We had indeed local weather on arrival. Light rain and a bit of sunshine on the dock, heavy rain 3 miles to the North and a sea swell running towards the shore from the wind of yesterday. The Veendam docked in Dubrovnik but the Grand Princess had been scheduled for tendering into the old town. However on arrival they found that the swell was running straight into the old town harbor so the ship moved to the anchorage near our dock with the intention to take our place as soon as we sailed.

Such a late minute change of location causes a bit commotion on the shore side. All the tour buses have to be re-located and shuttle buses have to be arranged at short notice as the dock is located in Gruz harbor and it is a ten minute bus ride to the old town. In two days time we will have to tender as well, as there will be 5 ships in Gruz Harbour (Luka Gruz in the Croatian language) but the pilot promised good weather, so hopefully we will have more luck than the Grand Princess.

Another ship in port that morning was the Spirit of Adventure. This ship belongs to an English company called Saga Cruises and they cater exclusively to a market for the 55 and older. No children on board and the average age is in the mid to late 60‘s. The company has three ships, the Saga Rose, Saga Ruby and this one. Marketing is only done in Great Britain. The Spirit of Adventure does not have a Saga name as the company wants to make very clear that the ship is different from the regular product. It offers more adventure style cruises and has a very extensive lecture program on board. The ship was built in 1979 as the Berlin for the German operator Peter Deilmann. It measures just under 10000 tons and with a draft of less then 15 feet it can go too many places where a regular size cruise ship can not go. Thus with the shallow draft they docked all the way into Gruz harbor in the corner that is normally used for ships tenders.

We departed exactly on time and then spent the afternoon sailing between the Croatian islands. As it was still very windy outside there were only a few sailing boats out in the open. If you know how to sail properly a strong breeze really makes it fun to do some ocean sailing but it seemed that most sailers preferred to stay in port that day. We heard several conversations on the VHF with people talking about making restaurant reservations and meeting for cocktails. Just fine for us, the less sailboats out in the open sea, the less issues we have to deal with.

By late evening we were back in the middle of the Northern Adriatic sea and exposed to a whole series of thunderstorms. These storms tend to be very concentrated and as we sail through them we have a downpour for about 15 minutes and the wind can whipped up to 50 or 60 knots. The lightning can be quite spectacular with intense light flashes against a pitch black sky. The rain made at least one man very happy, my chief officer. He had been suffering from complaints from our guests about dirty windows and sand on the deck and nothing he could do about it. In ports he was severely hampered in cleaning due to local regulations and at sea you can not clean windows outside the ships hull. So now with one big downpour all his troubles were taken care of. At least for the next two days, when we come to the Greek islands again.

This was the first day with inclement weather since a long time, due to a depression building over the centre mediterannean. Luckily the winds did not affect us that much and it was only noticeable to the guests when we changed course coming out of the Strait of Messina. The wind was coming from the East South East and the mountain ridges of Calabria acted as a funnel. That gives the peculiar phenomena that the wind kept a direction just of the port bow, while we made a 100 degree course change. While we changed course, the wind changed direction as well, guided by the general lay of the mountain range. In the Strait of Messina, it blew from the south as the mountain range is North South, and when we came around the South point to the East, the wind followed the mountain ranges again. East -West.

Cruise ships catch a lot of wind and we ballast the ship to keep it from listing. However the pumps can not always keep up with the changing wind or the pace of the course change and then the ship will lean until we are on the next course. The pumps can compensate again. We have two internal tanks with a big pump in between that we use to transfer water from one side to the other. If that is not enough, we can use the regular ballast tanks. We can also transfer fuel from one side of the ship to the other (but that is a very slow process) or we can switch the drinking water consumption from portside tanks to starboard tanks and vice versa. We use close to 500 tons of drinking water each day, so by just switching can make a considerable difference to the listing of the ship.

By the time we had turned the corner and were heading into the Adriatic Sea, the wind started to increase but still from the South East and we were going north. That meant a following wind, so the relative wind on the deck was the true wind minus the ships speed and as are result it was still comfortable for the guests. Another thing with the Med. is that there is no ocean swell. All the waves are wind driven. It takes quite awhile before the wind has given the waves sufficient momentum that it becomes noticeable for a ship the size of the Veendam.

There can be very bad with autumn and winter storms in the area, especially if the winds blow for a number of days from the same direction but in the summer the gales are of short duration and the seas return to a smooth state very quickly. The one nice thing for us was that during the sailing through the Strait of Messina there were no fishing boats around. The SE wind, blowing against the current causes a lot of turbulence in the water and to be in there with a small boat gives the feeling as if you are navigating through a washing machine on full spin cycle. The big ships are not affected as the current eddies are too small but for a fishing boat it can be dangerous and so the fishermen were all at home waiting for the wind to die down.

The wind started to die down during the course of the evening and the weather forecast predicted the chance of a local thunderstorm for Dubrovnik. The word “local” is the unpredictable part of the forecast in Dubrovnik, as the weather can differ greatly within the range of a few miles, depending if there are mountains in between or not.

I think that I have mentioned this before but the port of Naples is a form of controlled mayhem. Ferries going in and out, ships at anchor, ships drifting near the breakwater, and little fishing boats all over the place. That makes for a very interesting arrival. On our final approach we were sandwiched between two ferries, whose only intent seemed to be to get into port as quickly as possible, regardless of the rest of the world. Blocking our course was a drifting container ship, obviously waiting for a berth but its position was right in the middle of the normal approach and exit route of the port. It was a very nice and wind still morning, while we swerved around him, but the weather was extremely hazy. We never saw Mount Vesuvius and ships around us loomed in the haze as grey lumbering mastodons.

We docked again at the regular passenger pier, only this time on the West side as the East side was taken up by the Carnival Freedom. They had arrived just ahead of us and by the time the Veendam was docked they were discharging their thousands of guests via two gangways. One gangway on the pier area for the tours and gangway on the Upper level which has the normal terminal access. For the guests I had hoped, that it being a Saturday, the traffic in Naples would be a little bit less hectic than normal but unfortenately regular pandemonium prevailed outside the terminal entrance. Naples is a town steeped in history and a great place to visit, and so is the surrounding country side, but the traffic is a challenge. Most of our guests were wise and had either chosen a ship organized tour or used a taxi to get to where they wanted to go.

I remember an incident from a few years ago, when I was with the old Noordam in Naples. I had gone for a walk around the Castle that dominates the port and was just on my way back. On the other side of the street was a lady walking whose body weight was, let’s say, considerable. She had her hand bag, a big one, slung over her right shoulder with the straps across her breast so that the bag itself hung on her left hip. Out of nowhere came a scooter with two guys on it. They zipped by very close. Then the one on the backseat grabbed the handbag with the intention that the strap would break and he would be able to steal the bag while the speed of the scooter ensured a quick escape.

However this strap was of some strong elastic material and did not break, it just stretched. The lady noticing what was happening froze on the spot. But because of her weight, she did not move an inch while the scooter tried to sped off but could not as the strap did not break and the thief did not let go. The rest of the scene was something out of a movie. The scooter came to a sudden halt, the driver lost control and both scooter and men crashed into the wall in front of the lady. The handbag remained in one piece. The lady quickly recovered from the shock and started bashing the two men with the same handbag while they were lying dazed on the ground. A few seconds later a policeman came around the corner, and the two thieves made a hurried exit, while still receiving the occasional hit from the hand bag. The policeman walked to the lady, obviously asked if she was ok, congratulated her with her actions, started the scooter and drove off in the traffic.

I then found out that the lady was one of the Noordam guests, so I sent her a bottle of wine for dinner that evening, to congratulate her with her heroic actions. I still wonder what that police officer did with the scooter………………, I guess the two drivers never claimed it back. Naples, controlled mayhem………….

Docking today was a bit of a challenge as the harbor master had assigned us to a dock that was too short for the length of the Veendam. To disembark the guests we had to use another exit from the ship and that meant docking with the nose out. However as the dock was only 90 meters long (while the Veendam is 220 meters) there was no place to put our bow lines ashore. Thus we had to use our anchors to keep the bow in position. Although not a complicated maneuver it was an elaborate one which required extra officers to handle the anchors, one for each anchor, and when going astern to the dock the officer aft had to keep me carefully advised of the decreasing distances, so I could stop the ship in time. The trick was to get the stern as far in as possible so that as much as possible of the ships side rested against the pier.

In the end we had the stern about 15 feet away from the end of the dock. We could not go any further as there was an electricity box on the dock side that would have blocked our exit door for the gangway. This sounds a bit strange but we come across these sorts of things all the time. A port will build a beautiful dock and then starts to decrease it usefulness by cluttering it up with all sorts of structures. Items that should have been recessed in the pier surface, or at least, moved away from the edge of the dock where the ships gangway will be positioned. Through the years I have had problems with bringing the ship into a perfect position because of lantern posts, fire hydrants, Telephone boxes, plant displays, bunker stations, gates and fences. It is getting better lately as port authorities discuss new projects more often with the cruise lines. Also in instances where the company builds their own docks (such as Carnival did in Grand Turk Island) the result is much better.

It is always interesting to find out what the sea bottom is made up of. When the anchor is raised again, the part of the chain closest to the anchor and the anchor itself is often covered in mud or sand. It depends on the composition of the soil if it is easy to clean the anchor or not. A lot of people think that it is the anchor that holds the ship in position but that is for larger ships this is not really the case. The anchor is the “hook in” point for the chain. When the anchor is dropped, we go astern with the ship until the flukes of the anchor dig themselves into the seas bottom. Then we continue to pay out a certain amount of chain. Most of this chain rests on the sea bottom and the weight and friction of that resting chain keeps the ship from floating away. We have formulae and rules of thumb that we apply to decide how much anchor chain we will pay out to keep the ship safely “at anchor”.

The nautical chart tells us what the seabottom is supposed to be made up of. So you see letters such as G. Bk.Sh etc. in the chart. This translates into Gravel and Broken Shells. If you then pick up the anchor, it should come up clean as gravel and broken shells normally do not stick to the chain. If the anchor chain is dirty we have powerful water jets in the recess in the ships hull in which the anchor rests. In Ajaccio we anchored in gravel and thus the two anchors came home nice and clean.

Monte Carlo was gearing up for the yearly Grand Prix and that meant that the regular dock and tender dock was not available. The dock was taken up by the Seabourn Spirit and two sailing vessels that were all chartered and were staying for the duration of the Grand Prix. (Finishing on Sunday the 27th.) Also the tender dock in the Monte Carlo marina was not available as that side of the Marina was screened off for the races.

Thus we had to anchor at the other side of the Oceanic Museum and tender into Fontveille Harbor. In this case that was even better as it brought the ship about half a mile further away from down town and that meant less noise. Even when at anchor and more then 3000 feet away from the shore, the noise can still be ear splitting. Part of the race goes under the big building on the waterfront and the half open tunnel acts as a sort of loudspeaker booming noise over the water. It can be so loud that you can not sit on the deck. Fontveille is a little further away and so the noise is much less, although still very pronounced.

It was a nice and almost windless day and thus a good day for a tender service as there was no sea swell. The swell and waves in the Mediterranean are all wind generated, so if there is no wind, there are no waves. Only the oceans have the long rolling waves that can stay on for days on end and roll in regardless of the local weather. The only thing that we had to content with was the wake generated by pleasure boats passing by the gangway at full speed. There are a lot of rich people in Monte Carlo who like to spend money on fancy toys including powerful speedboats and fast yachts. They take these out for a spin outside the harbor and the drivers are not hampered by the slightest from of common sense. They race by the ship at short distance and create so much wake at the tender platform that we have to stop the tender service as the tender movement alongside the platform becomes too dangerous. I wish these people would use their boats for what they are meant for. Keep them alongside the dock in the marina, for parties and to display skimpy bikini’s on the top deck.

Most of our guests preferred to go on tour here but the crew was highly excited with the prospect to see some of the circus that surrounds a Grand Prix. Although the races itself are on Sunday, there was test driving going on and that can also be very spectacular. You never know if somebody will crash. A ticket for the day to get inside the circuit was about 40 euros’ and working schedules were re-arranged where necessary to make sure that all had a chance to have a look. You really have to buy a ticket as each possible viewpoint that is over looking the circuit is screened off also the pathways higher up the hill. It seems that even the people who own apartments overlooking the circuit have to pay “viewing rent” if there are more people on their balcony than that belong to the apartment.

We sailed in the early evening from the anchorage for our next port of Call Ajaccio Corsica.

Livorno is not too far North from Civitavecchia and we sailed through the night along the Italian coast with a speed of about 15 knots to get to the pilot station at 05.30. Again there was a parade of cruise ships and ferry’s going in. The Spanish Oceanic was in port as well as the Carnival Freedom, not to mention 5 or 6 large ferries that came in from the islands of Sardinia and Corsica and the French port of Toulon. Our approach to the port was enlivened by a cargo ship who decided to first cross our bow and then to stop right on our course track. Legally nothing wrong with that but from a point of good seamanship it did not make sense. Nobody in their right mind is going to sit right in the middle of a port approach, but that ship did so, so we had to sail around her.

This time we were assigned one of the cargo berths and the port had arranged shuttle buses for the guests to get them out of the docks. This is a very busy port and everywhere we saw ships being discharged and container and tanker ships coming in and leaving. Entrance and exit to the port is a narrow entrance on the south side of the breakwater and you have to make two sharp turns with the ship to get into the centre of the harbor. Those turns are comparable with the sharp turns you make while in a car trying to go from level to level in a parking garage ashore.

Once again a sunny day and most guests where gone for the whole day. Only a few, who had been there, seen it and bought the T shirt, decided to stay on board and enjoy shipboard life. With a nearly empty ship, it was for me a great opportunity to do some extensive drilling. Not every port allows drills but Livorno does as long as we inform all the proper authorities. Livorno has three different authorities who are involved. First there is Pac-Livorno. That is the organization that controls the movements in the port. Then there is the SIS (Ships Information Services) whose main duty it seems to be to collect statistical data and then there is the pilot station, who also wants to know what is going on. Permission has to be asked as well 2 days in advance from the Harbor master, which office then produces a number of forms, to be signed by the captain. These forms indicate that the captain assumes all liability for damage caused by the lifeboats in the water. As there is more chance of the stone docks causing damage to the lifeboats than the other way around, I have not much of a problem with these forms.

Today we had a simulated oil spill, with the oil going on fire, which went out of control and resulted in all having to abandon the ship. The rule for abandoning ship is that everybody has to be in the boats and the boats in the water, within 30 minutes of the alarm going off. We managed 8 minutes this time with the crew from lifeboat stowed to lifeboat away in the water. Of those 8, only three minutes were needed to lower the boat, so that would leave 27 minutes for mustering the guests and placing them in the boats in a real emergency. After these drills there is an extensive debriefing as there are always things to be learned and items to be improved upon.

Tomorrow we are in Monte Carlo with the Grand Prix races.

A bright and early arrival this morning, sailing into the port by 6 am. Although our official arrival time was 8 am., it is better to have the long tours on the road by 7 am.; otherwise we never get them back on time in the evening. There is a saying in the Dutch language “all roads lead to Rome” and they do, but a traffic jam is most likely a Roman invention as well. Getting in and out of the Eternal city is a form of controlled mayhem and getting the tours on the road an hour earlier does help. Especially with at least 5000 other cruise guests in buses on the road as well.

There was a whole parade of cruise ships at the pilot station. Ahead of us was the Insignia with 700 guests on board. For this ship Civitavecchia is the change over port and that made her the first ship going in, as with luggage to be offloaded, it had to be early. Behind us was the Brilliance of the Seas with a maximum of 2400 guests on board, followed a little later by the Voyager of the Seas with a maximum of 3800 guests on board. All these people wanted to see something of the area, with most of them going to Rome or the surrounding country side, so a busy day.

With the increase of cruise ships calls, there is the need for more docking space and the port has embarked on an aggressive expansion project. The breakwater (the pier that protects the port from the waves) has already been extended with 1500 feet and another 1500 feet has been projected. The waste land along the coast is being filled in and new docks are constructed. As they have made not up their minds yet completely about where the cruise ships will dock from now on, the new docks have been laid out in such a way, that when almost complete, a decision will be made if it will be a cruise ship dock or a containership dock. Therefore there are no fixed passenger terminals yet, only re-inforced tents. These will stay until a final plan has been worked out. For us the tents where not necessary, as our guests could walk directly from the gangway to the buses.

On departure we had the compulsory tug again who pulled us of the dock and into open waters. A tugboat is required on departure and I thought that if I have to pay for a tug, I might as well use the tug. So instead of swinging off the berth, which is the normal procedure and the easy way out for the tug, (the ships thrusters do most of the work) I had the tug pull the Veendam astern for about 2000 feet. It is possible to swing off the berth; the harbor entrance gives me 150 feet clearance on the bow and the same on the stern, but why do so if you have miles of open sea, just 2000 feet away from you. So the tugboat had to work for the money this time.

Once outside we headed North West for our next port of call Livorno, with yet another early arrival, as we have full day tours to Florence and Pisa.

In Messina I like to arrive early. If I can get the ship into the port before 6 am., then there is no delay caused by ferry traffic. There are at least 10 ferries leaving from Messina each hour (and also 10 arriving) and their schedule takes precedence over any other traffic. If I get the Veendam through the breakwater just before 6 am, than I am just in a gap between the scheduled ferries. This time it worked out great. At 05.50 a ferry came out of the port and at 05.55 the Veendam sailed in.

We were the only cruise ship in port and as it was another glorious day, the guests really enjoyed themselves. Messina was heavily rebuilt after the Second World War and much of the old town is gone but there are a few churches and other sights in walking distance. Those guests who decided not to go on tour had also sufficient things to see during our morning stop. Messina is only a short stop as we have to get to Rome on time, which is one of the highlights of the cruise.

All tours were back on time and I was ready to leave at exactly 1300 hrs. when the pilot sprang a surprise on me with the announcement that a whole examination board was joining the ship. Without my knowledge, the Veendam had been selected by the harbor master to be the ship of choice to examine a new pilot. Normally I sail the ship in and out Messina myself and the pilot takes care of the communication with the local traffic. (My Sicilian is non existent and most local ferry captains speak very limited English, let alone Dutch…………… so I leave the communication to the pilot) Now we had to do it differently as there is not much to exam if the captain is doing it all and the pilot, who is to be examined, is just standing here.

Apart from the –to be licensed pilot- a 2nd and a 3rd pilot boarded. Followed by the senior pilot, followed by the harbor master. After much handshaking I was given the green light to proceed. So I brought the ship of the pier and then handed over the “conn” (conducting the safe passage of the vessel, while the master remains in charge) to the new pilot and we sailed out of port. As soon as the ship was clear of the breakwater, two course changes later, the harbor master and senior pilot left the ship. The exam had lasted less than 5 minutes and a new pilot had been licensed.

We sailed in the afternoon past the Volcano Stromboli again. There was not much activity going on, just a small plume of smoke coming out of the top. But as the sun shone on the mountain, everybody could have a good look. In the mean time the Veendam was running at full speed. Even at 20 knots it takes 30 minutes to sail by Stromboli so more than enough time for the guests to get a good view, take some pictures and listen to the narration of the Port Informer. I had to keep the speed up as I had to time the arrival at Civitavecchia correctly. Including the Veendam there were going to be three other cruise ships in port, including two “apartments of the seas”, all arriving 15 minutes apart.

A nice but windy day, while we sailed down the East side of Italy. Our guests did not notice the wind very much as it was going with us. The wind was blowing at 20 knots, the ship was doing 20 knots and as a result the relative wind on deck was zero. With the wind in the stern the Veendam is going close to a knot faster (cruise ships with their high superstructure are a bit like sailing ships) and that is good for the fuel consumption.

The ships fuel consumption is a major focus for a ships captain nowadays. In the last two years the oil price for heavy fuel oil has risen from 125 to over 300 dollars a ton, while the prices for a cruise have virtually remained the same. Holland America has decided that they will not add a fuel surcharge to the ticket price and thus the extra cost is absorbed in the company revenue. Apart from the fact that saving fuel is good for the bottom line it also helps the environment. Thus wind in the back helps. Trying to find a favorable current helps as well. If loading water ashore is cheaper than making it on board (burning fuel in the boilers) then we do that as well. Adapting the planned route where safely possible by shaving of some miles is another option.

With the wind in the back we followed the outline of the East coast of Italy. Distance to the shore between 6 and 20 miles, depending on the fact if the coast was straight or we were crossing a bay or a gulf, such as the Gulf of Taranto. By 9 pm. we were abeam of the most eastern point of Italy, Capo di Santa Maria de Luca. From there we headed southwest until by midnight we were south of Italy. This area is called Reggio di Calabria and occupies the whole southern part of Italy. Thus by the time we will have Sicily with Messina on our portside we will still have Reggio on our starboard side.

This area is very mountainous, with the mountain ranges coming straight down to the sea and therefore there are no ports on the south side. All reasonable sized ports in Italy are located on the West or on the East coast. The lack of proper ports is maybe one of the reasons that the Reggio is one of the poorer parts of Italy. On the side opposite of Messina is the town of Reggio itself. Here we find a small port but it is mainly used by the very extensive ferry traffic to and from Sicily.

For most of the day, we had been dodging fishing boats who, as usual, found the area on and around our course line to be the best fishing grounds. When we came closer to the Reggio the fishing boats disappeared. I do not know whether this is because of lack of fish or lack of ports. For us it was a nice thing as finally we could steer a straight course without having to swerve around the small boats every 5 minutes.

We could see today that the cruise season for the Mediterranean is gearing up. There was another cruise ship in port today, embarking new guests and also more ferries as the number of ferry departures increases in the summer. The ship stayed overnight and some of the crew went out for the evening. However interest was less than before as by now they all had become aware about how expensive Venice is. St. Marks Square will set you back 50 euros’ for four drinks and that makes quite a dent in the expense account. A good bottle of White wine is only 10 euros’ and gives 5 glasses. So the choice is easy.

Most of the crew is looking forward to the coming Baltic season where their hard earned dollars will have a bigger impact. Especially our Indonesian and Philipino crew like to stack up on knick-knacks to take home. The family is eagerly awaiting the return of the seafarer and nephews and nieces all demand presents. I once came across a cook who had no less than 26 fluffy toys in his luggage. When I asked why 26, he answered that is how many nephews and nieces he had. Forgetting one would result in calling down the wrath of some senior family member upon him, so he stacked up.

Talking about crew luggage, it is amazing how much luggage the crew take home for their family. As most of the crew come from Indonesia and the Philippines, it is often better from them to buy outside their country and then to bring it home. Both countries apply quite high luxury taxes on imported goods (to protect the home economy) and that makes the rest of the world relatively cheap for luxury goods. To get all their purchases home, the Holland America crew has a special item that they use. The carton-nite. Nite comes from the word samso-nite the well-known suitcase maker and carton from carton of course. Near the end of their contract a crewmember will built a carton box. This box has exactly the maximum size that is allowed by the airlines. First the carton is covered with colorful papers. Then the whole box is taped over to make it water proof and the edges are re-enforced with strong Duct tape. A string net is woven around the box to make it possible to carry it.

If a crewmember can not make a box him or her self, then there will be another crewmember who will do it for a certain monetary reward. As a result there are always one or two crewmembers that have a little “cottage industry” going with making these boxes. Where they find the material, I do not know, and I really do not want to find out either………………… When they then go to the airport you can see a very amazed bus driver, who gets 5 or 6 crew for his van but has to cope with luggage for 25. Our transport man in Florida has solved the problem by having a separate box trailer behind his van. At home the whole family will be at the airport or the bus stop when the crewmember reaches his home town, including a whole gaggle of nephews and nieces, waiting to get their hands on the fluffy toys.

Going to the Baltic means that there will be pawn shops galore for the good deals. Also a call at the town of Dover with all its charity shops is very popular. Same for Russia where a –legal- copy of a recently released DVD is about the third of the price of anywhere else. (the illegal ones are even more cheaper)

Tomorrow will be a sea day and it looks like a sunny day as well.