After all the wind yesterday, we had a nearly wind still day. We sailed between two frontal systems and that calmed things down. The one we had yesterday and a new one coming down from the upper Gulf of Mexico tomorrow. So we had a sort of “valley of silence” today. With a bit of luck the wind of the new system will only reach us by the time we are docked in Tampa.
Tomorrow we are in Tampa for the last call of the season and then we will start the Trans Canal cruise to Alaska. Most important part of that start is the paperwork for the Panama Canal Transit. The submission of this information starts 144 hours before we even arrive there. With the current rules in regards to security, the Panamanian authorities require that passenger and crew manifests are submitted far in advance for scrutiny. This makes sense as the Panama Canal could be of interest for certain people with bad intent. Once this and other information is received there are the 96, 48 and 24 hrs. ETA submissions. (ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival) of the ship. This is compulsory for all the ships. It is not really necessary for cruise ships as we sail on time but it helps with the convoy planning for the canal with the cargo ships. When cargo ships make Trans Atlantic or Trans Pacific crossings their ETA, given 5 or 6 days earlier, can be wildly off due to bad weather, engine slowdowns or other influences. Thus the multiple day reporting.
Cruise ships have preference when transiting the canal and they are slotted directly into the transiting convoys. More about that when we come nearer the time. That makes it for us even more necessary to arrive on time, as the ship has to be cleared first by the authorities and then line up behind the previous ship. However the Panama Canal is still 96 hours away and so I sent my first official ETA to the agent today, who will ensure that it reaches the Panama Canal authorities. We will have 56 guests on board this cruise who will continue to be with us for the Trans Canal cruise.
In the last few weeks we have been alternating with docking portside and starboard side in Tampa. That gives a bit of extra work for the shore gangway operator of the terminal as he has to move the big gangway for each call but it has become a necessity. There are no ports left in the West Caribbean where we are allowed to do outside maintenance anymore. Nothing at all in Belize, Key West and Cozumel and only fresh water washing in Santo Tomas de Castilla. The port environmental rules have become so very strict. That means that if we want to keep the Veendam looking half presentable on the outside we now have to do all the work in Tampa.
So we have cherry pickers in Tampa to work the outside as fast as possible when we dock and hence we do one week work on the portside and the other week work on the starboard side.
April 14, 2008 at 4:56 am
As the head deck “ape” on U.S.Navy ships in the 1960’s I can appreciate the difficulty of keeping exterior maintenance done with a lot of underway time and little in port time. I didn’t have environmental regulations to deal with back then so exterior work could be done in any port we were in.
April 14, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I am part of shore operations at the Tampa pier. I just wanted to let you know how very much I enjoy reading about your adventures aboard the Veendam. In addition, I wanted to thank you and your staff for providing that very nice reception for us. We will miss the Veendam being in Tampa, but wish you and ALL your wonderful crew safe travels and good health as you sail to Alaska. We look forward to your return in November, 2008. Take care.