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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: HAL History (page 6 of 11)

2025 June 09: Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

June 10, 2025 / / 6 Comments

By 07.00 hrs. we were at anchor of the port of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leery) for our visit to Dublin. We were the only cruise ship at anchor but were kept company by a car carrier and a cargo ferry (think containers on truck wheels) The Irish Navy came out to see if the invasion by 2.500 HAL guests was friendly and then trundled off to the East.

Welcome to Dun Laoghaire or Dun Leery.

We were anchored quite far out and hence the tender ride was a good 15 minutes. (For more details about the anchorage, see my Silver Spirit review elsewhere on this website) Each of our tenders was accompanied by a speed boat to keep them going in the right direction. Most likely to prevent them from straying from the right track and of course very handy in dense rain or fog.

The port of Dun Laoghaire. A tender (white dot) following the shore speed boat (black dot) can just be seen. It was a grey dull day with the occasional sprinkle. (The Scotts call a sprinkle “sprat” and the Irish do not even think that that is rain)

We have been to Dublin many a time but never to Dun Laoghaire itself and thus decided to walk into town. According to the Dublin tour guides of the past, the town was very small with not much there but this turned out not to be the case.   Many guests were on tour and a good number of the Dutch took the train independently to Dublin as the train station is right off the dock where the tender arrives. The tour buses use part of the ferry dock platform which was in use until 2014. Then the ferry service was consolidated in Dublin so now it is a pure tourist port. It leaves me a bit puzzled why they do not make it more cruise friendly so that at least the smaller cruise ships can go alongside. Who knows maybe in the future?

An ornate Water fountain on the promenade in Dun Loaghaire. There were several of them near the sea front but this was the most ornate one I could find. I wonder why the water fountain is under cover? Maybe the Irish do not mind STANDING in the rain but do mind DRINKING in the rain.?  Who knows?

At  11.00 hrs. open tenders were announced and we hopped ashore. The main street is just behind the railway station and about a 5 minute walk from the terminal. And then we found out that it is not such a small place at all. The main shopping street runs for a mile with lots of small shops on either side and all seemed to be doing good business.  The two biggest structures in the street were the local hospital and a large Tesco Supermarket, which we had to visit to pick up Irish Tea (Barry’s Gold) for a Dutch friend of ours. As this tea is nearly impossible to get anywhere else but in Ireland. (Of course there is the internet but since Brexit the import costs are ridiculous)

The town also hosts the National Maritime Museum of Ireland which is located in the Mariners Church built 180 years ago. I was well aware of this very nice museum but it focusses mainly on local and coastal issues and hence of less interest to me who is mainly interested in Ocean Liner History.  I overheard an American guest later on saying that his visit was marred by a wedding shoot and a fussy photographer.

Around 13.00 hrs. we returned to the ship and decided on the Lido as they had Oriental Corner today in the “Distant Land” section.  That gave us time in the afternoon to walk around the (very quiet) ship, to see what had changed since 2018 when I was part of the startup team. (see the blog section of this website). Apart from the addition of the library  not very much.

This whole center section is a waste of space, if none of the equipment is working and calls for a decent seating area (with a little bandstand with a guitar player) where a poor bloke can have a nice pint.

A disappointment was the Crows nest. The HAL President between 2015 – 2020 had this vision of an immersive shore excursions station and installed  an elaborate set of equipment in the space to make it possible for the guests to study their tour and then book it at the shore – excursion office in the sb. aft corner.  Two of the big screen tables had been removed already and card and puzzle tables installed. The Navigation stand  (2 large monitors) was out of order and also the wall panel with shore excursion options was not working. Leaving the whole center of the space as a vast and empty expanse.

The portside sort of works with the Crows nest Bar (reduced in size as it also has the coffee stand in it) and the portside aft captains corner has been turned into an Arts and Crafts center, which works very well. I just hope that somebody will have the leadership to turn the center of the Crows nest back into the nice cocktail lounge that the Crows nest originally was designed for back in 1983. (With the arrival of the Nieuw Amsterdam (III)). The Commodore Club on the Queen Anne is a sheer delight compared to this. As we now see with so many Dutch on board, the Ocean Bar is far too small for cocktail time and music in the other venues starts later and have less of a “cocktail atmosphere”.  Room for improvement here , room for more revenue options.

The Queens Lounge, now called B.B King. In my opinion the most beautiful show lounge on the high seas. And an excellent venue for Classical. It was not very busy but then most guests had come back from shore as late as possible and were still recycling themselves.

For cocktails  we went to the classical music concert in the Queens Lounge (now named BB King ) where a very talented Classical Trio played the First Piano Trio (for violin, piano and cello) Opus 70 by Beethoven, called the “Ghost Trio”. This name is due to the second movement being a bit eerie and with some phantasy and eyes closed one can imagine scary ghosts floating down the stone stairs of a haunted Castle. The Queens Lounge is one of the most beautiful Lounges afloat in my opinion (and I have seen a few by now also with the competition) and a sheer delight to be in.

From there it was dinner in Rudy’s Sell de Mer Restaurant. Rudy Sodamin has left HAL some time ago he went cooking for Princess Cruises but his name lingers on. This is supposed to be the top specialty restaurant on board (cover charge $ 55,– and with an extra $ 15,– supplement for Dover Sole) so we were intrigued how much better the service would be. I already knew the kitchen would be good as it is a separate kitchen from the regular main dining room, so much more attention can be paid to each personalized dish).  This turned out to be the case as my butterfly tender loin came out perfectly.

The Sel de Mer Restaurant. Our table, to the left, under a painting of Magnus Sodamin. I do not know if it was any relation of Rudi although both are Norwegian.

The service again lacked of attention to detail, although the waiter thought he was wonderful. But one should not find a seized up salt shaker on the table, empty glasses and cans should not be left on the table when used, until pointed out. Plus the waiter had also no idea what a Leffe Beer was and so was not intimately aware /trained of what was on the menu/wine list  (The are several Belgium beers on the mainly French menu) etc. etc.  To my shock the cheese trolley was gone and replaced with a cheese plate.  (And served with no explanation of what sort of cheeses it were) So in my personal opinion, the “Sel de Mer” is  not worth the current price, even if you have on board credit.

Then to the show. This evening only 4 singers, the two men and one lady from the regular cast show and the one ladie from the Rock Lounge and as usual they were very good.  Tomorrow we are in Douglas, Isle of Man, which is an anchor port again. The harbor is only small and mainly used by ferries. The weather looks sunny (with the 20% rain factor) but I am a bit worried about the wind direction as the anchorage is fully exposed and during the night I felt the swell bumping under the stern and that is never a good omen.

 

 

 

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 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 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.

 

 

 

2025 May 31, Dover England.

June 1, 2025 / / 10 Comments

And so the taxi dropped us off at the  cruise terminal in Dover at noon time. In the hotel we saw guests for our ship but also for the Seabourn Sojourn. As expected the Sojourn was at Terminal 1 which is the original terminal for cruises from Dover and built with  capacity of the small ships of bygone days in mind. Hence the Sojourn was docked there and the  NSDM was at the big terminal which is a sort of permanent marque/shed construction. Everybody arrived in a staggered way so embarkation took no more than 10 minutes.

Dover from an archive photo. The front view show the ms Borealis (ex Rotterdam (VI) at terminal 2 and a much smaller cruise ship at terminal 1. It looks like a ship from  Saga Cruises and they take 900 guests maximum. At the “marina terminal there is a 3rd one which looks like a Viking ship.

We had booked a VISTA CLASS  cabin on deck 6 in the centre sandwiched between deck 5 and deck 7 which are all cabin decks so we would be sure not to be bothered by any noise from any public area. All the day information nowadays is on the HAL APP on the smartphone. But the login in did not work so we had to go to the front desk and there the lady had to reset the system. It turned out that the log-on instructions on the app to connect to wifi did not cover the “have it all package” we had bought. Lots of work for the front desk, as we not the only ones, that would not have been necessary if a programmer had put the option in the menu to start with.

The ms Nieuw Statendam alongside Terminal 2 in Dover.

We have now been using the “have it package” for 24 hrs. And it is worthwhile to have it for drinks, 2 included specialty  dinners, two shore-excursions, and all the tips.   We calculated  that with 4 drinks a day we are already breaking even. HAL prices in the bar are more reasonable than with Cunard but still more than at Fred Olsen or some other European Operators.

Then it was Boat drill time and nowadays that works very quickly. You watch the video on the TV (which I helped design in 2016 so nothing knew to learn) and then go to the muster location to be scanned. Saves the guest time and also saves the ship manpower. Once in awhile the ship is required to do a full boat drill with all the guests present at one time, to keep the crew proficient with handling the flow. Today each station only had one scanning person, tomorrow which is official embarkation day, there will be many more crew as they will be many more guests coming on board.  Today about 150 guests joined, mainly Americans who combined the cruise with a visit to London. Only 6 British joined and 1 Dutchman.  In the future the company hopes to get about 400 British joining in Dover but I do not think that many British were interested in sailing around their own island this time. On a previous cruise to the Canaries there were 150 on board so there is interest.

Dover departure view with on the portside North of the Ferry terminals the “White Cliffs of Dover” and Dover castle which harks back to the 11th. century for the main keep.

There will now be a 4 part (?) program on the British Channel 5  showcasing the company and hopefully that will perk some more interest. That camera team were on board in April but tomorrow the ship can be excited as my camera team comes on board for filming a documentary about our old head office in Rotterdam which will be 125 years old in 2026. I was asked to be part of that program, due to my knowledge about the company’s history but also because I was one of the last Officers having a job interview in the old office, before the company moved to the suburbs.

So tomorrow we will be in Rotterdam which will the the change over day for the majority of the guests and then the cruise will  start in earnest. Expected weather, overcast with temperatures around 20oC or 68oF., perfect travelling weather.

2025 May 30; Dover England, on our way to the Nieuw Statendam

May 30, 2025 / / 10 Comments

Hello Holland America fans,

My Lord and Master and I had decided some time ago to go on a Holland America Line cruise as retired as we are. It sounds like a REAL bus-mans holiday  going back to HAL but we thought we had a good excuse.  Holland America has decided to really push for the English market and now has come up with the idea of offering cruises from the UK as part of the same cruises departing from Rotterdam.

The way it works is as follows. The official cruise runs from Rotterdam to Rotterdam but for cruises going around the UK, the British (and maybe also Americans) have the option to join in Dover UK and end the cruise in Dover. The rest of the guests, American & Dutch then end the cruise in Rotterdam.  Way back in the grey mists of time (1996) Holland America tried the same with cruises to the Far East, starting in Rotterdam with the Rotterdam VI and then calling at Southampton to pick up 400 British.  That was not an universal success as the British like a few small things to make them feel at home (such as a tea kettle in the cabin) and Seattle Management did not really comprehend that.  So maybe that will go better now.

I had a few discussions with the Vice President Sales in Europe and he dropped the penny in Seattle. So now we want to see if it works better this time. I really hope os as Holland America could be a wonderful program for the British who might find Cunard too snobbish and “stuck in the mud”,  Fred Olsen too sedate and P &O too mainstream. Celebrity and MSC are around as well and are doing very well.

Once we had decided on the cruise, something else popped up. Next year, 2026, the old Head Office in Rotterdam, now hotel New York, will exist for 125 years so a company called Angle TV wanted to make a documentary about it for the Dutch market. Somehow they found out that I know a few things about the history of the company and I was contacted with the request to be part of it. The initial idea was for me to come to Rotterdam and share my “pearls of wisdom”.  Instead of doing that I proposed the idea how about doing it on the day the Nieuw Statendam is in Rotterdam ? Holland America graciously consented to have the film team on board to document the arrival in Rotterdam and then we can spend the day doing the interviews and shooting the sights. That will be coming Sunday,

As My Lord and Master bought a “have it all package” which includes WIFI,, I will have the option to upload my observations each day and hence this preliminary post to set “the scene” as movie people call it.

Driving from Cromer England to Dover is about 150 miles but it does not go as fast as on the wide ranging roads of the USA. Our motorways are constantly under repair and thus slow downs and holds up when you are on them are frequent. And around  London the capacity of the roads is not enough and the alternatives (railways) are not a real option. Then from Cromer to get to a motorway means first 2 hours of small roads, where the presence of “Farmer John” on the roads means that the average speed is not that fast and the frequent round-a-bouts take care of the rest. Another challenge is the River Thames crossing at Dartford. London has a ring road called the M 25 and if you want to go from the North of England to the South follows the east coast side, you have to cross at Dartford. Southbound it means going over the bridge, and northbound it means going through a tunnel. Both were designed without thinking about “future needs” and thus the capacity is not enough anymore. The bridge alone sees 160,000 vehicles a day.  We were lucky today, it was very busy but the traffic flowed slowly but steadily. This is a toll crossing and they note your license plate when crossing. You can pay in advance, or within 24 hrs. afterwards. We have opened up an account long time ago and keep some  money in it, so we will never be caught out, if we suddenly have to take that route. The other option is to go all the way around London, on the Heathrow airport side, but that takes an extra 90 minutes. (if there are no traffic jams or collisions)

The Dartford Crossing: how to pay the Dart Charge toll and avoid a fine - BUY this domain: DartCharge.online

This is the Queen Elizabeth II bridge. Looking at the traffic, it seems that the photo was taken on a quiet day sometime in the past. The pipes sticking up under the bridge top are part of the ventilation system of the tunnel for traffic going the other way.

In the end the 150 miles took us 4 hours to cover. To do that on the day of sailing is taking a gamble with the traffic and hence we go the day before and book a hotel with the option to leave the car behind there for 14 days.  Tomorrow we will have a short taxi ride to Dover port where the Nieuw Statendam should be waiting with behind her the Seabourn Ovation. As we all know Seabourn is a subsidiary of HAL and thus it will be a company day.  Weather forecast: 25oC inland, 21oC at the coast, and no rain. So all is well in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

2025 May 01 Update

May 1, 2025 / / 10 Comments

Good morning,

To all of you still out there, I have been very quiet for a while, mainly due to the work on the Five books of the Holland America Line history 1873 – 2023.  Book I, II and III have now been published and I am almost done with Book IV.

Hopefully I will look like this when standing in the bookcase when completed.

I have no date yet when IV and V will be out as it depends on how much time I and my co author / publisher Mr. Nico Guns have as other work goes on as well.

On top of that, cruising goes on as well, and my wife and I have just completed a 7 day cruise on the River Douro in Portugal.  I have uploaded a review of this cruise under the normal sub directory My Cruises and Reviews, on the righ hand side of this blog space. I will see that we had a good time and the that it was a very good cruise.

And there is also the link below.

2025 01 12 – 19 April Emerald Radiance – Douro River Cruise Portugal

Furtheron I did some work on  the various Captains of the Past, and I am very happy to announce that there are still relatives  responding with photos and information.

Next cruise will be on board the ms Nieuw Statendam in June 2025 around England.

Best regards

Capt. Albert

 

 

 

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