In between all this Alaska weather, navigation and inspections there is also still the guest element involved in a captains job, although in Alaska it is on a much more reduced scale. The amount of time needed on and around the bridge, plus the extended port times, do not allow for many activities in that area. Also the need is much less as the majority of the guests see the ship as a convenience to get them there, where they want to go, and are fully focused on what Alaska has to offer. And that is the way it should be. Once we are out of Alaska the focus of the guests will be again more on life on board. The destination might still be a big draw but the sea days around the port days fully focus the guests mind on what the ship has to offer. The social side of the captain’s function then comes much more into play than is now the case.
Still, there are the regular items of the cruise and one of them is the Mariner Medal Awards. We do this separate from the Mariners Luncheon, which is on the last day of the cruise. In Alaska the number of medals to be awarded is less than normal as well as we have a much larger number of new guests sailing with us. All due to the fact that the ship is seen as a convenient vehicle to get to the destination and the cruise is booked as such. For us it is THE opportunity to make those new guests familiar with the HAL product and try to make them come back in the future. That works very well and then most guests are hooked for life.
This time I had something I do not come across that often. Ancient Mariners, not due to age, but due to the fact that their track record goes back a long long time.
The Groote Beer sailed for a number of years, westbound with emigrants and then eastbound with Students and tourists who were looking for a cheap ticket.
A gentleman who first sailed with Holland America in 1964 on the Groote Beer, when he went to Holland to study business. He still spoke some Dutch (The Groote Beer was never renamed to a Dam name, as it was first a Dutch Government owned ship which HAL managed, and was only later fully taken over by the company. By that time it was so well known in Holland as an emigrant ship that they did not dare to rename it.
The SS maasdam II. Originally contructed with two funnels, she lost one during a rebuild in the 1930’s.
The 2nd one was a Lady who had sailed with her father from the Dutch East Indies to Hong Kong on the Maasdam in the later part of the 2nd world war. I still have to verify where the Maasdam (II) sailed at that time and thus for the time being I am going with her recollection. Then she came back to Holland but later on emigrated to the States on the ss Rotterdam (V)
The captains cabin on the Statendam. I am trying to verify where this painting is originally coming from. Some say captains cabin Statendam III. (Photo Courtesy, Ships photograping department)
The top scorer however was a Lady who came over with the Statendam III (built in 1929) in 1938 with the family escaping from Nazi Germany. She was still very young then and the main thing she remembered was the small wash basin in the cabin which was her anchor during the crossing as most of the time she was violently sea-sick. These sort of stories inspire my, and I asked her to come to my cabin to have a photo taken with the painting that hangs there. Which is that Statendam of 1929. The story goes, and I am trying to verify this, that this painting also hung in the Captain’s cabin of that Statendam from 1929.
Whether true or not true, I thought it was a nice link between her, sailing on the Statendam V and having a picture taking with the Statendam III.
Ketchikan offered us a glorious day. Sunshine and no wind. They had a larger amount of sunshine this summer than they are normally used to here but who is going to complain? The dark days before Christmas will soon enough start again.
Tomorrow we will we sail through Canadian waters again towards Vancouver. Also here glorious weather has been predicted. Behind me, the first storm is hitting South East Alaska. But maybe I am lucky as by the time we get there, it will have all blown over again. As we are now near the end of the season we take it one day at the time and count our blessings.
September 8, 2013 at 2:26 am
Good to hear about other Mariners who came over on the old ships. Both my husband and I, (Groote Beer 1959), as well as other members of our family, are HAL Mariners at various levels, and those long- ago journeys played a large part in making us loyal HAL fans.
September 8, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Thank you for the picture of the Groote Beer. It brings back memories of the crossing our family made from Rotterdam to Halifax in June,1953. It was a very stormy crossing with waves occasionally coming over the bow of the ship. One of the enduring memories was the kindness of the cabin steward toward the kids when the parents were too seasick to be with them.
September 9, 2013 at 5:11 am
I am another of the ‘ancient mariners’ having sailed aboard SS Groote Beer from Rotterdam to NYC at the end of August 1960. We were returning from a summer of study and travel in France and the Netherlands. I have fond memories of the kindness of the stewards, the wonderful library and of having to reserve time to use the shower down the passageway from our cabin. We were four young students in a cabin below the waterline. The sloshing of the water on the other side of the hull was my lullaby. I discovered I loved sea days. When I took my next cruise on the current MS Statendam in 1993, I was hooked for good.
September 11, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Great stories/love the historic part! Thanks Capt. 🙂
August 5, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Hello, I also came to America via this Ship you mentioned above, was your departure date around July 13, 1960? i found luggage tags,old menus for breakfast,lunch and dinner from the S.S. Groote Beer my parents saved. I can’t find any listing for passengers around this time.
Could you direct me to a passenger list or any info you have concerning this time table? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
RICK
August 5, 2015 at 6:49 pm
Good morning,
thank you for reading my blog and visiting the site. I do not have a passenger list, but there are several on line but not from 1960. I am tracing all the voyages of all the hal ships so eventually I will find Groote Beer July 160 as well. Att he moment I only know that the captain was Capt. Faber. There is a photo of him under Captains of the Past. I suggest to have a look at his bio in about a year. I hope to have uploaded his whole career by then including all the voyages he made.
Best regards
Capt. Albert