afloat. TT awn nee eT eT TS ee eT at ted ome Mt mT eT era ne NFER Bere be lene aren era aa Eee ea CH eee Photo David Wishart THE = STATENDAM, Holland America Line’s new 5&5,000-tonner, has cabins that are among the best New cruise ship ‘Statendany - - has space, luxury and style IN THE never-ending string of superlatives that is the. cruise industry today, what with mega-sliips, multi-deck atriumis, private balconies and Broadway shows, whot re- mains for an encore? 7. Net a let, unless you happened to be on the Statendam as it left the French port of Sete, where the ‘captain demonstrated that the art of seamanship can be a highlight of the cruise experience. The Statendarm, Holland America Line’s new 55,000- tonner, had somehow squeezed its 720-foot bulk into a quay just 100 feet longer, an early-morning feat - witnessed by few of the 1,300 ’ passengers... - During the day they saw the ‘walled city of Carcassonne, ‘ downed local oysters with: - Languedoc wine, and explored the old Mediterranean seaport of Sete, but for many the main topic was how the big blue ship iad got into a three-sided box, and how it would get out. - ‘That evening, the lines were cast off, and the impossible happened: the "ship moved sideways, pro- pelled by two bow thrusters and one stern thruster, Passengers crowding the decks saw the dock moving away ina perfectly parallel line for 10 feet ... 29 feet ... and then for perhaps 100 feet until the Statendam could move forward. It was like being on tracks. Ovi shore a huge crowd waved and cheered; the passengers were no less impressed. One said all he wanted now was to see a vertical take-off in a Boeing 747. The remarkable feat was ac- complished by the captain using a tiny joystick, similar to that on an . Airbus airliner or a computer game, just one part of the ad- vanced technology built into this new gencration of Holland America vessels. The Statendam, which entered service in January, will be joined TRAVEL, TIPS by the new Maasdam in a few weeks, the latter to be based in Vanccuver next summer for a season of Alaska cruises. A third vessel, the Ryndam, wil! be delivered fall of 1994. The new Statendam, fifth ship of the Holland America Line to bear the name, also has the luxury and style expected of a company with a long tradition of passenger liners. It is spacious, as a liner ona long voyage should be, with a splendid all-around teak deck on the lower promenade level (four laps to a mile) with wooden lounge chairs and tartan rugs. The library and card room, an afterthought on some new ships, are magnificent, with huge view windows, writing desks and deep leather chairs. The Statendam is like a hand- some resort where passengers gather for aperitifs and a dance, then stroll an elegant boulevard lined with antiques to the Rotter- dam dining room with its two decks and splendid staircase. If you can look good coming downstairs fashionably late then ask for a second sitting table in the lower dining room. Afterwards there’s a revue show in the balconied Van Gogh lounge, a casino and the Crow’s Nest nightclub, the latter the hap- py domain of one of the few disc jockeys who observes the simple but essential rule of playing what the passengers want. Ideally the DJ should not be younger than the average age of the passengers. Want breakfast in bed? Coming up, from the genuinely hospitable Indonesian cabin staff, Passengers love the Holland America policy of not touting for crew tips; most do tip, but they hate being told to do it. The lido deck features a playground with pool, jacuzzis and overhead roof that slides open to let in the Mediterranean sun. There’s another big pool at the stern and a running track, a spa, gym and juice bar topsides. No excuses for boarding as a passenger and leaving as cargo. Cabins are among the best afloat with verandas for the first time: on Holland America, TV with CNN and a sports channel, VCRs, jacuzzi tubs and beds that make into twin or queen size. Finally, the vessel was remarkably vibration-free, so smooth that one could be furgiven to comparing it to a hniel — ca- cept that hotels don’t