Holland America Line announced last night it will bring the Westerdam to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, instead of Juneau, where it had been originally scheduled for an extended layover of several weeks at a private dock.
When the company announced a voluntary suspension of global cruise operations on March 13, Holland America reassessed where to put ships during the extended period, which will go longer than originally planned.
The ship was not currently in service after departing Asia, where four cruises were cancelled. Prior to arrival in Puerto Vallarta, the Westerdam will clear U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and medical entry requirements in Honolulu on March 16 and 17.
Westerdam departed from Manila, Philippines, on March 2 with no passengers. Aboard ship are 680 crew and 18 contract service staff, all of whom tested negative for COVID-19 in mid-February. Upon arrival to Puerto Vallarta, the ship will have sailed for more than a month with no port calls.
Collette Costa will be happy as a clam at high tide! But, it is probably for the best. If Juneau has closed all their restaurants, there will be no place to go out to eat. They won’t get hockey-checked in the grocery aisle searching for toilet paper. Off to Mexico! Stay safe crew!
Are we to understand that Alaska rejected an employment / revenue source to be tied up at the Juneau docks? And, that the source was cleared by multiple professional entities at several locations.
This virus is a serious concern but so is economic shortcomings for the average Alaskan.
I don’t think that we (AK) rejected them. I believe the Juneau Assembly met and approved their arrival. I think the cruise line made the decision. I wish I could get a cheap helicopter flight to land on the ship and join them on the cruise to Puerto Vallarta for a break from it all…
700 employees pay for all that time + no passengers = whopping financial kick to the gut. Man.
Comments are closed.