To the Masters of the Zaandam and the Rotterdam on April 2, 2020

[rkacruiser]

Sirs:

 

You have brought your ships, crew, and guests into safe harbor.  Those that need help will now receive it.  Those that yearn for the comfort of their own bed at home will have it.  

 

Your crew and yourself have brought much credit to yourselves during this crisis.

 

My wish for both of you, when you retire for the night, is to have a sleep that is as restful as any that you have enjoyed.  You have earned it.  As has the members of your ships' officers and crew.  

[Vict0riann]

I second that!  Well done, Captains.

[Himself]

I agree with you sentiments entirely. Good Job Worthy Masters of these two vessels and a special thanks to the Captain and crew of the Rotterdam for going to the aid of the Zaandam.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks to the captains and crews of the ships.

[doone]

10 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Sirs:

 

You have brought your ships, crew, and guests into safe harbor.  Those that need help will now receive it.  Those that yearn for the comfort of their own bed at home will have it.  

 

Your crew and yourself have brought much credit to yourselves during this crisis.

 

My wish for both of you, when you retire for the night, is to have a sleep that is as restful as any that you have enjoyed.  You have earned it.  As has the members of your ships' officers and crew.  

Totally agree with this post, thank you for posting a positive comment after so much turmoil, frustration and worry for the crew and passengers of these two ships............................thank you and welcome home everyone!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I knew what you meant.

 

Thanks to those captains and crew of those ships.

 

A job well done.

[kazu]

I join you with thanks and appreciation to the captains and all of the hard working crew and an extra thank you to the Rotterdam for reaching out the helpful hand and making some of the Zaandam passengers more comfortable with balcony cabins and fresh air.

[cat shepard]

And thank you to the moderators!

[CCHelp]

11 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Well, I truly screwed up that title for the post!  I meant Zaandam and not Volendam!

 

All fixed -- thank you for your post!

[cat shepard]

11 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Sirs:

 

You have brought your ships, crew, and guests into safe harbor.  Those that need help will now receive it.  Those that yearn for the comfort of their own bed at home will have it.  

 

Your crew and yourself have brought much credit to yourselves during this crisis.

 

My wish for both of you, when you retire for the night, is to have a sleep that is as restful as any that you have enjoyed.  You have earned it.  As has the members of your ships' officers and crew.  

 

I could not have said it better myself. I hope they know how much they are appreciated.

[Copper10-8]

Captain Ane Jan Smit, master of the ms Zaandam

With Holland America Line since 1994, Captain since 2012

 

 

Captain Bas van Dreumel, master of the ms Rotterdam

With Holland America Line since 1998, Captain since 2012

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

The Masters of both ships must be exhausted, physically and emotionally. They feel the burden of being responsible for every person on board. And for the Master of Zaandam to have lost four passengers must weigh heavily on him. (We had a passenger go overboard on QM2 and the next day, I swear the Master had aged 10 years.)  I hope once the passengers are off and the ship is cleaned and hanging out at an anchorage somewhere, the officers can sit and put their feet up.

 

And the crew! They have worked so hard. They deserve all the rest and relaxation they can be given while waiting out the "pause" in cruising. I hope they each get some time in a deck chair. 

 

[Himself]

I agree with you sentiments entirely. Good Job Worthy Masters of these two vessels and a special thanks to the Captain and crew of the Rotterdam for going to the aid of the Zaandam.

[St Pete Cruiser]

Such a relief to see the two ships safely in Port Everglades after all the tension and turmoil.  I had decided not to post on the 80,000+ thread as it was so irate at times.  Thanks especially to Copper John and to the cooler heads for their insights.

[What was that?]

Not to detract in the slightest from the accolades that these Captains and their crews richly deserve, but the HAL organization should share a small part of the credit for the roles they played in supporting the passengers and crews of these ships.

[sail7seas]

5 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

Thanks to the captains and crews of the ships.

Here, here,

 

Job well  done under very difficult  circumstances

 

 

Many lives undoubtedly saved

 

 

 

[Gsel]

We heartedly agree! God bless both and both crews!

[Host Bonjour]

A brilliant job in the most unusual of circumstances; not sure there's much training for this, but all the training there is and the character and experience they have was more than enough to get everyone through this. Thank you!

 

 

[bob brown]

I echo the sentiment's expressed in the above post's wholeheartedly....the oft said:   "It's good to be on a well-run ship", is certainly appropriate for these...

 

I also want to shout out to the "unsung hero's" in the background,  both for the Company, and the various government agencies, for working hard to make it all happen.

[world~citizen]

Everyone on those ships have secured their place in history.

[Copper10-8]

Not the master of the Rotterdam or Zaandam however, this HAL master also, and always, puts his passengers first and genuinely cares for them! A great captain and just a real British gentleman!

 

Captain Jonathan Mercer, was in his very last voyage on HAL prior to his retirement and after twenty five years with HAL, all of them as master. Captain Mercer, like Captains Smit and van Dreumel, was looking for a safe port to disembark his 2020 Grand World Voyage pax. He was ultimately able to do so in Freemantle, Western Australia on March 22nd. 

 

After departing Freemantle, Amsterdam is now a day and a half out of Durban, South Africa, scheduled to arrive there on Sunday, April 5th for bunkering and provisioning

 

All the best to Captain Mercer and the crew of ms Amsterdam and a safe onward journey to Ft. Lauderdale! 

 

[ski ww]

A well done to all involved.

[StLouisCruisers]

A round of applause for Captain Mercer!!

[Belgian fry]

Congratulations indeed to them and to all the other captains out there keeping their passengers and crew safe and happy. We were on the last Koningsdam cruise and were taken such good care of!

[rafinmd]

11 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

All the best to Captain Mercer and the crew of ms Amsterdam and a safe onward journey to Ft. Lauderdale! 

Queen Mary 2 with 264 non-flying passengers had to wait 3 days at anchor to get clearance to refuel in Durban.  Wishing Captain Jonathan much better luck.  He still has himself and his crew he needs to get back home.  I almost wonder with the current situation in Fort Lauderdale he might be better off going to the Netherlands.

 

Roy