For other photos of the ship, click here or here for more photos
| Life on board | |
 You knew this would be available of course, and it's open whenever the ship is at sea. |
 The Lido Buffet Restaurant, available for breakfast, lunch (and for dinner if you choose) |
 Another view of the Lido Deck Buffet Restaurant |
 The Lido Deck Pool |
 The Crow's Nest bar & observation room. |
 Looking aft from the Crow's Nest, you see this view of the Sports Deck. |
 If exercise is your game - plenty of equipment is ready for you. |
 Another view of the Lido Deck Pool, with the two hot tubs closer to the camera |
 The stern deck pool & deck |
 A view of the Ship's Front Office area, and the Shore Excursion office, looking out upon the 3-level center atrium. |
 If you ever wondered how your delicious, and plentiful, meals are prepared, you should plan to take the Kitchen Tour. |
 You will be guided past the dish cleaning area . . . |
 . . . A portion of the bakery . . . |
 . . . storage areas . . . |
 . . . food prep area . . |
 . . . where it all gets placed on the trays . . . |
 All supervised by the Executive Chef (here greeting the passengers at the end of the kitchen tour) |
Where your taste buds are satisfied - One of the dining rooms. |
 Every day you will receive a TimesDigest of the world news, and a Daily Program of ship-board events, Special information sheets about our next Port of Call, and your shore trip tickets are all delivered to your room as needed. If you are from Canada, a Canadian News digest is delivered as well. |
 For your evening meals (or for breakfast & lunch) you dine in style in the Rotterdam Dining Room . . . The Dress Code is defined as follows:
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 . . . while the strings play . . . |
 . . . and you enjoy two levels of unsurpassed dining. (We will be on the upper level, right by the stern windows) |
 By the Lido Deck Pool . . . |
 . . . you may enjoy a casual lunch |
 . . . while being entertained . . . |
 . . . in this wonderful world of cruising. |
 If you check in with the Front Office early-on in your cruise, and if you have an interest, you should sign up for the Bridge Tour. Above, the ms Statendam's bridge. |
 These are some of the ships controls, available on the Starboard side of the bridge. |
 Looking aft from the Starboard bridge |
 Looking over some of the instruments & control features within the bridge. In the foreground, the paper chart, on which the ships position is plotted. |
 At the time of the tour (afternoon of Day 4), our position was within the red circle. San Diego is just below the eraser, with the Hawaiian Islands shown just to the left of our position. |
 This is the GPS (Latitude & Longitude) reading, (along with the heading & speed) which equals the position shown on the chart to the left. |
 The radar screen to the right, the electronic chart on the left. |
 A closer view of the electronic chart, showing our position. The bridge also has a Black Box which constantly records our position; what the radar screen shows (other ships in the vicinity); the ships speed & heading, etc., etc., including a recording of everything that is spoken on the bridge. |
 Always a treat - the Ice Carving Demonstration on the Lido Deck |
 Large blocks of ice . . . |
 . . . are quickly carved by the crew members . . |
 . . . into . . . |
 . . . frozen works of art . . . |
 For the passengers to enjoy. |
 Shuffle Board on the Sports Deck |
 One night is designated "Dutch Night" |
 The passengers are given Dutch style hats to be worn during dinner |
 The crew shows, this the Indonesian Show, are a wonderful tribute to the talents of our crew members - above the Saman Welcome Dance |
 This part of the Bali Kecak Dance |
 One of the dance characters (The King of Rama) |
 From West Java - An Angklung Concert |
This is what the Angklung looks like up close - an interesting native instrument |
The cover of the Indonesian Crew Show Program |
The Filipino Crew Show Program Cover - both the Indonesian & Filipino drawings were designed by crew members. |
 From our Philippine crew members . . |
 . . . we see the talent displayed by the members of the Filipino Crew Show |
 During the cruise some of our "talented" Cruise With Hector participants performed . . . |
 . . . in what has been called a No Talent Show |
 But we discovered, that Hector is not the only talented member of our group. |
 There may be an exception of course |
 As we leave Kona, the Captain takes us fairly close to shore, and slows down, as we gaze out at the volcano lava flowing down the mountain into the sea along Hawaii's S-E shore line. On the Port (left) side of the ship. (The Captain, depending on the weather, seas, etc., MAY turn around the ship so that both sides may see the show, but the Port is the side for sure.) |
 A few miles further, another flow. The photos don't do it justice, this is a MUST SEE. |
Every night, something special in the Van Gogh Show Lounge |
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 The Show Lounge fills up quickly for each evenings performance |
 If you are lucky, you may be selected for a special reception & dinner with one of the Ships Commanding Officers. Here, First Officer Sijbe de Boer with the Webmaster's wife, Jean. |
 If you are interested, you might wish to take a Back Stage tour . . . |
 Where the Ship's Stage Manager & staff will give you a tour of . . . |
 . . . how the back stage operations work . . . |
 . . . for each evenings performances. |
| The images below were taken during an April '01 (SD > Hawaii > SD) Cruise. I have left them in for information for purposes only | |
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On our last day of sea, as we were about 214 miles S-W from San Diego, a medical emergency was declared. Shortly after 2 pm, a U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter arrived on the scene, and airlifted an ill passenger off of the ship. Our hats are off to the Coast Guard for their skill. We were in rough seas (7.5 to 12 foot), and "near-gale" force winds. The Captain turned the ship into the wind, slowed down somewhat, and the Coast Guard took it from there. The images below chronicle the process. Interesting to see, glad we were not in the basket being lifted up - but comforting to know it is handled so well, if needed. |
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 The Coast Guard coming up on our Port side |
 From the Crow's Nest, we can see the helicopter as it is maneuvered into position over the forward deck. (The helicopter, is a HH-60J Jayhawk type from the San Diego Coast Guard Air Station.) |
 Slowly moving into position . . . |
 . . . a Coast Guard crewman is lowered onto the forward deck . . . |
 . . . flowed by a litter basket. |
 The patient has been loaded into the basket on the lower deck, so the helicopter is brought back into position . . |
 . . . and the litter basket is brought back up . . . |
 . . . closer, closer - all the while swinging in the wind. |
 The basket, and patient are now brought into the open door. |
 The Coast Guard crewman is now brought aboard. |
 After he is inside, the helicopter speeds off toward San Diego. A round of applause for the Coast Guard Crew was heard by all in the Crow's Nest who were watching this process. A WELL DONE !! |
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