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Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

Category: Uncategorized (page 7 of 9)

22 Feb. 2017; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

February 22, 2017 / / 4 Comments

Today we are in Charlotte Amalie in the natural harbor they call Havensight. So good and so sheltered that in the good old days the pirates sought a safe haven here. Nowadays there are two cruise ship docking locations. The one here at Haven sight , which can handle four medium size ships or 3 big ones, and Crown Bay which can handle two medium to large ships or four very small ones. Crown Bay was an addition in the late 80’s and was originally known as the Submarine Base where the US Navy had a station. When they moved the docking area was redeveloped with the help of Carnival money to create an over flow dock incase downtown = Havensight was full. In the beginning it meant that the Holland America ships went there and the Carnival ships remained at Havensight. Then we were joined by the Princess ships. Now we are going the other way again as the Mega Liners from RCI are directed to this dock. Such as the Oasis and Allure of the Seas.

Havensight under reconstruction. Please not how long the spring is. Only one bollard left to use.

Havensight under reconstruction. Please note how long the spring is. Only one bollard left to use.

As a result the ms Eurodam docked at Havensight nbr 1. All the way in the corner. Behind us was one other ship, the Norwegian Gem which had been with us yesterday in San Juan as well.  What happened to the 3rd one I do not know but if it had been known there were only two ships in, then we could have docked more to the middle and that would have been a lot easier. I already mentioned in my blog in December, when on board the Oosterdam, that the pier section in this area is under repair and it still is. The mess is just less big than last year. The whole pier is been restructured and new and stronger bollards are being installed plus new fenders. Very good for all of us but at the moment the ships are docking in a building site with only a little bit of space left for the gangway. And as most of the old bollards are gone there are not many left to put the mooring lines on.

Where once the Pink Hotel was and to the left, where the blue canopied boat is, used to be a very nice Bar.

Where once the Pink Hotel was and to the left, where the blue canopied boat is, used to be a very nice Bar.

I remember docking here in the 80’s with the old Statendam which had a draft that allowed it to be put all the way forward and later did the same with the N ships. This berth was always more shallower than the other berths and thus a selection was made on draft. Our old Rotterdam had 32 feet of draft at the stern and had to dock in the middle or near the end of the pier. There was not always space as larger ships – more passengers – would be given preference and thus we had to anchor very often in the bay. The good thing about that was that the guests were taken directly to downtown by ships tender, the bad thing was you had to wait for a tender to go and to return.

A nostalgic view of the late 1980's. The ss Rotterdam docked behind a Carnival Holiday class ship.

A nostalgic view of the late 1980’s. The ss Rotterdam docked behind a Carnival Holiday class ship.

When we could dock, the draft still caused a problem, which the captain solved by giving the ship a list of 1 or 2 degrees so the draft on the high side was 3 feet less and then we would winch the ship against and sometimes a little bit up the sand bank until the gangway could reach the dock. On departure we gave slack on the lines and the ship then slid back into deep enough water. You just had to make sure to arrive on lower water than what you had on departure. If that option was not possible then we had to rig up a long gangway, which we did not like as it was very narrow and tended to sag.

Is it a new Bar Restaurant. It looked closed and no details could be seen from the Eurodam bridge

Is it a new Bar Restaurant ??. It looked closed and no details could be seen from the Eurodam bridge

The whole area has now been developed and the old pink hotel has gone, being replaced with more shops and also the old Bar & Restaurant on the end of one of the Marina Piers is also gone and replaced with new docks. That Bar was in the 1980’s a real meeting place for yacht and passenger ship crews as it was for everybody in walking distance, sometimes crawling distance, to the yachts or cruise ships. The ships now have Alcohol policies and St Thomas Real Estate policies so the Bar is no longer there. It looks that they have built something new, a sort of octagonal Dove Cote, but it looked very closed so I could not know yet if it is going to be a shopping hut or if it will be a Bar and Restaurant. It does have a perfect location.

St. Thomas is the furthest point we go on this cruise and now we will sail North West again, retracing our route and then call at Half Moon Cay the day after tomorrow.

The weather prediction of yesterday came partly out. The wind did turn but earlier than expected. It did so at 09.00 and Charlotte Amalie got a downpour straight away. But then it was sunny for the remainder of the day. Going back we will have the Trade Wind behind us and that will be good for Half Moon Cay, where you need Easterly wind to have a swell free beach. If we had gone to Half Moon Cay on the first day of the cruise, we would most likely have had to cancel as the swell and wind would have rolled directly into the Bay. But things look good this time.

21 Feb. 2017; San Juan, Puerto Rico.

February 21, 2017 / / 3 Comments

The frontal system turned out to be quite strong and while sailing towards San Juan we had a very strong breeze blowing from the North West. Exactly in the same direction as the ship which was travelling along at 19 knots, while the wind was making 21 knots. Giving us a nice light air on the ship of three knots. As a result it was extremely pleasant on deck and the guests were out in force.  With the north westerly wind my prediction also came out that it would be dry and although there were lots of clouds in the area it remained sunny. Still a north westerly wind is not bad if you go ashore in San Juan. Most of the streets are shielded from the Trade Wind which nearly always blows and which can make it very hot and humid in the old town. The north westerly wind blows a bit more through the streets making it a bit more airy. An excellent day to walk on top of the old fort, Morro Castle, which guards the entrance to the port.

San Juan always had a deep water and sheltered bay which curved in a sort of Boomerang shape around an Island upon which the Spanish built a Fortress, Morro Castle which we can still see today.  On board I found a temporary drawing / water color of how it looked in the original days.

The bay of Porto Rico. The ships now dock at the first indentation at the lower side of the island and nearly all the other water areas have been dammed in.

The bay of Porto Rico. The ships now dock at the first indentation at the lower side of the island and nearly all the other water areas have been dammed in. The Original of this water color is kept in the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam.

As all Holland America Line ships have, also the ms Eurodam has a large art collection on board, some of it antique, some of it modern (Lido area) and some of it nice reproductions. The middle staircase could have had the name Rembrandt Staircase as there are reproductions of paintings of him on every deck.  Unfortunately Holland America is not that rich yet that we can afford to have a real one hanging in the ship.  The aft staircase has mainly reproductions of water color paintings and drawings by Johannes Vingboons. I had never heard about this person before but a quick search on the internet gave, that he was quite prominent in the Dutch Golden age and made charts and drawings of the Dutch colonies and strong holds around the world. Also areas which we did not own or occupied were saved for posterity. Thus he also painted the port of Port Rico as it must have been like in the 17th. Century. I say “must have” been as we know that some artists were quite creative in making things a bit bigger, a bit nicer and quite a bit more impressive. Vingboons was known to try to be as accurate as possible and this made him well known, quite famous and also quite rich around 1660. Thus his water colors give a good impression of how the harbor / bay of Puerto Rico looked like before humans started to “improve” the area and enclosed and rebuilt the surrounding area until the bay now has a current triangular form with docks and an airport on all sides.

And how the port now looks as seen on the electronic chart on the Radar. The whole greyish/brown area on the right is reclaimed land and now the local airport.

And how the port now looks as seen on the electronic chart on the Radar. The whole greyish/brown area on the right is reclaimed land and now the local airport.

Cruise ships have been calling at San Juan on a regular basis since the 1920’s and then we do not count those who made a voyage for pleasure on one of the regular passenger ships sailing to the island. Those early ships docked at the down town side and that has never changed. Only the docks are now longer and have been rebuilt several times so they can now handle the largest cruise ships. Today we were in port with the Freedom of the Seas of RCI and the Norwegian Gem of NCL which was docked at three East on the port side of us. Holland America ships have nearly always a berth at Pier 4 and the very big boys are nearly always docked at pier 3. Smaller ships go often to berth 1 although it can handle a 1000 foot ship as well. (Berth 2 is nothing more than a small ferry terminal)

Tonight we will sail at 23.00 hrs. and then cover the 90 mile distance to Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas. At the moment we are scheduled to dock at berth 1 at Havensight that is all the way in the corner.  This means that we will go in first and the other cruise ships will dock then one after the other behind us.

Weather for tomorrow:  That will be interesting. The wind is supposed to veer from the North West to the East North East tomorrow and thus back to normal. Depending on when that exactly happens will affect the weather tomorrow. A late change in the wind and it will remain dry an early change and we might get a shower. Still it will be warm, 28oc . 82 oF.

20 Feb. 2017; Grand Turk Island.

February 20, 2017 / / 1 Comment

One of the things that cruise schedules and brochures have introduced is that cruise companies refer to smaller ports of call by the name of the island instead of the name of the place visited. That is nothing new, they already did so in 1900 when the first real cruises were made. (See the story of the Victoria Luise elsewhere in the blog site at: Of Days gone by)  When a ship goes to New York or to Charleston, we say that we are going to New York or Charleston. We do not say we are going to North or South Carolina or to New Jersey or to Upper State New York.  But as soon as we go Island Cruising it becomes the Island. We go to St. Thomas and a lot of cruise guests do not even know or remember that the ship called at Charlotte Amalie. We go to Barbados but why do we not go to Bridgetown??  I have never figured that one out.

So today we called at Grand Turk Island which forms part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The name Turks comes from a Turkish cap, called a Fez and that comes from a Cactus whose top looks like this Turkish fez. For the rest it has nothing to do with Turkey what so ever. Contrary the islands are part of the United Kingdom. The main town on the island, just north of the ships docking pier, is called Cockburn town and thus that is officially the place we are visiting. Although a lot of cruise guests did not go there and were quite content to stay in the especially made resort at the end of the pier.

The ms Noordam docked at Grand Turk during the inaugural call for Pier & ship. Note that the encircled area s the only deep water space available for the ship. Not much more than two ships widths.

The ms Noordam docked at Grand Turk during the inaugural call for Pier & ship. Note that the encircled area s the only deep water space available for the ship. Not much more than two ships widths.

The pier construction was sponsored by Carnival Corporation and as a result the whole setup looks similar to Mahogany Bay and other Carnival designed or influenced piers around the Caribbean. It was opened a number of years ago with our Noordam being the first ship to call there. The pier can handle two large ships at the same time and then there is room for a 3rd ship at the anchorage but that is really weather – very good weather – depending. The anchorage is very exposed to swells curving around the island from the north and the south and from the Trade wind which blows over the island. This is one of the reasons why the dock is there. It is a nice port of call but for anchoring the weather is often not good enough. Build a pier, send ships with strong thrusters and you have a much higher chance of making it when the weather circumstances are less than perfect.

Today the weather circumstance were not ideal, although the weather guru’s, see my yesterdays’ blog, had promised sunny if windy weather. Today we got a bit of everything as a weather front dipped further down than was foreseen and provided: sunny and calm /early morning  followed by rainy and wind /middle of the day and then windy and very bumpy waves near the end of our call. This would not have been a pleasant day if we would have had to anchor here. But we docked and as the rain is not so cold as at home, we could all live with it.

Arriving in windy weather here can be a challenge as they have only dredged a small area on both sides of the pier. No more than a double ships width. Thus there is very little room for drifting and that means you need a lot of power available to go sideways against the wind when you slide a ship alongside. Leaving is less of an issue.  While going astern you can keep increasing speed all the time and the more speed, the less drifting and before the wind can get a good grip on the ship it is in open waters again, where drift is not an issue.

And that is what was done this afternoon. With the swell banging under the stern, the Eurodam popped like a rocket out of the docking area and back into open waters. From there the ship sailed around the north point of Grand Turk to the East and then South East, heading for its next port of call San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are scheduled to be docked there by 13.00 hrs. and stay until 23.00 hrs. when will make our hop to next door, St. Thomas. (Officially Charlotte Amalie, Havensight pier)

Expected Weather: Sunny 82oF / 28oC ………………. Although we have to see if that works out. Predicting the weather for San Juan is very difficult. Most of the island is covered with a dense Jungle type rain forest which creates its own micro climate around the port. You never know exactly what will happen during the day.  Apart from being sure that it will be warm, a safe bet is always that the sun will shine but there will be at least one moment of liquid sunshine during the day. We just have to hope that that moment will be in the morning when we are not there yet. The weather gurus are predicting mostly sunny skies and a North Westerly wind of 11 knots. Normally the wind is the easterly trade wind but if the wind is still North West, caused by the passing frontal system of today then we have a fair chance that that wind will push all the rain clouds to the south and it will stay dry all day.

 

19 Feb. 2017; At Sea.

February 19, 2017 / / 3 Comments

Most of the Caribbean Islands do not change their clocks at all and thus are an hour behind Florida during the winter months when North America goes to winter time. That means that on the first night out the ships clocks go one hour forward and that gives a very quiet morning in the Lido. This morning it only got busy after 08.30 while on port days (or days with an hour back) the place is already hopping at 06.30 – 07.00 hrs.  So this morning it was quiet as predicted and I could breakfast in silent splendor and luxury. There was not much reason for the guests to be early as there was absolutely nothing to see. It was not until about 09.00 that the Eurodam sailed clear from under a weather system with very dark and low hanging clouds. But as the clouds had not wind in them, there was very little swell and thus it did not affect anybody very much.

Because the North Atlantic was so nice and quiet, the captain had opted for the short route sailing above the Grand Bahama Bank. That is the shorter route but if it is wobbly then going north of Cuba gives you a much calmer ride until late in the afternoon of the first sea day. So most captains go that way then, placing guests comfort above saving a few pennies on fuel. But it was not needed this time so we took the short route as we need every bit of speed available to make the time up from yesterday’s late departure.

Although I had hoped that everybody could make it to the ship on time yesterday, and to the other ships as well, this was not to be. Somehow 24,000 guests coming and going caused a hiccup in the airport and airplane supply system and not everybody was going to make it to the various ships by 16.00 hrs. thus the VHF’s starting squawking around 15.15 hrs. relaying the bad news coming from the airport. Normally the captain then has to make a quantified decision about sailing or not sailing.  Are the wait and the cost incurred balancing out against people reduced satisfaction and economic sense?

Yesterday it was a sort of joint decision with all the captains opting for staying and waiting. It also meant that our captain had to “wriggle” a lot less as the Celebrity Summit was staying as well but would still sail just before us. Giving us a lot more room to back down the Intracoastal water way to the turning basin and from there to open sea.  So instead of 16.00 hrs. the whole parade started at 17.00 hrs. and shortly there after in 5 minute intervals a big cruise ship popped out of the Port Everglades break waters.

Nice for the guests to have made it to the ship but it is not good for the fuel as on the run from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Turk the regular weather is not helping. Current and wind are standard against the general direction of where the ship is going, so it has to push and push and will never get a helping hand, until we start the return voyage. So this morning the navigators were muttering amongst themselves that the ship was having a hard time making the speed and whether another engine should be called on line.

Calling for extra engines is always worth a discussion as there are a lot of factors to consider and if you get it right, you can save a considerable amount of fuel. So the question was, for how much speed do we have to compensate taking into consideration whether the adverse wind and current will increase during the day, remain the same, or decrease?  So do we call for an extra 12 cylinder engine or a 16 cylinder engine? Shall we do it now and stop the engine later on again when we are back on the schedule again or shall we wait until we reach the moment when the average speed to maintain = maximum speed / output of the engines? And then just keep it running until arrival in port.

Experience helps a lot if you have done this route a number of times as you then roughly know what will happen during the remainder of the day with wind, weather and current. Thus the navigators decided to wait until the captain would make an appearance and then let him make the decision.

With that decision we will be sure that we arrive on time at the pier of Grand Turk Island for an all day long call. The weather gurus are predicting a sunny day with a very small chance of a shower, quite windy but that will keep the Temperatures around 77oF / 26oC.

 

18 Feb. 2017, Fort Lauderdale, USA.

February 18, 2017 / / 11 Comments

And thus we are back on board again and shortly back at sea again.  This morning I boarded the ms Eurodam for a 3 week visit.  I never know what sort of cabin I will get as it depends on how full the ship is. Holland America is doing very well with its cruises at the moment and the Eurodam is full to capacity. As a result I was assigned to the pilot cabin which is located right behind the bridge.  The typical thing about pilot cabins is, that most of them are inside cabins. In general this has the full agreement of the pilots fraternity as pilots look enough out of the window while being on the bridge so their interest in having a window or porthole in the cabin is of very low priority. What a pilot wants is a quiet cabin, quiet 24 hours a day so he/ she can sleep when needed and an inside cabin will also ensure that it is dark 24 hours a day to obtain a good sleep.  For the same reasons I am always quite content to stay in a pilot cabin but will opt for a guest cabin if there are extra navigators on board. It is more important for them to be close to their work than for me.

MS Eurodam as seen departing from New York earlier in her career. (Photo courtesy Holland America Line)

MS Eurodam as seen departing from New York earlier in her career. (Photo courtesy Holland America Line)

The ms Eurodam is a sister ship of the ms Nieuw Amsterdam and together they form the Signature Class of the company. These ships are an evolution of the Vista Class and in the same way as the Koningsdam, being the first of the three Pinnacle Class ships has a lot of features which have proven successful on the Signature class. It also goes backwards as the music concept developed for the Pinnacle Class has also been introduced on the Eurodam. Thus the ship has the Lincoln Centre for classical music and the Billboard on board for the duelling piano’s.  Also the Northern lights disco has been removed and the Gallery Bar put in its place.

Our schedule for this cruise.

Our schedule for this cruise.

The Eurodam makes a variation of East and West 7 day Caribbean cruises and today the ship will sail with a full house toward Grand Turk Island, San Juan, St Thomas and then on the way back call at our private island Half Moon Cay. Then the next cruise is a West Caribbean cruise. The good ship is under the command of Captain Werner Timmers, who I have known since 1984 as he joined the company three years after me.  He will have to wriggle the ship out of Fort Lauderdale today and I use the word wriggle as the port is filled to capacity with cruise ships. When I arrived with the taxi this morning, it was an advanced form of controlled mayhem in the port with a rush hour flow of traffic to get all the guests, crew and supporting people in and out, not to count the provisions, supplies and recyclables.

Because we are actually not in Fort Lauderdale but in Port Everglades, this whole headache inducing organization is being controlled and streamlined by the Sheriff of Broward County. I assume they now have a sort of dedicated and very large Cruise department in their organization as there are always a very large number of patrol cars, motor cycles and even one or two patrol boats out from the early morning to late evening.

In port today in the cruise ship line up is : Eurodam, Carnival Conquest, Freedom of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Celebrity Summit, Island Princess, Royal Princess and then last  but not least the local cruise ferry the Bahama Express.  If all ships would be full then a rough count would indicate that there would be some 24000 guests coming and going today in the port. I wonder how the airport is coping as Ft. Lauderdale airport is a very nice one but the check in area’s are a bit tight for such an influx of guests.

But as usual the port will work its wonders and all the ships will sail today as per schedule.  I will spend the rest of my day talking to captain, staff captain and training officer to get my own show on the road and to see where my activities will assist the ship in the best way possible.  The weather looks good and we should have a nice start of the cruise.

 

 

 

05 Feb. 2017; Short Update.

February 5, 2017 / / 6 Comments

A short update:

Although I had originally published a date of 1 Febr., to return to sea and to start blogging again, however due to some “dental challenges” this had to be postponed to Febr. 18. First ship still being the Eurodam.

I have updated my sailing schedule (still subject to extremely much change) and also uploaded the bio’s of the two captains of the Oosterdam under current captains and the bio’s of Captain van Roosendaal and Captain Slierendregt under captains from the past.

One ship has been added, the emigrant ship ss Groote Beer.

Best regards

Capt. Albert

 

15 Dec. 2016; At Sea on the way to Tampa.

December 15, 2016 / / 18 Comments

Well, somebody in Seattle office must be reading my blog as suddenly Bing Crosby’s White Christmas was heard in the ship, but only in the Atrium. Some of my dear blog readers currently on board had made a “sound inspection” of all the public areas where there is Christmas music and since 2 days Bing is there. Our music does not come from CD’s but is digitally transmitted to the ship so a new file must have arrived. Now we just have to wait for the snow to fall on the ship and then we are not dreaming anymore.

The good ship ms Oosterdam is sailing today between Costa Maya and Tampa and that means that last night we sailed through the Yucatan Channel, this morning we crossed the Straits of Florida and now we are in the Gulf of Mexico heading on a East North Easterly course to the Tampa sea-buoy were we will arrive in the early morning for the 4 hour transit to the dock. The weather has been great today with the sun shining and no wind until we came north of the Florida Keys. No we have a force 4 blowing and that is normal for the time of the year.

The Oosterdam received during her last dry dock also the upgrade of interactive TV and now you can follow the whole route nicely on the screen with constantly updated navigational and weather info. While I am writing this I see on the screen that our course is 023o and our speed 15 knots. We have a humidity of 76% with a temperature of 80oF / 27oC. And the weather prediction for Tampa is partly cloudy and a very warm day again, basically the same as today.

This is going to be interesting for me as I will be leaving the ship tomorrow. This time it was nearly six weeks onboard while I normally stay for three weeks. But my school class fell through and as there was sufficient work to-do here, it became nearly six weeks and they have gone very fast. Today is my last day and all my work is done apart from sending of my final bye – bye email and packing my suitcase. Then I have the peculiar flight of going from Tampa to Toronto and from there to Amsterdam and then doubling back to England. So I am going from 80oF / 27oC in Tampa to 23oF / -5oC in Toronto to 46oF / 08oC in Amsterdam.  My hometown is located straight across from Holland so there the temperature is the same. It seems that everybody is trying to fly early for the holidays and therefore it is difficult to get more straight flights. So I am keeping my fingers crossed for fast immigration in Toronto and no weather delays so I can make my connecting flight.

Then vacation starts with being at home for the Holidays. This summer I mentioned that my focus was then on scaffolding with outside/roof maintenance of the building in which our apartment is located. The last installment of that roof maintenance will commence in May but for my winter leave the focus is on the upgrading of the 5 lifts in the building which are now 20 years old. That is going to be quite costly so I will be busy with trying to get the best value for money. Luckily the ships electricians have told me a few things to look at and to take into consideration so I am well prepared.

I am not dreaming of a white christmas but of setting it all up. Decorating trees and setting the table is my job as part of the Christmas celebrations.

I am not dreaming of a White Christmas but of setting it all up. Decorating trees and setting the table is my job as part of the Christmas celebrations.

That brings me to ending my last blog of this period. I have uploaded my tentative schedule for next year but there might be some changes even before I end my vacation. I hope to continue uploading historical material as I try to add a few things every time I am at home.

I would like to say thank you to all my readers who are (still) willing to keep up with my daily ramblings and observations. I like writing the blog and I hope you like reading it.

Happy Holidays to all on behalf of myself and my wife Lesley who always keeps a close eye on what I do and how I do it.

14 Dec. 2016; Costa Maya, Mexico.

December 14, 2016 / / 5 Comments

We had a good day to day in Costa Maya, a day we shared with another 6000 guests coming from the Norwegian Jade and the Rhapsody of the Seas. All the 3 berths were full and we were once again on berth 3 which gives the shortest distance from gangway to the resort itself. On arrival there was little wind and that gave a head start as during the day the normal trade wind picked up under the influence of the sun. This wind builds up waves and those waves make the ship rock alongside the dock and if the ships movement becomes too much the ropes start breaking.  If you arrive with very little wind, then the buildup of waves has to start from scratch and by the time you leave (for us at 15.00 hrs.) the waves are not that high yet and thus the ships are not moving so much yet. During our last call, there was a weather front coming through and the last 4 hours of our call the captain had to put the thrusters and Azipods on to glue the Oosterdam alongside and reduce the strain on the ropes. Today it was a lot better. Also the Oosterdam was half hidden behind the other two ships and that helped as well.

View from the shore side of Coata Maya Pier. the ms Oosterdam was docked where the ships with the stern towards us.

View from the shore side of Costa Maya Pier. The ms Oosterdam was docked where the ship is with the stern towards us. (Photo Courtesy, Costa Maya Tours)

I am always greatly concerned about breaking ropes, especially at the bow as they run under various angles to the bollards ashore. If they snap, they can whip over the dock. Hence the bow area is roped off and local security is very good in stopping guests, who cannot resist the urge to take a bow shot, from scooting under the ropes of the no-go area.   For the aft ropes there is less of an issue as they are all under 90 angles. When those break, they break on the edge of the chock where they go inboard and then the the breaking force settles on the piece which is inboard and the outboard part falls in the water. Hence we can let guests walk on the pier along the ship to the resort.

The cruise terminal is fr far out from the main land and a shuttle service is in place over this long bridge to an artificial island with the cruise terminal.

Progresso. The cruise terminal is far out from the main land and a shuttle service is in place over this long bridge to an artificial island with the cruise terminal.

Although Costa Maya is an artificial port, conceived and built purely for cruise ship tourism, its location makes sense from a strategic point of view. There is nothing else in the area. The next three cruise ship ports, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Progresso are more than a 100 miles to the north. Cozumel is often full, Progresso has a long channel in and a very long pier to walk over as the area is shallow. Playa Del Carmen suffers from wind and current. It is not really Playa del Carmen itself but Calica a few miles to the south. Calica means gravel pit and that is what it is, a bulk carrier port for exporting gravel. Long ago they built a small cruise terminal and cruise ship dock there but it really only works for small cruise ships with a lot of maneuvering power.  When you go in you have the Gulf Stream full on the beam and thus it can be difficult to steer exactly right into the entrance. The current is strong, the entrance is small and the shallows are nearby.  Then the moment you are inside you have to make a 90o turn to starboard to the dock and the moment you do that, you get the Trade Wind full on the beam, which sets you towards the dock.  The smaller the ship, the more room you have. Carnival tried it for a while and had planned to improve the place but at the moment there is no large cruise ship scheduled there at least until 2018.

Playa Del Carmen itself has a small pier for ferries and Holland America used to stop here in the 1990’s. We then landed our tour people with a local ferry as a quick way for the tours to go Chichen Itza as from there it is about an hour with the bus inland. This local ferry then also brought them back in the evening while the ship was docked in Cozumel. Keeping the ship in position off Playa while the local ferry lay alongside was not easy due to the current and the return trip with this ferry could be really fun and games. If the wind was from the north and thus blowing against the Gulf Stream, then the whole sea surface changed into a sort of washing machine and the returning guests would have to endure a 45 minute real roller coaster ride……… with the expected results…………  Thus we gave up on that and as we hardly go to Cozumel anymore other Maya destinations such as Tikal have been introduced.

We sailed at 15.00 hrs. and around 8 pm. tonight we will pass the island of Cozumel on our portside. Normally we can just see the lights at the horizon. Tomorrow is our last sea day while the ship heads for its final port on the cruise, our home port of Tampa. Weather looks quite good, there is a frontal system moving over Cuba, but I think we will be far to the north before it reaches the Yucatan Channel.

It looks like clear skies all the way to Florida.

It looks like clear skies all the way to Florida.

13 Dec. 2016; Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.

December 13, 2016 / / 1 Comment

Santo Tomas is one of those places were a canal would make the distance a lot shorter even if the distance between Roatan and Santo Tomas is only 142 miles. This is basically caused by the fact that the town is located inside a deep bay. The land is curved around it and protects the whole area from being exposed to the open Caribbean. So while we sail almost straight west from Roatan, most of that straight sailing is above land to reach the bay. Then the ship has to curve back until finally it can go south towards the dock. Just before you enter the bay the curve of protecting land is not very wide and thus a little cut –through would be possible. But looking at it economically the total traffic of ships which call at Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas is probably not sufficient to even contemplate it.

A little cut at La....

A little cut at La Graciosa and you could quickly slip in and out of the bay.

As mentioned in my blog of the previous call, the guests here either go on tour or just wander into the terminal or visit the local town. For the latter there is a shuttle trolley service which leaves from the gangway. From the crew only those who have never been here before might go to the local town but all others who have bought the T shirt already normally stay on board. Unless shorex can organize a shuttle boat/ferry to the Amatique beach resort which is sometimes possible if the guests have not bought up all the tickets. But it is six hour happening and apart from concessions and entertainment not many crew have time to do it.

Tank entry by the rescue team taking a plank-type stretcher with them for the extraction.

Tank entry by the rescue team taking a plank-type stretcher with them for the extraction.

Certainly not when I am around and I have dreamt up yet another major training. This time on request of the engine department. Enclosed Space Rescues. The engine department often has to inspect, clean or repair tanks and these are not known to be easily accessible or easy to work in. Thus if an accident would occur it is also very hard to get the casualty out. To do an efficient tank extraction you have to train as it is a lot more difficult than it seems. Training in a real tank itself is not so easy as one has to be opened up and also nobody can see what is going on and learn from it as there is most of the time no room to stand around. To alleviate the problem of the very few being able to see something, it is better if we build a sort of mock up in an open space.

A medical equipment on standby and the medical officers giving instruction to the stretcher bearers.

A medical equipment on standby and the medical officers giving instruction to the stretcher bearers.

And thus with the aid of the five cadets on board I designed and constructed a complete tank in the Marshalling area; the open space in the ship where we normally handle the luggage and the provisions that come on board. With carton boxes, canvas, the luggage bins and some wood it was good enough for a good drill. The engineers sharpened their skills again and medical could now observe from close by what a ships tank looked like and how difficult it is to get a casualty out as the inside of a tank is normally web constructed which is needed for the strength of the ship.

Moving the Casualty from the back of the tank.

Moving the Casualty from the back of the tank.

We have of course equipment on board to help with this but you have to exercise this to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle fit together if something would happen. Enclosed space incidents are still very common in the industry and not only at sea. Workers who do not realize that in a tank there might lack of oxygen or all sorts of gasses and the work surface is seldom ideal. Thus the regulations before we can enter a tank are very strict to ensure that those who go in also come out again. A lot of extra casualties are caused because workers see a collapsed colleague inside and run in to help. Which only results in yet another casualty. Hence nobody goes into a tank for rescue and extraction without wearing breathing apparatus. The bottle on your back is very cumbersome when getting in and out but it is a life saver. We also have oxygen masks connected with a long hose to a bottle which can then remain outside but then you still need somebody else to watch over that hose so it does not get stuck behind something.

The casualty coming out. the opening is the average man hole size of a real tank. (some are a lot smaller)

The casualty coming out. The opening is the average man hole size of a real tank. (some are a lot smaller)

Tomorrow we are in Costa Maya which lies 180 miles to the North from Santo Tomas and which will be our final call for this cruise. It should be a full house tomorrow with all the three berths occupied; the ms Oosterdam, the Rhapsody of the Seas and the Norwegian Jade. Weather: partly cloudy skies, 80oF / 26oC and a gentle breeze. So it will be a warm day there.

12 Dec. 2016; Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras.

December 12, 2016 / / 3 Comments

We were the only ship docking at the Mahogany Bay Pier today, courtesy of the fact that this dock was constructed by Carnival Corporation. Therefore our poor competitors, in this case RCI, had to do with docking at Coxen Hole a little bit more to the west. There is another cruise terminal but with some fewer facilities on the dock for guests who do not want to go too far. And a lot of guests had one look at the weather: dark clouds gathering overhead causing the occasional downpour and decided to stay on board or were back quite quickly. Main reason was they had already been here before, so why get wet during a repeat visit? We have a larger number of guests on board who are just taking a “quick Holland America cruise” in between. They are here for the ship and the service and could “not care less about the coconuts” as one guest expressed his reason to stay on board.

Hence the High Tea was having a full house and all the bridge tables were occupied as well. Always nice to see the public rooms being in use at other times than just when there is entertainment or happy hour.

Apart from all the activities on board, Holland America has also made it a standard of its product of giving the guests something to look at. All the ships have a lot of antiques on board which can bring many hours of happy hunting and observing if you are so inclined to do so. With the Koningsdam what is on display is more contemporary but that is not bad for a change either.

So as part of my hobby (and hopefully for posterity as well) I photograph & document the complete interiors of all the ships; as one day also the Oosterdam will also be gone. Not all the art is on display where all the guests can get at it, some is hidden in the private offices on board. So today a few pieces of art to look at, which are hidden on deck 1 in the Hotel Offices. Senior hotel staff offices are gathered near the Atrium where we have on the portside the Security Officers Office, IT office, the Front Office (with inside the Pursers office) and the Cruise Directors office.

Dutch Harbour by Heinrich Hermanns

Boats in a Harbour by Heinrich Hermanns

From all those offices the Cruise Director has the nicest piece of art hanging on the wall. Made by a German painter Heinrich Hermanns who lived from 1862 to 1942 and the painting is called Boats in a Harbour.  Normally I am very critical of paintings with ships but this is a nice atmospheric piece. Sailors always look at shippy paintings with the eye……………… is it correct. And you can only let that go if there are no real details on it. One of the painters who is always very in depth and scrutinized by us, is the maritime painter Captain Stephen Card as we have his paintings hanging on each of our ships, mostly in the forward staircase. Luckily he is a sailor himself who carefully documents first what he is going to paint because if he gets it wrong, the old Holland America line employees are very vocal.

Nicholas Berthon. Dutch Harbour.

Nicholas Berthon. Dutch Harbour.

On starboard side we have the Controller’s office, shore excursion, Beverage department, Culinary Department, Hotel Directors Office and the Executive Housekeepers office.  The 2nd painting of my liking is hanging in the Executive Housekeepers office. Again a painting with a ship on it, this time by Nicholas Berthon 1839 – 1888 and called Dutch Harbor. Looking at the name it sounds like he is a French painter and this is the first time I see this name coming up in connection to something with boats.  Knowing how my company sources Art and also how much budget there is, plus the need to keep the art from “walking away” the price for these sorts of paintings lays normally in the area of 800 to 1500 dollars. Good enough quality to have on board for guests to enjoy, not expensive enough for somebody to be tempted to embrace it as a permanent souvenir.

Not a painting but also art. A Christmas Village by the Oosterdam Culinary Department.

Not a painting but also art. A Christmas Village by the Oosterdam Culinary Department.

What I have forgotten to mention is that Christmas has fully arrived on the Oosterdam. During last cruise the decorations started to come out and by now everything is in place. Including the Christmas village in the Atrium. We have now Christmas Music played through the ship and to my utter amazement I have not heard White Christmas from Bing Crosby yet. All the other songs have all come by already including the missing two-front-teeth.

Tomorrow we are in Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala which lays 142 miles to the west from here. And that means I am not going to predict the weather, as it might be the same as today; but it might just change as well, depending what pressure system wins the battle. The one to the south, the one to the north, or the one to the East.

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