We’ve Added a New Feature

We’ve added a new feature on the Eurodam News Blog called “Views From the Yard.” These posts are first-hand accounts direct from the Fincantieri shipyard. Various ENB blog board members and Holland America Line employees will be visiting Eurodam and reporting their impressions until its launch.

Making the Most of the Maiden Voyage – Part 2

Edinburgh Castle.

On Monday, ENB reported on how to make the most out of the first four ports on Eurodam’s maiden voyage. Today, we expand on our chat with Blog Board member Simon Douwes, director of deployment and itinerary planning for Holland America Line, to cover the last four ports.

Stavanger: One of the most scenic ports on any Holland America Line itinerary, Stavanger is situated along the Byfjord — an arm of the Stavangerfjord — in southwestern Norway. Tour the city and countryside with a stop at the Cathedral, built of stone in the 12th and 13th centuries, which is one of the few churches in Scandinavia that has preserved its original design. Be sure not to miss Pulpit Rock in nearby Lysefjord, one of the most photographed sites in the region. The dramatic landscape juts out more than 1,500 feet above the sea.

Newcastle Upon Tyne: A maiden call for Holland America Line, Newcastle, England, brings a 2,000-year-old history and a picturesque backdrop with its location on the left bank of the River Tyne. The most famous views are of the six bridges across the Tyne; the most famous is the Tyne Bridge, the prototype for the much larger Sydney Harbour Bridge. Don’t miss Blackfriars, a 13th-century Dominican monastery, and Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and perhaps the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. York is just a stone’s throw away,

South Queensferry (Edinburgh): “Holland America Line guests rate Edinburgh their second-highest favorite port behind Quebec,” said Douwes. “It was one of the ports that we knew we had to include on the maiden voyage to make it all the more memorable.”

Edinburgh Castle is one of the most visited sites in Scotland. Once guests have ventured up to the highest parts of Edinburgh Castle’s structure, they will be overwhelmed by the spectacular views of the city. Other notable landmarks in Old Town include St. Giles’ Cathedral, the Parliament House and the house of the 16th-century Protestant reformer John Knox. For golf lovers, St. Andrews can be reached from Edinburgh for a round on the famous course.

Invergordon: The legend of the Loch Ness Monster lives on, and guests will have the opportunity to search for the mythical beast from Invergordon with a trip to Inverness and Loch Ness. Near Drumnadrochit, at the eastern end of Glen Urquhart, lay the impressive ruins of Urquhart Castle on a promontory overlooking the lake. For those who aren’t Nessie enthusiasts, 15th-century Cawdor Castle (wrongly linked with Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”) makes an impressive stop, as does Dunrobin Castle, dating from the 13th century, that houses a collection of paintings, art and family memorabilia of the Earls of Sutherland.

Painting a Dutch Masterpiece

Henry Veringa, Holland America Line’s project manager at the yard, just sent ENB these photos of Eurodam’s hull being painted. The ship will get a total of six layers of paint and coatings before going into service: two coats of epoxy primer, one layer of modified epoxy tie coat and three layers of self-polishing, antifouling tin-free paint.

Making the Most of the Maiden Voyage

The Oseberg ship, which was built about 815 A.D., at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

ENB recently sat down with Blog Board member Simon Douwes, director of deployment and itinerary planning for Holland America Line, to discuss Eurodam’s maiden voyage itinerary and how to make it a truly memorable vacation.

The 10-day westward Baltic itinerary, which was outlined in a previous post, was designed to be combinable with the following 10-day eastward cruise for those who wish to take a longer, 20-day voyage. The itinerary planning team also planned the voyage to be totally different from past offerings, including a maiden port, extraordinary scenery and passenger favorites.

In this post we’ll discuss how to get the most out of the first four ports of call.

Copenhagen: The ship embarks guests in the beautiful and cultural city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Guests joining the ship on July 5, 2008, should arrive the day before to allow time to fully explore the city. Tivoli Gardens, a famous amusement park and pleasure garden that opened in 1843, is a must-see for all visitors.

Castles abound in Denmark, and a visit to Copenhagen affords guests the opportunity to go to Kronborg Castle at Elsinore, the setting of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” and Fredensborg Palace, which was built to commemorate the 1720 peace treaty with Sweden and is now the summer residence of the Danish Royal Family. Look out for the “Little Mermaid” celebrating the tales of the city’s own Hans Christian Andersen.

Oslo: Norway’s capital and largest city is one of Douwes’ favorite ports. “It’s one of the nicest berths I know; you’re right in downtown,” he said. “One of the most attractive things in Oslo is the sail into the city. It’s through a very long fjord with lots of interesting history and it’s very scenic.”

In Oslo a visit to the Viking Ship Museum is a must. The museum houses authentic longboats dating from 900-1000 excavated from the mud banks along Oslofjord. Art lovers should stop by the Munch Museum, which contains 5,000 of the artist’s sketches and paintings. The Vigeland Sculpture Park features more than 150 stone and bronze sculptures, symbolizing different stages in the lifespan of mankind. The Parliament building, Royal Palace and Nobel Institute also make interesting stops.

Alesund: One of Norway’s most charming and scenic ports, Alesund (pronounced Olesund) is home to one of the country’s largest fishing harbors. In 1904 the city was devastated by a fire and rebuilt with stone instead of wood, making it one of the few art nouveau towns left in the world. Guests can remain in the city and take the 400 steps up to the Kniven Overlook on Mount Aksla for a stunning panoramic view, or head out toward Trollstigen — the Troll’s Path— passing the impressive Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge. On top of the mountain you can still trace signs from the old road built in 1028 by the Viking King Olav.

Vik/Flam: The ship calls at Vik to drop off guests on specific shore excursions and then continues on to Flam. The spectacular train tour is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for those not afraid of heights! Although the railway is only nine miles, it offers one of the most dramatic train rides in Europe. The valley is very narrow and steep, and the train descends from 2,500 feet to sea level, crossing back and forth across rivers and through 20 tunnels. For those looking for something less daring, explore the region’s rich folk history or visit one of the spectacular waterfalls in the area, including the Tvindefossen and Stalheim falls.

Look for details on the remaining four ports on Wednesday.

Meet the Chief Engineer

Chief Engineer Frank de Vries

Holland America Line veteran Frank de Vries will serve as Eurodam’s chief engineer when the ship debuts next July. The Dutchman, who hails from Ysselmuiden, the Netherlands, has been stationed at the Fincantieri shipyard since April 2007 as part of the supervisory team overseeing the construction and outfitting of the vessel.

His primary role is to make sure that all of the specifications are being met. Additionally, de Vries is there to make sure that all of the spare parts are ordered and stored on board; crew are being trained on new equipment and by the time of delivery they are familiar with the ship’s technical systems and layout and are able to safely operate it.

As chief engineer of Eurodam, de Vries will oversee a team of approximately 65 officers, petty-officers and crew.

After graduating from the Willem Barentsz Maritime Institute, de Vries joined Holland America Line’s Statendam in 1979 as an apprentice engineer officer. He progressed through the ranks and was named chief engineer of the previous Westerdam in 1992.

De Vries met his wife, Hope, in 1986 aboard Rotterdam, where she was a ship’s nurse. She has since retired and now sails full-time as a “spouse on board.” When not on board, the couple enjoys sailing, biking and cooking. They also spend part of their time in Hope’s native Savannah, Ga.

How Does All that Stuff Get on the Ship?

Stan Kuppens

Eurodam Hotel Manager and Blog Board member Stan Kuppens has given us additional insight into what goes into preparing a brand new premium cruise ship for deployment. As he explained in another post, the ship receives about 100 40-foot containers of equipment and supplies that must be unloaded and distributed throughout the vessel.

“The shipyard provides the structure, and the Hotel Department provides the loose items such as the mattresses, towels, sheets, housekeeping cleaning machines, kitchen utensils, pots, pans, dishes, napkins, entertainment supplies, medical supplies, fitness equipment, massage beds, etc.,” Kuppens told ENB. “Basically, all supplies for the Housekeeping Department (including all guest and crew cabins), the Culinary Department (including all kitchens, restaurants and store facilities), the Beverage Department (including all bars), the Administration Department (including Front Office and Shore Excursions), Entertainment Department, Medical Department and Spa Department (including all sauna, massage and fitness equipment).”

Kuppens said that there are about 4,600 general supply items, plus a thousand special-order items: “That would be the recycle bins, trollies, coffee makers, etc.,” he said. “Other items include toilet paper, thousands of clothes hangers and about a thousand medial supplies.”

“Containers are staged so they arrive every day,” Kuppens explained. “We get about 10 per week. They have to be unloaded and the goods moved by hand, with crews having to work around all the wires and construction equipment and materials.”

New crew members mean new uniforms. Kuppens says he orders about 500 uniform sets for newbies. In May, several tailors come aboard to perform alterations. Staff transferring from other vessels bring their uniforms with them.

Starting around April 1, nearly $500,000 worth of food orders begin to arrive. In mid-May, $50,000 in beverages start coming on board and stocking of the bars begins.

In late May, the F&B crew comes aboard and spends five days cleaning the galley before they start preparing meals on board.

“In early June, with less than a month before the maiden voyage, the crew tests everything on the ship,” said Kuppens. “They test the cabins and dine in the dining rooms, filling out a checklist of what works, what needs to be fixed and any items that are missing or need to be replaced.”

Eurodam’s Engines — More Power, Fewer Emissions

One of Eurodam’s main 12-cylinder engines is ready for shipment to the shipyard in Marghera, Italy, from the MaK factory in Rostock, Germany.

In this era of podded propulsion technology, a cruise ship’s engines don’t turn propellers; they are used to generate electricity. Eurodam is being equipped with the very latest in diesel engine technology.

The ship will derive its power from four 12-cylinder V-type and two eight-cylinder in-line engines, manufactured by Germany’s Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. These MaK brand engines are turbocharged, fuel-injected machines with Flexible Camshaft Technology that reduce visible smoke and nitrogen oxide emissions to levels below International Maritime Organization regulations.

The engines are capable of producing 1,000 kilowatts of electricity per cylinder, with a total output of 64 megawatts. Compared to the engines on the Vista-class ships, the MaKs have larger exhaust gas boilers that improve waste-heat recovery in the process that uses exhaust gases to produce steam.

Eurodam Gets its Funnels

Henry Veringa, Holland America Line’s project manager at the yard, sent us these images of the arrival and installation of Eurodam’s funnels.

One of Eurodam’s funnels makes a grand entrance.

A funnel is lifted into place by a large crane.

In the grand tradition of past vessels, Eurodam will have two funnels.

A Different Approach to Entertainment on Eurodam

Bill Prince

ENB recently had a chance to chat with Bill Prince, Blog Board member and Entertainment Director for Holland America Line. While he couldn’t reveal many firm details yet, he did hint that his department is approaching the entertainment offerings on Eurodam from a novel angle:

“The entertainment package is going to be a little different on Eurodam,” said Prince. “We’ll be expanding our programming in the Queen’s Lounge during the evenings to offer more options, particularly during the Europe season for those who like to turn in early anticipating the next day’s port.

“Things will be a little looser on this ship,” Prince continued. “We want to do something other than the traditional go to dinner, go to a show format. What we have in mind involves more spaces, more action, more options.”

Stay tuned for more details to follow in the coming weeks.

Eurodam with Queen Victoria

We just received this photo from Henry Veringa, Holland America Line’s newbuild project manager, who is stationed at the Fincantieri shipyard.

Currently, Eurodam is docked alongside Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria, which enters service later this year. Cunard is Holland America Line’s sister company under the Carnival Corporation & plc umbrella.