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
Category: Uncategorized (page 3 of 9)
We arrived last night at 22.00 hrs. at the anchorage of Suez to make sure that we would be ready for the convoy once it started to line up. That “lining up” can be time consuming with the planned time not always happening. But the SCA (Suez Canal Authority) likes to have its chickens lined up well ahead of time so when the convoy can sail there is no delay. Hence we made sure that we were early, and made sure that we had paid our Suez Canal fee. Otherwise no transit. The transit fee is calculated via a standard tariff scale which you can find on the internet. You take the Suez Canal Tonnage of the Seabourn Ovation of 44000 as the guideline. I came to a rough price of $ 176,000 as I did not calculate behind the comma so it might have been at little bit more. Suez goes by volume only, Panama has a surcharge for guests on board maybe because so many more cruise ships transit the Panama Canal. The plan was this morning to raise the anchor at 04.00 hrs. and then to be in the canal by 06.00 hrs. Continue reading
We are following the recommended deep sea route so we are quite far from the shore. This makes sense anyway as it keeps us clear all sorts of Sunday sailors and fishing boats who are normally hovering on the edge of the shallow and deep water line as that is where the fish tends to come up from the deep. We are in deep water, very deep water. In relative distance the depth of the sea increases quite rapidly from being shallow and below us we have about 4000 feet of water and that is not even the deepest part.
The tectonic plate movement in the area (Thank you wikipedia)
The cause is another continental divide. We are here at the eastern rim of the Arabian Tectonic Plate which is crushed against Europe by the African Plate. I have blogged about this before, explaining the Wegener theory (not a theory since a long time anymore) that the continents are a sort of parts of a large dinner plate (broken in to the continent pieces a long time ago) that mainly drift westwards but not always. Far down at the sea bottom the two plates meet and slowly but steadily the Somalian Plate pushes the African Plate to the North East. So the distance from South America is getting larger by a few centimeters every year. The Arabian plate has nowhere to go but follow and here the mountains are getting higher. (Wait a million years and you can see the difference) This is caused by the west moving Somalian plate which is pushing under the African plate and that gives these very deep canyons under water. And we are sailing right over the top at the moment. Continue reading
Today we have a sea day and the ship is on its way from Doha to Muscat. This means we are sailing out of the Persian Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz and then further south. Thus we go North East until we reach the coast of the United Emirates again where we started our cruise and then this afternoon we bend around the top of the area, called Al Khasal also written as Khasab, in the early afternoon and now we are in Gulf of Oman. This is one of the areas where there is a lot of political noise about. On occasion Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz and then the other parties threaten something in return; and vice versa. Continue reading
The whole coast in this area is very shallow and thus there are dredged channels and long meandering buoy routes to get you to the ports. Most of them are oil ports but then there is an occasional city as well. Qatar is no different; a very long approach through buoyed channels (with hopefully most of the time with the buoys in the right location) and then coming to a port that is under construction and a VERY LONG way from the new city. Easily visible on the horizon as one spiky mountain of glass and concrete but a long distance from where we are docked. There is not even a cruise terminal yet, just a large Marque but it is all part of a great plan. In 2022 the world championships Football (soccer for the Americans) will be played here and the plan is to build a complete Olympic center with a cruise terminal. Whether they plan to use the cruise terminal for chartered cruise ships for extra Hotel accommodation, or just for cruise calls, is something I do not know. Just that they have to get a move on, if they want to be finished on time. At the moment, and it is maybe a small detail, there is not a football stadium in sight yet. Continue reading
There was a reason for me having been vague a week ago about my next ship, as the Seabourn Ships are hard to visit. First of all they are often off the beaten track and their embarkation ports often require Visas, either as guest or as crew, or for both. Applying for a Visa takes more than a few days and that brings a un-necessary complication to my activities so I try to avoid it. Secondly Seabourn is very successful and thus the ships are always sold out and often it needs a last minute cancellation to get a function like mine on board. As the ships are smaller, the chance of an empty cabin goes down, and there is also not the option to have a few “extra” cabins on board as there is simply no space. So I assume that my cabin availability is the result of a last minute cancellation although I hope that the underlying reason is not one of great tragedy or illness. But whatever happened it got me on board the ms Seabourn Ovation where I stepped this morning in Dubai. As with all developing cities in the Arabic peninsula, Dubai consists of a gaggle of skyscrapers sitting in a desert of yellow sand. At least that is what you see from the ship. I am not into sand, as I prefer the sea or woodlands so it does not mean much to me but if you are into modern architecture then it is THE place to be. Continue reading
And a miserable day it was. It rained all day and it just looked like England. At least the English people perceived it to be. With one difference the rain was not very cold but still wet. We are having a frontal system coming over with rain and wind in the morning, then rain only, and then rain and wind in the late afternoon. But better today than tomorrow. Today the guests are traveling homewards or coming to the ship and that is a lost day anyway. And what comes over now is what we will not see in Half Moon Cay as that is the direction where all the wet stuff was coming from. Continue reading
Today was not a good day for the shipyard as it rained considerably. Everything gets wet and also the work slows down as all the yard workers are walking around with an umbrella in their hands and with one hand it is hard to carry something, so you need two people for the same box that goes on board. Plus there is a bigger chance of getting dirt in the ship while we are just trying too hard to get the ship clean. The yard workers are ordered to put slip-ons over their shoes once they are inside but such solutions never work a 100%.
This is what normally the guests would do, going from their muster location to the lifeboat. Now we use the crew to exercise the crocodile line.
But work goes on and also for the crew side of things. Today we had our full safety drill for the Lloyds Surveyors so they could issue their necessary certificates. And everything went very well, as a matter of fact extremely well. I am not writing this because of the blog but because it was really the case. With these drills I walk around as the ears and the eyes of the Captain on the Bridge as he cannot leave the bridge and I ask my nasty questions to all the crew I come across to see if they are proficient. And I was a very happy camper. Everybody had studied hard and could recite the right answers and were even capable in coming up with solutions that were not in the study material but which you can sort of expostulate if you really understand it all.
All sb. side boats going into the water. We lower in alternating sequence so the boats can sail away unhindered. So 1,5,9,13 etc. and when they are clear and out of the way, 3,7,11 go down and can sail away. Then all lifeboats will sail in a circle until recalled. The Tender/lifeboat (2 engines) sits in the middle to ensure nobody goes the wrong way.
So we did the fire drill, followed by the muster drill of assembling everybody and then we lowered the boats into the water. As mentioned before, our full routine normally takes 45 minutes but in this case it was 90 minutes as the Surveyors took their time to look everywhere and grill here and there a few crew members about their knowledge. So with this out of the way, we can safely sail on our first cruises.
The process of testing all the eating outlets continues as well. And the pattern is quite simple, open up for a few people and then put the pressure on by increasing the numbers. Yesterday we had the Lido open for lunch for all the crew, and as they nearly all come in at the same time, it was a very good test to see if they system is capable of handling it all. Today the Lido was closed as the yard were carrying out remedial work on what we found not working properly and thus the pressure shifted to the Dining room. And so it will continue until the Hotel Director and his team are happy that we can provide the service the guests are expecting. One of those services is Room Service and tonight is the first night that the system will be tested. I am not somebody who enjoys room service very much but no doubt there will be a large number of people, currently parked in staterooms, who will go for it.
The Atrium Light show in full swing, It runs through a range of colors varying from white green, reddish to dark blue. With the new Deck 1 center square sculpture rising up from below.
Today they finished the Atrium completely and they had the light show going. For those of you who sailed on the Koningsdam, you will have noticed that it is not always on. That is unfortunately not possible as it would drive the guests and staff at the EXC tour office on Deck one and the Front Desk on Deck 3 absolutely nuts. The Atrium has also a different sculpture on Deck 1. While the Koningsdam has something that looks like a jet turbine from above, here we have stainless flames (?), or leaves (?) or shards (?) going up with lit up rims. Together with the light show around the higher up deck edges and the ceiling it gives a very nice effect.
Deck 2 which has the music walk is now completed. All the protective papers/ cartons and plastic have been removed and all the lounges now look the way they are supposed to look. We are still waiting for the furniture for the Ocean Bar sitting area but that will be moved in soon as the area is ready as it was until now in use as the headquarters for the Bar Lounge and Deck and their provisioning activities for all the mini bars in the cabins.
Three lady portraits on a staircase landing.
If you look closely it is all made up from black and white feathers.
Another piece of art to savor. This is a composition of three collages in the staircase. It looks like photos, but it is all made from feathers and you can only see it from very nearby. Very Very clever.
Weather for tomorrow; 40% chance of rain with the sun peeking through later. The yard should be quiet as it is Sunday but ship’s side things will continue to roll on to get closer and closer to a perfect operation.
Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway and although North Sea oil operation is a little bit in the doldrums at the moment, it is still an important part of the economy. It made Stavanger very rich and created very good living circumstances for the locals. Hence there are sufficient hotels to stay in and the company had no problems finding me a place for two nights. Today real life starts again as the Koningsdam promptly docked at 08.00 in the port at the same spot where the Seabourn Ovation was parked yesterday. But where the Ovation was docked bow in, the Master of the KODM preferred docking Nose out so the ship had its stern toward the end of the port basin. There where all the food stands were yesterday and still are today. I assume that the Festival will last until Sunday evening at least.
The old port of Stavanger. Yesterday my own photo of the Seabourn Ovation, this time a screen shot from the port webcam. In port also two museum ships, left the coastal steamer Roggaland, and to the right a slightly younger version the Sandnes. Both now in use as restaurants and exhibition centres. (Photo courtesy: Lesley Schoonderbeek, who has no hesitation to use Big Brother to try and keep track of me)
The Koningsdam is sailing to Norway for most of the summer and is now ending one of those cruises. Stavanger is the last port of the cruise and on the 22nd of July she will be back in Amsterdam to commence another 7 day cruise. The ship is now two years old and this time on board I will find out what has changed in those two years, if anything. What will be of even more interest is her sister, the ms Nieuw Statendam, coming out in December. The company has already said that there will be a number of changes based on the experience with the Koningsdam. Knowing Holland America then those changes, if successful, will also be applied to the Koningsdam. And this process will keep rolling forward when sister nbr 3, (which I call the X-dam for the time being) comes out in 2021.
Captain Werner Timmers in a glamour shot taken during a cruise when Oprah Winfrey sailed to Alaska. (Photo courtesy: Holland America Line)
The Master of the vessel is Captain Werner Timmers, who I already know from when he joined Holland America back in the grey mists of time. He then followed me up the promotion ladder as he joined the company a few years after me. His previous ship was the Eurodam and has now come over after the latest “Musical Chair” operation from Nautical Operations to the Koningsdam. One of the two earlier Koningsdam captains is now in the shipyard for the new build of the Nieuw Statendam and the other one is currently instructor at our simulator in Holland. Sometime in the future he will then rotate back into the fleet. The alternating captain for the Koningsdam is Captain Noel O’Driscoll, lately from the Veendam, who will take over later in the season.
From Stavanger the Koningsdam will sail straight south to Amsterdam and tomorrow we will spend our day in the North Sea. Sunday morning will see an early arrival at the pilot station as from there it is about four hours to the Cruise Terminal in downtown Amsterdam.
I will be on board until August 05 and the plan for me is this time to focus on drills and provide training when I observe weak spots. And yes we will be messing around again with tenders as the sailors are very eager to get their licenses renewed. One afternoon of Captain Albert is much more pleasing than a repeat 5 day course in Manilla if their license is expired.
Middle and southern Europe is suffering at the moment under a heatwave and that makes the prediction for the weather for the coming days, quite easy, it will be warm and sunny.
It was warm today but it was also a sort of perfect Naples day. Not a cloud in the sky and when the guests walked ashore they could see the sun brightly shining on the City and the Castle which guards the city since about 800 years or so. They are still working on the metro.
If you car is small enough you can always find a space. Even in Italy.
There was a very large hole in front of the Stazione Marittima when I was here in the autumn of 2017 and they have since progressed to making the big hole a bit smaller. And if you make the hole smaller what do you do with the available space: you put cars on it. I think that here in Italy they are all striving together to get the Guinness world record book of how many small cars can you put in one space. Most Italians, who live in the city, buy a small car so they park sideways and have two cars fit in one parking space. While the rest of the world gets 200 cars in a car park of 200 spaces; the minimum for Italy is at least 400 not counting what then still fits in areas with white – no go – stripes. Everyone can park on these stripes, as it seems that the Italian Traffic Code says, that No Go means that your neighbor can not go there, not you.
One of the reasons for the slow progress of the metro is because of the slow digging. With each inch they go deeper into the ground, they find more and more of the past and that has to be excavated and researched first. Not just what is found from the Romans days, (old fortifications and even ship’s cargo) but also from later dates as Naples had quite a turbulent history.
I pulled this one off the internet as it shows the ruins of the days gone past. It is part of the original settlement of Naples and it is the plan to keep this on view once the metro is finished and it will then be surrounded by a park.
My Italian is not that good but I saw not too long ago a headline in the newspaper indicating that the construction of the Metro had gone over budget. I am not amazed. How can you budget without knowing how much you are going to find back from the old days, apart from knowing that it will be plenty? So I expect it will take some time before we can walk off the ship and use the new station.
If I re-collect correctly, this used to be the first class customs hall. As in the good old days a first class suitcase did not mingle with a 3rd class bag. There were separate handling areas for the classes.
I tried this morning to get into the old part of the Terminal. The Stazione has been refurbished in the last few years and there are now restaurants and shops but certain areas are still original and used for meetings and civic activities. But the old architecture in Mussolini style has not been touched. The rooms were in the old days where the passengers waited in 1st, 2nd and 3rd class waiting rooms or where they went to immigration and customs when arriving. For an historian as me; fascinating to see. But my trying was in vain as all the rooms were booked for the day so I will try next week again.
The way it looked when the terminal was only just built. They want to try to return part of the piazza back to a park as it once was.
The port of Naples has always remained the same. Towards Vesuvius they have added container docks but the passenger terminal and the ferry terminals are still as they were 80 years ago. At the west side are the small ferries going to Capri and the other islands and at the east side the large ferries connecting with Sardinia, Sicilia and Corse. (Plus a lot of other destinations). But the passenger terminal is now the cruise terminal and all cruise ships have to go there. We were by ourselves today but with a bit of organization they manage to get 4 big ones alongside and even more small ones. The port and the city can absorb an infinite number of tourists (going in the city itself or to Capri or to Pompeii) the terminal is another matter. They have made a gallery on each side of the terminal and installed gangways so it is easy to get off the ship. But at each end there is only one Elevator down to ground level. And that elevator does not always works. There (for those in the know) is a personnel elevator around the corner but not really well sign posted. Thus when there are more ships in, the areas around these elevators become a real mobility center with each and every variation of scooter, rollator and wheelchair on display. I have always found it too embarrassing to take a photo but I have seen traffic Jams of irate guests trying to get out or back in the terminal while using an elevator with a mind of its own. And there is very little that can be done about it as the terminal is a listed historical building and they cannot just glue another one onto the outside.
The Oosterdam alongside with the gangway on the catwalk, basking in glorious sunshine. Today the elevators were all working; at least this morning when I was briefly ashore. Note the bronze horses on the top of the roundels. all original from pre WWII. Parking inside here is only for (important) permit holders so there is always space.
Tomorrow we are in Civitavecchia, gateway to Rome. Most of our guests will be leaving us here and the ms Oosterdam will start voyage 656 which will lasts 12 days and will include ports in Greece.
Weather for Civitavecchia: Warm and sunny with 80oF / 27oC and 1% chance of rain.
Captain Albert
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