We were scheduled to tender in Dubrovnik in the Gruz town, as the old town anchorage was occupied by two cruise ships and the dock by the Carnival Freedom. As the tender ride would be a long one, I arrived a little early to give as much time as possible for the guests to enjoy… read more of “30 May,…”
After a night with rainy weather we arrived at 05.30 at the Venice pilot station where the weather improved rapidly. By the time we docked the rain clouds had receded to the horizon and the sun started to come out. Getting into the berth was a tight operation as we had on one side the… read more of “29 May,…”
We had indeed local weather on arrival. Light rain and a bit of sunshine on the dock, heavy rain 3 miles to the North and a sea swell running towards the shore from the wind of yesterday. The Veendam docked in Dubrovnik but the Grand Princess had been scheduled for tendering into the old town…. read more of “28 May,…”
This was the first day with inclement weather since a long time, due to a depression building over the centre mediterannean. Luckily the winds did not affect us that much and it was only noticeable to the guests when we changed course coming out of the Strait of Messina. The wind was coming from the… read more of “27 May, At…”
I think that I have mentioned this before but the port of Naples is a form of controlled mayhem. Ferries going in and out, ships at anchor, ships drifting near the breakwater, and little fishing boats all over the place. That makes for a very interesting arrival. On our final approach we were sandwiched between… read more of “26 May,…”
Docking today was a bit of a challenge as the harbor master had assigned us to a dock that was too short for the length of the Veendam. To disembark the guests we had to use another exit from the ship and that meant docking with the nose out. However as the dock was only… read more of “25 May, Ajaccio…”
Monte Carlo was gearing up for the yearly Grand Prix and that meant that the regular dock and tender dock was not available. The dock was taken up by the Seabourn Spirit and two sailing vessels that were all chartered and were staying for the duration of the Grand Prix. (Finishing on Sunday the 27th.)… read more of “24 May, Monte…”
Livorno is not too far North from Civitavecchia and we sailed through the night along the Italian coast with a speed of about 15 knots to get to the pilot station at 05.30. Again there was a parade of cruise ships and ferry’s going in. The Spanish Oceanic was in port as well as the… read more of “23 May,…”
