On Saturday morning, Holland America Line (HAL)’s M/S Rotterdam arrived at Port Everglades after a six day cruise to Mexico and the Western Caribbean without one of its crew members. HAL didn’t realize that one of its ship employees disappeared during the cruise until, apparently, another crew member noticed that he had not reported to
Two Crew Members Killed in Engine Room Accident on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Ship
On Friday, March 22, 2024, an explosion in the engine room of Holland America Line’s (HAL) cruise ship resulted in the release of steam which led to the death of two crew members. The catastrophic explosion, combined with a series of mistakes in responding to the accident, caused the deaths of two HAL employees, including…
Norovirus Outbreak on HAL’s Koningsdam Sickens 110 Passengers and Crew
A gastrointestinal disease outbreak aboard the Holland America Line (HAL) Koningsdam cruise ship has sickened 110 passengers and crew members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC found that 98 of 2,522 (3.89%) guests and 12 of 961 (1.25%) crew member have become ill with symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting…
Westerdam Experiences Azipod Failure During Alaskan Cruise
A guest aboard the Holland American Line Westerdam sent us the following information this morning:
“On HAL’s Westerdam now. Ship malfunctioned while at Hubbard Glacier, severely hampering forward progress. Captain says part of propulsion system (Azipod failure). Heading to Sitka now, but will skip Ketchikan. Any news on this situation? Coast Guard is aware and…
Health Department in Mexico Blocks Holland America Line’s Koningsdam From Disembarking Passengers in Puerto Vallarta Due to COVID-19 Outbreak Involving Ninteen Crew Members
The Mexican Secretary of Health for the Eighth Health Region blocked the HAL Koningsdam from disembarking any of its 1,137 guests or 873 crew members into the port of Puerto Vallarta yesterday due to a COVID-19 outbreak involving at least nineteen of its crew members.
The HAL cruise ship arrived at Puerto Vallarta yesterday but…
Are Carnival Cruise Ships Polluting Mexican Waters?
A reader of this blog who lives in the state of Baja California Sur Mexico sent me two newspaper articles about water pollution reportedly from cruise ships owned by Carnival Corporation. The articles were published last week from BSCNoticias. The first article titled “Black Stains Appear in the Bay of La Paz, Due to…
Coronavirus: Celebrity, Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruises Refuse to Cancel or Refund Cruises to China
Several major cruise lines, including Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruises, are refusing to cancel voyages which call on ports in China as concerns grow about the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. The New York Times published an article this morning that Hong Kong has restricted travel from mainland China due to the…
HAL’s Volendam Temporarily Grounded in Brazilian Amazon River
Yesterday, we received information from a passenger aboard Holland America Line’s Volendam that the cruise ship ran aground on a sandbar on the Amazon River between Macapá and Santarém in Brazil.
The passenger, who did not wish to be identified, is a retired Coast Guard officer. He stated:
“Volendam ran aground on a sandbar…
Alaska Fines HAL $17,000 After Westerdam Discharges 22,500 Gallons of Grey Water into Glacier Bay National Park
The State of Alaska yesterday fined Holland America Line (HAL) around $17,000 for dumping untreated grey water from one of its cruise ships.
NPR reported that HAL’s Westerdam cruise ship was visiting the national park a year ago, on September 11, 2018, when a crew member illegally discharged grey water. Details of the illegal dumping…
HAL’s Eurodam Ignores Calls to Reduce Speed While Approaching Whales
Today a resident of Alaska notified me that there are videos posted on Facebook showing the M/S Eurodam continuing to proceed toward a group of whales feeding in the water ahead of it as the Holland America Cruise Ship (HAL) cruise ship headed toward Juneau.
A smaller vessel reportedly radioed the bridge of the Eurodam…