A look back to my first HAL cruise

[Copper10-8]

Roy

 

You motivated me to look back on our first HAL cruise. It was on the Statendam, Christmas of 1995 -- seven days. We booked at the last minute as our original plan was a unique itinerary (for the time) on Regent Spirit and as many of you know this was the year Regency went suddenly bankrupt.

 

As an off topic aside -- we were saved from making final payment on that cruise by a Cruise Critic insider who sent us a private email telling us not to make final payment as the cruise line would be bankrupt before the end of the week! How right they were! My TA was reluctant to cooperate at first then later in the week came back to me and wanted to know how I knew -- saved us a ton of money and a lot of trouble. Kudos to CC!

 

So ... I found my folder for that trip. I still have the daily newspapers -- they were called the "Dagelyks Nieuws" in those days and every issue included a list of where each ship in the fleet could be found that day. I rediscovered that we were treated to a show given by Victor Borge on Christmas Eve and on the last day, the Nieuws shared the recipe for HAL bread pudding for four!

 

Ship's officers were:

 

Commmander Captain Frans Consen - retired 03/13

Hotel Manager Erich Holbling

Chief Engineer Hendrik van Wijk - still (now) on Zaandam

Chief Officer Cornelius Spekman

Cruise Director Brian McNally

Chief Radio Officer David McGouldrik - still (now) IT Offcr on Noordam

Purser Leontine van Biljouw

Food & Bev Mgr Theodorus Haanen

Physician William Baetmen

Chief Housekeeper Leonard Mok

Guest Rel Mgr Katja van Biljouw

Executive Chef Cornelius van Santen - there is a HD with the same name

Maitre d'Hotel Henk Brok

Bar Manager Susi Budiatmo

Hostess Yvette Sechrist

Shore Ex Mgr Maureen Ricker - still (now) corporate Shorex trainer

Asst Cruise Dir Matt Arietta

Port Lecturer Dave Gadow

 

The remainder is no longer with HAL

 

 

Thanks Roy -- I enjoyed this look into the past!

 

See above

[W8tn2sail]

Our first delightful experience with HAL was a 7 days aboard the second named Westerdam in the spring of 1997 It was our 10th cruise and made us HAL fans for life with wonderful ser vice, food, entertainment and ambiance.

Captain: Kor Witvliet

Hotel Mgr: Willem Cruijsberg

First Officer: Fred Everson (He was Captain on our '03 cruise aboard Rotterdam)

Cruise Director: Julien Sharp

Executive Chef: Jachim Barelmann also EC on our last cruise on Ryndam 2006

 

From the Westerdam daily program

Dress Code: 3 Casual ("Elegantly Casual) 1 Informal (Jacket for Men) 2 Formal "Tuxedo or business suit suggested. Jacket and tie required. Please respect your fellow guests by

observing this dress code throughout the evening"

 

"I believe I'll have another serving of that HAL Bread Pudding"

[Tennessee Titan]

Our first cruise was on the Amsterdam to Alaska in 2003.

Cruise was great except for the dining room, which was the worst cruising experience we have ever had. DR steward thought his job was to stand around and watch the Asst Steward serve. The Asst just stood there most of the time with a "deer in the headlights" expression. As a result we got 7 days of no DR service! We swore we would never cruise again.

Later went to Antarctica on the Discovery. Like night and day.

We decided to give HAL another chance when the big bang TAs started in 2005.

As you can see by my signature, the rest is history!

[ookpik]

We took the old Statendam out of port of Miami in March 1978 the southern most port was Caracas .(La Guaira I think) Loved it so much we went to Bermuda on her in July, same year. Remember those beautiful menus (Given to us at the end of the cruise,signed of course) and the silver service and everyone"Dressing" for dinner. I have a gold charm of the ship bought on board, the shops were lovely . No balconies in those days but everything was rather elegant .

[mamaofami]

Our first HAL cruise was on Veendam where my DH was the ship dentist.We were hooked after that first cruise. What ever cabin they gave us was great.We were so happy to be on board.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We took the old Statendam out of port of Miami in March 1978 the southern most port was Caracas .(La Guaira I think) Loved it so much we went to Bermuda on her in July, same year. Remember those beautiful menus (Given to us at the end of the cruise,signed of course) and the silver service and everyone"Dressing" for dinner. I have a gold charm of the ship bought on board, the shops were lovely . No balconies in those days but everything was rather elegant .

 

We might have been on the same Bermuda cruise. July of '78 was our first cruise. No, there weren't any balconies (not that we'd have cared, we had an inside u/l), but lots of nice deck space made up for it.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Kathy

 

I still have many of the menus from our early cruises as well -- they are boxed -- somewhere.

 

And yes -- they cam around with the vegetables and served them individually. Back then the waiters only had about 12 people to take care of -- not the 28 or so that they have now.

 

Gone are the pastry carts and the flambés.

 

I don't miss the flambés. They always made me nervous. During lifeboat drill, we'd hear the speech about the dangers of fire at sea and the reminder to be careful with cigarettes and matches. Then we'd go to the dining room, where they'd set things on fire! :eek:

[Aussie Gal]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Maasdam in August, 1999. We did a Baltic cruise which left from Harwich and finished in Copenhagen. It was a wonderful cruise with great food but best of all, we had a fantastic Captain whose name I would love to know. I had a birthday on board and I was given a card signed by the Captain and the Maitre'D but I cannot read his writing.

 

Most of the passengers went to Berlin for the day when we docked in Warnemunde and our private train didn't return until 9.30pm. The Captain was waiting at the bottom of the gangplank to welcome us all on board and shake our hands. There would have been at least 1000 of us returning. I have never forgotten that wonderful gesture and if Copper (John) or anyone else who has the knowledge of the Captains in the fleet could give me his name, it would be much appreciated.

 

Jennie

[Copper10-8]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Maasdam in August, 1999. We did a Baltic cruise which left from Harwich and finished in Copenhagen. It was a wonderful cruise with great food but best of all, we had a fantastic Captain whose name I would love to know. I had a birthday on board and I was given a card signed by the Captain and the Maitre'D but I cannot read his writing.

 

Most of the passengers went to Berlin for the day when we docked in Warnemunde and our private train didn't return until 9.30pm. The Captain was waiting at the bottom of the gangplank to welcome us all on board and shake our hands. There would have been at least 1000 of us returning. I have never forgotten that wonderful gesture and if Copper (John) or anyone else who has the knowledge of the Captains in the fleet could give me his name, it would be much appreciated.

 

Jennie

 

Sorry Jennie; don't have any schedules from 1999. Having said that, chances are 50% it was Captain Henk Draper because he was one of two MADM captains during that time

[G&G]

First HAL cruise:

 

December 12, 1987, seven day Caribbean, Noordam

 

Captain: Hans Eulderink

 

Hotel Manager: Henkel J de Vis

 

Cruise Director: Michael Thomas

[smoothsailors]

:) Our first HAL cruise was so memorable! It was in 1992 on the Nieuw Amsterdam: no balconies on the ships then and we were thrilled with our odd-shaped cabin with a Queen bed. (There was one tucked on each side of the Navigation deck before the entrance to the Bridge.)

 

The Captain was Jack van Coevoerden...he was single then and liked to sunbathe behind the stack on the small deck overlooking the aft pool, the same spot we found. He was a wonderful host at his Table and very interesting...we've always appreciated his friendliness.

 

Don't remember the HM, but the Maitre'D was Rob D...a large, jovial Dutch man who later was on our Panama Canal cruise aboard the old Noordam. He was terrific and made both of our sailings with him very special!

 

This is a nice, warm thread...thank you!:)

[Copper10-8]

...................... Having said that, chances are 50% it was Captain Henk Draper because he was one of two MADM captains during that time

 

Scratch that! I'm 10 years too early!

[Copper10-8]

First HAL cruise was almost twenty years ago from 20-27 November 1993 on Nieuw Amsterdam III (now sailing as Thomson Spirit for Thomson Cruises). It was a 7-Day Western Caribbean out of Tampa, FL

Captain: Simon Douwes (now Director of Deployment and Itinerary Planning for HAL)

Hotel Manager: - Hans Dernison (retired)

Chief Engineer: Oeke de Haan (retired)

Chief Officer: Fred Eversen (now Captain on m/s Amsterdam)

Security Officer: Cornelius Meyer (retired)

Chief Radio Officer: Peter Harris (not to be confused with former HAL Captain Peter Harris)

Food Service Manager: Willem de Vis

Beverage Manager: Jerry Spies

Purser: Iskandar Hadi Wahono (Purser on Prinsendam)

Chief housekeeper: Jan Miog

Guest Relations Manager: Anne Marie Weenink

Maitre d'Hôtel: Wawan Kartawan

Executive Chef: Max van Bergen

Physician: Dr. Michael Maynor

Cruise Director: Derick Warren

Asst. Cruise Director: Daniel Cooper

Social Hostess: Bridget Manifesto

Youth Counselor: Michele Esposito

Teen Counselor: Shari Porterfield

Shore Excursion Manager: Steve Luba

Port Lecturer: Sean Haugness

[rafinmd]

Since I now know the Captains on all but one of my cruises, is there any chance your records go back to the first week of July, 2002 for the Zaandam?

 

The list is otherwise:

 

Rotterdam (V) 1997: Pieter Bos

Zaandam 2002: Unknown

Rotterdam, 2011: Rik Krombeen

Prinsendam, 2011: Tim Roberts

Zaandam, 2012: Andre van Schoonhoven

Veendam, 2013: Pieter Bos

Prinsendam, 2013: Andre van Schoonhoven

 

Roy

[cubfan63]

First HAL cruise was April 1986 on the Noordam, for a week from Acapulco to San Francisco.

 

It was a Halley's Comet cruise, and you had to be up on deck in the middle of the night if you wanted to try to see the comet. I'm not sure how many did that.

 

The only staff I remember was the incredible Cruise Director, Brian Price.

[Copper10-8]

Since I now know the Captains on all but one of my cruises, is there any chance your records go back to the first week of July, 2002 for the Zaandam?

 

The list is otherwise:

 

Rotterdam (V) 1997: Pieter Bos

Zaandam 2002: Unknown

Rotterdam, 2011: Rik Krombeen

Prinsendam, 2011: Tim Roberts

Zaandam, 2012: Andre van Schoonhoven

Veendam, 2013: Pieter Bos

Prinsendam, 2013: Andre van Schoonhoven

 

Roy

 

The closest I can get you is that in September 2002, Captain Werner Timmers was ZADM's Master, Roy. He was switching off with Captain Jack van Coevoerden

[Copper10-8]

:) .................Don't remember the HM, but the Maitre'D was Rob D...a large, jovial Dutch man who later was on our Panama Canal cruise aboard the old Noordam. He was terrific and made both of our sailings with him very special!

 

This is a nice, warm thread...thank you!:)

 

Rob Dickman

[Aussie Gal]

Sorry Jennie; don't have any schedules from 1999. Having said that, chances are 50% it was Captain Henk Draper because he was one of two MADM captains during that time

 

Thanks for trying John. He was definitely Dutch and if I can work out a way of photocopying his handwriting and posting it here I will. Perhaps you will be able to work out his signature from that.

 

Jennie

[Aussie Gal]

Copper, (John),

 

I have managed to take a photo of the Captain's signature from a birthday card he gave me when we were on the Maasdam in August, 1999. Perhaps you will be able to decipher whom he was from the photo below. He was truly a remarkable man and we have never forgot him. It was a wonderful first cruise on HAL. Thanks.

 

Jennie

 

[Copper10-8]

Copper, (John),

 

I have managed to take a photo of the Captain's signature from a birthday card he gave me when we were on the Maasdam in August, 1999. Perhaps you will be able to decipher whom he was from the photo below. He was truly a remarkable man and we have never forgot him. It was a wonderful first cruise on HAL. Thanks.

 

Jennie

 

 

Hi Jennie; that's Captain Kees Buckens:) He's no longer with HAL

[Aussie Gal]

John,

 

Thanks so much for letting me know his name. I have pondered over it for years and for some reason I didn't keep anything from that cruise except the birthday card and the menu from the dinner that night which was a formal one, and when reading it now, it had so much more to offer on it. Those were the days!

 

By the way, do you know where Captain Buckens went to?

 

Jennie

[legalslave]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Westerdam, I am thinking it was the 2nd Westerdam. The cruise began on November 6, 1999, 7 days roundtrip Ft Lauderdale. There were no balcony cabins on this ship. We had an outside cabin with a large window. We were in tropical storms the entire time. We were never able to enjoy the pools. Miraculously, the rain stopped and the sun came through every time we were in port. The exception to that was Half Moon Cay. It would pour down rain, stop for a short while and then start raining again. We rocked and rolled the entire time we were at sea. DH said he would never go on another cruise. He did go again on HAL Westerdam in 2009 and is now booked on his 5th & 6th HAL cruises. Back in those days, they had the game of finding out who Mr (ship name) was and who Mrs (ship name)was.

 

On that cruise:

 

Captain--Leo van Lanschot Hubrecht

Hotel Manager--Joseph J. Russo Jr.

Cruise Director--Leslie Jon

Executive Chef--Rey Omila

Chief Engineer--Juul Gehrmann

Chief Officer--Ben Van Scherpenzeel

Food & Beverage Manager--Robert Versteeg

Security Officer Brian Bunko

Guest Relations--Megan Hilgersom

Social Hostess Donna Alsip.

[Copper10-8]

John,

 

Thanks so much for letting me know his name. I have pondered over it for years and for some reason I didn't keep anything from that cruise except the birthday card and the menu from the dinner that night which was a formal one, and when reading it now, it had so much more to offer on it. Those were the days!

 

By the way, do you know where Captain Buckens went to?

 

Jennie

 

Yes, he's on the staff at the New Zealand Maritime School in Auckland, NZ

[Copper10-8]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Westerdam, I am thinking it was the 2nd Westerdam. The cruise began on November 6, 1999, 7 days roundtrip Ft Lauderdale. There were no balcony cabins on this ship. We had an outside cabin with a large window. We were in tropical storms the entire time. We were never able to enjoy the pools. Miraculously, the rain stopped and the sun came through every time we were in port. The exception to that was Half Moon Cay. It would pour down rain, stop for a short while and then start raining again. We rocked and rolled the entire time we were at sea. DH said he would never go on another cruise. He did go again on HAL Westerdam in 2009 and is now booked on his 5th & 6th HAL cruises. Back in those days, they had the game of finding out who Mr (ship name) was and who Mrs (ship name)was.

 

On that cruise:

 

Captain--Leo van Lanschot Hubrecht

Hotel Manager--Joseph J. Russo Jr.

Cruise Director--Leslie Jon

Executive Chef--Rey Omila

Chief Engineer--Juul Gehrmann

Chief Officer--Ben Van Scherpenzeel

Food & Beverage Manager--Robert Versteeg

Security Officer Brian Bunko

Guest Relations--Megan Hilgersom

Social Hostess Donna Alsip.

 

Out of that group only Robert Versteeg is still working for HAL as Hotel Director (currently on Oosterdam) and he's retiring next March

Leo van Lanschot-Hubrecht was our Captain on the old Nieuw Amsterdam III in Dec 1996.

Chief Engineer Juul Gehrmann just retired late last year

http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2012/11/14/maasdam-crew-bids-farewell-to-chief-engineer/

[Aussie Gal]

On that cruise:

 

Captain--Leo van Lanschot Hubrecht

Hotel Manager--Joseph J. Russo Jr.

Cruise Director--Leslie Jon

Executive Chef--Rey Omila

Chief Engineer--Juul Gehrmann

Chief Officer--Ben Van Scherpenzeel

Food & Beverage Manager--Robert Versteeg

Security Officer Brian Bunko

Guest Relations--Megan Hilgersom

Social Hostess Donna Alsip.

 

Leslie Jon the Cruise Director is now with Oceania. We had him on the Nautica back in 2008 and he was excellent.

 

Jennie