Guests booked to sail subsequent week aboard Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam have been notified of an itinerary change that includes a port swap and barely much less time within the alternative port on account of an engine challenge that limits the ship’s pace. The security of the vessel just isn’t impacted, and company are being supplied with compensation for the change.
Nieuw Amsterdam Itinerary Change
The impacted itinerary is the February 12, 2023 crusing of Nieuw Amsterdam, a 7-night roundtrip Southern Caribbean cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale. The unique itinerary has the ship calling on Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s non-public island in The Bahamas, in addition to Bonaire and Curacao earlier than returning to Florida on Sunday, February 19.
Guests have now been notified of a modification to the itinerary, with a port swap consequently.
“Please be advised that Nieuw Amsterdam is experiencing a technical issue with the Azipod propulsion system,” the e-mail defined. “As a result, we will no longer call to Kralendijk, Bonaire on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Instead, we will now call to Oranjestad, Aruba.”
Bonaire was deliberate to have been the second port of name for the cruise, after Half Moon Cay and with a day at sea between the 2 ports. The e mail explains that the Azipod challenge “does restrict our ability to operate at full speed” as the rationale for the port swap.
Bonaire and Aruba are simply 125 miles (201 kilometers) aside. At Nieuw Amsterdam‘s prime cruising pace of almost 24 knots (27 miles per hour / 44 kilometers per hour), it might take the ship slightly below 5 hours to maneuver between the ports.
The name to Aruba will probably be from 5-11 p.m, whereas the unique itinerary had the ship visiting Bonaire for 2 hours longer, from 3-11 p.m. on the identical date.
This does verify that the ship should transfer extra slowly to succeed in the port, however not so slowly that the itinerary should be extra dramatically altered, reminiscent of switching to an Eastern moderately than a Southern Caribbean route.
Compensation Provided
To assist alleviate disappointment over the change, company are being supplied with $50 (USD) of non-refundable onboard credit score, which will probably be posted to every visitor’s onboard account for this crusing.
Furthermore, all shore excursions for Bonaire which were booked via the cruise line are being totally refunded, and up to date tour choices for Aruba will probably be accessible for reserving onboard.
As no different ports of name have been modified in any means presently, that is fairly beneficiant compensation for the alteration. Experienced cruise vacationers know that cruise traces have full authority to alter or cancel ports of name at any time, even after the cruise units sail, and don’t have any obligation to offer compensation to company for such alterations.
More Changes for Nieuw Amsterdam
This is the second change introduced not too long ago for the Signature-class Nieuw Amsterdam. Earlier this week, the cruise line notified company booked on the 14-night May 7, 2023 Alaskan crusing that there have been a number of adjustments to that prolonged itinerary, together with a port swap and adjustments to the times the ship could be visiting different ports alongside the best way.
Those adjustments had been attributed to “operational changes” with no point out fabricated from any engine points impacting the ship’s pace.
This could imply that the Azipod challenge is a comparatively minor concern, one that may be simply mounted whereas the ship is in operation. It is probably going that the problem will probably be corrected properly earlier than the ship repositions to Vancouver in April in preparation for the Alaska crusing season.
Nevertheless, company booked on Nieuw Amsterdam for the following a number of weeks will need to keep in shut contact with the cruise line for potential updates and itinerary adjustments for his or her sailings, simply in case additional changes are essential or the problem turns into extra important.