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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: Staff & Crew (page 3 of 14)

Day 4, 2025 Dec. 20: At Sea, sailing towards Madeira.

December 21, 2025 / / 1 Comment

We sailed last night at 18.00 hrs. from Lisbon, slowly moving down the river and as it was dry weather everybody could have a good view  of the “singing” bridge, the Vasco Da Gama statue and Belem Tower. The latter is where the pilot disembarks and that gives the option to speed up to stabelizer speed,  10 – 12 knots, and sail comfortably down the river. Halfway down the estuary the ship started to move again and has continued to do so for the night and the remainder of today.  The ships movement did reduce somewhat by evening as the 2nd (interfering) wave field diminished in influence but it remained wobbly. Tomorrow will not be a problem as  Funchal is located at the South side of the island of Madeira and that is in the lee side of most bad weather. Very light winds are so far forecast for our call and the breakwater is very long and large to keep all the swell out.

Today we had a full day at sea, including the World club gathering (repeater or loyalty party) and a formal night. Cunard runs an excellent lecture program with 3 lecturers so far rotating on this cruise.  Two of them were very good, and one (claiming to do something maritime but only one talk and then talked about Madeira wine) not so good as he read his whole lecture and was not dressed respectfully (no jacket, but a sloppy shirt) towards the audience.

Female Conductor, Mrs. Farnham. started out with directing theatre shows in London and from there progressed to choirs and orchestra’s worldwide.

So we went to  the 2nd & 3rd one. Nbr 2 was a Female Orchestra Conductor, who talked about how to become one, and the trials of making it as a female in a male dominated world.  When she started in 1991, 1.4% of the world’s conductors were female. Now it is up to approx. 5% and she was running classes to get more Ladies in front of the orchestra, instead of in the orchestra. A fascinating world that most people do not know anything about. Next one was a gentleman who had spent his life in Drugs Enforcement and, (this being his 2nd lecture) went from the legal business around the work, to the actual catching of drug smugglers accompanied with what went right and what went wrong stories.

The Christmas market in the Queens Lounge from 10..00 to 12.00. Not exactly very busy, but then the prices were not really “market value”.

Then we had to run to the Queens Lounge were our classical pianist was giving his second recital. This time with works of known composers (Lizt, Handel, Sebelius) but also lesser known composers (Nazareth, Bortkiewicz) and that brought a wonderful experience.  I got somewhat irritated at Housekeeping as they reset the lounge 5 minutes before the recital started (the floor had been cleared earlier for the Christmas Market = a sales effort from the shops and beverage) and continued finishing off after the concert had already started. Their supervisor had poked his nose in when they started but did not stay to ensure that the stewards stopped when the concert started.  Leadership takes a lot of training, even with a White Star program.

The Queens Lounge, still with the open dancefloor space recently vacated by the Christmas Market. Pianist Robert Colville is seen here still practising. Housekeeping moved in 10 minutes before the recital started and all guests were moved to the dance floor. Nothing wrong with that, but why start so late and thus not finish on time ?.

Then time for a soft ice in the Lido and back to the cabin as it was time to write yesterday’s blog.

Time to dress came at 18.00 hrs. as we choose to go to the 2nd party at 18.45 hrs. The first formal night was color themed Black & White, this second one does not have a theme and the third one will be Red & Gold.  So big boss decreed that we should have a different formal outfit for each night and hence for tonight it was blue formal for me blue jacket and blue cumberbund, to match her ladiesships blue dress.

In the grey mists of time Cunard held 3 parties, The Welcome on Board / Captains Intro party, then the World Club party  for the various levels of repeat guests (Gold, platinum, Diamond , achieved at by counting the days) and  also a “Senior Officers party”. When we went on the Queen Anne we found out that these 3 parties had been merged into one. Not nice for those who were looking forward to as many free drinks as possible, but understandable as each time they had to clear the Lido deck (section under the Dome) at 3 pm. in the afternoon to set things up for a party, to much annoyance of those on the sun loungers and/or watching the afternoon movie. If you have to do that 3 times in a 10 day cruise, then you get a lot of un-happy campers.

Wold Club party in the Queens Lounge. See above what a beautiful lounge this is for a party as long as not everybody insists on sitting down. The other 3 Ladies are the World Club loyalty team and they also sell cruises from an office on Deck 2.

World Club party in the Queens Lounge. See 2 pictures higher up, what a beautiful lounge this is for a party as long as not everybody insists on sitting down. Thus this evening we had this combined party again in 2 sittings and with literally everybody coming through the line dressed in Formal. What was nice to see is that more and more men are moving away from the standard black “Penguin Suit” and are starting to experiment with different color jackets. I have about 15  of them in various colors to tune in with my wife’s dress color choice and also because I simply refuse to wear an “undertaker suit” if I am going to a festive formal occasion.

So we had the chance to have a little chat with Captain Sharples, who turned out to be a good conversationist (not always the case, even with cruise ships captains) , then grabbed a drink and moved into the crowd. Those who could stand, did stand, leaving the seats graciously to those who could only sit.  It was irritating again to see that the invited officers were hovering around the front of the dance floor and were waiting for the guests to come over to talk to them, instead of being gracious hosts and mingle in the crowd.  Hence armored with a glass of wine Lesley & I marched over to a trio of junior officers who were “hiding” as far from the guests as possible and gave them a bit of training of how to entertain. They sort of freaked out when they found out my background but with a few stories and some Q&A they started to relax and enjoy themselves.

Then it was time to for Captain’s introduction which went in sequence of: first Chief Engineer ( he who controls the throttle, does control the ship), the Chief Human Resources Officer (all cruise ship companys have been upgrading the status of H.R as the well being of the crew is becoming more and more important), The Hotel Director (the only Lady among the staff), the Staff Captain (who was introduced as captain, to confuse things) and then the Guest Ambassador (who administrates the loyalty system) to introduce the guest on board with the most sailing days. This lady had clocked up 1200+ days since 1991. Her most beloved ship was the Queen Elizabeth 2 but she liked the new Queens as well.  It seems that the older ships, built as Ocean Liners, had a form of character that made them favourites what ever challenges they had when sailing. I still come across HAL guests who remember Rotterdam V (now in Rotterdam) as their favourite  while the new ships  have much better facilities. But they lack character and style. On those older ships, the atmosphere on board dictated how you went about your cruise and how everybody interacted. But those days of ” everyday sea day is a formal day except sundays” are long gone.

When coming down from dinner, we bumped into the Captain and his wife who were going to retrieve their 3 children from the Youth Club. They were also having to deal with the magic of a Youth Club on board. Day 1: they want to go home, Day 2: they will go home when asked, Day 3: they refuse to come out as they are “too busy”, Day 4 and onwards is drama and tantrums near closing time.  (I was once called out as Captain on such an occasion, when the mother in question accused the Youth Director about “brainwashing” her children, as they refused to come out, and neither Security nor the Hotel Director knew how to deal with it.  I managed to talk the kids around (not the mother) by promising a bridge tour with ice cream (which we did anyway each cruise in those days. Then the next day the father threw a tantrum as he wanted a bridge tour as well but could get not one as the (free) tours were fully booked.  ———–Working with people is wonderfull————–  So, we as Captain & family had another chat and I was drawn in to volunteer to take photos with the captain by passing guests.

Then a mysterious bottle popped up in the cabin. Sparking Wine, but why ?? No card, no nothing. Turned out that this was a gift on “repeater day” for those with a higher number of sailing days.

Dinner was a busy affair as a larger number of guests had decided that this was THE night to order A-la-Carte (like we did yesterday with Dover sole) so all the head waiters and the Maitre where in full swing to prepare, Dover Sole, Lamb, Beef Wellington and Chateaubriand at the respective tables. But with being on TOP and have the best trained staff in this Queens Grill of all the restaurants, it all went smoothly without hiccups.

Then we went to the show. Tonight the 4 singers of the cast were giving a performance focusing on Songs of the Movies (James Bond, Abba =the movie etc.) This was advertised in the daily program with having a back up of an 18 piece orchestra (so bascially all the musicians on board) but there were only 9 on stage. Still very good, but why mislead the guests in promising more than you can deliver ?.   The show was very good though. All the other Cast,  Entertainers and family had parked themselves in the front of the stage (in the least occupied seats) and they made enough noise to make the theatre feel completely full.

Tomorrow we are  in Funchal, Madeira. We will dock at the breakwater and with us will be the ms Ventura (P&O cruises) which will be with us in all the next ports. Lesley knows the wife of the Chief Engineer on the Ventura as they were at sea together in the grey mists of time, so she is trying to arrange a meet-up.

Weather for tommorrow: Sunny in the morning, rain possible in the afternoon with maximum temperatures  around 18oC / 64oF.

 

Day 3, 2025 Dec. 19: Lisbon, Portugal.

December 20, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Happily docked alongside for the night, everybody on board had a nice and quiet night and as a result there were a lot more smiling faces in the morning, than the day before. The local authorities indeed keep to the regular cruise schedule and by 8 am. the ship was cleared and a steady stream of guests went ashore to invade Lisbon. It was still chilly as it had just stopped raining but by 10 am. the sun came out and the world warmed up to a balmy 15oC / 59oC.   The Alcantara cruise terminal can handle  2 very big cruise ships or 3 mid size ones but we were the only cruise ship in port. Although not completly correct, as laid up half a mile to the north was the ms Funchal, This is an old passenger ship built in the days that ships still kept a regular connection from Lisbon with the outer islands like Madeira. Then she was used for cruising, by a whole slew of different owners and has laid up since 2023. There seem to be plans to convert her to a hotel but not much progress has been reported.

The cruise terminal is about a 10 minute walk away from downtown, hence there was no shuttle. Cunard had made available an ADA shuttle for guests with special needs. For those who did not want to walk all the way, the Big Red -Hop on Hop off- Bus has a stop right across from the entrance and that is a good way to get a first impression of the City, if you have never been there.  Big boss and I have been to Lisbon many a time, (start counting  in 1981) so we decided to stay on board and have a good look around the ship.

Cunard’s Employee of the Month. (Sr. Machinist). Under the White Star training and excellence system. Cunard’s crew training  system is a bit more elaborate than with other company’s as it encompasses training and  good service in one system. Each crewmember gets dedicated training for this (and wears a pin when passed), while at other company;s it is often learning on the job with a bit of tuition on the side. How long the training remains engrained in a crewmember I do not know, as I saw already several officers walking around with their hands in the pockets. But I like the idea of having a more dedicated – formalized school – approach to quality.

I received a few comments about my remarks about the tipping situation at Cunard.  Here a little explanation. Cunard does not included tipping/gratuities in the cruise price. This company adds the tipping charge – gratuity- to your on board account during the first night. If you have it, you can use your on board credit for paying it. The gratuities are $ 17 for the regular cabins and $ 19 for the Princess and Queens Grill cabins, per guest, per day.  The daily amounts are quite considerable  and many guests reduce them to a level they find reasonable or take it off completely. But, and this is the nasty bit, you can only do this on embarkation day, hence long lines at the Pursers Desk after embarkation.

In the United Kingdom, same as in the Netherlands and Germany, you only tip for extra ordinary service that goes beyond what can be expected. Plus these are nationalities who do not like to be told how much one should “give” somebody.  You want to decide yourself if that somebody is worth the extra money. For regular pub or restaurant visits when ashore in those countries, you do not tip as everybody is paid at the minimum a normal daily wage. (This might be different in the USA where waiters seem to rely on tips to make a decent living)

Each crewmember, working for a mainstream company,  earns a decent wage, as stipulated by the ITF, (International Transport Federation) that regulates a minumum of seafarer’s wages. Then most companies have a top – up point system for each function. The gratuities that you pay EXTRA above your ticket price are divided according to that point system. All Hotel crew are included,  except Bar and Wait staff as they have the service charge on each drink (15%). Also Deck and engine crew (sailors, machinists) are excluded as they have a higher basic wage. Same goes for the Officers, they are on a different pay scale. If the gratutities paid by the guests do not reach the 60% of what should come in (e.g.  the 100%y when nobody would have taken off the gratutities), then the company makes up the difference until it gets to 60%.  If more than 60% is received then the point system kicks in. Crewmembers who receive tip directly from guests are supposed to turn those in, and are added into the point system pool. If that happens, I do not know.

Most guests that I know off, reduce their gratuities with a certain amount and then give the rest directly to the crewmembers who serve them.   Therefore more and more companies are turning to  “Tips fully Included”  under a “Have it All” system, or a variation of that. This is the system that I prefer as it works very well as long as the guests do not start tipping extra on the side and thus create preferential treatment.

That happened to us on the Silver Spirit (see write up on this website) where everything is (officially) included; but a few “high rollers” still tipped considerably with the result that the bulter for the cabin section shifted his focus towards those few cabins. In our personal situation, the butler had to offer to help with packing but we never saw him and later realized that he was suspiciously “present” for prelonged times near 2 cabins  occupied by a group of VERY well heeled New Yorkers.

There is no perfect solution to this tipping problem but I have found with all the cruises, with different company’s, that we have made in past period, that “All Included” or “Have it All” works the best. Both for the guests as well as for the crewmember. it takes all the worries away and gives peace of mind. At least for us. I hope this helps.

Deck 9 outside. Hamburger Bar, but there are also Hot dogs and vegetarian options on the menu.

Thus we went on a walkabout of the ship. With everybody supposed to be going ashore, we were expecting that the ship would be nearly empty. This was not the case. We have a rather advanced age group on board, expecially in the dearer cabins, so there were still many on board. I might have to get up very early one day,  to catch some of the lounges empty to get a good photo. As the Q.V is a HAL Signature ship, it has the same lay-out on the outside but the interior is fitted out differently according to the needs of he Cunard Product.

The Aft deck with the outdoor pool has on the portside a Hamburger kitchen and on the Starboard side a deck bar. The  hamburgers & related are included; while if you order a hamburger in the Golden Lion or via Room service where you have to pay for it (US $ 11,–). Although free for the grill suites. Today was too cold but in the coming days, we will certainly try .

This is the  aft section of the Lido on the portside and this area is  especially kitted out for Breakfast. (See the two toast machines in the foreground as no real British person will ever contemplate breakfast without toast)

The Lido space is identical as on other Vista Class ships but the lay-out is different. Port and starboard side are identical but split into 3 sections. The centre section on both sides has more separated seating areas and can thus double up as a speciality Restaurant. Which happens here. Half the cruise it is a “Bamboo” restaurant with Asian Fusion and during the 2nd half it is called “La Plaza” and transforms into an Italian Restaurant. The cover charge for both is $ US 15,–

The Winter Garden as seen from the Bar area.

Forward of the Lido Restaurant is the Wintergarden with an overdecked bar, sitting area and music stage under a retractable magrodome. This is where Cunard tries to concentrate guests who do not want to dress up, nor want go to the Golden Lion Pub. There is entertainment at lunch time and in the evening, varying from Irish Music to a Duo but also Disco.  As can be seen from the photo, it is very much favoured by the older crowd for reading as the chairs are very comfortable and the Lido Restaurant is very close by for coffee and nibbles.

Going further forward is the midships swimming pool and in front of that the Ocean Spa. This Spa is operated by the Steiner Cooperation, same as with Holland America, but is called “Mareel” to make it sound more posh. For the rest it is the same, including the prices which are not for the faint hearted. My wife has already learned that if she approaches me about going to the Spa, it works a lot better if I have had a few drinks and feel a bit more philosofical.

One deck up, overlooking the pool area, and behind the Cormmodore Club (Crowsnest / Onbservatory), is the Yacht Club.  This is a circular lounge with a band stand and a bar and is used during day time as a multipurpose room (meetings, choir rehearsals etc.) and in the evening as a Disco and/or Jazz club if there is live music.  We both have very good ears so for us it is not the place to be in the evening. But on shorter cruises it is full every evening. On a cruise like this, it would be an excellent place to show off all the versions of wheel chairs, rollators, buggy’s and other “special needs” adds on board; it would attract a lot of interest.

We had cocktails in the Commodore Club again as the piano player is very good and engaging, followed by dinner in the Queens Grill. We had pre-ordered at lunch time Dover Sole and this was served to perfection by the Head Waiter.  Tomorrow we will be at sea again and the ship will still be lively while going south but by late afternoon the movement should start to diminish, with rainy and sunny spells.

Cunard is investing a lot in christmas decoration and it shows. This is the lower Atrium and it looks very christmassy. Late this evening there was a classical trio of three Ukranian Ladies playing Christmas music and it brought a nice atmosphere to what can otherwise be quite a cavernous area.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2, 2025 Dec. 18: At Sea.

December 19, 2025 / / 7 Comments

We had indeed a bumpy night, with the ship being “attacked” with swell from 2 sides, creating a sort of swaying movement (the official name is yawning) that no stabelizer can correct. But in the course of the morning the wind started to subside and went down to about 35 knots and the North West swell eased off somewhat.

Our course is the red line and you can see that we started in the purple. That is 55 knots of wind.  The light green is about 20 knots. (Courtesy of the British Royal Meterlology Service. at Bracknell)

After breakfast again served by our butler, the ever efficient Ludmilla, we went out to to tell the concierge that the DVD player still had not been fixed. She was convinced that it was, as “the electrician” had been to visit. Obviously she had not absorbed anything of what I told her yesterday. So her phone came out again and  she was going to phone the Butler again. I stopped her and reminded her of what happened yesterday. Then we went back to the cabin to find Ludmilla , who had a solution. From somewhere she had conjured up a “new” DVD player but now with a 110 volt lead that fitted safely in the wall socket. Problem solved and kudo’s to Ludmilla. I will write her a commendation via the “White Star service” recommendation card system.

So what is the morale of this story: if you get flustrated with how long it takes sometimes to get something in the cabin repaired…… this might be why?  This is not just Cunard, it is similar for all companies. Our DVD player repair request went via Ludmilla who speaks -Columbian- English -, to the concierge who speaks -Bosnian- English, to the Front office who speaks -Philippino- English, involved a (Croation ???) Electrician, not even to think about houseleeping and front desk supervisors who might speak other forms of English again.  So they were all beeping each other and delegating from one department to another. Luckily my (retired) stripes still account for something and that kept the pressure up.I think that Ludmilla was able to “surf” on that momentum to find, and was given, an another player. The main thing is that for coming cruises, the DVD player works, if future guests would like to use it. I have done my good deed for the cruise.

Then we went to the library to see how the books were doing. Cunard maintains a very nice section of maritime books and I wanted to see if there was a new one that I did not know about. But no, all 75 were already in my collection. In time honored Cunard tradition all the seats in the library were taken up and mostly occupied by guests who were having their morning nap. There are also 6 internet stations there, who were mainly in use by younger guests (not asleep), with one gentleman working on 4 devices at the same time. (mobile phone, tablet, laptop and the library desk top) That will cost him a fair bit as the internet is not cheap with Cunard. ( $ 28,-  a day if bought by the day for emaiI, facebook and whats app , and $ 22,–if bought for the cruise for one device  = $ 264 for 12 days)   There are also packages for 4 devices and a premium package that includes streaming, voice calling and text but these are much more expensive. Depending on your repeater status you get some money off. We as platinum people received a discount of $ 80,–  The internet is on average very good, except at prime times (09.00 – 10.00 hrs and 15.00 to 17.00 hrs.) when the whole ship checks their email. Thus they still have to do something with the bandwith on board. Maybe they are doing that now as they were installing a new pod outside our cabin door today.

A new thing – fresh from the press – lesley got from her Travel ageant- is that on some cruises Cunard is offering what Holland America has been doing for a while,  a  “Have it All” package, whereby certain things, like the drinks package and the gratutities are included. Both are very expensive with Cunard and thus most guests pay them out of their onboard credit. Or with the gratuities, take them off (long lines at the pursers desk on the first day). So by following in the footsteps of HAL, Cunard will save the guests a lot of aggrevation  and discontent.

The shops sell duty free liquor and the prices are very good. Almost compatible with the English ferries going to the Continent. So we got 2 bottles of Bombay Bramble Gin which is a favourite of Lesley and very hard to get ashore in the UK.  We can pick it up on the day before the cruise ends. What happened to the days when the Duty Free was delivered to the cabins…………………

In the ship dance class was going on again, arts and crafts, shops were open, today they were plugging selected christmas gifts, and the rest of the public rooms were heaving. Everybody had to get out of the cabins for the cabin stewards to service and thus everybody was sitting all over the ship.

At noon time, the captain informed us that with keeping up the speed to 18-20 knots (15 knots required for the next morning) he would be able to arrive late evening in Lisbon to give us all a quiet night. And not having too much swell at the entrance, so he could get in. With the caveat that when he made the turn into estuary of the Tagus river, we all had to sit down as the ship might make some un-expected moves. The ship had to turn through the wind, which might cause the ship to list and then would get the swell on the stern  when sailing into the estuary entrance. That swell angle can  make the ship yawn (“lurch” in land lubber language) He would come back 15 minutes before he was going to make the manuver so we all could be ready.

The grill area by day time.

We like to have lunch in the Queens Grill and the service is very good; but afterwards I have to make an expedition to the Lido restaurant  for a soft ice cream. Most British company’s have soft ice, self serve machines, where you can fill your bowl or cornet to your hearts content, without the “expert interference” of a cook.  It is not good for weight control but Cunard does have the best soft ice on the seven seas. (When compared to Celebrity, Saga, P&O and Azamara) My own beloved company HAL does not even come close as they have frozen yoghert and the machines are quite often not adjusted properly.  Their saving grace is that they have a lot more condiments and sides, than Cunard, a lot of variations you can use to “top up” your ice cream to a real lunch time delight.

Part of the Commodore Club by day time. It is designed to give an Gentleman’s —- ships captains— club feeling with dark woods and ships models at the entrance.

For pre dinner drinks we like to go to the Commodore Club on Deck 10 forward. Last night and this evening it was not overly busy, no doubt courtesy of the moving ship. This is my favourite crowsnest as it is stylish and the service is efficient. Here Cunard has made an improvement. Since the 1990’s (and maybe even before) nibbles (peanuts and crips) were always “on request”. Now they come standard with the drinks; saves us having to remember to ask for it and saves the steward an extra journey to get the bowls when we forgot.

The Commodore Club by night. The grey hair and spectacles gentleman, seen above the railing is one of the two Resident Piano players who play during cocktail hours and also later on in the evening. This gentleman ran a sort of small quiz while playing. Tonight all his tunes had “flower” titles, or another common denominator. After 4 songs the question then was, what linked all four songs played.

While happily enjoying dinner in the Queens Grill, the Captain did come on the tannoy shortly after 20.00 hrs. with the urgent request to remain seated.  Now in Captains language, an “urgent” request is different than an “order”, so I knew it was not going to be that bad. And indeed, we only made one roll of about 3 degrees and had a few “bumps in the stern” and then we were inside. By 20.45 we sailed passed Belem Tower and picked up the pilot at 21.00 hrs.. Then sailed to the berth at Alcantara, swung around and were docked by 22.00 hrs. Giving all the guests and crew (and especially those guests and crew who had their cabins near the bow) a quiet and peaceful night.  Some crew experienced floodings on the lower decks, broken pipes, no doubt due to the movement of the ship, but it was all clean water. But that is life on a cruise ship that is 20 years old, the pipework becomes challenging.

We decided not to go to the show, a Flamenco show, but called it a day. Tomorrow we are not planning to go ashore but to have a good look at the inside of the ship. The weather in Lisbon should be nice, especially later in the day. A bit of rain in the morning, followed by sun shine in the afternoon and temperatures around 14 – 16oC / 57 – 61oF.

 

 

Day 1, 2025 Dec. 17: At Sea.

December 18, 2025 / / 1 Comment

And Yes, it was wobbly during the night but the captain explained at lunch time that he was trying to keep up the speed as much as possible and had been running between 18 to 20 knots at times. This with the intention of getting to Lisbon as early as possible. The earlier he would be, the easier it would to get into the river Tagus, and from there into the shelter to the dock.  He did not explain that there is a low sand bar at the entrance of the river and if the swell gets too high, this swell builds up over the bar. This results in a higher top of a wave but also into a deeper trough which reduces the depth of the fairway considerable. That might mean you cannot go in even when the weather itself allows it. This is very hard to explain to guests without a 30 minute dissertation on it, so I can understand that he kept it neutral.

Captain William Sharples Commander of the ms Queen Victoria

The Captain is William Sharples and is somebody I do not know as he is from the generation after me, (I am getting old……) so I never saw him at the simulator or met him in a port somewhere.  But at least he is trying to communicate and explain what is going on.  So I expect that tonight, if the waves allow, he will speed up again, a bit of inconvinience late at night but will not be as bad as cancelling a port. The local authorities in Lisbon have already announced that if the ship comes in early, they will not come out early, so going ashore will still be at the regular arrival time.

So what are we doing this cruise, Southampton – Lisbon (19 Dec.),  Funchal (21 Dec.),  Santa Cruz de Tenerife (22 Dec.), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (23 Dec.), Arrecife (24 Dec.), At sea (25,26,27 Dec) – Sout- hampton (28 Dec.) As you can see, Christmas and Boxing Day are during the last 3 sea days.

Going back to our cruise.  Breakfast in the cabin  is possible until 10 am. and is setup in the cabin by the Butler. This level cabin, does not have a high table for eating from, so it is set up on the small cocktail table.  But the breakfast came on time and was of good quality.

Our Christmas tree

A most peculiar item arrived in the cabin last night. This seems to be our christmas tree. It is a small fir tree but no baubles nor even a bit of angel hair to make it festive. The cabins, one class up, which are the named suites like Laconia and Carinthia, have a full size tree full with decorations. So  we seem to be entitled to a tree much smaller but without a single decoration………….. The mind boggles.

This is our cabin 6109, see below, located midships right off the center staircase. So in bad weather (with 5 decks above and 9 decks below) it is about the most stable area of the ship. The bathroom is made up of two sections. A wash basin area with toilet and then a separate area for the shower and the bathtub. Next to it is the walk-in wardrobe.  The wash basin area has a door from the sitting room area to reach the toilet and a door also from the bedroom area.  None of the cabins in Queens Grill class have  a complete separation between the sitting area and the bedroom area; this is only the case with the very top suite.  The entrance has a desk to the left and a small bar with basin to the right. There is a glass storage area and a fridge. With the cabin comes complimentary (standard) drinks, still and sparkling water, and 2 bottles of spirits.  This is refreshed every day by the Butler. It also comes with fresh flowers but for our cabin this has been reduce to a single flower in a cabin. But a long lasting flower. Then there is the option for fresh fruit.  But this is only on request. It is not offered.  So if you ever book a cruise, with this class cabin, check the list of amenities in the Cabin booklet “Voyage Guide” or the Cunard website. (The same goes for  borrowing DVD’s,  see story below, no note in the cabin, so you have to know.  Then the menus for the coming day for the Grills is given to the cabin, so you can scrutinize it at your leisure.  There is a elaborate in- room-service menu but I have not been able to find out if is the same for all cabins or that the availability depends on the cabin class.

Our cabin from a Cunard photo.

Being a sea day meant lectures in the Royal Court Theatre, so we debated to go and see them and then realized that Cunard broadcasts them live and runs a replay on the tv. And, at least today, the lectures from last cruise were also still running on the tv.

So when went for a walk instead. As is similar for most ships, the public rooms are on Deck 3 and 4, apart from the Lido restaurant (deck 9), the kiddies place on Deck 10 and then the Grills on Deck 11.   Between the grill restaurants is a small lounge reserved for Queens & Princess guests with a desk occupied by the concierge. We went to see her, as we had found a challenge in the cabin. The DVD player was not connected. Cunard, at least on the Victoria, has not upgraded their TV system yet. So you cannot see your On Board Account on the tv., nor have an tv entertainment system with a large movie library. A few movies (english, japanese, german, spanish) run as a loop, but not continiously,  and then there are a number of news channels. (Weather depending)  so when the ship came out, a Dvd player was installed and you could get DVD’s from the concierge.

I think that sometime in the past, quite a while ago, a guest took out the adapter (2 pin european to 2 pin American) for own use and did not put it back. Since then the Butler has tried to fix it but did not get anywhere as she ran into onboard “Red Tape”. As that is the same within every company I knew at once what was going on. The Butler is part of Housekeeping, so she called Housekeeping but they do not have adapters as they are kept by the Front Desk / Pursers desk./ Guest services. Housekeeping calls the Pursers office, who says ———- it is your cabin, and thus your problem. And thus nothing happens.

So I went on  a mission to get an adapter. I went to see the concierge, a lovely lady from Bosnian background and explained the conundrum. (11.00 hrs.) She at once called the butler to fix it. I saw the butler after lunch, who of course explained that she could not do anything, she had tried before. So back to the concierge to defend the butler. Now I explained who I was before retirement and also explained what is in the Carnival Safety Management System and directives, e.g. that “adapter control” lies with the Pursers Desk. She went on the phone again. The message delivered must have come through somewhat garbeled as a gentleman from the Pursers Desk showed up with a European extension lead and a adapter from European to English British. 10 for effort, 0 for results.  He left and shortly after, a lady from the front desk showed up, accompanied by the ships electrician to fix the problem.  The electrician looked at the DVD player and said, “you only need a adapter, there is nothing wrong”……………. Yes we knew that. Electrician and Pursers desk Lady disappeared again with the promise to get the right adapter.  When we came back from dinner, there was an adapter on the table, delivered by the Butler. But the story does not end here, so the saga will continue to tomorrow.

Dance Class in the Queens lounge. They show it at the same time on the screen in the lounge so everybody can see the dance team at all times. Topic today was the Cha Cha Cha.

Leaving the cabin, we passed by the Queens Lounge where a dance class was in full swing and then to the shops. The ship has two atriums, the big one in the center From Deck 1 to Deck 3 that is where you come on board, and then there is a small one behind the Royal Court Theatre near the bow. This one goes 2 decks up. On deck 2 there is on portside the casino and on the right side the Golden Lion Pub. One deck up are the  shops all around this open top of the atrium.  The location of these amenities  here is of course on purpose, every day, those guests going to see the show or lecture, will have to walk through one of these two area’s and might thus be tempted to have a closer look.

The staircase in the small atrium with the staircase going up from deck 2 to deck 3 (and going back down as well). If I would get a dollar for each photo taken on these steps, then my wife would be very happy.

I think due to the wobbly weather, the Golden Lion Pub was half empty (normally it is always full, often with people who camp out there all day long) and so we decided on a pub lunch. To our utter amazement Cunard had decided to “re-imagine” the pub lunch with the aim to raise regular pub-grub to a level of cullinary heights. Which heights Mr. Michel Roux, world famous chef, wanted to achieve I do not know apart from the fact that you now have to pay for half of the dishes. Lesley had Fish and Chips with the strangest batter we have ever seen. I decided on the Ploughmans lunch and I think if a regular Ploughman would see it, he would have run out the door, cursing, screaming or sobbing, depending on his philosphical state of mind.   So we will not even dare to go for the paid dishes.  But they have beer on draft, and also Cunard now has its own beers, a pilsener, a ruby amber and a stout. (= a sort of Guiness but not as dense) They offer this also as a Flight of Beer, with 3 small glasses, and charge the price of 1 pint $ 7.50  which is reasonable.  I prefer a Guiness over the Cunard Stout but the Red Amber pale ale is very nice.

A full Queens Lounge for the afternoon recital. Please note the banners hanging from the ceiling in black and white, denoting the colour theme for this formal night.

Then it was time to move from English Culture to the music world and listen to a piano recital in the Queens Lounge.  On the keyboard Maestro Robin Collvill. he advised that he had been around for a while (playing piano for about 70 years) and still learning. We listened to a series of pieces varying from Grieg, to South American Tango and back to French impressionists. Very, very good and soothing to listen to, as could be seen from a number of the grey haired crowd who where revisiting former concerts……………..

Today is the first formal night, called Black and White. The 2nd one is formal- any colour goes and the 3rd one is Red and Gold. Also Cunard, while trying to keep up tradition, is finding it harder to keep the dress code going. Hence we received a special letter from the Captain, asking the guests to conform with the dress code or restrict themselves to the non dress code area’s. ( deck 9 with Lido and Wintergarden, deck 2 with the Golden Lion and the show lounge)  We love dressing up and have brought a different formal outfit for each formal night.  But this being Cunard and a mainly British crowd, (the germans are coming for christmas and new year, but they also dress up) 90% was dressed to the hilt. Even the Golden Lion crowd was predominantly in a Whistle-and-Flute….

Cunard christmas decorations are very nice and in the sb. forward corner of the Queens lounge they have setup a small christmas village.

While the wobbly weather continues during the evening, it will lessen tomorrow morning when we are past Cape Finistere on the North West corner of the Iberian Peninsula, the Commodore Club (Crows Nest on Holland America and Observation Lounge on many other companies) was half empty so we had ample seats to choose from, to listen to the Lady Piano player. And yes, all guests were dressed according to the Captains request.

Then after our usual good dinner in the Queens Grill, we went to the show lounge to see a performance from Aled Jones, This guy used to be a very famous choir boy singer (with 11 Cd’s) and managed after his voice broke to transform into a good classical singer (now up to 42 CD’s). I do not know famous he is in the USA, but he is in the UK, presents classical programs on the Radio and this winter he is also in the musical ELF in London. His show was very good and kept us well entertained. He is transfering in Lisbon to the Queen Anne, so he is keeping his fingers crossed that the Captain’s plan of “running away from the bad weather” is working out. I get the impression that most of the guests on board are repeat guests so with them the need to see Lisbon once again is not so much of an urge.

We will have another wobbly night and by tomorrow the wind is supposed the go down from 50 knots to about 35 knots and the swells should settle as well. At the moment we have two wave systems interferring with each other, which on occasion, causes the ship “to lurch” as stabelizers can only deal with the sideways motion (and are doing that very well)  The Captain will keep the pedal to the metal as much as possible to get into Lisbon before the wave system comes too far down and makes sailing into the Tagus River impossible.

 

2025 October 21; Oban and final Verdict.

October 24, 2025 / / 9 Comments

The anchor was pulled up around 07.30 this morning and half an hour later we were docked at the ferry terminal where our cruise started from 7 days ago. Breakfast was at 07.45 (with doors opening earlier) so by 08.30 I could hop in the (complimentary) taxi to go to the (complimentary) covered garage to retrieve the car. I had to be first as my car was partly blocking the driving out of the other cars. Luckily the garage owner had removed a few obstacles so the path-width for the other cars so had become wider. In the mean time the ships staff were carrying the suitcases from our cabins to the shoreside.

Those who came by train (Glasgow train station) or plane (Glasgow airport) were loaded on the (complimentary) bus/coach. It was nice to see that Captain and Chief Purser where actively involved in helping with the suitcases and were personally saying goodbye to everybody. (not just a line up at the gangway but actively at the coach door (and luggage hatch) and around the individual cars.

By 0900 hrs. we were loaded and on our way. Day started all rainy but by 09.30 the sun came out and we had a good drive home. Same as going northbound, in two stages, with an overnight in between. It is an approx. 10 hrs. drive on the British roads between Oban and Cromer and that is something one does not want to do in one day.

So what is the overall verdict on this cruise?

Well as you will have read in the all the posts of this week:

The Hebridean Princess is a floating English (Scottish) Country House with a service that goes with it.  I would rate it 6 star but it is difficult to do so as there is really no comparison to any other cruise line. It is a totally unique product. With a crew ratio of 38 crew to 48 passengers, its service is beyond par. Above and beyond of what one can expect. A sort of throwback to what many company’s delivered in the 1970’s and 80’s when first class still existed.

The dining room has plate service (= 5 star) but the way the food is presented and the dishes piping hot, makes  it 6 star. Twice this cruise we had a (seafood) buffet, small, but again all of top quality and presentation.

ALL food & beverages are included, including the expensive ones. Champagne (the real stuff, Taittlinger, no sparkling wine) is available all day and so is the rest. The whisky’s of the distillery’s that we visited during the cruise were also on board and also included. The longest time I clocked between asking for a drink and getting it, was 5 minutes (and that was only because they had to get  a fresh bottle of something or the other out of the stock room).

The Glare Factor:  100%. Not a single crewmember who failed to acknowledge us when seeing us during work, or when outside their direct work setting.

If I would have to compare this ship /company with similar -starred- companies we have sailed with so far:  Cunard (Queens Grill), Silver Seas, Azamara, then the Hebridean Princess beats them all. 

Note: Azamara Onward, came fairly close second as she also had the 100% glare factor but has less crew so it took longer to get your drinks & food, and their tender service failed on occasion.

Things to be noted:

The cabins are all very well apointed (6 star) but vary greatly in size (from 4′.6 standard bed to a 6′ wide Kings size) so be careful when selecting your cabins. Same for the showers as they can be large or quite small. There are single cabins as well.

There is no A.C on board but only forced cooled air. For our cruise (average outside temperature of 120C / 54oF) it was more than enough (even while being in the dungeon) but it might be somewhat challenging during high summer as Scotland now also gets heatwaves. Especially on Hebridean Deck (that is dungeon level) where the cabins have no portholes.

When booking you can request a table for 2,3,4 or6/8. Depending on the number of requests for a table of 6/8, they increase the number of those larger tables. For this cruise 3 large ones were set up. If everybody wants a table for 2, then the large tables are broken up. We suggest that you request a table for 6/8 (depending on what size they offer) for several reasons:

  1. The guests are in general well educated, talkative and well informed. So the table conversation is richly flowing. You remain at the same table for the duration of the cruise and as we sat in a different chair each time we had the chance to have good a conversation with everybody.
  2.  If there are large tables, then an officer (Captain, Chief Purser, Naturalist on formals and other officers on informals) will host. It brings an extra dimension to the conversation.

Formal night is formal night. The ships management will not officially enforce it but you do not want to stand out. The ship and clientele sort of calls for it.  All your fellow guests are  dressed formally and so are the officers who dine  with you. (all in kilt).

One ONLY comment to make for improvement: The Bathrobes in all the cabins are too small, even for standard size people like us.  And that is for 6 star not really acceptable. We have put that as our only negative in our comments forms as we see no reason when we pay 6 star prices, that we have to lug our own bathrobes with us. Hopefully Hebridean Cruises will follow up on that.

We mentioned it on board, and the answer was: we have NO space.

This is nonsense, if they have space to stock 7 days of linen change and all our suitcases (*) then there must be room for a few extra XL or XXL bathrooms. And if not in the linen store, then there is more than enough space on the former car deck to add an A60 fire rated locker for them.

(*) You can have your bed linen changed each day as per company policy, but most guests are happy with 2 or 3 times a cruise and leave a (provided) card on the bed to notify the stewardess,.

We really enjoyed our cruise and we might be back in 2028 when we have space in our cruise schedule bookings. It will depend somewhat on  the ports visited. We found this mystery cruise a little bit too much tilted to nature. One castle in the mix (of only nature and whisky) would have made it perfect.

Our next cruise is the Christmas Cruise on the Queen Victoria in a Penthouse grade cabin. I do not expect that they will beat Hebridean Princess but it will be interesting to see how close they will get. According to recent reports, the service in the Queens Grill has been dumbed down (seems to have started after Covid) but we go with an open mind.

I hope you  will follow us on that cruise as well.

 

2025 Oct. 20; Inverrie to Kingairloch to Oban, Scotland.

October 21, 2025 / / 8 Comments

Today was sightseeing most of the day. Ending up in Kingarloch at 14.00 hrs. until 17.00 hrs and  then a quick joint down Loch Linnhe to the anchorage in Oban. (On the map just under the words Google Maps)

This morning around 07.00 hrs. the ship picked up anchor and sailed south along the magnificent Scottish coast line, dipped in and out Loch Sunartin, went through the Sound of Mull up into Loch Linnhe and into “Loch a Choire” for an afternoon call.

Strontian is an area of outstanding beauty as much of the Highlands are and worthwhile a visit. Certainly on a day as to day with sunshine and no rain. (Photo: unknown source on the internet)

As usual there was wildlife galore, with a very happy naturalist Bryan, as he saw a Minkey Whale that did not directly dive so all wild life lovers had their day already made. Then there was the small diversion into Loch Sunartin which is very scenic. The local claim to fame here is being the “town of Strontium”; real name Strontian and located up the hills just a bit away from the loch. The mineral (on the Perodic Table) named Strontium was discovered here, when people were delving for lead. A village was then built to house the miners needed and this villlage was called Strontian.  It is the only village in the British Isles to have an element named after it. The place is still inhabited with a village store and a school with 30 pupils.

The Glennsanda Super Quary as seen from the water.

Then we went to the Sound of Mull, which is a semi narrow waterway (not that narrow as in “tight”) as I went through it with a 33.000 tons cruise ship) and then one ends up in Loch Linnhe. If one continues straight on, one comes to Oban but if one turns to the North then one can end up in Fort William.  As we did not want to go to Oban yet, we turned to the North and followed to the coast line to “Loch a Choire”, which is a small inlet / fjord on the North shore of Loch Linnhe. While saiing towards it we came by a real blot on the landscape: Europe’s largest aggregate mine at Glennsands. It has been in operation for a long time and its product is a major export item for Scotland. There is still a billion tons of (mainly basalt) aggregate that can be mined so the mine is expected to be there for a fore-seeable time.

Kingairloch bay as seen on a Map by the Government of Scotland. As one can see the fish farm takes up a lot of space in the entrance. But it is a protected bay from any winds but the Easterlies and thus an excellent place for such a venture.

Then the ship made a 90o turn to port and slipped into “Loch a Choire” (there are 5 locations with the same name  in Scotland) and when going in the Captain had to hug the southern shore as in the middle of the waters is an enourmous salmon fish farm. Operated by Norwegians when looking at the flags of the support ships. But a bit deeper in the bay, there was ample space, so the good ship Hebridean Princess dropped the anchor and by 14.30 hrs. the guests started their invasion of the Kingairloch Estate. As many Estates in Scotland nowadays, the land is not longer owned by people of Scottish descend but by foreigners. This Estate is no different, being owned by a couple from Belgium. Luckily  they take their responsibilities seriously and they are busy with restoring parts of the Estate such as boundary walls.

This is one of the 2 little tender boats (stowed on the bow when not in use) that ferry the guests ashore. Each can take 10 and thus all guests can be ashore in a total of 4 runs., or about 20 minutes.

What else is there to do? Well one can climb up the mountain and then slide down the mountain again. Walk around the Estate and oggle at the Main House (from a distance as it is occupied) and there is a small church somewhere up the hill. Another call for nature lovers as there was a lof of deer around. I had hoped for a Castle today, as we had done birds (St. Kilda), Raasay (distilerry and nature),  Stornoway (history and shopping), Gairloch (nature), Inverrie (nature and pub), so basically all that was missing was a Castle. But no such luck, today it was more nature.

The Captain conducting the bridge tour. On this ship it is always done by the Captain and, contrary to many main stream cruise companies, it is free of charge.

This morning while in Loch Linhe we had a bridge tour, where the Captain explained how all the old stuff from 1964 worked (original engines, steering wheel and engine telegraphs) and all the modern additional equipment, such as Radars with chart overlay. Course plotters, auto pilots and a plenthora of communication equipment.

The original 1964 steering wheel. It has been modified (front side} so it is now also connected to a modern autopilot.

For me it was like going back to 1981 – 1986 when sailing on the steamships ss Statendam (IV) and ss Rotterdam (V) where everything was also done via the ships telegraphs with the engine room. Here the communication is with a engineer who locally operates the diesel engines with only a response delay of 3 or 4 seconds. In my early days, with steam, it could take up to 2 minutes before the requested  steam pressure/ revolutions were there as promised.

The original telegraphs are still in use. With the signal going down to the E.R where it is acknowlegd by an engineer before he then adjusts the speed/revolutions  as requested. The two boxes here on the bridge wing, contain the bow thruster handle, the rudder handle and the speed and wind indication.

The bridge tour lasted a good hour as Captain Heaton is very enthousiastic and also very proud of his little ship. He is now in his 24th. year of sailing on it. Once the “mere amateurs”  had departed I had a chance to discuss with him what of the all stuff was still good (everything) what of the new stuff was good (not much, but compulsory) and the intricasies of handling a ship like the Hebredian Princess. I already had had an (rather alcoholic) session with him in  the lounge late evening during the first formal night. Here we had put the world to right and discussed the reasons why we both did not work in an office.  He is now 30+ years at sea, while I have clocled 42 years, but if his enthouisiam indicates anything, he will get to the 40 years without much of a challenge.

This evening we had our last formal night, with the traditional presentation of the Haggis, which was spoken to (By reciting Robert Burns famous poem) by the Captain in his best scottish.  The Captain had dropped the hook around 1800 hrs. in Oban bay, so we could have a quiet formal dinner and night.  Tommorrow morning we will shift from the anchorage to the dock around 08.00 hrs. and then disembarkation starts around 08.30. I have first to collect my car, load the luggage, and then drive 5 hrs. to Newcastle for an overnight followed by the next day with another 5 hrs. to get home.

Weather for tomorrow, rain, totally overcast with temperatures around 09oC / 48oF. It looks like it that Autumn is finally coming to Scotland.

As usual the final blog with the verdict will come in a few days, when I am home and have arranged my thoughts.

 

2025 Oct. 14; Oban, Scotland.

October 15, 2025 / / 0 Comments

In 2010 I was at anchor with the ms Prinsendam (II) at Oban. Tendering in windforce 10. But as we had a sheltered anchorage right under the cliff off a small island just outside the port entrance, we could do it. The tenders hugged the harbour wall to stay out of the wind and  swell we had a good day. (At least for Scottish standards). Around 10 am. we were asked by the harbour master to stop the tenders as the ferries were coming out and the Hebridean Princess was going in. I had heard about her, never seen her, and had heard only rumours about what the little ship did. I  sort of an kept eye on her as I found it amazing that this litte ship, of a one ship company, could survive. But it did. From 1996  onwards. It even acted as a private yacht for Queen Elizabeth and family in 2006 and 2010 after she had lost the Royal Yacht Brittania.

Fast forward to 2025 and in the spring we got an offer in the post with an early discount, too good to miss, so we signed  up, That is not that simple as all the cabins on board are different. Located over 4 decks and the largest cabins do not necessarily have the biggest bed. Some cabins have a bath, some a shower, some a combination. As we had no idea what to expect, we booked the Torringdon Suite, an inside cabin, on the lowest deck (former car deck)………… but with a 6 foot bed.

The Kelpies. There are 2 ways of going North into Scotland, following the west coast route or the east coast route. Our Sat Nav decided that we were going West and thus we drove past the Falkirk Wheel (see cruise review of the Nieuw Statendam) and the Kelpies. Here an action shot taken at 70 mph. from the car by Lesley, as this section of the road is the last stretch of a dual carriageway.

Oban is halfway up the Scottisch West coast so it takes a bit of doing to get there. We cannot fly to Glasgow from where we live but you can if you come from London.  (The ship sends a coach to pick people up from Glasgow airport) Taking the train in the UK is fraught with challenges as you never know if you get there on time, plus for us it would entail several train changes. So we took the car, 5 hours to Newcastle with a night in a hotel and then 5 hours across and up Scotland to Oban. The wider roads/ motorways, disappear near Glasgow and then it is a regular, sometimes small A road for the rest. (Think 40 miles an hour maximum due to villages, roadworks, tight corners and opposing traffic).  By 16.30 hrs. we pulled up at the Northern Lighthouse Pier in Oban where the ship was docked. Offloaded the luggage and Lesley and then  I went with 4 other cars, by following a taxi , to a covered & secure car storage in the middle of the town. Then the 4 drivers piled into the taxi and were taken back to the ship, were Tea was waiting. All very civilised.

Before I start the cruise, I need to explain a bit about the ship, as it is a one ship wonder and more of a Five to -seven star happening than a run-of-the-mill small luxury cruise ship.

The ms Hebridean Princess  was built as a local ferry in 1964 but refurbished to a very high standard in 1989.

2026 Sep. 26; Fusina, Italy.

September 27, 2025 / / 5 Comments

Last night we crossed the northern part of the Adriatic Sea and arrived this morning at 0900 at the cruise terminal. We docked at the Cruise Dock, which is not that usual, because when there are 2 cruise ships in port, the smallest one is bumped to the other side, which is technically the Ro-Ro dock. There seems to be a gate in between but I have not been able to ascertain that the small terminal of Fusina services both ships or that a Marquee is rigged up, and/or if one has to go through the confusion of the Ro-Ro terminal.  But we were back right opposite the cruise terminal building from where we will go back home tomorrow.

Internet photo with two cruise ships in. Here we see the Explora I, which is bigger alongside the terminal and the Azamara Onward is banned to what is normally a Ro-Ro ferry dock. The authorities in the enthusiasm in 2022, assigned 4 docks to the cruise terminal but 3 of them are really the Ro-Ro docks. Quay Abbruzzo ( the real terminal), Quay Umbria, Quay Toscana and Quay Marche.

Today is thus really the day to visit Venice. Which can be by taxi (65 euros) or renting a car and it takes about 40 minutes to the Plaza Maritima and from there you can walk into town. Then you can also through the ship book a shuttle that takes you directly into Venice. So while Fusina is a nice terminal it is not that greatly located but as long as the 30,000 ton rule exist for all the “Venice cruise ships”,  there is not much that can be done. There were two other cruise ships in port, the L’Austral which is 10,700 tons in size and thus could dock in downtown Venice  and the other one is the Norwegian Luna, 156.300 tons and that one docked in Marghera which is the industrial port and also where the Fincantieri shipyard is located.  The Viking Jupiter we saw yesterday in Sibenik is today and tomorrow in Chioggia further to the south and that is almost an hour taxi drive to Venice.

The good old days, when there were no limits and cruise business was booming. Four ships at these two terminals and 2 more ships to the left at the other pier not on the photo. so 6 in port altogether/

Today about half of our guests went ashore and the rest made it  a quiet day on board. Not a bad idea as by 11am it was poring down and I do not know if those going ashore had a rain coat with them. Nobody I saw leaving carried an umbrella so they might have gotten wet. Some of the Australian and American guests on board made this cruise a part of a larger holiday period. Makes sense as flying from Australia (26 hrs. with 7 hr. stop in Malaysia or Singapore) or 12 hrs from the US west coast is not really worthwhile for just a seven day cruise. So some had made a river cruise and some were city hopping. (see Paris in 3 days, Europe in 7 days …….. etc.)

What is the problem? The Lido where all the ships have to sail through is not that wide and if a ship would not make the turn for what ever reason (technical or human) then it would hit the old port. And most likely at this point where the fairway makes a turn. The port tried to alleviate this with a safety tugboat forward and one aft but a large ship at 10 knots is not that easily stopped. This is the ms Koningsdam of HAL which measures just under 100.000 tons, when this was still the maximum size allowed pre Covid.

We also decided to stay on board as the transfer was not cheap, rain was expected and with at least 4000 passengers on top of the regular visitros would call for another busy day in Venice. Plus there is the additional 5 euro’s Venice Admission Tax, and all together it makes it not cheap just to go ashore with the intention to just go for a walk. And we have been here many, many times. Plus there is the conundrum that we had to pack. The ship has advised that they want all the suitcases out tonight by 21.30, so there is also not the option to pack after the show. Hence we packed this afternoon and it gave me the chance to take some more photos of the interior.

Our Cruise Director Linda Love from Melton Mombray in England. She started out as a dancer and then moved up the ranks to Cruise Director. During Covid she worked in a Garden Center. Unfortunately Azamara has done away with flowers in the cabins, otherwise they would have had an expert on board with extra pay

This morning we had the weekly safety drill of the ship at 10.am and this time there was a crew cabin on fire ,but it seems to have been extinguished to the satisfaction of everybody. Also it has been crew change over day. We saw the first group coming and leaving in Kotor and today and tomorrow there will be a steady stream of crew pulling and pushing suitcases both today and tomorrow. Today the Captains changed and tomorrow it will be the Cruise Director. There are 2 Captains for each ship and I assume also 2 Cruise Directors. We saw the  the Cruise Directors show from last night today on the tv.  All shows are recorded and shown in the cabins. So nothing about this nonsense we see on other ships about no recording etc. At the end of the show, which was very good, all the cast streamed onto the stage with flowers, champagne and compliments.  Hopefully the captain did not see it, as his goodbye during Captains introductions was much more muted.

Yesterday during lunch Lesley had asked if there would be any Spaghetti Bolognaise during the cruise and today in Italy, here it was. Unfortunately bolognaise divided over the penne  and the spaghetti with the con Vongole). But the sous chef popped up again ad combined the two items in one Spaghetti Bolognaise without any fuss. It was a quiet moment in the Windows Restaurant (Lido), so he had time, but still it is a good example of how the crew is focussed on the delivery of the cruise product.

We are flying tomorrow from Venice via Amsterdam to Norwich, with 5 hours overlay in Amsterdam. but at least our suitcases will make it.  As usual I will post my review and verdict in a few days, where I bundle all my observations, complain (=constructive suggestions) or praise. You will get a ping, but otherwise please look mid week. In the mean time, a few photos of “The Den”. We spent a few nights having cocktails  and after dinner drinks there. Nice place with a good piano player.

The Den. The bar tenders, only two, as it was a quiet moment. (Not very usual in the evening)

Apart from the free booze, the main attraction is the entertainment in the evening. Either the Resident piano player (also plays accordion) or a visiting performance by one of the Cast entertainers. All nice and very social.

The Resident piano player, He was really there but his seat was rather low, so he was hard to see.

XXX

 

 

 

 

 

2025 Sep. 25; Sibenik, Croatia.

September 26, 2025 / / 4 Comments

Today we are in the small, but old town of Sibenik, located about half way between Split and Zadar.  For this the captain had to make some speed  as he had to sail outside the islands to the North of Dubrovnik and then re-enter again as Sibenik is located Inland.

By 8 am, we were at the pilot station in the Sibenski Kanal and then sailed into a (fairly) narrow channel called the Pasmanski Kanal. The Croatians use the name Kanal for a waterway between 2 islands but it is not a “Canal” in the English sense of the word as a canal has locks at either side (like the Panama Canal) but more of a channel or a fairway with land at either side. So we sailed in the Pasmanski Channel which was very scenic. I can understand why the Romans, Greeks and the Venetians were excited about this space, as one Fort (located at the entrance) can keep any fleet away from coming close. You are then forced to land troops and the mountain ridges and crevices do not make that easy.

The Fortress of St. Nikolas. This defense point is one of a series of Venetiian Forts located along the islands to protect Sibenik and the surrounding area. It is open to the public via boat tours and seems to be under renovation as there was a large pile of big stones stored at the other side.

Sailing in, is about a mile and not unlike the more narrow part of the Panama Canal. The ship had two pilots on board, one on the bridge to guide the ship and the other at the stern to see if it made the turn safely. Once through you end up in a large body of water with the  old city of Sibelink perched against the hill side. The whole of the old town is now given over to tourist shops, restaurants and holiday apartments. On each side, outside the city walls, is the new city which is built on the more flatter parts of the land.

The sail through. The Azamara Onward is not the biggest ship that goes through. When we came to the anchorage we saw that the Viking Jupiter (1000 guests 60,000 tons) had come through as well and was docked at the main terminal.

It is a very sheltered anchorage and during the day our ship barely drifted around on the anchor. This gave for a very scenic view of the city which in the old days was protected from inland invasions by several big forts. Apart from that the old town has 16 (!) old churches on what I think is barely a quare mile and several palaces as the Venetians knew how to live well. So we went ashore by tender. This was a 2 tender distance and 2 tenders were in  use, with this time the waiting times for the tenders being not so long as Security was wise enough not to stick to 30 minute departures but worked more on the “demand and supply” method. I complained about the bad tender service in Havr (a 4 tender distance with only 3 and after 1300 only 2 tenders going) so maybe somebody listened.

The view of the old town from the ship.  The fortress of St. Michael is towering above the town on top of the hill and there are two more of them nearby. To the right the cupola of the Cathedral  of St. James is clearly visible.

We had plans to find the “main” shopping street but there is not really one in the old town. Each row of houses is on a different level so leaving the boulevard along the water means climbing 10 or 15 steps, finding a small square surrounded by houses/and maybe a shop and then another 10 to 15 steps to the next level. Getting that way to the top, the Fortress of St. Michael, is about 300 steep steps in small increments. But you can take a taxi.  The only larger square is in front of the Cathedral (yes another one) of St. James is about 20 steps above boulevard level. But then one does need some space to get processions lined up and you do need a location where the local magistrates can address the population. Now it was filled with several tour groups from the Viking Jupiter and Tui- tourists as TUI has a resort nearby.

This is the end of the main square outside the Cathedral.  The people standing here are listening to their tour guide via their bla-bla box and it seems something  exciting about the roof is being explained. Behind them, the next set of steps up to the next small street of houses.

We tried a few of the small streets on the various levels and then walked back along the boulevard where some of the very expensive yachts were docked. It was interesting to see how the owners or guests (most of these yachts are out for charter if the owners are not on board) were going ashore. Of course at that level of luxury you do not order an Uber, Bolt or regular taxi, no, 3 porsche SUV’s were used to whisk them away.  I wonder if your life becomes really boring if you can afford anything you want and there is nothing left to long for.

The ms Azamara Onward at anchor in the bay. The gap just of the left of the ship is the channel through which we came in and would leave.

By 12.30 hrs. we were back on board and in the Lido, the Windows Cafe, and here we had our next interesing exchange with the crew. It looked to me that the food on display did not change very much from day to day. Not that this is unusual but normally when you are on a 5* to 6* ship you see a bit more variation. So we asked the waitress, who felt  very uncomfortable about the question and was going to pass the message on. No less then 5 minutes later a sous chef popped up with the question if anything was wrong.  No that was not the issue, it was just a genuine question out of interest. Then came the explanation that about 90% is standard / the same every day but depending on the port, or sea area, they change one or two stations to local speciality dish. With Croatia this seemed to be a little bit more difficult so it was sort of limited to one fish dish. But they had 3 new flavors of ice cream for the day and a different selection of cheese. (which is quite an extensive selection, bigger than on many other much larger ships) And with me being “Jan Kaas or John Cheese” from Holland I had absolutly no problem with this.

Departure, all on board at 16.00 hrs., was slightly delayed due to two guests who missed the last tender. Luckily the tender was still in the water and could return after the ships agent spotted them at the now deserted tender dock.  Most companies have the policy that they pay the Agent to stay behind for an hour or so, when guests are missing and then get them back on board in the next port.

One of the two holes in the wall. A relic from World War II.

When sailng out through the Kanal/channel we could see the other side of the shore line and here the rock formation is a little bit higher. Because of the location, the Germans dug a tunnel into the rock during WWII so their torpedo boats could sail in and out of Sibeniks harbour while the  sea mine barrier in the channel could be left untouched. The in/out entrance and the out/in entrance together are called locally “Hitlers eyes”.  It was in use for quite a while after the war but with the collapse of Yuguslavia the navy left the base behind. (In the back of the island there are still a lot of Nissen Huts and other military facilities visible).

A view inside. The entrance is blocked off for boats but pedestrians can walk through via the pathway on the side. ( Photo courtesy: Camera Obscura Website)

Evening entertainment started early today. One of the castmembers, Linda Fitzgerald gave her own show at 17.30 in the Cabaret Show Lounge. She is from Irish decent and sang a number of songs which influenced her career. She studied in London and joined the cruise ships in 2016. Not a bad move as the days that you “had to make Broadway” are gone as the entertainment on the ships is as good and sometimes of an even higher standard.

A very good show by one of the talented cast of the ship.

Then it was off to dinner in the dining room where as usual the food was pleasant and the service friendly. Next stop was “The Den” where another cast performer was given a solo performance. Now it was “Richie” an American from New Jersey who had two Master degrees in modern music/musicals. So he sang for 45 minute some of the well known and not so well known songs from various Broadway shows. Again very good. Then we had the option to go to the main show in the Cabaret Lounge by the Cruise Director Emily Love. Again a very talented singer with a very powerful voice as we had heard  during the White Night. But as we knew that we could see her show on the TV tomorrow we decided that we had enough culture for one evening and called it a day.

Tomorrow we are in Fusina for an overnight stay. This port, where we boarded, is about 30 minutes by car and 45 minutes by Vaparetto from Venice. So those who wanted to see Venice could buy tickets for transfers. Weather tomorrow: Overcast with a chance of showers and temperatures around 21oC / 70oF.  We should be docking around 09.00 hrs. so we will be able to gorge ourselves on the wonderful skyline of the Mestra  industrial area. (see day 1)

2025 Sept. 24, Dubrovnik; Croatia.

September 25, 2025 / / 2 Comments

It is only 110 miles from Kotor to Dubrovnik so a slow speed run all the way.

Today we are in Dubrovnik also in Dalmatia and Croatia but at an another location than planned. We were supposed to anchor in downtown but last night the captain came on the tannoy and advised that there was a frontal system expected to come over Dubrovnik in the course of today and that would make anchoring in downtown dangerous. So the ship would instead dock at Gruz, which is the commercial harbour  of Dubrovnik, and a shuttlebus would be provided to take everybody to downtown. A decision I fully concur with but it requires a little explanantion.

The downtown anchorage of Dubrovnik. You have to drop anchor in the only section that is free of underwater cables called Lokrumski Prolaz.

Being at anchor in Dubrovnik is great for the guests as it is a very scenic tender ride sailing to the tender dock with the ancient city towering above you. It is not that great for a captain as the water is about 90 meters deep so a lot of chain has to be paid out to even reach the sea bottom and then the sea bottom is mainly stone so the anchor itself does not dig in very well. A bit of wind and the anchor starts dragging and the ship goes with it.

In all my years of coming here with my own ship, I never had the chance to anchor here in the first place as the anchorage was always booked/blocked by the Costa Line cruise ships. They even put the very large ships there. And not seldom there was a cry later in the day when the wind picked up and the anchors dragged. A lot of uncouth Italian could then be heard over the VHF working channels but they kept doing it.

This is the nautical map of Gruz. The commerical port of Dubrovnik. The ships dock at the pier with all the black dots under the yellow circle. That yellow circle basically indicates that you should not block that area as A. there is a lot of traffic coming through and B. on occasion the Bora wind comes funneling down the river canyon in front of the dock.

So we always docked at Gruz which has a very nice cruise ship dock (for 2 big ones or 3 small ones) and then it is a 15 minute bus shuttle to the North Gate of Dubrovnik old town. This is a very sheltered port and nearly always open to the ships. Sometimes you have to wait for a few hours until the Bora wind stops blowing. That is a wind that forms on the Hungarians plains and then picks up velocity when coming down the river gorges. I had that myself a few times but normally the pilot gets advance warning and we waited outside until approx. 11 am or so until the wind eased off.

Today no Bora and thus we were arlongside by 09.00 hrs. behind us was the Mariella Explorer which is an old Chandris / Celebrity ship owned by Tui and sailing for the English market. Yesterday we had the Mein Schiff 6, also from Tui but sailing for the German Market.  We decided not to be bothered with taking the shuttle as we have been here many times and Her Ladyship had no intention of getting wet. Luckily for the guests the rain did not come through until 17.00 hrs. and by that time it was cocktail time anyway.

So I used today to have a walk around the ship tp take some photos. I will post a few each day. The resemblance with the ms Prinsendam is striking although the Renaissance Class of ships were all built some 12 years later. But the Royal Viking Sun was a trendsetter, mainly due to the fact that the company let the ship be designed by the guests who travelled with Royal Viking and not a President with “a vision” surrounded by a group of V.P’s and Directors who all had to say yes in order to get a good appraisal by the end of the year and their $5,– a day salary increase. I have an very extensive history about the Prinsendam II under the ships subdirectory on the website which explains the why.  But when walking around I saw   small RVS design touches that were similar everywhere.

The R Three as the Pacific Princess. Looking amazingly good with a white hull.

The ms Azamara Onward was built in 1999 in France as the R Three for Renaissance cruises as part of  a series of 8. They did not have names as such, only numbers, as the company said that nobody remembered the name of a ship that they had sailed on anyway, only the company product.  Renaissance went bankcrupt after 9/11 in 2001 as they had been paying off their building loans with the cash flow generated during the cruises. With air travel coming to a near standstill and a heavy reliance on the American market, the bookings dried up and that was it. Several other companies snapped up some of this fleet of handy little ships, great for intense -small- port cruises.  The R 3 or R Three went to Princess Cruises and became the Pacific Princess for cruises to the islands in the South Pacific. In 2021 the P.P. was sold to Azamara Cruises and after some refurbishment renamed into Azamara Onwards.  She has a tonnage of 30,277 grt. A length of 180.00 metes and a width of 25.5 meters. There are 4 main engines connected to 2 propellors giving a speed of 18 knots. She carries between 670 and 688 guests in lower beds and 826 when all sofa’s and couches are filled. (Although it might now be less as the company seems to have been tinkering with the size of the sofa’s) And there is the crew capacity of 373. If I understood  the captain correctly, the current number of crew on board is 343.

Deck 11 top deck with sun deck loungers.

There are 11 decks and the highest one is the roof above the Living Room, which is like a Crowsnest (HAL), or Commodore Club (Cunard). Here there are stretchers behind a glass wall to keep the wind away and a steward to take drinks orders.  Then on the deck below is the “Living Room”. which is one of the 3 main public rooms on board. (The other two being the show Lounge = Cabaret lounge, and the night club = The Den)

The “Living Room” with the photo taken from the fwd. port side, next to the bandstand (located between the dancefloor and the front windows)  looking aft.

The place has on the starboard side a section bordered off for puzzles and games and opposite on the portside a similar section acting as a library with about a 100 hard cover books. (There are another 20 books downstairs in “the Den” for cooking and travelling). This place opens at 14.30 in the afternoon and then also offers nibbles for those who missed lunch. These nibbles / tapas continue through cocktail and evening time. Music is there from the early evening onwards and there are also on occasion small shows.  It normally closes around midnight.

The portside of the Atlas Bar, for people who do not want to sit at the bar.

Behind the Living Room is the outside deck looking down on Deck 9 with the swimming pool. It offers a jogging track around the open well. Opposite, under the funnel is a space called “The Atlas Bar”. This used to be a multple purpose room called the “The Drawing Room”. Since some time Azamara is experimenting with this space on all the old R ships. Here on the Azamara Onward they have installed a cocktail bar, called The Atlas Bar. This is for high end cocktails. (If they are included in your “Ultimade Drinks Package) then it is all free, otherwise you just pay the going rate. They do not do beer or the simple mixes like I to drink, so a place that is lost to me, but it is well designed and hopefully it will work. Sofar, but this is a 7 day port intensive cruise, it has been very quiet.

The Bar side of the Atlas Bar.

More interiors tomorrow.

Then here in Dubrovnik we were supposed to have an “Amazing Night”. A special outing in line with the upscale cruise experience of Azamara. Well things have been watered down. While on the ship it was announced that instead of going ashore and having this “amazing experience” shore side in an amazing location, the local show would come on board. Well that saves them on paying for a shoreside venue and local drinks as board it is included anyway. In the end it turned out it was no more special than a local folkoristic show which most company’s do once a cruise. A good show, but nothing out of the ordinary that would have made it an “Amazing Night”. So we felt a littlebit let down, same as we were in the beginning of the cruise, when we found out that we did not get what was promised us during booking.

Lateron we went to “The Den” were one of the cast members was performing Country & Western. The place was full to capacity. He was very good and, being from Texas USA, was able to sing with the right “country accent”.  The crowd was very appreciative, caused apart from recognizing his talent, also that a lot of the guests had also been busy with recognizing Johnny Walker and friends.

Tomorrow we are in Sibenik, also Croatia, and a much smaller port. Still an imporant city in the Venetian Empire of the 16th. century. The approach to the town, located behind a long island, is through a narrow channel so I have to be out of bed by 08.00 to see this.  It rained most of the evening in Dubrovnik but tommorrow it is going to be sunny again  with temperatures around 25oC  or  77oF. Although there is a dock, we are tendering, so I assume there is another cruise ship in port with us,

 

 

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