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

Category: Europe (page 6 of 10)

2025 June 12: Cobh (for Cork), Republic of Ireland.

June 13, 2025 / / 7 Comments

This morning we arrived at Cobh, although the company calls it Cork in most of their publications and that needs some explaining.  Cork (200,000 inhabitants) is a large Irish city located at the end of Cork bay; the 2nd. largest inland bay in the world after Sydney Harbour. But to get there is about 20 miles sailing into this bay with the bay getting more and more narrow. That reduces also the size of the ships that can go there. So in the grey  mists of time,  a sort of sea port developed about 11 miles inland. That was Queenstown from where about 2.5 million Irish emigrated to the new world for a better life. In 1920/21 Queenstown was renamed to Cobh (pronounced Cove as the bay is a sort of cove) when Ireland became independent from the United Kingdom. That dock made it a lot easier for the (larger) passenger ships to call at, still being in  a sheltered harbor. Queenstown got a train connection with Cork and from there to the whole of Ireland and that  made calling at Cork itself not necessary.

The shore tender service in the 1960s. The peculiar thing is that in the 50 years of collecting I have only been able to find 3 photos of these tenders coming to the ships at  Cobh anchorage. (Here is one seen leaving the ss Nieuw Amsterdam (II). All 3 photos from the same day. Bow shot, Stern shot and Sailing away. Hence my interest in visiting the Cobh Maritime Museum.

For ships that made short stops, there was the sheltered anchorage at the entrance of the bay and shore tenders would come out to transfer passengers, mail, cars and a lot of other things that could be done while at anchor. (Think about 2 hrs. at anchor)  A fun fact is that the people of Cork call themselves the “Guardians of Ireland”. Meaning they protect “the cork” because if it gets pulled out the island will sink……………… With other words, without Cork, Ireland does not come to much…………….

This was the view of the bow camera channel coming into the cabin at 09.00 hrs. The shore is less than 500 yards away from this camera. This was not rain but a misty drizzle coming down from the Irish shore.

So today we were in Cobh/Cork. We had a 20% chance of rain and we got the 20% as it drizzled and misted on and off all day long. Still about 90% of our guests made it ashore, either on tour or independently, by going into Cobh itself or by taking the train to Cork.  My wife and I had a good look at the weather and decided to stay on board as we have been to Cobh and Cork many a time .

Cobh cruise terminal. This is a wonderful set-up. The town is only 5 minutes away, the train station is across from the dock and the Heritage (red brick building) is on the dock with the entrance just outside the Security Gate. (Note the Ambulance to the right, those who had a hobby of photographing those got a chance to see a different model in nearly every port)

My initial plan was to go to the Maritime Museum but the Curator advised that he would not be able to pull out the files that I was interested in so that will come next time and then I will give a bit more notice. But I appreciated the quick answer from the Curator as that is not always the case with other museums. The Maritime Museum (2nd street up) from port level is worthwhile to visit but the collection is much wider in scope than at the port itself with the Cobh Heritage Center on the pier. But I always hope that the guests do go through the heritage exhibition as it gives an excellent overview about emigrating in the old days. (Although it is about the Irish, you could easily think Polish, Jewish, Russian, German, as the way of transport did not vary that much in those days).

Service with a smile from the Dive Inn Team.

So we stayed on board and did our emails in the Crows nest where I had the surreal experience of overlooking misty Cobh while listening to Jewish Klezmer music over the speaker system. I love klezmer music  but had sort of expected Irish fiddle to enhance the visible scenery. But such are the un-fathomable ways of the HAL entertainment policies.  By lunch time we moved to the Dive Inn. During busy times, waiting times can be up to 20 minutes (you get a beeper) but with 90% of the guests ashore service was instant. And here I got my “smile” for the day.

A large American gentleman (cowboy hat included) complained to the staff serving at the counter, that what he got was not a real “American Hamburger”. It was not “the same as at home”. The answer from the staff was worth its weight in gold.  “Sir there is no American Hamburger. There is the McDonalds Burger, The Burger King Burger, the Wendy Burger and every Diner in the USA has its own version”.  Great puzzlement appeared on the face under the Cowboy hat and he disappeared into the Lido. The Dive Inn still produces the best burgers and hot dogs that I have ever tasted, so Kudo’s to the very cheery staff working there.

Fast forward to evening dinner. After yet another Classical Trio Recital, this time the focus was on pieces of music that featured sunrise or the sun. During the 45 minute set, more and more guests came in, finally realizing that it was not just highbrow but good fun as well. They ended with the Blue Danube and they got a well deserved standing ovation.

The “Rijsttafel” menu in the Tamarind. It is a set menu and you get everything listed, step by step in order from top to bottom. The portions are not big but by the end of the evening, you can feel your trouser band.

Evening dinner was in the Tamarind. Holland America advertised a “Rijsttafel” experience during the cruise, which means an evening with sampling Indonesian food. Every Dutch person grows up with it and will visit a restaurant on a regular basis as it is quite addictive. A good “Rijsttafel” takes all evening. It is something from the Dutch Colonial days when the Dutch stationed in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) came across the Phenomenon that you could sit down, have a drink, and then every 20 minutes or so a new dish/nibble appeared out of the kitchen to keep the momentum going. So good food combined with good conversation would give a very sociable evening. It is difficult to do that with a regular restaurant  setup but it can work even when condensing the time period somewhat. (Cost is US $ 41.30 a person including the 18% service charge and I found it very good value for money)

The Tamarind Restaurant with a photo taken during daytime. (Photo courtesy, unknown source on the Internet)

And the Tamarind delivered. It is a set menu and everything is delivered step by step at the pace that you are eating or conversing. Some guests managed to get through in an hour and that is up to them but we took 2 hours to enjoy it all. Looking at my observations about the Pinnacle -rush- service the other night, none of that over here. The occupancy rate was about 70%, the restaurant was fully staffed and the service was flowing nicely. The staff had time to explain each dish, time to come back to ask if everything was to satisfaction and even have time to stop at all the tables by for a little social chat. This was the way HAL set it up in 2016 with the arrival of the ms Koningsdam and here it was still the same.

It was  a WONDERFULL evening with EXECELLENT food and EXECELLENT service.  Thank you Mr. Hendra (Maitre in charge) and thank you Michelle (Sommelier behind the bar) and thank you Ann and her colleagues for the service. (and of course the chefs in the galley) Your performed admirably and as expected.

That took up most of the evening but Lesley managed to catch the last 30 minutes of the show  the 2nd appearance of Russ Parsons an English Singer and Instrumentalist. He was very good during his first show and still good during his 2nd show, so hopefully Holland America can keep him on.  Then there was the chocolate surprise after the show which consists of chocolate nibbles on trays by waiters trying to march forward through the Music Walk from the Atrium and see how far they get.  It is not an elaborate affair but a cute thing to do and it did not take long before the Stewards could return to base with their plates now empty.

Tomorrow we have a sea day. During the night we will sail straight down from Cobh, go around the corner at Lands End and then then sail eastbound under the English Coast to Dover. We will have following seas (coming in from the West or South West Atlantic) and we should have an easy ride.  Weather is expected to be overcast with again a 20% chance of showers. But now it will be the English 20% so it might only be the occasional drip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2025 June 10: Douglas, Isle of Man. From a distance.

June 11, 2025 / / 8 Comments

The port of Douglas Isle of Man. The ship has to anchor fairly far out (red line is tender course), to stay out of the way of the local ferries, but then you arrive close to downtown with the tender. (Photo Courtesy: Isleofmann.com)

By 07.00 hrs. the good ship Nieuw Statendam had arrived at the anchorage of the capital of the Isle of Man, Douglas. Beautiful weather and so we thought we might have a real sunny day. Only for the Captain to come on the tannoy and to advise that there was too much swell running and that was no plan B.  Hence we would have a day at sea. Because we would had a sea day tomorrow anyway, it meant that we would racing with the mind boggling speed of 5 knots towards Cobh on the South Coast of Ireland. Not a slow boat to China but a slow boat to Cobh.  So I looked over the side to throw my “expert” eye over the swell and and yes it was not even remotely doable.  Yesterday at Dun Laoghaire we had about a foot of swell running along the platform and that made for a “bumpy” step on- step off  procedure. Now I estimated at least 3-4 feet on the lee side and 6 or more feet on the wind/swell side.  So absolutely a no go.

The plan B that might have been possible, if the weather forecast would have been bad during our call at Dun Laoghaire, then there would have been the possibility to go to Liverpool. In the same way as the Captain decided to go to Invergordon the moment that he was advised that Kirkwall was closed. But that does not work with nice weather. As a Captain you have to go and assess the local (swell) situation as you cannot predict from a distance what the exact swell conditions will be before you are actually at your anchor position. Hence Captain Draper went, observed, and decided.  Going then from Douglas to Liverpool would have meant an arrival in the early afternoon, with a very short time ashore for everybody.  Going early to Cobh, with the option of an overnight, did not work either as the Bolette (ex ms Amsterdam) was alongside on the 11th. The pontoon dock can only take one ship alongside so no option there. And there is nothing else around in the Irish Sea that can take a Pinnacle Class size ship on short notice within sailing distance.   Hence now we are on a “slow boat to Cobh”.

The dining room being setup for Dutch Dinner. Orange are the Dutch national colors, derived from the “last name” of the Dutch Royal House “Van Oranje- Nassau”. The “orange” bit comes from holdings that the Royal Family had at the town of Orange in the South of France, at the time of them ascending to the throne of the Netherlands.

The ship came up with an alternative program for the day including opening up the dining room for lunch time. (As this was not announced, it was not busy there so we took advantage and went for lunch in the dining  room). By the time we left, they were setting up for the Orange Dinner.  For the rest it was a peaceful day at sea. Some guests were disappointed but I got the impression that quite a few looked forward to a quiet day. I just hope that they realized that tomorrow will be another sea day.

I myself was disappointed as this was my second attempt to get ashore to see the island. First one was in 2010 when I was here with the Prinsendam and a wind force 11 was blowing straight into the port. So no go. Luckily at the other side there is a very small landing pier with space for one tender and with the small ship Prinsendam I could creep under the cliffs and still make the call for the 800 guests. But you can only do that with a small ship and a Captain who remains on board. Today it was not bad weather but we had this bad swell. Thus to avoid a 3rd cruise cancellation in the future, we will drive to the Isle of Man, sometime in the future and go with the ferry from Heysham (regular ferry) or from Liverpool (fast ferry). They only thing that can stop us then is either again wind force 11 or a ferry strike.

We went for cocktails again in the Queens Lounge with the Classical Trio and as usual it was very good. This time with Spanish music.  Then we tried our luck at 19.00 in the dining room. As mentioned before, this is the busiest time for the staff there, as most guests try to get in around that time so they can be out again by 2100 hrs. for the show. There was slightly less pressure this evening and the Maitre was able to accommodate us. By 20.00 hrs. the pressure had eased so much that the supervisors and Exe. Chef had time to circulate and also stop at our table. None of them had forgotten their old Captain yet.

The assembled Hotel staff during the musical quiz/dance part, conducted by a Lady of the Cruise Staff calling herself Miss X .

The show was with a comedian but I wanted to go to the Dutch Party in the Queens Lounge. (Nowadays BB King Lounge) For that purpose I had brought my orange jacket (bought in a moment of weakness in the Dutch shop at Schiphol airport) and her Ladyship had an orange shawl. Last time I had seen the party was in 2018 when it was still held around the Lido pool. That did not exactly work due to the cultural differences between Americans (they sit) and Europeans (they stand). So everybody was spaced out too far, unless you got all 2,500 there but that does not work as at least 600 go to bed early and another 600 are in the show.

And the Cruise staff Lady really got the party going.

So it is now in the Queens Lounge and it worked very well. Wall to wall orange  and ran with  a musical quiz performance with the ships (hotel) staff helping by showing off their Disco moves and supporting guests who been divided in an sb. side and a ps. team. Then there was line dancing and a congo to Dutch songs. For most non-Dutch probably  the first time they were introduced to Dutch party songs. The Cruise Staff lady who was announcing and compering it all, was VERY GOOD. An asset to the company and should be commended for what she did to hype up the crowd into party-mood.

And then when everybody was getting really into the mood, BB King returned with their set of music. REALLY??? Dutch night with BB King Jazz, soul and Rythm and Blues? And that was for me an absolute downer.

We did our best to blend in.

This might make sense in the Caribbean when 90% of the guests are American but now we have over a 1000 Dutch guests on board, who where looking forward to a DUTCH ORANGE party and they get BB King Blues. It cannot be that difficult for the Movers and Shakers in Seattle to adapt the program a little bit for Europe and a different crowd composition. Or give the ship the free hand to do so. I am convinced that Karlijn our Cruise Director and Hotel Director Gul are more then capable of doing that.

If they would/could have kept the Dutch party going the “Dutch Way” then it could have turned into a wild evening, with a lot more drinks sold than was now the case. BB King attracts many guests as well so a lot of orange (Dutch and non Dutch) remained and danced but that was the crowd that was normally there anyway;  but it was not a Dutch party any longer.  We vacated at once as the average noise level that is produced by BB King is well over the 86 decibels and we both have very good ears, hearing that we like to keep, while growing older.

So we went to the Crowsnest, for a quiet drink, just to only scrape in as at 21.30 it was last call, as it closes at 22.00 hrs. There were still about a 50 people up there, those I had seen at BB King as well so we might not have been the only ones who escaped the sound level.

Tomorrow we are at sea again. The weather looks good, it should be overcast but with very little wind, if I interpretate the weather maps right.

 

 

 

2025 June 08, Glasgow / Greenock, Scotland.

June 10, 2025 / / 3 Comments

Some people think that Glasgow is a sea port but it is not. It is a river port. It is located inland on the river Clyde. This is an estuary river (think the shape of  a wedge, wide at open sea side  and narrow at Glasgow side) and thus it has a large tidal range. The one foot height difference at the sea end of the river becomes up to 12 feet once the water is pushed all the way up  the ever smaller river. So for shipping that can reach Glasgow, there is a King George dock that shields ships visiting from having the go up and down too much.  Hence container ships and larger cruise ships have to dock at Greenock. Around the Greenock were once the old shipyards and steel works that churned out the cargo, passenger ships and navy ships that served the British Empire. Famous ships such as the Queen Mary (I), Queen Elizabeth (I&II), Lusitania,  etc. etc. came from here. That is all gone and the shipyards have been replaced with housing and parks. The grass and other vegetation is now covering centuries of industry (and also  the pollution that came with it).  Glasgow now makes its money from the Service Industry and related.

Overview of the area (thank you google) The red line is the route in and out of the River Clyde and the green line is the river Clyde up to Glasgow. During WWII Greenock was the place were the convoys came in from America, as it was a sheltered area that could handle big fleets. Falkirk is slightly to the South East of Stirling Castle.

We had decided for today to take the  day tour to the town of Stirling for free time and the Falkirk wheel which is a sort of lift that raises narrow boats between one canal and another canal that are 135 feet apart in elevation. It is the only one in the world and thus attracted my interest. It started with an hour long  scenic coach drive down to the town of Stirling. Although better said, a drive up, as Stirling is located an hours drive North of Glasgow. Although most of it was on the motor way, via the Glasgow ring road, it was still very scenic with extensive meadows on either side of the road and lots of old & new houses and cottages zooming by.

Scenic view of Stirling with the Castle (courtesy Visit Scotland)

The town of Stirling itself was “on your own” with 3 hours free time to walk around, go to the castle, visit a museum or just enjoy a Sunday morning in Scotland (which for shopping starts around noon time). It only drizzled a little bit.  I have now figured out with the weather that in my home town (East side of England) that when it gives 20% chance of rain that you have indeed 80% chance that is is dry. But here on the west coast of Scotland and the island of Ireland, when the prediction is 20% of rain, then you will get that 20%. So a small wind-defying umbrella is now standard equipment for going out.

The public toilets waiting  in the local shopping center

What was so special about Stirling? It was only granted city rights in 2002 but was the nations capital in the 12th. century. Hence the presence of Stirling Castle, which housed among others Mary Queen of Scots. The company has a separate tours going there but some of our bus passengers also hiked up the hill to have a look. I have seen too many Castles in my life already (although I love them) so I was not that bothered. Plus we have Norwich Castle on our doorstep and that is hard to beat anyway. No, what made the biggest impression ? The public toilets. I have never seen them so clean and with a waiting area with nice chairs. No impatient blokes hanging around waiting for their better half to come out, no, some nice seats to contemplate life while her ladyship is going about her business.

Overview of the Falkirk wheel. To the lower left the entrance to the Fife & Clyde Canal. Left the visitor center and then the boat lift with the exit going towards the tunnel and from there to the connection with the Union Canal.

And so after walking through the very nice streets, visiting all the Charity Shops (I am always on the hunt for un-expected nautical book finds) and eating scones, we went back on the bus and drove for 30 minutes to Falkirk. This was the main reason for me to be interested in doing the tour. Falkirk has been serviced since the 19th. century by two canals, The Union Canal on the higher level coming from England and the Forth & Clyde canal 135 feet down on the lower level.  To connect the two there was an extensive lock system that took about 6 hours for a barge to get through. When the railways took over, the canals fell in disrepair but after the 1970’s there was a resurgence in interests and in the next 30 years (and it is still going on) many of the canals were repaired and brought life to the areas by means of canal trips in narrow boats. It has brought a new lease of life to some deprived areas.

The Falkirk Wheel taken from the sightseeing boat while going in and the other basin with water at the top.

Fast forward to the late 1990s a gentleman called Tony Kettle (it was a team effort of a lot of disciplines, but he had the “lightbulb moment”) came up with the idea to design a new contraption to make this 135 feet drop easier and faster for narrow boats to navigate. The basic idea was to use the weight of water in two boxes and on the Archimedes principle that the weight in each box would always remains the same, regardless of what was put in it. So if the box is just full of water and nothing else in, the weight remains the same if a boat comes in, as the boat displaces the same weight of water as the volume of the boat. That means that only a little push is enough for the top box to go down and the down box to come up.

So we all got a ticket for the 14.20 departure and with a full house, approx. 200 people in the barge, the wheel slowly tipped at the top and started coming down with the top box and we in the lower box went up. The lady skipper gave a sort narration and once at the top we sailed through an 180 meter long tunnel to a turning basin and then came back for the downwards part. At the moment the turning basin is the end of the top bit as it should connect to the Union Canal but that has been drained, so the locks and canal walls can be restored. By end 2026 everything should be fully connected again.

Once down we could see the turning basin that is used for the sightseeing barges to line for loading and unloading, but there are also the locks to connect the turning basin to the Forth & Clyde Canal.  The whole drive behind the idea was to create also a lasting monument to Queen Elizabeth’s II sixty years on the throne in 2002. They managed to get it ready and indeed Her Majesty came to take care of the opening.  A complete little tourist attraction has since sprung up around the Wheel with a very nice Visitors center (with very expensive souvenirs) and some other activities for children and adults alike. Quite peculiar was the number of German visitors, I have not seen such a large concentration in other locations. But I agree with them it is worth the visit.

One of the two sightseeing boats or barges. Capacity about 200 people and full all day.

Then it was back with the coach, with the initial promise made that we would drive past the Kelpies. The horses out of Scottish Mythology, immortalized in 2014 in stainless steel horse heads. When they were constructed there was a lot of “doom saying” about throwing away money urgently needed somewhere else. But was with the Falkirk Wheel, it turned out to be a real boost for the local economy.  However the bus company had forgotten that today was the final day of “Lloyds cycling Tour of Britain Women” which included 5 rounds in the city and for that purpose part of the ring road was closed off. That realization obviously dawned at the last minute and the bus driver had to take the “high road” instead if the “low road”, while we were already in “Kelpie mood”.

The world famous Kelpies, not this time, maybe next time.

By 1700 we were back at the ship, just in time for cocktails and dinner. We decided to go back to the Canaletto. Again the food was nice, the service friendly  but spotty. Tomorrow we are in D’un Laoghaire, which is pronounce Dun-Leery. This is the anchor port for Dublin if there is no dock available in Dublin itself. They have a dedicated cruise dock there but it is too small for the Nieuw Statendam and the cargo port gives preference to ferries and cargo ships. Weather for tomorrow: 16oC/61oF (at the most) and a 20% chance of rain.

 

 

 

 

2025 June 07; Belfast, Northern Ireland, Great Britain,

June 9, 2025 / / 2 Comments

The ms Nieuw Statendam in Belfast . Great dock and nice terminal but far out of town, so you need transport

During the night we sailed south wards along the west coast of Scotland and then entered the Loch of Belfast at 08.00 hrs. and picked up the pilot at 09.00 hrs. From there is was another hour to get to the dock as the port of Belfast is located deep into the Lough. By swinging around on arrival (always a wise move incase there is a lot of wind later on ). The good ship Nieuw Statendam was docked just before 11.00 hrs. being the official arrival time. By 11.10 hrs. shoreside had  installed two gangways and those who wished could go ashore. A long line of shuttle buses were waiting ($ 18,— for the day) and also two Hop-on-hop-off busses arrived as HAL is now selling tickets for those as well. They pick those with prepaid tickets up from the ship but do not return them so you have to come back with the shuttle bus (included). We had booked an afternoon tour going to the outside of Belfast.

A very popular tour is  the Titanic museum and we have been there twice, the last time last year, so not much reason to go again. Still for those who might visit Belfast in the future, it is really worth to do this tour as recently  they added this cable car circuit which takes you through the process of constructing the Titanic. And its done in a very good way. (For more information see the write up under the Silver Spirit review elsewhere on this website) We also have done the city tour and thus we decided upon a Panoramic ride into the country side.

The tour departure times on the big LED screen in the World Stage. The shore excursion lady was more busy with traffic control (keeping those out of the Emergency Exists, who wanted to run or rollate to the gangway first) than having to focus on group control.

As we had bought the “Have it All” package, it included two tours and today we took the first one.  A scenic drive to a Peninsula with a visit at a pub (for a free Irish Coffee) and a destroyed monastery (free rain included). Meeting at 11.30 am which is a decent time for a boy who after 40 years of getting up early likes to take it easy.  So we all trundled, at the announced time, to the “World Stage” for assembly and stickering. It gave me a chance to see how much tour dispatch had improved since Covid. Gone were the paper tickets. It is now a bar code on your phone (Holland America App) and the tours are on the big screen with departure times like in an Air Port.

The map of our tour. The light blue is land, the dark blue is water. Belfast, scenic via Bangor to Donaghadee and then on the the Greybears.

So this scenic tour took us from Belfast first to Donaghadee for an Irish Coffee in an authentic Irish Pub. (Not very authentic but then a real one  would not have been able to take a 50 strong busload. It gave me the chance to taste a local beer as I do not drink coffee. (Not even with alcohol).  Then to the Grey Abbey in the town of Grey Abbey. Called the  grey from the tunics of the monks.

Here volunteers took all of us around the ruins of the monastery and explained the high and low deeds of those involved in the Abbey and when the Abbey became a Christian church under the ownership of the Montgomery family. One of them was involved in the American Independence (on the American side)  and the town of Montgomery in Alabama was named after him.  The family still owns the church/ ruin and although they are now buried somewhere else, they still install plaques of remembrance in the grounds.

Grey Abbey from the parking area. It was much bigger than you see here.  (https://greyabbey.com/)

Once back on board we had to get a move on as we had reservations for the Pinnacle Restaurant. This was the first “Specialty” restaurant installed on  board the HAL ships in 2008. It was to focus on North West Pacific Fusion Cuisine, featuring Alaska products, such as Salmon related dishes. Adding the world “Fusion” made it possible to add beef dishes and Thai chicken soup. I did/do not understand this bit about fusion at all but the food was great, especially that chicken soup in those days.

So it was interesting to go back and see what they had done with the menu in the recent years. The word fusion had been dropped a long time ago but  the designers were still at it and had now added Norwegian dishes to the menu. Service was friendly as expected but not faultless. Most of the waiters had sailed with me in the grey mists of time and thus when the rest of the guests were gone, it was a trip down memory lane.

Tomorrow we are in Glasgow any my Lord & Master has booked a trip to the town of Stirling and the Falkirk Wheel, so we have to be in the show lounge by 08.30. Weather is as usual 4 seasons in one day so the umbrella has to go with us, Expected temperature around 14oC / 58oF which is acceptable for Glasgow.

Our visit to the pub in Donaghadee, also known as Port Devine in the movie world. Some people do live the good life.

 

2025 June 06, Stornoway, Western Isles, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

June 7, 2025 / / 5 Comments

Today it was Stornoway and recently they have constructed a large dock here, big enough to receive the largest cruise ships. The surface had only just been finished and they are still working on developing the larger dock area which I assume will eventually be used for containers and maybe storing windmills as the latter is the up and coming industry in the area. Weather was supposed to be sunny, wind still and 12oC / 54oF but by 11 am. it clouded over and then it dripped  water for the rest of the day. Like drizzle but in big drops. The wind went up from none to about 12 knots just adding enough wind chill to feel right Scottish.

The new dock when it completely finished. This is a design photo from the local authorities with a ship that vaguely resembles either a large P&O ship or one from MSC.  The grey dock are has not been filled in yet and also the sheds were not there yet. (Photo courtesy Port of Stornoway)

In the good days I came here with the ms Prinsendam, and if there was no wind (seldom) I could float in the inner harbour and run a short tender service into the port. If the wind popped up I had to move to the area where they have now built this new dock. It is called the Deepwater Terminal.  Once during such an anchorage, the anchor got fouled and when it came up some thick steel cables were stuck around the flukes of the anchor. It took well over an hour for the 2nd engineer to cut through the three inch thick wires. It turned out that in the 2nd World War, Stornoway outer anchorage was a place for the American air craft carriers to anchor. They were attached with wires to large anchoring stones and when they left, the wires were just left on the sea bottom. Just waiting for the Prinsendam to fish them up again. When I complained to the pilot later on, the answer was, I thought you would have known that. Obviously being convinced that I was intimately aware of Stornoway’s more recent history. While he was the one in the first place who indicated the corect anchoring spot to me. I assume now that when they filled in the whole area for this dock, all the 2nd world war hardware was left and is now  buried under thick layers of rock.

This is downtown Stornoway as seen from the ship. Note the dark clouds. This is sunshine in North Scotland.

Instead of a short tender shuttle it is a now  a 2 mile hike (they have laid out a very nice nature pad from the ship to the town) or bus trip into town. The town had laid on a shuttle service and they must be used to the larger ships by now as they had set up a “Disney swivel” in both waiting area’s to avoid mayhem in trying to get on the bus. They used double decker buses so each load was close to a 100 people. It worked well but they could not really schedule against the fact that everybody went ashore at the same time (11.00 after lunch) and coming back at the same time(12.30 for lunch).

Stornoway inner harbor. This were the shuttle bus stopped and also the ships tenders when a ship does not dock. The blue orange boat is the local RNLI lifeboat. Nearly every port in this area has one as this is a very dangerous coast.

Stornoway is for the area a large town but not that touristy so the number of special -tourist- shops was rather limited for cruise guests hunting souvenirs but the jewelry outlets did rather well. The locally made jewelry is all based on Celtic folklore and there are some well-known names such as Shetland Jewelry, Sheila Fleet, Ogham etc. etc. The designs are quite intricate an although I am not an expert (My Lord and  Master is) I still think those are the best souvenirs to buy as it is something that lasts and can be admired for a long, long time.

A large number of tours leave from here, most of them focusing on the rugged landscape and ruins, left over from the Neolithic days (standing stones etc.) and churches. Of the latter there are lot, with downtown Stornoway already counting 7 of them. That was for use too many to choose from so we decided to go back on board and enjoy a Lido lunch.  The Lido market was  fairly quiet by 13.00 hrs. and thus I could get at the Italian station which is extremely popular but as all is cooked while waiting (one cook, one hot plate) it takes some time and thus I normally avoid it, as even now being retired, I still feel that guests go first.  (I do not think that you can ever beat that out of a Holland America Employee)

At the shuttle waiting area in the town there was this fishing boat bridge standing, with the option for children to climb in and imagine they were a real ships captain. The Lady next to it was having a hard time getting her son out if it, so I think Stornoway has found itself another fisherman.  Fishing is a very important industry for the area and it gives the ship the option to get fresh fish on board on most days,

We managed this evening to get a seat in the Ocean Bar (with the number of Dutch on board the ship does not have enough cocktail capacity) as a couple left and we squeezed straight in. A guitar /piano player from Tennessee was playing from 18.45 to 19.30.  It was the second “dressy” night and the variation in dress code was even more apparent.  We sat in a corner with an ex-hal employee couple ( from the 1970’s) and a group of Finnish all dressed to the hilt with two  tables down a group of what I would describe as “summer labourers” in a nice way. Nobody took very much notice of the other but it dumbed down the glamour of the rest somewhat.

Dinner was “As You Wish” again and now we walked in at 19.30 which seems to be for the 2nd sitting flow the busiest time. Not much you can do about it as with the 2nd show starting at 21.00 hrs. there is not option to come in later. If they would start the show at 21.30 then I think it would take some pressure away from the Dining room as more guests would have another cocktail to avoid an over crowded dining room.

For us the good thing was that with so many tables taken, we were almost in the center of the dining room and thus it was far less noisy, than during the first night, as all the noise could disperse upwards towards the 2nd level ceiling. So if you decide on “As You Wish”  dining (deck 2) try to wiggle a seat more in the center not near the windows. Service was friendly and fast but again not all the dishes or drinks were served as requested and there was not much attention to detail.

Then it was time to go to the Show. The 2nd cast show of the cruise and it was very good again. Now the 2 singers and 6 dancers had teamed up with the band of the Rock Lounge and thus there was a live orchestra.  They just fell short of a standing ovation but they did run to the exit doors of the World Stage and received a lot of complements. Unfortunately I cannot show photos as any form of recording is prohibited although I saw some guests ignoring this.

If I had been able to do so, I could have showed you the “side show” during the show, performed by by two ladies on scooters who came in around 21.30 and rolled into the front area near the stage. Then they leisurely started parking themselves and then hoist themselves out of the scooters into the chairs. This caused some guests to have to re-locate as now the crutches, stuck in holders on the scooters, were marring the view. This was irritating but also quite surreal to watch. Again had the show started at 21.30 they would have probably rolled in on time and avoided hampering those sitting now behind them from enjoying  the show.

Note: for those who read the “lemoncello” remark some days ago. We got to the bottom of it all. There was a bottle on board but it was stored in one bar as there were not enough bottles for the whole ship.  (Full supply is supposed to come next call in Rotterdam) Somebody forgot to advise those in the other outlets were the bottle was.

In red at the top of Scotland, the Island of Lewis and Harris on which Stornoway is located.

Tomorrow we are in Belfast Northern Ireland. That means we will cross from the North West top of Scotland (Western Isles) down to the Green Isle.  Then the day after we are in Glasgow which means we cross the Irish Sea back to Scotland. Then the day after we cross back again, now to Dun Loiaghaire for Dublin. Then we cross partly back again to visit the Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea before we head southward and cross again to get to Cobh at the southside of Ireland, Why all this crisscrossing, well it is the easiest way to get a night at sea with the ship, so all the amenities can stay open. I expect that between Belfast and Glasgow the Casino will remain closed as you have to be 12 nautical miles off shore to comply  with British gambling rules. The Irish sea near Belfast is only 20 miles  wide so you cannot get 12 miles at either side,

 

 

 

 

2025 June 05; Lerwick, Shetlands, Scotland.

June 5, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Downtown Lerwick as seen from the TV / by bow camera in the cabin. We were anchored nicely close.

Yesterday afternoon it did not look really good for Lerwick but it would all depend how much lee there would be at the anchorage.  And it turned out that the wind was from the South South West and Lerwick has a nice hill in that direction to provide good shelter.  And it turned out to be the case. The captain anchored the Nieuw Statendam nicely close to the shore and with wind was at sea level about 16 knots, making for happy tender drivers. It was also only a 5 minute tender drive from shore and that helped as well.

Marine Forecast for Lerwick. As soon as windspeeds in red are popping up, a captain starts to worry about tender service.

Lerwick is blessed with one of the best tender docks on the British Coast and can handle 3 tenders at the same time. Two ashore, two at the ship and in between and the tender service was perfect. The port was dominated by the ms S.H Diana alongside. Which is only a small ship of 12,000 tons and 125 guests but as she is only  125 meters long, she fitted alongside the pier with the bow lines tied up to a mooring buoy. S.H stands for Swan Hellenic and Diana comes from Crown Princess Diana of the UK.  This is an upscale expedition ship with very high quality lecturers and while most cruise ships will do a show in the evening, S.H will do another lecture. So they have a very dedicated following with a high repeater rate.

The tender dock in Lerwick. Even considering that the S.H Diana is only very small cruise ship it still loomed over the marina.  Two tenders could easily be accommodated here, resulting in very short waiting times.

We made it ashore by 11.00 and were greeted by a long line of returning guests who had already done the walk up and done the High Street and were now dreaming about hot coffee and cakes. We were on a mission again has Her Ladyship now needed a scrubbing sponge for her shower. Lerwick has both a Boots and a Super Drugs so a price comparison needed to be carried out and in the end Super Drug won the contest beating Boots. In the mean time I was drawn to Harry’s Department Store, 3 floors high, 2 shop fronts wide and 30 meters deep, full of general merchandise. I collect in my non shipping movement Britains Farm models (size 1.32) which is the highest quality farm models out there and they had a lot of them and quite a few for sale. But Alas………… no more room left in the suitcases, so I had to let it go by.

Lerwick Main Street. It was raining off and on till about 13.00 hrs, when the sun came out.

Lerwick was founded long, long time ago by Norse people normally described as Vikings, but that is not the full truth of their history. But still they feel more Scandinavian than Scottish but definitely more Scottish than British /English. It has a shop with kilts and other Scottish souvenir stuff but everywhere traces of a Norse heritage come peaking around the corner.

It is 229 miles from Lerwick to Bergen in Norway and 768 miles from Lerwick to London, so it gives you an idea about where the focus lays. We have been to Lerwick many a times, so we have visited the local Fort (built by King Charles II) against the Dutch. They held the Dutch off during their first attack (2nd Anglo-Dutch war) but they burnt the place down the next time (3rd Anglo-Saxon war). That was in 1673 and since then it has been silent here.  So I wonder what the locals thought of today’s Dutch invasion as more than 50% of our guests on board are Dutch. For the rest of the area you have to use tours and many of our guests did. Most of the tours are half day, so at 12.15 many buses deposited their contents at the dockside, but with two tenders being able to do at the same time, the waiting times were very short.

Although Lerwick is quite a large village, tourists, unless on tours, normally do not stray from the Highstreet where the more touristy shops are located. But it also has three national banks for normal life. Outside the village there is a shopping center as well.

We had done all our sightseeing tours in the past, and settled for a cup of coffee in a local coffeeshop as all the returning tours arrived on the pier at that time, must have been a few hundred guests. But thanks to the excellent tender pier, two tenders could be loaded at the same time and the line was gone very quickly.

Back on board we had made a booking for the Tamarind at 19.00 hrs. and thus went for early cocktails. On the daily program it said the Classical Trio would be playing in the Ocean Bar, but only the violin lady was there (The full trio only showed up for the 2nd set) As the only venue with live music at that time, it was way too small, but half the people having pre dinner drinks and the other half sitting there waiting for the Sel de Mer to open. So we went to the Billboard and waited until the Duelling Pianos had their first session  an hour later. Good excuse to have 2 cocktails.  As usual the Tamarind was very good. The menu is varied enough to have 4 nights there, so we might book another one, if our “As You Wish” tomorrow night turns out to be not that good again. A dinner in the Tamarind takes about 2+ hours so you have to forget about a show or anything else. But is worth it. The Indonesian Waitresses have been replaced by Philipina Ladies but the smiles are the same.

Tomorrow we are in Stornoway on the island of Lewis and Harris in the Western Island also called the Outer Hebrides. Weather is supposed to be windstill and sunny….. And that for Scotland ?????..

A nice view of the ms Nieuw Statendam at anchor. Please note the Viking Longboat to the left in the picture. On occasion the locals still like to go back to their roots.

2025 June 04: Invergordon, Scotland.

June 5, 2025 / / 2 Comments

So goodbye Kirkwall and welcome to Invergordon a much more sheltered port. By 07.00 we had sailed into the Cromarty Firth (fjord) where deep in the fjord Invergordon is located so it is quite sheltered from the mayhem currently blowing in the Northern part of the North Sea and hence it was do-able.  There was still a wind force 5-6 blowing  but it was in line with the dock so for docking the wind was on the stern and that does not bother a ship very much. During the day wind went up and down  combined with rain showers and an occasional wind force 8 blowing from the West. Not a happy day but at least we were somewhere.

Invergordon is a town and port in the area of Easter Ross in the county of Ross & Cromarty in Scotland. Then the town itself is part of the parish of Rosskeen. I have been here a few times during the past with the last time being in 2019. It did not look very appetizing then and today it looked even more forelorn. The weather is not  too great here for most of the year although with global warming, Scotland is now also experiencing heat waves and very unstable weather.  Apart from looking forlorn in the dismal weather, more shops had closed since last time. Invergordon blossomed during the North Sea  oil boom and that  is tapering off now. Around 2010 the Firth was full of Oilrigs and related ships waiting for repairs and overhaul. Now it was down to 2 rigs under repair at the docks and several that looked that they were in lay-up.

My Lord and Master decreed that that regardless the weather we were going ashore as the cruise could not continue without a new make-up brush.  The port had laid on a shuttle service as we were docked at a cargo pier, where you were not allowed to walk on. The main pier, normally in use by the cruise ships was taken up by a cargo ship and something else I could not clearly see. But they had lots of buses available for the 5 minute transfer into town.

Tinvergordon High Street, This is the main shopping street.

And then the locals had the opportunity to see a 1000+ tourists marching up the High Street and then down the High Street. The General Store (and yes they sold everything except food and groceries) was doing a roaring trade and also the Charity Shops were full of people. And then it was quickly back on the bus again going home. One cafe/cake place was open and full of guests trying scones and other Scottish pastries and hopefully they were expecting us, otherwise they would have run out of food and drink for the rest of the week.

We saw several murals on the walls. This one for the local Highland Games. Sort of similar to Belfast. I wonder if this is a sort of Celtic tradition, regardless of the meaning of the mural. Please note the orange Holland America Line umbrella to the right.

I might need to explain the phenomenon of an British “charity shop”. It is basically a shop that resells goods and are operated by a local or national Charity. There are about 16,000 charities in England alone and they sponsor everything from animal welfare to research into human diseases. They range from Nationwide such as the British Heart Foundation or the Salvation Army, to serving very local needs. They are  Business Tax exempt and mainly manned by volunteers. In many towns where the “mom and pop” shops have given way to supermarkets and other chains, they are often the only small shops left. In my home town with 5,000 people there are 7 of them. In Invergordon with 3,900 inhabitants there were 3.  Our crew love them so in each British port you see them making a bee line for them as often you can have great finds.

Before going ashore, there was suddenly an announcement in the cabin by a very Dutch voice from a Bridge Officer advising us that there was a full crew emergency drill. Then it was a sort of trip down memory lane, listening to the texts that I had co-written in 2016, as Fleet Master,  when the first Pinnacle Class ship came into service.  That took up a good hour of the crew’s time as it was a full drill as the rules say that once a month a crew member will participate in a full drill. Even of this means just standing around as not all crew has a function on board but are “as directed”. Then the new crew and a part of the crew already on board for some time had to go through a SOLAS refresher which entails watching ” movies” about lowering lifeboats etc. in the Main Show Lounge.  The drill was not announced in the daily program so I think that the captain grabbed the chance to do the drill now in fairly sheltered waters instead of hoping for good weather in a future port. (A port that might be cancelled with the current uncertain weather)

So after an exciting hour of marching up and down the Main Street and visiting Boots the Pharmacy, for the necessary purchase of a makeup brush we were back on board again and visited the Lido. I can only say the choice is very good. Cunard who has the 4th. Pinnacle Class ship (Queen Anne) does not even come close here. Nearest most likely the Apex Class of Celebrity but they tend to close sections down, even during rush hour, and that does not help a hungry chap.  On the last day I will post a comparison between Cunard and HAL now they both operate Pinnacle Class ships.

This evening we had an invite to a Mariner Society party in the Lido Pool area, for 3,4 & 5 star mariners and Presidents Club. I estimated there were about 300 people there and I had the privilege of meeting several of my blog readers and some members of the HAL Retired Association “De Lijn”. I even bumped into another old HAL captain (Captain Groothuis) albeit one who only sailed for a shorter period with HAL, as he was one of three who was asked to come in sideways (after retirement from the pilots) as we were short of promotable Staff Captains with enough experience.  Also the party has changed through the years as there were no nibbles served, no announcements  and as it was right in the middle of departure also no Deck and Engine Deck Officers. Hotel Department was out in full force with a meet and greet line-up on both sides of the Lido.

Based on our previous “As you Wish” dining experience we opted for testing the Pizza New York outlet on Deck 10, above the Lido pool area. Pizza on the portside and the Panorama Bar on the starboard side. The pizza freshly hand made was very, very good. They also do other food during the day, and comfort food in the evening for watching a movie on the big screen. Tonight there was a soccer game between Germany and Portugal for the European Championships and there were about 60 to 70 people watching, most of them happily stretched out on the sun loungers.

Tomorrow we are in Lerwick, part of the Shetland islands. In the morning there is still supposed to be a lot of wind blowing, but Lerwick is located in a bay sheltered by surrounding islands on most sides, so it might be sheltered enough for a good call. The SH (Swan Hellenic) Diana will be in and with a length of 125 meters docking, we will be anchoring and using our tender service. Expected weather, Four seasons in one day with an average temperature of 12oC / 50oF.

2025 June 03: South Queens Ferry, Scotland.

June 4, 2025 / / 8 Comments

So we made it to South Queens Ferry  in the Firth of Forth to the West of Edinburgh. The wind had gone fully South West and was thus broken by the Scottish main land to the West and so it was easily do-able to safely anchor. At 07.00 there was a wind force 4 blowing which crept up to a wind force 5 to 6 by 09.00 but as there were no long waves, just a short chop, there was no issue with the tender service. So in the end we had a good day considering the chance of cancelling.  Also the compulsory meeting with His Majesty’s Border Force went smoothly, running 20 minutes faster than scheduled and the Lady officer looking at my passport had even picked up enough Dutch to say thank you and say have a nice day.  In the end there was only one moron who did not show up, even after repeated announcements , as it was we could go ashore without having to wait for a 100 % count, this one moron did not spoil  the day for the rest of the ship.

The Firth of Forth bridge. It was being painted in 2016 when I was here with the ms Koningsdam. And it is due again for a next coat in 2041. The tender dock is just to the right of the brick pillars.

For Edinburgh you have three places you go to with a ship. New Haven, with tendering into the East side of  Edinburgh. Good terminal, good connection with the town but a long tender ride. Then there is Leith, but only for Prinsendam sized ships as you have to go through a lock to get into the small harbour. In there is also HMS Britannia the private yacht of Queen Elizabeth and a small shopping mall. Again good connections with downtown Edinburgh. Then you have Rosyth all the way to the West but also only for Prinsendam size ships as the Firth of Forth Bridge is too low for taller ships. Safe dock, not so good connections with Edinburgh. And then there is South Queens Ferry.

The ship has to anchor off the oil terminal as that is the closest point to the Firth of Forth Bridge and the ship does not fit under it. So you use a tender service to a pier just past the bridge at South Queens Ferry.  Tender run is about 10 minutes. The challenge with this anchorage is, is that you need a (compulsory) tugboat to keep the ship out of the fairway for the ships that can go under the bridge and go deeper into the Firth. So today we had a tugboat called “Camperdown” to keep the bow in place (with the help of portside anchor) and the Azipods kept the stern in place. Two ships tenders and two shore tenders kept a good service going.

Part of the High Street in South Queens Ferry. Please note on each side of the photo the signs on the wall. These are all the flavours of ice cream that they have available in the connected ice cream parlour. I have never seen such a high  number of ice cream parlours in such a small town.

We decided not to go to Edinburgh as we had been there multiple times but to walk into South Queens Ferry itself. This is only a small town and the name is derived from the 11th. century when Queen Margaret established a ferry to aid pilgrims in getting across the Firth of Forth from the North to the South. We walked up and down the High Street, inspected the local CO-OP supermarket: same as in England, only prices being much higher (transportation costs)  and then decided to have lunch in the Orocco Pier hotel which has wide ranging views over the Firth with the ship sitting behind the bridge.

Who can beat a view like this from a cafe/restaurant ???

They did a roaring trade there today as a lot of ships guests popped in as well , much to a certain dismay of the locals who lost their seats for a coffee. But such is commerce. They had good food and even better beer. The town is old with a large number of houses harking back to the 16th. century or even earlier. One house caused much interest among our American friends as it had a building dating from 1776 on the front gable, the year of American Independence. The pub nearby “the ferry tap” did even better being established in 1683. One wonders how many publicans have been in charge here through the centuries.

Those who thought that the Monster of Loch Ness  came from Loch Ness. I can prove them wrong. Nessie comes from South Queens Ferry.

Once back on board  we went around the ship as the ship was very quiet, as nearly everybody was ashore, and those who were not, were in the Lido. So we got to the library which was originally not foreseen for the Pinnacle Class. President Orlando Ashford (2016 – 2020) saw the future as purely digital and only under pressure conceded to a small book section sb. aft in the Crowsnest with the Koningsdam. People power can do a lot and hence there is now a library room on Deck 2 wedged in between the Rock Lounge and the World Stage. It is a great  improvement but the book selection is limited to selections of 3 or 4 copy’s of the same books in a  dedicated theme location. Two days in the cruise and it was already nearly empty. Book lovers do not care very much for artistic approaches to a book set-up, they want BOOKS, old or new, but a varied selection and lots of them. Luckily they had re-instated the Book Exchange for guests. Holland America has seen the light here but could still do much better. To confirm that the library was really a library there was one guest happily submerged in a deep sleep in one of the comfy chairs, so all was well in the world.

My Lord and Master decided upon a Spa visit with the Hydro pool  which was great , except no clock in the space which can be irritating as the pool is so good that you can easily forget the time.  Then it was time for dinner in  the Canaletto, our Italian Restaurant at the starboard side forward of the Lido. When it all started out in 2016 on the Koningsdam, the menu was quite eclectic but has become much more main stream without descending to “Pizza Hut” level. The food was extremely good and the service friendly (we do have the friendliest crews on the high seas).  There was the Italian after dinner drink “Limencello” on the menu but it turned out not to be on board. Which puzzled me as the drink is easily obtainable ashore. Why not send a crewmember shopping if it does not come on board via the regular channels?

Tomono Kamamura

Then we went to the show at 21.00 hrs. by a classical pianist. And was she good !!. She was Very Good. You do not always need a revue show to have a good time and this was a worthy alternative. She was already a composing prodigy at the age of 12 and likes the cruise ships between Concert Hall performances. She is a regular with HAL and the standing ovation indicated that she will be back again.

In the mean time we got the announcement that our next port of call, Kirkwall was cancelled due to bad weather but the Captain managed to get a berth at Invergordon which is outside the bad weather range. That is nice as well and most tours can depart from here also.  I am now keeping an eye on Lerwick which is the day after. The winds are supposed to come down. but if enough remains to be seen. So keeping our fingers crossed.

The oversight page  of the Shipping Forecast. We have to sail through the full red section at the top. The Forecast reads for the section Viking and Fair Isles: “Wind force 9 Severe Gales coming down to Wind force 8 storm”.

 

 

2025 June 02 At Sea.

June 3, 2025 / / 8 Comments

Today we are at sea crossing the North Sea going Northbound. The normal course for this is to cross the North Sea as quickly as possible and then hug the English East coast. That has the advantage  that you keep your ship away from the flow of traffic curving around the North of the Dutch and German Islands, traffic that is heading to the German ports, Scandinavia and the Baltic.  Traffic on the English side is much less as there are only a few ports there.

And today it was a cool day with temperatures around 12oC / 54oF, windy and sunny. So apart from the sheltered areas on deck and the enclosed Lido pool there was not much chance of sitting in the sun. Hence the ship was heaving with guests running all around the various activities made available. Since my last time on board the ship in 2019, the company has greatly increased the number of activities that are held by the cruise staff and the various Concessions on board. They have also changed the Captains Corner (portside aft Crows nest) into an Arts and Craft room. Not my cup of tea but it works and this week we have a complete group of Arts & Crafts people on board making the cruise from the USA so the place is heaving. I was glad to see that Bingo is still there, held in the afternoon in the Rock & Roll Lounge on Deck 2.

Last night a large number of guests used the Lido Restaurant as a lot of them were tired from flying in or travelling to the ship by means of other transport. This evening after a quiet sea day and maybe a nap in the afternoon everybody was out in force. Tonight was “Dressy Night” what in the good old days was called Formal or Gala night. Some company’s have done away with dressing up at all and have gone for “elegantly casual” for the whole cruise but Holland America decided on this hybrid name and as a result everybody gave it there own fill in. So we parked ourselves in the Billboard Bar with a pint and watched the world go by. And it was interesting to see what came by:  varying from those who went for “full gear”, Smoking/Tuxedo and long dress to those who thought that “dressy” meant a clean T shirt. My Lord and Master and I fall under the first category as we believe that dressing up is part of enjoying a cruise.  Everybody to his own but I live in the vain hope that one day Holland America will allocate a section of the dining room (or a specialty Restaurant) to those who still like to relive the glamour days of Ocean Travel.

Queens ferry weather. This is the Shipping Forecast where each true mariner swears by. The North Sea and all around the UK has been divided into sections. So for South Queens Ferry we have to look at the section “Forties”. The crucial word, see above, here is backing south 6 to gale 8 later……. and then seas becoming moderate or rough later.  That sets off the alarm bells for tender service. Luckily by 1600 the local weather indicated that the wind would abate during the night.

By lunchtime the captain advised that it did not look good for South Queens Ferry due to the wind and he was exploring other options. Unfortunately there are not many ports nearby that can handle a ship the size of the Nieuw Statendam. Only Newcastle and it became clear later on that, that spot, had been taken by another ship. The rest of the ports like Aberdeen and Inverness are too small. I looked at the Shipping Forecast and Marine weather and it looked Touch and Go for arrival but getting better later in the day. And indeed the captain later on advised that he was going to try it as there was no other option anyway and he also hoped for an improvement during the day.

Welcome on Board Captains Toast. Only the Cruise and Travel Director, General Hotel Manager, Chief Engineer, Staff Captain, Exe chef and the Future Sales team get introduced. Missing from the line up was the Environmental Officer.

We went to the Captains Welcome Toast and I was disappointed to see that the Formal Uniforms have disappeared as well and they were all wearing the regular day uniform, except the Cruise and Travel director Karlein who was in a nice glitter dress. From there it was to dinner in the main dining room and as most of our evenings are in the specialty restaurants we had opted for “As You Wish” dining with the advise that 19.30 would not be so busy.  We were not expecting a dining experience as it is more a conveyer belt happening but  taking that into consideration it still was not great. It was  chaotic with slow service, lots of noise and food not cooked according to request. No complains about the hard work of the staff trying to make it work but the crew is pushed by a system that really cannot handle the influx of guests at certain times.   The Supervisors and Asst. Maitre’s were running around to put out the “mishap-fires” but it did not give a good feeling. Maybe the fixed dining on the upper level of the dining room is better. Tomorrow evening we have Canaletto so we ourselves should not see a repeat.

The show  in the World Stage was very good. Two male singers and 6 dancers took us through a journey of locations from Hollywood across the country to New York with an all  American song book. The 270o LED screen is so good that regular staging is no longer necessary although the cast used a few props.

Tomorrow we will be in South Queens Ferry and on arrival (0700 hrs.) we first have to see “His Majesty’s Border Force, Customs and Excise” before we are let into the country or in our case being let back into the country. Karlein the Cruise Director started plugging this today with good reason as it will take a while before the penny drops with everybody. It will be interesting to see how many guests have to be chased up. We are in group K with an expected time to be scrutinized of 08.40 hrs.

Weather for tomorrow as far as I can glean from the local marine forecast: overcast with showers but also sunny spells. Approx. 25 – 30 knots of wind and that will give 2 feet of swell. The captain has ordered two shore tenders and thus I foresee not too many challenges as the Azi-pods can easily make a lee.

 

2025 June 01 Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

June 2, 2025 / / 5 Comments

And so the good ship ms Nieuw Statendam arrived in Rotterdam at 07.00 in the morning. My movie team had been given permission to board with the pilot boat and film the arrival of the ship sailing from the pilot station to the dock. An early day for the movie people but an nice experience for landlubbers to climb a pilot ladder and see a cruise ship in full operation.

Hotel New York which was from 1901 to 1983 the head office of Holland America.  Now it is a very successful hotel in the center of Rotterdam. The cargo sheds of the company have all been taken down and replaced by sky scrapers, either with offices or with apartments.

Then just before arrival they moved from the bow to the stern as the captain swung the ship around at the Waalhaven entrance and went astern a mile so the ship could dock bow out at the passenger terminal at the Wilhelminakade. That is a HAL tradition from the good old HAL days. Always dock nose out so incase the ship has to leave suddenly, there is no delay due to having to swing around. When the pier was still in use by HAL the ships could swing just off the dock but the NSDM is 300 meters long and that is too long to swing off the dock. Hence with such a length you to swing down river where the very wide “Waalhaven” entrance can handle ships for a swing of up to 400 meters.

Holland Amerika Lijn Glory days. This is what the Wilhelminakade looked like in the early 60.s The ss Rotterdam (V) is departing from the passenger terminal for New York. The ss Nieuw Amsterdam (II) is docked behind. Opposite the head office in the Rijnhaven, two Holland America freighters alongside. As you can see the ships are all docked “nose out”.

Rotterdam is the official change over port for the cruise and disembarkation started at 07.00 hrs. with silent disembark which was very popular with the Dutch as a lot of them went home by public transport, which even on a Sunday, is very good here. Metro to the central train station and the train from there home. The North American contingent went by coach or taxi/limousine to the airport. There were a large number of coaches for the Belgians, mostly from the Dutch speaking Flemish side as Holland America is been very active in promoting the HAL cruises there. For a while the local trams (the ones you see outside the dock when you have a cruise that calls at Brugge/Bruges), sported a Pinnacle class ship over the whole length of the tram.

Captain Henk Draper seen here on the bridge of one of the older Holland America Line ships before his transfer to the Pinnacle class.

Captain in command of the ship is Captain Henk Draper. He joined Holland America in the 1990’s.  He came from the Rotterdam cargo company “Van Nievelt Goudriaan” which sailed to South America. I had him as second officer on the old N ships when I was chief officer there. He must have liked the change as he is still here.

Cafe Courzand in Rotterdam is an old Art Deco building, built in 1915 as the entertainment Hall for a nearby shipyard. It survived the years nearly unscathed and is now a successful cafe/restaurant. The water taxi stops there on its circle around the port. They proudly have the old Holland Holland America Line logo (1938 – 1973 and 1986 – 2016) on the backwall. This is the side wing where we had the interview. The main hall is much larger and full of Art Deco features. https://courzand.nl/nl/impressie)

So while the captain was involved with the turnaround of the ship, I was picked up by the movie crew to take them down memory lane in the port of Rotterdam. The idea behind it all is to make a documentary about our old head office, now hotel New York that will be 125 years young in 2026. The building was built in 1901 and then extended and embellished in 1919. So we went by water taxi through the port to an art deco cafe for the interview. The result of the interview will be as the connecting story through the documentary as there will be other experts providing inside in the construction, the Art Deco facades, and the history after Holland America left Rotterdam and the first squatters took over the building. After a short spell when there was talk about demolishing the building, it became a Hotel /Restaurant which it still is. Eventually it all it will be a documentary in movie style. Released during the Rotterdam Film Days in 2026 and then go for general release into the Dutch Cinema’s.

The “Wilhelmina Stone”. Part of the reason for the Water-taxi was to see this stone/inscription. On 30 May 1890 the Prinsessekade was named in Wilhelminakade by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. As reminder of the occasion a engraved stone was placed in the sea wall of the head of the pier, so you can only see it from the waterside. (Photo courtesy: Lesley Schoonderbeek)

Transport in the port was by Water-taxi and is of interest in case you ever have a day on your cruise in Rotterdam. It is a good 30 minute walk from the cruise terminal to “down town” over the bridge. Options are the metro or a taxi. But there is also the water taxi. Across from where the ship docks at the other side of Hotel New York, is a terminal from where the water taxis leave. Cost is between Euro 3.50 –  12.50 depending on how many zones you travel in the port. That water-taxi can take you straight across to the “Leuvehaven” which is directly across from the main shopping area. It is a bit of a secret that you can also use the water-taxi as a sightseeing boat while it goes from stop to stop. But it goes very fast. A regular sightseeing boat leaves from opposite the ship and the Northside of the car bridge just behind the ship.

The ms Nieuw Statendam docked at the Wilhelminakade on 05 May 2025. Please note the Water taxi in front of the ship. The high rise next to the ship is the Office of the Harbour Master and the Port Authority of the port of Rotterdam. (Photo courtesy: Ernst Lohman. His father was chief engineer with Holland America and he himself Radio Officer)

The ship left at 16.00 hrs. with an impatient Cruise Director urging all guests to go quickly to their muster station for check off, as otherwise the ship could not sail. We have a group (or maybe more than one) from Japan on board who rely on their tour agent for translation and it might have taken him sometime to round those up for check-off.   We were blessed with sunshine while sailing down from the port over the “Nieuwe Waterweg” or New Waterway, dug in 1865-1871 between the sea and the port, a construction which made it possible for the foundation of the Holland America Line. You sail through the largest port in Europe and the 10th largest port in the world.  It used to be the largest port in the world before “Made in China” became popular.

By 1900 hrs. we were back in the North Sea, heading north towards Scotland. Tomorrow will be a quiet day at sea and then we will be at North Queens Ferry on the west side of Edinburgh. Weather is supposed to be sunny, chilly but not too windy during our voyage on the North Sea.

 

 

 

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