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.

Today we have less than a fortnight to go and if the weather stays as it is then we can count ourselves very lucky. It is getting chilly but the sun is out and it is a very dry day. As a result the painters are focusing on outside work and are repainting and touching up on railings and bulkheads. Some of the crew are complaining bitterly about the cold weather as they were convinced that Italy has always warm weather. Yes if you watch the TV they do not show the rain or the cold wind in Venice. But the Alps are not that far away so when the wind turns to the north it can blow an icy chill down to this area. But for those of us who come from the cooler areas of the globe it was a very nice day.

The new crew is still trickling in and this morning we were advised by the Human Resources Manager that the count was up to a crew number 944 with 11 expected today. On board we know who is coming each day to the ship and what their function is, if they are regular crew, but all others can be a bit of a surprise sometimes. He/she will be on a list otherwise the security guards at the Gate will get nervous but it is not always clear what each person will be doing on board as they will be sent by the various specialists departments on board. So until all is revealed it is not always clear who is crew and who is not.

The crew without a specified function assemble in the crew mess. We can use these crew “as Directed” as they will be called out to help where ever they are directed to go to.

Today we had our first All Crew Drill. So 944 crew members were marching to their Emergency Duty Stations and carrying out their emergency functions. And from there to their boat and life raft stations once the General Emergency Alarms had sounded. Normally a complete drill takes about 45 minutes when going through the complete evolution. This, our first drill, took double the time as all the team members still have to become a team. Next drill will go faster and eventually we will get to the 45 minutes and then it will also have included a full fire drill and a boat lowering exercise. With nearly 400 Koningsdam crew on board the routine was already working very well and the new crew could tag along as buddies and find the correct location of reporting. They had all already been trained, but there is a great difference between being told how to do it, and then having to do it yourself.

Acting as guests. Only a few at the moment but enough to check the system out.

Those who are on board and not regular crew and are staying in guest cabins, were to act as guests and assemble in the appropriate locations according to the sign on the back of the cabin door. Thus the lounges were not full but enough “Guests” came through to test the crew on location and to see if the mustering PDA’s worked. (Electronic Scanners) There will be quite a few more drills in the coming days before we have our “exam drill” which will be observed by Lloyd’s as they will be issuing the Ships certificates on behalf of the Dutch Government, which is the Flag State of all our ships as we have our home port / registration port as Rotterdam.

While the ship is being finished off, there is still a lot of testing going on, so on occasion the lights go out and then come back on again. Sometimes everything goes out, that is a black out, but most of the time it is the non-preferential groups, which means light go out in a certain section, or the AC stops for a moment. Sometimes it takes only a few seconds, sometimes it goes on for a few minutes. If there would be a full blackout while at sea, then the main electricity supply (not for the cabins but for corridors etc.) would be back in 10 seconds as the Emergency Diesel Generator would start up.

Part of the Emergency Diesel Engine Set-Up. This is a completely self contained unit with its own fuel supply, own main switch board and own command stand.

This is for the Nieuw Statendam a 1950 KW strong Caterpillar 4 stroke diesel engine located on deck 10 amidships. Apart from dry docks I have experienced only a few full black outs in my career but it was always amazing how fast this engine would come on line and how fast the engineers then restored full power to the ship. On the old ships they had to run around and restart everything locally but now with modern technology everything can be done from the ECR. (Although an engineer will still make a round to see if it all works, so the engines have not yet made human kind redundant)

The “Bar Tables” in the Grand Dutch Café with the Dutch houses to be installed.

More art is coming on board so today a photo of the installing of the little Dutch Houses in the gully of the high bar tables in the Grand Dutch Café. This is the series of colored houses; the other table has them in white and blue.

Tomorrow calls for another sunny day with a chilly breeze from the North East. The yard will be much quieter as it is a Sunday but there will still be work going on…………… and drills of course.

The Nieuw Statendam by night. Please note the blue box on the side of the ship. This is the staircase which curves on the outside of the ship from deck 10 Tamarind down to deck 09 Lido. At night the shape and form is accentuated in various colors. when I came by it was blue but I have also seen pink.

According to the announcement this morning by our Human Resources Manager we now have 932 of our core crew on board and 11 more coming. The rest that makes us go to and over the 1000 are extras who do specialized things or offer support, and will eventually fade away when it comes closer to sailing time or after the shakedown cruise. We are now entering the stage of “worrying”. Not that the ship will not be finished but, worry if all the materials will arrive on time. All those materials, stores and supplies which can only be loaded at the last minute. Everything has been organized but we know how pallets get delayed, customs has a weekend off, or we lose a complete truck. I have experienced it a few times in the past that a truck went to a different port or arrived the day after the ship had sailed; it can all happen. Ashore the building will still be there if there is a delay but……………a ship it sails………………….

The Hot Galley side of the Galley on Deck 2.

Before it was only the Crew kitchen in use for producing our warm food, now the kitchen brigade has started to test all the galley equipment. With it comes the training process of how to ensure a smooth operation between cooking, dishing up and delivering. To the untrained eye, a kitchen during main course serving looks a place of mayhem with all the running and the shouting. But it is all carefully choreographed. We have a core of 400 Koningsdam crew on board but the rest has to get into the groove and that also means the Galley Team. A fully operational galley is a sort of complicated dance which ensures that 700 meals go out on short notice; with all the correct ingredients and …………….. on a clean serving plate. Thus all the section cooks have to be coordinated to bring each item to the hot counter but also the blue boys who wash the dishes and continuously supply clean crockery and cutlery to make it all possible. Hence, training, training and more training.

The Pinnacle Team getting instruction.

But finally the ship is starting to look like a Holland America Line ship as the Florists have arrived with the flowers, trees and shrubs. My wife and I make regular cruises with the competition and apart from differences in the product there is always one big thing that we notice: No flowers or plants. You walk through the ship and you think there is something missing and then it finally hits you: NO flowers. Holland America really stands out with having this focus on real greenery and color in the ship and hopefully we will continue to do this for a long, long, time. It makes such a difference. So sacks of potting ground and large plants were all loaded onto the Lido Deck (another good thing about having dry weather) and the first bits and pieces are being distributed over the ship. And that can now be done as more and more areas are complete or so near completion that a big pot with plants is not in the way of the work.

Holland America has a contract with a Dutch Company which supplies or oversees the supply and delivery of flowers and greenery to the ships. They also train the florists we have on board our ships.

Thus today they were ready to set the table in the Pinnacle restaurant as tonight the first test will take place to see how everything works and to get the routine going. The guinea pigs will be the officers from various departments with most tables occupied. Although it will be food only; the yard does not allow alcohol onboard the ship. So no toast to the good ship Nieuw Statendam while enjoying the first specialty dinner on board. But then sacrifices have to be made for the good cause. Eventually all the restaurants will be tested in this way, to ensure all is working before the ship comes into operation.

The Pinnacle Restaurant ready to roll.

The next restaurant will probably be the Sel de Mer next to the Pinnacle.  The Tamarind is not yet finished as they are now busy with the outside part. The idea is that there will also be an open air section, a sort of restaurant terrace. How it exactly will work still needs to be revealed but on each side of the horseshoe legs behind the Tamarind a section has been closed in and in/out doors to the Tamarind have been constructed. So we will have “Sate al Fresco” coming to the ship.

The Tamarind Outside door site being constructed. This is the starboard wing. The cables protruding from the deck are for the light fixtures.

In the meantime the installing of the art continues with more and more bare walls and open spaces being filled in. Today a mystery piece of art. Installed in the elevator landing on deck 9 outside the Green House Spa. What is inside will be revealed in the near future.

Tomorrow is another day, and it will be another dry day, chilly and windy, but as the sun is scheduled to shine all day it should not be too bad.

It is a statue. But what sort of statue will be find behind the wrapping? A conventional one as often found near Spa’s or something more quirky ?

Another dry and sunny day in the yard and work progresses steadily. Final inspections are taking place and repairs and adjustments are carried out everywhere. There is a new glass window lying outside my door so somebody must have decided that there is something wrong with the balcony door and thus new glass is going in.

We now slowly see a shift in the numbers balance between yard and ship. Less and less yard workers are milling around and more and more crew. Today we reached the 950 with another 45 coming and then we should be on regular new building complement. A little bit more than over regular TOP (Table of Personnel) but we have functions doubled up. As an example we have two Hotel Directors on Board. One who handles the new building part and one who is busy with starting up the Hotel department. And so it goes for a lot of other functions. Running a ship on routine voyages is already a full day job in each function, finishing a ship and starting it up, is more than a full day’s work and hence we have extra people in various key functions.

Housekeeping sorting through all the cabin papers. Ever counted how many pieces of paper you have in your stateroom when you make a cruise? It will all be delivered to the cabins and is broken down in smaller amounts in the right quantities for each steward section.

With a lot of ventures and cabins being completed and delivered, it is time to start getting them ready for operation. Hence large groups of crew are carrying boxes and unpacking them to put the contents in the lockers already available. Plus to check………. if what is expected to be in the box………. is also really in there as that is not always the case. Anybody who ever bought anything from IKEA knows the feeling and the hope that there will a few screws too many and not too few. In between, the number of trainings is heating up. All the 900+ crew have to go through a whole cycle of familiarization as the lifeboat drill system for the Nieuw Statendam is slightly different from the Koningsdam. No changes for the guests but the routines with which the crew make it all happen to get everybody to where they have to go. With 900+ crew this is quite a complicated operation to have all the functions lined up properly and the lines of communication crystal clear. Then what is done if the regular lines of communication break down? During an emergency on a ship all sorts of things can happen and we try to plan for everything. So how does it go if the phones do not work anymore? “Who will be the Runner” and where does he/she go and when? What we train here on board for the “behind the scenes” will eventually be rolled to all the Carnival Company ships which are similar in setup. And that will have great benefit to everybody as standard stuff is always easier than having to learn a different system every time. But it has to be learned first and thus we train and train.

The Food department sorting out cutlery and crockery for Lido, Tamarind and Canaletto. Here it is unpacked, counted and assigned to the correct locker in the correct restaurant.

The art team is progressing as well. With the paintings and similar that hang on the walls it is the carpenters who work from drawings. With the “three dimensional installations” it is slightly different as they have to be installed under the exactly right angle and composition as the artist intended. Hence today the gentlemen were accompanied by a lady who ensured that the art on location also gave the right artsy impression.

The Piano Mirror. If you stand right in the middle, the string of lights are pointing towards the stairway behind you. So a sort of stairway to heaven  idea ???  The stairs behind me are not in the same color as the white side is wooden protection for everybody to use, while the carpeted  side, in brown, has been roped off. Once all the yard work is finished all the wood coverings will be removed. 

Largest piece that was installed yesterday was the Piano mirror in Deck 9 elevator lobby. I normally try to stay out of my own photos but how do you otherwise photograph a mirror? It uses some clever optical effects so when you look in the mirror, it looks like as if you are surrounded by a pathway of light.

Tomorrow will be another sunny day in the yard, so somebody in Fincantieri management must be very happy. No disruption in the work. But the wind is expected to pick up and that will make the temperatures drop by a few degrees.

Below an over view photo of the yard. The Nieuw Statendam can be seen in upper middle. The yard is located right in the middle of a industrial area and container port, connected with one long channel to the Adriatic Sea.

For those who fly KLM into Venice. The airplane is coming straight over the shipyard. Here the yard on 14 November in the early afternoon. (Photo Courtesy: Ruud van Deventer, son of old HAL Capt. H.L van Deventer)

Another dull morning with fog, but later with a bit of sunshine here in Marghera and it stayed dry and that was all the shipyard could ask for. There is major cleaning going on, on the outside, and the Sea View deck (Lido deck Aft) is finished off little bit by little bit. And for a good job you need good weather; at least dry weather. This morning the HR department announced that we had 841 crew on board and that we were expecting 42 more. So by tomorrow we should be more or less on TOP. ( Table of Personnel) More or less as there will always be a few more coming and a few leaving.  Because the Print shop has not been completed yet, the machines are there and installers are on site, we have a 08.00 hrs. Morning announcement about what can be expected – crew wise- for the day.  Crew has to go to training at various times and in various places so there is a daily reminder of not to forget and to be on time for the first induction training and to check the schedules in the mess room for the other things going on. I expect that, as same with the Koningsdam, as soon as the Print shop is ready, we will start getting little programs with the most pertinent information. Everybody has to test everything out and thus on the Koningsdam they started these little programs to get everybody into the daily routine.

Also our Captain arrived, Captain Sybe de Boer, who has only recently come from the Seabourn Odyssey. As explained in one of my previous blogs Captains, officers and crew have started to rotate through Seabourn. It is the wish of my Seattle management that I am getting myself involved with Seabourn as well so next year you might get some blogs from me from there. It might not be easy as those ships are small and they are always full so I might have to wait until somebody cancels the Owners Suite !!!  I will upload a biography of Captain de Boer in the coming days under the header of Current Captains and their Schedules, elsewhere on the blog. I have known him for a very long time, as a matter of fact he was my Chief Officer on the Noordam in 2001 and not long after he was promoted to Captain himself.

This is a lady with high combed up hair and a sailing ship on top of it. I remember that in the days of Louis IV there was a period where ladies did walk around with all sorts of things stuck on top of their hair and small ships models were one of those. So maybe the artist got the inspiration from there.

In the meantime the “Art People” made up by two carpenters from the shipyard are installing more and more art. More and more pictures, collages and other “creations” are appearing in the ship. I am using the word creations not in a negative way but simply because I do not know if you can use the word “statue” for a paper creation which looks a statue but isn’t. This is the eye catcher located on Deck 3 center elevator landing just outside the Front Desk. A statue, a display, a composition, a display, a creation, an installation none of these words really cover the context of this white paper display that is quite ingeniously made and will certain attract a lot of attention.

We have two of these showcases where day to day items have been embroidered. It cannot have been easy to do this. Just look at the pair of scissors.

And so will other display cases in the ship. To a certain extent it follows the same pattern as on the Koningsdam. There in the forward staircase they have an old Singer sewing machine on display but then transformed into a LP record player. Here we have a more modern sewing machine but now completely embroidered. Also the music team has not been forgotten. The focus point on the two level high wall outside the Club HAL kiddie’s area has been decorated with two large LP records with in its center what certainly are two great music lovers. Who says art cannot be entertaining? More to come.

Time for honoring the music fans, old and young, with records, Walkman, Smart Phone or CD player.

In the ship there are no major things going on at the moment. It is all about the finishing touches. The last two spaces that still require a lot of work, The Rolling Stone Rock Room and the Queens Lounge / BB King Jazz Club are nearing completion as well. Thus we are now entering the phase, “let’s check why it works, so it keeps working”; then check recheck and double check. And a lot of time is spend on this by all the officers. Some of the officers have been with the ship from the very beginning and they all want to deliver the best HAL ship ever.

It looks like that will be another dry day tomorrow and that is all the ship needs to indeed deliver the best ship ever. I am closing for the day with the Kitchen Departments favorite piece of art: hanging on deck 5.

I think this is an Andy Warhol Affiche. As there was a period in his life that he was into Soup. It looks like his signature on the lower left hand side.

An overcast but dry day to day so the work goes on unabated. The ship gets cleaner and cleaner by the day. The yard is cleaning up but also the crew is coming into full swing, today another “plane load” of new crew arrived. It will not be long before the complete team will be here. It also means that the trainings on board are gearing up.

Here we have the Kitchen team in action. Un-wrapping all the new plate covers that keep you food warm during transport from galley to diningroom

Apart from the induction trainings (HAL company and safety basics, which everybody gets when coming on board), the crew is now also going through the lifeboat handling training and the specific safety duties for each crew member.  Lifeboat instruction, Evacuation instruction etc. etc. Although we are loading full speed, there is still a lot material awaited and which cannot go in yet as a lot of public areas are not ready yet for us to move in full time. Although it will not be long before the furniture will start to arrive and the public rooms will start to look like a real ship.  But as open spaces make for easy cleaning and thus everybody is in full swing.

Even in the shipyard there are things to see when looking out of the window.

As you can see the ship was still missing the top and now it has arrived.

My efforts go now towards making small manuals for the training officers who will join the ship in the future.

So I am working in my cabin and running to and fro in the ship to see if everything is installed according to the drawing and what the variations are there with the Koningsdam as even sister ships are not 100% identical. Looking out of the balcony I saw a sight that you do not see every day: a complete ships funnel coming by. The top of the funnel of the Carnival Panorama arrived. Built at a shipyard nearby it arrived by barge and will be hoisted in place sometime in the future.

Why all this effort for the future? The ships are nowadays so complicated that you have to really sit down and study about how something is constructed, installed and works. We often lack that time and we have to train the crew so the ship is safe at all time. So to say,” I am turning the bible into 20 minute sermons”, so even when you are not a vicar you can still do the job. The main challenge is all the food outlets in the ship. The days that an extinguisher and a fire hose were the only tools you had and needed are long gone. Every time there is a major (cruise) ship fire, the industry comes up with an additional gadget which will make it safer again. Together with the Engine Room, the Galleys / kitchens are the most dangerous locations on board.  Our main concerns are the deep fat fryers and grills.  And there the main danger is that the flames will go into the hood and spread that way. There is always the danger of grease accumulating there. (Angelina Laura 1981) Although we also have cleaning systems in the hood to reduce the grease.

Nothing is too good for our guests. Which company buys a Van Gogh, just to hang in a staircase?  Forward Guest Staircase.

To avoid this, we have Hi-Fog everywhere. Also in the rest of the ship (including cabins) but there it works automatically as a glass bulb will burst if the temperature goes too high. A glass bulb above a frying location does not work and thus everything is/has to be manual. And thus we need to train the crew. There is Hi-fog which we can spray safely over Deep Fat fryers as a dense mist, there is CO2 up in the exhaust hood to avoid the flames from traveling upwards and then there are the manual dampers, steel covers and  shutters to close off the area. And then there is still the extinguisher, the fire blanket and the fire hose. Lots of options but everything has to be operated in the right way and in a safe way.

Quite a few landings in the staircases have rows of three or four smaller pictures next to each other.

In the meantime the shipyard carpenters have descended full speed on the staircases and have started to install the art on all the landings. As with the Koningsdam there is art everywhere and some is music related and some is considered “whimsical” At the moment the “whimsical” part is being installed. Similar in vein as on the Koningsdam but still different. I do not know if you can apply the word “beautiful” to every piece but it is certainly fascinating. There are some very creative artists out there who can dream up these ideas and then execute them in such a way that there is a sort of universal appeal.

A start has also been made by placing objects in the Elevators squares on various landings. More about that tomorrow.

Forward Guest Staircase. Is there a Van Gogh painting like this out in the world somewhere ?

I find this very clever. To select all these small items and turn them into another Van Gogh (or inspired by van Gogh) painting.

The Vincent van Gogh self portrait is made up of all sorts of small items. Items that I would say you find in children’s play rooms. The next collage (?) picture below is made up in the same way. I have placed an detailed enlargement next to it.

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Welcome Monday morning and the ship was buzzing again. Still we see less and less welders and fitters, but still lots of painters and contractors finishing off their respective public rooms. Everywhere technicians are following up on what is almost completed, or what did not work during the inspections or what needs to be tuned or touched up some more. Also the Cleaning Ladies are out in force again. While all these people are going about their regular business, the ship is slowly filling up with crew. As of this morning we are with 600 of us on board and today another 150 are being expected.  As we now have a lot of the inventory on board everybody is getting busy with un-boxing, separating materials and taking it to the cabins or the work place. My cabin collection of inventory increased today with a shoe basket. Every day is Santa Claus with something else popping up.

Housekeeping sorting out cabin amenities in the staircase.

The Fire/security/safety officers are trying to get everybody to wear safety shoes and helmets but they do not know where to start as we have the typical chicken and egg situation. The new crew can only get a hard hat and safety shoes after they have checked in but in order to check in they first have to walk through the ship, where hard hat and safety shoes are compulsory. And then there was the beautiful moment that the very tall Safety Officer was nicely told off by a very small Philipinna Lady……. that she might be able to wear a helmet tomorrow but not today as she had just washed her hair.  So he gave up, he was married I suppose and had come across a similar argument himself before. Luckily the chance of accidents has gone down enormously as the ship is not a real danger zone anymore as all the rough and tumble work has been completed.

The Cleaning Ladies are out everywhere in force. It is just hard to get them on Camera. Peculiar thing is that are only Ladies, never men. Not that I mind…..

With all the testing going on, testing the PA system is part of it, and during the last few days they have been playing music through all the cabin speakers (normal speaker in the cabin, emergency speaker in the bathroom) for most of the day. I am a great lover of the music of Queen but all day long the same CD is a bit much. This afternoon somebody changed the tape and now we have hard rock. They never seem to want to play classic music, while Beethoven’s 5^th. rocks quite good as well.

With more and more items being handed over, there is normally some sort of training involved. We are now getting closer to the handover of the lifesaving systems and thus this morning we had an explanation of how the system with the Davits work. Luckily they kept the system identical to the Koningsdam and that made it a lot easier. Our lifeboat system is of the Semi-Gravity System. Full Gravity means lifting the brake and the boat goes down. But as these boats are stored further inside the ship, we have semi-gravity. This means that we have a little hydraulic system that pushes the Davit (the arms in which the lifeboat hangs) through its dead point of gravity after which mother earth can take over.  Gravity always works. Hydraulics are mechanical and thus we need to have several backup systems to ensure that it also always works. Most cruise ships have this or a similar system nowadays. But there are variations in how to go about it and thus we need a bit of training.

The assembled deck team and some Fleet trainers, listening to the wisdom of an instructor with a very Italian accent.

A few readers asked what Club Orange was. Well this is a new thing that Holland America is starting to roll out. The location is what is currently the Culinary Arts Centre / America’s Test Kitchen and in the evening used to be the Farm to Table Dinner concept. Details will be rolled out in the coming period but it is basically a response to what the guests observe on other cruise company’s where there are more options to “pick and choose” even if there is a price tag attached to it. Suite Guests are automatically included in Club Orange but those guests who do not care about a having a suite but would like to have some of the amenities of the Suite Guests, can sign up for the Club Orange package. Further details I leave to the company, see today’s Press Release.

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As the Club Orange is a very recent development, the venue is still being delivered as the original Farm to Table Restaurant which incorporates America’s Test Kitchen. The area is finished apart from some ceiling panel work still going on.

Today was another perfect day for working on the ship, dry a little bit of sunshine and not too warm. Those who had to work on the open decks could not have had it better and those inside got the benefits as well by opening all the Emergency Exit doors to the outside deck.

Looking at the Clouds it should be more of the same tomorrow. Perfect weather for a finishing a lot of work.

How do you communicate with your team when starting up and nothing is running yet ? Meetings in the mornings and throughout the day. This is the Beverage Team meeting at 08.00 hrs. in the Ocean Bar,

We are having an overcast and dull day today and things are very quiet. Only some contractors are working and the painters and some clean-up crews. The rest is at home or in church as it is a Sunday. The crew continues to be busy with carrying things on board and bringing items to the cabins. Thus we had the Life Jackets coming on board and I received today my ice bucket, tissue holder and fruit bowl. Hot water started to work as well and the safe was unlocked, the TV is working and all the movie channels are available. The selection is the same as I saw 3 weeks ago on the Koningsdam and that means that we should have some new movies coming in shortly and some older ones going out. The catering is gearing up as well and although the full menu is not yet available, the cooks are doing their best and a lot is prepared a-la-carte as there is limited storage space but plenty of cooks. Near the end of the week, the Lido will open to deal with the large number of Officers and staff that will be joining. As explained we will get on average 150 crew each day in the coming days until we have a full complement (plus a lot of extra specialized staff) and for those numbers the Crew Kitchen is too small.

I do not think that it is very often that you see a Cook with a helmet on cooking food. This was breakfast this morning at 07.00 hrs.

More and more art is popping up and this time it is the background in the Lido. The walls behind the food stations. In a blog from some time ago I showed the bare walls but the Lido Restaurant has now been delivered to the owner and thus there is no more work done which could damage the wall paneling. The art is similar as on the Koningsdam, market scenes, but I think the photos are different as I do not remember gondolas and real Italian people in these blown up photos. Still an Italian market scene from Venice is most appropriate as the location of the Lido has the name Market in the title.

Deck to Deck wall (bulk head) decoration providing a fitting background for the food stations of the Lido. Apologies for the blue hue over the photo, but this is caused by the protective plastic which still covers the wall.

When an area is finished it has to be cleaned and the shipyard employs a whole army of Ladies in green jackets who make each area dust free and remove glue and paint spots from paneling doors and decks. This does not make it spotless and up to Holland America standards and that can also not be expected. Work is still going on and with every door banging dust is blowing out of all nooks and crannies. So Housekeeping will have to do several deep cleans to get the ship really dust free. First with the front of the house and then behind every door, panel and out of sight space as well.

The Crew Gym being installed. It am not a fitness guru but I think there is enough space for 10 crew at the same time as long as they do all use different machines.

Apart from the Guest Gym, which is not yet completed as they are still working on the flooring we also have a crew gym. Again a whole history with the company as in the old days fitness was not an item high on the list, the focus was more on keeping up the Heineken shares steady (at least with the Europeans) but with jogging and working out going more and more mainstream (and worldwide) Holland America started to install Crew Gyms on the ship. In the beginning it was very basic but now our gyms have the same State of the Art equipment as can be found upstairs for the Guests. Except the machines do not have TV’s as most of us are not very interested in CNN, FOX or Bloomberg. The crew Gym is located on A deck amidships as close as possible to the officers and crew quarters which are mostly on A, B and C deck.

A multi colored Vase in the forward corner of the Sel de Mer Restaurant.

Today I also spotted this vase standing inside the Sel de Mer Restaurant. This restaurant is also finished and thus the doors are locked and it is safe to put something inside. On my Koningsdam photos from 2016 there is no vase present in the same location so I assume that somebody spotted an empty shelf and found a solution.

Tomorrow is Monday and then the ship should be buzzing again with a larger contingent of dock workers. Today they were painting the outside decks under the lifeboats as those areas have to be finished off as the training with the lifeboats will start shortly.

Yesterday I showed the painter in action at the Front Desk. Today I can show the results. All is ready to start receiving Guests. As deck 3 is part of the Music Walk and Opposite the Grand Dutch Café, the art here is a combination of the two. A musical instrument decorated with a Dutch Tile style scene.

Today was the day of the great HAL migration. We all moved on board apart from the officers living on Navigation Deck as their cabins will only be delivered next week. So from 06.00 hrs. onwards bus after bus departed from the various hotels and brought crew members to the ship. They all could go directly to their own cabins even while the ship around them is still being finished. It gives a sort of feeling as if you are buying a new house, and while already sleeping in the bedrooms, downstairs is still being wall papered and carpeted. Your fridge is in place but the tape is still on the outside door and the instructions are still in the Freezer compartment. A ship delivery is not much different, it is just happening on a larger scale. With the crew on board, the catering has started up as well and both the Dirty Officers Mess, Petty Officers Mess and the Crew Mess are now in operation. The Food and Beverage manager has created a complete schedule which runs until delivery and this also includes test runs of the Specialty Restaurants on Board and the Lido. That should start to happen near the end of the week.

Maybe not a very sexy photo but these stores for spare parts are crucial to the ships operation. And we have a large number of them in various locations in the ship and a Technical Provision Master and team to administer it all.

The yard has put a lot of focus on getting store rooms and lockers ready all over the ship. Although you might think that full focus would be on delivering the Guest Area’s, the ship cannot sail without stores, spare parts and supplies, some of which will be items the guests will never see. But if your cabin mirror breaks then it is found normal that a new one pops up. We can do that because the ship carries spares so we do not have to wait it until Amazon delivers a new one. But all that material is stored somewhere on the ship and the crew has to get it onboard. Now there is still time, the closer to the delivery of the ship, the more precious time will be. Plus in the middle of next week, there will be the large drills for Flag and Port State to show that the crew is fully trained and the ship can receive its passport so we can sail. While Hotel has been loading stores already for more than a week, deck and engine (new mirrors fall under the engine department by means of the Hotel Services Engineer) will start in the coming week with bringing their supplies on board.

More art in the centre of the Music Walk.  I do not know who the Gentleman in the picture is but he is holding a record of Chet Baker, the jazz trumpeter.

I do not know if “Murder in Venice” is an appropriate theme for a cruise ship. But luckily it is hanging quite close to the Security Office, in case somebody gets inspired by it in the coming days.

I was not disappointed with my question of where that Opera House was located which is featured on a photo hanging on Deck 2 amidships. So we now all have to go to the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest to see the real thing. Some more photos have appeared on the bulkheads but the larger pieces of art still have to arrive. Thus today some more art from Deck 2. The wall decoration in the Ocean Bar and two photos hanging along the Music Walk. All the Art (at least as far as I know) is organized by a company called Artlink. (www.artlink.com) and they specialize in bringing forward artists and their work that is a bit more whimsical, quirky or makes people pause and think. I am by no means an Art historian but as Art is linked to the interiors of Ocean Liners and Cruise Ships I am quite fascinated by it.

This is the piano side of the lounge area, which is split in two halves by a semi separating bulkhead. Here is where most of the guests wait before going to dinner in one of the specialty restaurants.

If you go through Ocean Liner history until the 1920’s ships art consisted mostly of decorated wood (which covered pipes, grills and radiators) and painted ceilings and furniture which imitated what could be found in the houses of those who occupied the ships public rooms. Then Art Deco arrived and art became part of the ships design and the ships became floating exhibitions of the industrial might of the Home Country (Think about the Normandie, Queen Mary etc.) After  WWII it was still showing off what a country could do but in a more minimalistic way (Think United States, Rotterdam, France). Then with the arrival of the Cruise ships Art took another turn by filling blank spaces or creating focus points.

Holland America decided for her ships to go for a ship wide theme and between 1983 and 2010 that was mainly the Rich Dutch History. From 2010 onwards there was the subtle shift towards a different theme and that culminated in the Music Walk in 2016 for the Koningsdam. Now we have a relation between the ships layout, the ships art and the ships entertainment which all comes together in one philosophy.

Nothing to do with art, but still skillful. The Tailors were today installing their sewing machines.

Today was Saturday and it was slightly quieter on board. But the painters were still in full swing and in some areas the subcontractors were still working away at paneling and carpeting and that will continue until the whole ship has been completed. The yards operation might have slowed down a little bit, ships side is definitely gearing up as more areas become accessible to use.

Ever realized how many computer terminals, printers and other office equipment there is on board ? We have a complete “War Room” here where a group experts assemble, install and then check if everything works before the ship becomes operational. nearly all office computers and bar terminals are connected to a main frame server and it all has to be tested to see if it does what it is supposed to do.

Another good day but misty/foggy. Autumn has truly arrived in the Venice area and then it gets moist and foggy until the dry winter weather sets in. Winter is relative here but temperatures can still touch the 33o Fahrenheit or 0o Celsius on occasion. We will not be here anymore if that happens as that is January weather and then the Nieuw Statendam is already long time in the Caribbean.

This is the Front Desk. Not really visible as the painters are spray painting the ceiling.

Work went on as usual today as has been the case for the whole week; consisting of three main elements for the shipyard: deliveries, finishing jobs and painting. The painting guys are absolutely everywhere, under the Magrodome, outside against the bulkheads and inside in every nook and cranny that has not received a final touch up. For the HAL side of the equation the officers are running around approving (or not) what the yard wants to deliver and are busy tracing all the equipment and parts that have to be brought on board. Then also trying to figure out if more is needed or if anything has been forgotten. For the rest of the crew it is loading  cleaning and putting things in position. The Administration department has been busy in the last few days with getting everything ready for the transfer from Hotels to the ship, for when we board.

The Neptune Lounge, ready for delivery. This is looking forward. This lounge is for Suite Guests, located on Deck 7 and wedged between the cabins on port and starboard side.

This is looking aft. The furniture will be delivered as soon as Yard and Company are happy. The brown thing to the right is a lamp with the lamps shade still missing.

So also yours truly got his paperwork today and, very important, the cabin key. As I am not a crew member I am automatically parked in a guest cabin and so are quite a few of the officers as not every officer’s cabin is ready. I have now been allocated a cabin on deck 4 sb. fwd.  which is a Verandah cabin with a large balcony. Not much of a chance to sit on as it is still covered by deck covering and there is constant traffic passing by. Nowadays all the ships have cabins with balconies and all the balcony dividers can be opened. This is done so that the sailors can get their deck scrubbing machines through to scrub the balconies on a weekly basis. The rest of the week the upkeep is for the Cabin Steward. The yard has the dividers open of course as it is an excellent route to carry pipes from the bow to the stern and to work in various cabins while having your tools on the balcony. I was quite happy to see that everything in my cabin worked. This is also one of the reasons for the coming shakedown cruise. Test all the buttons, try the shower and the TV’s extensively to see if everything works. If it does not, not a problem, A. it is happening to Holland America Personnel and B. it gets reported and fixed before the paying guests come on board.

As the ship is now in such an advanced stage of delivery, the art work is starting to arrive. The Koningsdam was the first ship where the company moved away from just antiques and that trend is now continuing on the Nieuw Statendam. Main Theme is still music but we will see other art as well. And one these first pieces of art to arrive, is a silver or stainless steel bunny. (Apologies to the artist if it is not a bunny but as there is no label to tell me otherwise, I assume it is a bunny as it looks like a bunny) We had a big green one on the Koningsdam behind the Crow’s nest and now we have a small one on deck 2 aft. If I remember correctly, the Koningsdam has a Rooster there.

The first “large piece” of art having arrived on board. A stainless steel bunny

On the music walk, the long walkway from the restaurants to the Main Stage, musical themed photos / art displays have gone up. This is from an Opera or Theatre somewhere. Maybe one of the readers knows which one; as I know a few but not this one.

Hanging on Deck 2 midships. Guess which Opera house or Theatre this is ???

Tomorrow morning approximately 250 crew are going on board and a bus system has been setup to provide transport from the various hotels. It all starts around 0600 in the morning and then continues until noon time. We have to do it in small groups as all the luggage has to go up the gangway and then up (or down) to the cabins and we do not want to block the whole shipyard operation. I will wait until all the crew is out of the way and then lug my suitcase up 5 decks. There are a few lifts in operation but they are constantly full with yard people.

Weather: Same as today, nor rain, some haziness in the morning and sunshine later.