Nieuw Amsterdam and its invisible Captain

[Mara Suung]

I have never ever considered bringing a flashlight. Brilliant! Definitely packing one in the future. Thank you for the advice.

[serendipity1499]

On our recent cruise to Alaska on the MS Westerdam, I had no idea what the Captain looked like. He did come on over the intercom and speak a few times a day, letting us know our location, weather, port information etc. He also was really good in letting us know when he would spot whales or dolphins so we wouldn't miss out!

Why is this not enough for you? :confused: Why is it so important that you know what the Captain looked like? Your Captain made announcements during the day, & was really good at letting you know when he spotted whales or dolphins.. His job is to see that the ship gets to ports without problems & see that his crew is doing a good job.. It is not to interact with Passengers.. The name of the Capt. is always on the first daily you receive & also on the final cruise log..You must have missed that..

 

This thread reminded me of Capt. Schettivo of the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012..He was not on the Bridge when he was supposed to be.. He was known as a show off & liked by the Passengers..But because of his inattention, to tides & the sea, the Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy several years ago.. Approx. 33 Psgrs & crew died... You can read the scary report here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster

 

IMO a Capt. who does not interact with the Psgrs, but gets me to the ports on time & keeps me safe is more important than one who interacts with the Psgrs...

 

I've always sailed previously on NCL. I do like how they have their opening night gala show. The captain is introduced, along with most other department heads. It's a fun time and I like seeing who everyone is! I kind of missed that on Holland.

 

I too used to enjoy that on HAL, but have noticed that many ships have done away with that & it's fine with me..

 

On NCL, the captain does a Q & A session. There was also a Q & A session and many of the entertainers were there. We got to learn about their life onboard. Both were really fun and interesting.

 

On NCL there was also a staff show, where several of the staff showed off their talent. Very good! On the last night, a huge production with staff parading and thanking all customers for sailing with them! Quite impressive!

 

I missed having all of that interaction on our last cruise.

 

Obviously HAL is not for you..

 

There are normally two crew shows on HAL the Indonesian & the Philippine Crew trade off on the shorter cruises.. Did you not have them on your cruise?

 

 

We would be just as happy to never see the Captain. NOt certain why this is such a big deal for people. We only care that the Captain gets us safely where we are going. We have no particular desire to meet the Captain of our airplane either.

 

SNIP

 

QUOTE]

 

As a long time boaters both DH & I completely agree with you! We are very aware of what could happen at sea!..

Edited September 9, 2016 by serendipity1499

[Sequim88]

a mini flash light could help you in case of an emergency.

 

Yup. We have a pair of LED lights mounted on elastic headbands to keep our hands free to put on life vest in the dark. Just in case. Old Boy Scout habit - be prepared. Weigh almost nothing and about as bulky as a wristwatch.

[kazu]

Interesting thread. I work on a small ship (40 crew total, less than 5-10 in hospitality department depending on season - I am the Purser).

 

Someone mentionned the Captain wasn't on the bridge much as he was often seen in guest areas. It is not the Captain's Duty to be on the bridge, he doesn't do a watch. The Captain will dock the ship (on cruise ships, the Staff Captain may do that, I am not sure about that one). During fog, heavy seas or the like, the Captain will also be on the bridge most of the time or ask someone he trusts to be if those conditions last for a long time and he judges he can safely do so.

 

Also, usually the cruise line decides what they want from the Captains intereaction wise and the Captains will comply (some with great pleasure, some ''to do their job''). If the Company decreases their list of things to do for passengers, most of them will just comply; unless they are long-time Captains who really enjoyed some of those things, then they might take upon themselves to continue doing them on their ''free time''.

 

I would be interested to hear about the incident that happened when ''passengers died'', I would be very surprised the Captain had anything to do with it... but I may be mistaken as I don't know the circumstances. I'm sure it has been discussed on these boards before but I don't come the CC boards anymore unless I have a cruise booked.

 

And I am quite sure the Cruise Line actually ASKED their new Female Captain to make sure she was seen by the passengers and and the crew so I don't think anyone should hold it against her... sorry, but this post just sounded sexist to me. I look forward to the day we will have a Female Captain on one of our ships (we have a few Female First Mates on some of our cargo ships and we now have a few Female Navigation Officers on the ship I work on).

 

In regards to the Captain not reassuring his passengers when there was a fire onboard. Sure, the Captain should act in a reassuring manner but his first duty is to over see the overall safety of the passenger, crew and vessel during this crisis. Therefore, it's perfectly normal that all his communications will be brief. As passengers, in time of crisis, it's our duty to simply listen carefuly, keep calm and follow any order.

 

Before I became a crew member, I once encountered an emergency on a ship. The QM2 lost all power (adrift in the middle of the Atlantic). The Captain made an announcement and asked passengers to stay in their cabins (I guess most people were in their cabin as it was around 1am). Personnally, what made me feel safer was to get my things ready. I cannot stress enough how much a mini flash light could help you in case of an emergency. I always have a very small one with me, even in my evening purse. I took my mini backpack, added the flashlight, cell phone, beach towel and two bottles of water. I dressed in warm clothes (wool is best if you have any with you - I bring a pair of wool socks and wool sweater). I knew I was ready and it helped me. Now, I don't wait and I prepare my small bag before each muster drill (but flashlight stays with me) and the bag stays packed until the last morning.

 

Great post :)

 

We have taken the minature flash lights for years. They stay on the bed stand in case they are needed in the night. No effort to slip them into anything if they are needed :)

[gloriat]

Our Captain, Werner Timmers on the Eurodam, Mediterranean empires, Venice round trip. He was brilliant, visible to guests and had a great sense of humor! He made sound decisions in the best interests of Mariners. Personally thought he was great and achieved full marks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[SilvertoGold]

Great post :)

 

We have taken the minature flash lights for years. They stay on the bed stand in case they are needed in the night. No effort to slip them into anything if they are needed :)

 

Absolutely, but be careful: in rough seas these can roll around and not be where you think they are. Lots of ways to deal with this, but I've experienced the "missing" flashlight syndrome a couple of times and act accordingly now.

 

Hope to meet your special Captain soon, Kazu. looking forward to it!

[kazu]

Absolutely, but be careful: in rough seas these can roll around and not be where you think they are. Lots of ways to deal with this, but I've experienced the "missing" flashlight syndrome a couple of times and act accordingly now.

 

Hope to meet your special Captain soon, Kazu. looking forward to it!

 

LOL - you are so right on rough seas. We have these "gadgets" that snap together and make a nice container for holding sundry items so they don't "disappear". And there's always the drawers!

 

I hope you get to see the Captain dancing Slver - he really can move :)

[seapals2]

Don't think the invisible Captain is a deal breaker, however the overall feel of the ship is. Perhaps they weren't connected .. I just wondered what others felt.

We already have another two week cruise booked on Eurodam in the Caribbean .. We never anticipated that a new line would have such a negative impact on us. To be fair it was only a week and perhaps too early to judge. Let's see what impact sunny days has on the crew and her Captain.

[Copper10-8]

Absolutely, but be careful: in rough seas these can roll around and not be where you think they are. Lots of ways to deal with this, but I've experienced the "missing" flashlight syndrome a couple of times and act accordingly now.

 

Hope to meet your special Captain soon, Kazu. looking forward to it!

 

Just a heads up; Capt. van Eerten appears to be going elsewhere, as Capt. Mark Rowden is scheduled to relieve Capt. Smit on WEDM in October

[Daisyloo]

Who the captain is on any particular sailing really doesn't matter to us. As long as he is keeping us safe and getting us to where we should be going, we are happy. His skills and good judgement are what matters, much more so than his personality and availability. I would rather have a capable, professional, unseen captain, than someone like the captain on the Concordia who was too much into socializing (and showing off).

[SilvertoGold]

Just a heads up; Capt. van Eerten appears to be going elsewhere, as Capt. Mark Rowden is scheduled to relieve Capt. Smit on WEDM in October

 

Well, that's OK. Some other time for Captain van Eerten, then.

 

Now, is Mark Rowden the Canadian Navy one? Or am I thinking of someone else? Would the turnover to him be October 2 or later?

 

And how about the HM, Cellermaster, Pinnacle Manager?

 

Just to keep you sharp and busy!!!

 

Muchas gracias!

Edited September 9, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[Happily@Sea]

Just a heads up; Capt. van Eerten appears to be going elsewhere, as Capt. Mark Rowden is scheduled to relieve Capt. Smit on WEDM in October

 

 

Cpt Van Eerten said in April, that he expected to be on Westie in Oct - he wanted to see if San Diego had improved their turnover day operations - then he'd be going to his scheduled training and then HAL wanted him on the Zaandam.

 

Maybe he's being moved early - he said the 4-5 year rotation was up for a lot of the captains. Maybe assigned somewhere else - sounds like a lot of switching this fall and winter.

[Copper10-8]

Well, that's OK. Some other time for Captain van Eerten, then.

 

Now, is Mark Rowden the Canadian Navy one? Or am I thinking of someone else? Would the turnover to him be October 2 or later?

 

And how about the HM, Cellermaster, Pinnacle Manager?

 

Just to keep you sharp and busy!!!

 

Muchas gracias!

 

Can't tell you nada w/o a sailing date, Senora. Capt, Rowden is a Brit. Oh, and the only Canadian, eh, captain on HAL is Darin Bowland and he just went to the new ship, Koningsdam. Not sure about him being ex-Royal Canadian Navy, but he is ex-Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ;)

[Wakepatrol]

Who cares? He kept you safe and got you back to the dock.

Mission accomplished

[sapper1]

Can't tell you nada w/o a sailing date, Senora. Capt, Rowden is a Brit. Oh, and the only Canadian, eh, captain on HAL is Darin Bowland and he just went to the new ship, Koningsdam. Not sure about him being ex-Royal Canadian Navy, but he is ex-Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ;)

 

Capt Bowland is indeed ex Canadian Navy. I first met him on the Eurodam in 2009 and discovered he lives just an hour's drive from where I live. The bio blurb that was published about him on that cruise noted his Canadian Navy experience.

[Copper10-8]

Capt Bowland is indeed ex Canadian Navy. I first met him on the Eurodam in 2009 and discovered he lives just an hour's drive from where I live. The bio blurb that was published about him on that cruise noted his Canadian Navy experience.

 

Thank you for enlightening me Ma'am!

[SilvertoGold]

Can't tell you nada w/o a sailing date, Senora. Capt, Rowden is a Brit. Oh, and the only Canadian, eh, captain on HAL is Darin Bowland and he just went to the new ship, Koningsdam. Not sure about him being ex-Royal Canadian Navy, but he is ex-Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ;)

 

Sorry! What a moron I am. October 2, 2016.

Edited September 10, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[Btimmer]

Absolutely, but be careful: in rough seas these can roll around and not be where you think they are. Lots of ways to deal with this, but I've experienced the "missing" flashlight syndrome a couple of times and act accordingly now.

 

Hope to meet your special Captain soon, Kazu. looking forward to it!

 

I bring along a magnetic flashlight (cheap at Harbor Freight) and it gets attached to the wall by the bed. It never goes anywhere. I also have a very small one attached to my backpack.

[Copper10-8]

............................................

And how about the HM, Cellermaster, Pinnacle Manager?

 

Just to keep you sharp and busy!!!

 

Muchas gracias!

 

WEDM

 

Capt. Mark Rowden

HD Mark Pells (unconfirmed)

CM Imre Bocskey

PGM Gabor Csoma

 

Have a great voyage to the Hawaiian islands and back

[sapper1]

I bring along a magnetic flashlight (cheap at Harbor Freight) and it gets attached to the wall by the bed. It never goes anywhere. I also have a very small one attached to my backpack.

 

Do you mean the soft plastic one that looks like a real flashlight until you realise it is totally flat and weighs next to nothing? I have a few of them and the light from them is amazing.

We keep one on the wall near the closets so we can find things we are looking for.

Edited September 10, 2016 by sapper1

[SilvertoGold]

WEDM

 

Capt. Mark Rowden

HD Mark Pells (unconfirmed)

CM Imre Bocskey

PGM Gabor Csoma

 

Have a great voyage to the Hawaiian islands and back

 

Thanks for the list and for the good wishes.

Love the sea days, sitting outside and just absorbing the sights and sounds of the ocean.

Hope your next assignment is the best!

[Btimmer]

Do you mean the soft plastic one that looks like a real flashlight until you realise it is totally flat and weighs next to nothing? I have a few of them and the light from them is amazing.

We keep one on the wall near the closets so we can find things we are looking for.

 

 

 

Mine is about the size of a hockey puck and has both a flashlight and a multi LED light. The case is blue.

 

 

Tim in Burien, WA

[rockdoctor]

Things must have really changed since I last sailed on HAL. In the late 2000's they had the most visible captains of the major cruise lines.

[kazu]

Things must have really changed since I last sailed on HAL. In the late 2000's they had the most visible captains of the major cruise lines.

 

As you can see from reading this thread, a lot of the Captains are very visible :)

[TAD2005]

Do you get upset when the first officer on your flight provides the cabin PA announcements and not the captain ? I don't. The captain is busy doing what he was hired to do, flying the plane. Same for ship's captains. Some captains are outgoing and sociable, others are strictly business. Either way doesn't matter to me. I also feel that the Costa Concordia incident, where the captain was a social butterfly, entertaining and schmoozing, mostly the women, has had an impact on all cruise ship captains. They may be concentrating more on being ship captains, and leaving the socializing to the cruise director and hotel director.