Another change to the itinerary...

 There have been lots of changes for Holland America.  Ships have been sold and some have been "redeployed" by the company.  HAL is part of Carnival Corporation, and there's been such turmoil with the Pandemic.  

You can ignore all of those past blogs talking about upcoming trips.  My next trip will be in early 2022.  I will finally make it back to Singapore, Vietnam, China, and Japan.  The trip will be 28 days, and here is a map of the ports of call:

The trip begins in Singapore and ends in Tokyo.  I was supposed to do this leg of the trip (but in the reverse order) on the Grand Asia Voyage in 2018.  I ended up in a hospital in China on that trip with an injured toe.  Always buy the insurance!

Another change in plans...

I got this email this afternoon:

The Amsterdam and three other ships have been sold by Holland America Line.  So, my upcoming cruise has been cancelled.

The notice from HAL was to let those who were slated for future cruises that they had been cancelled with this financial move.  Also, it provided details on the two options available for refunds.

It's so sad to see the Amsterdam leave the HAL fleet.   It's the ship that I made my around the world voyage on in 2015.

These times are unprecedented for world travel, and it appears that HAL's days may be numbered, too.

That's me with the Amsterdam in the background.  This shot was made upon the arrival in Tonga (Tongatapu, Tonga) after a long voyage across the South Pacific in January 2015.

Japan turns away Carnival Corp.’s Westerdam cruise ship for fear of coronavirus

The Westerdam is the ship I was to travel to on February 15 (see article below).  I was originally scheduled to fly to Shanghai, but all flights were later changed to Yokohama, Japan.  I'm glad I cancelled!

"The Japanese government will not allow a cruise ship operated by Miami-based Carnival Corporation to visit the country as scheduled for fear of coronavirus contamination.

"The Holland America Line Westerdam ship was scheduled to visit several Japanese cities and pick up new passengers in Yokohama, outside Tokyo, on Feb. 15. The cruise originally departed from Hong Kong on Feb. 1."

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article240040568.html#storylink=cpy

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article240040568.html 

Update:  The February 15 cruise segment has been cancelled. I hope the HAL folks are able to find a port in which to disembark the guests on the Westerdam soon.  They've been sailing around since the Philippines wouldn't allow them to visit earlier this month.

China trip cancelled due to Coronavirus...

With the closing of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City to tourists, I decided to cancel my trip to China.  I cancelled it on Friday, January 24.  It seems that this Friday (1/28), the travel folks have rerouted most trips to Japan.

Well, I now hope to do this trip in 2021!