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November 22, 2002Dear Friend of Holland America Line:
The safety and comfort of our guests and crew aboard our ships is – and will always be – of paramount importance to Holland America.
You may have heard reports about a common gastrointestinal ailment called NLV that affected some guests aboard Holland America’s ms Amsterdam. NLV has been prevalent at land-based facilities and has similarly impacted other cruise lines. I am writing to ensure that you have all of the information necessary to understand the situation.
First, to place the matter in context, it is important for you to know that NLV is a common type of gastrointestinal ailment; outbreaks have occurred throughout North America and Europe. NLV is NOT an upper respiratory virus, such as the flu, and only the common cold is reported more frequently. It typically runs its course in 24 to 48 hours.
Health officials determined that aboard the ms Amsterdam, NLV was spread through person-to-person contact. No deficiencies were found involving any aspect of the ship’s facilities, food or water.
During the past six weeks, approximately 450 guests reported some type of NLV symptom aboard the ms Amsterdam. This is less than one percent of the 56,000 guests who sailed with Holland America Line in this time period.
Aboard the ms Amsterdam, we took extraordinary measures to ensure the comfort of our guests. Although those efforts reduced the number of new cases dramatically, we decided to cancel the ms Amsterdam’s November 21st sailing to break the person-to-person cycle. This will eliminate any concerns and demonstrates our commitment to the complete peace of mind of our guests.
As you can imagine, the decision to cancel a sailing is a difficult one to make – in this case, more than 1,200 people were looking forward to a Holland America Line cruise.
The failure of the media to put this matter in perspective is extremely disappointing. This is a common ailment. Our efforts have been commended by the experts at the CDC which stated: "Holland America Line has been very proactive in dealing with this unfortunate virus. Holland America has gone above and beyond the call of duty..."
I can assure you that the 11,619 men and women of Holland America Line are dedicated to providing the award-winning quality, service, comfort, care and value for which we are renowned. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
A. Kirk Lanterman
Chairman and CEO