Storylady
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On 7/14/2020 at 3:48 PM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:
6 containers that is a lot for just lugge ??????
Philip Stolte posted on FB today the following message: i’m in the middle of asking all President club members and world cruise guests to help us switch to the Zaandam next year, Mr Gentry has already started but we are still looking for the correct email adress of the new ceo Gus, please help us (henk, christel, shiv, ronald, Presty, Tina, etc) to get on the Zaandam next year to be ready for the 2022 WC.
For those of us who do the World Cruise, it might help if we also write to the new President that we would like the crew that was on the Amsterdam this year moved to the Zaandam.
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Philip Stolte posted on his FB posting today that he needs everyone to write to the new HAL President asking for the Amsterdam crew that was on the World Cruise 2020 to be transferred to the Zaandam. He listed Henk, Christel, Presty, Ronald, Shiv and Tina plus the dining room crew.
It is sad enough that we lost the Amsterdam, but it wouldn’t be a World Cruise without the crew! They make it feel like we are coming home!
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3 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:
As both Volendam and Zaandam are essentially the same hull design and spec as Amsterdam & Rotterdam there is no worry that they can fulfill any mission those ships undertook. Amsterdam was unique in that she had Azipod propulsion and a higher maximum cruise speed, whereas the other 3 R ships had traditional propulsion systems.
The biggest difference is the mix of Pinnacle, Neptune and Vista Suites. Volendam and Zaandam have fewer Neptune Suites than either Rotterdam or Amsterdam and both only have 1 Pinnacle suite. This means less potential for upsells from Vistas as compared to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Amsterdam had 2 Pinnacle Suites and 50 Neptunes, Rotterdam had 4 Pinnacle Suites and 34 Neptunes. By Contrast Volendam and Zaandam each have 1 Pinnacle and 28 Neptunes. Volendam and Zaandam have a higher number of Vistas however at 154 each compared to Rotterdam at 152 and Amsterdam at 120.
The one notable difference between Zaandam and the other 3 R class ships is she has not yet been retrofitted with Lanai rooms, which makes the suites come at that much more of a premium over oceanview cabins. I am not sure if they will convert some C grades on Lower Promenade Deck to Lanai category before the Grand Africa 2021 or 2022 World cruise. Many seem to prefer Zaandam for this very reason over her siblings as there are more publicly available loungers on Promenade deck, rather than reserved for the Lanai rooms.
Actually, there were plenty of loungers on the Amsterdam this year even with the conversion to Lanai cabins. Henk got rid of the metal/net loungers on the promenade deck and bought or had transferred loungers from the Prinsendam. So even though, there were approximately 40 loungers reserved. There were more than 40 loungers added! Hope they moved them to the Zaandam.
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1 hour ago, Himself said:
I hope the USA has a cruise season in 2021.
Unfortunately, it isn’t looking too promising with the increase of Covid-19 cases in California and Florida. I think that HAL is delaying canceling the rest of the season due to the massive number of refunds, If there are any cruise, it will be the Caribbean. And they might be short cruises to a few ports or nowhere.
Map of countries that will allow Americas to visit was posted on the FB World Cruise 2020 HAL Amsterdam. It only shows Tanzania, Turkey, Croatia and some islands in the Caribbean that will allow entry without, a 14 day quarantine is required.
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17 hours ago, cruzingnut said:
The Amsterdam was actually scheduled to lay up in Labuan, Malaysia. The Maasdam was there but left and headed to Singapore. Apparently, there were "issues" of some sort with that location so layup was changed to Cyprus.
Linda R.
Maybe the same issues that caused our luggage to be offloaded in Singapore were at play with the ships that were suppose to be laid up in Malaysia, probably unreasonable red tape and more money being demanded. Also, Europe may return to cruising sooner than US.
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2 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:
Her "final" destination for now is an anchorage off Cyprus, along with Maasdam, Veendam and Rotterdam
I read that on FB. I mentioned Haifa as that is what was listed as next stop after leaving Singapore on a ship tracker website. I do wonder what happened to change the Amsterdam’s anchorage from Port Klang to Cyprus? Someone suggested, it was easier to ship crew home to Europe. Do you happen to know?
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46 minutes ago, Fredspak said:
Where do you find a link to this?
On FB group: World Cruise 2020 HAL Amsterdam.
“Diane DaviesAn officer told me all luggage was off loaded in Singapore on the 9th by the crew. Henke personally locked each of the 8 containers and it will not be opened till it gets to FLL. I am sure HAL will send more info as it is available.”
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1 hour ago, Fredspak said:
Looks to me like a luggage rack being unloaded into the shipping container.
It definitely is luggage. Posting on “World Cruise 2020 HAL Amsterdam” is that the luggage was offloaded and that Henk personally locked the eight containers. Seven of the eight containers are visible. There is another photo that shows all eight.
Also reported that Amsterdam is headed to the Mediterranean. ETA is Haifa. But that might be for refueling and supplies.
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On 7/4/2020 at 2:28 AM, Indianadaytripper said:
Just wondering did anyone else send any mail from Nuku Alofa, Tonga on 28th of February while on the world cruise. We sent 7 cards and no one we sent ever received. Thought our luggage was the the only thing adrift, mail evidently was stopped too.
Yes, our neighbor received a card from Tonga. We mailed all our cards at the Post Office not at the desk at the port. Had thought of buying more cards and mailing them, but they were all out of stamps in the late afternoon at the small temporary post office at the port.
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22 hours ago, rkacruiser said:
I regret disagreeing with you, Copper 10-8, but his blog has been posted as part of the Holland America Line website. If they didn't want whatever he wanted to say posted, it would not have appeared, I don't think.
The same with Captain Albert's blog. It has always been part of a HAL web site. He has been silent. With good reason: he is ashore and has been for some time. Not much for him to tell us unless he wants to report on his "honey do" list.
Captain Mercer may be smart in remaining silent in the final days even if he could post. Relating those experiences in a publication might prove to be enriching to his wife and he.
Last time Captain Mercer blogged on the HAL Blog was March 2014. It was my understanding that he set up his independent blog after that due to having approval from Seattle for what he wrote. I first sailed with Captain Mercer in 2005 on the Oosterman. Have been following Captain Mercer and Captain Albert for years. He said he will write again. So we just have to patiently wait until he does.
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On 7/4/2020 at 2:34 PM, rkacruiser said:
There will be many world cruisers who will disagree with my post that follows, I suspect.
During my Golden Anniversary World Cruise on the Amsterdam, I received enough pre-cruise and during the cruise gifts and kept them to fill two storage tubs full. I enjoyed getting them--at the time. But, what do I do with them? Some are absolutely lovely, useful--and have been used--some, one has to wonder why did we get that--with the most memorable in that category of a blank cruise journal which was the last gift we received! When I look at those two storage tubs, I wonder: how much of what I paid for my cruise was for "stuff" that now sits in storage tubs?
I know I collected enough "stuff" during those 113 days that I had to buy a HAL bag from the ship's store to pack the stuff to get it home. (Maybe that's the idea? Increase shop sales?)
I suspect that most of us who are able to take a world cruise or more have more than enough "stuff" already. Maybe when cruising--and specifically world cruising--begins again, someone in Seattle will take a look at this.
We also had to buy a bag. It wasn’t to increase sales. I asked while onboard what happened to the luggage. They told me it was orginally in Sri Lanka waiting for our arrival. I can’t remember if if the Front Desk that told me, the luggage had then been shipped to Darwin which we also missed by a day as you know.
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20 hours ago, RuthC said:
Not just on the World Cruise, but also on Grand Cruises. On one Grand Cruise our final gift was a carry-on bag to hold all the loot. Some of it was very useful.
Ruth, we didn’t get that this time as it was supposed to be a gift after leaving Sri Lanka. Rumor was the container that had the carryons were shipped from Sri Lanka to Darwin, but we missed Darwin by one day. So no luggage to take home pillow gifts. We did buy one of the flimsy HAL rollaboard’s (almost like an upright duffle bag) to carry one non fragile items so that I items we didn’t give away could be packed. Glad I did before we arrived in Perth as the shops were than closed!
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24 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:
It's not a question of whether the ship can cruise in the straits and among the islands. When she loses her polar certificate at the next drydock, she will not be allowed to sail anywhere south of 60* S.
I realize that. Since they were advertising Antarctic experience and mentioned Palmer Station and Paradise Harbor, I figured that their certification still allowed them to go. After all one of the huge Princess ship (Sapphire) has for cruises scheduled for Antarctica from December through January. HAL has only one and probably because her certification will expire after that cruise
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15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:
This is a great idea -- if Westerdam is truly affected by these changes, the 2021 itinerary I was originally booked on would see changes, presumably. I will follow along -- assuming, that is, the cruise actually happens.
If you look at the Westerdam’s interactive map, they list going to Palmer Station, Dallman Strait and Paradise Harbor. Having compared my experience of cruising Antarctica in the Prinsendam to cruising on the Amsterdam. I would say that you will have a nice Antarctic experience unless the weather foul. The Westerdam definitely should be able to cruise Bismarck Strait to pick up Palmer Station staff. They definitely should be able to do Gerlache Strait. But if not they will cruise by Deception Island and King George Island, etc.using the Dallman Strait. Probably won’t go into Antarctic Sound as it is often clogged with ice.
As for history, you will get plenty of nice lectures about the history of exploration of Antarctica which is definitely interesting. They won’t be able to sail through many of the small channels such Errera of Lemaire, but you will get some good photos of the Antarctic peninsula. I would go for it as it will be less expensive for a single than going on a small cruise line such as Azamara.
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3 hours ago, janmcn said:
Assuming we will cruise next summer, if we want to get the HAL Excursion to the Tattoo, will we have an option to choose what "area" we want to get our tickets in? Last time we went I think we just were given them with no choice...but can't remember. Hoping for no rain the next time!
We been twice. We purchased the premium tickets both times. Your seating is facing the castle. I believe in the regular seating you are facing the bleachers on the side, thus sideways to the marching bands. Our seats both times were perfect despite not being able to pick them out. We were hug enough and very close to the center.
We knew someone who purchased their tickets, but they had to leave early to catch the train as it didn’t run after 12 AM. But that was on the Prinsendam which docked at Rosyth across the Firth of Forth. I really think getting the tour was better as it wasn’t easy navigate at night. HAL had people stationed at every corner directing the way to the buses.
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4 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:
Where is the Amsterdam? Is she sailing off Indonesia? If so, Singapore seems to be "opening" a bit. Wouldn't a possible docking there to offload and ship world cruise guests luggage be possible from that location?
The Amsterdam is still in Manila Ba, the Captain’s companion just made cookies to send to the crew onboard. From what she said in her posting, crew have disembarked and crew are embarking. Our luggage still hasn’t been off loaded. Sarah Coles is suppose to be composing a letter to send to everyone. And the luggage will be delivered to Ft Lauderdale. Check the roll call, one of the passengers got a long e-mail from Sarah. And I received a message from her also.
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Another interesting article that I haven’t seen posted. Media seems to like to point out cruise ships, but what about resorts, planes, restaurants, theme parks, concerts, sports events etc. haven’t seen the media say much about them.
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16 hours ago, MMDown Under said:
I have read that all crew were each under quarantine for a fortnight. Then, when they were negative, they were entitled to disembark, but immigration had all crew from all ships listed on the one list, so there was no logical order for disembarkation.
Before the Amsterdam reached Manila, Filipino cruise ship crew had been quarantined for 14 days in hotels. The Philippine government decided that the crew should be quarantined on ships instead. One of the Filipino crew posted an article about the chaos of Filipinos stuck in hotels and not allowed to go home even after the 14 days. So it was better for our crew to be quarantined on the ship. The Philippines have over 500,000 Filipino seafarers who will all be returning to the Philippines sometime this year. No wonder there are so many ships still stuck in Manila Bay.
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Just had an update from a wife of an officer on the Koningsdam which has been involved in gathering different nationalities on the Koningsdam so that they can all go home on a chartered flights. Right now they are headed to Panama where they will embark new Filipino and Indonesian crew that have flown on a chartered flight from Indonesia and Manila. On the same flight will be all Latin Americans and Caribbeans still on Carnival ships (mainly Princess and Seaborn) in Manila Bay. That is probably the reason why the Amsterdam is still in Manila Bay. The new crew members will replace their counterparts who will then be flown home. As for the Latin Americans and Caribbean crew members, they will stay onboard the Koningsdam until their country’s borders open to allow them to go home.
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Angel, DRM wine steward, on the Amsterdam just posted her experiences being quarantined: the good, the funny, the sad parts and the happy parts. She is so talented! Wishing her the best.
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Angel, DRM Wine Steward, posted a video of the last group on the Amsterdam going ashore. Angel is the one who created several of the other excellent videos. Enjoy their happiness.
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Jarrie, the barista at the Explorer’s Cafe, is still onboard the Amsterdam. She is hoping to go home soon. She messaged me that Sir Henk is still onboard. Can’t answer the question about the luggage as she has been quarantined for 21 days!
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3 hours ago, bobpatj said:
Thank you! What a surprise to learn how many crew members are still waiting to get home. We were onboard the Westerdam, in mid-February, and were fortunately able to disembark on February 14th, in Cambodia. I keep hoping our wonderful crew may finally be home by now, but this sounds like some may still be waiting.
t
The Westerdam is now in Manila, it will be sometime before the Filipino staff get to disembark as they have only been there a few days.
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4 hours ago, Foggyzx9r said:
With the much maligned Cruise companies being hammered by the media I caught this on my news feed.
Christine Streets Cruise and Travel Director on board the Koningsdam.
Her story.
Experience of life on board a repatriation ship.
Thanks for posting. My DH and I have sailed with Christina. She was the Captain’s host aboard the Prinsendam. We found her to be very friendly!
World Cruise Staff move to the Zaandam
in Holland America Line
Posted · Edited by Storylady
I believe Philip was talking about Agus when he said Gus. I would also mention Josephine, Piya, Miko, my steward Heru, Steward Tama, Stewart Anam, YumYum Girl Faya and my ex-Prinsendam Steward Waya ( he was on the upper level of the main Dining Room). Also, we would like Wine Stewards Theresa, Russell, Angel and barista Jarrie.