13 Mar. 2016; Marghera, Italy.

Today we had a reduced work force on board the ship again but it did not mean a reduction in noise as the General Alarm Testers were having a go at it. Today they lacked an English Announcer and we had to do with the pre-warning being in Italian but if an announcement is followed by the piercing 7 short beeps and 1 long one, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what it is all about. Hence today a larger number of crew could be observed walking around with ear plugs in.

Housekeeping in full swing with handing out boxes full of uniforms to a long line of crew standing just outside the door. The Uniform store is about triple the size of the tailor work area you see here.

A new contingent of crew arrived again today and apart from the compulsory safety indoctrination their first activity was to go to the Tailor Shop to get uniforms and (safety) shoes. This area is located deep in the dungeons of the ship on the lowest deck: C deck fwd. It is located there as the Main Ships Laundry is next door and also the very large linen and uniform stores.  In the past days the tailor shop has been stocked up with all the boxes from the warehouse. Some of these boxes, such as all the shoes, come directly from the manufacturer but most uniforms have been made on board the other ships and have been sent over to the Koningsdam warehouse. Every ship was asked to help out with making some sort of uniform and when I was recently on the Nieuw Amsterdam their part in the supply chain was making the black uniforms in use. These are made in three standards sizes: S.M.L. and then adapted to the exact size of the future wearer when handed out.

Laundry Master and troops putting the laundry machines through their first paces.

Another part of the operation which is now being started up is the Main Laundry. We are living on board now and thus we have towels, linen and bathmats which are changed in the same cycle as if the ship was already in operation. It is still only the crew living on board hence some of the laundry crew is still helping out with other chores in the ship.  In the coming days the work will increase here when the full crew is on board, and then a lot of cleaning material will come down as soon the major cleanup starts before the first guests are arriving on April 4^th. Holland America tries to use as much fabric cleaning towellets as possible instead of throw away material. Washing with water made on board from the waste heat of the engines is more environmental friendly than using boxes and boxes of –one-time-use-only.

Shorex Service Desks in the Lower Atrium on Deck 1 – Main Deck. The mural on the back wall has a nautical theme, which is continued on various panels in the hallways.

In the ship the sub – contractors are still working and some areas are receiving the finishing touches. One such an area is the Shorex –excursion desk on Deck 1- Main deck in the Atrium. It has been setup in quite a clever way as it can double up as a check – in counter, incase this has to happen on board and not in the terminal. On this deck is located the main entrance door to the ship. It is also in the open Atrium and you can look up to the Front Office itself which is located two decks higher on deck 3 – Promenade Deck.

Service with a smile. This is the first time in my life to see cooks working with hard hats on.

In the meantime with almost a 1000 crew on board or due on short notice, the catering also is taking on a more elaborate meaning. Officer’s Mess, Petty Officers Mess and Crew Mess are full to capacity during breakfast, lunch and dinner hours and the Culinary Operations Dept. is trying to make something special out of it. Warm meals are cooked A la Carte and the cold parts are on the buffets. Looking at the operation, the cooks are really enjoying this as they can be as creative as they want to be. The normal menu cycle is not in place yet and so they can cook. We often forget that the life of a supervising chef is nowadays more paperwork, food & cost control and ordering, than really doing the cooking.

As it is Sunday, the Cruise Director has organized a soccer field for those who want to play a game and there is a Coach going to the local shopping centre for those who forgot to pack their toothpaste. There are no shops in the close proximity of the ship so this is a great service.

Tomorrow the ship will be full again with shipyard people who had the weekend off and the fitting out will continue at full speed. I think that by the end of the coming week most public rooms will be ready, although they will only be officially delivered during the last week of March.