Any news from the Amsterdam?

[rkacruiser]

2 minutes ago, Storylady said:

And I believe Henk Minsink and Crystal are still onboard. 

 

If so, why?  No guests, no hotel services required for such guests, why does a Hotel Director and a Guest Relations Manager need to be aboard?  

 

Their contracts for the 2020 World Cruise surely have reached there end time.  If Captain and Mrs. Mercer are off, why are not they?  

[KirkNC]

34 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

If so, why?  No guests, no hotel services required for such guests, why does a Hotel Director and a Guest Relations Manager need to be aboard?  

 

Their contracts for the 2020 World Cruise surely have reached there end time.  If Captain and Mrs. Mercer are off, why are not they?  

I think Henk and Crystal had their time off in Nov or Dec.  if so, they are still under contract.  The captain’s contract ended in May.

[Storylady]

47 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

I think Henk and Crystal had their time off in Nov or Dec.  if so, they are still under contract.  The captain’s contract ended in May.

 

47 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

I think Henk and Crystal had their time off in Nov or Dec.  if so, they are still under contract.  The captain’s contract ended in May.

Not sure, but my understanding is that they are still onboard probably until all the crew that is departing has departed and until the luggage has been shipped. Maybe Captain Jonathan can answer that question once he posts his last blog.

[Copper10-8]

10 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I think Henk and Crystal had their time off in Nov or Dec.  if so, they are still under contract.  The captain’s contract ended in May.

 

Both Henk and Crystal's contracts ended five days ago while the captain's contract ended on the 12th of May

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

42 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Both Henk and Crystal's contracts ended five days ago while the captain's contract ended on the 12th of May

Thanks for the info.

[KirkNC]

3 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Both Henk and Crystal's contracts ended five days ago while the captain's contract ended on the 12th of May

In that case then maybe Storylady is correct and they are staying on until crew and luggage are gone.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

In that case then maybe Storylady is correct and they are staying on until crew and luggage are gone.

That might take a while.

[Copper10-8]

Labuan Island, Malaysia, situated between the Philippines and Indonesia, and just north of the Nation of Brunei, an independent country. The future layup location for many cruise ships until they are reactivated again. Maasdam, as the first cruise ship, is already there

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Copper10-8

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

24 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Labuan Island, Malaysia, situated between the Philippines and Indonesia, and just north of the Nation of Brunei, an independent country. The future layup location for many cruise ships until they are reactivated again. Maasdam, as the first cruise ship, is already there

 

Do you think the Amsterdam will dock there to let the luggage off??

[Copper10-8]

2 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Do you think the Amsterdam will dock there to let the luggage off??

 

Unknown at this time, depends on the local Malaysian authorities. Since disembarking her pax in Fremantle, Western Australia in the days following her arrival there on March 21st, she has been allowed to dock/berth at a single port, that being Durban, South Africa on April 9th. She was only given permission there to disembark a very small group of South African crew (5) before her game plan was changed and she was sent back across the Indian Ocean to disembark non-essential crew off Tanjung Priok (Jakarta) and off Manila. This was/is still being in case of the latter, accomplished via her ship tenders as she was not allowed to dock/berth at both ports.

 

My guess, and it's only a guess at this point, is that the luggage from the 2020 GWV guests will be taken off once she reaches her layup location which, by the looks of it, will be Labuan, Malaysia. If she won't be allowed to dock there, that can then only be accomplished by loading those pieces into ship's tenders (which will take many tender trips since those boats are designed to carry people and not cargo) and/or by allowing a local transport vessel to come alongside for such a transfer.

 

Then the question beckons if the Malaysian authorities require those pieces of luggage to be tested and/or, in a worst case scenario, stored in a local warehouse for quarantine purposes (yes, I know, no cases of Covid-19 among Amsterdam's pax or crew) before being send on their long way home to the States, Canada and wherever else her pax hailed from. 

 

One thing I know for sure and that is that the young Canadian lady who is responsible for ensuring that the luggage is sent home to the correct location (she's been doing it for the last several years, coming onboard during the very last segment of A'dam's GWV) is very conscientious, a true professional, and knows what she's doing   

 

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

10 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

One thing I know for sure and that is that the young Canadian lady who is responsible for ensuring that the luggage is sent home to the correct location (she's been doing it for the last several years, coming onboard during the very last segment of A'dam's GWV) is very conscientious, a true professional, and knows what she's doing 

Do you know, did she come onboard before Fremantle, and if so is she still on board?

 

Roy

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks Cooper for the info. In my case I picked picking up in Fort Lauderdale my suitcases. I also have the job of picking up over 30 boxes of blankets 400 and yarn ( Project Linus) 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Gail & Marty sailing away

[Copper10-8]

27 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Do you know, did she come onboard before Fremantle, and if so is she still on board?

 

Roy

 

Don't have any independent info on that Roy

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Where do you think she will do her dry dock???

[Storylady]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Do you know, did she come onboard before Fremantle, and if so is she still on board?

 

Roy

No she didn’t Roy, she had just been on another ship. And there wasn’t enough time for her to be quarantined and tested before boarding the Amsterdam. Thus, we all put temporary tags on our suitcases. 

[Storylady]

The best news is that all the crew left onboard that will be going home have tested negative which is no surprise to those who had been on the Amsterdam. They will probably be leaving later today as it will be Monday in Manila. 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Storylady

[KirkNC]

4 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

One thing I know for sure and that is that the young Canadian lady who is responsible for ensuring that the luggage is sent home to the correct location (she's been doing it for the last several years, coming onboard during the very last segment of A'dam's GWV) is very conscientious, a true professional, and knows what she's doing   

 

That last part is good to hear.

[slotl]

On 5/30/2020 at 3:52 PM, Storylady said:

Yesterday Theresa posted a live video feed of one tender with what looked like hardly any crew inside traveling to the port in Manila. Wish you could have heard the screams of joy as they approached the dock and the buses. It looked like there were about three, maybe four tenders from the Amsterdam delivering crew to Manila. They must have been keeping social distancing in side. Presty said the day before 65 Filipino crew  departed. Amsterdam is still in Manila Bay so it looks like they still have to wait until everyone has departed.
 

I believe, I had read that they were using hotels for quarantining the Filipino crew, but later decided to use the cruise ships for the 14 day quarantine. So hopefully, the staff that just left will indeed go directly home. 

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/more-than-800-indonesian-cruise-ship-crew-members-arrive-home?fbclid=IwAR1QGntlUtX4-QEEAKhQphXtuNWClLBoI6MvXY_a_Xx23foMvT3w5W_tMSU

[slotl]

49 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

That last part is good to hear.

Sarah Cole is the HAL lady in charge of luggage shipping.  You are correct, she usually comes on board toward the end of our cruise.  NOT THIS YEAR

[Copper10-8]

4 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Where do you think she will do her dry dock???

 

Unknown; the Sembawang yard in Singapore is a possibility, as is the Thales Australia Garden Island dock in Sydney, NSW. Depends on who's got the vacancies when the schedules resume. She could even sail empty to Freeport when ready. Don't think it's a priority at the moment

[cruzingnut]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

Unknown; the Sembawang yard in Singapore is a possibility, as is the Thales Australia Garden Island dock in Sydney, NSW. Depends on who's got the vacancies when the schedules resume. She could even sail empty to Freeport when ready. Don't think it's a priority at the moment

 

At one point, Dubai was talked about after Manila and before Malaysia.  When I heard that, I figured that maybe that's where our luggage would be offloaded.  I can't see it being done in Manila by tender.  Also, not sure if there is a drydock in Dubai and that might be a possibility?  Whatever happens, it's looking like she'll be back in Ft. Lauderdale for the holiday cruise in December.  Hopefully.

[Copper10-8]

12 minutes ago, cruzingnut said:

 

 

At one point, Dubai was talked about after Manila and before Malaysia.  When I heard that, I figured that maybe that's where our luggage would be offloaded.  I can't see it being done in Manila by tender.  Also, not sure if there is a drydock in Dubai and that might be a possibility?  Whatever happens, it's looking like she'll be back in Ft. Lauderdale for the holiday cruise in December.  Hopefully.

 

The only large drydock in the Gulf area, the Persian type, not the Mexican, is in fact located in Dubai. HAL ships have never used it, but that doesn't mean there can't be a first

[KirkNC]

Got an email today asking how we want or expense reimbursement, either cash or the 125% FCC.  We took the cash which totaled more then $2,500.  I am miffed because they apparently disallowed the cost of shipping our luggage home.  It’s a cost we would not have incurred in FLL as we were driving home.  Not to mention the fact that the luggage appears to be lost at sea.

[Storylady]

Jarrie, the barista at the Explorer’s Cafe, is still onboard the Amsterdam. She is hoping to go home soon. She messaged me that Sir Henk is still onboard. Can’t answer the question about the luggage as she has been quarantined for 21 days!

[Indianadaytripper]

On 6/1/2020 at 6:25 PM, KirkNC said:

Got an email today asking how we want or expense reimbursement, either cash or the 125% FCC.  We took the cash which totaled more then $2,500.  I am miffed because they apparently disallowed the cost of shipping our luggage home.  It’s a cost we would not have incurred in FLL as we were driving home.  Not to mention the fact that the luggage appears to be lost at sea.

I suppose you meant  to say $25,000?