Following our courses for the route to Santorini mainly meant that we hugged the Greek coast for the whole day and night. First we passed Kerkyra better known as Corfu and then saw the Peloponnisos on our port side. This used to be a big Peninsula south of Athens. But then they built the Corinth Canal, which runs between Loutraki on the West and Pireaus on the East side. The Corinth canal cut straight through the connection with the mainland and so technically the Peloponnisos is now an island. The Veendam cannot go through the Corinth Canal as the ship is too wide. Only small cargo and cruise ships can be accommodated and even then there is the occasional bump against the sides. So the Veendam sailed all the way around the Peloponisos and by 11 pm we were at the south side.

There is a sea passage of about 5 miles wide called Stena Elafonisou. It has the “island” of Peloponnisos to the north and the island of Nissos Kithira to the South. Through this passage goes all the traffic to and from Eastern Greece, Turkey and Lebanon. As a result it can be very crowded there with ships going East and West and sometimes in directions that nobody can understand but do happen. When things get complicated it means that the captain has to be on the bridge. The officer of the watch knows what to do but it always helps to have an extra pair of eyes on the bridge and to some extra experience on the bridge as well, does not hurt either.

Our passage through was enlivened by a tanker who decided to make a 360o turn just off the entrance. The only reason for him doing this, at least what we could think of, was that the ship was diverted to another port or called back to the home port. It was from a safety standpoint not the most opportune moment and location to make a maneuver like that, but as my father in law says: “They are out there you just have to find them”. As a result we had to make a much wider turn, a very wide turn, around three other ships, who had to delay their course change as well as this tanker was in their way.

While we were sailing there, the wind started to increase to storm force. A bit of wind, caused by a weather front over Rhodos had been expected but it was according to the weather forecast not to be more as 20 knots and with an overcast sky. Now the wind suddenly increased to 40 knots as the weather system intensified by wind coming from the Turkish Mainland. It caused a bit of bumpyness for a few hours and the cruise director got concerned about his revue show. We were able to line up on a course that took us a bit more into the lee of the island Nissos Kithira, before we came to the passage of Stena Elafonisou and the cast could happily dance to their hearts content.

Last night we embarked on a 10 night East Mediterranean cruise. Visiting ports in the East part of the Med. is a very popular and the ship is once again sold out. I do not know whether it has to do with the popularity of my Veendam, or that things are going well in general, but thus far the ship has sailed each cruise with a full complement. Sail away from Venice was spectacular, with the sun just starting to set over the houses, coloring them in a golden hue. We made a slow exist through the canals to give everybody ample time to see the sights.

The pilot that we had outbound lived in downtown Venice and his house was located very close to the centre. So he could be a very rich man, if he sold, but who wants leave one of the most beautiful cities in the world ??? Thus he preferred to remain a poor sailor but living in a great environment. He was also a bit of an historian and kept up a running narration about all the bad things Napoleon did to the town during the years that Venice was occupied by the French. From all his colorful examples it was quite clear that the Venetians had long memories and that ill feelings still lingered on.

By 11 am, we approached Dubrovnik again and once again we docked at the port of Gruz. Good weather encouraged most of our guests to go on tour or to take the shuttle into town. It was a sunny, wind still and very clear day, great for exploring. This time we stayed until 20.00 thus on departure we had a spectacular sunset over the Croatian islands, when we departed just before 8 pm. We saw a Red blood sun descending over a flat calm sea with church bells running all around.

The local fishing fleet was out in full force and we had to pick our way carefully between the little boats, whose owners took very little notice of us and clearly gambled on the fact that we would see each and every one of them while they went about their business. Some of them had lights on, some had not. In a situation like this we stay on slow speed and post extra lookouts to make sure that we do not miss a single boat. We have the best radars in the world but wooden and polyester hulls do not reflect very well and sometimes do not show up on the radar at all. Thus good eyes and good binoculars are still an important part of safe navigation.

Fishermen sit mostly above the edges of a reef or an underwater shelf where the depth and flow of the water changes. The changes in current caused by the variations in the depth of the sea bottom causes fish to come to the surface and to get caught. So the moment the water got deeper, we call it “dropping off the shelf” the fishermen were gone and we could speed up to our required speed for a timely arrival the day after tomorrow in Santorini.

Venice is our turnover port, which means that the ship disembarks the guests here at the end of the cruise and embarks new guests. This time we did not disembark all of them as we had 134 guests onboard who were staying for the next cruise. Not a bad idea if you are in Europe anyway. You might as well get the most out of it without having to fly twice.

The ship arrived at the pilot station at 06.00 under a bit of a drizzly sky and with a strong wind blowing. However as soon as we were docked the sun came out and it became a beautiful day.

The entrance to the Venice Lagoon is very shallow and when the pilot boarded we had only about 4 feet of water under the keel. There is constant dredging going on to keep the fairway of sufficient depth but it is still marginal. As a result of deepening the channel there is now more water coming into Venice then before and also a stronger current especially during the winter storms. This negatively affects the pilings on which the Venice buildings are standing and that causes great concern for the future of Venice. (Everybody will remember the scene in the James Bond movie Casino Royale when the house supports went and the house sank)

There is now a water barrier being constructed to protect Venice from the sea. When we sailed into Venice we could see the works in progress and if all goes well it should be finished in 2012.
Sailing through Venice takes about 40 minutes as it is done on low speed to avoid wake damage to the shores. The entrance is called Porti di Lido, the first part is called Canale di San Nicole, followed by Canale di San Marco which is followed by Canale di Giudecca. The Canale Grandi or Grand Canal exits at the Canale di San Marco and you can see it when sailing by. The ship docked about a mile past St. Marks square at the passenger terminal which carries the beautiful name of Marittima: Banchina di Tagliamento.

It is about a mile from the ship to downtown. A lot of our guests, who stay for a few days in Venice, think they can get there with a quick cab ride. However most of Venice is pedestrian access only. So most likely a shuttle bus will take you to Piazzale Roma, which is as far as regular roads go and from there porters (with hand trolleys) are available who will help you to get you and your luggage to the hotel in one of the small streets nearby, walking only.

Another option is the water taxi. They go all over the city and most hotels have private landings where the water taxi stops in front of the door. (depending on where you have to go they can be quite expensive) If you plan to stay a few days, it is a good idea to pre book Shuttlebus or boat transfers in advance from home before leaving.

After the guests disembarked the ship was made ready for the next cruise and in a hurry we were as embarkation already started at 11.30am . The cabins are not ready then but the guests can go for lunch in the Lido. This is of course a much better option than to hang around in an bare cruise terminal.

One problem is always the timely arrival of flights and the subsequent transport to the ship. This was a problem this time as well and as a result we sailed 45 minutes late. If guests book their air fare through the company, then we know on which flights they are and when they are arriving. If they are late I will try to wait with the ship. If guests book the flights themselves, then we do not know which flights they are on and if delayed they might miss the ship. The latter can mean a costly transfer, on own expense, to the next port of call. This departure I could wait for them so an additional 36 guests could make it to the ship.

Dubrovnik is the last port of our Trans Atlantic cruise and a really beautiful one. This was only going to be a short stay so I made sure that the ship was docked nicely ahead of schedule and thus cleared on time. It wroked and the first guests stepped ashore right on the official arrival time. Dubrovnik has only a small harbor on the SE side, outside the city walls and it is only good for tenders and small pleasure craft. Thus the authorities prefer the cruise ships to dock at Gruz, which is a sheltered harbor about 10 minutes on the north side of the town. Only when the Gruz dock is full, then downtown is opened up for cruise ships and their tenders.

We picked up the pilot just after sunrise and the guests had a very nice view of the little islands at the entrance. Islands covered with small churches and red roofed stone houses. It all looks very picturesque and romantic and therfore a lot of outside people are now buying houses here. Since the civil war ended and former Yugoslavia was broken up in various States, Real Estate has been going up in price enormously and a nice apartment or 3 bedroom house with sa ea view in the Dubrovnik area can command as much, or more, money as you would have to pay in the downtown area of a major city anywhere in the world.

We were in port together with the cruise ship Deutschland which had stayed in port overnight and a small old local cruise ship called the Dalmacija. Guests not on tour could use a shuttle bus into town. As there were only three ships in port, with a total of less then 2500 guests on board, the walled city was not so crowded. It can be crowded, especially in high season as the area inside the walls of Dubrovnik is not that large. Lateron in the season there will be port days with 7 or 8 eight ships and then it will be busy, also the European Tourist season will start with bus trips coming in. By that time the real summer season starts, the Veendam will have moved to the Baltic.

At 1 pm. The Veendam left the dock again in order to make Venice on time. This is our change and turn over port for the coming weeks, so it is very important to arrive there on time for our guests to make the airport on time. For the remainder of the afternoon we sailed through the Croatian islands, seeing little villages dotted against the hills. For the Dutch tongue, Croatian is not an easy language. We did not get very far with trying to pronounce names as Brno, Mljet and Glckc on the VHF. Hopefully the locals did not take offense with the way we murdered their town names while advising ships around us, where we were and where we were going. Although on the other hand, I wonder how a Croatian would pronounce: s’Gravenhagen. (Dutch name for The Hague) The local pilot had already given up trying to pronounce my last name, so I think I have to live with being known as Captain Albert throughout the world. I should have taken my wife’s name when I got married. Captain Cox, that would have worked everywhere………..

By 1900 we were back in the Adriatic Sea and from there it was a straight course heading for the Pilot at Venice. We had 17, of the 18 days of this cruise, very good weather and hopefully on arrival the guests can see a beautiful entry into Venice, as I am arriving after sunrise.

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After leaving Civitavecchia last evening, we sailed on a South Easterly course heading for the Strait of Messina. In the early morning we passed by the volcano Stromboli, which has been really active recently. However this morning, we could only see smoke coming out. I kept the ship to the West of the mountain, in order to make sure that we would not get the sulphur smells in the ship. The sun was just rising behind the mountain and with the volcano looming above ius it was an impressive spectacle.

From there we aimed for 0900 pilot at Capo Peloro, which forms the North entrance to the Strait of Messina, the waterway between the Italian Mainland and the island of Sicily. This is a very scenic transfer with the port of Messina on our right hand side and the villages of the Reggio di Calabria on our left hand side. We call this scenic cruising and we have the port lecturer on the bridge to give a narration of what can be seen out there and what it is called.

The boarding of the pilot here is a special happening. Anywhere else in the world you have to slow down, make a lee for the wind and then the pilot steps on board. Not here, they like you to go fast, very fast, and the pilot boat sometimes comes alongside at full sea speed. The pilot hops on board runs to the bridge and, after a quick handshake, with the captain’s starts giving rudder orders and talking to the crossing ferries. The latter are the main reason he is on board anyway, as they form the biggest danger while going through the Strait. they cross on the Strait on East/West courses, while all the other traffic is on north/South courses.

As the strait is a narrow opening between landmasses there can be a considerable current. Up to four knots have been measured. We experienced about 2.5 knots, going with us, so the Veendam was more or less “flushed through the hole” with 18 knots over the ground. 35 minutes later after passing Messina the pilot disembarked again,and crossed directly over to the next ship that was going the opposite way.

We sailed south of the Italian Mainland on an easterly heading and entered around 1 pm. the Adriatic Sea. In the meantime I attended the company’s Mariners Party. Holland America has a Society of Mariners, which are the repeat guests of the company. Those who have done two or more cruises are invited. To recognize them we have a medal system that depends on the number of days traveled. There is a pin for up to 50 days, another color pin for up to 99 days, and then we start with medals for 100 days, 300, 500 and 700 days. We have guests who are way above the 700 days. There is even a lady who does the world cruise every year who ihas over 4000 days. We had during this cruise, 900 mariners out of 1150 guests on board, although with a 19 day cruise, in principle everybody was a mariner,but the counting only starts after the 2nd cruise. The biggest group had over 100 days and in total there were almost 200 guests in that category. We throw a party with free drinks, I make a speech, about what the company is doing, where we are going, and what ships we are building and then the Hotel manager and I hand out the medals. A Photographer is present to record the event for posterity.

We were once again lucky with the weather, the Messina Strait transit was under clear skies but then we received a weather announcement on the radio, saying that thunderstorms and wind gusts were expected in the area. So I kept the ship at full speed, running away from there as quickly as possible. For the remainder of the afternoon and evening it was over cast with thunderstorms over the mainland but the further away we got the clearer the view was. During the evening the guests could the lights of Otranto and later Brindisi on the horizon. Tomorrow Dubrovnik.

Today we had one of the highlights of our cruise, a full day in Civitavecchia which is the entrance port for Rome, the eternal city. We were blessed with great weather, sunny but not too warm, so a perfect day for sightseeing. The Veendam arrived at the pilot station at 06.30 and the pilot was right on time. He stepped on board 30 seconds before 06.30.

During the past winter the port has been working on an extension, and make the breakwater that protects the port from swell, half a mile longer, so it was a bit of a surprise to find the entrance not at the same location. Any changes to port lay-outs are normally forwarded by the designer to the local hydrographic office, who then issues a Notice to Mariners and this notice is eventually incorporated in the chart. Somehow the notice of the completion of the breakwater had not made it yet to the outside world. We knew that the pier was under construction but we did not know that it had been finished. It did not matter for the safe navigation, as they had moved the lighthouse as well, still standing at the end of the pier, and that is where you aim for, when lining up for the entrance.

With the new harbor layout also came a new cruise pier. Still very much under construction, but nice and spacious. The old cruise dock was more convenient to walk into the town, but the port authorities had alleviated that concern by putting on a free shuttle bus to the port gate. This port gate is located under the local Fort Michelangelo (designed by THE Michelangelo and later named after him) and from there it is a little walk to the boulevard of the town with little restaurants and shops; very good for our crew. However our dining room crew had other plans and had chartered their own bus to get to Rome. As most of our guests were going to be out for the whole day the dining room was closed for lunch, giving about 50 stewards the chance to go ashore between 09.30 and 16.30.

Departing from Civitavecchia, on time, is always a gamble. We never know if the busses from Rome will be back on schedule. Traffic around Rome can be horrendous and the buses can be delayed by a good amount of time. That also makes it dangerous if you venture out on yourself and do not keep a close eye on the time and do not allow ample time for coming back. The ship will wait for the company tours to return, at whatever time they might return, but I do not wait for individuals who do not adhere to the official departure time. So for complicated port calls such as Rome it is best to book a company tour, as you know that the ship will wait for you.

Traffic was however good, and the last bus pulled up at the ship at exactly 1700 hrs, so ten minutes later the Veendam was on it’s way, heading from Dubrovnik, with a sail by the volcano Stromboli and scenic cruising through the Strait of Messina.

It is always a pleasure to come to Monte Carlo, even if it is only for the view from the ship. The bad weather dissipated during the night and there was hardly any wind at all during the day, just sunshine. However the wind had left some swell behind, so we were looking at a wobbly tender ride to get ashore. We were in port with the Amsterdam (on the last leg of her annual world cruise) and as she was on the best anchor spot, having arrived earlier, I decided to stay on the engines. That means manuvring all day, so it was going to be al long day for me on the bridge. however I was not planning to expose my guests to a long and wobbly tender ride to the dock. Thus we floated in front of the harbour entrance, reducing the tender ride to less then 5 minutes. Monte Carlo now also has a regular dock. This is a floating dock, at one side connected to the land and on the sea side kept in position with a whole series of anchors. The Seven Seas Voyager was docked at this pier, so there was no room for us this time.

We try to dock as often as we can, but sometimes a shuttle operation with boats is the only way to get guests ashore. We call it a tender operation and we use dedicated boats for this purpose, boats that seat approx. 80 guests. The British call them Launches, we call them Tenders. They are driven by Quatermasters or experienced sailors. These gentlemen are specially trained to operate the boats and their training consists out of Navigation, Rules of the road, manuvring and what to do if something goes wrong. We have four tenders on board and depending on the distance from the ship to the shore, we use 2, 3 or all four.

The guests leave from the ship through a side door located on B deck. This is the lowest deck of the ship above the water line. We have four such doors, two on each side of the ship, but most of the time we can only use one or two, depending on the swell that is running. In Monaco there was still a considerable swell so I had to keep the ship under such an angle that as little swell as possible would reach the platform that is used to moor the tenders to and we could only use one door. Taking into account that there was also a current pushing the ship towards the beach and a bit of wind pushing at the funnel, meant that the manuvring all day with the Veendam, was a constant balancing act with the thrusters and the main propellors.

Most of our excursion tours went in the afternoon, as we had to share buses with the Amsterdam. Some of them were delayed in coming back, thus delaying our tours and their later return delayed the departure of the ship by an hour. However as the weather was glorieus, a good time was had by all.

Most guests were back in time to see the Amsterdam leaving and to listen to the exchange of greetings with the ships whistles between the two captains. We left shortly after, once again sailing across a nearly flat sea surface. This North West Corner of the Med. is called the Ligurian Sea. Liguria is a region in North West Italy that gave the name to the adjoining water. The region is named for an ancient pre-Indo-European people, the Ligurii. The area was subdued by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C. and was later (16th-19th century) controlled by Genoa, which is nowadays the biggest Italian City in the area.

Today was the first day of bad weather that we had this cruise. During the night a weather system rolled in from the East Mediterranean with Winds up to 40 knots. Luckily the swell in the Med. is only wind driven, there is no long ocean swell as the Med is surrounded on all sides by land, so the ships movement was not that bad, just a bit bumpy.

We arrived on time at the pilot station, and where then told to wait as there was outbound traffic. Waiting is no fun in principle as we are on a schedule, but drifting with 40 knots of winds blowing at you is very unpleasant. However the pilot finally made it on board and in we went.

Upon docking we still had 30 knots blowing, mainly on the bow so I could not swing the ship around to dock nose out as was my intention, so we docked starboard side alongside the new cruise terminal in Barcelona. There is an older cruise terminal near the World Trade Centre in down town, but according to the pilot that is only used, when their new terminal is full of ships. So, the guests had to use a bus shuttle service into town, which ran frequently.

The weather improved during the day, and I was hoping for a nice departure, However Murphy’s law applies at all times and just before sailing the wind picked up again . By the time that we were ready to go the 30 knots winds were back. Now I had to swing in order to get out of port. I can hold the Veendam against the wind in position with about 25 knots of wind on the beam but this was more so we used a tugboat to help push the stern around. The ships funnel catches a lot of wind and therefore it is not that easy to get the stern into the wind. With the tug on the stern I swung the ship around in the turning basin as quickly as possible, to get the wind on the stern so the Veendam would not drift towards the piers on the other side of the harbor. Then the pilot took the conn and we basically blew out of the port. Back in open sea, the wind was still blowing, but it got less and less in the evening.

Barcelona is a beautiful port and the Church designed by Gaudi, The Holy Family Cathedral, is something that has to be seen. Although still not finished in construction, the church is the major tourist attraction of Barcelona. Quite a few of our crew are dedicated fans of the Barcelona Football club, so they went sightseeing in the Soccer stadium, which seats close to a 100.000 people.

Another glorious day. It was supposed to be rainy and windy today, but it seems that the frontal system coming from the East Med has been delayed. So it was nearly wind still and sunny with temperatures in the low 60’s.

After leaving the Straits of Gibraltar behind us, we entered the Mediterranean Sea. The fist part is called the Sea of Alboran, which is just a local name. We will come across more local names for specific area’s that all form part of the Med.

As we are sailing straight courses, the land is sometimes closer and sometimes further away from us. Every time that we have to turn the corner we are close to land again. So we passed Cabo Palos and Cabo Nao to name just two of them. Cabo Nao is at the edge of the Strait of Ibiza but you need very clear weather to see both the mainland and the island at the same time. Ibiza is part of the Balearic Islands, which consist of Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca.

There was quite a bit of wildlife. We saw whales and dolphins playing around the ship. With our ships speed of 17 knots, the dolphins can just ride the bow wave that comes off the bulbous bow. The whales are a different story, they just swim by going about their business. We have a company protocol in how to deal with them. As soon as we see a spout, we try to figure out which way the whale is going, and then change course the opposite way. If we cannot get out of the way, or the whale is just floating, we slow down and try to maintain a good distance. All the navigators and the quartermasters (these are the sailors on the look-out) get trained in this. Sometimes the whale is curious and comes to the ship to have a look. Then we slow the ship down completely until the animal moves on again. The whales in the Mediterranean are not as big as those we see in Alaska and sometimes they are hard to spot, but do what we can do to give these majestic animals the right of way.

In the early morning we started our approach to Cadiz. This town is located at the mouth of a river, a real estuary, with a wide shallow opening with mud flats/shallow water and then slowly tapering inwards to a regular river. That means that the tides in the port are generally higher than in non-estuary ports as the sea is pushed into the funnel with nowhere to go but up. Luckily it was neap tide for Cadiz, which means that the variation in height of the tides is at its lowest cycle. High tides mean steep gangways, and shifting between the higher entrance doors to the ship and the lower ones and that can be quite inconvenient for our guests. Especially those with wheelchairs or walkers.

The pilot boarded at 05.30 am and from there it was less than 5 miles to the dock. The port of Cadiz is a very large U-shaped basin and we were assigned the best berth in the port, the ferry dock, as the ferry did not call today. Best berth meant docking in the forward corner, so our guests only had to cross the street to get to the town. I always try to dock with the bow out, so there is no delay on departing, and in this case it also meant that the gangway was directly opposite the exit to the town. So we were all docked at 06.50 for an official 07.00 arrival.

This was the first time that the Veendam had called at Cadiz. As a matter of fact the ship has never been back to Europe since it was built in Venice in 1996. So that meant a plaque exchange with the local authorities. This is a sort of tradition, and as a result the staircase walls of a ship will slowly fill up with the various plaques and crests, when ever a ship calls at a new port. Especially ships on world wide routes can amass an extensive collection. This time it was the Secretary of the Mayor, the Chairman of the port and the Chief pilot who came on board for an official welcome and a little chat. Pictures of the event were supposed to be submitted to the local newspaper, so your captain is now “world famous in Cadiz”.

The weather was better then expected, much of the rain was delayed, so we had clear but chilly day. Good for sightseeing and that is of course the main objective of a cruise like this. The rain is going to catch up with us tomorrow, supposedly.

We left at 17.30 as soon as all the guests were on board and sailed the same way out as we came in. The remainder of the evening was spent by transversing the Straits of Gibraltar. The Strait is at its narrowest point about 5 miles wide and all the traffic for the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal has to go through there. Also in this area, has a Vessel Traffic Separation Scheme been established with the ships outbound hugging the Northern, Spanish, side and the inbound ships staying on the African side. There is a reporting requirement to an operations centre in Tariffa on the Spanish side near Gibraltar. this center monitors all the ships going through. They are especially interested in knowing whether ships have dangerous cargo on board, so that in the unlikely case of an emergency, appropriate action can be quickly taken.

New in the Strait is that the narrowest part of the passage has been designated Whale waters from April to August. Through the years an increasing number of whales have seen going in and out of the Med, and an advisory speed in this area has been established. Ships are requested, it is not compulsory yet, to maintain a maximum speed of 13 knots and keep a sharp look out. Well the latter we always do, the speed advisory was new to us, so we slowed down for this particular part of the passage to 13 knots. Most cargo ships and tankers have an average speed of 13 knots and thus do not have to do anything special.

By 23.00 we could see the Rock of Gibraltar in the distance on our port side and we came to more open water again. During the passage I counted approx. 75 ships on the radar that were making speed and another 40 ships at anchor in the Gibraltar area. The port of Gibraltar is an important bunker fuel loading port and also a place where many ships anchor that are waiting for order.