Jump to content

Zaandam and Rotterdam Situation (merged topics starting March 22, 2020)


bouhunter
 Share

Recommended Posts

I work side by side every day with people willing to risk their lives for people they don’t know and they do it willingly. No one asks where they are from, who they voted for or if they can pay. Panic brings out the worst in people and hopefully the right thing will be done. 

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Is it appropriate for me to say that I think God has been finally successful in getting the message to his brain that he ought to trust what his God given intellect is telling him and not his "gut" as he makes decisions?  

We can only hope it lasts! Our lives depend on it   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

Let them dock at Half Moon Cay so the passengers can at least get off, stretch their legs, enjoy the sun, go for a swim etc.  And of course try to maintain social distancing.  

 

Half Moon Cay is also in the Bahamas and their rules apply.  As of right now they are not permitting any visitors to enter or disembark for any reason.  

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Is it acceptable that I substitute Canadian Club for Crown Royal?

Given the lab findings that quinine kills the virus I've been exploring a variety of 1920s cocktails using quinine bitters and tonic water (just make sure it is real quinine not just flavoring)  I figure  the cocktail can't hurt and sure help deal with the insanity around this mess. If it helps act as a preventative that's just a bonus. Personally if I'm sticking to straight something make mine a single malt. 

 

Let's raise a glass to common sense (however uncommon it might really be), compassion and the commission  reaching a viable option for all those at sea trying to get home no matter what ship they maybe on. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find it disappointing to read that so many people are angry and disappointed with the state of Florida and writing emails and so few people have sent HAL emails.  The Florida Governor has made it clear what he and the team expects from HAL - an approved docking and disembarking plan.  The onus is on HAL here folks.  I applaud the Governor of Florida for vehemently protecting the citizens of Florida and of the USA.  This isn't a problem for the state of Florida to solve - this is a problem for HAL to solve.

  • Like 15
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Cap-n Andy said:

Florida governor: We'll take state residents only from Zaandam cruise ship

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/us/holland-america-zaandam-cruise-ship-florida/index.html

 

I worked for a state government (not Florida) for thirty-nine years.  This is a classic inter-departmental battle that I saw many times.  It applies to all levels of government.  Everybody is concerned only with their own responsibility and their own budget. "The public" means the segment of the public their department is mandated to serve.  Nobody sees the big picture.  Nobody cares what is the right thing to do.  

 

 

That’s it, and how sad is that.  Unbelievable!

 

I am thinking, They will be disembarking in FLL.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

I find it disappointing to read that so many people are angry and disappointed with the state of Florida and writing emails and so few people have sent HAL emails.  The Florida Governor has made it clear what he and the team expects from HAL - an approved docking and disembarking plan.  The onus is on HAL here folks.  I applaud the Governor of Florida for vehemently protecting the citizens of Florida and of the USA.  This isn't a problem for the state of Florida to solve - this is a problem for HAL to solve.

See post 1804 for this information.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

I find it disappointing to read that so many people are angry and disappointed with the state of Florida and writing emails and so few people have sent HAL emails.  The Florida Governor has made it clear what he and the team expects from HAL - an approved docking and disembarking plan.  The onus is on HAL here folks.  I applaud the Governor of Florida for vehemently protecting the citizens of Florida and of the USA.  This isn't a problem for the state of Florida to solve - this is a problem for HAL to solve.

I thought the plan as outlined by Aquahound presented by Holland was quite sound. Healty per screening get bussed with minimum contact to charted  flights. Those who aren't except for 10 critically ill, some apparently on ventilators, will be cared for on the ships. Those 10 already have private medical facilities ready and able to accept them. Under protocols every place I know of passengers will be returning to they will enter some form of isolation or quarantine be that a military base as seen in Texas,  California, Georgia and Australia or whatever it is their home destination is currently requiring. 

 

Sanitation of transportation was also covered. This is the same thing that was done with the Westerdam so why are you so insistent that HAL hasn't been working to solve this problem? As for your governor I'll leave it that at minimum he needs to take a remedial classes on the constitution. At least the commission while dragging this out longer than necessary are attempting to find a resolution that combines compassion,  repatriation  and protection for everyone involved. It could d have been handled better as they knew this situation was coming up and with more than just the Zaandam. Procedures should have written up including their "requirements" for port entry and disembarking passengers days ago. Set it for any ship needing to return to FT Lauderdale so the cruise lines can create plans that meet those requirements and can be finalized while they are still in route. From what Aquahound has said this plan does in fact meet every element in that list. Screening for infection,  immediate removal of all cleared for travel with the least contact with Florida residents possible,  medical care onboard for those not in critical condition with private care arranged before arrival for those 10 who need it, complete sanitizing of everything used  in the transfer. None of which it appears will cost Florida though if military bases are used some federalfunds maybe used. What more can you expect HAL to do? 

 

I posted a link yesterday to a cruise industry site that showed 15 ships with passengers still at sea. Three headed to Florida,  1 to. San Diego,   3-4 to England 2 to Australia. One of the small cruise lines with two. Round the world trips in progress had a rendezvous off Phuket and transferred all the AU,  NZ and others from that region to one that headed back down under while all UK,  EU and passengers from the Americas headed to England. Some like one of the Cunard Quues are carrying passengers who are unable to fly back to their home ports. Those ships report no I'll passengers with 16 to 70 passengers on board. There are other ships currently at sea without any passengers returning from seasonal deployment or interrupted wow journies. 

Edited by cdwise
Added ships at sea info
  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Remember also that they do have folks onboard who are on ventilators. The report yesterday stated that they attempted to medically disembark a patient off San Andres Island, Colombia however the Colombians wound up prohibiting that operation, so they - the two ships - continued on their way

The ship's medical team must be exhausted and frustrated beyond belief. Heaven help them.  

  • Like 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just decided to check on https://pevvesseltraffic.broward.org/webx/ This is all likely to be very much subject to change but  found that the Zaandam and Rotterdam are on the schedule for piers 19 & 21 with arrivals at 13:00 & 13:30. That's tomorrow (Thursday) at 1 & 1:30pm. Just thought I would pass this on. Will be parked in front of the computer to tune into the webcams for this when it happens. A reminder too that Captain Albert is on the Rotterdam and of course his blog postings have stopped because of all of this. As a Star Wars fan and as I have been saying "may the force be with  EVERYONE on board the Zaandam and Rotterdam".

Edited by rjbean4
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

I'm racking my brain to figure out how a state governor has the authority to only allow Florida residents to debark a ship through a federal point of entry.  I just don't see how that can happen. 

When the Maasdam was in Honolulu,  the Hawaii governor permitted only Hawaii state residents to debark, as well as an injured pax and her spouse.  Hawaii's governor set a precedent, and Gov. DiSantis may be thinking along the same lines.

 

“I am authorizing the Hawaii residents and the injured passenger to disembark,” Gov. David Ige said in a release. “Allowing the Hawaii residents off the ship means they will avoid unnecessary air travel and reduces their risk of exposure to COVID-19. The woman with a fractured leg needs medical attention and therefore must be allowed off the boat.”  -Honolulu Star Advertiser 3/20/20. 

Edited by Boatdrill
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

When the Maasdam was in Honolulu,  the Hawaii governor permitted only Hawaii state residents to debark, along with an injured pax and her spouse. The governor was concerned about the Hawaii residents having to fly back from the mainland at the end of the cruise.     Maybe  Gov. DiSantis has the same thought.

 

Thank you for that info.  That was a different scenario though because San Diego became the planned debarkation port.  Hono turned in to just a port call.  In that case, I can see how state government can call the shots.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Doesn't help the case when a  passenger named Charles on the Rotterdam is being shown on his FaceTime call on our local news right now saying and I quote " no one dare say a thing, if you have a little scratchy throat, you keep your mouth shut.  If you have a little headache, you keep your mouth shut."  

Do you have a link to this?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think HAL would have put this out on their FB page at 7 PM tonight unless they were optimistic about getting ALL the passengers off.  Sounds like they have a solid plan that would not impact the local population.

 

"UPDATE - April 1, 4pm PT/7pm ET:
Holland America Line is awaiting confirmation to disembark guests from Zaandam and Rotterdam in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We remain fully engaged with the Broward Unified Command and other governmental and embassy authorities to resolve this humanitarian situation and get the nearly 1,200 well guests home immediately who are fit for travel per guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both ships are scheduled to arrive at the boundary of U.S. waters by early tomorrow morning and will remain outside U.S. waters while awaiting clearance to enter.

Guests fit for travel per the CDC would transfer straight from the ship to flights for onward travel home, the majority on charter flights. Out of an abundance of caution, these guests will be transported in coaches that will be sanitized, with limited person-to-person contact and while wearing masks. These provisions well exceed what the CDC have advised is necessary for their travel. Guests have not left the ship since March 14 and have self-isolated in their staterooms since March 22.

The approximately 45 guests who still have mild illness and are unfit to travel at this time will continue to isolate on board until recovered. Disembarkation would be at a later date to be determined and only after they have recovered and are in alignment with CDC guidelines for being fit to travel.

For the estimated less than ten people who need immediate critical care shoreside, we have secured approval from a local health system partner that they will accept them for treatment. This small number is the only group that will require any support from medical resources in Broward County and is necessary to prevent further harm to their health.

Since March 22, 97 guests (83 on Zaandam/14 on Rotterdam) and 136 crew on Zaandam (0 on Rotterdam) have presented with influenza-like symptoms. We have seen a significant decline in the presentation of new cases on Zaandam, with only 1 new case reporting in the past 24 hours.

There are 808 guests and 583 crew on Rotterdam. On Zaandam there are 442 guests and 603 crew.
Holland America Line calls for compassion and reason in the review and approval of our disembarkation plan by Florida officials and we are grateful for those that have supported our efforts.

We appreciate the support of President Trump in resolving the humanitarian plight of our guests – 311 of whom are American citizens and 52 of whom are residents of Florida. There are also four children under the age of 12 on board.

Due to global health concerns, Holland America Line made the decision to suspend its global cruise operations for 30 days and end its current cruises in progress as quickly as possible. At the time, Zaandam was sailing a South America cruise that began in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 7 that was originally scheduled to end at San Antonio, Chile, on March 21. Attempts were made and denied to disembark guests in Chile on March 15 and in other ports along its route to the U.S.

On March 21, Zaandam was originally scheduled to begin a 20-day South America and Panama Canal cruise from San Antonio, Chile, and end in Fort Lauderdale on April 7. On March 30 an additional 30-day extension of cruise cancellations was announced, including departures through May 14."

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went back to that FOX interview by Neil Cavuto this morning with Governor Ron DeSantis and this is what he (the Governor) said verbatim: 

 

Please pay attention to the beginning sentence, beginning with the second "safely"

 

"The County (Broward) is working on a plan to be able to get the Floridians back safely, safely uhm, expatriate the foreign nationals so that they're not mixing with our community. I've offered (Florida) National Guard support to be able to help in that effort".

 

"They're, we were concerned about a deluge in the hospitals, but I think it turned out that there will probably be some who will need to go, but it's very, very manageable and the local hospital system thinks that they can handle it, so I actually think that they're gonna be able to deal with this, uhm, in a way that makes sense."

 

"And obviously, once we found out that there were American citizens, and Floridians especially, on board, you know, we wanted to find a way to make it work."  

Edited by Copper10-8
  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Yes, a claim as serious as this requires a link or reference to be validated or dismissed 

 

I actually taped it but will not put it up here as it shows his face. 

 

It was shown on Channel 7 in Miami on the 4 pm news at 4:04 PM

Edited by Host CJSKIDS
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

I went back to that FOX interview by Neil Cavuto this morning with Governor Ron DeSantis and this is what he (the Governor) said verbatim: 

 

Please pay attention to the beginning sentence, beginning with the second "safely"

 

"The County (Broward) is working on a plan to be able to get the Floridians back safely, safely uhm, expatriate the foreign nationals so that they're not mixing with our community..."

 

foreign national- definition

dictionary- "A person who is not a naturalized citizen of the country in which they are living."

Gov Desantis- A person who is not from Florida.

Edited by ShipWalker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So as I'm done following this for the night I earlier today posted about how I had noticed that the Nieuw Amsterdam was in the Florida Straits like she could be meeting up with Z & R while they wait to be able to get into Port Everglades to provide any necessary support. Not long after this when I checked again noticed that she had turned back to the east and thought that they were just out to cruise around a bit like all the other ships have been doing. Well I just decided to check again and Nieuw A is back to the west again in the straits and this time the Volendam is also heading in this direction. All we can do is watch the tracking websites to see if this a sign of something to come. Both Z & R are now SE of Miami and have slowed down some probably because of all the ship traffic in the area. Hopefully we will see these two ships docked at Port Everglades sometime tomorrow so everyone can start to get of and head for home FINALLY! Here's wishing everyone a good night til tomorrow.

Edited by rjbean4
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am kind of confused as to why the ship would come to FLL.  If it was a SA cruise, does it have a large amount of people from that area where it would make sense to at least stay there until they are allowed to dock?  And why not make sure you were going to be allowed to disembark before making the trip to FLL?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nieuw Amsterdam and Volendam both at sea just East of Port Everglades.  It will be interesting to see if all 4 HAL ships congregate together while Rotterdam and Zaandam await entry to dock.  Looks like they’ll enter port tomorrow afternoon when all appropriate local, state and federal authorities and agencies are present and ready to support.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...