19 November 2007, at sea.

Thus we were happily on our way to Key West for an afternoon call, cranking up the ship to full speed as soon as we had disembarked the Tampa bay pilot. Just before midnight we had to slow down again as we developed issues with one of the propeller shafts. It took all night and most of the early morning to control the problem and as a result we had to cancel our call at Key West.

The schedule between Tampa and Key West is very tight and a delayed departure or a slow down on the route, has immediate consequences for the arrival time. So I made an announcement explaining the situation to the guests. The guests received a compensation letter from the office and we continued on our way to Belize for a normal scheduled arrival of 8 am. at the anchorage, the day after tomorrow. It is never nice to cancel a port, not when it is weather related nor for port issues nor for ship issues. It all takes away from a care free cruise experience and we as crew always feel guilty about it, even when we can not do anything about it. Technical issues are especially very frustrating as you know that the engine department does its utmost to repair it all and to keep everything well maintained but things still happen occasionally.

The Caribbean cruise season is really getting on the way and in Belize we will not be the only ship. A luxury we had during our first call three weeks ago. Now we will be joined by the Carnival Miracle and the Navigator of the Seas, two of the very big boys. So if you look for the Veendam, we are that little blue boat sitting between the two white apartment buildings.

The weather looks very good for the coming days, which is a relief because if it is too windy, then some of the snorkeling tours are cancelled as the stirred up sand obscures the view. With our Thanks Giving Crowd on board there is great interest in snorkeling, diving and all other water sports, so good weather is of the essence.

We do have a bit more swell than normal and the ship has this dipping wobble at the moment. The stabelizers are balancing the ship against the rolling and we are not really pitching. However occasionally, the ship lurches a bit forward when the two swells that are running meet up together and create a “hole” in the water. It has the same feeling as if you twisted your ankle and then try to run. This ships movement is not uncomfortable, just a bit strange.

I am looking around the ship at the moment to find a nice wall to hang the picture/painting that we received yesterday in Tampa. See entry and photo of 18 November. Normally we receive small gifts, like plaques or plates but this time we received a five feet high framed photo on art paper. Thus we have to find a nice location and order a descriptive sign for it. The latter is more difficult as all interior signs have to be from standard prescribed brass with blue letters to keep it in synch with all the others. This can be a very lengthy procurement issue as each sign has to be custom made by one manufacturer.

The weather is good and very sunny and so it will be a great day tomorrow, when we have the scheduled sea day, which is now the second sea day.