Oosterdam

HAL blogger Gary Frink currently is sailing on board Oosterdam and will be sending in posts from his voyage. ABOARD OOSTERDAM, EN ROUTE HONOLULU TO VANCOUVER B.C. “We train the dining room stewards and cabin attendants at the Holland America facility in Jakarta, Indonesia. The cooks and beverage people are trained at a similar school…   read more of “Cruise Diary: Meet…”

HAL blogger Gary Frink currently is sailing on board Oosterdam and will be sending in posts from his voyage. I had one duty to perform on my second April 21, and first day ever in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Jeanne and I live within a mortar drop of the Shenandoah National Park Headquarters, located east…   read more of “Cruise Diary:…”

Working on the Bridge in this age of technology, our days are filled with electronics and automation. It is refreshing to know that our deck officers are still able to obtain a position by celestial observations. In fact, it is still a requirement for aspiring deck officers to prove their proficiency before getting their license….   read more of “Officers Navigate…”

Special thanks to HAL’s Director Mariner Society Gerald Bernhoft for this post. Spring in Seattle brings with it two Dutch treats: Beautiful tulips of every color of the rainbow and soon the return of Holland America Line ships to our fair city. A sight that rarely graces Seattle’s Elliott Bay was the arrival of the…   read more of “Spring is Coming to…”

HAL blogger Gary Frink currently is sailing on board Oosterdam and will be sending in posts from his voyage. “I’m on this island for one reason and one reason only: to walk the beach,” Jeanne certainly informed me. With sandals in hand, she walked down to the wave-hardened sand and was off, stage right, on…   read more of “Cruise Diary:…”

HAL blogger Gary Frink currently is sailing on board Oosterdam and will be sending in posts from his voyage. The year is 1788. Eleven ships of the British First Fleet enter the vast, hospitable natural harbor and drop anchors. Slowly, methodically, sailors of the fleet off-load 736 passengers into life boats for the short paddle…   read more of “Cruise Diary:…”

HAL blogger Gary Frink currently is sailing on board Oosterdam and will be sending in posts from his voyage. Aboard Oosterdam, en route to Sydney, Austraia The modern rail-tram at the end of the Melbourne ship pier had hardly begun to move toward the center-city when the renowned friendliness of the Australian people touched us….   read more of “Cruise Diary:…”