Not unlike other ports on this coast Kotor has two pilot stations. One on the outer border of the fjord and one tucked away inside incase the weather is bad. Other ports use bad weather pilot stations only for the more dangerous ships, such as tankers or in a combination of both. Or when there are narrows passages to navigate before a port can be reached. The pilot, who boarded today, was apart from a capable pilot also a good and proud ambassador for this area. So after the Master – Pilot conference, about how to go about it and how the ship worked, he offered all sorts of details and historic tit bits about what there was to see. There was ample time for that, as we cruised with 10 knots and less for the whole period. Everywhere there are boats and houses at the water line and the whole area is a no-wake zone. Thus the 20 mile journey was going to take two hours and as our arrival time was 0800 hrs that worked out exactly right. The fjord is quite wide, except at one location where it is less than a 1000 feet and one has to stay exactly in the middle. The area is very rich in history which is not unusual as it has always been on the border of the Western and Eastern influence. Thus the area has been fought over by many countries and cultures. With mountain regions crisscrossing the whole area there is a strong national feeling by region and thing that became very clear when Yugoslavia fell apart in the 1990’s. Several new States emerged and Montenegro of which Kotor is a part was one of them.
When Montenegro became independent, one of the clever things that they did was not to try to create their own currency but adopt the German Mark as their standard. So from the first moment of existence they had a stable base to build on. When Germany went into the Euro, Montenegro followed. I found this out today, when I saw that the pilot bill was in Euro’s and not in a currency with a very local name.
The village of Laputane (real name) is located on the right of the narrow entrance to Kotor lake. The entrance to the fjord is at the lower left.
In the meantime the pilot regaled us with all sorts of history about the good old days of 200 to 300 years ago when this area was very prosperous and it was the only region where they managed to keep the Turks out. For that purpose they built a wall all the way –very steeply- up the mountain and I consider that an almost unbelievable feat of persistence against the odds. A more humorous story is about what the sailing captains did with their mistresses. Just before entering Kotor lake there is a little village called Laputane. Nicely translated from Italian into “Ladies of the night”. On the way towards home, the captains would land these ladies there, spend their leave time at home in Kotor with the wife and the kids, and on the way out, would pick them up again for the duration of the journey. I suppose in the days before E-mails you had to do something with your time onboard somehow and they found this solution to boredom.
The Bora stayed away for the whole day, so we had a windless, sunny and unforgettable day while docked right at the edge of the old town. This was picture perfect. Old customs were still observed here, the captain of a ship still being considered a very important person by the locals and in the late morning I had to go ashore with the pilot to be shown around the town under the guidance of the port director. We had to meet the Mayor, the Senior Orthodox priest in town and have a quick look in the oldest church present. (Founded in 809) Kotor suffered from a devastating earthquake in the 1700’s, same as Dubrovnik and was then mainly rebuilt in Italian baroque. This style chosen as the Venetians were in charge at that particular time. The walled city is not as large as Dubrovnik but exudes the same amount of charm.
The Prinsendam towering over Kotor. Photo taken from the entry Gate to the old town, by roving reporter Lesley Schoonderbeek.
Departure came much too early and everybody onboard would not have minded a late evening stay, as during the night the whole town, including that city wall high up the mountain, is lit up in the most beautiful way. But we had to go to Split and my worries were with the weather for tomorrow. There is a “local” Adriatic depression coming down from the North and it will pass over Split, our next port of call, during the night. If it comes past early, we might stand a chance of late morning docking, if not, then the visit at Split will be very much in doubt. 35 knots of wind or more on the beam when docking is not a feasible option.
April 13, 2011 at 5:34 pm
my parents are on this cruise. very interesting to read along about their trip.
you mention channels, depths, and show shots of charts. what do you use for a navigating system?
April 13, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Leslie, that is a beautiful picture of the Prinsendam!
Captain, I hope Kotor will be a repeat port in the future. At the very least, because it’s interesting that a port will still treat a cruise ship captain as a guest of honor and not just the person in charge of bringing a ship full of visitors. Not too jaded yet.
April 14, 2011 at 3:26 am
Hello captain….you might address this in the next blog but I will ask anyway. I just went on marinetraffic.com to look at the AIS of your approach to Venice. I saw you had done a loop and taken some large turns. I was wondering if this was to kill time or if there was fog so you had to delay your arrival time, or something completely different. It would be wonderful to get a response as I am very curios.
p.s. I am Graduating High school next year and I am hoping to attend California Maritime Academy and get a job as an officer on a cruise ship. Reading your blog daily makes me realize how much I want to this.
April 14, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Hello Joey,
No we were killing time. As we had cancelled Split due to bad weather , we had to go so slow that even at the slowest speed we were still going too fast. It is safer then to make a turn outside the shipping route to kill some time, then to drift. If you drift you might confuse other ships. Nobody expects a cruise ship to drift, as cruise ships normally in a hurry. So a slow turn away from traffic is the safest option.
Thank you for reading my blog and sucess at school.
Capt. Albert
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Good morning,
The brochures for 2013 are normally out by August. However travel agents normally get rough drafts/outlines with future cruises much earlier. I know that they released yesterday the worldcruise for 2013. Most of the brochures for 2012 are already out. All cruises from the USA and the Worldcruise & Grand voyages 2012 lay on my desk in front of me. If you do not have a dedicated HAL travel agent, my suggestion would be to give Seattle a buzz and ask for the brochures you are interested in.
Hopefully I will see you on board sometime in the future.
Best regards
Captain Albert
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Quick question: when does the 2012 and 2013 sailing schedule come out ? We are thinking of taking the whole family with you (50th anniversary AND my 75th) and need to plan ( time and money).
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing
April 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dear Captain Schoonderbeek,
Thank you so much for your very helpful note. We have usually made our bookings while on board, but have also had good help from Seattle. —
Yes, we certainly will be sailing with you again ( 2008 “Off to Rome” and Jan – March 2010 “Antarctica/South America” the pack -ice adventure (:>).) Any chance to take Prinsendam again on a World Cruise? You explained to my husband and me in 2008 that it remains to be seen if a second ship, a small one, might eventually be added to the existing schedule. Any change to that assessment ?
Thank you again, and please give our regards to your wife, with our special thanks for her wonderful photography !!
Almuth Ewing