Key Aspects:
- A 69-year-old guest was injured in a fall onboard Holland America Line’s Westerdam.
- The ship rushed to Da Nang, Vietnam, where the guest was medically evacuated.
- There are no known changes to the remainder of the 27-night itinerary because of this incident.
A 27-night sailing to the Far East onboard Holland America Line’s Westerdam has come to an abrupt end for a 69-year-old German passenger, who was seriously injured in an onboard accident.
The fall and subsequent rescue, which took place in the early morning hours on December 11, 2025, unfolded after the male passenger slipped and fell on a staircase. He was left with a splenic injury and suspected internal bleeding.
At the time of the accident, the 81,811-gross ton ship was sailing through some rough weather about 32 nautical miles northeast of the Son Tra Peninsula near Da Nang, Vietnam.
It seems likely that rough seas may have led to rockier conditions onboard, which contributed to the passenger’s fall.
A Speedy Rescue
The man was provided with first aid from the onboard medical team immediately, but it quickly became clear that he required more intensive care than the ship’s team could offer.
As his condition deteriorated, the ship’s captain called for urgent aid from Vietnam’s maritime agencies, which was expertly coordinated by the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (VMRCC).
The VMRCC instructed Westerdam to proceed to Da Nang at top speeds, where local outlets report that the cruise ship rendezvoused with a pilot boat at 3:27 a.m. – only about an hour after the fall occurred at 2:18 a.m.
The 1,964-guest ship was already on track to visit Da Nang that morning, and was coming from Halong Bay, Vietnam.
By 4:30 a.m., the Holland America Line ship had docked at Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port, where local rescue teams were ready and waiting to transfer the patient to a local hospital for further care.
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The passenger’s prognosis is unknown, but the efficient action taken by all involved will give him the best possible chance at a full recovery.
Cruise Hive sends our best wishes to the patient and his loved ones as they go through this scary ordeal.
No Impact to the Itinerary
As of the time of publication, the medical evacuation has not caused any changes to the expansive Asian itinerary, which first set sail on November 23, 2025, in Singapore.
Not only was the rescue completed very quickly, but it simply brought the 2004-launched ship to its next port call about four hours early. She was already due to dock in Da Nang that day at around 8 a.m. local time.
Before returning to Singapore on December 20, Westerdam is also still scheduled to visit Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand; and Koh Samui Island in Thailand.
