Life continued here in Marghera on a sunny but chilly day. The biggest group working was the crew itself and the yard’s painting department who were definitely taking advantage of the dry weather. Good for us as well as with a deadline of the delivery looming, painting would have continued regardless if it would have been raining or not. Thus our Bo ‘sun is a happy man as he will not have to send his teams out to redo what has been affected by rain. As per this morning’s announcement we now have 950 crew on board with 7 more regulars to join, so we are more or less complete. For the rest we have about a 100 extra’s on board, who come and go depending on what their task is here.
Stewards sorting out the cutlery, crockery, napkins and unpacking coffee pots.
With more and more area’s seeing final delivery we now have the Main Dining room in full swing with setting up. Last night there was the first serving test with yet again the officers as guinea pigs so the stewards could get just to the fastest routes and the routine of getting in and out of the Galley. Plastic is still lying over the chairs but then there is still a lot of coverall traffic around. Chairs have arrived in the Canaletto and the Sel de Mer is now fully set with cutlery and crockery on the table. The Grand Dutch Café still has some minor things to deal with (the little Dutch houses have disappeared again so all is not well there yet) but the GDC team is already testing the pantry with cooking pancakes and the displays on the Bar are being put in place. Also the Lido is nearing completion, the crew is setting up the various work stations and if all goes well, we will have lunch there tomorrow which will make it easier for a lot of people. At the moment we are using the Petty Officers Mess and Dirty Officers Mess but those venues are too small to accommodate everybody if they are all arriving at the same time. Work in the Billboard on Board and the Rock Room is almost finished and the same goes for the Queens Lounge which is now officially called The BB King Jazz Club. So things are looking well and with 12 days to go everybody is in a good mood.
The Food and Beverage Team getting to grips with the details of the GDC operation.
Because the ship is getting cleaner and cleaner and is carpeted now everywhere the yard has started to hand out shoe covers to stop the outside dirt from getting into the carpets. There are walkways everywhere made up from sticky plastic but some contractors have to work on carpeted areas and not everybody seems to be able to walk in a straight line, even if the “plastic path” is 2 feet wide. The security guard at the entrance to the ship, where we scan our yard ID cards, has been assigned to hand them out and advise everybody. But the supply is never enough to deal with all the traffic and so the end result is a bit haphazard in its effectiveness.
A Lady in Red walking up a staircase while the Guests will do the same in the staircase this picture is hanging.
Also more art work has been hung in the various staircases. In total the ship will be enriched with 1920 pieces of art, in all shapes and sizes. What is a new theme is, that has been woven into the collection are Fashion Photos. In the middle staircase a number of Photos /pictures have appeared with Ladies in all sorts of Gowns, flowing dresses or dresses in color themes which hark back to the late 60’s when Mary Quant ruled Carnaby Street in London. On the stairs to the Tamarind there is a dress design made entirely from butterflies. What I had hoped for and what has indeed happened, outside the entrance to the Tamarind, a variation of a Far Eastern antique has been installed. On the Koningsdam it is a sort of Buddha but then made out of one strip of winding oxidized copper and here we have what looks like a rack of small cymbals or drums. All will be revealed for closer inspection when the plastic comes off.
Staircase to the Tamarind. A dress made up from only butterflies. Maybe a subtle hint to the Opera “Madame Butterfly” which also had an Asian setting???
Tomorrow the yard will gear up again to finish what is still not completed or outstanding, the latter for the items that have been marked as incomplete, broken, not working or not acceptable. They will be helped with yet another sunny day and the temperature is supposed to drop another few degrees to 9oC / 49oF.
November 18, 2018 at 4:34 pm
For you, it’s 14 days to go, for us it’s 19 days to board. Hope you’ll be ready for us!
November 18, 2018 at 8:11 pm
Really like the “Lady in red” on the stairwell piece of art! 🙂 Kaptein; when you have the time, could you ‘splain where the term “Dirty Officers Mess” came from? Navy perhaps? Thanks!
November 19, 2018 at 3:25 pm
Hallo Copper,
A “dirty” officers mess, is messroom where the officers can eat in their coveralls and/ or kakhi’s. This means they do not have to change clothes to eat in the lido and also if they wish so keep the lunch short and finish a project they were busy with. A messroom like that normally seats 12 to 16 officers and has the full facilities as expected.
Best regards
Capt. Albert
November 19, 2018 at 8:13 am
Wat is de temperatuur tijdens de oversteek. Kan nog geen site vinden op internet. Iemand die mij kan helpen?
November 20, 2018 at 8:34 am
Good morning thank you for reading my blog.
When we leave the Mediterranean we will take the southerly route to avoid the winter storms in the North Atlantic. Thus the temperatures should be consistent as long as the wind does not turn. Thus I expect on average 10oC / 50F. for most days. When coming closer to Florida it can go up to 18oC but also down to 5oC if there is a cold front coming down from Bermuda.
Als we de Middelandse zee verlaten gaat het schip op de zuiderlijke route om de winter stormen op de Noord Atlantic tevoorkomen. Dus de temperature zouden vrij constant moeten zijn zoals als de algement wind richting niet verandered. Dut verwacht ik gemiddeld 10oC / 50oF for the meeste dagen. Als we dan dichter bij Florida koment gaat het omhoog to 18oC. maar ook omlaag to 5oC als er een kou front doorkomt van Bermuda.
mvg
Capt. Albert
November 19, 2018 at 10:55 am
Captain Albert
Fascinating watching, through your eyes, the new ship come to life. In this blog you used a term that I had not heard before while explaining the Mess facilities–Dirty Officers. Can you explain for us what that means.
Thanks as always and regards.
Roger T
November 19, 2018 at 3:23 pm
Thank you for continued reading of my blog.
A “dirty” officers mess, is messroom where the officers can eat in their coveralls and/ or kakhi’s. This means they do not have to change clothes to eat in the lido and also if they wish so keep the lunch short and finish a project they were busy with. A messroom like that normally seats 12 to 16 officers and has the full facilities as expected.
Best regards
Capt. Albert
November 20, 2018 at 5:31 am
Is Nederlands niet mogelijk???
November 20, 2018 at 8:38 am
Jawel,
maar 90% van mijn lezers zijn engels sprekend en die begrijpen ons niet……………
mvg
Capt. Albert