Noel Bell, HAL guest and frequent blog contributor, is on Noordam for 21 days and is sharing photos from his trip. Here are some snapshots taken during his call at Istanbul, Turkey.

Istanbul arrival.

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Topics: Cruise Diary, Mediterranean, ms Noordam | | No Comments

During our Senior Management Conference taking place on ss Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Captains Peter Bos and Edward van Zanne visited the ship’s bridge. Captain van Zanne was captain on ss Rotterdam in 1994. Captain Bos was the last HAL Captain to sail on ss Rotterdam before the ship was sold in 1997. Both Captains enjoyed reminiscing about life on the bridge there and related stories of their time on board.

Captain van Zanne, left, and Captain Bos on the bridge of ss Rotterdam.

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Topics: HAL History | | 2 Comments

The City of Rotterdam graciously hosted the Holland America Line team at the Historic Rotterdam Town Hall as a kick off to our 2013 Senior Management Conference that is taking place in Rotterdam on the ss Rotterdam. Every year we bring together senior executives from the offices and officers from the ships to talk about the company, run training sessions and share ideas.

Executive Vice President of Fleet Operations Dan Grausz is greeted by Lord Mayor of the City of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb.

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Topics: Staff & Crew | | No Comments

Robert “Nick” Nichols, ms Nieuw Jakarta’s academic director, sent us the following note and photos of the center’s recent classes of graduates. ms Nieuw Jakarta is HAL’s crew training center in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Congratulations to the 175th class and graduates of the Housekeeping/Laundry class and the 40th Clerk class held at ms Nieuw Jakarta. Participants received training on a variety of topics such as English for their job, skills practical training and familiarization with HAL policies and procedures. Well done!

From left, front: Murdiyanto, Ireneus Aditya and Putu Herry Suryanatha. From left, back: Harman Yusiwa, Nyoman Swan Tridarma and Zaki Mubarak.

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Topics: Staff & Crew | | 1 Comment

Noel Bell, HAL guest and frequent blog contributor, is on Noordam for 21 days and is sharing photos from his trip. Here are some snapshots taken during his call at Mykonos, Greece.

A very lovely island here in Greece just off the Turkish coast. As you can see, it has the famous Greek style windmills on the shoreline.

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Topics: Cruise Diary, Mediterranean, ms Noordam, Postcards from... | | No Comments

Noel Bell, HAL guest and frequent blog contributor, is on Noordam for 21 days and is sharing photos from his trip. Here are some snapshots taken during his call at Rhodes, Greece.

Rhodes, said by many to be one of the most beautiful islands in Greece, it is here that we explore the walled town with it’s signature windmills at the entrance to the harbour. The knights came here during the crusades, but we are only on Rhodes for 8 hours. Enjoy the images.

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Topics: Cruise Diary, Mediterranean, ms Noordam, Postcards from... | | No Comments

I have just returned from a three-week cruise on the Veendam which included a wonderful excursion to Machu Picchu. As usual HAL had organised everything perfectly and it all went like clockwork. The guides were excellent, the Monesterio Hotel lived up to its 5-star rating, the Hiram Bingham rail journey was a great experience and the Inca site itself was amazing. We had a lovely sunny day and because we didn’t arrive until after lunch, the crowds had gone and we managed to get some fabulous photographs. Machu Picchu was on our bucket list and we didn’t want to spend days trekking in Peru, so three days off the ship was a perfect way to do things. Grace, who happened to be the captain’s wife, travelled with us and was an excellent travelling companion, I hope we can keep in touch. — Margaret Morris

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Topics: ms Veendam, Postcards from..., Shore Excursions, South America | | 1 Comment

Mariners Dwight and Connie Cenac recently performed in the Dancing With the Stars at Sea competition on Maasdam. It looks like they both had a great time with their partners!

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Topics: Art, Activities & Entertainment, Mariner Voices, ms Maasdam, Videos | | 1 Comment