Zaandam Antarctica March 7 cruise

[dockman]

Just got a message from passenger onboard.  The cruise will end on March 21 in Santiago and all pax being flown home.  Originally they were to continue to FLL.

 

No reported any sick passengers.

 

At least they still got to do the portion from buenos aires to santiago and saw antarctica..

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, dockman said:

At least they still got to do the portion from buenos aires to santiago and saw antarctica..

 

That's the best part of their itinerary in my opinion.  Not sailing to their destination is certainly disappointing for them, I realize.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Antarctica was the best part of their cruise.

[dockman]

20 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That's the best part of their itinerary in my opinion.  Not sailing to their destination is certainly disappointing for them, I realize.

 i  agree i much prefer the BA to Santiago leg over going up the west coast through Lima etc.  I am hoping they will also get a nice refund and future cruise credit as well as they only did 14 of 35 planned days...big negative is they now have another long flight instead of flying from FLL where the cruise originally supposed to end.  Stuff happens.

[dockman]

update:  Zaandam , Celebrity and few other ships not being allowed to dock in CHILE as of now.

 

Holland had planned to fly pax home from there.  No resolution as yet.

 

Big mess.

[canadianbear]

33 minutes ago, dockman said:

update:  Zaandam , Celebrity and few other ships not being allowed to dock in CHILE as of now.

 

Holland had planned to fly pax home from there.  No resolution as yet.

 

Big mess.

That does sound like a huge mess.  Gosh, I feel for all of you.  Horrible situation that is happening all over with ports refusing the ships.  

[dockman]

Yes.  Holland had announced they would fly home on march 17 with charters from Punta arenas  (few days ago they said on march 21 from santiago)...but now they just do not know whats next.  I would hope if push to shove that maybe panama would allow them to dock, unload and fly from there but just speculation on my part.

 

[S&B]

I just received a Facebook message from HAL and it said the Zaandam would be disembarking passengers at Punta Arenas.  We were on the Dec. 18 cruise to Antarctica and I am glad they got to see that part of the world.  Just amazing!!

[dockman]

Well that is good news.  I got a text an hour or so ago from my brother on ship and he said they were being held pending decision of chile govt.  Can u paste that facebook text please?  Txs

[dockman]

ok per hour ago...chile has once again denied them to dock..they wanted them to sit on ship off coast for 14 days and capt said no way...pax not sick and have been screened but still chile and argentina and peru have said no...they loaded up with food and sailed away....maybe panama ...says most all pax are good spirits and it is becoming bit of joke...

 

at least they will all have some interesting stories to tell...

[old mike]

 We have a friend on the Celebrity ship no ilness and also denied access to San Antonio.  I just heard from him that Ecuador has also closed their ports.The popular ship locater website now has a coronavirus cruise ship locater!!!

Edited March 16, 2020 by old mike

[canadianbear]

22 minutes ago, dockman said:

ok per hour ago...chile has once again denied them to dock..they wanted them to sit on ship off coast for 14 days and capt said no way...pax not sick and have been screened but still chile and argentina and peru have said no...they loaded up with food and sailed away....maybe panama ...says most all pax are good spirits and it is becoming bit of joke...

 

at least they will all have some interesting stories to tell...

 I can’t imagine the Captain and staff trying to figure this out.  I’m glad to hear no one is sick and they are in good spirits.  Thanks for the updates.  

[dockman]

Lots of people packed bags ready to get off....now unpacking again.  Others booked connecting flights to meet charter flights...now cxling all that.

 

Brother says entertainer tonight is comedian which they can all use a good laugh.

 

They are sailing through chile fjords.

[rkacruiser]

Sounds as if the guests are keeping their spirits up!  Hope the comedian is a good one!

[sailingdutchy]

The company itself mentioned in a message on FB that the Zaandam is going to San Antonio for a service call , take on fuel and other provisions and that the Seattle headquarters and the ship are working with several governments and embassies on options of where to disembark the guests. 

 

To be continued it kind of feels like when we were on the Westerdam last month .

[PeteKessie]

Timing for this post may not be good but we have just finished the Zandam Antartic Cruise and Yes the Antartic part was the simply the best we loved it but their is a lot of sea time to get there so be prepared.

When we booked almost two years ago on board we were told by the sales staff that we would get off onto the ice weather permitting.    10 months before going we wrote to HAL asking what equipment we would need to get off onto the ice.  They replied non they would supply.  Based on that we bought a GoPro as only the two men in the party were in our opinion fit enough to get off.  This way us girls thought we could see what they saw up close and wonderful.

Once on board we learned NO ONE GOT OFF.  Sadly what we should have purchased was a telescopic lense for our camera.  We were so disappointed.  We learned of one other passenger purchasing his cruise about two years ago had the same information.   Is there anyone else who has this information.   If so please contact us.

 

We spent a large sum purchasing the gopro and its fittings never now to be used what a waste

 

[jakkojakko]

2 hours ago, PeteKessie said:

........

When we booked almost two years ago on board we were told by the sales staff that we would get off onto the ice weather permitting.    10 months before going we wrote to HAL asking what equipment we would need to get off onto the ice.  They replied non they would supply.  Based on that we bought a GoPro as only the two men in the party were in our opinion fit enough to get off.  This way us girls thought we could see what they saw up close and wonderful.

Once on board we learned NO ONE GOT OFF.  Sadly what we should have purchased was a telescopic lense for our camera.  We were so disappointed.  We learned of one other passenger purchasing his cruise about two years ago had the same information.   Is there anyone else who has this information. .........

 

 

You have definitively been misled. Ships the size of Zaandam have never been (allowed) to let passengers off the ship in antarctic waters,  especially not on the ice. For that you need to take an expedition cruise on much smaller ships equiped for the task. 

[drowelf]

8 hours ago, jakkojakko said:

 

You have definitively been misled. Ships the size of Zaandam have never been (allowed) to let passengers off the ship in antarctic waters,  especially not on the ice. For that you need to take an expedition cruise on much smaller ships equiped for the task. 

Ships the size of the Zaandam have never been allowed to do landings. I've never heard of it being offered. We did that cruise in 2015 and it was wonderful. 

 

I believe the ship itself has to have less than 500 passengers to allow a landing and even then only a small portion is allowed on the ice at one time. I would be really surprised if you got the information from HAL that their would be landings. 

[Copper10-8]

Current position of Zaandam still inside the Strait of Magellan. AID destination shows San Antonio, Chile as her next destination but that's more than likely not going to happen

 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-70.5/centery:-53.9/zoom:8

[PeteKessie]

We booked on board 4 of us were present and we also wrote regarding equipment.......   We also have travelled with HAL more that once.  We know we are not the only ones sold this cruise with this concept.  Sorry but truth is just that we have no reason to lie

[dockman]

Latest zaandam update as of 12 noon est:

 

ship to anchor at valpariso tomorrow at 8 am to take on food and fuel but will not be allowed to disembark.  Capt says they are asking mexico and panama for permission but no response as yet.  Capt says they have fuel for another three weeks.  Passengers are getting more anxious.

[rjbean4]

29 minutes ago, dockman said:

Latest zaandam update as of 12 noon est:

 

ship to anchor at valpariso tomorrow at 8 am to take on food and fuel but will not be allowed to disembark.  Capt says they are asking mexico and panama for permission but no response as yet.  Capt says they have fuel for another three weeks.  Passengers are getting more anxious.

I think all the Mexican ports have now closed. Don't know about Panama. Even if they did get approval it could change before they get there. I saw a Celebrity ship with the same situation in the same area was going to or already has refuled and supplied and is now or will be heading for San Diego.

 

I have also found on another thread that there are 2 ships including the Maasdam that have now been denied to disembark passengers in Honolulu. Can only refuel and resupply.

Edited March 19, 2020 by rjbean4

[dockman]

4 minutes ago, rjbean4 said:

I think all the Mexican ports have now closed. Don't know about Panama. I saw a Celebrity ship with the same situation in the same area was going to or already has refuled and supplied and is now or will be heading for San Diego.

not sure:  got above text from passenger onboard and that is what they had just been told...i suppose if no mexico or panama permission they may continue on to FLL which was original destination...still nobody sick onboard...

[rjbean4]

2 minutes ago, dockman said:

not sure:  got above text from passenger onboard and that is what they had just been told...i suppose if no mexico or panama permission they may continue on to FLL which was original destination...still nobody sick onboard...

Oh yes of course as its all based on what they have been told. If they were to try and end at FLL then they would have to go though the canal since they are on the west coast of South America. Hope for the best for them. As my mom has been saying that she is really glad we are at home and have been since our Holiday cruise over Christmas & New Years and not going anywhere for a while.

[viajante74]

I am currently on the Zaandam. Last night, everyone seemed to be in good spirits as we finally departed Chile and were set to continue to Fort Lauderdale. However today around 2 pm, we were instructed to return to our staterooms and remain there, possibly for the next few days as a precautionary measure. Seems that a number of passengers and staff have been complaining of "flu-like symptoms".