Meet HAL's senior staff

[Chivalrygirl]

You ladies have a pic of Mike?

 

Nope sorry John, nobody told me to save everything before I left NZ, and because after 5 weeks the paper was mounting and the cases were choking at the bit, unfortunately I chucked most of the stuff. I had a man choking down me neck as the cases got stuffed.

 

I am a bit like Middle Aged Mum, I really never got to converse with Mike either, us Kiwis tend to put our selves a bit on the back foot, don't like shoving in.

[Chivalrygirl]

But I just had a thought, hopefully when the Statendam calls into Auckland on the 19th I might be able to get my girl to get us a picture. If she can organise it she is hoping to have us onboard for lunch. I hope she can that would be o so :cool:

[SDHALFAN]

Hi Val,

 

Is "your girl" aboard the Statendam by any chance Flor? Flor is a lovely young lady who usually works aboard the Statendam in the Beverage Department. I have met her a couple of times on the Statendam and she always remembers me even though I rarely buy a drink aboard ship.

 

Valerie:)

[Copper10-8]

Cruise Director Michelle Worthley

Being from Victoria, Canada, Michelle used to watch the cruise ships leave Vancouver and saw their lights sail past as they made their journey to Alaska. While completing her degree at the University of Victoria in Public Sector Recreation Administration, she spent time working and traveling abroad. Her passion for travel inspired her to pursue a career in the fast growing cruise industry. Michelle joined Holland America Line's Entertainment Department in 1999. Since that time, she has been involved in the inaugural voyages of the M/S Volendam and the M/S Zaandam and has worked on nearly every ship in the fleet.

 

She enjoys creating memories for our guests that will last forever and takes pride in providing guests a vacation of a lifetime in true Holland America Line style. Michelle met her soul mate, Tim, the Australian Casino Manager on Oosterdam, on the millennium cruise and they were married two years ago.

 

When not at sea, Michelle enjoys spending time with her friends and family including her two sisters, whom have also worked for Holland America Line, one of which is an identical twin!

[daviharr]

Mike Connahan's fiances name is Leah Shlyakhov,Asst.Cruise Dir.(not sure it is Connahan now,as she said she would be changing it shortly).

A great couple,we had the pleasure of sailing with them this fall from Vancouver to Auckland on the "Statendam" They really "made" the cruise!

[kryos]

Rita,

 

There you go! Perfect job for you. I'll write to Head Office and put your name forward as Godmother of the brand new m.s. EURODAM. You can sail whenever you want... Penthouse, of course.;)

 

Stephen

LOL ... oh, yeah. I'm sure they'd pick me ... in a heartbeat. :)

 

Seriously, though ... I wish HAL would consider doing something like what RCCL recently did. Conduct a major search looking for a "regular person" to be the Godmother of that new ship ... someone who has consistently made the world a better place for her fellow man. I think RCCL chose a woman who had served as a foster mom for something like 140 kids over her lifetime? Now that's someone worthy of being Godmother ... and who should stay gratis in the Penthouse suite every year!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Copper10-8]

Mike Connachan, born in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, was introduced to the hospitality industry on a visit to Whistler, Bristish Columbia. Impressed by the quality of service offered at a particular hotel, Mike immediately wanted to take part. Shortly after, he was hired at the same hotel as Concierge. After his stint out west, he decided to return to school and received a degree in Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts at Humber College in Toronto. Subsequently, Mike held numerous positions such as Director of Marketing, Food and Beverage Manager, and Guest Relations Manager in various hotels across Canada. Mike's family, originally from Scotland, spent many summers traveling across the Atlantic to visit relatives. He contracted the "travel bug", and decided to take his hotel experience out to sea. He has spent the last several years in various positions aboard Holland America Line Vessels, and has enjoyed every minute of this spectacular adventure. Mike most recently got engaged to the woman of his dreams, who he met while working on the high seas over 3 years ago. As Cruise Director, he takes pride in making others feel right at home, and he enjoys creating a memorable vacation experience for everyone. According to Mike, there is no other job in the world that can be as enjoyable and gratifying as this, and hopes that the laughter and entertainment he shares with you will remain as a memory for many years to come.

We just had Mike last week as C/D on Ryndam. Very polished guy, comfortable in front of crowds, easily approachable. I rate him right up there with the best. Oh yeah, his fiancee, Leah Shlyakhov, was on board also but no longer as Asst Cruise Director. She was the future cruise consultant which HAL now has onboard all their ships. Captain P.J. made an announcement during the Mariner's reception that they (Mike and Leah, not him and Leah;) ) are getting married this June in Tahoe. Here's Mike's pic and one of them both (kinda dark, sorry)

[Love Cruises]

We met Mike Connachan on our MAASDAM cruise in October/2004 when he was an assistant cruise director. He was a lot of fun and we were glad to hear later on that he had become a Cruise Director.

 

We originally met Leah in July/2004 on the ROTTERDAM. Then, lucky for us, we met up again with her on the STATENDAM last May/2006. At that time she told us that Mike was the Cruise Director on the AMSTERDAM and after her contract ended on the STATENDAM, she was joining him on board. She didn't have a contract lined up but hoped HAL would find something for her. What a lovely girl she is and how very hard she works!!!

 

We are so happy to hear now that they are engaged and getting married soon. Hopefully, the changes that HAL seems to be making with the cruise staff won't effect them and we will see them on a HAL ship in the future.

 

Thanks again for all the information you have added to this thread. We find it extremely interesting and look to it from time to time as we travel on more HAL ships.

[ger_77]

Hi John, I've enjoyed reading through this thread the past number of months. I'm going to help fill in some of the blanks, although I don't have photos to accompany the bios. I'll start with Fekko Ebbens - our Hotel Manager on the Prinsendam in June/04:

 

Hotel Manager Fekko Ebbens

Fekko Ebbens has truly climbed the ladder with Holland America, having joined April 1, 1965. Starting as a Restaurant Steward, he progressed to Wine Steward, Bar-Lounge-Deck Steward, Bartender, Head Steward, Assistant Maitred'Hotel, 2nd Maitre d'Hotel, Food and Beverage Controller, and Food and Beverage Manager. He has been Hotel Manager since 1979.

 

Mr. Ebbens was born and raised on a farm in the Netherlands and currently resides in Groningen, a city in the north. He enjoys horseback riding, swimming and bicycling (when time permits) and enjoys sailing the high seas as it provides "constant travel to interesting places in the world."

 

With the choice of anywhere in the world to spend his vacation, he said he would choose the Seychelles islands.

 

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Copper10-8]

Captain Peter Harris

 

A native of England, Peter spent his childhood in East Afrika, where his father was harbor master. Voyaging from and to East Afrika and generally "messing about in boats" inspired Peter to continue the seafaring tradition. Starting as an apprentice with the P & O S.N. Company, he worked on cargo and passenger vessels before obtaining his Second Mate's Certificate. Peter also decided to study for a Bachelor of Science Degree. Having obtained his Degree and a Master's Certificate, he settled back into cruising with P & O/Princess.

In 1982 his ship was converted into a hospital ship for the campaign to liberate the Falkland Islands. At the end of the campaign, his ship became a troop transport, and Peter found himself in charge of a Ghurka Brigade! In 1988, with a family on the way, Peter wanted to spend more time at home, so he transferred to ferries crossing the English Channel. However, he never lost his love for cruising, and eventually joined Holland America Line where he spent five years on the Veendam, his first command. He has also been Master of the Volendam, for the Asia Pacific Explorer Cruise in 2002, the Ryndam and Westerdam.

[Copper10-8]

Hi John, I've enjoyed reading through this thread the past number of months. I'm going to help fill in some of the blanks, although I don't have photos to accompany the bios. I'll start with Fekko Ebbens - our Hotel Manager on the Prinsendam in June/04

 

Thanks Ger!I do (but a not a very good one;) ). Fekko just sailed (or is sailing) his last cruise and will soon be leading the retired life

[ger_77]

And Captain Arjen van der Loo - he's such a nice man, and verrrry easy to look at!;) We had the privilege of having him as the Captain of the Maasdam in February of this year.

 

Captain Arjen C. van der Loo

Born in Nieuwer-Amstel, a village wedged between Amsterdam and Schiphol Amsterdam International Airport, Arjen saw for the first time, ships sailing through the harbor. His father took him regularly to the Sea-Locks near IJmuiden, where the large ships transit from the salty North Sea to the fresh water harbor of Amsterdam. He was often looking at the horizon and wondering what was behind it.

 

Following four years of Nautical College in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, Arjen first set out to sea on board an expedition vessel, exploring the west coast of Africa and the Orinoco River delta in Venezuela. After his return he joined Holland America Line as a 4th Officer. Climbing up the ranks rapidly, Arjen enjoyed sailing on many of the longer grand voyages, including six world cruises on board the s.s. Rotterdam, m.s. Rotterdam, and m.s. Amsterdam.

 

When not sailing the seven seas, he loves to read books, meet his friends, cook delicious meals, train for a marathon next year, master his P.C., and enjoy wine tasting at the vineyards surrounding his house in Santa Rosa, California.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[ger_77]

And finally, CD David W. Martin - he was our CD on the Maasdam this February.

 

Cruise Director David W. Martin

David was born and raised in the colorful and exotic port of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A musician, David worked in various show bands since the age of 16. He graduated Point Park University for Broadcasting and worked as a DJ for several years before starting his own entertainment agency in 1992. For 15 years he coordinated entertainment for corporate clients such as Sony, Heinz, and PPG, to name just a few.

 

His background in family-oriented entertainment caught the attention of the producers of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and he produced many public events with the cast of that legendary PBS children's show. He worked for the Pittsburgh Steelers as their Director of Game Day Entertainment and held similar positions with the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

 

When the call from Holland America Line came, David jumped at the chance to put all of his entertainment and event experience to work at sea and make each and every cruise a memorable, fun and entertaining experience for all.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Copper10-8]

And Captain Arjen van der Loo - he's such a nice man, and verrrry easy to look at!;) We had the privilege of having him as the Captain of the Maasdam in February of this year.

Thanks a bunch! And another, not so good, pic!

[Copper10-8]

Cruise Director Jason Venner

Jason was born and raised in the great Pacific Northwest. Originally from Seattle, Washington, he now resides just south in Portland, Oregon. As a child, he spent his years on a ranch in the Columbia River Gorge where his mother home schooled him. The ranch is located in a remote region of the Strawberry Mountain range and is without running water, electricity or telephones! Jason spent his youth in the quiet outdoors and that is where he became aware of the first of his two great passions; adventure sports!

Jason attended Linfield College on an academic scholarship where he studied leadership and communications while exploring his sports passion through scuba diving, mountain/rock climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping, backpacking and playing collegiate football. His dreams of furthering his foootball career ended early due to an unfortunate car accident and it was then that he found his second great passion; travel! After graduating with a B.A. in Business Management, Jason went to sea as part of the Holland America Line Entertainment team.

 

It has been an incredible journey and he is now very proud to say that he has touched all 7 continents and over 75 countries! Some of Jason's many sailing highlights include being part of the build and launch team of the Oosterdam and Westerdam. He was very excited to have also been chosen as the Inaugural Cruise Director of the Noordam!

[Copper10-8]

Cruise Director Billy Rogers

Billy was born, and raised at an early age, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, best known for being Canada's capital city. As a child, he spent his time playing one of Canada's greatest traditions and one of his own passions; ice hockey! After 23 years on skates, he decided it was time to take a more serious approach to life and explorer new opportunities. This is when he discovered another of his passions....travel!

Before completing 4 years at Ryerson University in Toronto, earning his Bachelor of Commerce Degree with a major in Hospitality Management and a minor in Finance, he spent a year in his beat-up Camaro traveling across Canada seeing what his own beautiful country had to offer before wandering off to strange and exotic places around the world. Troughout his university career, Billy spent time living in Japan and New Zealand before his opportunity to work at sea came up.



"Working with Holland America Line allows me to combine two of my newfound passions, travel and hospitality. Nothing makes me happier than to stand on stage and see 1,800 smiling faces enjoying their vacation!" It has been an incredible journey and he is now very proud to say that he has touched 6 of 7 continents and over 40 countries! Some of Billy's many sailing highlights include being part of the build and launch team of the new M/S Noordam (released in February of last year) and also getting to be a personal escort of Regis Philbin and his wife on M/S Rotterdam in the Baltic. Billy is very proud to be part of the Westerdam team as he truly believes this is the finest ship in the fleet

[BruceMuzz]

CD Jason Venner joined Oosterdam this week. He will be onboard for her first few months of Alaska cruising.

[sail7seas]

We saw Jason on Noordam for her Inaugural and then again when he boarded Noordam in January as Drew Murdock was leaving. Great guy. We think very highly of him. Always so pleasant and accessible and capable.

[Copper10-8]

CD Jason Venner joined Oosterdam this week. He will be onboard for her first few months of Alaska cruising.

 

Thanks for the hot tip, Mr. Muzz

[Copper10-8]

Captain Wieger van der Zee

 

Captain van der Zee was born in Wonji, Ethiopia, where his father worked as a civil engineer. The Captain’s love of the sea seems to stem from the genes in his family. His mother’s ancestors were traders, trading eel in Holland and abroad. As a matter of fact, his last name, “van der Zee” literally translates to “from the sea”. Captain van der Zee attended the Nautical Academy on the island of Terschelling in Northern Holland, and gained his first stripe as an able bodied seaman on cargo ships.

 

His career with Holland America Line began in 1981 onboard the Veendam III as a 4th Navigational Officer. A nomad at heart, he enjoys the adventure and variety of life offered by the high seas. Having worked on all of Holland America Line’s vessels, he votes the Volendam as one of his favorites.

 

In addition to his love of the sea, the Captain is also an avid golfer, scuba diver and baseball fan (Go Marlins!). When he’s not at sea, the Captain resides near the sea in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

[Copper10-8]

Cruise Director Rebecca Hannam

Rebecca has always had a love of the entertainment industry. Born in Whitehorse, Yukon she soon found herself “hit by the travel bug” while competing and performing dance as a young girl in places such as Las Vegas and Orlando. Continuing her artistic pursuits, she moved to Toronto, Ontario and graduated from Ryerson Polytechnic University from the Theater-Dance program. Shortly thereafter she found herself choreographing throughout the country including a part of the productions for the 2001 Canada Summer Games in London, Ontario. With a strong desire to spread her love of the arts she co-founded “The Blue Martini Theater Company” in Toronto, producing works by Canadian playwrights.

Having grown up surrounded by the “seas of wheat” in Regina, Saskatchewan, the mysteries of life on the water had always fascinated her. She began inquiring about jobs abroad and she soon found herself embarking on what has been the greatest adventure of her life. She joined Holland America Line’s MS Veendam in 2002, and has since sailed upon the MS Rotterdam, MS Statendam, MS Ryndam, MS Zuiderdam and MS Volendam ships.

She currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where she leases an apartment to house her collection of shoes, while she travels abroad.

[Copper10-8]

Captain Albert Schoonderbeek

Capt. Albert J. Schoonderbeek, BSc, MNI, was born in the eastern part of the Netherlands in a town called Ede. In 1976 he entered the oldest Maritime Academy in the world, “De Kweekschool voor de Zeevaart,” in Amsterdam and did his seagoing apprenticeship in 1979. Upon graduation he found employment with Holland America Line, the only Dutch company that operated cruise ships. He joined the old SS Statendam in 1981 and has never looked back. Apart from being employed onboard cruise ships, cruise ships are also the Captain’s hobby. The result of this “hobby” was that he co-authored the official company history, published to mark 125 years of Holland America Line in 1998. His latest venture was the publication of a limited edition of the Memoirs of Capt. C Haagmans, who sailed for 54 years, of which 44 were with Holland America Line, in a career that spanned two world wars and the heyday of North Atlantic Travel.

When time allows he writes articles for cruise magazines and gives lectures about Holland America Line history. During the Grand World Voyage of 1987, on the old SS Rotterdam V, he met his bride to be, Lesley. They were married in 1991 and currently live in England. As both are devoted cruise fans, they like to take “busmans holidays” on cruise ships of other company’s. As the captain says: ”It is always interesting to see what the grass looks like on the other side of the fence”. Although he might have a biased view, he is still convinced after several cruises with “the others” that Holland America is the best there is.

[Nutrioso]

Copper John --- Greetings from Arizona. I have been reading your postings tonight and it occured to me that all your HAL info/data should be published. I think a lot of HALers would purchase a book having all the info re crew, ships, etc. --- PENNY

[samsonmo]

Cruise Director Pieter Daems

Cruise Director Pieter Daems still calls Gouda (pronounced Howda) in the Netherlands, home. Born and raised in the famous cheese town, and before being lured to sea, Peter worked as a travel agent in Holland for approximately ten years. This gave him the ability to venture to many great places all over the world. Nine years ago, Peter cruised as a passenger on the Statendam in the Caribbean and thoroughly enjoyed his cruising experience. It was the genuine friendliness of the ship's officers, staff and crew as well as the great entertainment that enticed him to more of the ...dam ships. After this voyage he was simply hooked on the idea of having a life upon the sea, a dream for a ten-year travel professional.

 

Peter quickly worked his way on to Holland America in only six months after that initial pleasure cruise and was first employed as International Cruise Staff, a job that aforded him the chance to use his talents as a linguist (he speaks five languages fluently). Of course, when working and cruising with people from so many nationalities, this talent is invaluable.

 

When not at sea, Peter likes to spend as much time as possible with his fiancee Lauren. His greatest hobbies are scuba diving and playing a mean game of tennis.

Unfortunately:( Peter is no longer- as far as we know- working on Prinsendam or other HAL ship as he is now a married man. Peter was a real icon and made all of our trip on board of Prinsendam very memorable:o. If anyone has peter his e-mail address please let us know as we love to drop him a line.

[Love Cruises]

John (Copper 10-8):

 

We were on the msNOORDAM from Sept. 30 thru Oct. 20 for the Panama Canal repositioning cruise from Seattle to NYC. Just wanted to add on to the great list you started of some of the HAL staff.

 

CAPTAIN -- JOHN SCOTT (same write-up as THREAD #60)

 

CRUISE DIRECTOR -- TREVOR MILLAR

Trevor was born just west of Toronto in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Throughout highschool he showed a flair for performing and public speaking through appearances in an award-winning school play, several musical productions and as head of the branch of student council responsible for all school activities. It was in school that he discovered his passion for customer service while working as a lifeguard, followed by front desk agent, at a local hotel. His love for skiing and snowboarding beckoned him to the west coast of Canada to a resort town called Whistler in British Columbia. It was here that he not only got to snowboard eighty-days a year, but also got his first hotel management position as the front desk manager of a 136 room hotel at the age of nineteen. Sice that first management job, he has many leadership positions in businesses, from helping to open a four-star hotel in Vancouver to playing key roles in the fledgling live-online auction business. Success in one of these ventures afforded Trevor the luxury of taking a year off work and spending it honing his latest passion - surfling. Working as a Cruise Director was one of Trevor's goals for a long time, as it seemed a beautiful blend of serving people through entertaining them. He hopes that his love for what he does shines through in all your interactions with him and he wished without exaggeration that you have the vacation-of-a-lifetime with him here onboard the Noordam.

 

HOTEL MANAGER -- RENE TUINMAN

Still in his teen, Rene realized that his hometown, the lovely provincial town of Groningen in the Netherlands, was a great place to live but had little to offer for someone wanting to make a career in the 5 star Hospitality Industry. Rene enrolled in the prestigious Hotel school in The Hague, Institute for Hospitality Management and graduated four years later with a Degree in Hospitality Management which would take him around the world. After working for a variety of renowned businesses, such as, the classic grand hotels Des Indes and the Kurhaus in the Hague, Walt Disney's World's Grand Floridian Beach Resort, and several Caribbean All Inclusive Resorts, Rene joined Holland America Line in 1992 to "try it out for a few months". He immediately liked the HAL ships, their guests and their crew and 15 years later that hasn't changed a bit. When not on board a luxury liner, Rene switches his life style and together with his wife Judy enjoys world travel, wilderness trekking, camping and sailing.