Westerdam Problem??? is this true

[Hlitner]

On 7/18/2022 at 2:11 AM, wenzi said:

Got off the ship today, felt exactly the same as ChitoFiggins. The unstopped rough cruise in the last two days caused both me and my younger one sea sick. The $100 onboard credit doesn't feel genuine apology from the cruise line. 

Ahhhhh, poor baby!   While one can question mechanical breakdowns (was it the result of deferred maintenance or just bad luck) I think it is ridiculous to blame HAL (or any line) for rough seas.  Rough seas can happen anywhere and there is often no practical way to avoid it!   Cruise lines use sophisticated forecasting and even subscribe to third party companies who use sophisticated computer models to predict sea conditions and recommend the best routing.  

 

How would you expect a ship to avoid rough seas that might extend for hundreds of miles in all directions?  The safest place for a ship in bad weather is out to sea!  Having been an active cruiser for over 45 years I can assure you (from our own experience) that really rough seas (and I am talking about 10 meter+ swells and waves) can happen to any ship or line.  In many cases all they can do is "batten down the hatches,"  issue warnings to passengers, and use seamanship to try and minimize ship movement (difficult to do in truly rough seas).   On our many cruises we have also heard a lot of passenger whining when we are just in moderate seas.  As long as DW and I are able to walk around the ship we know things are not too rough.  In those rare cases when walking is very difficult, one should sit down (or lay down) and just enjoy the wild ride.  

 

Hank

[luvteaching]

As stated earlier I was on this cruise (#21 to Alaska) and the seas were definitely not what I would define as rough. I've had worse on the Amsterdam across the Gulf of Alaska to and from Anchorage! Friday night it was a bit rocky but this was close to midnight and I noticed creaking but nothing much in the way of movement. Monday there were bags out at the elevators but the motion I experienced wasn't bad at all. I expected more on Saturday especially and it felt relatively smooth. Others may not feel that way and I understand that but it defintely wasn't huge swells, ship rocking, etc. on Saturday. 

Karen

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, luvteaching said:

As stated earlier I was on this cruise (#21 to Alaska) and the seas were definitely not what I would define as rough. I've had worse on the Amsterdam across the Gulf of Alaska to and from Anchorage! Friday night it was a bit rocky but this was close to midnight and I noticed creaking but nothing much in the way of movement. Monday there were bags out at the elevators but the motion I experienced wasn't bad at all. I expected more on Saturday especially and it felt relatively smooth. Others may not feel that way and I understand that but it defintely wasn't huge swells, ship rocking, etc. on Saturday. 

Karen

We have little time for the onboard whiners about rough seas and "rocky boats."  This is what being on a ship is all about and you cannot handle it than go hide in your cabin or stay home!   Whenever I see posts on CC where folks are asking, a year in advance, "how rough will it be on my cruise"  I find it laughable.  It is like asking, "will there be a cloud over my home next Jan 3?").  Ships are upon the sea, the sea will move when it does, and when the seas move so will the ships!   I will admit that the few times when I had to hold on (in bed or in a chair) were not pleasant but it does happen.  What I really dislike is when it is too rough to drink hot coffee or sip a martini :).  When we had a conversation with a Seabourn bar tender about the Drake Passage (one of roughest places in the world) she said, "it often gets too rough to use martini glasses."   I thought that was a great comment but how sad.  Holding on to the bar (to keep from falling) and sipping a martini out of a 12 ounce  glass is not my idea of fun.  But you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

Hank

 

[chengkp75]

Until they wet down the tablecloths to keep the dishware from sliding and serve the soup in cups, it ain't rough.

[rkacruiser]

Want to try an angry sea?  Try a crossing of the North Pacific in late September in the lee of a typhoon.  Waves going over the top of the Crow's Nest when I was in the Volendam's Crow's Nest.  

[Seasick Sailor]

All is fixed now on westerdam.

[BetsyS.]

2 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

All is fixed now on westerdam.

Thanks for sharing that. Great news!  😊

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Want to try an angry sea?  Try a crossing of the North Pacific in late September in the lee of a typhoon.  Waves going over the top of the Crow's Nest when I was in the Volendam's Crow's Nest.  

Rotterdam 2002? 

[LCB1108]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:55 PM, ChitoFiggins said:

Do not pick this cruise line!!!! Out of 4 stops we made 2 beacuse of some

sort of engine damage. Still, while the engine damage did not prevent from stopping in Victoria, Canada, they chose not to allow the passangers to get off. The company policy makes no sense for the passangers. The cruise stayed 2 extra hours in Sitka, but the passengers were not allowed to stay off the boat. We are also arriving earlier than scheduled to Seattle, which is time the passangers could have used to get off in Victoria. But the mentality of the cruise line is to solve their issue at the expense of the customers experiencie. In the end we made 2 stops out of 4 and stayed the rest of the time at sea. In exchange we received a $100 credit for 2 missed stops. Really?? This is an embarassment.  Do not trust Holland America. 
 

By the way, the feeling among the great majority of the passengers is similar to what I have expressed.  For example, cruise director had to cancel a scheduled “meet the captain” activity after it had alteady begun when passengers started to ask sensible questions that the captain could not (or did not want to) answer regarding what they felt was misinformation and a complete disregard of their situation, creating an unwarranted angry passengers confrontation situation that could have been easily avoided.

 

[LCB1108]

Yeah we were on this cruise, and it was ridiculous the small compensation offered.   Once the failure occurred, they cared nothing about the group who was on the ship.  All they wanted to do was get us off.   As always the staff were very good, and even they were embarrassed for what happened.   Now the HA Brand Ambassador (Seth) has been let go.  My guess is they are completely out of money and the ships are not even close to full.  HA's time may have already passed.  

[rkacruiser]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:41 PM, RuthC said:

Rotterdam 2002? 

 

Volendam, September, 2002 was my experience.  You may be remembering a Rotterdam VI crossing a few years later to Europe that encountered a storm where friends on that crossing were told to sit on the floors and not in chairs while water poured into a breach that somehow occurred into the Main Theater.  

 

 

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Volendam, September, 2002 was my experience.  You may be remembering a Rotterdam VI crossing a few years later to Europe that encountered a storm where friends on that crossing were told to sit on the floors and not in chairs while water poured into a breach that somehow occurred into the Main Theater.  

 

 

That was Rotterdam 2003; I was on that cruise. The waves breached the watertight doors on Upper Promenade, then cascaded down the stairs in front of the stage in the main theatre. The entire carpet in the theatre was flooded. 
In the dining room people were toppled over in their chairs. 

It was 38 consecutive hours of 45' seas. What a ride! 
It was during that cruise I heard about the Pacific crossing I thought was the previous year. But I could be wrong as to which ship it was. I remember Perry Grant telling me he was grabbing his lifevest and ready to head to the lifeboats at any moment. 

Thanks for confirming it was 2002 that was the year of the dangerous Pacific crossing. 

[bluesplayer]

Solution to rough seas from a HA bartender:

   When you feel a bit nauseated from rough seas, have a cocktail.  The motion is not as bothersome.  It worked for me in 30ft swells in Mexico.  I had doubts about that as I thought I was loose my cookies before the cocktail...  it worked!!!  Always believe your HA bartender!!  

Sailing and cruising = seas..  both smooth and rough.   

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, RuthC said:

The waves breached the watertight doors on Upper Promenade

Just a fine point, Ruth, there are no watertight doors on the Upper Promenade, nor do I believe there are any in passenger areas.  The doors to the outside decks are "weathertight", not "watertight", the distinction being that the door is designed to keep rain, snow, and spray from getting inside, but are not designed to be submerged and hold back the water.  Watertight doors require a sealing lip on the frame, a rubber gasket on the door, and a set of clamps around the door that clamp the door firmly into the frame.  Watertight doors also do not go to the floor, but have an 18" high raised threshold (the well known "knee knocker" to Navy types).

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, bluesplayer said:

 Always believe your HA bartender!!  

 

Absolutely!  

 

22 hours ago, RuthC said:

I remember Perry Grant telling me he was grabbing his lifevest and ready to head to the lifeboats at any moment. 

Thanks for confirming it was 2002 that was the year of the dangerous Pacific crossing. 

 

That cruise was my introduction to the artistry of Perry Grant.  I enjoyed his performances and was glad when he was aboard for a Celebrity Eclipse sailing several years later with his groupies.  Just as good then as in 2002.

 

"Dangerous Pacific crossing"?  No.  I felt no danger at all.  Captain Jonathan Peter Harris kept us well informed about the situation.  I would use the word "exhilarating" to describe the experience.  Add to that the word "memorable" as in "another memorable travel adventure" as well.  The 2002 cruise had many such memorable situations that I have never experienced on any other cruises.  

Edited July 22, 2022 by rkacruiser

[mauimacho]

Received an email today from HAL giving us each Future Cruise Credit equal to 25% of our fare on this cruise. We have a cruise booked for Feb 2023 so I applied it to that payment.

[Torquer]

Good to hear that HAL did the right thing and gave you folks a reasonable amount of reimbursement since it was their problem with the ship.  The original $100 of OBC was just plain wrong.

[luvteaching]

We got that email as well. I'd been on the HAL site over the weekend and saw Future Cruise Credits listed and was wondering where they came from! 

 

Karen