Westerdam Feb. 1st 2020 - almost one year ago!

[AllureOfVacation]

I have wanted to write down down this story earlier. Almost one year ago, on Feb. 1. 2020 to be exact, our personal Covid-Story on Westerdam began.

 

In the beginning of January 2020 we got married. At that point I can not remember if I have heard of some kind of new virus yet. But I think I hav heard on the radio that something was happening with an unknown virus in China.

 

Our marriage day was beautiful.

We got married in some kind of little castle which is used as a museum in my hometown, along with our relatives and our closest friends. When I was younger I never thought about being married, especially not to another man instead of a woman.

 

Both of us always wanted to travel to Asia and we also wanted to do another cruise. We saw that 14 nights HAL cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai and we immdiately booked it. The price was so low we could not believe. We have never taken a HAL cruise before, so we were very looking forward to it. Well…little did we know at that point.

 

We travelled to Hong Kong one week before the cruise to have some time to explore.  Meanwhile, short before we travelled to Hong Kong, the Corona-news got more and more, but we decided to fly anyway. The flight was uneventful. When we arrived in Hong Kong we realized almost everyone wore masks. So we immediately went to the next pharmacy and bought 50 masks for around 15 $. The next day masks were out everywhere. There were news on TV with people queuing for hours to buy a mask.

 

We stayed at the Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour on Hong Kong Island. The hotel was clean, modern and service was very good. The breakfast buffet was amazing.  They had a nice penthouse fitness room with a great view. We had a room with a view and could see Kowloon and the port, many cruise ships were to be seen that week. One one picture is also the Westerdam on the morning of Feb. 1. The windows were tinted, so sorry for the colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a few days more and more Covid measurements got active in the hotel. Elevator keys were desinfected, temperature checks at the hotel entrance and so on. But all in all, we felt very safe because everyone handled the situation so well and got along with the measures.

 

We saw a lot in Hong Kong, it is so vibrant. We really want to go there again. We also went to Macao one day. A few days later it was not possible anymore. We checked out different hotels and casinos and wanted to see the historic parts of that place but we were so tired and got back to the ferry to Hong Kong. We also went to Stanley which was quite interesting. I wanted to go to Disneyland, but one day after we arrived it was already closed down! My husband was so happy that we can not need to go to Disney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During that week, we watched a lot of disturbing news and one evening we heard that the virus already made its way to Germany. Then we received the message that the cruise is ending in Yokohama rather in Shanghai so we re-booked the flights and cancelled the hotel in Shanghai. We were almost sure that the cruise is not going to happen. But it was. Again….little did we know!! My husband was sure thre will be no more cruising soon for a long time – well he was so right.

 

So after touring through Hong Kong, eating so many different things, seeing many interesting places it was finally time for the cruise. I was a little sad because I was feeling that Hong Kong vibe and would have loved to walk through the streets for another week. Still, I was not sure if we would really enter the ship. We were already informed that you were not to be in Mainland China like 14 days before. Glad we had a direct flight to Hong Kong, but for many people the cruise was not happening due to that rule.

 

I remember sitting in the ships terminal and one lady was coughing. Everyone was like „NO!!!!!“ and she just said „oh someone has a strong perfume, sorry I had to cough“. When sitting in the terminal my husband and me immediately realized I set the age bar down LOW! My husband is some years older than me, so I really stood out in that guest group.

 

Before entering the ship they checked passports for stamps if anyone was in China before. After getting on the ship we felt somewhat relieved, but still not sure if we are going to leave Hong Kong with this ship. But we did.

 

We booked a Signature Suite Guarantee at such a low price. By the way, our TA was horrible. So horrible I contacted HAL at some point because we wanted to change cabins and the TA was just not able to give us correct information.  They gave us a Signature Suite with a connecting door. So we made our way to Guest Service and it was no problem to change the Suite. I guess many cabins were just left empty. We saw before that the ship had many cabins left for booking and there was now also that 14-day-no-no-China-rule and I guess many people just cancelled by themselves. We also asked if we can pay to upgrade to a Neptune Suite. We had a limit in mind and what they quoted was a little above, so we declined. Glad we did, because I was able to take a look into one during the cruise and size-wise I think the Neptune Suites are just not worth it.

 

But back to topic. Many things happened within the next more than two weeks. Please excuse if I do not get the chronological order correct. There were so many announcements, rumours, posts, news…but first of all: bye bye Hong Kong!

 

 

 

We checked out our suite and were amazed how large it was. And that there were indeed two sinks, a jetted-tub and a very nicely sized balcony. The ship was also nice, but you could feel that it was a little older than the ships we have been on before. But we liked it that it was not a glitzy-dizzy-chandelier-high-end-golden-handrails-ship.

 

 

 

 

 

The first bad news: We can not go to Manila! No way. Sure, everyone was bummed. But imagine, all these workers on the ship who were planning to see their families. Their kids. And they went on working so hard and tried to avoid letting the guests see their frustration. I felt so bad! For us it was just a comfort thing not being able to go there, but for them it was a real personal struggle. We have heard that many family members already travelled to Manila on their own expense. With bags full of surprises, to see their daughters and sons working so hard on the ship.

 

The next stop was Kaoshiung (Taiwan). When I remember correctly, we arrived a day earlier than planned and wanted to make it an overnight stop. We were able to get ashore and we explored the city on our own. Saw some temples, went on a Ferris wheel on a shopping mall for a good view and enjoyed some Taiwanese food and went to lots of cool stores. In the evening, we were told that no one would be able to debark the ship anymore - Covid-related! We had a private guided tour planned for the next day and so had to cancel it, too bad.

 

 

 

Sure, the port of Keelung (near Taipei) was also already cancelled. So we went off to Japan. I was 99,9 % sure we are not able to go there. And surprise, no Japan for us. Everyone was bummed again, but I did not witness anyone who was really stressed with it. There was a positive vibe on the ship. The interaction of the staff with the guests felt very personal.

 

Meanwhile, Busan (Korea) was also already cancelled and now it was time for HAL to make a decision. Well, the rest of the cruise was cancelled and they were now trying to bring this to an end. But – where to go? No one knew. Neither the guests, nor the captain.

 

So we floated around the ocean. The crew was the best! They provided such a good service. We never felt unsafe and they just kept us happy.

 

But still the question, where to go? Some people guessed we go to Guam. But how should Guam have handled that? There was a steady flow of announcements „This is the captain speaking“. Often this was bad news. One time it was like 6am in the morning and that must have been bad news when it is so early. We got the information that we will go to Bangkok. So we re-booked the flights again. The few telephone lines were open for free, and there was free internet (slow…when everyone uses it). After about 100 times trying to get a free line we were able to re-book the flights. We will never do a cruise and book the flights on our own. Lessons learned. Everyone had to be checked for temperature, and again, all passports were collected. They re-checked if really no one was in China before. It was coordinated very well.

 

 

 

 

 

I think it was the next day when we heard the rumor that Bangkok will now not allow us to debark. They even sent us a marine ship that prevented the Westerdam get near the port. What a nice gift. So we cruised next to a marine ship for some hours. With our binoculars in the signature suite we had a very good view. I tried to picture it nicely:

 

 

 

So there was again the question – where are we going now? Meanwhile, many news agencies contacted me on Instagram. I think they looked for the hashtags HAL and Westerdam. I gave an interview to local news station from my hometown. After that I received so many messages from friends and relatives like „YOU ARE NOT REALLY ON THAT SHIP??!“. At work everyone followed my facebook posts like a good book. My boss told me not to worry if I come back later then planned. Wise man, he knew that it will take some days longer. I am very thankful for him that he told me not to worry.

 

There was some kind of crew farewell show one evening. Many many crew members attended and, I think it was the hotel director, talked about that Manila situation. He started crying. Many of the crew started crying, many guests also did. The next evenings there was also an Indonesian and Philippine crew show. They have so talented crew members. I volunteered doing (or better trying to do) some kind of cultural dance with bamboo logs.

 

So many „ding dong ding, this is your captain speaking“ later we learned we are going to Sihanoukville / Cambodia. Some other guests have already been there before. We were so thankful that Cambodia lets us debark.

 

HAL announced to pay for all the flights back and organizing that. Next day, it was planned that everyone is going home. They sent out some testing samples from certain persons to test them on Covid-19, all negative. So were were about to go home!

 

After dinner, everyone had a scarf in the cabin. It was a gift by Cambodia. We were supposed to wave these scarfs the next morning when…..the prime minister arrived. By helicopter, with his whole entourage, also arriving in helicopters. Ever seen helicopters landing next to a cruise ship? The cruise got more weird every moment. There were endless reporters and you could see many Cambodians in the distance out of the port area watching all that.

 

 

So the first guests left the ship. They were brought to a local airport and flown to Phnom Penh from where they started their journey home. And we still did not have our new flight information. The night before we got that information, but it was a connecting flight through Beijing. The information sheet stated „PEK“. So with all that news and rules, we absolutely did not want to connect in PEK. We went to guest service and the very polite staff member said „oooh, no, do not worry, it is not Beijing“. Then she typed it in her computer, her eyes suddnely WIDE open, and off she ran to he back office after she said „OH MY GOD IT IS BEIJING“. When she came back she told us to wait for further information. We would be in a later group.

 

We were allowed to leave the ship. So we went with a shuttle bus to the beach. That place was really some kind of different. All roads were to be re-built, it was so bumpy. So many construction sites, many unfinished buildings. But we were thankful to be there and that we were allowed to leave the ship. The beach was nice, we swam around but it was also blazing hot. Like cooking hot. After swimming into a wooden pallet I went out of the water and we hang out some time in the sand before we got back to the ship.

 

 

Meanwhile, we had new flight information. There were only about 240 guests left on the ship. DING DONG DING – this is your captain speaking: NO ONE CAN LEAVE THE SHIP! No flights tomorrow. WOW! This was after dinner and we just went to the cabin. We go to know some new friends on that cruise and we immediately all headed back to Crows Nest for some kind of personal emergency meeting.

What happened? We learned that one lady was tested positive to Covid-19 when connecting in Malaysia.

 

So the result was: no more flights for the remaining guests, some guests were stuck in Malaysia and many guests were still in Phnom Penh. They were brought to a hotel. We imagined they were in some kind of weird hotel, but more about that later.

 

So now we were on the ship and not allowed to leave. No information when we will go home and no information about what the next steps might be. I once met the captain at night. He looked so worried and stressed out. I told him that he and everyone else is doing a wonderful job.

 

The crew still provided a wonderful service. We shared our fears with them and they were also some kind of worried. But it was the fear oft he unknown. We were just waiting for the next information.

 

We enjoyed the empty ship. Ever been to a dining room with just a few tables occupied? Empty sundeck in the afternoon? Yes! It was bizarre, but what should we have done other than enjoying it? We solved all puzzles with others in the Crows Nest on that cruise by the way. So many time to do so. And they had still so much food on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next we knew was that everyone will be brought back home, but first everyone, crew and guests, have to make a test on Covid-19. This was again organized very well. We were called down in little groups to one of the meeting rooms. There was personnel from the Pasteur Institute Phnom Penh.

  

My name was called before my husbands name, so I went in and I was really nervous. First a temperature check and then one of the institute’s staff, fully wrapped in safety clothing, came with that cotton swab. I thought they were supposed to put that in my mouth, the next moment I had it in my nose and I just thought „WHAT IS THAT NOW?!“. They put it really deep. I wish I knew before. Then they took another sawb for the mouth. The ships card was punched afterwards. When my husband came out 5 minutes later. He was also a little out of it after this experience.

I think it was two days until the results came. So more time for enjoying the empty ship. Again, the HAL crew provided such a good service. Our room attendant was also so friendly, I wish I could recall his name.

 

The Diamond Princess was already docked in Japan for many days with many infected people. So we were lucky as there were no signs of people with symptoms on the Westerdam.

 

The last evening, everyone was invited to the Pinnacle Grill for free. The captain and other important staff members were also there. One day we had a video message from Orlando Ashford on the stateroom TVs. He also made his way to Cambodia.

 

All tests were negative and we were told that the next morning busses will bring us to Phnom Penh. Wait what, busses? Yes. An around 5 hour bus ride to Phom Penh. This was another bumpy experience. But we were thankful that all this was arranged. I was sad to leave the ship, it almost felt a little like a new home. No more spinning classes with those two great trainers, no more empty dining room, no more buffet, no more perfect crew.

 

Staff from embassies built some kind of little offices in the dining room. We talked to them and they gave us some advises. We already contacted them a few days before. Our German embassy was really helpful! We did not know that a picture of us was already in newspapers and on TV. I learned that from friends. My mom cut out all news from the newspapers.

 

The gave us a lunch box and off we went on the busses. We gave a TV interview to a Cambodian news station, shook hands with the Captain, Orlando, and other officers and adminstratives. The cruise was planned for 14 days, but I think it was now already about 17 days until it came to an end.

 

The bus ride was not too bad. They even closed the roads in Phnom Penh for us. That was weird. It seems in the city everyone knew who we are. They were smiling and many waived at us and we drove through all these closed intersections.

 

It was already dark when we arrived at the Sokha Hotel. A huge hotel. Huge, modern, wow. Like a palace. And then we also met those stranded people there that were stuck in Phnom Penh! They were at this luxurious hotel all the time. And we thought they were just in some motel. We were so happy to see familiar faces! And they were also surprised when the busses with us arrived.

The room was huge. I think we were on the second to top floor. We could see the Mekong River. There was a bath tub with a panorama window. The shower was like so huge like it was its own room. And we had one of these fancy toilets with a „backdoor“-cleaner. You could even choose if the water shall oscillate, the pressure and so on. It even had a bum-blow-dryer.

    

 

In the evening there was a meeting in a very huge, elegant meeting room. It was crazy huge. I read that the final of Cambodias Next Topmodel was taped there. Orlando Ashford and his team were giving instructions what will be next. We shall come back the next morning, with all bags packed!

 

In the morning everyone was ready to go and there was a board with hotel room numbers for the first flight. We were on that flight and went back to the room for our bags and got on the bus to the Airport.

 

 

Our chartered plane was a little delayed, but we were trained now with delays. We were supposed to fly from Cambodia to Turkey. And then split into groups to be flown around the globe. The flight was uneventful…until a certain point. Suddenly the on board entertainment went out. When it came back on later, I watched at that map where you can see this little plane and I questions myself why we are flying into the wrong direction. Other people were seeing the same and off went the discussions. No one knew what was happening. The HAL person on board had no clue. The flight attendants tried to calm everyone down. There was no panic or such, but when you are in the middle oft he night in a plane and this plane suddenly turned around for no reason, thats a strange moment.

 

We then landed in Karachi. Pakistan. We were there for a few hours and we were not allowed to leave the plain. My guess was that there was political phone calls and decisions to be made between, HAL, different countries and authorities.

After these hours we were informed that we are going to Amsterdam! There were also some Australians on board. Their facial expressions were easy to read after this new information. We were happy that we fly to a country within the European Union.

 

In Amsterdam, we were greeted in an empty terminal. If I remember correctly there was another temperature check. After sitting in an air craft in the middle row in an economy seat for about 19 hours, I felt like my back is going to crack and my head will explode. I had no more emotions, I just did not care how long this ordeal still might take.

 

We were booked on the next flight to Frankfurt. We sat on the flight and were informed that there was a delay. Oh, a delay. That means nothing to us anymore.

 

When we were home, it felt like a movie ended. So many things happened within the last weeks. It was just crazy. I made many phone calls and I was just so glad to be home again.

 

To sum it up, this cruise was really an adventure. There were many places we missed, but we also learned a lot about ourselves. About what is important and what is not important. I somewhat found some kind of inner peace on that cruise. We got to know so many people – guests and cew. HALs service was exceptional.

 

We received our HAL FCC while still being on the ship. And while everyone we talked to already had their money back from their TA’s of from HAL, our horrible TA took about 16 weeks and a letter from our lawyer to credit us the money back. Our airline was until today not able to send us clear invoices stating the costs for the fees and for the tarif changes itself – we were supposed to get some costs back by HAL, but our airline is not able to fulfill this request.

 

Greetings to everyone who was on that cruise, guests and crew. Thank you HAL for keeping us safe and happy. We will never forget this cruise, or better, this adventure.

 

 If there are some chronological errors – sorry for that. I should have made some notes, but sometimes it was just a little overwhelming. A rollercoaster of news and emotions.

 

With our FCC, which would have been due shortly, we booked a 7night cruise on Niuew Stantedam for summer 2021. Fingers crossed it might happen, but we all knew in 2020 that things can get worse quickly.

 

Our 2020 had many downs. My husband had some waves of back pains while being on the Westerdam. The medical center treated him well, but it turned out to be some symptoms of a multiple myeloma. So 2020 was full of treatments. In December my husband’s father died of Corona. So we have high hopes in 2021, it can only get better and we are eagerly waiting for further truckloads of vaccinations.

 

Keep safe everybody!

Edited January 31, 2021 by AllureOfVacation

[Blazza]

Thank you for sharing. This is a most engaging read and all the very best for a much better 2021.

[oakridger]

Thank you for this write up of your experiences and the pictures!  I really appreciate your positive attitude throughout the cruise and since.  My best wishes for you and your family and may we all be able to travel again soon!

 

Take care,

~Nancy

[Iggysue]

What an adventure!  Thank you so much for telling us about your experience - a very interesting read!

[canadianbear]

Congratulations on your marriage last year!  What an adventure you had for sure.  The staff on HAL are the best and I’m happy you had that experience with them.  
 

As someone already said, you’re attitude was good and got you both through this.  I hope your husband is doing well after his treatments.  
 

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience and the photos. Wishing you both all the best for your future together.  

[kazu]

2 hours ago, AllureOfVacation said:

There were many places we missed, but we also learned a lot about ourselves. About what is important and what is not important. I somewhat found some kind of inner peace on that cruise. We got to know so many people – guests and cew. HALs service was exceptional.

 

I loved your entire post and appreciate your experience but these words said it al to me as it came through over and over in your post.

 

I admire you for what you went through and the attitude you had during it.

 

And what you found important is so important.  So many people need to learn that.  Thank you ❤️ 

[USN59-79]

I really enjoyed your narrative of the Westerdam adventure.  We had a similar experience with some differences.  We stayed on the ship in Sihanoukville until they arranged a flight for us back to Seattle, Washington.  Left the ship about 6:00 AM.  Rather than a bus to Phonm Penh, they flew us there from Sihanoukville on a charter plane.  It was a really bad day.  We stood in about a three hour line to get our luggage to the ticket counter, got our plane tickets, then went upstairs thru customs and immigration, where they stamped our passports as leaving Cambodia.  Then went to the exit terminal to await our plane.  About an hour after it should have arrived I asked the agent there "Where is our plane?"  He replied "I haven't the slightest idea".  We then found that our plane had never left Malaysia for Cambodia.  Back in the terminal waiting around noticed our U.S. Embassy personnel were in deep discussions with the Cambodian authorities.  Apparently, since our passports were already stamped, we could not leave the airport as it implied we had already left the country.  Eventually the embassy people got the Cambodian officials to ignore that bit of legalese.  It was now about 12 hours since we had left the ship.  They arranged busses to take us to a hotel and we went to baggage claim to find our luggage.  We boarded the last bus, drove about an hour thru the city and were dropped off at a hotel.  Took our baggage into the reception area and the bus went away.  People at the front desk said "Who are you?  We know nothing about rooms for you here."  The bus had dropped about 25 of us at the wrong hotel and none of us were told what the right hotel was.  It was about 8 at night now.  No one panicked as we knew that HAL would eventually find and take care of us.  They had a nice bar there, so I bought a double scotch on the rocks and just waited.  After about two hours a bus showed up to take us the really nice hotel where everyone was staying.  HAL and some embassies had desks in the lobby and we were well cared for.  After about 2 days Orlando Ashford showed up with some clerical help and things got organized for our flights home.  We also got the stick-up-the-nose thing from the Pasteur Institute while at the hotel.  Got the results back the next day.  But as I mentioned, the day we left the ship was a really bad day, but things looked up after that.  

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to write about  your Westerdam cruise, and sharing your photos.

You have a great attitude dealing with your adventures.

Congratulations on your marriage last year.

Hope your husband is doing well after his treatment, best wishes for the future.

[AllureOfVacation]

2 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

I really enjoyed your narrative of the Westerdam adventure.  We had a similar experience with some differences.  We stayed on the ship in Sihanoukville until they arranged a flight for us back to Seattle, Washington.  Left the ship about 6:00 AM.  Rather than a bus to Phonm Penh, they flew us there from Sihanoukville on a charter plane.  It was a really bad day.  We stood in about a three hour line to get our luggage to the ticket counter, got our plane tickets, then went upstairs thru customs and immigration, where they stamped our passports as leaving Cambodia.  Then went to the exit terminal to await our plane.  About an hour after it should have arrived I asked the agent there "Where is our plane?"  He replied "I haven't the slightest idea".  We then found that our plane had never left Malaysia for Cambodia.  Back in the terminal waiting around noticed our U.S. Embassy personnel were in deep discussions with the Cambodian authorities.  Apparently, since our passports were already stamped, we could not leave the airport as it implied we had already left the country.  Eventually the embassy people got the Cambodian officials to ignore that bit of legalese.  It was now about 12 hours since we had left the ship.  They arranged busses to take us to a hotel and we went to baggage claim to find our luggage.  We boarded the last bus, drove about an hour thru the city and were dropped off at a hotel.  Took our baggage into the reception area and the bus went away.  People at the front desk said "Who are you?  We know nothing about rooms for you here."  The bus had dropped about 25 of us at the wrong hotel and none of us were told what the right hotel was.  It was about 8 at night now.  No one panicked as we knew that HAL would eventually find and take care of us.  They had a nice bar there, so I bought a double scotch on the rocks and just waited.  After about two hours a bus showed up to take us the really nice hotel where everyone was staying.  HAL and some embassies had desks in the lobby and we were well cared for.  After about 2 days Orlando Ashford showed up with some clerical help and things got organized for our flights home.  We also got the stick-up-the-nose thing from the Pasteur Institute while at the hotel.  Got the results back the next day.  But as I mentioned, the day we left the ship was a really bad day, but things looked up after that.  

Thank you so much for sharing that!

 

Personally, we had no contact to someone who left the ship in the first wave. But we heard some stories of others that things went not very smooth. But your experience is really crazy, especially that they dropped you off at the wrong hotel.

 

 

Your double scotch makes me remember the moment when I ordered a Jägermeister after we were told we can not leave the ship in Sihanoukville. No panic, but we got a little nervous.

 

Thank you all for your nice replies, so good to read.

 

My husband is better by the way, his treatment is not over, but it was a success until now.

 

Sorry for double posting some pictures and some missing or wrong letters, I had no more time to edit after some minutes.

[ski ww]

What an adventure, that is a cruise you'll always remember when you look back at it years from now.

[Sharon in AZ]

Thank you for posting about your cruise experience. I really enjoyed reading it and your pictures. You have such a positive attitude about everything and the situations you were put into that were beyond your control.  Hopefully we can all cruise soon!

[Level six]

Awesome!

 

We were supposed to be on this cruise, but a few days before we cancelled.  I am happy we cancelled, but I am also happy you enjoyed the cruise.

 

We had extensive travel plans for SE Asia after the cruise for 2 months and it would have been a nightmare to figure out all the changes that happened on that cruise.  Fortunately we got all our money back from insurance and HAL.  Happy cruising.  

[FredT]

My wife and i were originally booked on this cruise, but canceled in late December and substituted a 28 day Med/Mid East cruise on NCL instead.  Long story short, it was shortened to a 17 day cruise, (Which was great) and we arrived back at JFK on one of the "last" flights from Dubai after being chased around the Mid East by the virus for 17 days.  Scary, but what a story for the grandchildren!  

 

Ever since then I have looked at this Westerdam trip and said "There but for the grace of god (Or any other deity of your choice) goes I"....

 

Thanks for the writeup

[bobpatj]

We were on the Singapore to Hong segment of the cruise and we’re looking foreword to the Hong Kong to Shanghai segment.  We arrived in Hong Kong a day late, because of the riots, there, and COVID closing everything down, including New Years.  The first segment went without too much thought about the virus in China.

[rkacruiser]

OP,  I appreciate your report.  Most interesting, particularly as you reported the road conditions you experienced in Cambodia between the port and their Capital City.  Not much seems to have changed in that area from what I recall from 2002.  

 

But, my experience--while different from yours--in  Cambodia and Phnom Penh were among the highlights of my Asia Pacific cruise aboard the Volendam.  

[sailingdutchy]

Thank you @AllureOfVacation for you posting about your adventure on the Westerdam , loved your write up and pictures and also @USN59-79 for what you experienced  after leaving Sihanoukville .

 

Like @bobpatj , our good friend  @DeeDee , Jan and Dave and many others we started that cruise in Singapore on Jan 16th , 2020 when the Westerdam came fresh out of the dry dock so she was all Spick and Span ready for another couple of years carrying all of us across the many Oceans . The first 12 days went off without a hitch and had some wonderful tours in Thailand , Cambodia and Vietnam with small groups of friends and had a wonderful time , there really was not a cloud in the sky !

 

Once we reached Halong Bay we received word that we would only be 1 day in Hong Kong instead of a stay over , we were told due to possible riots in the city .  When we landed in HK we just went into the terminal to get some excellent wifi and noticed that all the people who were coming on board ship for the next segment of the cruise were all wearing masks something we had not experienced until that point , it was now Feb 1st and we started  all of a sudden hearing a lot about the Covid - 19 virus on mainland China .

 

Next the captain set course towards Manilla a day where a very large portion of the crew had been looking forward to so they could meet their families and give them all the presents they bought for them for Christmas and the New Year . When we hit the Philippines  International waters in the middle of the night the captain was told we were not allowed to dock in Manilla so instead we than went for an extra day to Kaohsiung , Taiwan which we spend by going on a local bus to a beautiful large Mall to browse around because the next day I had booked a small bus for our group to go to the amazing Buddha Centre and see some other sights . 

So we got up early  and have breakfast to go on shore and I noticed it was really quiet on shoreside and saw  that all of the Entrances were blocked off  with guards .............another "  Very Important Message "  to all cabins from the Captain which we really we started  to get used to and for the next couple of weeks we would say to each other when he came on the radio Oh Oh what are we doing now and where are we going now .............. 

 

( I will first like to share some pictures from these first couple of weeks from tours and our time on board ship and will come back in a little bit with the " End of our Story "  )

 

Tony 😀

 

 

 

 

[sailingdutchy]

Where are we going now was the big question ?????

 

Here we are leaving Taiwan  it is Feb 5th our next Port we were suppose to visit was Keelung ....... Cancelled ..... everybody changing their plans for tours either on their own or with Holland America ....... as per the Captain we are now going to Ishigaki , Japan on a different day than originally scheduled ...........Cancelled !  Japan will not let us in .........word going around about the Cruise ship in Yokohama with the Covid virus on board ........ What will be the next place or who will accept us to dock and disembark ...... Big negotioations going on between Captain , Seattle , US and Dutch Governments ................the Company is doing everything to please all the passengers  as much as possible with all kind of little extras like an hour  "free drinks " or extra bubbly during dinners , special shows and constantly we are being kept up to date either by mail to the cabin or with more and more announcements over the loudspeakers . 

Most people know the Company is doing their very best for all of us and the crew is being supported by the passengers because we are all in the same boat . The Philippino show , late at night was full and a huge success ! . 

 

So now it is Feb 10th , the Captain makes another announcement : " After long talks and negotiations we have 2 possibilities "  which after a little while it becomes clear that it will be either Thailand that will let us come in or Cambodia . In the afternoon of Feb 11th we are being escorted by the Thai Navy and instead of doing 5 knots  just floating around ,we are gaining a lot of speed ........ So the talk is we are going to Bangkok and fly home from there and we are celebrating with a couple of drinks at "Happy Hour " ( see pictures ) ........ On TV the BBC is talking about the Pariah Ship looking for a place to go .............suddenly the ship makes a 180 degree turn and the escort disappears in the sunset . Now we are all guessing  if we are going back to Cambodia or where else ??......... 

 

At last we are being told we are going to Sihanoukville , a large medical team will be coming on board to do testing of temperatures and the people that had been at the doctor the last few days will need to take extra additional tests which are going to be checked in a Phnom Penh  laboratory. We will be divided into smaller groups to disembark and Holland America will be making all arrangements for flights home . 

On the night of Feb 12th there is a wonderful goodbye and farewell party in the showroom from the crew , many are moved to tears , there are speeches and standing ovations which the crew really deserved , they were terrific ! 

 

Feb 13th Ship is docked in Sihanoukville , in the mail we find out what , where and when  ...... announcement from the Captain the Prime Minister is coming to the pier please welcome him enthusiastically . Most of us had received in our cabins a shawl " Made in Cambodia " as present from the Government ..... The helicopter lands right on the pier in front of us ...........

From the different decks and balconies we are all waving with the shawls .

Busses arrive  on the pier to take the first groups to the airport ...........Flowers are being presented to the Captain and Holland America personnel ..........

It will be one more night for us on board ship . 

 

On Feb 14th it is our turn to disembark .........on board are reps from US and Canadian  embassies to answer any questions ....... By bus we go to the airport in Sihanoukville to catch a charter flight to Phnom Penh and from there we were suppose to fly to Kuala Lumpur  than to Incheon  S Korea  , Atlanta and finally Toronto to arrive a day and a half or so later ..............

We stand in line in front of the counter for the plane to KL ........standing there for at least 2  hours , nobody there to check any of us in ......... there will be NO flight to Kuala Lumpur supposedly the day before a lady in the first group had the virus  so NOBODY  could go to Malaysia .........  there are busses being called in to take people from the airport to a Hotel where HAL will take care of us and new arrangements are being made ............In the Departure Hall there are the embassy people and a few reps from Holland A .  sitting behind tables working the phones .......our good friend Deb said lets stand in line Tony see what they can do for us ........ so we stand in line for at least another hour or so  ( see picture from Dutch newspaper )  and we are being helped by Sidney ( hope I have her name right ) from HAL who asked the three of us where do you need to go ........ after some 15 minutes talking to airlines she gave us our new arrangements  and to make a very long story short , we received great Premium Economy Seats for a much better flight to S Korea and than direct to Toronto after a 10 hour layover , we are forever grateful to Sidney.............. Great arrangement specially if I compare those with people that went to the hotel and were there for a few more days ., some days you were allowed to go out other days not .  

 

This was a cruise to remember , family and friends were quite worried about us but we had a great time , made some very nice friends and have a story to tell for a long , long time ............ Thank you Holland America and a special Thank You to Deb for your help and your friendship ! 

 

Sorry it is such a long story , tried to keep it as short as possible , but hope you all got the feeling of being on the Westerdam in Asia  on the Phantom Cruise ship .............! 

 

Few more pictures :

 

Tony 

 

 

 

[sailingdutchy]

So sorry for the upside down pictures , did not know how to correct  that  and was not going to fool around with them because of the length of the post .

 

[Vict0riann]

Thank you to @AllureOfVacation and all who posted about your adventures last year!  Really rivals the stories of the people on the World Cruise.  At least we can say "All's well that ends well"  it was so wonderful that no one came down with that dreadful virus.   Well done, Holland America and all who sail on her.😄

 

You will all be able to tell stories for years to come!

[AllureOfVacation]

@sailingdutchy thank so much for posting your story. It is so interesting to read different stories. Almost everyone has some more things to tell what happened to them after disembarkation

I am glad the first segment was better!

It must have been an interesting sight when you saw all the masks in the ships terminal in HK the first time.

 

 

Do you remember when the embassies were on board in the dining room? Was it the day before the prime minister came by helicopter?

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by AllureOfVacation

[USN59-79]

One thing I didn't mention is that after we checked the list of those who were flying out each morning we could go exploring in Phnom Penh.  U.S. dollars were preferred and we first took a ferry across the river.  There were taxis, but we preferred tuk tuks.  There were two kinds: those with the two wheels attached to the motorcycle and those that were towed by the motorcycle.  Here is an example of the second type.

[USN59-79]

Sorry for the inverted picture.  I have no idea how to change it once it is inserted into a post.

[sailingdutchy]

2 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Sorry for the inverted picture.  I have no idea how to change it once it is inserted into a post.

You probably saw it happened on a few of mine also and I did not want to fool around with them otherwise I might have had to type my whole story all over again .

[AllureOfVacation]

 

I just browsed some pictures and found this one, us leaving the ship, shaking hands with Orlando Ashford

 

 

one of many puzzles. It was like yoga for my mind

Edited February 3, 2021 by AllureOfVacation

[sailingdutchy]

7 hours ago, AllureOfVacation said:

 

I just browsed some pictures and found this one, us leaving the ship, shaking hands with Orlando Ashford

 

 

one of many puzzles. It was like yoga for my mind

 

I sure spend some good time around the puzzle table specially late at night when there was nobody left in the crows nest . It was quite busy there specially on all of our "Extra " Sea days  .