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Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

23 March 2010; Final Day at Sea.

By the early morning the ship sailed above Cuba into the Old Bahama Channel. It was fairly busy with ships as the Windward Passage, the opening between the East point of Cuba and the West point of Haiti, is a very busy route to and from the Panama Canal. Four traffic flows meet here, as there is also traffic to and from the USA and the East Caribbean Sea including Puerto Rico. Since Recife we had not seen any other cruise ships (with the exception on those in port in Bridgetown Barbados) while at sea but now we met a few again. Most cruise ships leave Florida on a Saturday or Sunday and then they are past Cuba by Monday night. So now a steady stream of them coming by and speeding down towards the Caribbean Sea. Tuesday’s, Wednesday and Thursdays are the busy days in St Thomas and St. Maarten so by Friday they are all racing back again to Florida to end the cruise. For the Prinsendam with its long cruises and no steady home port that is a bit of an alien concept. We saw the Silver Shadow of Silver Seas and the Caribbean Princess of Princess cruises, they must have had a departure date out of the regular routine as well.

Because Old Bahama Channel is such a busy fairway, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) has introduced a few Vessel Traffic Separation Schemes (VTS) in this area. Short “highways” at Sea which mandatory separate North from South bound traffic, in those locations where the Cuban Coast angles away and the ships change course to keep following the coast. With opposing ships, both changing course at the same time, that can create a dangerous situation and hence these little pieces of Highways at sea. As there are no traffic cops around in this area, it depends on the professionalism of the seafarers on the ships……..and thus there is always one that does it different……… this time a tug and tow who was coming south in the northbound lane. Not dangerous as we saw the tug 15 miles away, but annoying as it makes the whole VTS system a bit of a mockery.

As this was our last day, we had this morning our crew farewell to the guests. This is part of the Cruise director’s disembarkation talk, during which he explains how the whole procedures goes for getting off the ship. As luggage has to be off loaded first and Customs is involved there has to be timing and scheduling. Also most guests use company transport to get to the airport or to a hotel and thus the groups have to come off the ship in the right sequence to end up in the right bus. Not everybody always understands that, and hence it is the job of the CD to make it all clear. The magic words are always: “Wait for your number to be called”. The number referring to the luggage tag number. At the end of this disembarkation talk, a selection of the crew appears on the stage, to sing a farewell to all the guests. On a regular cruise it is normally about 25% or so but on the longer cruises most of the crew show up as during a long cruise, the guests become friends and everybody knows each other by face. This time I counted about 250 of them and that is more than half of the crew. Where possible each crewmember was dressed up in something related to a theme night that we had on the cruise, or brought a piece of equipment related to the job. Thus nobody was amazed that a cabin steward brought his vacuum cleaner, the 4th officer who did the star gazing this cruise brought her sextant and the navigator was dressed up in paper charts. Not to mention the wine stewards with wine bottles and the cruise staff walking around with DAM dollars.

Putu Mr. Putu, the fatest Bell-boy on the ship. The mail is delivered before you have written the letter.

I normally do not attend this farewell, as I believe the focus has to be fully on those crew who deliver the product, but this time after 70 days, I knew everybody.
Also I had a chore to complete and that was introducing the employee’s of the month of February and March. That is normally done during the Captains Welcome on Board reception but this 70 day cruise stretched over a three month period so we were two adrift. What can be better then to do it during the Crew farewell with most of the crew there?

Carlfred Mr. Carfred, Holland America’s next generation of Executive Chefs.

So we had: Mr. Putu Sartika from Bali for February. He is one of the Bellboys. This is his first contract for HAL and he was chosen because of his eagerness on the job, being a quick learner and for “running faster than his shadow. For March we had Mr. Carlfred Gonzaga, From the Philipinnes, one of the Cooks from the kitchen. Three years with Holland America and he was chosen for his enthusiasm and interest to learn as much as possible, hoping one day to be an Executive Chef. He became the father of a Baby daughter on January 18th. when we had just started our cruise. Such is sailor’s life.

Tomorrow morning, we will be at the Port Everglades pilot station at 06.00 hrs. There are no other cruise ships expected and thus I should be able to sail directly into the port. I hope to be docked by 07.00 and then get going straight away with the luggage. It is going to be a busy day as we are supposed to sail again by 5 pm. to start our next Grand Voyage to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

8 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for taking us with you on this wonderful, long cruise with you. We have enjoyed every day. Mage Bailey with George Bailey.

  2. I have been following your blogs for some time, Captain, and I would like to thank you so much for the effort you have obviously put in over the cruise(s). From Scotland, I salute you!

  3. Thank you, captain. I see from your posted schedule that you are to leave the ship in Port Everglades. Is this still the plan, or are you continuing as master to Europe and beyond?

  4. Nicholas Sabalos, Jr., CDR, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

    March 24, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    Thank You, Captain! It’s been wonderful following you the past couple of months. As a retired naval officer, I learned so much new….and learned how much remains the same….about navigation, logistics, administration and, most of all, leadership. We’ve had friends onboard with you to South America, and two others joining you for your next voyage to the Med. I hope to be lucky enough to sail under your command someday on another Grand Voyage!

    Wishing you and your ship Fair Winds and Following Seas.

  5. Thank you Captain for your wonderful blog. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the behind the scenes adventures of being on a Grand Voyage.

    Hope you have a nice vacation. I will be looking forward to your blog when you return from your holiday. And I hope that someday, I will have an opportunity to travel with you aboard the “Elegant Little Lady” on a Grand Voyage.

  6. Thanks for taking us along on the Grand Voyage. I enjoy your blog very much and hope one day to be able to sail with you.

  7. Thank you for writing your blog and taking us along for a ‘virtual’ cruise. While I don’t have enough vacation time from my company to cruise in person on the Prinsendam, I am encouraging my friends who can to do so– especially when you are on board as Captain & Master. I look forward to the story of the Nieuw Amsterdam III– after you have a chance to unwind and relax of course! 🙂

  8. Captain Albert, you’re amazing! Perhaps you can have a camera crew follow you around. I’m sure you would become a reality tv star on the History or Discovery Channel. Thank you, Master Teacher!

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