While I am writing this, sitting in the Captains conference room, I am in the middle of a whirl of very nice Italian Ladies who are busy with cleaning the staff officers cabins while at the same time singing out loud to the background music. (Same tape as two days ago, so now we know exactly what is coming and we all can join in) This is the first day of the new work week and the number of yard people has increased again. A lot of finishing off work is carried out on the large cabins on the higher decks and the Officers cabins in the area behind the bridge. The cabins which are finished are immediately tackled by the cleaning Ladies and then locked up for the final delivery.
The Kitchen has turned into “Box City” with all the equipment arriving.
For the ship side the storing process goes on relentlessly and the whole main galley has now been blocked by boxes, which are slowly but steadily unpacked and the crockery coming out is stacked on the shelves. Eventually it will have to be prewashed before it can be taken into use. That will be more than a full day’s work. The Main dishwashers have not been handed over yet so it will have to wait until such time.
Carefully does it. HAL crockery is not cheap and a plate is easily dropped.
Another section nearing completion is the Culinary Operations Centre which has been greatly developed from what we were used to. On all the other ships the CAC is part of the Queens lounge or in the Movie theatre; here on the Koningsdam it now has its own dedicated area. It consists out of the Cooking Demonstration Area, an open Kitchen area where you can see the Chef really cooking and then a restaurant part where people can have dinner in the evening as well. Then there is a herb section in a sort of window display, where live herbs will be cultivated which are then used in the various cooking adventures. The CAC is wedged in between a large wine display and the Wine Experience corner and that makes it possible to have mixed food & wine sessions.
The Culinary Arts Centre. The decoration on the walls, including the lights all have a cooking theme.
Looking out of the window I saw there was suddenly another Dutch ship in the port, the ms Heenvliet, not be constructed but to unload parts for another new build. We have now the Koningsdam and the Seabourn Encore fitting out but construction has already started on a next ship and a lot of steel sections/parts were unloaded. They were obviously constructed somewhere else and then brought by ship to the shipyard for further assembly.
A Dutch Coaster in the process of delivering to the yard. The listing is caused by the unloading of the sb. side first.
In the show lounge testing is also in full swing and yard people have been replaced by techno wizards who are sitting frowning over their laptops trying to figure out why something does not go beep when a button is pushed. This is now the world of experts who speak in computer code instead of normal English that I can follow. But the first test movies are playing on the screen, split up onto three screen sections and it looks very impressive. It is a total break from the traditional show stage as the guests sit in a 270o circle but I think it is going to blow their minds away. The other ships are already being outfitted with LED screens in the back of the stage but this is taking it to a completely higher level. It definitely has the WOW factor.
This photo does not give the right impact of the what is on the screen. Showing Whitney Houston.
What does not have the wow factor are our painting friends who have now descended upon the crew staircases and are painting the railings while traffic continues to go by. We have all been trained to always hold on to the railing while going up and down the stairs (One hand for the ship, One hand for yourself, as the saying goes) but today we learned very fast not to do this until there are no pots of paint insight anymore.
Apart from storing the ship, the crew is starting to be immersed in their safety trainings. We have a number of safety trainers on board who are a consultancy for Holland America and they will take care of the in-depth training of the specific crew members who will have to operate the assigned safety equipment. We will see a lot of lifeboats going up and down in the coming days. I am still working on the search plans for the ship as it has to fit in with the structural difference of this ship and the different mustering system. By now I know every locker and space by heart and how to get there the first way, now the challenge starts to find out who will be in charge of each and every locker on board.
The dry weather is still holding but it is chilly in Venice. Which is not a bad thing as with all the testing the A.C. is working but not always blowing cold air.
March 14, 2016 at 2:41 pm
Captain Albert , I am really enjoying your blogs of getting the Koningsdam ready for us boarding the b2b Premier Voyage on April 8th . It has even heightened our excitement to see this new ship . Could you please tell us if there will be a behind the scenes tour given , the first couple of days on our cruise and also will you be giving a talk on the sea day about this magnificent vessel .
I am looking forward to meet you . Greetings Tony Feenstra , Canada
March 14, 2016 at 6:06 pm
A number of years ago, I “watched” Eurodam being built. In fact it was then that I learned of “Capt. Albert” , but writing under a different system. Eurodam’s coming-together was most interesting. Your blogs highlight areas of the process which are completely new to most of us, and deeply appreciated. The patience and co-ordination required, is phenominal. I should think, for the new-built’s Captain to have another so highlye experienced Captain on board and at hand, is almost essential now. I remember Stan Kuppens trying valiantly to put the Hotel business in gear, to the smallest cook-pot to the best mattress and provisions, while around him was controlled chaos. When we then sailed on Eurodam’s Transatlantic Maiden Voyage, all felt so familiar ! I believe that allowing your guests to be ” part” of a New-built’s birth and growth, is a wonderful way of getting acquainted , and creating a special tie to ship and cruise line. So important in today’s market !! – Unfortunatele we will not be on this ship’s Transatlantic Maiden Voyage; I am still “under re-construction” :-)) , i.e. not yet able to travel at all. Maybe the next New-Build. ( But : we still like Prinsendam the most, quirks and all !! :-)) ) Thank you for your blogs !!!