Prinsendam Baltic June 2013
Prev Day Date Port Arrive Depart Next
13 Thu June 13 Kiel Canal transit 4:00 AM 2:00 PM
Hamburg, Germany 6:00 PM
Kiel Canal transit

Kiel Canal (Wikipedia) is a popular short cut through from the English Channel/North Sea to the Baltic, or vice-versa.   It is claimed to be busier than either the Panama or the Suez Canal.   It is a high priority item on our bucket list, ever since we first read Captain Albert's blog, to sail through this canal.

We were supposed to enter the Kiel Canal at about 04:00 and leave it at 14:00.   Despite our best efforts we missed the 4:00 start, Carol woke at about 04:15 while it was still rather gloomy outside, but you could see it was just before dawn.   We were in an area which looked too wide for a canal and indeed it was the river leading to Kiel and we were still outside the canal.   This was lucky for us as we hadn't missed anything.   It was 05:00 before we moved forward and into the first lock.   We spent an age there and then another ship joined us in the lock next to ours, leaving the canal.   He came and went in a matter of minutes, we had been an hour and still hadn't got anywhere.   Eventually we progressed into the lock itself.

It appears as though there is one lock at each end but none in the middle.   Even when in the lock, progress was slow so we went back to bed keeping an eye on the web cam and the cabin window.   Breakfast arrived about 07:30 which was welcome, but as it was still dark and gloomy with light rain, there was little incentive to go out on deck and we had an adequate view from our cabin window.   Sometimes we would see people with banners or flags or just waving.   There would be a passing place and sometimes we would have a long wait for a large ship to go the other way.   It always seemed to be us that had to pull in to the side, no one ever gave way to us.

Around 11:00, it brightened up briefly, so we went out on deck and took some photos.   The amazing thing was how peaceful it was out there.   You could hear the birds singing in the woods along the banks.   There would be the odd person having a walk and then a tiny village with a ferry and a few people waving.   After all the delays so far we were now about two hours behind schedule, but, right on time we passed the Azimara Quest, a sister ship (different line) of the Ocean Princess and slightly bigger than the Prinsendam.   They must have got in to the canal two hours early, which meant they would complete the passage in daylight.   Our Port Specialist told us, over the system, the history of the canal and the bridges and we did pass under about half a dozen or so of these.   On one, which was a railway bridge, a train slowed down so that the passengers could get a sight of us passing underneath.

It was about 5pm when we got to the second and final lock, where we were again delayed by about an hour.   Apparently, our passage was booked about 18 months ago and 6 weeks ago work started on one of the locks, so there was a hold up.   The captain announced that we would not be arriving in Hamburg until about 7:45, which of course scuppered the plans of some of the CCers, who were hoping for a 6pm arrival and a cruise on the Alster Lakes.   It was 6pm before we got through the final lock and then into the Elbe for our trip to Hamburg.

We had dinner at this point and then out on deck, in the pouring rain (sheltered a little by the deck above) as we went down the Elbe.   We passed the Airbus factory and then the city as we made our way to the new cruise terminal where we docked after 8pm.   We felt sorry for those who had plans thwarted for the evening but was glad that we had none.   Some people did go out and sample the night life though.


Hamburg

Hamburg (Wikipedia) like many German cities was reduced to a ruin (by us) during the war.   It is remarkable that they managed to restore so many of the old buildings, though of course there are many modern ones too.   It will be strange, (and unusual) to have two overnight stays here, though of course we don't arrive until the evening on the first day and leave early in the morning on the third.   It does mean we have a full day in between and can risk a lengthy journey if we want to see one of the other sights such as Lubeck.   We do not have to worry about being late back and missing "gangplank up!".


[   top   ]