Ceremonies

[Jemery]

Does Holland America do any type of ceremony when crossing the Equator, Arctic Circle, International Date Line, etc., and if so what are they?  Do they present any type of certificate to passengers who cross any of these lines?  DW and I are curious.  

 

Thanks

-John

[Taters]

Yes.  Earlier this month we received certificates for crossing the equator and going through the Panama Canal.  We are heading to Europe for a 14 night Norway cruise on Nieuw Statendam next month and I would expect that they will give us certificates for crossing into the Arctic Circle ,where we've been plenty of times before because we live 110 miles south of it.  This will be our first time cruising above the AC though.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Taters

[Banditswife]

I remember getting a Panama Canal crossing certificate & if you swan across the aft pool, they gave a certificate for swimming across the canal or some such nonsense.  Looking forward to the Equator certificate though.  

[VMax1700]

Got a couple for the Arctic Circle, including one to Iceland where the Captain obviously made a slight detour north to actually cross the circle.

[Mary229]

Yep, they have little funny skits pool side with the crew novitiates being hazed. Everyone receives a certificate.  I have Arctic and Equator crossing certificates. I assume they do them all. 

[RuthC]

I have all those certificates, plus participated in all the activities the ship provided. 

I swam the pool when the ship crossed the Arctic Circle, so have the Polar Bear certificate to go along with that.
When crossing the Equator I kissed the fish, which was a real kick since you only cross the Equator for the first time once. There is a King Neptune ceremony for the novice staff which is a LOT of fun for the passengers. 
They didn't do the Swim in the Panama Canal when I did that passage, but they did give out the certificate to note the occasion. 

[sciencewonk]

There were separate ceremonies and certificates for crossing the date line and the equator on our trans-Pacific cruise on Noordam in Oct/Nov 2023.  The ceremonies were at the pool on the Lido deck.

[Mary229]

17 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I have all those certificates, plus participated in all the activities the ship provided. 

I swam the pool when the ship crossed the Arctic Circle, so have the Polar Bear certificate to go along with that.
When crossing the Equator I kissed the fish, which was a real kick since you only cross the Equator for the first time once. There is a King Neptune ceremony for the novice staff which is a LOT of fun for the passengers. 
They didn't do the Swim in the Panama Canal when I did that passage, but they did give out the certificate to note the occasion. 

One of my favorite conversation starters is “I swam in the Arctic Ocean.

[HelloKittysMum]

Nothing given for Panama Canal crossing on Eurodam (we disembark tomorrow)

[Navybikermom]

16 minutes ago, HelloKittysMum said:

Nothing given for Panama Canal crossing on Eurodam (we disembark tomorrow)

I didn’t get anything for the Zaandam Panama Canal crossing in January either 😔

[BetsyS.]

HelloKittysMum - Safe trip home! 😊

[ski ww]

10 hours ago, HelloKittysMum said:

Nothing given for Panama Canal crossing on Eurodam (we disembark tomorrow)

You should find it on your bed tonight. Navybikermom, I'm surprised you didn't get one for the Panama! 

[Navybikermom]

2 hours ago, ski ww said:

You should find it on your bed tonight. Navybikermom, I'm surprised you didn't get one for the Panama! 

I suspect that the room stewards missed it, if it was supposed to be given during the cruise. The two I had in September (Canada/NE) were fantastic but the two for the Panama Canal route were not as efficient. Perhaps they were new. Guess I’ll have to do that cruise again to get my certificate! 😉

[Destiny0315]

In this thread on the Carnival board reviewing the current trans-pacific crossing of the Luminosa there are photos posted of crossing the line ceremonies onboard US Navy ships in 1943 and 1976.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2928013-live-the-worlds-longest-trip-report-luminosa-413-54/

[iceman93]

I've crossed the Arctic Circle three times and the equator once.  Got certificates from HAL for each event but there were no ceremonies or fun activities, which was particularly disappointing for the equator.

[Banditswife]

16 hours ago, HelloKittysMum said:

Nothing given for Panama Canal crossing on Eurodam (we disembark tomorrow)

My son  & daughter in law Are on the ship with you, disembarking in Vancouver.  Hope you all had a great cruise.

 

[HelloKittysMum]

On 4/24/2023 at 8:44 AM, Banditswife said:

My son  & daughter in law Are on the ship with you, disembarking in Vancouver.  Hope you all had a great cruise.

 

We left the ship in San Diego to visit our daughter at college just outside LA. Flying back to London tonight after what fees like two great holidays.

[BetsyS.]

HelloKittysMum - Have a great flight! 😊

[TiogaCruiser]

On 4/23/2023 at 4:38 PM, RuthC said:

I have all those certificates, plus participated in all the activities the ship provided. 

I swam the pool when the ship crossed the Arctic Circle, so have the Polar Bear certificate to go along with that.
When crossing the Equator I kissed the fish, which was a real kick since you only cross the Equator for the first time once. There is a King Neptune ceremony for the novice staff which is a LOT of fun for the passengers. 
They didn't do the Swim in the Panama Canal when I did that passage, but they did give out the certificate to note the occasion. 

 

On 4/23/2023 at 5:42 PM, HelloKittysMum said:

Nothing given for Panama Canal crossing on Eurodam (we disembark tomorrow)

 

On 4/23/2023 at 5:59 PM, Navybikermom said:

I didn’t get anything for the Zaandam Panama Canal crossing in January either 😔

On Volendam now and went through the canal on the 22nd. No certificate either. 
 

They have even decreased number of advertisements sent out to a half a sheet printed both sides. They are inserted in some of the dailies.

Edited April 30, 2023 by TiogaCruiser

[Nickelpenny]

Just now, TiogaCruiser said:

 

 

On Volendam now and went through the canal on the 22nd. No certificate either.

I want a certificate!!  I will be very disappointed if I don't get a "crossing the equator" and a "going through the Panama Canal" certificate!!  🥴

[Shmoo here]

On 4/23/2023 at 2:03 PM, Jemery said:

Does Holland America do any type of ceremony when crossing the Equator, Arctic Circle, International Date Line, etc., and if so what are they?  Do they present any type of certificate to passengers who cross any of these lines?  DW and I are curious.  

 

Thanks

-John

Yes they do.  On our Hawaii/Tahiti cruise several years ago we had a big ceremony up on deck.  King Neptune and court arrived

There were random crew and guests to stand in for all of us onboard for the tests they had to accomplish

We got certificates indicating that we had crossed both the date line and the equator during the Vernal Equinox (making us members of the Order of Purple Porpoises)

Edited April 30, 2023 by Shmoo here