09 April 2016; At Sea.

We sailed with a slight delay last evening as we had soo many stores to load and a lot of space in the ship was still taken up by spare parts which we had not been able to re-locate to its final ‘resting place”. Thus it took a bit longer than predicted to get it all on board. But the cruise schedule has sufficient leeway in the schedule to make this possible and thus we know we will make Dubrovnik on time tomorrow morning.

Today the schedule was simply the opposite from a few days ago. Sailing south along the coast and arriving at the Strait of Messina at 10.45 am. We did not do Stromboli this time as we had found out that there was no activity, the day before yesterday. The Strait of Messina was a different story as there is always something to see. Ferries criss crossing, sometimes five at the time, and fishermen drifting with the tide up and down the Strait. Today the current had brought them into the main channel and the ship had to blow the whistle repeatedly to explain to them, that they were really in the way. Going through the Straits with the sun shining on Sicily was indeed a pleasant happening.

Dangerous things Watertight Doors. Once they move, nothing can and will stop them from closing.

I spent my day training crew on how to open and close watertight doors safely. On each deck below A deck (B, C, D) deck we have these doors which split up the ship in various watertight sections and will help the ship stay afloat in case of ingress of water. While sailing most of them are closed and that is a real nuisance for the crew who have to go from A to B and find such a door blocking the way. The company has several protocols dealing with these doors and under certain circumstances they are allowed to be quickly opened, pass through, and then closed again. As there are still (fatal) injuries in the maritime industry caused by these doors, all crew who are allowed to open them, get trained in the various protocols and with the emphasis on how to do it safely. The training consists of a power point with the protocols, a written exam and a practical handling of the door. As everybody authorized, that also includes the Captain and senior officers, it makes sense for me to get involved. (You never know if a Sr. figure would fail the exam. How could a jr. officer deal with that?)

Art all around the dance floor and chairs on it for the lecture.

For those who had no geographical interest there was the lecture and sales pitch from the Art Auctioneers. Apart from their Art Gallery they also transform the Queens Lounge a few times a week in a large exhibition centre. Our two story Lounge is a near perfect location for it and here the art displays do not block off any public sitting areas or bars as is the case on the other ships. Hopefully the much better ambiance will result in a few extra sales.

All seats taken for Dutch High Tea.

A second reason we are very happy with the Queens lounge is for having found the perfect venue for Dutch High Tea. This was always held in a Dining room area which did not take anything away from the quality of the sandwiches, scones and other nibbles being served, but you sat at a regular dining room table. Now we have the two level setup of the Queens Lounge with its nice chairs and lower tables and it looks very stylish. No need to go to Raffles anymore, we can do it better.

A few nice nibbles to deal with this hungry feeling which always pops up between lunch and dinner.

Another piece of art which popped up overnight is the sitting figure outside the Tamarind Restaurant. The entrance to the restaurant is guarded by two Lions but when you step out of the Elevator the first thing you see is this contemplative figure on a large slab of marble. I do not know what the intention is of putting a meditative figure there; maybe it is to contemplate life in general or maybe to contemplate the increase of your waist line because of going to the Tamarind ?? But nice it is.

Reflect on Life, Contemplate on Food,
or just nice Art ?

What is plainly dangerous, at least for my bank account, is a new shop we have on board and which is also new to Holland America. It is a handbag shop, although I suppose there is a much posher name for it. My Lord and Master has joined me for this cruise to look the ship over and as she is an avid handbag collector I have great fears for my credit card.  At the last count she already has about 50 of them but there is always room for just one more…………………

The Starboard Hand Bag shop. Deck 3 behind the upper level Queens Lounge.

Thus we will spend the remainder of the day sailing south of Italy and make the crossing over the Adriatic Sea towards Dubrovnik. The city is located behind a string of islands and with a 10am arrival we should have a nice scenic sail in. The weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms but it did this as well for today and I have not seen any rain clouds what so ever. At least today they were scattered somewhere else and hopefully it will be the same tomorrow.