Copper10-8

Unfortunately that's a no on the BB King All-Star Band on the Zaandam and/or Volendam. I personally think they can put a smaller BB King band in the Ocean Bar - the current group in there is a quintet incl. one vocalist. HAL tried doing it on, I believe it was the former Rotterdam, inside the Crow's Nest, but there were too many noise complaints from nearby cabins so they then put the kibosh on the idea. They should try in in the Ocean Bar.............

Thanks Oma! All is well here! Will have to get going on our last two days and trip home on Air Canada which was a super early rise but uneventful

Adding some Gaspé stops would be interesting! HAL used to stop at Saguenay on the other side of the St. Lawrence, another interesting call off the beaten path. Not sure if they still do......

Have great 2-week back-to-back! She's still a nice ship with a great crew!

Coulda met up! Next time! 😉 We're doing the "Big K" again this year for New Years! Take care and be safe!

Day 6 - 08/18/2022; Sea Day/Cruising the St. Lawrence River (con't) Lunch in the Pinnacle The comedy from Hank Denson in Main Stage

Day 6 - 08/18/2022; Sea Day/Cruising the St. Lawrence River Today (Thursday) is our only sea day of this seven-day voyage which, for the entire morning had Zaandam still plying the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The plan was then to follow the St. Lawrence Estuary, followed by entering the big St. Lawrence itself which we would take upriver to Quebec City and finally, Montreal. However, Mr. Murphy had other plans. As he usually does. At approx. 1025 hrs., just before the start of the Mariners award ceremony inside the Explorers Lounge, Capt. Willems came on the ship’s P/A to announce that unfortunately, one of our fellow passengers had gotten ill (non-Covid) and required care beyond what the capable medical staff onboard Zaandam could provide. In other words, this pax had to be medically evacuated (medevac’d). The captain and senior (pax) doctor had been in touch with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) / Garde Côtière Canadienne (GCC) and it had been decided to carry out that medevac via CCG boat, as opposed to by helicopter. In order to get this done, Zaandam had to divert to Baie de Gaspé, a bay located on the northeast coast of the Gaspé Peninsula in the province of Quebec. The Gaspé Peninsula is located along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from the province of New Brunswick on its southern side by Chaleur Bay and the Restigouche River. The name Gaspé comes from the Mi’kmag (First Nation) word gespe'g, meaning "end", referring to the end of the land. So, the Canadian Coast Guard wound up dispatching the Arun-class 51’ high endurance, self-righting long range rescue cutter CCGS Cap aux Meules, staffed by a crew of four, two of whom are rescue specialists, based out of Cap aux Meules, on Grindstone Island in Quebec’s Iles de la Madeleine or Magdalen Islands, to Baie de Gaspé. She rendezvoused with Zaandam around 12:20 PM at that location and stayed off our ship’s starboard side midships while the boatmen were putting the finishing touches on Zaandam’s starboard side tender platform from where the medevac would take place. CCGS Cap aux Meules then began her approach to Zaandam’s starboard side platform and did so starboard-to-starboard (bow pointed towards Zaandam’s stern) with her skipper positioned out in the open on the vessel’s flying bridge. A flying bridge is a small, often open, deck or platform area above the actual enclosed pilot/wheelhouse, having duplicate controls and navigational equipment that can serve as a second operating station for the ship's officers, such as the captain or officer of the watch. The flying house usually provides unobstructed views of the fore, aft, and the sides of the vessel. We were still dealing with a pretty good swell so it took the CCG skipper/helmsman up to three attempts before his vessel could be secured to Zaandam to affect the transfer. Once that was accomplished, the patient inside a stokes basket was brought down the flight of stairs from A-Deck to the tender platform by four Zaandam crew members and transferred by them to the CCGS Cap aux Meules. His companion followed. Once those crew were back safely onboard Zaandam, the lines were let go and, under applause from those watching from balconies and railings, CCGS Cap aux Meules swung to port and set a course for the town of Gaspé. We later learned from Capt. Willems that the patient was safely at a local hospital receiving advanced treatment. A job well done by all involved! As stated, at 10:30 AM there was a Mariners reception inside the Explorers Lounge and as previously stated, Capt. Willems was unable to be there due to his involvement in the medevac. Cruise & Travel Director Glenn acted as master of ceremonies and hotel general manager Leonie Henry from South Africa was also present, as was Annette, the FCC, Daphnae, the GRM and Mitch from Guest Services who had organized the event. Two separate Mariner Society silver medal awardee couples were recognized, as was a HAL Presidents Club couple with plenty of HAL sea days to their credit. There was time for pics with Leonie afterwards. At 12:00 PM sharp, we had a lunch reservation at the Pinnacle Grill which on HAL ships is only open for lunch on sea days. Our lunch consisted of spicy lemon grass tomato soup, crab cakes, shredded chicken and bibb salad, and the PG burger. Pretty good stuff! The remainder of the afternoon was spent jelling and/or pretty much doing zilch, nada, nothing! That’s why we like sea days! After dinner, we strolled, actually fast walked due to the 9:30 PM show time, to the Main Stage where we watched the comedy of Hank Denson, a funny guy from Georgia. He had us laughing several times! We finished up the night once again inside the Ocean Bar listening and dancing to the Ocean Bar Band. Tomorrow (Friday) is our last port of call, Quebec City, Quebec with a delayed arrival of a couple of hours due to today's medevac See you then!

Good eye Marion! Yes, Kristine is one and the same! We had her on Koningsdam for the ship's 2021-2022 New Year's cruise to the Mex Riviera where she worked the NL with Patrick. She stayed on the "Big K" for a while longer until starting her vacation back home in the Philippines. She came back to work in June on Zaandam and is looking forward to visiting Africa on the ship in October! We will tell her you said hi. I'm sure she will remember you because she has a memory like a steel trap and, as you already know, is plain awesome at her job!

Day 5 - 08/17/2022; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada From the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Zaandam entered the Northumberland Strait from the east, leading to Hillsborough Bay. The pilot was picked up and a course was set for the Hillsborough River and Charlottetown harbor where Captain Michiel placed his “R”-class ship port side to alongside the city’s cruise ship terminal building. A gangway was established ashore from A-Deck by Zaandam’s “Boatmen” (officially known as lifesaving attendants) supervised by Security Officer Andy, the ship was cleared by the local authorities, and by 0700 hours, Zaandam was in business for the early risers. All Aboard today was at 3:30 PM. After six days of great weather in Boston, Bar Harbor and part of the Canadian Maritimes, today we were dealing with a steady rain and wind in Charlottetown, PEI. Time to deal with it! Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of British King George III, Charlottetown was originally an unincorporated town that incorporated as a city in 1855. It was most famously the site of the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, the first gathering of Canadian and Maritime statesmen to debate the proposed Maritime Union and the more persuasive British North American Union, now known as Canadian Confederation. From this, the city adopted as its motto “Cunabula Foederis” – "Birthplace of Confederation". The population of Charlottetown as of 2021 was 38,809; with the Province of PEI coming in at 160,302. Charlottetown is situated on its namesake harbor, which is formed by the confluence of three rivers in the central part of the island's south shore. The harbor itself opens onto the Northumberland Strait. The city is roughly V-shaped (pointed to the south) and constrained by the North (Yorke) and the Hillsborough (East) rivers to the west and east. The city's streetscape with a centrally planned downtown core containing many Victorian-era houses and buildings is an attraction, as well as the waterfront redevelopment project in recent decades which has seen walking trails and parks developed on former industrial lands. A new cruise ship terminal was opened by the port authority in September 2007 which, proponents hope, will make the city a more attractive destination for the growing number of vessels operating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. So, the game plan was to take it easy in the morning and meander into town at about 11:30 PM. The last time we visited here, we found an actual Starbucks on Queen Street, the main drag. Off we went with umbrellas in hand past Founders Hall Visitors Info Center, and a left on Water Street, followed by a right on Queen Street, the main “drag” in town with lots of restaurants, a convenience store, the Ann of Green Gables store of course, etc. It took us about 20 minutes to get there so we entered the HighMart Store to get some Canadian moolah from an ATM. On the way out, we received info from the clerk that the Starbucks had closed down in 2021 mainly because it was not a drive-through. So much for that plan. Plan B was to find an establishment to have some lunch which we located caddy corner across the street at the Churchill Arms, Prince Edward Island's only authentic British Pub, featuring British style curries and traditional British dishes. Great place to get out of the rain and, as it turned out, very popular to the point that folks coming in some time behind us had to be turned away because there was no more seating left. We had a nice lunch in Winston’s Place consisting of Chicken Tandoori, Rice & Chips and Fish & Chips plus it gave us a chance to dry out a bit. Since it was still raining when we left, we wound up hailing/flagging down a PEI cab with a cabbie from Pakistan who first wanted to drop us off at the nearby St. Dunston’s Basilica, until we gave him directions to the port and cruise ship terminal. Hey, we got there and back onboard, got out of our wet clothes and soaked tennis shoes. Zaandam departed our last Canadian Maritime port at approx. 4:00 PM and sailed back into Hillsborough Bay where the pilot was transferred to his waiting boat. A course was then set for the big Saint Lawrence River and the Canadian province of Quebec. In order to get there, we had to enter the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, an outlet of the North American Great Lakes via that same Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean which makes it a semi-enclosed sea. The weather had not changed and was cloudy with continued rain and wind, causing some swells and bumps for the ride. Spent some time in the Neptune where concierge Kristine has been taking excellent care of us and her other guests! Outstanding job! On the pic we took – see attached – Kristine is NOT in violation for not wearing a mask! All crew from the captain on down, still does. We asked her to remove it for 5 seconds to get a nice pic! Zaandam still has a traditional library, originally known as the Erasmus library, with the "Puzzle corner" next to it. Additional books are found in that puzzle corner and along the walls of the Explorations Café. The "big yellow lips" are also still present across the corridor at the Explorers Lounge side. We had our customary nice dinner with our four new friends: George and Diana from Mesa, AZ and Roger and Mary Kay from New Braunfels, TX with excellent service from Arif and Zion. Post dinner, the plan was to see the Step One Dance Company in “Musicology” however, upon arrival in the Main Stage we found the lights on and Cruise & Travel Director Glenn informing us that the late performance had been cancelled due to the inclement weather/movement of the vessel which would affect the safety of the dancers. Too bad but completely understood! Instead, we wound up in the Ocean Bar and listened to the five-piece band playing there, while consuming a “Godfather” (that’s a duo mixed drink made of Scotch whisky and amaretto). Tomorrow (Thu) is our one and only sea day on this seven-day voyage as Zaandam enters the mighty St. Lawrence River on our way to la belle Ville de Quebec See ya then!

The captain and K1 are doing well enjoying retired life

Good eyes! The pic I took of the bridge from the same vantage point did not come out right/too dark, so the one you are referring to is borrowed 😉

Day 4 - 08/16/2022; Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (con't) Zaandam's Cruise and Travel Director Glenn introducing BBC Earth's presentation of “Seven Worlds One Planet in Concert” inside the main show lounge Two of the five Zaandam musicians, the classical Russian-Ukrainian duo from the Explorations Lounge, accompanying the presentation Some of the featured animals

The piano player / individual tickling the ivories inside the Mix on Zaanie is Clara Holmes

Day 4 - 08/16/2022; Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada Sydney is a population center and former city in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Situated on Cape Breton Island’s east coast, it belongs administratively to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British; it was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolved on 1 August 1995, when it was amalgamated into the regional municipality. It served as the Cape Breton Island colony's capital, until 1820, when the colony merged with Nova Scotia and the capital moved to Halifax. Sydney was founded in 1785 by British Colonel Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, and named in honor of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, who was serving as the Home Secretary in the British cabinet. To get to Sydney from Halifax, both located within the province of Nova Scotia, Zaandam basically followed the eastern coast line of that province eventually rounding the northeaster portion of Cape Breton Island and heading south for Sydney harbor, the Canadian one, not the Aussie one! Zaandam then picked up the local pilot, stayed perfectly in between Cranberry Head on the west and Low Point (Flat Point) on the east by following the leading lights, and then made a 180 to go starboard side alongside the cruise terminal. We were the only show/ship on Tuesday and the weather was still beautiful! The gangway was once again located back on A-Deck forward. We had our customary breakfast in the PC around 8:45 hrs. (they close up at 9:00 AM on port day) and then took our time to get ready for our shorex with a 10:30 AM meeting time scheduled. That shorex by the name of “Baddeck on your own”, would be our last one on this trip, would last some seven hours, and would take us up the Cabot Trail, both a highway as well as a scenic roadway in northern Victoria and Inverness Counties heading up Cape Breton Island. More specifically, it would take u to the town of Baddeck, pronounced “Buh-Deck” as in Bidet, take away the “day” and replace it with “Deck” The route measures 185 miles in length and completes a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the scenic Cape Breton Highlands. It is named after explorer John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497. Construction of the initial route was completed in 1932. Our bus with our guide, Ken, drove us via the Trans-Canada Highway through the heart of the Bras d’Or Lake region of Cape Breton, passing the famous Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, with a photo stop overlooking the lake. After passing the Alexander Graham Bell estate which sits majestically on a hill above Baddeck Bay, we arrived at Baddeck where we had two hours to look around and grab a bite to eat. While feeding, a RCMP Ford Police Interceptor Utility pulled up and parked in front with a lone Mountie inside. I grabbed my chance, identified myself with my badge and I.D. and had a very pleasant conversation with the Mountie. He told me that after graduating the RCMP Depot (basic academy) in Regina, Saskatchewan, young Mounties basically go where they are sent which can be all over Canada. His postings so far, have been to British Columbia, in the Arctic in Nunavut (only two Mounties working side by side Mon through Fri and "on-call" on the weekends, and in Newfoundland. His wife is from Beddeck so when a posting there opened up, he grabbed it. Real nice guy and interesting conversation! The village of Baddeck is located in the center of Cape Breton, where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d’Or Lake. Local governance is provided by the rural municipality of Victoria County, with an elected village council having limited authority. The population was 826 in the 2016 Canadian census. It was first settled by United Empire Loyalists in the late 18th century, and prospered in the 19th century with mining, milling, and shipbuilding. Today the economy depends on services, cultural activities, and tourism. We had lunch at the Bean There Café and then got ready for the return ride to Sydney with a good look at the 1912-built Kidston Island Lighthouse and had another photo stop atop Kelly's Mountain. Situated on St. Ann's Bay, Kelly's Mountain offers panoramic views of the entire Bras d'Or Lakes as well as the Seal Island Bridge. Overall, a relatively long but enjoyable excursion to a place you don’t get to see too often while on a cruise ship! Zaandam was off her berth a little after 5:00 pm and retraced her route from this morning to once again reach open sea. In order to get to our next destination, Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, we had to round the top of Cape Breton Island which placed us inside the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Dinner was once again at 8:00 PM followed by the night’s entertainment which was the BBC Earth presentation of “Seven Worlds One Planet in Concert” inside the main show lounge known on Zaandam as the Main Stage. The Zaandam musicians consisting of the classical duo from the Explorations Lounge and three of the five players from the Ocean Bar Band accompanied the footage of animals of all five continents. This is the third installation of BBC Earth we have seen on the Dam ships, and they all have been excellent. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Charlottetown, PEI. See ya then!

They still have the Mix on Zaandam. Only walked by there. Will attempt to find out the name of the player

I can tell you not on Deck 7; they are waiting for them to arrive

OK, so partly answering your question; Jeremy Hales, also an Aussie, will be replacing Glenn Askew as Zaandam CD on 10 Oct 2022. Unk at this time how long Jeremy's contract is

Make that a quintet; vocalist, lead guitar, bass guitar, piano/keyboard and drums/percussion

Veendam with Capt. Jonathan Mercer in command. When Veendam was in the HAL fleet, there was a framed letter of acknowledgement from the US Coast Guard hanging on the bulkhead adjacent the front office thanking him and his ship for the search efforts after the MD-11 tragically went down

Yep, but we were discussing this Canada/ NE itinerary

Day 3 - 08/15/2022; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (con't) Halifax Public Gardens Halifax Citadel and changing of the guard Fairview Lawn Cemetery and the graves (in three rows) of 121 RMS Titanic victims Departure from Halifax and pilot boat "Captain E.T. Rogers" picking up not one, but two, Halifax pilots from Zaandam's starboard side pilot break (located within the ship's Marshaling Area on A-Deck)

Day 3 - 08/15/2022; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada After departing Bar Harbor yesterday afternoon, Zaandam reentered the Atlantic Ocean proper via the Gulf of Maine and set course for the southeastern most point of Nova Scotia, Barrington. Having reached that destination on a very smooth ride, her navigators then set a heading for a north-north easterly course along the east coast of the peninsula that makes up Nova Scotia’s mainland (the mainland of Nova Scotia is connected to the rest of Canada by the Isthmus of Chignecto, on which the province's land border with the province of New Brunswick is located). Halifax, legally known as the Halifax Regional Municipality, is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia. The metropolitan area had a population of 414,400 in 2014, with 297,943 in the urban area centered on Halifax Harbor. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and the Municipality of Halifax County. The municipal boundary thus now includes all of Halifax County except for several First Nation reserves. Since amalgamation, the region has officially been known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), although "Halifax" has remained in common usage for brevity. Halifax Harbor, a large natural harbor on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, consists of the main harbor, the Narrows, the Bedford Basin, and the Northwest Arm. The entrance to the harbor has McNabs Island on the eastern side and Herring Cove on the western side. It is a very busy harbor with a Canadian Navy base, as well as a Canadian Coast Guard base, Irving Shipbuilding, commercial wharves for shipping, fishing boats, cruise ships, tour boats, yacht clubs, as well as public marina docks offering facilities for the local boating community and visitors. As can be expected, large vessels entering Halifax Harbor are subject to compulsory pilotage, with harbor pilots boarding at the pilot station off Chebucto Head. Zaandam picked that Halifax pilot and then started making the approach to the huge port of Halifax. We were assigned Pier 22 where Capt. Willems parked his ship port side alongside. Weather conditions were once again really nice with bright sunshine and blue skies. We had breakfast in the PG which was good and then got ourselves squared away for our shorex which, today, would take us one hour south of the city of Halifax to Peggy’s Cove and its lighthouse. Once outside via Deck 2 this time, our tour bus was waiting for us, as was our tour guide Greg, Scottish kilt and all, plus the knowledge of a local so we were all set! Off we went towards Peggy’s Cove, the small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret’s Bay and famous for the Peggy’s Point Lighthouse, established in 1868. Peggy’s Cove is situated 26 miles southwest of Downtown Halifax proper and comprises one of the numerous small fishing communities located around the perimeter of the Chebucto Peninsula. The community is named after the cove of the same name, a name also shared with Peggy's Point, immediately to the east of the cove. Today, Peggy’s Cove is primarily a tourist attraction, although its inhabitants still fish for lobster, and the community maintains a rustic undeveloped appearance. Upon arrival, we spent roughly one hour and a half to inspect the site and lighthouse which, for us, also included a lunch at the Sou’ Westerner restaurant located within a stone’s throw of the lighthouse. It was an enjoyable visit (haven’t been there for about five years). On the way back to Halifax, we drove by one of the memorials to Swissair Flight 111, a sobering experience! On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay with the loss of all aboard. One of two memorials to the victims of the disaster is located at The Whalesback, a promontory approximately 1 km northwest of Peggy’s Cove. The other is located at Bayswater, Nova Scotia, on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the western shore of the bay. The two monuments and the actual crash site are at the vertices of a roughly equilateral triangle across the bay. The monument at Whalesback reads in English and French: "In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2nd, 1998. They have been joined to the sea, and the sky. May they rest in peace." The three notches represent the numerals 111. The sight line from the three grooves in the stone points to the crash site, while the markings on the facing stone point to the memorial at Bayswater. Once back in the city, we had three more stops scheduled; the first one being at the Halifax Public Gardens, a Victorian-era public gardens formally established in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation. The gardens are located near the popular shopping district of Spring Garden Road and opposite Victoria Park and were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984. We had about an hour to stroll the very nice park complete with a bandstand, statues, extensive flower beds, three fountains, two stone bridges, three ponds (one large and two small), and a small concession building. Next up was another historic site, Citadel Hill and the Citadel. Construction for the present citadel began in 1828 however, the star-shaped fortress was not completed until in 1856, during the Victorian Era, for a total of 28 years of construction. The massive masonry-construction fort was designed to repel both a land-based attack and/or an attack from the water by United States forces. It was a star-shaped hillock citadel with internal courtyard and a clear harbor view from armored ramparts. We watched the changing of the single guard stationed by the main gate by animators (re-enactors) portraying the 78th Highland Regiment (stationed at Halifax between 1869 and 1871). Inside on the parade ground other re-enactors portray the 78ith Highlanders Pipe Band, the Third Brigade of the Royal Artillery, soldiers' wives, and civilian tradespeople. Overall, an interesting visit to the Citadel. Our last stop today was at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery in the north end of Halifax, perhaps best known as the final resting place for one hundred and twenty-one victims of the maritime disaster involving the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. Most of them are memorialized with small gray granite markers with the name and date of death. Some families paid for larger markers with more inscriptions. The occupants of a third of the graves, however, have never been identified and their markers contain just the date of death and marker number. A grave marked "J. Dawson" gained fame following the release of the 1997 film “Titanic”, since the name of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in the film is Jack Dawson. Many filmgoers, moved by the story, left flowers and ticket stubs at Dawson's grave when the film was first released, and flowers continue to be left today. Film director James Cameron has said the character's name was not in fact inspired by the grave. More recent research has revealed that the grave actually belongs to Joseph Dawson, an Irishman who worked in Titanic's boiler room as a coal trimmer. After this final stop, our bus driver drove by Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax, Canada’s east coast naval base and home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet, known as Canadian Fleet Atlantic (CANFLTLANT), the Angus L. Macdonald suspension bridge, the Irving Shipbuilding Halifax shipyard, and the Halifax Town Clock before dropping us back off at Pier 22. All Aboard today was 30 min later at 5:30 PM and exactly 29 minutes later, Zaandam rounded Georges Island with its 1917-built lighthouse and began humming back to sea with a course set for Sydney, Nova Scotia. We once again had a nice dinner and most excellent conversation with our four tablemates of table 36 all the way aft against the stern windows of the MDR. The entertainment tonight was the comedy of Orlando Baxter, who we later heard was very funny however, we once again chose to see the late-night movie inside the Wajang Theatre. This was the Canadian comedy “Men with Brooms” with, among others, Leslie Nielsen. Centered on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their respective life issues and struggle to win the championship for the sake of their late coach. See ya’ll manana in Sydney, NS

Greets from a rainy (but not inside 😜) Winston's pub in downtown Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada