Vision of the Seas - Part 3: Amsterdam (continued)

The following morning, Sunday 1st May, was hot and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. I got up late, partly due to feeling lazy and partly due to the inside cabin being as black as a coal cellar at midnight and consequently not having a clue whether it was day or night.
Cunard's Queen Elizabeth was due to dock in the cruise terminal at 1300, so I went on deck and waited for her to arrive. Patsy was already there but the ship was late so, instead of turning round in the river, she was put in behind us bow forward. As Queen Elizabeth approached, people poured out on deck to watch her approach and be stuffed into her dock. It was a tight fit, between ourselves and some Rhine river boats opposite, and we were half expecting a prang, but the pilot, captain and tugs all knew what they were doing and QE went into her berth with (little!) room to spare. It was around 3pm before she was alongside.

Click on photos to see larger ones.

Not much room!

Very little space between the QE, us and the river boats opposite. There was actually less room than it appears in this photo.

We were scheduled to depart at 5pm but were delayed slightly because some people were late back to the ship, having got lost in Amsterdam. They'd phoned the ship to tell them they were late, luckily for them they had the number.
While we were waiting to leave, a very loud ship's horn sounded from somewhere. It sounded like a Tyfon horn, of the sort QE2 had and similar to Vision's own horn. It wasn't us and, from the direction of the sound, it wasn't Queen Elizabeth either. The small mystery was solved as a sailing ship passed us, with a ship's horn mounted on deck and a bloke with ear defenders on pressing the button at regular intervals.

Picking up the tug (Svitzer Medemblik)

Our escort. This ensured that small boats and other vessels didn't get in the way. We had the pleasure of seeing the crew give a WAFI and a small open boat a right telling off for coming too close.

Local ferry

Rochdale One again. This rather cute ship is a former Soviet cruise ship, now a static accommodation ship.

Tanker Cape Bruny

Through IJmuiden locks, with the gate closing behind us as we head back out into the North Sea

Next stop, the final stop, would be Copenhagen in Denmark, over 500 nautical miles from Amsterdam and it would take two nights and a day to get there, at 17 knots.
The night we left Amsterdam I tried to get some interior views of the ship, including a couple of very nice models in the Crown and Anchor Study on Deck 8. One model was of the SS United States (I think I heard somewhere that RCI own, or once owned, the United States) while the other was of Vision of the Seas. I used ISO 'stupid hundred' (my camera ISO goes up to 6400, with a High setting of ISO 12800) to get the photos because the models were in glass cases and flash would just reflect off the glass, so I used ISO 6400 rather than 12800 which is very much for 'emergencies only'. The Canon 7D handles noise very well, and the photos only needed a little noise reduction.

SS United States

Vision of the Seas

At the centre of the ship, several decks high, there is the Centrum. At the bottom of this, on Deck 4, is an area where there is usually a band playing in the evenings. On the nights we were there, one of the entertainers was an Elvis impersonator and he actually wasn't bad. The lighting was neon whose colours changed from green to blue, pink and back again and the effect was quite pretty.

Looking down at the entertainers. This one was an Elvis impersonator.

There was a huge sculpture hanging down through the Centrum, I am not sure exactly what it was supposed to be but, to me, it looked like a dinosaur skeleton of some sort, or HR Giger's 'Alien', from the Sci-fi horror film of the same name.

The 'skeleton' sculpture

The next day, Monday 2nd April, we were at sea and cruising along the coast of Denmark but for me another pressing concern had arisen - Saints were away at Plymouth this afternoon. Win and automatic promotion was all but assured, we'd be three points clear of Huddersfield Town, with one game to go and a massive, insurmountable, goal difference of 18 in our favour. Frustratingly, the ship's satellite system went down, so there was no internet and no mobile phones meaning I was unable to find out the score. It really was annoying but there was nothing that we could do until we came within range of Denmark's mobile phone networks and could get a signal.
Patsy was eventually able to get a signal from the Telenor system of Denmark and look at the BBC Sports website. Full time result: Plymouth 1, Saints 3. YES! WE ARE GOING UP! Saints are effectively promoted back to the Championship, barring a highly unlikely turnaround in goal difference in the final game this coming Saturday (May 7th). It'd need Huddersfield to win 18-0 and us to lose, or them to win 8-0 and us lose 10-0 or something equally daft. Saints' final game this season is against Walsall at St. Mary's. Unfortunately I can't go as it's a sell-out (should have got a ticket before I left!). Hopefully, we'll go out of L1 in style by beating Walsall and by going up on points difference rather than goal difference if Huddersfield win their game. It may send Walsall down if Dagenham and Redbridge win, but I don't care about that, it'll be good to get out of this crap league at last.

One night of the cruise was left, we'd dock at Copenhagen at 0700 on Tuesday May 3rd and get off the ship at 0800. I'll put that in the next - and final - part.

Vision of the Seas - Part 2: Amsterdam

We sailed along the Channel and up the North Sea to Amsterdam overnight. It had been a stormy night, with a gale and fairly rough seas, meaning the boat deck and sun deck were closed off, but Vision of the Seas is a steady ship and we hardly felt it.The next morning, Saturday 30th April 2011, found us off IJmuiden where we picked up the pilot for our entry through IJmuiden locks into the North Sea Canal.

The pilot boat - blurry photo because it was shot through a window as the outside decks were still closed off.

We also collected a tug, Svitzer Muiden, which was to accompany us through the locks, along the canal and into our dock at the city's cruise terminal. The tug attached itself to our stern, presumably to keep the ship from swinging due to the low speed. It was at this point that that outside decks were, thankfully, reopened. I hate being on a ship and not able to get outside but I can see why they did it as the wind was incredibly strong, enough to blow you off your feet. It was also probably to save the drunken stag do muppets from themselves.

The ferry King Seaways was in the ferry terminal on the seaward side of the locks. This is the former King of Scandinavia but was better known to people on the south coast of England as the former Brittany Ferries' Val de Loire, which I once sailed on with some friends in the early 2000's.

King Seaways

Entering IJmuiden Lock, the steelworks are on the left

The lock gate opens and we enter the canal to Amsterdam

The canal was lined with industrial places, as well as farms and highly cultivated countryside. There were oil refineries, oil storage tanks, bulk berths, coal heaps, container ports, science fictiony-looking chemical factories and steelworks with smoke issueing from their chimneys, docks, warehouses, ships, farms, houses, cows, birds...it is a busy place.

Acergy Falcon

Brigit Maersk

Frio Murmansk

Gotland Sofia

John F

Rochdale One

Sirius

Capt. Johansen hit the horns as we arrived, probably not only to let the world at large know we'd arrived but to warn people that we were turning round. It was a public holiday in Holland, Queen's Day, so the Amstel river was alive with vessels of all shapes, sizes and vintages, from decent-sized ships to frail-looking tiny boats and a party was evidently in full swing, so it would have put a bit of a downer on things if we'd crushed anybody!
At the passenger terminal, the brand new AIDAsol, complete with AIDA's hideous 'eyes and lips' paint scheme, was already there, occupying the rear berth, so we docked in front of her after being turned round.

AIDAsol. That paint scheme...!

If your lens isn't wide enough - I only had my 70-200mm on the camera - go for the 'artistic'!

We were scheduled to remain in Amsterdam until the following day, as was AIDAsol only she was going early the next morning (Patsy was getting up early to get her leaving but I'm not *that* keen, preferring a lie-in! I don't do mornings, particularly early ones, unless in dire emergencies or if I have to be somewhere; I only go to work from lunchtime onward) while we were sailing at 1700.
We decided to get off the ship and walk round to a piece of public land across the canal so we could get some photos of her and AIDAsol docked. It was hot, crowded and a bit of a step to get round there but we could get views of both ships. First though, we could go down to the dockside and photograph Vision from close quarters - imagine being able to do that in the terrorism-paranoid UK where you can be arrested for even aiming a camera at a public building.
I used my 18-55mm wide angle zoom for this picture. This lens is total and utter crap,with softness at the edges and chromatic aberration, and needs replacing but is better than nothing in 'emergencies'.

Vision of the Seas from the dockside. Imagine being able to do that in the UK. Not. A. Chance...!

Then it was the walk round to the other side for more photos. I had far more pressing concerns though, as Southampton FC were playing in a crucial match away at Brentford and with three games left to play, Saints needed to win two of them to be sure of going up, thanks to a massive goal difference advantage over nearest rivals Huddersfield Town. My mobile is not connected to the internet as I am not paying £5 a month for something I hardly use, so I had to get Patsy, also a Saints fan, to check the scores on hers. We won comfortably, 3-0, meaning only one more win was needed. Unfortunately, Hudders also won, away at Brighton, so it was down to the next game, at Plymouth on Monday...

Vision OTS against the light.

That night was 'formal' dress code. I'd brought some posh gear with me but, to be honest, it's one of the things that puts me off cruising a bit. I hate wearing formal clothes as, frankly, it makes me feel grossly uncomfortable and not 'me', so I was glad when the evening was over because I felt like a complete prat. I don't think I'll be taking a trip on a Cunarder any time soon, they love all things formal, as I understand. I even had a 'Blue Wave' cocktail, also known as 'Blue Lagoon' or 'Blue Hawai'i', which was very alcoholic indeed. With that and a beer a bit later, I felt slightly pissed to say the least - I am not a heavy drinker these days and it doesn't take much to get even slightly smashed.
Dinner that evening, though, banished all thoughts of stuffiness and discomfort as it was easily the best meal we'd had. Lobster bisque (soup, in other words) and a curry were on the menu and they were very good.
We still had most of the next day left in Amsterdam before we were due to leave at 1700, so I am going to have to put that in Part 3, because of the arrival of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth in Amsterdam and our journey back out to the North Sea...

Vision of the Seas - Part 1

I had never got round to going on a cruise before so my friend Patricia (of Liner Lovers) who is, in her own words, 'a certifiable (cruise) ship nut and total cruise addict', talked me into coming along on Vision of the Seas' positioning voyage from Southampton to Copenhagen via Amsterdam, a short four night cruise.

The cruise was booked in February and the day of sailing, 29th April 2011, came round quickly. I caught the Red Jet over to Southampton where I met up with Patsy on Town Quay. After the obligatory photos of the ship line up - as well as Vision of the Seas, other cruise ships in were Celebrity Eclipse, Ventura, Saga Pearl II and Black Watch, which should have sailed two days before but had broken down. Unfortunately it was a misty and murky day, although bright, and the photos are a bit washed out; having the camera set to JPEG (L) and not RAW didn't help either - it was to save card space but I should have stuck with RAW.
Click on each photo for a larger version.
As an aside, Southampton City Council (or is it ABP?) really need to do something about the burnt-out and derelict Royal Pier. It's been in that state for years and is frankly embarrassing.

Vision of the Seas

Celebrity Eclipse

We then took a taxi round to berth 106, the Mayflower Cruise Terminal, where Vision of the Seas was docked. Patsy had suggested walking through Dock Gate 8 and along Herbert Walker Avenue through the docks, so she could see Celebrity Eclipse and Black Watch, as well as 'Vision' up close, but I said no, as we probably wouldn't be allowed and, besides, it was bloody miles! I'm not lazy but my knees aren't the best and I was towing a largish bag on wheels, as well as toting a camera bag, so I couldn't be arsed.
To cut a short story shorter, we checked in and boarded the ship immediately. Patsy has sailed with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, who are allied, and has enough points to have 'Platinum' status so we got priority boarding and disembarkation, which saved a lot of hanging around.
After lunch in the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 9, which has a view forward, we went up to Deck 10 and waited for the crocked Black Watch to sail on her delayed cruise to the Med. BW had her departure put back so many times in the past 48 hours it was becoming something of a joke (although presumably not to the passengers on board!) but, just after 3pm, she sailed. A couple of people on Vision had friends aboard BW who they were in contact with via mobile phone and, unsurprisingly, they were very pleased to at last be on their way. Prior to her sailing, I had noticed a few people walking away from the ship, complete with luggage, I guess these were people who had decided to cut their losses/accept compensation for the delay and leave. There was also an ambulance on the quayside which left with no lights or sirens but with only the driver visible, which probably meant that the victim wasn't seriously hurt - or was dead.
Black Watch was docked starboard side to, so she had to go past us up to the Upper Swinging Ground to turn. It's true that the best place to take a photo of a ship is from another ship.

Our sailing was on Southampton VTS as 1745, but we were told it was 1630. Before that, at 1600, we had to go along to our lifeboat stations on the boat deck (Deck 5), although we didn't need to bring lifejackets from the cabins with us, to be told what to do and where to go in the event of disaster - in our case it was Muster Station 14 on the port side.
Once that was done, it was back up to Deck 10 to watch the other ships go and to wait our turn. While we had been waiting for the muster station practice to finish, the container ship Bangkok Express had left her berth and was in the process of going past us when I got back to my vantage point on Deck 10 so, unfortunately, the only photo of her was an 'arse shot'.

The other cruise ships sailed at, or just after, 1630. Saga Pearl II went first from the QEII Terminal, followed by Celebrity Eclipse from the City Cruise Terminal at Berth 101 (I agree with Patsy when she says that she wishes that they'd drop the 'Celebrity' prefix from the ships' names) and then Ventura from the Ocean Terminal.

1630 came and went, then 1645, then 1700 and we didn't move. I have no idea what the delay was, and the dockers were ready on the quayside to cast off our ropes, but we eventually went at around 1715. I was hoping we'd be on time because my aunt was waiting at East Cowes to see us go past and I'd already phoned her and told her we were leaving at 1630.

As we left the quayside the ship's Master, Capt. Magne Johansen, hit the horn which sounded just like the QE2's horn, a proper 'ocean liner' sound (check out this YouTube video of the QE2 versus 'nails down a blackboard'). It was very loud up on Deck 10 forward (I'd promptly rechristened that part of the ship 'Ten Forward' after the observation deck aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yes, I am a Trekkie!) and small children started bawling!

Mayflower Park from a different perspective.

A different view of a Red Funnel. I'm usually 'down there' and not 'up here'. I assume the ferry is 'dressed overall' because of the Royal Wedding, which was earlier in the day.

While it always seems to take ages travelling down Southampton Water on the ferry after visiting Southampton (I usually travel on the vehicle ferry rather than the fast ferry because it's cheaper with the added bonus that you can take pictures from the car ferry), it seemed to take no time at all on a big ship. Soon we were at Calshot, where a number of ship photographers were gathered, and beginning our turn round the Brambles, listing spectacularly as we did so, and into the Thorn Channel.
My aunt was at East Cowes to watch us go by - I know it sounds daft, but I have always wanted to sail down Southampton Water and past East Cowes on a big ship and be seen to be doing so! - and she took a number of photos of us.

My aunt (arrowed) was at East Cowes to watch the ship go past. I was hoping to see the dogs but they weren't visible, probably back in the car by then - I know how awkward it is to take photos and control dogs at the same time!

My aunt's photos of Vision of the Seas passing East Cowes:

I'm on the top deck, next to the climbing wall behind the funnel. I could just about make myself out in the originals.

As we left the Solent and passed the Nab, the light was beginning to go and thoughts turned to dinner. Our sitting was the second sitting at 8.45pm, this was because we didn't want to miss sailing down the Solent but we did want to miss families with small children who would be at the first sitting. After dinner, we went up to the Viking Crown Lounge, where a disco was in progress. The music was hopeless, mostly drum 'n' bass stuff you usually hear on Radio 1, so we didn't hang round for long, especially as there was a lairy, pain-in-the-arse stag do group who were loud, obnoxious and who, contrary to notices all round the ship and PA announcements when we sailed, chucked litter over the side. One of them took a glass onto the dance floor, which was not allowed, and promptly dropped it with the entirely predictable result that the glass smashed and the dance floor had to be cleared.
Luckily we seemed to have lost them at Amsterdam, as we never saw them again - hopefully they got chucked off! Having a good time is one thing, being a drunk and obnoxious moron is entirely another.

Onward to Amsterdam, where we were to arrive the following day...that'll be in Part 2.

Pont-Aven

Brittany Ferries' Pont-Aven leaving Portsmouth on Wednesday 16th February 2011. Photo taken with a Canon 7D and 400mm f5.6 lens.

Ship facts: IMO Number: 9268708; built in 2004; flag: France; GT 40700

The weather this winter has been terrible for any form of photography, with very little sunshine since October. In fact, we have had only 41% of the sunlight we should have over the winter. Not conducive to wanting to get out and about with a camera, hence no blog updates for more than 2 months.

'Solent Ships' goes cruising - I am going on Vision of the Seas at the end of April, with my friend Patsy of Liner Lovers. It's a 4-night repositioning trip from Southampton to Copenhagen via Amsterdam. It should be a good trip, especially as I have not been on a cruise before and I can do some shipspotting and birdwatching; I am also hoping to combine the trip with some birdwatching in Copenhagen before we fly back to the UK.

Black Watch and Taiko

A quick dash to Southampton for a new lens from LCE didn't produce much in the way of anything to look at in the form of ships, but the docks did manage Black Watch and Taiko. At least one of them was easy on the eye.

Ship facts:

Black Watch - IMO number 7108930, built 1972, flag: Bahamas, GT 28668

Taiko - IMO number 8204975, built 1984, flag: Norway, GT 66635

November 2008...

Almost two years ago QE2 left Southampton for the last time. She'd been sold to Dubai and sailed on her final cruise to the Middle Eastern country on 11th November 2008. I was there, on a special Red Funnel cruise aboard Red Eagle, to see her off and, of course, was very sad to see my all-time favourite ship leave forever.
As well as still photos, some of which you can see here (scroll down the page a bit), I also carried along a Minolta Dimage Z2 compact camera with a movie mode on it and took some poor quality videos. The camera's image quality is poor, the sound quality worse and the autofocus struggled to cope but I did manage to capture something of the event with it and that's always better than nothing.

Bridge crew leaning on the siren button:

Some of the fireworks:

This was the last vew of her as we slowed down and she continued on down the Solent and out of sight.

I don't think there was a dry eye in Southampton that evening.

I still miss my old friend. :(