Liveish MS Rotterdam Partial Panama Canal, November 12-24

[MissiCruzs]

10 minutes ago, MissiCruzs said:

Rut roh...

Captain just announced critically ill patient will be disembarked. They pulled the gangway back in and we think maybe they are adjusting water level because it was a couple feet off the ground. Prayers for the ill passenger...

[kazu]

2 hours ago, SeaSharp said:

Roy, can you please advise if Edgar is still the maitre d' in Club Orange AND if he will be aboard for the December 3rd sailing??   He was so kind to me last year when I was going through chemo treatments and had no appetite. Would love to see him again.

 

Thanks for the great review of your experiences on the Rotterdam.  Enjoy your cruise!!

 

I’m not Roy but I was on the Rotterdam a few weeks ago and Edgar told me he was asked to stay on.  He was happy to agree to do so since it meant he was going to spend Christmas with his family.

 

If memory serves me, he was leaving the ship towards the end of November (around the 20th?)

 

I agree with you - he is wonderful.  

[rafinmd]

5 hours ago, SeaSharp said:

Roy, can you please advise if Edgar is still the maitre d' in Club Orange AND if he will be aboard for the December 3rd sailing??   He was so kind to me last year when I was going through chemo treatments and had no appetite. Would love to see him again.

 

Thanks for the great review of your experiences on the Rotterdam.  Enjoy your cruise!!

The Maitre'd is now a woman named Nancy.

 

Roy

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 11/9/2023 at 7:18 AM, iflyrc5 said:

From a discussion with an officer on the Rotterdam last year the ship was modified during construction that allows the life boat structure to rotate in several feet which then allows the ship to go through the old locks.  We are on this cruise twice in Jan/Feb 2024.  I am hoping that we get to do one through the old locks so I can see this process of rotating the structure in for clearance and one time through the new locks since we have not seen them.

 

The mid-construction changes to Rotterdam were to allow the ship to go through the NEW locks. The first two Pinnacle class ships had lifeboats hanging out over the water which is banned and those two ships are not allowed through the Canal.

Edited November 20, 2023 by Cruising Is Bliss

[erewhon]

@rafinmd  Roy,  enjoying your reports, hope your foot is improving. Have Fruit Crisps featured on the dessert menu?

[SeaSharp]

15 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I’m not Roy but I was on the Rotterdam a few weeks ago and Edgar told me he was asked to stay on.  He was happy to agree to do so since it meant he was going to spend Christmas with his family.

 

If memory serves me, he was leaving the ship towards the end of November (around the 20th?)

 

I agree with you - he is wonderful.  

Thanks for the news, Kazu!!  He has a bit of a following over on Facebook, so I see his picture pop up occasionally.  

[SeaSharp]

12 hours ago, rafinmd said:

The Maitre'd is now a woman named Nancy.

 

Roy

Thanks Roy.  That's my name, too!!  She's got some big shoes to fill following Edgar.

[rafinmd]

Sunday, November 19, 2023, Visit Panama Canal, Panama

I was up at 5 and went up to deck 14 forward when we were approaching the Atlantic Bridge.

 

My game plan for the day was to move around the ship on the passage into Lake Gatun before the worst heat of the day and be on my balcony for the return to the Atlantic..

 

My approach collage shows, clockwise,  a bit of the process of entering a lock, lining up for the approach, a tug waiting to guide us into the lock, the gate closing for the ship ahead of us in the middle chamber so they can lower the water level in our chamber, and finally the gate opening for us.

I watched the entire process for the first chamber from deck 14 forward, and then moved to the aft lido deck for the middle chamber.  The area between the old and new locks is an island and there are no traditional bridges nor tunnels.  One of the gates at the Atlantic end of the lock serves as a defacto bridge when the gate is closed.

 

It was also a good place to get a view of the water saving ponds which allow re-use of most of the water consumed in locking from one ship to the next.

 

In my early walk to the forward decks I noticed that the door was open at the front of the ship and I went all the way forward on deck 6.  There is just a narrow “porch” there but it was not very crowded and had great sight lines.  

A program feature of Holland America is that on scenic cruising days “the bow” is open for passenger viewing.  I have always thought there were better places and sometimes access to the bow is a bit of an agility challenge, but once on the porch I discovered the bow was immediately below me, and would be quite easy to access.  There were crew and refreshments on the bow.

The original estimate was that we would reach Lake Gatun about 10AM.  The passage through the locks was quite quick and the final gate opened about 8:45.

The early completion of our lock passage left me time to get some writing and relaxing in before my online church service began at 10:30.  

 

At lunch in the lido I saw that we were not the only ship doing a partial transit.  Viking Mars was on the other side of Lake Gatun after transiting the original locks.

 

As we started back through the locks we first passed the visitor center for the Agua Clara Locks.  I visited there in 2017 and the center has great views of the action in the locks.

Next came the control tower where all the works of the Agua Clara Locks is controlled.  The system is set up with interlocks so an operator cannot forget a step and do something in the wrong sequence, which could be catastrophic.

While my intent had been to view the passage to sea from my balcony I quickly found there was nothing to see when the ship was dropping, so I waited back in my cool cabin while we were lowered, going out to the balcony just for the movement from chamber to chamber.

 

I had planned, actually to go down to the Promenade Deck to the final drop so I could get a closeup view of the lock walls once we were back to sea level.  Before leaving my balcony I had noticed an ambulance waiting near the ship, not a good sign.

 

The pilots usually like to keep ships centered in the locks.  From the Promenade deck I could see the ship gradually sliding sideways close enough to get a gangway across to the ship.

A lot of luggage came across the gangway, and then an evacuation chair and the patient’s family, and the patient was transferred to the ambulance cot.  A van pulled up for the luggage and the patient’s family, and the chair was returned to the ship.  Once all this was completed the gangway was removed and we started our descent.  

Neither of Rotterdam’s sister ships can carry passengers through the Panama Canal.  In order for this to be possible with Rotterdam the lifeboat fittings had to be modified so the boats would not hang over the side of the ship (The pilots require an unobstructed view of the entire side of the ship).  I think the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam have a bit of space between the railing and the boats where the crew can easily access the boats.  On Rotterdam, the boats come flush against the railing.  I thought that change might reduce the overhang enough to allow the visibility the pilots require, but I was mistaken.  It will need to be ZERO overhang.  To accomplish this, the boats can slide in another foot or two, with the railing tilting towards the center of the ship.  With the boats in this position, the deck is closed off for public use.

We passed from the Atlantic to Lake Gatun in under 2 hours.  With the medical evacuation the return took about 2:20, and once completed I immediately prepared for dinner, arriving about 15 minutes later than planned.  I chose the Classic Caesar Salad, BBQ pork ribs, and rum raisin ice cream, and was still finished in time for the 6PM interdenominational worship.  It was not one of the better ones and I had to leave early for an activity with my home church.

We gained an hour going to Costa Rica time but we will lose it right back Monday night as we return to Fort Lauderdale time.  I was only up about 15 minutes later than I would have been otherwise.

 

Roy

 

[Vict0riann]

Roy,  Now that we are home and settled again after our Oosterdam cruise, I've been enjoying yours, vicariously!  One question, I noticed you stayed at a Comfort Inn in FLL.  Where was it?  We used to stay at an old one just off 17th Street, but it closed, and also one in Dania Beach.  You mentioned Comfort Inn S, so I wondered where it was. 

 

Also, when we were on Rotterdam in the Spring, I took this picture from our balcony of the lifeboat below us being taken out, it looks like there certainly wouldn't be much space for people to walk when/if   the boats are brought in and the railing lowered!  Just as well to close it off..

 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Thanks for your reports and all the photos. I especially liked the one of the railing folded in. It showed how the process works. It was intriguing.

[USCAdventurer]

thanks for the wonderful pictures going through the locks and your great explanation of what was happening.  youl are really thorough in your knowledge of the locks.  thanks again

[horseymike]

Great reports and photos Roy.

 Thanks again for sharing with us .

[rafinmd]

Monday, November 20, 2023, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

I did not have the best of sleep and was up a little before 5.  With the hour we gained overnight sunrise was quite early and I was not yet moving much but think I caught most of what there was from my balcony.

I don’t know if it was just the luck of the day or a trend but it was a good day for my foot.  While the pain on standing on it often reaches about a 7 it was more typically about a 3 today.

We arrived in Puerto Limon about 7 and were cleared just after 7:30.  I was here a year ago and went into town and found nothing of interest.  The tours are mostly all day affairs.  I noticed on my GPS that we are only about 100 miles from Puerto Caldera on the Pacific side and I think I’ve actually done many of those same tours from there.  This time I never crossed the gangway.  It was a busy day with Viking Mars across the water from us at what appeared to be an overflow dock and MeinSchiff6 on the other side of our dock.

 

It was largely a day of rest although I think I still did more walking than at home.  I noticed from my balcony that one of our lifeboats had been pulled out to the position for loading and I went to investigate a bit.  It was near the bow and I took the forward elevators down to the Promenade Deck.  Those doors were closed off and while in the area checked out the library.  It was not great but looked much better than what was on Koningsdam in 2017.

 

I then checked out access from the midship exits and there was a clear path to the boat ready for deployment.

Here’s also a boat in it’s normal position.

All aboard was 4PM and I went out on the balcony (unfortunately, the side away from the dock) about 4:30.  There were several muffled toots and then several strong toots from us.  I saw ripples in the water fore and aft but we did not move for several more minutes. After several more toots we actually began to back away from the dock.  I could just see Mein Schiff behind us headed out to sea..

 

We left just in time for me to be at Club Orange almost at 5.  My choices for the evening were Classic Caesar Salad, Beechers Macaroni and Cheese, and Apple Crumble Tart.

I did little after dinner with the change in time, heading to bed about 8 Costa Rica time.

 

Roy

 

[dfish]

Roy, when you get home please have that foot checked out.  It is worrying me that it is still painful.  

[510picker]

Thank you for the detailed journaling, Roy! I am on the ship with you and it is interesting to see “my cruise” from someone else’s perspective. I’m hoping to see you around the ship to say hello in person. 

[rafinmd]

I'm in 6105 if you want to give me a call.

 

Roy

[horseymike]

Hi Roy,

Glad your foot felt a little better today.

I have to ask you about the Beecher’s Mac and Cheese , is it really good ?

We are booked on the Rotterdam in March with the Club Orange add on.

I am a Big Mac and cheese guy.

[rafinmd]

37 minutes ago, horseymike said:

Hi Roy,

Glad your foot felt a little better today.

I have to ask you about the Beecher’s Mac and Cheese , is it really good ?

We are booked on the Rotterdam in March with the Club Orange add on.

I am a Big Mac and cheese guy.

It is to me.  I prefer the Club Orange version with the baked crust but it is available in the Lido as well so you can test it for yourself before you make it a dinner.

 

Roy

[horseymike]

Thanks Roy .

[albingirl]

I am enjoying following your cruise very much so!  One thing about Club Orange that I loved is how they all work as a team and the service was fantastic each time we dined there.  I asked the maitre'd for a list of everyone's name who worked there and then gave each one of them recognition to the cruiseline after the cruise.  I thought they deserved special.recognition for their effort.  Thank you for posting your review!

Edited November 21, 2023 by albingirl
spelling error

[mafig]

I've seen Beecher's Mac and Cheese at our local Public (frozen).  

[rafinmd]

A couple of program updates:

 

Orange Party is tomorrow after Montego Bay

On Deck for A Cause is Thursday at 9AM.  It's still for Ukraine.

 

Roy

[aliaschief]

13 hours ago, rafinmd said:

A couple of program updates:

 

Orange Party is tomorrow after Montego Bay

On Deck for A Cause is Thursday at 9AM.  It's still for Ukraine.

 

Roy

Did you bring some Orange clothing Roy? I know you’ll have the ship rocking at the party!😁

[Essiesmom]

On 11/20/2023 at 1:14 AM, Cruising Is Bliss said:

 

The mid-construction changes to Rotterdam were to allow the ship to go through the NEW locks. The first two Pinnacle class ships had lifeboats hanging out over the water which is banned and those two ships are not allowed through the Canal.

Koningsdam did transit the canal westbound on April 11, 2020.  She did not have any passengers.  EM

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Essiesmom

[rafinmd]

Tuesday, November 21, 2023, At Sea, MS Rotterdam

I was up about 5 and the sun rose off my balcony a little after 6:30.

It was a busy morning starting with the Captain’s Q&A on the world stage at 10.  I think our Cruise and Travel Director Tjalling has been under the weather part of the cruise and this was the first time I’ve actually seen him.

After a brief introduction Captain Bas van Dreumel joined him on the stage.  He indicated that the passenger disembarked in the canal and another last minute evacuation in Pureto Limon were doing well.

Captain van Dreumel was the final Master on Rotterdam 6 as she engaged in a mission to support the Covid-stricken Zaandam in getting as many passengers as possible safely through the Panama Canal and into Fort Lauderdale after Zaandam had been turned away in so many places.

 

I did ask a question, it was about the merits of anchors or the newer ships dynamic positioning capabilities, and he said the anchors are still preferred for fuel savings.  He also highlighted the vast increase in efficiency of the newer ships.  In answer to another question he estimated we were about 10 years away from our first female Captain, after one promising woman had left to become a port pilot.

 

Next at 11 was a reception in BB Kings for upper level mariners.  Several medallions were presented for 300, 500, and 700 actual sailing days and the top mariners were recognized, including one lady with over 1700 days at sea.

At noon Captain van Dreumel reported we had sailed 286 miles since Puerto Limon and needed to continue at 17.3 knots to arrive in Montego Bay on time.

 

It was a quiet afternoon including the start of packing.

 

Dinner in Club Orange was Apple, Pear, and Cucumber Salad, Rustic Home Made Lasagna, and Ice Cream. 

I had a quiet night and think I even dozed off a bit at my desk.

 

Roy