Nathans5283

My name is Nathan Sheffer. I just wanted to take a minute to say how great the Rotterdam crew was in the rescue of 13 refugees. they acted quickly in responding to the call to action. And appreciate Captain Bas van Dreumel Volendam’s quick action. And taking the call seriously. But also want to take a minute to thank and recognize the person that spotted the refugees. His name is Shadd Jones in 6053. And the quick action that he and his group took. And tell the story from the source. It was about 15 minutes before we were going to go to dinner it was close to 5pm when shadd spotted the refugees boat and I confirmed that indeed it was a boat trying to get our attention. I had my wife keep eyes on them while I made the call for help after a few minutes our phone rang in our room. I answered and the security team asked if we could still see them and I said yes but just barely and gave their updated location. It was an amazing thing that took so many pieces to fall into place. If we would not have had an extra sea day because of the hurricane those people would have probably not survived another day probably not even a few more hours. My hope in writing this is not for any recognition for myself but just hope that Holland America would take the time to recognize him. For his excellent spotting skills using only some 4×32 binoculars and the quick actions taken by the ones in his group. P.S. A free cruise or discounted cruise for Shadd and his wife Farrah Jones would be a great gesture on Holland America’s part and would not go to waste Sincerely Two Star Mariner, Nathan Sheffer

On 11/9 in room 6051 and 6053 me and my friends were out on our deck looking at the waves and all the boats around with our binoculars we were out there for like a hour and we were about to go in to go to dinner it was about 5:15 5:20 and my friend Shadd saw something black in the water so we all grabbed our binoculars and we find it and we can see it was people on a man made boat. using Styrofoam to flag us down at first we thought it was a mirror or something at first, why I kept a eye on them my husband Nathan called guest services and they called the Bridge. They then stopped the boat and called our room again to get confirm the location of the craft it was on the starboard side towards the back and the boat got turned around and with there spot lights they were Abel to keep a eye on the craft 13 men and 1 women were saved it's a miracle that my friend Shadd spotted them when we did with the last little bit of light definitely a heart warming experience so proud. We found out that they were out to sea for 12 days 4days with no food and 3 days with no water. I'm so glad we were out on our deck watching the water. There boat was made of Styrofoam and wooden planks and tarp. And it was capsizeing fast the captain staded that there craft never showed up on there radar due to it not having any metal on it. And that it was so small and the waves were huge. We were just in the right spot at the right time. Yay Shadd your a hero..

Just to give the full story and give credit where credit is due these people where spotted by passenger Shadd Jones in cabin 6053 at about 515 pm we immediately called the security team and they radioed the bridge. After a few minutes we were called back and asked if we could still see them by this time we said we could but just barely. It was an amazing spot for a passenger with a cheap pair of binoculars from a 6th level balcony it was heartwarming. Even the captain came and asked how we spotted them because they couldn't find them with their spotters I will add a few pictures to my post shortly