sailingdutchy

Thank you for asking Graham We had a nice afternoon at mom’s place , at 97 she still lives at home in a large house and has the nicest lawn in the neighbourhood . We are blessed with her being in great health . Yesterday we went to the Chinese restaurant together and today it was cake and Prosecco Blow hard mom …… With the children and grandchildren Tony 😍😍

Good morning to all on this nice and festive Sunday for our family , thank you for the Daily to Rich and all the other contributors . Today I just put together a small collection of pictures from our last years Anniversary cruise on the Rotterdam which ended up ten days later in Amsterdam . The pictures are from one of the departures from A’dam towards the North Sea at IJmuiden , the tulip fields near the Keukenhof , the Frans Hals museum in Haarlem and the Zaanse Schans ( Zaandam ) near Amsterdam. All beautiful places within an hour from A’dam to visit . Amsterdam near the Cruise Terminal with the Central Station and the port for the Rhine river cruises The locks at IJmuiden to the North Sea , sometimes IJmuiden is used as embarkation port . Tulip fields between Keukenhof and Haarlem Wonderful day with my cousin Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem The real Dutch - Indonesian Rijst tafel Zaanse Schans where Tsar Peter the Great learned about ship building . As you can see when you start or end up in Amsterdam there is lots and lots to see and do , all within a short distance from Amsterdam. Have a nice Sunday , hope to see you in the next Port …….. we are off to get a piece of birthday cake from Mom . Tony 😁😁 PastedGraphic-6.tiff

Thank you for another very nice Daily Rich and all other contributors . I am late to the party today but could not let the Port of Livorno go without posting some pictures . We were a few times in Livorno going on small group tours (9) different times to Pisa , Florence , San Gimigliano , Voltera and Luca ( Love to also see Sienna next time ) Hope I am not duplicating any pictures already posted today This very special photo was not taken with a special purpose . DW wanted to take this nice ice cream cart through this store window and only when we came home and I sorted all of our pictures on my computer , it showed in the reflection the famous tower of Pisa ! It would not have come out this nice if she had tried to do this. This is only a picture of the “doppleganger “ of the real David , who of coarse stands well protected inside this nice museum That was Pisa, Florence , San Gimigliano and now a few pictures from a different cruise in 2022 when we went to Sienna which is another lovely place to visit. Amazing to see all of the details on the facade and the workmanship The famous piazza where the annual " Palio di Siena " horse race is held . And to finish the day this was a beautiful spot for a tasting of the heavenly wines , oils and foods of this area. A wonderful weekend to all . We are going to celebrate DW’s mom 97th BD at the Chinese for tomorrow. Tony 😄😄

Good morning / afternoon to all CC family and thank you to all the Daily contributors . We were on the Nieuw Statendam in March of 2022 and on the 19th of March I finally was able to step on shore of this part Dutch and part French Island that as a youngster had to learn so much about in school during geography lessons and today it is still a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands A few pictures from our nice tour to both sides of the Island and I will try not to duplicate too much . Philipsburg I found the Little Mermaid on Saint Maarten …… And a very old iguana We must be on the French side by now and had a nice stop at Maison Chocolat for some treats At the Fort on the North side of the Island with the market below on the peninsula Going back across the “ border “ to the Dutch side And like many others went to THAT beach to see how close we good get to see and feel the planes. Everybody would stand of coarse near the “ Do not stand “ spot We got pretty close We have been to the ABC Islands a number of times and this day it was great to see some of the rest of the former Dutch Antilles . Have a great day everybody , cheers ! Tony 😁😁

Good afternoon all , I am very late to the party , have been busy making a huge pot of beautiful tomato soup with the good fruit from my garden , but I love to show a few very nice pictures of Trieste , I know everybody wants to see Venice but they do not want us anymore , we don’t spend enough money . ........... But they still want to built our new ships there ! Trieste is a very nice city to explore on your own or to use as a place to go into Slovenia which is a beautiful country to visit , I of coarse have to say that because this is the country that gave me my dear wife or as everybody says on CC , DW . This was turnaround day when we were on the Oosterdam on Sept 27 , 2022 , we just got of the ship and walked almost right away in to the heart of the city I won’t tell you the names of the buildings because in half an hour you forget the names anyways Wrong guy hon Yes this is the life ! ( At home I am not allowed Coke anymore , I was told it is bad for you ) Back on board the Oosterdam . This to show you how close we are here to Slovenia look at this mountain ridge behind their you are already in Slovenia , go there you will love it ! As you can see we left quite late because we only had to go a few miles to reach Koper the next morning as the crow flies about 15 miles . We had a very nice day in Trieste and hope to get back there soon . Cheers everybody ! Tony 😁😁

Good morning all , another nice port today from Rich , Nagasaki , we were there on Oct 18 , 2017 on the Volendam . As a matter of fact we were suppose to go there for a second time a couple of weeks later but for political reasons , “ bad” weather and an extra day in Shanghai our itinerary was changed and we had to cancel our tour for the second day in Nagasaki . So our tour through Nagasaki was likely quite different than what many others have done , with our small group and Miyuki our guide we first went by streetcar to the Mt Inasa Observation platform ( 333 m ) to have a great view of Nagasaki and learned of its history. From there we visited Dejima , formally a small island first occupied by the Portuguese and taken over by the Dutch . From this small island all the trade was conducted between Europe and Japan in the 1800’s . After a nice lunch in Chinatown , we went by streetcar to Teramachi where we visited a number of temples all very close to each other . The most famous one the Kofukuji temple ( Zen Sect.- 1620 ) Last place for the day we visited the “ Megane - bashi “ the Spectacles bridge A great day was had by all back into port the skies broke open but we received a farewell from the school band anyways ! In 2019 we were suppose to go back to Nagasaki on the Westerdam , instead we roamed the seas for a large number of days , you all know what happened ....... Tony 😁😁

Thank you Graham

Good afternoon all , I am very late today and good thoughts and wishes for all my Cruise Critic friends on this Daily get together . We arrived in Haifa , Israel on October 24th , 2016 thanks to Captain Jeroen Schuchmann while on the Prinsendam with blue skies . Our friend Paula had organized a small group tour on a mini bus to go to Tel Aviv - Jaffa and Caesarea which is a full day and first drove to the top of the hill to see the gorgeous Baha’i Gardens. The Elegant Explorer .......The Prinsendam ! From there we drove to the Caesarea’s National Park with the Roman Theater Hey , I see some very good friends here , Ann and Pat and their DD Cathy and Dear Martha From there we walked to the Caesarea Harbour built by King Herod and which area is still being excavated for additional buildings and treasures . At the time King Herod build this large harbour and started this large Port . The public bath house From there we went to Tel Aviv where we saw the spot where the former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin was murdered in 1995 Our next stop was going through the Gardens of Jaffa for a nice long ….......walking tour and going over the Wishing Bridge , I first had to move a tree that was in our way ........ We will have to ask Cathy if her wishes came true Beautiful beaches Time to get back to port , captain is waiting he is ready to leave by the time we got back ……........ plus I now need my 3rd cup of coffee and these are enough pictures for today Tony 😄😄

We also had the pleasure of landing in Pago Pago on the Oosterdam in 2013 on April 21st , I had no tour booked instead I went for a long walk all by myself around the harbour inlet , a beautiful area . I am a little late today had to first watch Max Verstappen win the Dutch Formula 1 Grand Prix in his native land and my country of birth , the Netherlands , I have never seen this kind of atmosphere at a Formula 1 race as this one in Zandvoort specially when Andre Rieu played the National Anthem , the tears came close.......! So will now tell you about the very special day I had in Pago Pago on April 21st , 2013 …………... Again this was quite a special day for me because it happened to be my second birthday in two days ! After we visited Apia , Samoa on April 21st we crossed the dateline and the next day when we landed in Pago Pago it was April 21st again so I had 2 BD cakes in 2 days ! How often does that happen in your lifetime ? The choir in the Canaletto singing Happy Birthday in Indonesian to the tune of “ Lang zal ze leven “ which really is a Dutch BD song but sand in Bahasa . Thank you Rich @richwmn for reminding me of this special once in a lifetime birthday celebration ! Have a great day everybody ! Tony 😀😀

A few more pictures of Copenhagen from This years cruise while on the MS Rotterdam on April 22nd after the 150 Year Anniversary cruise On our way to the Little Mermaid going through the old city walls Here she is ……I believe she has since received a new head from when we were here 10 years ago ……. The flowering cherry trees which were a present from Japan to Denmark The lovely and colourful Nyhavn district Hotel Angleterre Nice little rest spot for lunch with of coarse a Tuborg beer on our full day walking tour . Statue of Bishop Absalon (1128-1201 ) the founder of Copenhagen Copenhagen is a very nice and pedestrian friendly city to explore With the Metro and the bus returning to the new cruise port a way out of the city centre with very good public transportation . Have a great weekend everybody ! Tony 😁

I have a few pictures today of Copenhagen , Denmark from our Baltic cruise from 10 years ago on Rotterdam VI Royal Palace And Tivoli Almost ready to take off to Northern Germany One of the older cruise ports I possibly might be back sometime today to post some of this years pictures of Kopenhagen Tony 😄

Good morning all readers and contributors of the Cruise Critic Fleet report and Daily News , with a special thanks to Rich @richwmn Some pictures from our cruise while on the Volendam from Vancouver , Canada to Hong Kong ( Sept 2017 - Nov 2017 ) Oops bad start ......... but it says Welcome to Keelung ......... Sights we saw after docking in Keelung in November of 2017 on Mount Keelung Lets start our tour with a very nice lunch after we reached Taipei the capital of Taiwan Entering the grounds where the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall stands in memory of the Generalissimo and former President of the Republic of China. We arrived exactly on time to witness the change of the guards The guide we had positioned us right in the centre just behind the red carpet so we had the best place to watch the change of the guards which was amazingly precise . Leaving the Memorial Hall Officially this square behind the palace is called Liberty Square . Don’t know the game they were playing , don't think it is Mexican Train .......but it was intense …... Visiting one of the most famous temple in Taipei . A sample of some of the integrate and ornate decorative art in the temples Offerings on a special day in this temple on display So I will end with our visit of the market on the ground floor of this Yes this is that same tower , Taipei 101 , you saw earlier today ……...maybe a slightly different angle Hope I did not take up too much space today ....have a great weekend everybody . Have to help DW make a great big pot of spaghetti sauce with our beautiful tomatoes . Tony 😄😁

Yes it really was a very special cruise @smitty34877 their first one and I think they are hooked now .

You are very welcome Cat & Dave @Ichiban Nekko we had a very nice time with our Canadian Captain from New Brunswick that day and of coarse we also talked Ice hockey , if I remember well he used to be a goalie which seen his size would be frustrating for the opposing team , he towers over me and I am not a small person . Best wishes for you two on the Rotterdam in December , the MS Rotterdam has two wonderful Captains ! Tony

Thank you very much Graham @grapau27 it sure was a lovely day ............so maybe after seeing this you should jump on one of these wonderful Blue Hulled Beauties and book this for Pauline but keep it as a surprise for her until she gets on board ship like I did .

Congratulations Graham and Pauline , @grapau27 and by sheer coincidence I had prepared this post for today on the Daily News ....................... ! Today I would like to share with you a few pictures of a very special celebration while on board the Koningsdam 4 years ago yesterday , on August 19 2019 . Martha and I renewed our vows in front of Captain Darin Bowland just a few months after we had celebrated our 50th while we were at sea in the Mediterranean going from Santorini , Greece to Napels, Italy . We were blessed to be able to do this in front of our daughter Natascha , her husband and our two grandsons Jackson and Spencer. To show how wonderful and memorable Holland America and Captain Bowland made this special day for us I will include some very personal pictures. ************************* In consultation with my daughter I had booked this ceremony for Martha and I , so she was not aware I had booked this , I had only asked my daughter what she thought of my plan and what she thought of how mam would react . The day we came on board ship ……..this was waiting for us roses and a letter from the Captain , so I had to explain everything on the first day of what I had done ……. and she did not throw me overboard ! We also received a very nice official Certificate but it has too much personal info to post here . If you feel inclined to do something like this I can fully recommend it , we will also always remember this day on board the Koningsdam ! Tony 😍😍

Bonaire is part of the Lesser ( Leeward ) Antilles and has now a special status as a municipality within the Kingdom of the Netherlands . Population of about 21.000 and the capital city is Kralendijk. We have had the pleasure to go there a couple of times on one of the BHB’s and the last time was on Jan 19th 2018 while on the Koningsdam than with our good friends Ann and Pat and cruise friends from the Netherlands . Don’t know about that one ……….. but I will give it to you ……... There are lots of wild donkeys on the island A toast to a very nice day at the Librije Dinner that evening . We sure missed you Ann @VictOriann ! Appetizer from the menu “Oysters on the Beach ! “ And a very, very different "Dutch " Apple tart ….. The ABC Islands are a great escape from winter destination with almost steady temperatures of 28 degrees C with a nice breeze but no huge storms . Also Bonaire is one of the nicest destinations in the world to go diving in heavily protected waters ! Dear SIL and Grandson diving near the Salt pier How do they do that , I can't even float ......... I was only able to do that in the Dead Sea ! Tony 😄

We have been a few times on Curacao while cruising and also have been there on a twee week stay vacation when our Dutch cruise friends invited us to stay at their lovely condo . So I have lots of pictures but will try to post some different ones that have been posted over the last couple of years . First a night into the town of Willemstad starting with a dinner at the Gouverneur . Walking the floating Queen Emma Bridge that connects the Punda and Otrobanda neighbourhoods Going for a authentic. Rijsttafel dinner at a Dutch Indonesian restaurant " Batik Asli” Going for a large harbour tour which is behind the newer Juliana Bridge Visiting a local art exhibition including a place where a Dutch artist was building his Cathedral with the thorny branches that he harvest around the island . Symbols of a number of all the old and also modern “ religions “ are housed in the cathedral …….. Relaxing around the pool , it is almost 29 degrees C year-round with very little chance of large storms on Curacao . Walking around colourful Willemstad to the floating market where the Venezuelan’s on their boats sell their fresh produce Exploring the Island a little further . The Ostrich Farm And just relaxing with a book Next time some more pictures from other very nice parts of Curacao . Tony 😁😁

Good morning to all members of the Daily family and thank you again to Rich @richwmn and all other contributors who are keeping the Daily Fleet Report and Daily News going . I thought I had posted pictures earlier of Noumea but must have been busy in the garden the last couple of years in August. We were in Noumea , New Caledonia while on the Oosterdam on a lovely cruise in 2013 from Auckland , New Zealand all the way to Vancouver , Canada . I had set up a small group tour for 8 of us with a local guide who took us into the hills around the port to show us the beautiful nature and also the small village where he lived . Noumea is the Capital of the South Pacific archipelago and overseas French territory of New Caledonia situated on the main island Grand Terre . It is known for the beaches and the native Kanak influences a unique mix of French and old Melanesian culture . During WW II the US built a Naval base there which served as the headquarters of the US military in the South Pacific It was a very warm day despite the grey clouds so our guide took us also to his place for a welcome coconut water drink . A lovely day was had by all , so nice to see and experience local communities and cultures . Tony 😄😄

When we went to the Cayman Islands on one of our very first cruises I remember that day very well because we went to Hell !!!! Tried to find the nice pictures that I had taken but can't find them anymore , they disappeared the Devil must have grabbed them ...........! Tony 🙄

For a change something different from Tony When sailingdutchy does not sail , he also has a few hobbies to keep him occupied and this is one of them Just this morning I harvested my garlic that I planted last November Also started picking the pole beans , bush beans were a disappointment after the deer jumped my fence Tomatoes are getting close to finally , these are heritage “Brandywine “ a delicious beefsteak-shaped fruit . They are named after Brandywine Creek in Chester County , PA Cucumbers are done so is my kale after the rabbits finished them up , but made a lot of kale soup for in the winter. Still picking leaf lettuce that has been wonderful since May . This is how it started in May after we came home from the " Rotterdam “ Lettuce , radishes , green onions , shallots some herbs and beans Second garden , tomatoes , cucumber , peas, kale, kohlrabi, beans, squash and celery That's my throne in the back ..... And a small rhubarb plot that I just started late last year . Great hobby to have with good healthy benefits , nothing is sprayed . Tony 😄😄

Wow this is now 3 days in a row that I can show you my pictures ! We had the great pleasure on October 31st , 2016 while we were on the Prinsendam , the " Elegant Explorer “ to go the the Island of Gozo on a tour with a small group together with our good friends Ann and Pat and DD Cathy @VictOriann With our minibus we drove to the Northern part of the Main Island where we got on board the Gozo Ferry that would take us to the smaller island of Gozo I kind of like this picture taken from on the ferry at our arrival on Gozo Gozo is quite different from the main island , qua culture , scenery and also history so there are lots of pictures to chose from today , hope to show a nice selection here without too much description. After visiting the two historic sites we drove to the North West coast of Gozo to see this natural wonder the “ Azure Window " a natural bridge developed from nature which started from the beginning of the 1800’s Another look at this amazing natural phenomenon , look at the scale of this with people standing on top .......... I am really happy to show you this nice picture , but also very sad because the Azure Window is no more , …… After a storm on March of 2017 , this huge 92 foot high pillar ……. Completely disappeared into the sea after a very large storm in the Mediterranean ……..just 6 months after we were there ! Sharing this delicious platter " A Taste of Malta " with everything on it with for 4 of us ! Waiting in the departure hall for the ferry back to the main island A wonderful day was had by all of beautiful Gozo ……….glad we had an overnight in Valetta to be able to do this . Have a wonderful Sunday everybody ! Tony 😄

Are you ready for another very long post ....... Another very nice Port today ! We had the pleasure to get to Hakodate while on the Transition Cruise on the Volendam on Oct 11th , 2017 , the weather was a little bit windy and the day started of with some rain but we had a wonderful tour with 8 of us in a “ Smile Jumbo Taxi “ with our driver /guide Hideo . Like I said the day started quite rainy and windy but our driver had umbrellas for each of us on board , notice the white gloves that Hideo wore all day and he had nice clean and ironed white head covers on our seats in the taxi . We first went up the mountain near Hakodate to the National park to have a great view over the city and walked over to the Gokoku Shrine where some special ceremonies were going on . From there we drove to the very top on the mountain to the Ropeway Sorry not as nice a view as on the picture I noticed earlier today .......... We watched a very nice film at the theatre there about the history of the city , had a snack and most of the ladies because of all the rain had to go and deal with the special WC for which you really needed a drivers licence and Japanese sign language ……….. but they were impeccably clean We than left to have a walk though the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse with all kind of small specialty stores Even upside down you can see the beautiful swords ........lol After a nice little lunch , with some nice Ramen Soup in a small port we than drove to the Hakodate Magistrate’ s Office the “ Bugyosho “ in the Goryokaku Park , we toured that building and learned about the special construction of it . After the Bugyosho we went to visit the gardens of the Catholic Trappistine Monasteries a Convent founded by 8 French nuns , most of the buildings were reconstructed in 1927 . After visiting a couple more small parks and the Old British Consulate it was time to get back to the Volendam Despite it raining for most of the day and very few people able to speak English we all had a fantastic day , and hardly noticed the rain anymore after a while Greetings from Japan ! Tony 😉

As Ann @VictOriann has mentioned on Oct 13 , 2016 we were in the Port of Bari and I had set up a small group tour to the little village of Alberobello and view the curious Trulli houses . These trulli houses originated from an edict in the middle of the 15th century Kingdom of Naples when one of the counts imposed on the residents that they built their dwellings dry , without the use of any mortars so that they would be seen as precarious buildings and easily demolished . So the solution was to built small homes in the round form with self supporting domed roofs. Here you are Ann with my DW Martha With modern conveniences Huge chimneys to be a bit taller than the peaks They were not in my tour but from the looks of it they also had a good time . Inside one of the little stores The roof Even the San Antonio church That’s Tony with San Antonio di Padova Next we went to Ostuni with all the white houses Our wonderful group Time for a rest and a drink from Tony’s Tiring Tour ............ oops don't do that ...... ??????? ........don't want to get banned Saint Nicolas Basilica in Bari A wonderful tour day was had by all , if I say so myself , after we rested a bit later that evening we had a delicious dinner in the Captains corner of the Pinnacle Restaurant Not a bad day being the 13th of October Tony 😁😁

Good morning to all and thank you for the Daily Fleet Report . I just have a few pictures of our day in Manilla where we arrived with the Volendam in November of 2017 . We had a very nice welcome in the Port where of coarse there also were a lot of Philippine families looking to meet crew members who are such a large and important portion of the crew on all of the Holland America ships. We had a very nice and adventurous tour in a crowded and noisy Manilla but I lost a good number of nice pictures because of technical camera problems but here a few of them without too much commentary . I had a lot of fun in the Jeepney but for DW it was the first and last time ………..guess she is use to more luxurious forms of transportation . Sorry there is not much more to share today . Guess we have to go back there again we got very close to Manilla in Febryary of 2020 when we were on the infamous Westerdam cruise when Covid struck , we made it almost to the 200 mile nautical border of the Philippines when we were told by that Government we do not want you turn around ………..so we than floated in circles for another 12 days to find a place that would accept us , and you know the end of the story there were absolutely no cases of Covid on the Westerdam ! Did we look concerned ............. Tony 😁😁