News on the Westerdam

[Rowsby]

9 minutes ago, bobpatj said:

We don't seem to be heading to Singapore, now, but the Captain is to give us updates this afternoon.

 

I hope you get some good news soon.....:)

 

From Twitter.....this is Lorraine....who is on the Westerdam.....making the best of an unusual situation....

 

 

[ryndam]

4 hours ago, JennysUncle said:

Crystal Symphony is near Westerdam off Vietnam, but is heading more south, and it's AIS reports Singapore 

We are on Crystal Symphony now. Unless something unusual happens in the next couple of days, we are scheduled to arrive Singapore on 2/12. We can stay onboard until 2/15, the day this segment was originally scheduled to end in Hong Kong. Guests that want to leave sooner have been advised not to book ongoing travel plans any earlier than noon 2/13.

 

Rob

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, Viv0828 said:

 

every time i see this sort of remark i see red. i would be in a psychological panic. i may be getting all my physical needs met, but there is more to that in a person.

some people may be enjoying an exciting adventure and others may be feeling like they are in prison - a luxourious prison but prison nonetheless. 

please don't judge all people by your likes and dislikes.

 

Perhaps those with such anxiety self-selected and did not go on the cruise (similar to your own decision). It seems like all those we are hearing from are doing fine, having fun and praising the staff and crew.

 

[shrimp56]

You know, we all respond differently. No judgement is needed.  BTW the judging going on here is why I seldom come to cruise critic. I wish Westie and her passengers and crew a safe landing. Over and out.

Edited February 10, 2020 by shrimp56

[Viv0828]

8 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Perhaps those with such anxiety self-selected and did not go on the cruise (similar to your own decision). It seems like all those we are hearing from are doing fine, having fun and praising the staff and crew.

 

 

perhaps some folks are not having a good time. i too would probably praise the staff, the food and the entertainment, but i would not want to be there. i cruise for the ports - the ship is my way of easily getting around. a "cruise to nowhere" would not be something i would choose.

remember, we are all individuals with different likes and dislikes. what one person enjoys, another may intensely dislike. 

plus, i recall only hearing from a few folks - not much of a sample size.

[Level six]

Agree, why does this one poster continue to say mean and condescending things to people regarding this situation when she did not have a vested interest in this matter (like being booked on one of the cruises that are affected right now)?   

 

Everyone needs to just respect others decisions and either help and/or encourage people.  

[Viv0828]

12 minutes ago, shrimp56 said:

You know, we all respond differently. No judgement is needed.  BTW the judging going on here is why I seldom come to cruise critic. I wish Westie and her passengers and crew a safe landing. Over and out.

 

well said! 

[Viv0828]

8 minutes ago, Level six said:

Agree, why does this one poster continue to say mean and condescending things to people regarding this situation when she did not have a vested interest in this matter (like being booked on one of the cruises that are affected right now)?   

 

i would hypothesize she wishes she were in the "middle of the action" rather than posting on land.or perhaps she lacks empathy when others see things differently than she does. just guesses.  damn crystal ball isn't working again!!

i'm happy we are on land!

i wish all the best for the passengers and the overworked crew on all the affected ships.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Viv0828

[3rdGenCunarder]

16 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

 

perhaps some folks are not having a good time. i too would probably praise the staff, the food and the entertainment, but i would not want to be there. i cruise for the ports - the ship is my way of easily getting around. a "cruise to nowhere" would not be something i would choose.

remember, we are all individuals with different likes and dislikes. what one person enjoys, another may intensely dislike. 

plus, i recall only hearing from a few folks - not much of a sample size.

 

It's true it's a small sample size, but it's usually the unhappy passengers we hear from first and that hasn't happened this time. I don't know why,  and I am not trying to judge anyone. It's just something I noticed.   When there have been problems on other ships (not necessarily HAL), someone always manages to post a complaining video that gets picked up and circulated around the internet and on the news. There have been some from the Diamond, I believe, but not Westy. 

[Germancruiser]

At least the passengers on Westerdam can enjoy they ship like they were on a regular cruise! There worse situations because of the CV. Very much worse.

The situation for those on Diamons Princess are much more dire.

[edgee]

2 hours ago, Viv0828 said:

 

we have a yearly policy from geo blue. you can google it to see if it is appropriate for what you need. we have never made a claim but it has excellent reviews.

Unfortunately Geo Blue is unavailable to folks who live in some states including NY and Maryland.

[cruisemom42]

32 minutes ago, Level six said:

Agree, why does this one poster continue to say mean and condescending things to people regarding this situation when she did not have a vested interest in this matter (like being booked on one of the cruises that are affected right now)?   

 

Everyone needs to just respect others decisions and either help and/or encourage people.  

 

I have certainly not meant to say anything mean or condescending!?!?!?  Sorry if that is how you are reading it.

 

And I do certainly have "skin in the game" as my 14-day cruise on Westie around Japan will (hopefully) depart April 11....

 

 

[plettza]

54 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

And I do certainly have "skin in the game" as my 14-day cruise on Westie around Japan will (hopefully) depart April 11....

 

 

 

I'm on Westie after your cruise leaving 25th of April.

 

Like you, I have trouble comprehending the hyperbole being propagated in this thread.  If I'm not mistaken, Westerdam is still sailing within its original timeframe, i.e. it hasn't been sailing longer than it was scheduled to.  No one onboard has exhibited coronavirus symptoms.  No one has been confined to their cabins.  Beer, scotch and wine is still flowing.  Early- and late-sitting dining is still occurring.  The pool is still relaxing.  The shows running on schedule.

 

What I see is the only difference is people missed Westerdam's scheduled ports?  Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

For HAL to offer cruise credits is great and that's all they really should be offering from my perspective.  For those claiming only cruise credits, refunds and $10000 compensation will cut it, I'd say take a spoonful of concrete and harden up.  If you took shore excursions that aren't HAL's, talk to your insurer about getting a refund.

 

And no, I'm not a Carnival Corp shareholder nor have I ever sailed with HAL so I'm not an apologist for them.  But geez, this HAL-owes-me-the-world mentality from some of the posts here is ridiculous.

 

A bad day's cruising is better than a good day's work.

 

I'd be pretty upset if Westerdam ran out of scotch though.

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by plettza

[Wehwalt]

Were the issue merely one of travel arrangements, I am sure that would be only a minor distraction to the enjoyment of the Westerdam. But given the circumstances--and given what is going on regarding the Diamond Princess--I would not consider it unusual if some of the passengers spend early morning hours in worried contemplation of whether there will be quarantine on arrival, and, perhaps, no one is going to be overwhelmingly eager to sit next to the gentleman with a slight cough at dinner.

[teamflames]

I am surprised that those who are so convinced there is no virus onboard are not booking last minute cruises, the advertised rates for the Westie will never be so low.

For myself (have a cruise on another line from Singapore in April) I would not dare as matters stand and if circumstances are similar I will be cancelling. They cannot test on the ship (so quoted from HAL and others that the ship is virus free is meaningless to me) and correct me if I am wrong but Princess did not self quarantine, the authorities did so when they heard that a DISEMBARKED passenger had the virus, so we don’t know how Princess would have proceeded if it had to make its won decision.

[MAVIP]

11 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Kuala Lumpur? Singapore? Or, seen the course of the W, maybe Laem Chabang? At midnigth PST HAL will have the answer.

Westerdam Update: Westerdam is sailing for Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand, where the current cruise that departed Feb. 1st will end on Thursday, February 13th. Guests will be disembarking in Laem Chabang and transferring to Bangkok for their forward travel home. This new schedule has been communicated to guests on board. The cruise was previously scheduled to disembark Feb. 15th in Yokohama, Japan.

All guests will receive a 100% refund for the 14-day sailing, as well as a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

Following the disembarkation of guests, Westerdam will depart Laem Chabang. The Feb. 15th cruise scheduled to embark in Yokohama has been cancelled. No cancellations for cruises with departure dates beyond February 15th have been announced at this time. However, we are assessing the impact of current port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing Feb. 29th or later. We will communicate details as they become finalized in the next few days. The latest information will continue to be posted under the News & Travel Advisory section of hollandamerica.com.

Again, we sincerely thank our guests and the crew on Westerdam — and their loved ones — for their patience during this extraordinary time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the recent update.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the update.

Safe travels to all.

[DeeniEncinitas]

2 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Westerdam Update: Westerdam is sailing for Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand, where the current cruise that departed Feb. 1st will end on Thursday, February 13th. Guests will be disembarking in Laem Chabang and transferring to Bangkok for their forward travel home. This new schedule has been communicated to guests on board. The cruise was previously scheduled to disembark Feb. 15th in Yokohama, Japan.

All guests will receive a 100% refund for the 14-day sailing, as well as a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

Following the disembarkation of guests, Westerdam will depart Laem Chabang. The Feb. 15th cruise scheduled to embark in Yokohama has been cancelled. No cancellations for cruises with departure dates beyond February 15th have been announced at this time. However, we are assessing the impact of current port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing Feb. 29th or later. We will communicate details as they become finalized in the next few days. The latest information will continue to be posted under the News & Travel Advisory section of hollandamerica.com.

Again, we sincerely thank our guests and the crew on Westerdam — and their loved ones — for their patience during this extraordinary time.

Thankyou so much for the current update on the Westerdam! I am really happy to hear HAL refunding 💯 % Cruise and FCC!

Denise😊

[ger_77]

3 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Westerdam Update: Westerdam is sailing for Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand, where the current cruise that departed Feb. 1st will end on Thursday, February 13th. Guests will be disembarking in Laem Chabang and transferring to Bangkok for their forward travel home. This new schedule has been communicated to guests on board. The cruise was previously scheduled to disembark Feb. 15th in Yokohama, Japan.

All guests will receive a 100% refund for the 14-day sailing, as well as a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

Following the disembarkation of guests, Westerdam will depart Laem Chabang. The Feb. 15th cruise scheduled to embark in Yokohama has been cancelled. No cancellations for cruises with departure dates beyond February 15th have been announced at this time. However, we are assessing the impact of current port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing Feb. 29th or later. We will communicate details as they become finalized in the next few days. The latest information will continue to be posted under the News & Travel Advisory section of hollandamerica.com.

Again, we sincerely thank our guests and the crew on Westerdam — and their loved ones — for their patience during this extraordinary time.

Wishing everyone onboard (guests and crew) the very best as they continue their journeys.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Moparop]

Another Westerdam related update:

 

my parents are on the ship and I just called Delta to rearrange their flights. I was honest with the agent and said they had been in HK on 1-31 and 2-1 before boarding the ship. Delta checked specifically to see if there would be issues with them flying through Korea and there were none. They are able to fly home the day they get off the ship, with a layover in Korea, straight to their destination city. 

[iancal]

I think that this talk about litigation, class action litigation, and ‘panic’ is silly.  Not unexpected because America is such a litigious country.

 

Despite what anyone thinks about whether it was or was not prudent to dock in Hong Kong, I believe that HAL will do the right thing for their customers.  

Corporate wheels can grind a little slower than people may like.  Partially, in my experience, because everything has to be vetted by legal once the executives have selected a course of action/resolution.

Edited February 10, 2020 by iancal

[bobpatj]

We're so pleased to know, at last, where we will be going and disembarking.  We all had our temperatures taken this afternoon and we haven't heard of anyone who didn't pass the test.  Got to think about packing, now.

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, bobpatj said:

We're so pleased to know, at last, where we will be going and disembarking.  We all had our temperatures taken this afternoon and we haven't heard of anyone who didn't pass the test.  Got to think about packing, now.

 

We are all happy for you and everyone else on board 😄 

Safe travels home.

[Viv0828]

glad things are settling down and hope everything works out as planned.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Viv0828