Nieuw Amsterdam Virus / Late Boarding

[clement703]

Just boarded Nieuw Amsterdam. The embarkation was very late. We were taken to the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center where we waited for four hours before boarding at around 6pm.

 

On chekin, we receiived a letter indicating the ship was being disinfected due to an virus outbreak upon its sailing from Europe. THe letter offered full refund and booking on another cruise if one so desired. We heard from a reliable source on the ship that 98% or the passengers were ill. This was not a good start for the Nieuw Amsterdam in the U.S.!

 

This is our 6th HA cruise and we are a bit disappointed with the ship. Plastic and glitz vs teak and sophistication is my first impression of this vessel versus the earlier classes. I guess the parent companies Carnival roots are starting to take hold. Might be time to go back to Celebrity?

[RuthC]

I guess the parent companies Carnival roots are starting to take hold.

It's been more than 20 years since Carnival Corporation rescued HAL from oblivion.

[sail7seas]

Sorry for your delay in boarding....... So surprised to hear your initial impression of N.A. Her sister, Eurodam, is a beautiful ship IMO.

 

Hope as you settle in you'll find you like the ship more and more. After such a lengthy delay in boarding, you surely were tired and maybe a bit out of sorts. A good dinner and comfy night's sleep and hopefully the ship will be more to your liking.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

[cruisinjudy]

I wonder how many people chose not to take the cruise.

[CruiserBruce]

98% were sick? I doubt it. Seriously doubt it.

[E-500]

98% were sick? I doubt it. Seriously doubt it.

 

We came off the N/A this morning. At least 10% (200+) of the passengers were confined to their cabin at some point during the 20 day Trans-Atlantic cruise. Many passengers did not report their illness to the staff, and lots of folks had severe cold like complaints, lots of sick people, maybe 30%. Not 98% or even close. Still a very sick ship.

[ariawoman]

98% sounds really quite high. While the cold was quite prevalent on the leg before the TA leg, it was maybe 10% of the passengers if i had to guess. If 98% of the ship were sick, well, they'd not have enough stewards to take care of all the quarantined guests.

 

I hope that with a new day, you'll see things better. I've not sailed another HAL ship, and only took 1 cruise on seabourn prior, but I felt the NA was a nice ship overall. I do agree with another poster i think in the other thread that the cabana area is a waste and that it should be opened back up to public use. I can't say I ever noticed it being used. The pools in general weren't highly used from 10/6-10/18 though the hot tubs were more frequently used (though never had a wait so to speak).

 

Safe travels to all who boarded in FLL today. I took a look at the NA on the webcam and was definitely nostalgic for my vacation.

[terigo]

It's been more than 20 years since Carnival Corporation rescued HAL from oblivion.

 

Thanks for pointing that out... you hit on a pet peeve of mine.

people make out that Carnival is this garbage company whose sole purpose is to make all their entities low-end sleaze lines....

 

First of all, Carnival runs the Carnival ships like well-oiled machines, and the food, entertainment, cleanliness, and cabins are excellent. The people who knock those ships are usually the ones who have never sailed on them.

 

Secondly, perhaps the OP is not aware of the fact that Carnival also owns Windstar, Seabourn, Princess, Cunard, Costa, and P&O (I think I am missing one or two) and have managed to make sure each of those lines maintains the integrity of their brand.

 

Carnival doesn't swallow up other cruise lines... they save them from extinction.

[Cruisin Suzin]

Actually I just checked this out with Events at sea : The CDC reports 123 of 2027 passengers (6.06%) and 4 of 878 crew (0.46%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale November 7th following a 20 day transatlantic cruise. Still not a good start but it could and does happen to all cruise lines...I do hope you get some rest and will feel better about the ship once your cruise begins..

[SuitCaseBears]

Actually I just checked this out with Events at sea : The CDC reports 123 of 2027 passengers (6.06%) and 4 of 878 crew (0.46%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness.

Here's the link to the official CDC report which shows Suzin's numbers are accurate and not the reported 98%. The "reliable" source was wrong.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

This is our 6th HA cruise and we are a bit disappointed with the ship. Plastic and glitz vs teak and sophistication is my first impression of this vessel versus the earlier classes. I guess the parent companies Carnival roots are starting to take hold. Might be time to go back to Celebrity?

While I have not yet been on the Nieuw Amsterdam I have been on her sister the Eurodam and I was just on the Sostice in September and I will definitely say that if you want to see more plastic and glitz you will see it on the Celebrity Solstice. The NA still has a beautiful FULL wrap around teak promenade deck, you definitely will not see that on the Solstice. Don't get me wrong the Solstice really grew on us and we loved it but.... to say you better go back to Celebrity to see less plastic and glitz :D well is just plain silly.

 

I am sorry that your start for the NA has started bad with the NLV but Celebrity has had it's share of the nasty virus too with a sailing actually being canceled if I remember correctly. So it can happen on any ship and sailing. Would you rather that HAL just swept the problem under the rug and you boarded the ship only to get sick 24 to 48 hours after boarding?

[Modern_Viking]

Secondly, perhaps the OP is not aware of the fact that Carnival also owns Windstar, Seabourn, Princess, Cunard, Costa, and P&O (I think I am missing one or two) and have managed to make sure each of those lines maintains the integrity of their brand.

 

A quick point of fact: Carnival Corp. previously owned Windstar, but not any more. That line was sold a couple years ago to the company that also owned Delta Queen (at least for a while before that line ceased operations).

 

The other brands listed are owned by Carnival.

 

Other Carnival owned lines are Aida and Ibero. For more info: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-index

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that you are off to a bad start on your cruise.

 

Hope things inprove.

 

November 6 Nieuw Amsterdam

Holland America Line The CDC reports 123 of 2027 passengers (6.06%) and 4 of 878 crew (0.46%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale November 7th following a 20 day transatlantic cruise. Illness

 

Very small number of people were actually sick.

[serendipity1499]

98% were sick? I doubt it. Seriously doubt it.

 

Me too! Pure hyperbole!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks for pointing that out... you hit on a pet peeve of mine.

people make out that Carnival is this garbage company whose sole purpose is to make all their entities low-end sleaze lines....

 

First of all, Carnival runs the Carnival ships like well-oiled machines, and the food, entertainment, cleanliness, and cabins are excellent. The people who knock those ships are usually the ones who have never sailed on them.

 

Secondly, perhaps the OP is not aware of the fact that Carnival also owns Windstar, Seabourn, Princess, Cunard, Costa, and P&O (I think I am missing one or two) and have managed to make sure each of those lines maintains the integrity of their brand.

 

Carnival doesn't swallow up other cruise lines... they save them from extinction.

 

First of all lets be specific..Carnival Cruise Lines does not own HAL & has no say in the operations of HAL....Carnival Corporation & PLC is HAL's Parent Company..

 

It's been more than 20 years since Carnival Corporation rescued HAL from oblivion.

 

FYI Ruth is correct: Carnival Corp. & PLC acquired HAL, in 1989...And as others have pointed out HAL was just about ready to go under until Carnival Corp. & PLC infused money into the line..HAL is also an autonomous Corp. & their ships are designed by independent marine architects..It blows my mind when people make unfounded statements about changes & then blame Carnival for them..

Although I've never been on Carnival Cruise Lines, my kids & Grand-kids have & they paint a completely different picture of it..

To the OP, Your "reliable source" is not reliable, as other posters have pointed out it would be impossible for 98% of the Psgrs to be sick..Having a cold is not the same as being ill with Noro, a gastrointestinal illness..When I was in the travel industry & often flew to Europe, I frequently caught a cold only because I was rushing around to get everything done at work, at home & for my trip & became run down..I would bet that many of those who were ill with Noro, picked it up in flight before their cruise & brought it on board..

Just be thankful that HAL took the time to deep clean the ship before you boarded..Also there will be some extra precautions such as not being able to serve yourself in the Lido for a few days..The most important thing is to wash your hands frequently & keep them away from your face..

Agree with those who said, we hope once you are rested, have a good dinner & settled in you will enjoy your cruise & look upon the ship in a different light..

Hope you enjoy your cruise..

Cheers....:)Betty

[Gerd]

...

 

 

Hello "clement703"

 

as you can see from my cruise list down-below, we are been on the Nieuw Amsterdam during here first two cruises / 24 days.

 

I recognized during both cruises, that they are been mandatory during the first two days in a kind of special mode in order to find out if new boarded passengers are sick or not.

 

 

So I guess, this behavior will still be done on here. So no risk nor worry about it, they take care about – just relax and have a nice cruise.

 

 

Happy cruising

 

G E R D

 

 

 

Our marvelous cruises : :)

 

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997

MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001

MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002

MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004

MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004

MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005

MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006

MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007

MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008

MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Empires - July 2010

 

169 days - 39'247 Nm :

 

 

 

Future Cruise : :p

 

 

 

14-days North Cape Splendors :

 

[Lesinindy]

No matter how many folks got sick, the fact that they took the time to clean the ship to minimize the chances of the virus spreading is to me something that indicates a quality operation of the ship. I would much rather see them take extra time than to ignore the problem. Service comes in many different ways, sometimes getting what you want (early boarding) is not the best thing for you.

[dutch46]

98% were sick? I doubt it. Seriously doubt it.

 

From the CDC website:

 

Investigation Update on the Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Cruise Line: Holland America Line

Cruise Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam

Voyage Dates: 10/18 - 11/07 (Transatlantic voyage ending in Fort Lauderdale, FL)‬

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 123 of 2,027 (6.06%)‬

Number of ill crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 4 of 873 (0.46%)‬

[sail7seas]

How can rumor mill carry a reported percentage of 6.06% up to 98%? :eek: That isn't even the same hemisphere. Thanks to those who researched and put the whole situation into more appropriate perspective.

 

And yes, if you (me) are one of those who became ill, the numbers don't matter a whit.

[IRL_Joanie]

HAL also sent messages out early in the week to all who were getting ready to board with you that the ship would be delayed in embarkation due to the deep cleaning.

 

I know, because one of your fellow passengers posted the email message as he received it from HAL.

 

Sorry that you apparently did not receive the message for whatever reason.

 

It is done for the well being of everyone, myself included.

 

Thank you HAL!!

 

Joanie

[bonafidebeachbum]

No matter how many folks got sick, the fact that they took the time to clean the ship to minimize the chances of the virus spreading is to me something that indicates a quality operation of the ship. I would much rather see them take extra time than to ignore the problem. Service comes in many different ways, sometimes getting what you want (early boarding) is not the best thing for you.

 

Well said!

[TexasRCH]

I was on this cruise and did not personall know anyone that was ill so the 98% is impossible. The captain kep us informed and the Code Red was livable,

I think it's noteworthly that only 4 crew members wer ill. This suggest that good personal hygene works.

[BruceMuzz]

In the history of cruising, no cruise ship has ever even come remotely close to 98% of passengers sick from any known illness.

Was your "reliable source" the same one who reported Noordam running out of toilet paper in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean last week?

[lssg]

Our last cruise was on celebrity and it was the worst cruise we have been on. We will take holland over celebrity. I am impressed how fast holland went into action to protect the next group of passangers to board her.

[Dynamictwo]

We are on the next Nieuw Amsterdam cruise and look forward to finginh out more about this week's cruise. It sounds like everything will be fine.

 

But when it comes to Celebrity versus HAL, in my book Celebrity wins hands down. I have been on 81 cruises, 6 HAL and 12 Celebrity. That's just my opinion so please do not take this personally. Everyone can have their own opinion. In fact, I have been on 6 NCL ships and normally stay far away from NCL, yet there are those that only sail NCL -- but they do need to get a life. The Epic and the newer NCL ships are nice but they really nickel and dime you on NCL.

[legris]

I was on this cruise that ended sunday morning. 98% of sickness people is completely false; 6% to 10% is probably the reality. And, the captain informed us each day of the situation. He took all measuref or security of the passengers.

 

And, my wife and I were not affected by this virus; we did a excellent cruise.

 

Sorry for my bad english... I am french speaking from Quebec.