02 December 2018; Sailing the Adriatic Sea.

And then we did not sail. During the startup procedures the Engineers discovered an anomaly which prohibited the Chief engineer from being satisfied with all the systems being reliable. And then we do not move until the situation has been safely resolved. The yard and sub-contractors experts were on board (that is why we have a shakedown cruise) and they embarked on an elaborate fact finding mission. In the shipping business, not unlike the Airline business, there tends to be a knock on effect and last night it was no different. All was resolved by 18.00 hrs. but that was a conflicting time with the departures of a Costa ship and a Royal Caribbean ship. And thus we had to wait until 19.30 hrs.

That put the Captain in a quandary about what to do with the call at Dubrovnik. We could still go there but we would be arriving somewhere in the afternoon and that would cut the call very short. So after reviewing the situation and with the intent to still give those on board a port day, it was decided to call at Messina on the 3^rd of December. And stay there from 10.00 hrs. until 20.00 hrs.  Dubrovnik is a beautiful city but Messina is a convenient city in that way that while you need shuttlebuses in Dubrovnik, you can just cross the street to get into Messina.

By 19.30 hrs. we sailed from the cruise terminal and through venice to the outside. Venice by night is as if you are driving through a fairytale with the lights shining on the old buildings but, while still impressive, I noticed a lot of lights out this time. I had heard that a lot of surface level installed flood lights had been damaged during the recent flooding’s and obviously they had not been replaced yet.

Our route to Messina. On average we stay 12 miles off the coast until we come to the “Italian Heel” and turn West.

So today we sail down the East Coast of Italy instead of hugging the west coast of former Yugoslavia. By 04.00 hrs. tomorrow we will be sailing along the Southside of Italy, the area that is called Calabria and then come up towards the Strait of Messina near breakfast time. The Pilot has been ordered for 09.00 hrs.

And what was going on onboard last night? Well the place was heaving. We have on board 1762 guests (which includes a few hundred support staff) and 1041 working crew and 1 baby crew (not working). All the venues were open and everybody got a good work out in how to handle the large flow of traffic rippling through the Music Walk. Next cruise we should have more guests on board and so this shakedown cruise is a perfect test to see what works, how it works, what still needs to be done and what we can still improve upon.

Today was the Grand Opening of the Shops on Board. Officially planned for yesterday afternoon, but you can not have a Grand Opening when you are not allowed to open because you are still alongside. It would upset Italian Customs very much if we would try, even while we are paying 22% VAT over each sale as we are sailing in European Waters. The shops on board are a concession and we now have a new one Dufres which also operates Duty Free shops in airports.

The official opening. The entrance to the Merabella shop which sells the really expensive items.

All the familiar routines that we are used to are being implemented. A few days ago the familiar wall boards in the Main Galley appeared, showing all the menu choices for the various restaurants on board. The pictures help the cooks to remember what the perfect presentation for each dish is as envisioned by the designers, the well-known chefs of the Holland America Line Culinary Council.  These Boards are basically cook books for those who know how to cook but need a reference and have to make sure that the tomato ends up on the right side of the dish and not on the wrong side.

The Display opposite the Pinnacle Galley. Looking at this wall is not good for your waist line as it conjures visions of going to make bookings in one of the Specialty Restaurants.

Tomorrow we are in Messina and we are looking forward to a nice and sunny day. We are now much further to the south and thus the weather is getting absolutely balmy compared to Venice. 18oC or 64oF. The only thing that might mar a perfect day is increasing wind in the afternoon and that might mean choppy seas. Not ideal as we want to lower lifeboats for training. So it will all depend on the angle of the wind whether the Staff Captain has a happy day or not.