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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 7 of 11)

27 July 2025, Flam; Norway.

July 28, 2025 / / 9 Comments

Still in the wider part of the fjord at 08.30 am.

Although the days are getting shorter, it is still sun rise around 5 am. and thus a beautiful sail in with the sun shining on the mountain sides of the fjord. I am never much bothered about having a balcony cabin but when cruising here it does pay off and one can enjoy breakfast on the balcony while seeing Norway float by. Or better said the other way around, Norway stands still and we float by. It is nearly 6 hours from pilot station to Flam, depending how much speed the ship is allowed to make. From the pilot station to where the fjord gets smaller you can run at sea speed but as soon as you get in the smaller parts the ship has to slow down to avoid the ships wake hitting the shore side. It would not do to tip a local fisherman out of his/her boat due to pulling a large wake.

The dock in Flam. There is space for one cruise ship to dock. Right on the grassy area are the souvenir shops, and sitting areas for the local hotel and the new Viking brewery. To the left the walkway to train station and in the back (yellow) the super market..

We could dock today as a larger ship scheduled cancelled for unknown reason their call. This is happening more and more that due to port congestion or weather, ships are re-arranging their schedules and show up another day. Port calls are normally reserved 2 years in advance but there are not many ports that charge for the booking up front, so there is a lot of last minute (read 3 or 4 months) re-shuffling going on and that can indeed still happen at the last minute. But the captain was happy to take the spot and docked stern in so our portside cabin was overlooking the port of Flam and with it the local train station which is the main reason we are here. Guests from the ship and tourists coming in by car, will take the scenic train up the mountain and then either come down again in the same way or continue with a bus or coach further inland and that bus then ends up on the Flam Dock side again. Apart from the train station, there are a few small hotels and B&Bs, a small CO-OP supermarket (open today to service all the cars and RV’s coming in) and now they also have a brewery here. Built in the form of a Viking Longhall (modern version as it has WI-FI) which shows the brewing process and beer for sale. Normally that has my great interest but the “Viking” prices charged made me change my mind.

What made me very happy was the fact that my HAL posters were still there. I put them up in 2010 when HAL added the new cabins on deck 8 aft. There was only this bare brown wall which hides the old lifts going down to the dining room from the demolished Midnight Sun Lounge.

So we waited until the majority of the ship had marched ashore and then took the chance to have a good look around. I estimate that Phoenix Reisen has spent since 2019 about $30 million on the ship. In 2019 during a six months dry dock it was roughly $24 million on new engines, new rudders and a lot of pipe work and renewing of all the cabins. Then later on they did more work on the suites and also made the Captains cabin smaller by putting an extra suite in the sitting room space that we always used for parties.

The Panorama lounge ex Crows  nest. All the same except some chairs added to increase capacity.

If we start on the top deck, deck 12, the Crows nest, now Panorama Bar remained the same. Then a deck down 11, the midship pool was taken out and replaced with a wooden decking for deck parties. This area is now called “Schone Aussichten” or “Nice Views”. See the photos on the blog of yesterday with the deck party/lunch.. Then the Lido part at the stern has been spruced up considerably and what was with HAL a semi outside venue is now completely closed in with good air-conditioning. If you then enter the aft staircase, you can see the 17th. ships painting that was once hanging in the HAL explorers lounge has been installed against the bulkhead. So it was not thrown out, as often happen during refit.

Deck 10 & 9 is still the same with all the cabins having been rebuilt, and to my wife’s consternation the self service laundry on deck 8 was taken away. There is another ,bigger one, on deck 6 but from the top deck cabins that is a long way down. For the suites there is free laundry but it is not always wise to send a Ladies dress to the ships laundry as they tend to kill it with kindness. Then on Deck 8 the public rooms start. The show lounge has not changed at all, even the carpet is still the HAL carpet. Front desk is still front desk and the photo gallery on the portside is still the same as is the cinema. The shops have been reduced to only the center large one and the boutique that was on the port side is now the Future Cruise office for Phoenix Reisen. The Explorations library is still there but much less elaborate than in HAL days. Also the large Captains cabins, where I could hold parties for up to 70 guests has been reduced to a regular officer cabin and an extra suite installed. Makes sense from a revenue point of view but not from a service point of view as now they have to block off part of a public room for a party. For the “Gold service” meeting, the Panorama Bar was closed off and tomorrow when we have the “Gold & Silber cabin” party and they do it in the Main Show lounge at 15.30 in the afternoon. We will see if it works, but I like my parties at cocktail time between 6 and 8 in the evening but not in the mid afternoon.

The old Explorers Lounge looking forward.

The biggest changes made are to the old Explorers lounge area & the casino & the Java Cafe & small bar on deck 8. It has been completely changed. The Casino was removed as Germans do not gamble and replaced by 10 cabins. The the Java Cafe & bar area and the Explorers lounge have been completely ripped out and made into “the Piano Lounge” and it has a large bar. Now many more guests can enjoy this venue and listen to the piano player & singer. Originally this lounge was called the Casablanca Bar and the old Ocean Bar, the Harry’s Bar. Both names taken from the movie Casablanca with Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Then for some reason the name was changed to Piano Lounge & Piano Bar and they do have a duo playing and singing there.

The new Piano Lounge with bar. The photo  taken from the same location as the photo above. The lounge curves around to the portside at the end.

On deck 7, the old Ocean Bar is now Harry’s Bar. The bar itself has been made larger, the band stand re-arranged, and all the partitions removed so there is more place for sitting. In the starboard forward corner an enclosed Smoking Room has been put in, with glass wall so you can see who is working on a slow suicide. In the afternoon and evening there are two older gentlemen playing (They look a bit like motor cycle lovers with a mid life crises) and they play a mixture of German pop and dance music. Obviously they must think that their public has hearing issues as last night it was very loud.

Harry’s Bar. With Royal Viking this was a dining room. With HAL it was remodeled to the Ocean Bar with band and dancefloor, but with the bar hidden behind a screen. Phoenix has now opened everything up. It has a bigger band stand and much more seating.

Phoenix needed to make these two rooms bigger as Germans go much more for drinks in the afternoon and after dinner drinks and dancing than the Americans with HAL do, and I think they did a very good job, Two very nice lounges, who serve their guests well.

Deck 6, 5 and 4 are cabins again with on deck 5 in the forward staircase there is a multi purpose room, which with HAL was mainly for crew training, incentive group meetings and Club HAL. Now this is a “Kreativ Room” which on this cruise seems to consist out of “Sit & be Fit”. For that purpose a hard wooden floor has been put in while with HAL it was carpet. And then finally, “hurrah” they put in 4 new tenders. That meant installing new davits to hang them from which is quite expensive but they did so.

The menu at Pichlers.

We went for pre-dinner cocktails to the Piano lounge, which was completely empty. We are now getting the hang of the German flow. They were either watching the scenery on departure outside or they marched directly into the dining rooms or Lido. I wonder if they are indeed afraid that the kitchen will run out of food. Then they all congregate in the lounges afterwards where the bars were doing a roaring trade. We had a booking for Pichlers which is the old Holland America Line Pinnacle Restaurant and it is still exactly the same. The system works in a German way, everybody comes in between 18.30 and 1900 which gives the staff time to take your drinks order. Then when everybody is in, they close the doors, ……….yes they close the doors………… and then you get served a set menu served. If there is something you do not like or cannot eat (like milk in a dish) then they will get you something from the dining room. Food is free, drinks, water, tea and coffee you have to pay for. With a specialty restaurant you do not expect to pay for tea and coffee but here you do and they do not tell you. But once having experienced this, you know and can be ready to make a more quantified decision next time. The food was very good and the service very smooth. Even with a full house, there were enough waiters to make it all work perfectly.

That meant of course we missed the show but when we came out, “Die Beatles Show” was still going on, in the theatre, here called “Die Atlantik Lounge”.  Again this was a revue show, so same cast as last night, and again it was very bad. 3 of the four singers are not too bad to listen to , but the sound system, the  back stage lighting and set-up,  and cheography of the dancers is not good at all. Maybe Phoenix should only have bought 3 new tenders and spent some more money on the shows. On the other hand the guests did not seem to notice and were enjoying themselves so what can I say. We will have to find out eventually what quality of the shows are on “Mein Schiff ” and “Aida” but it cannot be that bad. That concluded our day, so time to translate the daily program to Lesley and plan for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are in Sandane from 0700 – 1300 hrs. then a 60 mile jump to Floro for an evening call. Sandane, is an anchor call, so with tender service, but Floro is docking. We have never been to neither of the two places so we want to step ashore, even if it is only for 5 minutes. Weather for tomorrow, it calls for overcast weather with rain on the mountain but that rain normally has a tendency to come down the mountain at some time during the day. Who cares, the cabin is equipped with 2 large umbrellas so we can handle weather. Temperatures around 61 oF / 16 oC. and maybe somewhat higher.

 

 

 

26 July 2025: At sea;, off the coast of Denmark.

July 27, 2025 / / 6 Comments

Today was our first day at sea and it was a nice and smooth sea day with partly cloudy skies and temperatures around 14oC / 58 oF. A lower temperature than normal for the summer, caused by a North Easterly Air flow from the European Continent. Bad news for sun bathers, good news for the captain as this means no fog. Also good news for those in the cabins behind the bridge as we will not be bothered by the sound of the fog horn.

The old pool area now covered over for multi purpose functions

After scrutinizing the daily pro gram it became apparent that the on board activities are somewhat limited (shuffleboard, darts, church service) and that is tilted towards food and “Vergenugung” which loosely translates as “enjoying ones selves” which includes food and drink in a party atmosphere. For that purpose Phoenix Reisen had already closed in & covered over the midships pool in 2019 and installed a sort of multi purpose area with a stage and and large TV screen. The area can be used as a dance floor, for lecturing, movie under the stars or as for today a sort of “Bier Garten”.

The small buffet setup in front of the Lido Bar.

The ship laid on a small “Maritime” nibble buffet and the cast put on a small show with well known German shanty songs. As all the dining rooms venues would open later anyway, it was only a small food setup but just nice to have with a drink. The Germans call this “Fruhshoppen” and there is really no English word out there that catches the exact meaning. I would translate it as an “early morning knees up”. Chilly but sunny weather and the guests were out in force. Nothing better than to start the day with oysters and a glass of beer. Later on the cruise staff came around with complimentary shots of “Schnapps” (German Gin) and a good time was had by all. Once it was over, the tables and benches were removed and the space was ready for the next happening.

As mentioned before, we are in a “gold ” cabin, a suite on deck 11 & 12 with a total of 19 (it would normally be 20 but the “Kaiser Suite” or penthouse, takes up the space of 2 normal suites). Being “gold” meant we had a meeting with our Concierge Mr. Uwe Noster who in a previous life was a banker but since retirement has found out that there is more to the world then just counting money and was now with the ms Amera as Concierge and Port lecturer. The meeting was in the crows nest/observation lounge at noon time. Here we learned our first lesson of the “German cruise flow” and that is, that if it says 12.00 hrs. or 15.00 hrs. then you do not go to the party/meeting at 12.00 hrs. but you are there at 12.00 as it starts at 12.00 hrs. With HAL you come in at 12.00 hrs. get a drink and once everybody is sort of there, the proceedings can start. Not this time, we showed up at 12.05 and Mr. Uwe was already in full swing. Most of those present had shown up about 15 minutes before so at exactly 12.00 hrs. it could start.

We found out later in the evening with dinner that it works the same way. Opening time was 18.00 and 20.00 hrs. so we showed up at 18.00 hrs. and everybody was already there. The system is, you go in anytime between 17.30 and 18.00 hrs.(*), find a seat and exactly at 18.00 hrs. you get your menu in front of you. More about this further down. (*And in some cases, run for your favourite table and be highly annoyed if somebody is already sitting there. Heinz & Helga seem to like their routines)

While enjoying a glass of German champagne/sekt some of the cruise staff team and the hotel staff were introduced and the Hotel Director came over for a chat. He speaks fluent English, German and Dutch. The latter courtesy of being married to a Dutch Wife. (Best way to learn a language, is to court a foreign girl so you have to go the other way and you will get fluent, or more really fluent very fast if she starts looking deep into your eyes). He had been at sea all his life and worked for a whole range for cruise company’s so he was very happy to have a conversation about ships instead of just the regular “guest chat”. From him we found out that Phoenix Reisen does not have a “Repeater program”. No tiers with discount, no medals or pins. They prefer to keep the prices the same for everybody and if you want free laundry (big thing with Holland America guests), you book a silver or gold cabin and it is included. They do record your sailing days, so if you hit a milestone,, they will recognize you but in a different way. When you board the ship, the carpet says “Willkommen zu house”, “Welcome home” so the company creates a sort of we -all-belong-together-feeling in a different way. And I get the impression that it works. The party/meeting also had the advantage that we could book the “Pilchers Restaurant”. This is the old Holland America Line Pinnacle but with this company it is free of charge, you just have to stand in line at some time in the afternoon to speak to the Maitre. No pre booking, no reservations over the phone, you have to line up. Luckily for our cabins, the Maitre d’hotel was there and we avoided queuing. It pays to travel posh……

Then it was lunchtime then and we went to the dining room which has been greatly remodeled since the Prinsendam days. In line with the current taste of Cruise ship design, the colours were in grey and
brown, with more partitions than with HAL. I will have to count the tables in the coming days to see if they lost seats over it as it looks much more spacious than before. But they removed the large Captains table and put 4 smaller round tables in so they gained space that way. In the coming days I will post a few menu’s, as for Lesley they have an English version available and so far after 2 meals, I can only say that the food is fully comparable with Holland America, Cunard, Fred Olsen or Princess. (It is just less elaborate in choices) Our friends, really enjoy their food so each dish is posted on their family travel blog and they are also happy with what is offered, including the wines. Again the guests come in 20 to 30 minutes before the official opening so they are “in position” for when the menu’s come out. The stewards tend to start a bit earlier with the orders, because getting 400 appetizer orders in the kitchen at the same time is not easy for the cooks. Here on the Amera there is still the double kitchen, left over from the Royal Viking Days, so they have more capacity than a 800 guest ship would normally have but a smooth flow is still important..

We had scrutinized the daily program carefully and again, not many activities going on in the afternoon, although the line dancing in the show lounge was well attended, as well as the 15.30 tea in the Lido. The rest of the guests were in the bars or on the sun loungers around the ship. Tonight was the Captains welcome party and that is done in two regulated sittings. As the dining has open sitting, that does not work if you suddenly have to deal with two starting times for the captains welcome and the show. So what they have done here, is send you to dinner by deck. So decks 6,8,10 and 12 went to the welcome party at 1900 hrs. followed by the show and dinner and decks 5,7,&11 went to dinner at 1800 hrs. followed be welcome on board party at 2100 hrs. followed by the show.

Captains Introduction. The green jackets to the left are the Cruise Staff and the white, the senior officers. The captain is a rather small man and can be seen in the middle.

And it worked……. only with Germans you can do such a set this up and make it work. With the caveat that the Lido was extremely busy again but I could not figure out if this was because of the “seating” system or because of the dress code for the evening. The guests were invited to “dress up” but the result was very mixed. I only counted during our sitting 5 gents in full smoking (and that included the two of us) quite a few in jacket and tie but the majority of the gents found a jacket good enough or not at all. Ladies are always difficult to judge as they normally dress up a bit for each evening but it was not as “gala” as I think they company would have liked it. We also found out that free wine is served in the dining room, although they keep it very quiet as they want you to buy bottles. We inspected the table (Spanish) wine and decided to buy a bottle, giving the wine team (bar waitress and table waiter combined) the chance to make a little commission. The wine list is quite varied and this cruise there is also a promotion going on with South African wine. Our friends who are somewhat of connoisseurs declared the wines more than adequate. They had my favourite Austrian wine, so we had a bottle, but for the rest they have draft beer everywhere and thus I am a happy camper anyway,

After registering our credit car, picking up Lesley’s passport and being recognized by ever more crew as being “the old captain of the Prinsendam” we retreated to the cabin, got changed and joined our friends in their cabin, to drink the welcome on board champagne (the real stuff) that came to the cabin on embarkation day. We also get chocolate petit-fours on Formal the day but they arrived after we had to go for this early deck – by deck dinner. But then chocolate for breakfast is not a bad thing either. The dining room was waiting and we had a table at the window near the stern and when looking outside, we saw that Phoenix had built an outside bar under the overhang that HAL constructed in 2010 to make the back pool bigger and also stop it from overflowing. So we have to investigate that tomorrow. This is also a smokers area but if there is a bit of wind, it should not bother us. There is a 2nd smoking area on board, a real indoor smoking room (screened off with a glass wall), in the corner of the old Ocean Bar (now Harry’s bar) and that also works well.

Captain Valdes.

The Cruise Direktor. Herr Liemberger from Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we had the party. Captain with photo opportunity on the portside and direct entry at the starboard side. Knowing that the side lines of the lounge are not that great, I herded our little group in as fast as possible to get the best seats / un-obstructed view, and where then ready for more complimentary champagne and nibbles. As it used to be with HAL and still is with Cunard and Fred Olsen. For a 4 star company this is shaping up as a really good quality product even putting some of the more pretentious companys to shame. The crew kept coming around with refills and “re-nibbling” and then the parade started. Because Phoenix is putting so much focus to direct service to the guests, there was a large cruise staff team on the stage and a large number of officers, making the stage a bit crowded to say the least. The master of the vessel is captain Dariel Valdes, who went through the ranks with Phoenix, (the company exists since 1993) and is a very affable man. I do not think he likes speeches very much as his little speech was completely rehearsed and very P.C. So the hotel staff were introduced by the Hotel manager and then all the cruise staff by the Cruise Director. Captain then came back with the champagne toast. This was followed by the Revue show who produced something called “Let us Entertain you” with songs by Elvis P, Tina T and a rock and roll medl. At certain moments a lady popped up to hang upside down from a rope from the ceiling. Unfortunately the ceiling of the lounge is very low so the effect was somewhat limited . Not all of the cast could sing that well and I have seen much better cheography on the small stage in Prinsendam days.. Let’s say the next show can only be better.

Nice touch and never seen before, your name on the petit-fours plate.

That concluded our evening as by now, we had had enough to eat and drink to last 3 days. Tomorrow we have the pilot at 04.00 hrs. and then a sail in to Flam with a docking time at 11.00 hrs. We were supposed to anchor, but a bigger ship scheduled to dock, cancelled and so we are going alongside. Our friends are going on the Flam- train excursion but as we have done everything and anything there is to do in Norway we will enjoy the ship and used the large ironing room on deck 6.. Weather for tomorrow, partly cloudy, partly sunny, chance of a rain drop and temperatures in the low sixties. (14 – 17oC) Not a bad start for this seven day cruise at all.

 

2025 July 25 Boarding the ms Amera in Bremerhaven

July 26, 2025 / / 17 Comments

Three days ago we left England and drove via the Hook of Holland overnight Ferry to Bremerhaven. Here we stayed for 3 nights in an hotel (Hotel Liberty at the edge of the old port) to have a look at the maritime museums before joining the ms Amera today.

The ms Amera of Phoenix Reisen. Seen here in what looks like sailing into Antigua. (Photo Courtesy Phoenix Reisen)

The Amera is the ex Prinsendam (II) and I was captain on her from 2009 to 2012. The daily stories are in the Blog archives see link on the front page of this website. I wanted to see the ship again as Phoenix Reisen had made a number of changes on board, some of them we as crew had asked HAL for, for years, but never got.

The ms Prinsendam  of Holland America Line. Seen here sailing in the Bosphorus in 2002 just after she joined the company,

Phoenix Reisen is a German 4star segment operator and concentrates on the German market. It will be interesting to see if they are any other none Germans on board, except me, my wife Lesley and my two Dutch Friends who came with us. He is the son of Captain Van Deventer (see his biography elsewhere on the website) and we met for the first time on the Prinsendam in 2010 and have remained friends ever since.

The ms Royal Viking Sun. built in 1988 as the most luxury cruise ship at that time. Introducing cabins with balconies to the industry as a standard feature.

Phoenix charters only uses old second hand tonnage but maintains it very well. As a result all the ships are very individual in character which the managing director of Phoenix described in 2019 as an advantage for his public. “They come to a ship once and if they like it, they stay with the ship. If not then they try another one until they have found the right one and then they stay. This is a total different philosophy from most other company’s, including Holland America who want to have standarization of the product over their fleet as much as possible, and thus a similar lay-out as much as possible. It was one of the reasons for the Prinsendam to leave the fleet in 2019. She was just too different, although she made good money.  She was then subsequently bought by a Phoenix Reisen. Phoenix has apart from 4 deep sea ships also a large fleet of inland river cruise ships.

The ms Royal Viking Sun ended up with Cunard who did not change anything except painting the funnel red. Then she was added to Seabourn Cruises and via Carnival Cruises, Seabourn ended up with Holland America. As the Sun was so much bigger then the other Seabourn vessels, the Sun fitted better with HAL and became the Prinsendam (II) (Photo courtesy unknown source on the internet)

Other ships in the Phoenix deep sea fleet:
ms Amadea built in 1991 as the Japanese Asuka
ms Amera built in 1988 as the Royal Viking Sun, later Seabourn Sun and ms Prinsendam
ms Artania built in 1984 as the ms Royal Princesss for P&O Princess Cruises
ms Deutschland built in 1998 for Deilmann Cruises (and became world famous in Germany as “Das Traumschiff” or “The Dreamship# in English. The German version of The Love Boat. The are currently still filming these series but now on the Amadea which is double the size of the Deutschland)

At 1100 we finished our stay at Hotel Liberty in Bremerhaven and left the car in the garage, at a cost of 18,– euro a day but it is the hotel garage and is locked overnight. By 1400 hrs we were at the terminal and the ms Amera was the only ship in port today. The terminal is very long and can handle 4 ships at the same time but if that would be the case it would be very crowded. The Phoenix Reisen system works similar to the rest of the world. There is a separate check-in, Gold for the suites, Silber for the mini suites and then the rest. As we had a suite, we lined up at the Gold line and were the first through. As most of the crew is philipino it was easy to do the check in in English something the check in lady, in normal life Bar waitress on board, found easier as well. Lesley had to hand in her passport as the UK is now a 3rd world country as far as the European Union is concerned since Brexit. When I asked for a receipt, it took just 2 minutes for the supervisor to write one. So apart from HAL, Phoenix is now only the 2nd company we have travelled on, who understands that you need to get a receipt when you hand in your passport , if it was only in case they lose it. (See other reviews on the website where we did have problems even on the six star level)

Security was a breeze with the machine being able to handle laptops and other devices still in the trolley and thus minimal fuss. Once through they had set had setup a welcome champagne bar with tables for a welcome on board drink. The photographer was there of course and we had our welcome on board photo taken, as we do that on most ships and also the prices here are very good. (7.50 a photo). Once on board, being the first ones, there was escort to the cabin. Since HAL time, the suites have been rebuilt and there is now a complete partition between the sitting area and the bedroom area. Gold service comes with a full stocked – free- minibar, 2 water bottles, two logo backpacks, 2 logo big coffee cups, two sets of “gift” toiletries, Welcome on board champagne (in cooler), bathroom slippers and umbrellas. Then it comes with 2 massage vouchers and a champagne breakfast in bed. Dedicated concierge and there is access to the Neptune lounge now called the Gold lounge with free nibbles and free non & alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and coffee. The nibbles are less elaborate than with HAL has in the Neptune lunge but HAL does not do free drinks so it depends if you have guests on board, who prefer to eat or those who prefer to drink. Sofar we are really impressed. This is the “longer cruise” setup HAL had on Prinsendam in the older days.

Boatdrill was at 18.15 and was the old fashioned routine, take your lifejacket, stand under your lifeboat be checked off and then wait for the captain and safety officer to march by. I prefer the post Covid setup where you find your way, at your convinience……… so you remember the route better…… to the lifeboat station and get scanned in. With so many people around and stairway guides pushing you on the way, you tend not to pay attention to your surrounding sand just follow the crowd until you see a lollipop person with your lifeboat station.

As none of us had never been exposed to a German cruise program, we had to find out the “German flow” of things. Tonight it turned out that all the Germans at once marched into the diningroom and the Lido once the doors opened (1800 hrs), so the 4 of us had both lounges (Harry’s Bar ex Ocean Bar and Piano Lounge (ex Explorers lounge and Java Cafe combined) to ourselves for a drink. Suggestion from the Cruise Director was already to show up a bit later. According to the dining room manager it was the bet thing to do until about day 3, when “things settled down”. Maybe the gGrmans have the same scare as we also see on North American ships, that the kitchen will run out of food. So we went in at 19.30 and some tables were clearing out. Food is good, mainstream and the same as on North American ships 4 or 5 star. We were too late for the show, which was a “Around Britain” revue show, possible as the Cast are English. By now we have already found out that although the guests are 95% German (with a few Dutch and Austrian and Luxembourgians thrown in) the crew is very international so for English speakers not much of a problem. There is a whole team of support staff on board and they are a mixture of host/hostesses, shore excursion, cruise staff all mixed into one in turquoise T shirts and jackets. The Captain and Cruise Director are the direct faces of the front of the house, while the hotel staff with the Hotel Director are slightly more in the background and dressed in regular uniforms.

After dinner we looked to have another drink but now all the bars and lounges were heaving with guests, so we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow is a sea day, with very good weather expected. Partly Cloudy, smooth seas and temperatures in the mid sixties. The ship only has to maintain an average speed of 16 knots to get to our first port of call Flam so nothing to worry about. The next day we are arriving at Flam Norway around lunch time. Thus time to enjoy a scenic drive sail in.

 

 

2025 June 14; Going Home, the Verdict.

June 16, 2025 / / 23 Comments

So today we drove home after a very nice 14 days on board the ms Nieuw Statendam. We would prefer a smaller HAL ship (hence we are going to try Viking next February with 900 passengers) and we hope that HAL/Carnival will build some as HAL is losing customers to Viking as they have 12 midsized cruise ships that can call at smaller ports. (That will also make it easier to find another port during inclement weather) Something I was used to when I was with the ms Veendam (now still laid up in Greece) and ms Prinsendam (now ms Amera) in Europe.

Will we be back ???. YES. My Lord and Master has already booked a 14 day cruise in  2027 in the Baltic (September 17) with the Nieuw Statendam. There are some ports there, that were not visited by HAL during my days of sailing (Klapeida, Gdansk, Riga etc.)

The only real two complaints were:

A. the noise in the dining room in the “As You Wish” part. It could be quite easily fixed by HAL (egg shell sound proofing of ceiling, something I have seen at other companies). But for ourselves it also was easily avoided. Being married to an (almost) 700 day Mariner gave an extra Specialty Restaurant visit (plus extra one that came with the “Have it All package) and made it that the dining room  was easily avoided, But my greatest respect for Host Fernando and his team to make it all work during the rush hours of serving. (We went twice to New York Pizza as well when we knew it was quiet)

B. The overbooking in the Pinnacle Restaurant near the end of the cruise. There is really no excuse for that, and it is not nice to expose the staff to this, when all they want to do is deliver the service that Holland America indicates, is famous for and expect them to deliver.

What would be nice:

A part of Crows nest that could be used for cocktails in the evening (the portside and midships), with a proper ambience and with all broken equipment removed. And maybe a small stage in the corner for a guitar player??

The late show to start at 21.30. It would relieve congestion (between 19.00 and 19.30) in the dining room and just give everybody enough time to enjoy a “good dinner experience”, instead of a rushed “going to eat”.

For the rest many compliments for our cabin stewards (hardly ever to be seen as usual), the cheerful Lido staff and the very had working Bar Staff, who did earn their money with soo many cocktail loving Dutch on board. Same for the Kitchen staff who kept up the best Lido afloat and delivered in the specialty restaurants even under high pressure circumstances. We liked the shows and the Dualling Piano’s and also the classical trio  but we stayed away from the Rock lounge and BB Kings as the volume is way too high for people with good ears.

A pity was the sudden ending of the Orange Party, that was just gearing up (under the infectious enthousiasm of Miss X) and then it went back to BB. King, what a bummer.

This time we had a Vista Suite but her ladyship found it too small so next time we go for Neptune Suite. As ex HAL I can get discounted fares but with the danger that it all gets cancelled at the last minute, if the ship is fully booked or they can do an up-sail. Hence we book in the normal way via a travel agent. We do not have children so there is no excuse for not spending  our inheritance anyway.

ms Nieuw Statendam

ms Queen Anne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On day 3  (4 if counted from Dover) I promised a comparison between HAL and Cunard now they both operate Pinnacle class ships (Costa Cruises has some as well).

This is a personal rating and the one that wins is in bold. 

HAL                                                      Cunard:               ,

Capacity 2600                                Capacity 2900

Deck 1 Atrium                                Grand Lobby

Cunard has this wonderful space with a sitting area, coffee bar,  drawing room, games room and in the corner the Pursers  office. HAL has changed a previously completely lost space  into the Park West art gallery. The Front desk is on desk 3,  which is  prime space now handed over to offices. Cunard has Shops here and open walking space for the guests.

Meeting Rooms                            ?????

For incentive cruises, HAL has 3 nice meeting rooms here.  Could not find anything on Queen Anne except two small  rooms.

Note: Meeting Rooms versus Pursers Desk location is a money decision to attract more groups. But I wonder with Cunard if the extra guest space provided does not generate a lot of  revenue per square foot to offset the use of the function rooms. Cunard Shops and Barista bar where was always doing a good trade, when were there. (Ad I do not know if the knitting group we had on board this cruise were drinking very much)

Dining room                         4 venues

Cannot compare as with Cunard as their restaurants are connected to your cabin class and get better with the size of  the cabin, But Cunard has the same problems with “As You Wish” dining as HAL in the main dining room.

World Stage                     Royal Court

Cunard has a conventional setup and no LED screen. It is oke, but for lectures and shows the HAL LED screens knocks spots of Cunard.

CrowsNest                      Commodore  Club

Cunard has a setup that HAL used to have back in 1992 with the arrival of the S-class, with comfy chairs and tables, an extensive bar and cocktail music.

Tamarind                           Sir Samuels         Cunard’s expensive steakhouse looks like a cafetaria.

Library                                Library                   Cunard has many more books and a librarian.

Club HAL                          xxxxxx                     Cunard has a space but it is not as elaborate as HAL.

Grand Dutch Cafe     Carinthia

The menu options and service are much better with Hal. Cunard took away the mid partition and thus created more tables. The GDC is too small between 1000 and 1400 hrs.

Ocean Bar                        Chart House Bar

Cunard has this beautiful round bar instead of a row of  chairs backing into the Musicn Walk – walkway and half of the sitting area  used by guests waiting for the Sel de Mer or Pinnacle.

Queens Lounge             Queens Lounge.

For HAL, the most beautiful lounge on the high seas. For Cunard,  they have a nice orchestra and dance floor in there, with good  secondary shows, but only one (small) pathway on the starboard  side, causing congestion and people standing in the way, while watching what goes on when going from one lounge to the other. The “Music Walk” flow works much better.

Pinnacle                            Space taken up by the Cunard Club Class Restaurant.

Rudy’s Sel de Mer       Space taken up by the Cunard Club Class Restaurant.

Canaletto Lido              Tramonto / Lido

At Cunard the space looks like a road restaurant with  pretensions.

Regular Lido space       Indian / Lido

At Cunard, the space looks like an road restaurant   with  pretensions.

Lido Restaurant             Lido Restaurant.   (Lido Market versus Artisans Food Hall)

HAL has much more variation and longer opening times.

Dressy nights                  Formal nights                Cunard has formal and enforces it. And we love dressing up.

HAL service                     Cunard Service

Although the service at Cunard is very good, we always get the feeling that the Cunard crew serve us to do us a favor, instead of HAL “being happy to serve”.

HAL bar Prices              Cunard Bar prices        Cunard is very expensive.

HAL Drinks Package  Cunard Drinks Package. This is a bit more complicated but:

Hal top package = $ 65.95 a day (with drinks to a maximum of 15 at $ 15,– each)

Cunard top package = $ 72,– a day (with drinks to a maximum of 15 at $ 13.50 each)

But if you book “Have it all ” (which Cunard does not have) then you get included WIFI, Drinks, Tips. $ 200 shore excursions and 2 x Specialty Restaurants .  AND THAT MAKES THE HAL DRINKS A VERY GOOD DEAL.

So in general AND THIS IS US PERSONALLY, we like Holland America better as a whole. Regardless of having worked for HAL a very long time. But we are going on the ms Queen Victoria for the Christmas Cruise as it has more style and everybody dresses up. We are not going back to Queen Anne.

Looking a the number of hits, in the last 14 days, and the numbers of comments (thank you very much, much appreciated) I will do another blog for our next cruise in July. ms Amera (ex Prinsendam) of Phoenix Reisen in Germany. It will be a seven day cruise to Norway.  I was 3 years Captain on the ship so we want to see what the Germans have done with it.

In the mean time, I will continue to add information to the Captain’s bio’s.

Thank you for your continued interest.

2025 June 13, At Sea.

June 14, 2025 / / 4 Comments

Today was our last sea day with the ship was sailing under the south coast of England. For the guests leaving in Rotterdam there is still the port of Dover with its hinterland to enjoy but we will be leaving in Dover. Collect our car from the hotel and then drive home. Depending on the vagaries of the British Roads (welcome to the United Kingdom of pot holes) we should be home in the early afternoon.  But we still had this day to enjoy, although it was slightly marred by the fact that we had to pack. At home we had packed in stages and after each session put the 3 suitcases on top of each other, to press out the air (and to provide room for even more stuff) but now we have to do it in one afternoon so I am sitting on the suitcases while writing this blog to speed up the ‘de-airing” process somewhat.

The last sea day, even if it is not the last day of the cruise, is always reserved for tying up loose ends and saying goodbye to the guests.  So the main highlight this morning was ” a look behind the scenes”. A multi vision presentation in the “World Stage” This is a presentation combining the old “Crew Farewell” and the old ships interviews with the Captain. Chief Engineer and Hotel Director.  Now  the visual presentation took all of those present through the ship, through the departments and gave quick explanations of the how and the what of the various shipboard operations. It ended with a number of ships crew marching onto the stage as a farewell. Standing ovation as usual. It was done very smoothly without taking up too much time from everybody.

One of the three Cake Stands in the Lido Market. This was at the moment when the Lido opened, the heights of the Cakes  diminished  quickly after as there was an abundance of interest. But the Cooks had a lot of “back up” in the coolers to make the cake-party last until closing time.

Then in the Lido it was Cake Day, Three corner stations of the Lido were giving over to Cakes. Think “Big” cakes and thus also big portions being handed out. The “traffic jam” started at 11.30 and lasted until closing time. Extra crew was  in place for traffic control and extra cooks were behind the counter to serve all those who were eager for a slice of cake ( a Big slice of cake). One would think that after 12 days of food abundance, the interest in cakes would be somewhat muted but this was far from the case. I had not seen this before but this is a Bulls-eye shot of the companies evolving ideas of continuous upgrading of the product; although I wonder with the amount of cake going through (big cakes) if it will not severely endanger the yearly profit margins.

We decided to go to the “Hal History talk” by the Cruise Director another interactive multi media event called  “Origins” about the history of the company. I was involved in the original conceptual plans and provided most of the photos.  Although offered, the producers never let me review the final draft so in version 1 there were a number of mistakes. They got a nice report from me after the first showing and I then I could only hope for the best.  They are now at iteration nbr 3. and I hoped that all had been updated. Well they had made the presentation a lot more slick than it was before but the mistakes were still there.  Would the average guests have noticed it? No, and would they still have enjoyed it? Yes. Karlijn the Cruise Director did a very good narration but unfortunately the World Stage was not full. The presentation was at 14.00 hrs. while many guests were still in the Lido (eating cakes…….. big cakes)

Before “Origins” started we saw Miss X (from orange night party fame) in action on the stage with the presentation/ quiz show “Deal or No Deal” which was fun to watch. The Lady playing did not win the big price but hopefully somebody on the HAL ships will do so or might have done so already.

“Deal or no Deal” In the Main Stage. Again the 270o Led Screen makes it soo much better as you can see the presentation from three angles. Far superior than what I have seen on other ships.

For our final evening we decided on going back to Pizza- New York on Deck 10 above the Lido Pool. When working on the Pinnacle Class ships, I always avoided the place as it was extremely popular and under the HAL motto “the guest always comes first”, I stayed away. Expecting the Dining room to be extremely busy tonight (many guests want to be there to say farewell to their waiters) and thus the Pizza Place to be more quiet we went for our 2nd visit during this cruise. It was indeed very quiet.

For those of you who are not familiar with New York Pizza (in the mornings you can call it New York Bagel) for breakfast, this is the menu.

Tomorrow (14 June) we will be driving home  with the expected temperature to be around 19oC or 67oF and partly cloudy skies. Once at home I will write the final blog of this series, with my final personal verdict and a comparison with the Queen Anne of Cunard the 4th. Pinnacle ship. As you can see from the two reviews on this website we have had some experience there, so it might be of interest to the readers to compare a American-Dutch- HAL product  with an British-American-Cunard product on the same class of ship. All a personal opinion ofcourse.

 

 

 

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,

 

 

 

 

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