Amsterdam, Netherlands: Life at Sea Begins.

MS Prinsendam

We are back from our holidays at last and I know that I need to catch up on my blogs - I am waaay behind....  At the moment I'm going to concentrate on what is currently going on.  At some stage I will catch up with the holiday.

It's been a hectic 3 days, unpacking and getting things done.  Apart from sorting out the caravan and putting it in storage, we have cleaned Betty's (Paul's mum) fish tank.  The fish are happy now too with plenty of fleas to soothe their shattered nerves.

Our cabin

Paul's leave is at an end and it's time to get back to work.  During our holiday Paul learnt that he had been assigned to the Prinsendam rather than going back to the Maasdam. 

We had a fairly late night last night, re-packing clothes for the next few weeks of our lives at sea and were up early.  Fortunately we didn't have to fly out to meet up with the Prinsendam.  She was in Amsterdam.  We drove Betty's car to Paul's sister in Zoetemeer where we picked up her son (Paul's nephew, Dani) and carried on to Amsterdam's cruise ship terminal.  The car needed a good run to get its battery charged.  Dani then drove the car back to Betty's place where his mum would meet up with him a bit later.

At security Paul discovered that I was not on any list to board the ship and he was adamant that he would not go to sea without me.  He ended up going to the ship to try and sort things out and I had to wait in the terminal.  Eventually security called and said I could go through.  Not a problem.  Only I took a wrong turn and instead of heading onto the ship - I headed into the huge terminal which was the disembarking guest terminal.  I wasn't allowed back up via the exit point so I had to walk all the way back to security in the embarkation terminal and have my luggage checked again before trying to find the gangway.  By this time Paul was getting worried and called me to find out where I was.  I explained what had happened.  Anyway, before I got lost again one of the ship's security staff found me and took me to the ship's gangway.  Paul was quite relieved.  

After going through what seemed like a maze of passages, we arrived at our cabin where Paul had to leave me in order to start work - he had to have a hand-over with his counterpart.  

So, I've been unpacking and finding my way around the cabin.  It is quite a different layout compared to the cabin on the Maasdam.  This time the cabin (although still on deck 10) is directly below the Bridge.  And has a window looking out onto a forward facing balcony.  Fortunately the balcony is only accessible to crew so we won't have guests trying to peer in through the window!  I had been looking forward to having a bath but unfortunately the bath has been replaced with a shower since Paul was last on the Prinsendam.

After lifeboat drill the Prinsendam set sail, heading towards Vlissingen, 

Paul is happy to be back with the Prinsendam as it will be the last time she will be sailing with her over the coming weeks and months.  The Prinsendam has been sold and will be going to new owners (Phoenix Reisen, a German Company) in July 2019.  She is one of the smallest in Holland America Line's fleet and will be sadly missed.  Guests and staff are very fond of her.  

By way of a bit of history, the Prinsendam:  She was launched by the Royal Viking Line in 1988 with the name of "Royal Viking Sun".  Between 1994 and 1998 she was operated by the Cunard Line before being transferred to Seabourn Cruise Line in 1999 and re-named "Seabourn Sun".  In 2002 the ship was transferred to  Holland America Line and re-named the "Prinsendam".

The Prinsendam's itinerary for this cruise is as follows:

Date / Time                 Port
16 Sep                         Departing Amsterdam, Holland   

17 Sep 08:00 - 15:00     Vlissingen, Holland   

17 Sep 20:00 - 17 Sep Antwerp, Belgium   

19 Sep 18:00 - 19 Sep Rouen, France   

22 Sep 08:00 - 18:00    La Rochelle, France   

23 Sep 08:00 - 23 Sep   Bordeaux, France   

26 Sep 08:00 - 18:00     Lisbon, Portugal   

27 Sep 13:00 - 18:00     Gibraltar, UK   

28 Sep 08:00 - 17:00     Cartagena, Spain   

30 Sep                         Arriving in Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy  

Docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A walk along the waterfront.

View of Halifax, er the backside of another ship, from the
Maasdam's forward camera.

Paul was up during the wee hours of the morning because of the fog.  Fortunately for him, the clocks went forward 1 hour so his 'on the watch' time was cut short by an hour.  Although he didn't get much sleep, he was up and awake when the Maasdam docked in Halifax.  

It was a beautiful sunny day and, to me, the sun was a wonderful warm and welcoming sight.  Paul managed to get some time off the ship for a bit so we meandered along the waterfront.  Our aim was to go to the maritime museum but there was so much alterations going on around the waterfront that we decided not to go in.  There were small arts and craft stalls, food stalls, buskers - from guitar to violin and a piper, and on one of the piers there were hammocks for people to stretch on and relax.  On our way back to the ship Paul and I stopped off and got an ice cream from one of the stalls.  Maple syrup and pecan nut (yummy!) was one of the ice creams that we tried as we sat in the sun and watched life go by.  There were arts and craft stalls in the cruise terminal which we had a browse around before boarding the ship.

Our day was marred a bit because I was not feeling myself - just feeling very 'flat'.  I was also very tired and wanted to sleep so when we got back to the Maasdam I had a nap for 2 hours or so.  

A bit later on, after dinner, we are going to listen to one of the singers in the Crow's Nest.  It is her last night as a performer before her contract ends.  I think it is going to be a nice evening and we are doing something different for a change.

Our route to Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The Maasdam has set sail for Sydney and hopefully we will be able to dock this time.  Last time the wind was too strong, and with no tugboats to help her, the Maasdam had to turn around and head back out to sea.  Things are looking a bit more promising this time although mother nature can have a change in plans at any moment.

Docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Paul was woken up during the wee hours of the morning to do a stint of watch duty because of fog.  He came back to bed around 4:30am and slept until around 9am, which was nice for him.  But he was still very tired during the day.

I didn't put my name down for a tour today as most of them are ones I have been on; and I also wanted to relax for a change.

I noticed that the ship's EXC guide was going to do a talk on tartans and Scottish clothing, more so of the clothing eventually worn by the Scots in Halifax when they arrived in Nova Scotia.  Having had a Scottish father, I went to have a chat with her to see if the guide wanted a bit of help with preparation for her talk.  As it turned out - yes, she didn't know how to pronounce a few words and what certain things were.  So I got her sorted and promised I would attend her talk later on, to give her some sort of support.  At the end of the day the EXC guide gave her talk and she managed to do a good job.  Her only pronunciation that went wrong was 'sporran', with the final accent on the final words 'ran', calling it sporRAN, - which a guest corrected her about afterwards.  

I wanted to bring this 'cool dude' moose back with me!

At one point I went down to the cruise terminal because there was a small market with stalls selling arts and crafts.  It was nice to have a wander around and browse.  I was good - I didn't buy anything! 😊  I had hoped to pick up some maple liquor but there was plenty of maple syrup or maple syrup sweets.  Maybe another time ...

I think Paul is going to have an early night.  He is still tired and there is also the likelihood that he will be called for fog watch again.  

Our next port of call?  Sydney, Nova Scotia; northeast of Halifax.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cruise end for some.

Yesterday the ship docked at Fort Lauderdale and it was 'all systems go' with everyone on the ship, including crew and staff, having to get off and go through Customs & Immigration. 

The majority of guests were getting off because their cruise had ended but other guests are staying on for the next cruise.  I until the last 15 minutes of the 'leave the ship' deadline.  Unfortunately when I got to the deck level where we were getting off the ship there was a crowd of people also waiting to get off the ship.  I'm not sure what was going on.  There were rumours that there weren't enough Customs & Immigration personnel to cope with the influx of passengers and so, in order to clear the terminal of a huge queue of passengers already there, other passengers were being held back from leaving the ship.  I also heard that there was only 1 official trying to cope with the crew/staff.  Ryan (a "partner on board" - a doc's other half) was also waiting so it was good to have someone to chat to whilst we were waiting.  Eventually someone from off the ship came on board and weaved through the crowd of waiting passengers to advise that there was something wrong with the gangway and was unsafe to use so they were making it safe.  Eh??  I'm not sure whether the story was true or not!  Fortunately it had nothing to do with the ship - it was all to do with the cruise ship terminal's gangway.  So there was more hanging around and waiting. 

Eventually everyone else on the ship could get off and head to Customs & Immigration.  There was quite a long queue and the whole processing took quite a while because of the lack of staff.  I felt sorry for the crew because they seemed to be taking ages.  The chap that processed my documents had a face like a thunderclap.  There was no greeting or hello or anything.  All he said was 'fingers on the pad' - for fingerprinting - and that was it.  When I left I stopped turned back to look at him, smiled 'sweetly' and said 'thank you and have a great day'!!; and fled.  I felt like saying that if he didn't like his job or people - pack it in!  I know dealing with people can be tedious but a smile or some sort of greeting can go a long way.  Yes, nobody likes the customs and immigration process but it has to be done.  So put a smile on your dial everyone!

Crew could get back on the ship but non-revenue passengers and guests couldn't.  The ship had to be cleared and there had to be "zero count" which can take a while.  Guests who are staying on for the next cruise either took a taxi or bus into town; or went on a tour.  I hung around outside the terminal and got free WiFi.  It was nice to catch up on a few WhatApp messages and also I had a quick telephone call with my younger sister in South Africa.  The sound quality of the call wasn't that brilliant because noise around and about the cruise terminal but it was still good to hear her voice.

Eventually I rejoined the ship.  But that was a mission.  I went through the normal terminal entrance but was told I was crew and so I had to go through the crew entrance.  I explained that I was not a crew member but a non-revenue passenger and I was on the guest/passenger manifest even though I do have what looks like a crew ID card.  The lady at the door relented and allowed me in but further in the terminal I was stopped by a security official who checked my name against his list and said I was not on the passenger list.  I said I had to be because I wasn't a crew member.  To cut a long story short, I ended up going outside the terminal and to the crew entrance.  They allowed me to go through but I heard later that an earlier non-revenue passenger had been sent from pillar to post until she was let through.

Life goes on!

Heading up to Charleston.

An update on what happened to the hospital beds.  The ship's staff hadn't heard back from any hospitals that they had messaged as to whether they could make use of 3 secondhand hospital beds that the infirmary were getting rid of so the beds were going to be taken off as rubbish/scrap metal.  It turns out that the beds were in fact salvaged and ended up at a children's hospital either in Cartagena, Columbia.  Apparently if they had accepted the secondhand beds as a gift from the ship - the hospital would have had to pay import duty!  So hence going down the route of scrap metal, not paying fees, and salvaging the beds.  Brilliant idea.

Charleston is the the Maasdam's next port of call.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Fort Lauderdale

Looking back as we head out along the channel to the Atlantic Ocean

 

 

 

 Ship's infirmary beds for the children's hospital