Tag Archives: Fort Lauderdale

Holland America Ships Meet Up for Supply, Pax Exchange

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Zaandam

Holland America has said the Zaandam is currently off the coast of Panama and rendezvoused with the Rotterdam at 7:30 p.m. local time yesterday, March 26.

“We received approval from Panamanian authorities to conduct ship-to-ship operations at anchor between the two vessels. Medical supplies and additional medical staff were transferred to Zaandam,” the company said.

The company is also transferring groups of healthy Zaandam guests to the Rotterdam, with strict protocols for this process developed in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to a press release.

Only those who have not been ill will be moved, and health screenings will be conducted before transferring. Priority for the first guests to transfer will be given to those on the Zaandam with inside staterooms and who are over 70. Once aboard the Rotterdam, all guests will continue to remain in their staterooms until disembarkation. Any guests who are currently ill, or in isolation as close contact, and all crew will remain on the Zaandam.

While the onward plan for both ships is still being finalized, the company said it will continue to work with the Panamanian authorities on approval to transit the Panama Canal for sailing to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Yesterday a number of patients with respiratory symptoms were tested for COVID-19 and two individuals tested positive. Out of an abundance of caution, on March 22 when the Zaandam first saw a number of guests reporting to the medical centre with influenza-like illness symptoms, the line took immediate protective measures, including asking all guests to self-isolate in their staterooms and implementing all other appropriate precautions that have been developed in coordination with the CDC. All guests and crew received face masks yesterday and were provided with instructions on when and how to wear them.

Currently, 53 guests (4%) and 85 crew (14%) have reported to the Zaandam’s medical centre with influenza-like illness symptoms. There are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board. On Zaandam, there are four doctors and four nurses. On Rotterdam, there are two doctors and four nurses.

The company also said that four older guests have passed away on the Zaandam.

Zaandam passengers have been aboard a long time, and their trip is far from over

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Zaandam passengers have been aboard a long time, and their trip is far from over

Holland America Line said that the Zaandam, currently sailing off the west coast of South America, will rendezvous with the Rotterdam ship in two days to get extra supplies, additional staff and Covid-19 test kits.

The Zaandam needs the provisions because people onboard have flu-like symptoms and no ports in South America will allow the ship to disembark.

Holland America said no ports are open to the ship between Chile and Fort Lauderdale. The Florida city’s Port Everglades is now tentatively the Zaandam’s final destination. A March 30 arrival is anticipated, but plans are still being finalized and “alternative options” are being explored. Holland America is trying to get permission to transit the Panama Canal.

No passengers have disembarked the Zaandam since March 14 in Punta Arenas, Chile. The ship had been sailing a South America voyage that departed Buenos Aires on March 7 and was originally scheduled to end in San Antonio, Chile, on March 21.

Holland America said that 13 passengers and 29 crew on the Zaandam have reported to the ship’s medical centre with influenza-like symptoms. There are 1,243 passengers and 586 crew on board, and all passengers have been instructed to stay in their cabins.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have now asked all guests to remain in their staterooms until we have more information,” the cruise line said. Holland America added that because Covid-19 testing is not available onboard, “it is difficult to determine the cause of these elevated cases at this time.”

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HAL Zaandam

Starting March 24, the ship is providing meals by room service until further notice and all public areas are closed.

The Rotterdam has 611 crew and no passengers on board. It departed Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at 3 p.m. local time on March 22. Holland America expects the two ships to meet on March 26 off the coast of Panama.

Port Everglades officials said on Tuesday that they are monitoring the Zaandam’s progress and that Broward County will determine whether to allow the ship to enter the port “as more information is available.” The port said it is consulting with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County and other entities.

Chilean ports Punta Arenas and Valparaiso, as well as ports in Peru, did not allow the ship to disembark. The ship was able to refuel in Valparaiso and take on provisions before sailing north.

Celebrity Cruises moves Apex’s naming ceremony from Southampton

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Celebrity Cruises has postponed the naming ceremony of new ship Celebrity Apex this month in response to the coronavirus outbreak, but two planned inaugural sailings are still to go ahead.

Apex was due to be named in Southampton on March 30 – the event would have been the first time Celebrity Cruises named a ship in the UK for ten years.

The Edge-series ship’s naming ceremony will be rescheduled to take place later this year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from where it will sail to the Caribbean this winter.

The line’s two two-night inaugural sailing events, which around 1,000 UK and Irish agents have been invited to, are expected to go ahead as planned on March 28 and March 30.

A Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman said it would be insensitive to the wider industry for Celebrity to host the event when companies are dealing with the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

She added: “We [the UK] are still getting the ship first out of the shipyard, and we can’t wait to show her off to all our trade partners.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to celebrate our ship in the UK market, but it’s times like these where we have to be sensitive to the environment the wider industry is working in.”

In a letter to guests due to attend the naming ceremony, Celebrity’s president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “We always expected Apex to be an extraordinary ship, but the extraordinary times we’re living right now have come as a surprise.

“Those who know me, or even know of me, know that I’m not much of a traditionalist. One tradition I do cherish, however, is the tradition of launching a new ship with a groundbreaking naming ceremony, and a groundbreaking godmother [technology activist Reshma Saujani]. I believe the karma and energy around the naming of a ship and its godmother are important to its future, its guests and its crew.

“To that end, we believe that continuing with the naming ceremony in the current environment would be inconsistent with the spirit and intention of such an important and meaningful event. We have therefore made the difficult decision to postpone our formal naming ceremony until later this year and will name Celebrity Apex when she arrives in Fort Lauderdale to begin her Caribbean season.”

Additional health and safety measures have also been implemented on Celebrity ships, which have been subject to “special sanitising”, Lutoff-Perlo said.

Any guest, or crew member, who has travelled to, from, or through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or Italy within 15 days of departure will not be allowed to board, including those who had connecting flights in affected countries.

For the inaugural sailings from Southampton, all guests and crew are to receive a pre-boarding health screening and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will receive additional medical screening and/or be denied boarding.

Lutoff-Perlo added: “While we find ourselves in uncharted territory and, as our captains will tell you, sooner or later everyone who sails into rough seas eventually sails into calmer waters. I know we are all anxiously awaiting those calmer waters.

“The health and safety of our guests and our crew are now, and have always been, at the forefront of everything we do every single day. These protocols are attached for your reference.”