Volendam to house Ukrainian refugees for 3 months

[albingirl]

50 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

And just how are you so certain? Based on what I’ve read,  CCL is being compensated quite nicely by the government. Given the latest financial release, If CCL was spending “boatloads of money”  that would be  irresponsible to the shareholders no matter how nice a gesture. 
 

 

While this thought may make you feel good, it is a very naive perspective on how things work in the real world.

 

Thank you for your thoughtful and kind insight.

 

52 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

And just how are you so certain? Based on what I’ve read,  CCL is being compensated quite nicely by the government. Given the latest financial release, If CCL was spending “boatloads of money”  that would be  irresponsible to the shareholders no matter how nice a gesture. 
 

 

While this thought may make you feel good, it is a very naive perspective on how things work in the real world.

 

Thanks for your kind assistance in showing me how life really works.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, albingirl said:

Thank you for your thoughtful and kind insight.

 

Thanks for your kind assistance in showing me how life really works.

My pleasure

[KirkNC]

All those unaffected by the decision think it’s wonderful.  All those who had a cruise canceled out from under them are not as magnanimous.  Those who think HAL is doing it for free are being misled.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

All those unaffected by the decision think it’s wonderful.  All those who had a cruise canceled out from under them are not as magnanimous.  Those who think HAL is doing it for free are being misled.

It is always about whose ox is being gored but I have seen my hometown community served by CCL in the past.  Truth is, paid or not, they are willing.  Some entities may  instead take the attitude of not in my neighborhood.   

[MAVIP]

17 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

I agree that this is a great gesture for the refugees, but also one that has a great PR spin for HAL and CCL.  I also agree with one of the earlier posters that HAL may not have been so quick to offer up the Volendam if it was heavily booked the entire charter period.  The charter agreement with Rotterdam likely will result in more net revenue than would have been realized if cruising the same time period.  It's not a bad thing to follow the money, especially after all the losses during COVID, but it certainly is a raw deal for those who were booked on the ship.

 

Question:  Does anyone know if the Volendam was converted to connect to shore power so it can power down all or most of its engines while docked?  

Other dutchmen on CC might be able to confirm what I think is the situation in this respect: Rotterdam is still in the phase of developing shore power at the cruise terminal for cruise ships. I lack the knowledge of the situation in the cargo port Merwehaven where the Volendam docked this morning. 

[MikeD4134]

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

All those unaffected by the decision think it’s wonderful.  All those who had a cruise canceled out from under them are not as magnanimous.  Those who think HAL is doing it for free are being misled.

My cruise was canceled and I have no problem with their decsion.  Yes it sucks that I had to spend 12 hours online and on the phone yesterday, canceling tours, hotels, flights, transfers, insurance, and then redo all for a new cruise.  Life is life, one reason I am always happy is when I get up every morning, just like you I make a plan for the day, where I differ from most people is I know I will change that plan 100's of times, most people think their plan is going to work.  This is not a judgement of Kirk just a general observation.  I have no idea how Kirk thinks.

[AncientWanderer]

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

All those unaffected by the decision think it’s wonderful.  All those who had a cruise canceled out from under them are not as magnanimous.  Those who think HAL is doing it for free are being misled.

 

There might be some magnanimous people who had their cruise canceled.

[albingirl]

53 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

There might be some magnanimous people who had their cruise canceled.

It is obviously difficult for a number of people.  We had several cruises canceled during this pandemic, and had to cancel European flights, hotels, and so on.  We get it.  However, I know we never got angry about it amidst all the inconvenience.  I have been called naive on this thread, but can assure you that I have learned all about life's upheavals and truly believe this is a kind gesture on HAL's part.  No matter who is paying for it.

[AncientWanderer]

22 minutes ago, albingirl said:

It is obviously difficult for a number of people.  We had several cruises canceled during this pandemic, and had to cancel European flights, hotels, and so on.  We get it.  However, I know we never got angry about it amidst all the inconvenience.  I have been called naive on this thread, but can assure you that I have learned all about life's upheavals and truly believe this is a kind gesture on HAL's part.  No matter who is paying for it.

 

Yeah...anger isn't really a helpful response.  But I get why fuses are short, after all the quarantines and uncertainty of the last couple years.  It''s been very hard on everyone.  But...seems like we all better stay flexible and roll with the punches, or we may end up with an end to our favorite pastime.  It's really scary to think that the cruise lines have had to deal with the pandemic, a war in Europe, fuel shortages, and runaway inflation.  Any one of those would be a strain.  

 

The gamblers are annoying onboard, with all the smoking, and the cancelled cruises with chartered out ships are a pain, but we sure don't want to see the end of cruising.

 

That's just what's on my mind, FWIW.

[ontheweb]

I wonder if anyone complaining about their inconvenience in this situation is comparing what they are going through to what the Ukrainians being driven out of their country are experiencing. 

[kazu]

4 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

There might be some magnanimous people who had their cruise canceled.

 

There are 😉. Many are disappointed understandably and frustrated with the difficulty in wait times, delays, etc on trying to get their cruises cancelled or transferred along with the work of planning and having to cancel but they completely understand and are sympathetic to the Ukrainians.  I’m on such a roll call 😉 

 

 

[RynoWally]

I'm not sure how people find the time to complain about people complaining, don't you know that there is a war going on, and their are alot of Ukrainian people who are displaced right now? You really should stop and think is it really worth complaining about complainers, I wonder if they even care about the refugees? OMG

[Sea42]

44 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I wonder if anyone complaining about their inconvenience in this situation is comparing what they are going through to what the Ukrainians being driven out of their country are experiencing. 

Of course, our inconvenience is nothing compare to war refugees! Do you seriously think all of us who are dealing with our cancellations are just heartless, selfish monsters? But we are capable of not being thrilled with how we've been treated through this process (still no notice from HAL) while still feeling awful for those whose lives and homes are in ruins.

Many people are capable of having two thoughts and feelings at the same time. I would have thought most people could grasp that concept but I have been proven wrong.

[BermudaBound2014]

3 hours ago, albingirl said:

I have been called naive on this thread, but can assure you that I have learned all about life's upheavals and truly believe this is a kind gesture on HAL's part.  No matter who is paying for it.

 

You first claimed you were certain cCL is paying out big money and then specifically stated “I don’t think there is anything but a humanitarian effort involved.”  That statement is naive.  While a humanitarian effort could easily be part of the decision making process, one only needs to read the official press release to realize there are many variables In play. 
 

I noticed you have now added the caveat “no matter who is paying” which is a step in the right direction. 

 

 

   On 4/1/2022 at 6:28 AM,  albingirl said: 

I don't think that there is anything but a humanitarian effort involved…

[RynoWally]

6 minutes ago, RynoWally said:

I'm not sure how people find the time to complain about people complaining, don't you know that there is a war going on, and their are alot of Ukrainian people who are displaced right now? You really should stop and think is it really worth complaining about complainers, I wonder if they even care about the refugees? OMG

I would like to file a complaint against people complaining about complainers.

[RynoWally]

3 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Of course, our inconvenience is nothing compare to war refugees! Do you seriously think all of us who are dealing with our cancellations are just heartless, selfish monsters? But we are capable of not being thrilled with how we've been treated through this process (still no notice from HAL) while still feeling awful for those whose lives and homes are in ruins.

Many people are capable of having two thoughts and feelings at the same time. I would have thought most people could grasp that concept but I have been proven wrong.

Sea 42, not sure you read my post, but it was totally tongue in cheek. It was about everyone on here condemning people who were complaining about the cancellation, getting lambasted with "not caring about refugees or not caring that there was a war going on" pp loan and simple the problem is with HAL and for the way this was handled. That's it, to hit back at someone talking about Ukraine this and Ukraine that, is a little unfair. I challenge anyone on here to point out any part of a thread where someone was happy that there is a war going on and there are displaced people. I'll wait

[ski ww]

If the only problem we have is having to change our cruise arrangement because HAL is taking one of their ships out of the line up then we have no problems. There are lots of people out there who wished that they had those kind of problems. I thank God every day that we can still enjoy a cruise, travel to other parts of the world, see history. If you really think about it, the ancient world was all about conflict, the great civilizations that ruled the world and are now gone, conquered by others and in turn conquered themselves. 

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Of course, our inconvenience is nothing compare to war refugees! Do you seriously think all of us who are dealing with our cancellations are just heartless, selfish monsters? But we are capable of not being thrilled with how we've been treated through this process (still no notice from HAL) while still feeling awful for those whose lives and homes are in ruins.

Many people are capable of having two thoughts and feelings at the same time. I would have thought most people could grasp that concept but I have been proven wrong.

I noticed a lot more complaining that the Carnival Corporation might be making some money on this than any compassion for Ukranian refugees.

[Sea42]

11 hours ago, RynoWally said:

Sea 42, not sure you read my post, but it was totally tongue in cheek. It was about everyone on here condemning people who were complaining about the cancellation, getting lambasted with "not caring about refugees or not caring that there was a war going on" pp loan and simple the problem is with HAL and for the way this was handled. That's it, to hit back at someone talking about Ukraine this and Ukraine that, is a little unfair. I challenge anyone on here to point out any part of a thread where someone was happy that there is a war going on and there are displaced people. I'll wait

@RynoWally my apologies! I did misread the intention of your post.

Sorry for being prickly at you!

[MAVIP]

12 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I noticed you have now added the caveat “no matter who is paying” which is a step in the right direction. 

   On 4/1/2022 at 6:28 AM,  albingirl said: 

I don't think that there is anything but a humanitarian effort involved…

Is n't this what can happen with different meanings during a discussion?

[Torquer]

I now have to wonder if HAL is going to be doing the same thing with another ship(s).  If it is, I suspect it would be to one of the ships not yet in service doing cruises (just like Volendam was).  As I understand it, that includes:  Zaandam, Noordam, Westerdam, and Oosterdam.  Zaandam is another older ship like the Volendam, so that might be the first choice.

 

This is pure speculation on my part.  But it certainly does make me think about what could happen to our upcoming cruise this summer on the Oosterdam.

[kangforpres]

On 4/1/2022 at 8:31 AM, MikeD4134 said:

I am on the May 29th sailing and this sucks.

 

Does it suck as bad as being a Ukrainian war refugee?

[BermudaBound2014]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I noticed a lot more complaining that the Carnival Corporation might be making some money on this than any compassion for Ukranian refugees.

 

Was anyone really complaining that Carnival might be making money? That's both heartless and childish. Of course CCL is profiting from this charter arrangement. It's a business. That doesn't make CCL evil. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[albingirl]

12 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Was anyone really complaining that Carnival might be making money? That's both heartless and childish. Of course CCL is profiting from this charter arrangement. It's a business. That doesn't make CCL evil. 

I think this thread has run it's course.

[MikeD4134]

9 hours ago, kangforpres said:

 

Does it suck as bad as being a Ukrainian war refugee?

Did I mention anything about the poor folks in the Ukraine?  No, I simply commented that 12 hours online and on the phone canceling Flights, Tours, Hotels, Transfers, etc. was going to suck. Which it did.  I made no reference to HAL's decision, which I totaly agree with, nor did I equate my situation with the suffering of the people of Ukraine.   Where do you get off judging me.  The folks that reacted to this post agreeing with this person who knows nothing about me, same question, Where do you get off judging me.

Edited April 4, 2022 by MikeD4134
Add information