We sailed through the Nicolas channel into the Old Bahama channel above Cuba with strong head winds and swells. The wind speed measured about 25 knots from the East and with the ship going against it at full speed it was very windy on the forward part of the ship. Normally we have 1 to 1.5 knots of current against us but this time we did not notice anything. I do not know what is exactly going on but also the Gulfstream was much weaker and colder than normal and this might have affected the North Westerly current in the Old Bahama channel as well. Tomorrow when we enter the Caribbean Sea we will find out what the Equatorial current is doing there, which runs from East to North West under the coast of Cuba and also feeds the Gulfstream. The weather in the Central part of the Caribbean Sea is at the moment very windy but that is supposed to start to subside by the time we get there. Continue reading

By 09.00 we arrived as scheduled at the pilot station of Key West, only to find that we had to go slow as the Majesty of the Seas did not make her 08.30 pilot slot. As there is in Key West only one group of linesmen, the ships have to arrive at least 30 minutes apart to make a docking sequence with the line handlers possible. Thus we travelled with a slow speed up the channel, sailed around the Majesty of the Seas and docked at the best berth at Mallory Square. The outside temperature was around 61oF, which is cold for Key West and as a result all the locals were dressed up as if it was winter time. Except one linesmen who was still walking around in shorts and slippers. The consensus was however that he probably did not even own a pair of long pants. The way of life is very casual here. Continue reading

January 12, turned out to be a very long day, followed by a very long night which continued into the 13th. For all of us with no exemption of rank or status. The only thing I had to make sure was that the watch standing officers had sufficient rest before they started their operational watches. You cannot have tired people on watch duty. My day started at 5 am. in the usual way as the last day yesterday was still a regular dock day although the ship complement already started the cleaning up. During the day container by container was lifted off the ship, the carpet protection removed and the dust and grime chasing commenced. Some contractors were already leaving the ship having completed their work but most of them remained on board for finishing up and because it was easier to take them back to Fort Lauderdale. While this was all going on, my thoughts turned towards getting out of the dock. Continue reading

Today no post. This is going to be a 24 hour day of cleaning up and undocking during the night time. The overtime budget for the ship is going to take a major hit today.

The weather is holding. Not too cold and nice and dry, which is good for dry – dock work. The locals are shivering as the temperature is around 55oF, which is rather cold for this area but you cannot make everybody happy. This is the last full day of dry dock, sometime tomorrow we are going wet again and then eventually sail away from Freeport and so work continues at a frantic pace. Most items that had to be fabricated “as per sample” have been finished and are coming back to be installed. Same for a lot of cosmetic work, such as carpets and paint jobs, are now in full swing or being completed. You cannot lay carpet when there is still welding going on and thus that all comes during the last two days. Walking through the ship is now an obstacle course with lounges being closed off and staircases blocked because of carpet being laid. We are keeping a close eye on these activities as we have to ensure that the escape routes remain open in case there would be an emergency. Continue reading

We are now in day 6 of our dry – dock and the count down has started. By late Tuesday afternoon or evening we should be leaving the dry dock and start a major clean up of the ship. Then we will have an evening and a night to finish off all the projects before we arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday morning. We still have an “Ocean Liner Row” here in Freeport. The Explorer of the Seas sits in dry dock and the Fascination is next door in the water. This ship is going through a similar sort of SOE as all the HAL ships have been doing. There are two other cruise ships in port but they are laid up. To the right of us is the Island Adventure which sailed for a long time from Fort Lauderdale on gambling cruises. It was built as a Russian ferry/cruise ship long ago but its future now seems to be very bleak. To the left of us is the Casino Royale which is also a gambling ship that lastly sailed as the Jewel of St Petersburg off the Tampa Coast. So five cruise ships in the dry dock area and then there are the regular calls of other ships to the Freeport Cruise terminal. I see a mega liner about every other day docking there. The rest of the port traffic is mainly consists of MSC container ships that come in and leave like clockwork every day. Continue reading

Today was not a good day; at least not for me. Somebody from the dry – dock had decided in his infinite wisdom that the aft navigation light pole (that carries the stern lights, anchor light and Suez light) was in the way and thus had cut the whole thing down and then threw it away into the garbage skip. Without navigation lights you are not allowed to sail, so that pole is a vital piece of equipment for me. With the assistant bo’sun I managed to get the remains out, with the idea to have it repaired. As it did not look that good anymore, I spent the morning designing a new pole for the lights. At the same time I will have new light fixtures put on, so we will be ok again for the next 20 years. These sort of things happen but they make the dry – dock organization very unhappy as it means extra work for them. (……and they have to pay for it as well……) Continue reading

The welding of the new section went faster than expected and by 2 am. The cranes were released and returned to regular work. To the great relief of one of the contractors (who is doing the fitting out of the interior of the new section). His team had run out of “gas” as they called it. Not gas as for a car but acetylene, oxygen and Co2. Without those gases you cannot weld and burn and as it all takes place about 100 feet above sea level, you also cannot carry the heavy bottles onto the ship from dry – dock. Thus the cranes were badly needed again. Continue reading

The ship is now officially in day 3 and we have progressed from controlled chaos to full regular dry dock operations. Everybody is busy with his or her assigned work (mainly his as I have thus far counted only about 10 ladies onboard) and as this is day three, we are now in the period that everything has been pulled apart or ripped open or dismantled in order to repair, renew of completely reconstruct a certain area or item. To make this all possible, in a more or less coordinated way there are a number of systems and functions in place to make it all run smoothly. Continue reading

I returned from leave on the 4th. of January to take over command today at 0800 hrs. When I boarded the ship, guests were disembarking and preparations for dry dock were starting. This means that the ship is going from regular shipboard operation into a situation that can only be described “as controlled chaos”. Not that people were running around like chickens without a head but more like chickens that wanted to run in two directions at the same time. The faster the ship can make it to dry – dock after disembarkation is finished, the more time there is for the actual repair and refit work. Thus everybody was trying to do two (or more) things at the same time. As that can become even more confusing with two captains rummaging around; I collected all the relevant paperwork for this dry- dock and kept a low profile for the day. Continue reading