaking azipod". All nine ships who joined after her (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam VII) have the same propulsion system. Of the current 11 dam ships, only Zaandam and Volendam have a traditional propulsion system 

 

Originally developed in Finland, jointly by Kvaerner Masa Yards and ABB, these are marine propulsion units consisting of electrically driven propellers mounted on a steerable pod. There are two of them, one on the port, and the other on the starboard side of the ship's stern. The pod's propeller usually faces forward because in this "puller" (or tractor) configuration, the propeller is more efficient due to operation in undisturbed flow. Because it can rotate around its mount axis, the pod can apply its thrust in any direction. Azimuth thrusters allow ships to be more maneuverable and enable them to travel backward/astern nearly as efficient as they can travel forward/ahead.

 

In the traditional propulsion system, the motor is inside the ship's hull and the propeller is driven via shafts and gearboxes. In the Azipod system, the electric motor is inside the pod and the propeller is connected directly to the motor shaft. By avoiding the use of a traditional propeller shaft,  the propeller is located further below the stern of the ship in a more clear flow of water, providing greater hydrodynamic and mechanical efficiency

 

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

25 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

The Amsterdam.

 

2nd winner! 😉 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

2 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

2nd winner! 😉 

The only reason I knew the answer is that Captain Robert Jan Kan, currently on the Konigsdam, told us that in his Ask the Captain presentation last week.

[Copper10-8]

9 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

The only reason I knew the answer is that Captain Robert Jan Kan, currently on the Konigsdam, told us that in his Ask the Captain presentation last week.

 

And you obviously have a great memory! 😉 I worked for Captain Robert Jan Kan once on Statendam going from Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver and into Alaska. Great guy!

[Copper10-8]

So, on a HAL ship, just like on terra firma, you pick up any house or cabin phone and dial 911 to report a serious medical emergency. That call goes straight to the bridge and is answered by the officer of the watch (OOW), one of two deck/nautical officers always on duty, so 24/7, on the bridge. Based on the circumstances of that call he/she can/will then trigger a dedicated team of professionals to drop everything they are doing at that particular moment, jump into action, and respond as quickly and humanly possible to the location of the emergency. You might have seen them running on one of your cruises.

 

This is accomplished via a public address (P/A) system announcement heard in all areas of the ship (normal/routine P/A announcement are made to selective areas of the ship), followed by an automated call to the individual ship cell phones of those team members.

 

The question for today: how is that medical emergency broadcast over the ship's P/A system, i.e. what is said by the OOW and, for extra bonus points, what was the code word used on HAL prior to the present announcement to identify a medical emergency? 

 

 

[ger_77]

Bright Star

[1ANGELCAT]

Currently I’ve heard Medical, Medical .

Previously it was Bright Star.

 

[Copper10-8]

31 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Bright Star

 

Yes on the Bonus! Excellent job Your Honor! 🙂 Key chain on the way to the Frozen Tundra, Sakatchewan 😉

[ger_77]

14 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Yes on the Bonus! Excellent job Your Honor! 🙂 Key chain on the way to the Frozen Tundra, Sakatchewan 😉

I'll bet - I've seen your key chains.  LOL

[Copper10-8]

2 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Currently I’ve heard Medical, Medical .

Previously it was Bright Star.

 

 

Winner! Yes, on both! The usual P/A announcement current being used is "Medical Response, Medical Response, Medical Response" followed by the location as close to possible, i.e. "Lido Restaurant, starboard side" or "Cabin 7077, Shubert deck, starboard side" or "Marshaling Area, mid-ships, port side pilot break"

 

HAL ships have a minimum of one E.R.-certified passenger physician, one crew physician, one lead nurse and one registered nurse assigned. Depending on the size of the ship, those numbers will increase by additional registered nurses. One of those nurses is the "On-call" nurse, meaning he/she is first out the door an any medical call. This "on-call" nurse carries with him/her a large, usually orange colored, backpack with all kinds of "first response" medical equipment inside. That backpack goes anywhere the nurse goes for a 24-hr period. You might have seen it at his/her feet inside the Lido Restaurant when the nurse is having a meal there. The nurses have given that backpack a name, but it escapes me at the moment....."George" or "Eddie" or something like that   

 

On a medical response call however, the team of first responders is much larger and will includes both doctors, all nurses, a 6-person stretcher team with a supervisor (usually from the Housekeeping Dept. with extra training) taking with them a collapsible, wheeled stretcher like the ones paramedics/EMT's use on land from an ambulance.  

 

Other 1st responders on that team who will come running are at least one member of the Front Office bringing with him/her an AED (automated external defibrillator) kept at the front office, usually accompanied by a guest relations supervisor, or the GRM her/himself, the staff captain, the hotel director, the security officer, his supervisors and guards (CPR qualified and/or for traffic/crowd control), an electrician, emergency elevator operator(s), usually an engineer or facilities manager, housekeeping staff, and more.

 

The medical emergency response team trains on a monthly basis, frequently with previously unannounced response drills to any part of the ship imaginable, and their response is timed by either the staff captain or GRS/GRM so that they can remain sharp.

 

No one wants to hear the former "Bright Star" or current "Medical Response" announcement during a cruise but, unfortunately, medical emergencies onboard cruise ships are a fact of life   

[Copper10-8]

9 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

I'll bet - I've seen your key chains.  LOL

 

And I still have yours, the one you gave me, from "Corner Gas" LOL

 

[rkacruiser]

8 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Other 1st responders on that team who will come running are at least one member of the Front Office bringing with him/her an AED (automated external defibrillator) kept at the front office, usually accompanied by a guest relations supervisor, or the GRM her/himself, the staff captain, the hotel director, the security officer, his supervisors and guards (CPR qualified and/or for traffic/crowd control), an electrician, emergency elevator operator(s), usually an engineer or facilities manager, housekeeping staff, and more.

 

That's quite an impressive list of people.  Thank you for supplying that information Copper John!  But, why so many with so many different usual functions?  Emergency Elevator Operator, Front Office member with an AED, a representative or two from Security, someone from Guest Relations:  I can think of reasons why they ought to be on call.  But, the Hotel Director?  The Staff Captain?  An electrician or an engineer?  Why are they part of the response team?  

[rkacruiser]

15 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

One of those nurses is the "On-call" nurse, meaning he/she is first out the door an any medical call.

 

During my latest Eurodam cruise, late at night, somehow the neck of the complimentary bottle of wine that I was trying to open in my stateroom broke and severely cut my thumb.  It BLED!  And, I could see that I needed medical help.  I wrapped it in a napkin and headed for the Medical Center, realizing that it was closed at that hour.  On arrival at the door, there was a buzzer of some type that a passing crew member--seeing my predicament--pushed and summoned help.  Very shortly, a nurse arrived to open the Medical Center and took care of my injury.  I assume that was the On-Call Nurse.  

 

The cut didn't require stitches, but did give me a large bandage on my thumb for the rest of the cruise.  (No hydrothermal pool for me after that!  😢)  I have since wondered:  Was my response to my injury the correct one?  Or, should I have called 911 particularly when I knew the Medical Center was closed?  

[Copper10-8]

13 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

During my latest Eurodam cruise, late at night, somehow the neck of the complimentary bottle of wine that I was trying to open in my stateroom broke and severely cut my thumb.  It BLED!  And, I could see that I needed medical help.  I wrapped it in a napkin and headed for the Medical Center, realizing that it was closed at that hour.  On arrival at the door, there was a buzzer of some type that a passing crew member--seeing my predicament--pushed and summoned help.  Very shortly, a nurse arrived to open the Medical Center and took care of my injury.  I assume that was the On-Call Nurse.  

 

The cut didn't require stitches, but did give me a large bandage on my thumb for the rest of the cruise.  (No hydrothermal pool for me after that!  😢)  I have since wondered:  Was my response to my injury the correct one?  Or, should I have called 911 particularly when I knew the Medical Center was closed?  

 

Based on how you are describing that injury, coupled with it occurring after normal business hours of the infirmary, Yes, I would have called 911 and would have explained my predicament since, at the time, you did not know how deep that cut was. The OOW would have summoned the on-call nurse to respond to your cabin. It would NOT have been a "Bright Star"-like response but it would have gotten you the help you required. If that passing crew member was not walking by at just the right time, you would have had to go to Plan B, C, D, etc.  

[whogo]

57 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

The medical emergency response team trains on a monthly basis, frequently with previously unannounced response drills to any part of the ship imaginable, and their response is timed by either the staff captain or GRS/GRM so that they can remain sharp.

I have seen videos of these drills on a different cruise line. The training challenge may be to respond to someone in a confined place (ballast tank, possibly), or to haul an injured person up a ladder. Passenger areas would be a piece of cake in comparison to some of the places the crew work.

[Copper10-8]

29 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That's quite an impressive list of people.  Thank you for supplying that information Copper John!  But, why so many with so many different usual functions?  Emergency Elevator Operator, Front Office member with an AED, a representative or two from Security, someone from Guest Relations:  I can think of reasons why they ought to be on call.  But, the Hotel Director?  The Staff Captain?  An electrician or an engineer?  Why are they part of the response team?  

 

When a 911 call comes in, you respond with how ever many crew with different functions and expertise is required. As the initial 911 caller, i.e. you're in your cabin and someone close to you goes down unexpectedly, and you have to make that 911 call to summon help, a huge amount of stress and adrenaline goes into that call and, quite frequently, important information that paints the correct picture does not always come out of that call. That is just natural human behavior from someone who is placed under a large amount of duress. Bottom line, the 1st responders don't always know what they are responding to and under what type of circumstances until the first one goes on scene and can assess the patient and situation. A lot of it also has to do with response time (how soon can the first responder get there) and where on the ship the medical emergency is taking place. Is it in a well travelled, easily accessible public area, or in an obscure confined space, far less travelled part of the engine room, somewhere below the water line.

 

The staff captain is in charge of the medical dept. as part of his responsibilities; that's why he goes; to be there to stand back as a not directly involved observer to manage the overall scene. The hotel director is there because he's in charge of the largest dept. on the ship; he can get required resources there.

 

Security, besides the SECO being CPR-trained (I have performed CPR on at least four Brightstar calls that I can remember, freeing up the hands of the nurses so that tey may assist the doctors), are there to clear the planned travel route between the location of the emergency and the nearest pax elevator (to reach the infirmary, once the patient is hopefully stabilized), as well as to hold "Lookie-loo's" at bay, which will undoubtfully show up, so they don't get in the way. That's the same way things are done on land at an emergency scene

 

The stretcher, once deployed and with a patient in it, is too long to fit in the much smaller crew elevators, so a pax elevator has to be set aside/placed on standby, hence the emergency elevator operator(s). The front office staff are all AED-trained and an AED might well be required, depending on the circumstances. They might actually be the first ones to reach the patient, again depending on the location.

 

An engineer/electrician is there as a much appreciated resource for their particular craft and expertise, if applicable. I'm sure you realize that is much preferred to have them on scene if you require their expertise "right now", then to realize you need them, but they're not there, and then you have to call them, requiring extra and unneeded response time.

 

Medical emergencies, and I'm talking cardiac arrest, stroke/cerebrovascular accident (CVA), etc., are all time critical. It's all about having a "toolbox" on scene with a variety of "tools" that can be used in an emergency, and to have an emergency response plan that aims to successfully contain, control, and/or end the, in this case, medical emergency.     

[0106]

Thank you for all the information and insights this thread has provided.

[Copper10-8]

What is the protrusion, mostly under the water surface, at the very front of all 11 dam ships known as?

[JRG]

29 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

What is the protrusion, mostly under the water surface, at the very front of all 11 dam ships known as?

 

You've got us stumped...how about another hint?