The weather forecast promised a glorious day and the weather guru’s had it right this time, it was glorious. By 06.00 hrs. the sun was shining and there was hardly any wind. A perfect day for tender service, if you have to do a tender service. And we have to as Bar Harbor has only a teeny – weenie dock where only the small coastal cruise ships can dock. So we dropped anchor in Frenchman’s bay by 07.00 hrs. and we were ready to go. But nobody could go as all the guests had to go through Custom and Border Protection clearance first, before they were allowed ashore. Luckily the CBP Officers here are very much willing to help with making the process as smooth as possible. And that meant that once you had seen a CBP officer you received proof that you had been and then you could go ashore if you wanted to. This is not always the case; there are ports where all the guests have to wait until everybody has been inspected. Nothing we can do about it as this decision depends on the local CBP supervisor and we on the ships do not know why it is different sometimes. But here it works and so the guests that wanted to go ashore early had the option. Continue reading
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I can see why the Scots of Scotland decided to settle down here and named the province Nova Scotia. It has the same weather as in the mother country. As today it was a day as if we were in the Highlands. Foggy, drizzling and with a cold wind blowing. It even came included with a bag pipe player on arrival; dressed in full Scottish gear. So it all felt real Scottish. We had an un-expected quirk in the proceedings as the ship received an email, saying that our berth was suddenly occupied by the Queen Mary 2; which was not supposed to be there at all. But the promise was that she would be gone before we came to the dock. It turned out that she had come in for a medical disembarkation while at the end of a trans-atlantic voyage. We were a bit amazed about that as normally the Canadian Coastguard loves to come out with their boats and do a medical disembark at the pilot station. So either they did not have a boat available or the patient would could not deal with the boat ride back in again. Saving lives always comes first and costs are not taken into consideration; but this must have been an expensive detour. Extra fuel consumption to make and keep the schedule, pilot, linesmen and docking fees and this during the night hours. No wonder the linesmen were in a good mood this morning, they had a good bonus night. We of course worried that the QM2 might not have left on time due to some un-expected complication but she did pull out 0700 and we passed each other just outside the port. Continue reading
Contrary to various forecasts, the weather was quite good. Very good for Sydney for this time of the year. On the verge of going to summer, the weather is very unsettled and as a result the various weather forecasts can be completely different. In the vein of, is it partly cloudy, or is it partly sunny. Is the wind 20 knots or 25 knots or 15 knots? Thus a lot of wind was predicted today, while we did not really know if that prediction would come true and that makes Sydney a difficult port. If there really is too much wind then things are easy. The captain just cancels the port as it is not safe to go in. But if the wind force is on the edge of what is within in the safety margins then it becomes more complicated. Docking might be possible but will we be able to get out again in the afternoon? If there is not too much wind to go in but too much wind to dock, then dropping the anchor and using tenders might be an option. Not a nice option as it is a very long tender distance but it is an option to be considered. All this is going through the captains mind (and the rest of the crew) when approaching Sydney. Continue reading
We did not see any whales yesterday afternoon or in the evening, nor did we have to slow down on Coast Guard request. All was well in the world. It was even better than well, at least for the guests, as during the day the sun came through and this also promised a sunny day for Charlottetown. Which we had. It was less well for the navigators as sunshine in this area results nearly always in fog banks forming and this indeed happened in the late afternoon and early evening. But it is still early in the season so the banks are not that dense yet. But the moment the sun gains more strength it will be a daily occurrence. The ports will be clear and beautiful but outside where the warm air meets the cooler water, a white wall will greet the ship on each departure. That is the toll that captains and navigators pay so that the guests can have a sunny cruise in the Canadian Maritimes. But for now the balance is still ok, between good visibility and rain, and the amount of sunshine and VERY low clouds. Continue reading
During the night we were literally flushed out of the St. Lawrence River. When the river level is normal, e.g. all the spring water has drained away, the current going up river is about the same as the current going down river. And then we do not gain much as things balance out. But with so much water coming down the St. Lawrence, the flood tide has a real struggle to assert itself and the current up river, against us, is then not so strong. But when the tide then turns to ebbing, all the water that was sort of halted by the flood current comes down again as an avalanche. So for most of the night we had 5 or 6 knots of current with us. And that was a nice bonus but also a necessary bonus as navigating the river costs more time than in the past. Continue reading
It is not summer yet. Today it rained and it was windy and chilly. The locals call this weather Mavember. It should be May and spring like but the weather is providing a November day. And it is un-predictable. The ms Zaandam came down the river as scheduled and went under the bridge at 04.00 hrs. to ensure that the gap between radar mast and bridge was enough so there would be no “boiiing” when passing. And once past, the wind picked up from 15 knots to almost 30 and then with the current flowing strongly as well, docking becomes a complicated procedure. That wind was not expected as the weather was supposed to be stable all morning. For the afternoon, we had three weather forecasts with different opinions about the direction of the wind and the amount of rain. They did agree on the temperature. Continue reading
And so I joined today the good ship Zaandam in Montreal today. The Zaandam is one of the four R class ships, made up of the Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Volendam and Zaandam. Although one class, the Rotterdam and Amsterdam are real sisters and so are the Volendam and the Zaandam. Main difference is that the RTDM and the AMDM have different funnels and different propulsion and those two can sail a bit faster. This was done as they were in the beginning earmarked to do the long cruises, e.g. longer than three weeks and with ocean crossings. With the increase in fuel price in the mid 2000’s that idea wķent out of the window and all the HAL ships now sail at the most economical speeds possible. So the Zaandam is nearly identical to the Volendam which I reported about before I went on leave in May. For the guest, the difference between those ships is merely the décor and art inside the ship. The rest is behind the scenes where localized “creativity” by the ships complement and/or different dry dock refits resulted in some minor operational differences. Continue reading
With sunrise at 06.00 and a hazy sky we serenely sailed over a flat calm Mediterranean and then into Santorini. The hazy sky was courtesy of the lack of wind today but it all cleared up by 09.00 hrs. when the sun burned it off. The high pressure system over the Balkans which causes the winds in the Aegean Sea is not yet permanently in place (they also have cloudy days on the Pusta’s) and thus it was wind still, yesterday and today. The captain had opted to come in via the South West entrance and then sail north to our “floating area”. The Celestyal Spirit was already at anchor on the hump as she is larger than the Ovation in guest capacity and makes more calls but still small enough to leave plenty of space to come close to the town. Sailing into Santorini is always interesting as parts of the outer Crater wall loom overhead and the black core creates a sort of round-a-bout where the ships have to sail around to get wherever they want to go. Continue reading
Today we have a sea day as we are on our way to Santorini. The distance is 550 miles and that we cannot cover in one night so we are having a relaxing day at sea. And this time I can say this as the daily program does not feature any wild activities. One can be mentally and physically exercised if one wishes so but it is all spaced out and doable. The earliest activity was a remembrance service of ANZAC day this morning at sunrise and although the ship is small there was a good number of veterans on board to attend. As the crowd on board is very international it was amazing to see that the attendee’s also represented the whole scala of “Allied Forces” who were active in the wars and not just the Australians and New Zealanders for whom this remembrance days is specially meant. It was a real “Brother and Sister in Arms” gathering at sunrise. While this morning was the remembrance part this afternoon the ship will organize a get together for some reminiscing with a good glass of wine in hand. Continue reading
Although the ship was in port overnight and the gangway wide open for the whole period, most guests came back on board for a good night’s sleep and then got up again very early for the next set of shore excursions. The Colonnade Restaurant (Comparable to HAL Ships Lido for breakfast and lunch operation although they offer A La Carte as well’) opens at 06.30 on port days but it looked as if they had torn the doors down as half the Restaurant was already full when I arrived at 06.31 hrs. Last night it was very quiet in the ship and I felt really important as I had the whole Club Lounge to myself including the Band. Some guests joined later but when I left the crowdedness of the lounge reduced again by 20%. Still a few people were on board during the day as not everybody participated in tours on both days. For just going ashore, without a cultural goal, Haifa is not as spectacular as due to the curved nature of the port, it lacks a concentrated down town area. So it is not as ideal for a concentrated shopping stroll as might be the case in other ports. Continue reading
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