The 'dam ships have always been famous for their spectacular - and
unique - art collections. I'm particularly fond of Chinese art and
enjoy imagining a pair of Ming Dynasty Foo dogs, carefully crated,
sharing the hold of a merchant schooner with other, more prosaic,
cargo until they found their way to the home of the fleet's owner. I
like the idea that they're once again at sea.
The décor and art collections of the HAL ships we've sailed evoked
a sense of the homes of Dutch ship owners who plied the China Trade. Amsterdam ratchets it up. Her décor makes me think
more about a descendent of, say, Peter Stuyvesant (for whom one of
the big suites is named) who inherited a priceless camphorwood chest
and decided to hang a Peter Max painting next to it. Of course the
descendent also inherited plenty of money to indulge a love of
contemporary art.
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| A Swiss Army
Knife - Out For A Stroll
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There are plenty of staid paintings of ships, under both power
and sail, hung on stair landings, but other landings surprise and
delight with vibrant, glowing textiles. And there's some serious
whimsy going on, but you have to look for it. In the Odyssey
Restaurant (that's the reservations-only haut Italian dining
room), the paintings look rather traditional from a distance. How
about a cow under a garden umbrella? Or Marilyn Monroe,
wearing a robe, kneeling just below an heroic sculpture?
And, oh, yes. The Swiss Army Knife out for a noontime stroll just
past the lily pond. Look left.
It's tough to find the photo gallery if it's not open.
Large photo prints of rope and shipping details are what you'll
see. The idea of photos covering photos? Great attention
to detail.
The ship models, from a tin version of the Robert E. Lee to beautiful, to-scale versions created for teaching purposes, are
worth a long look.
If you decide to sail Amsterdam or any other HAL
ship, spend some quality time looking at the art collection.
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| The wild colors of the ceramic bench at the end of the aft pool are
echoed in the dance floor of the Ambassador's Lounge (see part I) where
the wall artwork is, well, surreal. The bench, the dance floor, and the
upholstery in the piano bar made me think, just for a moment, of Joe
Farcus. (I still haven't gotten over the oyster shells embedded in the
walls of one of Triumph's bars.) The designer prefers to
think of the dance floor "like handmade Venetian book paper."
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The almost-naked ladies holding lamps in the Queen's Lounge are
completely eclipsed by the entirely naked ladies representing the
Four Seasons. These gals were created for the Nieuw Amsterdam in 1936 and, according, to Amsterdam's designer, F.J.C.
Dingemans, were chased to ground in Hawaii where they were in a
private collection. And then there were the fabulous, fabulous
dolphins.
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| The Four Seasons
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| Click Menu to Enlarge |
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Even culture vultures need to eat. The menu for this non-journey?My
Official Photographer (a/k/a my husband) said he could manage a
7-day cruise on that menu alone. After intense negotiation, it
seemed like the entire entrée selection made its way to a happy
bunch of professional cruise-writer gourmets and gourmands. We
were hosted by Erik at what was, arguably, the #1 table in the La
Fontaine dining room. (Actually, it was designated as
"J".) Excellent wine flowed freely. When dessert
came around, almost everyone ordered two and there was much passing
of plates around the table.
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| Chocolate Thing |
"What do you call this chocolate thing?"
"In French, its rein de saba."
"And in English?"
"Queen of Sheba."
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| Me, wearing a
Weird Hat, on Ryndam
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Fortunately, we were not treated to the HAL tradition of weird Dutch hats. |
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I don't know how HAL does it, but I have never, ever - not even in
ultra-deluxe hotels and restaurants - seen shinier silver than on 'dam
ships. They set the prettiest table in the mainstream fleet. I asked just
how they do it. The answer: Every piece of silver is polished every day.
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Because my Official Photographer was along, I didn't need to take
advantage of one of the very cool goodies ... a disposable camera with the
HAL logo on it.
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There was also a beautifully-done inaugural book, printed by Onboard
Media. Long-time e-correspondent Juli Chase was the project editor for
HAL. I totally loved the end paper and flyleaf photos.
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And now, after a long wait, the piece de resistance.
The Master of Amsterdam, Edward van Zaane, a/k/a "Captain Hunk."
The Bridge on Amsterdam looks like a huge
video game center.
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