OUR LAST SEA DAY

And

      The treasures of the Westerdam

We have actually come to enjoy our “sea Days”.

 

Our sea days have all started with a leisurely breakfast in the stateroom. After that anything goes. The is so much going on that you can just walk around the ship going from venue to venue or you can just go and find a quiet spot and read a book or work on the written portion of a blog. There is no pressure to do anything. There are no tours booked and you don’t have to be anywhere at any particular time.

The pictures scattered through this posting are of the treasures and artwork throughout the Westerdam.

Many of the lounges have live music and a large variety of genres. In the piano lounge you will usually find a classical pianist and often he or she is accompanied a violin or saxophone. The HAL Cat band usually plays in the Ocean lounge with a variety of soloists. The steel drum player and band are usually performing around the main Lido Pool. The day can be a busy or as quiet as you wish it to be. The decision is yours.

 

A few interesting facts about the trip as of today. We are currently travelling along the north end of the Middle America Trench. The deepest reading shown on the screen so far is 12,758 ft. By the time we reach San Diego tomorrow we will have travelled 5170 nautical miles, seen 13 countries and visited 11 of them and not had one day of rain the whole trip. I am including Cuba and Panama in the count. When we travelled between Cuba and Haiti we travelled along the shore of Cuba and could see Cuba for at least 4 hours. So we have seen Cuba but have never been there.

 

We have crossed Panama, sailed her lakes and used her locks but we never touch land. So again we have seen a lot of Panama but we have never touch land there.

The meals have been surprisingly healthy, well proportioned and not one repeat. The head of dietary spoke at one of the coffee times with staff and was asked about the menu rotation. He said they do not have a rotation and this cruise has a 35 day menu plan. Many of the passengers are staying on the cruise ship in San Diego and continuing on to Hawaii and the south pacific then back to San Diego before doing a short relocation cruise from San Diego to Seattle where the Westerdam will do the Alaska cruises for the summer.

Some last minute cruise statistics:

- The ship, through its desalination plant, produces 1,700 tons of potable water per day. The daily consumption of potable water this trip was 750 tons per day.

- There were 1,778 passengers and 804 crew members.

- 1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles or 1.852 kilometers.

 

- The current Panama locks were built at 110 feet wide. Less 18” on each side to make room for the massive rubber bumpers that line the canal to keep the ships from getting scraped should the mules fail and the ships rub along the side. That leaves 6” on each side of the ship. Not a lot of room for error. We managed to transit all the locks without once hitting the side.

- Although a Panamanian Pilot comes on board the ship as it enters the canal, the pilot is never at the controls and is only on board to give advise and to help the captain navigate the waters through the lake stretches. The ship is propelled through the canal by its own power and the “Mules” are only there to keep the ship dead centre going through the locks.

 

 

 

 

 

The art work on board the Westerdam is worth well over 2 million dollars.

This picture is of one of the many tile mosaic floor patterns that you will often find yourself walking on as you make your way around the ships many hallways, lounges and entrances.