Yesterday I ended my blog with the remark that this cruise was not POSH. That does not just apply to this cruise, but basically to all cruises, unless you are on a world cruise which only travels one way. POSH comes from the old days of the British Empire, when company’s such as P & O Lines maintained regular liner services to the colonies in the Far East. P & O still exists as P & O Cruises but the British Empire is long gone. In the heydays of this travel between the colonies there was no air conditioning on board and even worse, many of the ships had a black hull. Continue reading
Author: Captain Albert (page 35 of 238)
Well this cruise started very well. The sea was as smooth as a mirror when we approached Half Moon Cay and the sun was happily shining with just a few clouds in the sky. I had been told that we would be the only ship here but when we arrived the Nieuw Amsterdam showed up as well. I should have checked myself as it is clearly on the sailing calendar. With two ships in there could be about 4000 guests ashore but in reality probably no more than 3000 as a lot of our guests have been there already a few times and opted to stay on board. And that means that the island is still very sparsely populated and there will be no fights over beach chairs. Continue reading
With so many cruise ships coming in, and so many big ones, the arrival parade started quite early as some ships docked nose in and some ships docked nose out. The choice between one and the other has mostly to do with work that has to be carried out on a specific side of the ship. All captains like to dock nose out; always easier for departing. Most of the time you have sufficient time on arrival to swing first before docking as Customs and Immigration do not start until 07.00 hrs. But captains do not always get their way as work might be needed at a certain side of the hull. Continue reading
With a brightly shining sun the ms Zuiderdam continued its return part of the voyage to Fort Lauderdale. We have already left the North western part of the Caribbean with the Yucatan Channel and by 16.00 hrs. we were abeam of Havana Cuba in the Straits of Florida. In the Straits the navigators start searching for the most optimum speed by trying to find the center of the Gulf Stream. For this we are aided by current charts which we receive every day from the NOAA and from other Meteorological authorities who collect Satellite Data, then turn the data into charts and beam them on a daily basis to everybody who can receive them. Continue reading
Today we had our first sea day with beautiful weather and it looks like it will remain so. The frontal system of yesterday dissipated and the next one coming will only bring thunderstorms on Monday and we will be in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday. And that should be a warm day as normally between systems the wind dies down. The route we are taking runs roughly along the east coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico before we reach Cuba and the Straits of Florida. I use the word roughly as it is not a straight course. Continue reading
Puerto Limon is one of the two major ports in Costa Rica. There is a 3rd one Porto Moin but I have been told it is too obscure for cruise ships. One port is located on the west coast, Puerto Caldera with attached to it Punta Arenas cruise terminal and on the East coast there is Puerto Limon. Limon is not really much of a port. It is just a corner of a large bay with a cargo pier at the north side and a newer pier with two berths next to it. The cargo dock is lying inside the natural sea wall and that is not for nothing. The coast here is a real surfer’s paradise with swells that built up very high and then roll freely into the bay. Very exciting for surfers who come in droves to this coast to ride the waves. Continue reading
The Zuiderdam has been sailing on this service for quite a while and hence the Captain and his team have become experts in dipping into the Panama Canal and out again. So today was pure routine, although it was a hot routine. Although it was somewhat cloudy at times, the sun burned down upon us all day and there was not much wind to help cool things down a little bit. That was a pity; but on the other hand it is also good as a cool breeze gives the impression that it is not so warm and then the next morning you find out that it was very warm and sunny when you start to imitate a well-cooked lobster. Continue reading
When there is bad weather in the offing, then as a captain you always have to decide: how much are you going to tell the guests, how much detailed information to be given, what is enough to prepare them without confusing the message. Once you have done that, the waiting game starts until the bad weather comes through and you can find out how good your predictions were and if real life –ship in storm- equates to the guests perspective. The understanding achieved by the warnings given. There is no captain in the world who minds to be called a liar if the weather is less bad than he/she predicted but at the same time there is the nagging feeling of will they believe me next time or will they just think that I am always exaggerating. Continue reading
11 Feb. 2018: At Sea.
Yesterday I boarded the ms Zuiderdam in Willemstad after having been on vacation since December 18 after leaving the ms Nieuw Statendam when it ended its maiden voyage in Ft. Lauderdale.
During my vacation time, the IT gurus of Holland America have been moving my blog to a separate server for operational reasons. It should not have affected anybody as I am still linked through via the HAL blog but you can also reach me via www.captainalbert.com.
Never a dull moment when you work for Holland America. Continue reading
This is the last day of Voyage 87; another 7 day cruise to Norway almost completed. The Koningsdam is making a varied pattern of 7 day and 14 cruises to Norway and then in between a cruise going another way. That is what she will do when she starts voyage 88, called the Northern Isles and includes calling at Scottish ports and visiting Iceland. The mixture of various lengths of cruises and destinations is a pattern which Holland America’s prefers to have so it can attract guests who stay for more than one cruise.
The next cruise of the Koningsdam which will offer a few more sea days to relax and enjoy.
Nice for the company but also nice from the focus of the guest. Especially those who come from far away. It does not make much sense to fly all the way from Vancouver to Amsterdam, do a 7 day cruise and fly all the way back again. Jet lag will cost you 2 days and the last day is half gone with packing. Thus on our ships we see a pattern of travelers coming from far way staying on board for multiple cruises or combing a cruise with overland activities. Because Holland America is offering that option we see a lot of Aussies and Kiwi’s on board who have made the 26 hrs. journey from down under and then embark on a month long (or longer) period of traveling through Europe. We often see them near the end of their overland travels so they can make a cruise and at the same time relax without packing and unpacking their bags, as we will park their hotel for them in a new place every day. The company even has a name for them. CVG guests. Collector Voyages Guest and, time permitting, we treat them to an extra lunch or cocktail party out of appreciation.
Club Hal is made up out of three sections. Toddlers, those in between ( a bit of a vague area) and teenagers up to 17. This the Loft, a place for teenagers to hang out and to be cool.
The Koningsdam is focusing on 7 day cruises as it expects that all the amenities this ship has will attract a younger crowd and families with children. We need to do this as otherwise there will be no HAL cruiser left in the future. With our 7 day cruises we do have a lot of families on board, at least during the school holidays. Not only Dutch but also from the USA, Canada, Russia, India and this cruise also from the East Mediterranean. It gives for a nice kaleidoscope of languages, sometimes clothing, but above all the various ways of families bonding and having a great time. For an interested observer the actions going on in Club HAL are even more interesting. We always have one or two child minders on board but when the bookings indicate that there are a lot of children expected, then those numbers go up pro rata to 6 or 8 club HAL staff. Kids do not do politics (except when it comes to hoarding toys) and it is interesting to see that all the nationalities just mix in without any reservation. Sometime I wonder if it would not work better if we put all the big political shots of the world on a HAL cruise (without advisers), make the drinks half price and let them sort it out. It is amazing what you can agree upon after five Heineken’s. I know from experience, I sold one of my bicycles once that way. Turned out the next morning that it was not my bike at all but nobody could remember who the real owner was and what had happened to him. But the evening before it all made sense. And I wondered ever since what happened to that person as we all came to that party on a bike. Maybe he got a date with a girl who had a tandem. This was in Holland and with bikes everything is possible, there is even a pub on wheels where you peddle with 10 people and drive the thing around the town while drinking.
On the last day of the cruise Holland America puts out scales in the staircases on every deck. The idea is that you can weigh your suitcase so it is not too heavy when going back on the plane. Some people use it for that purpose, but a lot of guests step on it to see how much weight they have put on during the cruise. Most of the time they are not very happy with the result. But then they have 358 days to deal with it before it is time for the next cruise.
This is most of the time the main cause for frowning at scales. The Dining Room of the ms Koningsdam.
The good ship ms Koningsdam will dock at 07.00 hrs. tomorrow morning in the port of Amsterdam and that is also the end of my cruise. At 09.30 my private car (Holland America looks after its captains very well ) will be waiting at the gangway. Schiphol is only 30 minutes away and by 2 pm. I will be home in England, ready to face the Honey Do list from my Lord and Master and that of the Apartment building. My focus point for the coming period is designing and building new garbage sheds that offer enough space for the recycling requirements of the local council.
That brings me to the end of this period of blogging on board the various ships of the company and my blog will now stop until approx. 5 October. Then the plan is to go to the new building of the Nieuw Statendam in Marghera near Venice. As I did with the building of the Koningsdam I will take you again through the preparations of bringing our next new ship into service. I thank all my readers for their continued support and I hope I did not bore you too often.
The ms Nieuw Statendam under construction at Marghera late last year. She is going on trials this month and by the time I see her the shipyard they will be hard at work to finish the inside for a delivery date of 01 December.
Captain Albert
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