15 Nov. 2018 Nieuw Statendam Building, 15 days to go.

Another dry and sunny day in the yard and work progresses steadily. Final inspections are taking place and repairs and adjustments are carried out everywhere. There is a new glass window lying outside my door so somebody must have decided that there is something wrong with the balcony door and thus new glass is going in.

We now slowly see a shift in the numbers balance between yard and ship. Less and less yard workers are milling around and more and more crew. Today we reached the 950 with another 45 coming and then we should be on regular new building complement. A little bit more than over regular TOP (Table of Personnel) but we have functions doubled up. As an example we have two Hotel Directors on Board. One who handles the new building part and one who is busy with starting up the Hotel department. And so it goes for a lot of other functions. Running a ship on routine voyages is already a full day job in each function, finishing a ship and starting it up, is more than a full day’s work and hence we have extra people in various key functions.

Housekeeping sorting through all the cabin papers. Ever counted how many pieces of paper you have in your stateroom when you make a cruise? It will all be delivered to the cabins and is broken down in smaller amounts in the right quantities for each steward section.

With a lot of ventures and cabins being completed and delivered, it is time to start getting them ready for operation. Hence large groups of crew are carrying boxes and unpacking them to put the contents in the lockers already available. Plus to check………. if what is expected to be in the box………. is also really in there as that is not always the case. Anybody who ever bought anything from IKEA knows the feeling and the hope that there will a few screws too many and not too few. In between, the number of trainings is heating up. All the 900+ crew have to go through a whole cycle of familiarization as the lifeboat drill system for the Nieuw Statendam is slightly different from the Koningsdam. No changes for the guests but the routines with which the crew make it all happen to get everybody to where they have to go. With 900+ crew this is quite a complicated operation to have all the functions lined up properly and the lines of communication crystal clear. Then what is done if the regular lines of communication break down? During an emergency on a ship all sorts of things can happen and we try to plan for everything. So how does it go if the phones do not work anymore? “Who will be the Runner” and where does he/she go and when? What we train here on board for the “behind the scenes” will eventually be rolled to all the Carnival Company ships which are similar in setup. And that will have great benefit to everybody as standard stuff is always easier than having to learn a different system every time. But it has to be learned first and thus we train and train.

The Food department sorting out cutlery and crockery for Lido, Tamarind and Canaletto. Here it is unpacked, counted and assigned to the correct locker in the correct restaurant.

The art team is progressing as well. With the paintings and similar that hang on the walls it is the carpenters who work from drawings. With the “three dimensional installations” it is slightly different as they have to be installed under the exactly right angle and composition as the artist intended. Hence today the gentlemen were accompanied by a lady who ensured that the art on location also gave the right artsy impression.

The Piano Mirror. If you stand right in the middle, the string of lights are pointing towards the stairway behind you. So a sort of stairway to heaven  idea ???  The stairs behind me are not in the same color as the white side is wooden protection for everybody to use, while the carpeted  side, in brown, has been roped off. Once all the yard work is finished all the wood coverings will be removed. 

Largest piece that was installed yesterday was the Piano mirror in Deck 9 elevator lobby. I normally try to stay out of my own photos but how do you otherwise photograph a mirror? It uses some clever optical effects so when you look in the mirror, it looks like as if you are surrounded by a pathway of light.

Tomorrow will be another sunny day in the yard, so somebody in Fincantieri management must be very happy. No disruption in the work. But the wind is expected to pick up and that will make the temperatures drop by a few degrees.

Below an over view photo of the yard. The Nieuw Statendam can be seen in upper middle. The yard is located right in the middle of a industrial area and container port, connected with one long channel to the Adriatic Sea.

For those who fly KLM into Venice. The airplane is coming straight over the shipyard. Here the yard on 14 November in the early afternoon. (Photo Courtesy: Ruud van Deventer, son of old HAL Capt. H.L van Deventer)