20 July 2010; Vlissingen, Netherlands.

As indicated yesterday, this was a maiden call for the ms Prinsendam and also she was the first Holland America Line cruise ship ever visit to the port. It was not the first HAL visit ever, as that was done by the Edam of 1921 which was built here at the “De Schelde” ship yard in 1921. Thus after an 88 year hiatus we were back again. For the port itself it was a very important occasion as well, as Vlissingen (or Flushing in the English language) wants to become a cruise port and compete with Amsterdam, Rotterdam; and Antwerp and Zeebrugge across the border to the South. It has a number of factors really in its favor but it is a cargo port so it will need a cruise terminal to be really in league with the other ports. That gives a situation of catch 22. No cruise terminal, no cruise ships, but if you do not get cruise ships, there will be no money invested in a cruise terminal. Hence the decision of Holland America to help break the deadlock and send the “elegant Explorer” to help things moving forward. Hence our sudden appearance in this South West corner of the Netherlands.

As we were coming from the south the pilot boards about 2 hours to the South west of the coast. That distance is needed as the whole coast of North West Belgium and South West Zeeland is covered by banks. Some of them the Prinsendam could travel over at anytime, some of them during high water only and some of them would be “a challenge” at all times. With the pilot onboard at the nice time of 6 am we started approaching the Westerscheldt. The waterway that leads to Antwerp but that has the town of Vlissingen on its northern banks. By 8 am the PR circus came into full swing, when a 2nd pilot came onboard bringing with him a camera team of the local TV station. They were accompanied by a PR man from Holland America so they were kept out of my way while we were approaching the dock.

Local singers and dancers. Photo courtesy, Zeeland Ports.

The approach of Vlissingen is not that exciting as the cargo port where we docked is to the East of the main town area. There is a windmill to be seen and a firefighting training centre, where most of us got our training in the past, but that is about it. So in relative obscurity we swung in the dock entrance and backed up towards the dock. Only the local ferry had to wait as we were blocking his dock and thus the people onboard had a good view of the ship and a good excuse to be late for work. It is not every day that a cruise ship prevents you from arriving at work on time. When coming alongside, we could see that the port was going for it with full guns blazing. A Dutch street organ, folkloric dancers at the gangway, local activities, shuttle buses to downtown Vlissingen and to Middelburg, it looked good and it was well received by the guests.

Plaques going one way: Mr.J. van der Hart presents the plaque with the crest of the Province of Zeeland. Photo courtesy Onboard Photographers: Ocean Images.
Plaques going the other way. Mr.P.Polderman Alderman of the City of Vlissingen received the ships plaque. Photo courtesy: Onboard photographers: Ocean Images.

Main event of the morning was a reception with the local politicians and representatives of various parties interested in making Vlissingen a cruise port. Several speeches were held and first call plaques exchanged. A personal highlight for me was the appearance of Mr. George Reuchlin, the great grand son of one of the three founders of the company. The son of this founding father died on the Titanic where he was sent as a HAL spy to see what that ship was all about. So a family with a lot of history. To my amazement, he showed during his speech the original first share sold by the company when it was founded in 1873. It was bought by his Royal Highness Prins Hendrik of the Netherlands who was a great sponsor of all things afloat. His nickname was “The Seafarer” in Holland. 10 minutes later I was standing with this historical object in my hands with the permission to run it through the copy machine. It might not mean much to others but for me it was a very powerful moment; to stand there with in my hand a piece of paper that signified the birth of the company. Nbr 1. of Issue 1.

Mr. G Reuchlin, showing the first share of the company. Photo courtesy, on board photographers: Ocean Images.The share is reproduced below at the end of today’s blog

The rest of the day was filled with travel agents, lots of family, visits from students and all other things that happen during a maiden call with a Dutch ship in a Dutch port. I spent a few hours in bed in the afternoon, as sail away was at 11 pm. in the evening and arrival Zeebrugge pilot 5 hours later. So it was going to be a very short night. With wind still weather we sailed out of the port and on request of the local community I took the North exit so we could sail very close by the Vlissingen Boulevard. With frequently blowing the horn, I think that I managed to tell the whole town that the Prinsendam had been for a call today.

Feedback from the guests was very positive so we might come back again. Hopefully at the new cruise terminal as the cargo dock was not ideal for our kind of operation. It was a very warm day today, much warmer than predicted and for tomorrow they predict drizzle around lunch time. Let’ see if the weather guru’s are right or wrong.