Hello Ms Pfeiffer,
It’s now been a few days since I got back home. This trip was quite different from the others I’ve taken with you. Not only did I have to wait three days before I was allowed on board, but the journey was also a bit shorter. My travelling companion got into trouble with his boss, which is why he disembarked early.
I arrived at the CTB gate early on 9 April. As the officer on duty knew my passport details, we had a good chat about my place of birth. The ship was still at the CTA at that point. At around 4.00 pm, I was allowed on board and was greeted by a friendly Filipino. Then came the usual formalities. In the evening, the ship was moved to the CTT. On 10 April, we were moved back to the EuroGate in the morning. The journey began at around 6.00 pm.
I always enjoyed the meals the cook conjured up, even though I didn’t always know what I was eating.
On the Elbe and the Kiel Canal, we were allowed on the bridge. However, if the pilots were too preoccupied with us, we were politely shown off the bridge. Otherwise, access to the bridge was also restricted during local navigation. On my previous voyages, access to the bridge was also encouraged at night, as the officers were kept entertained by conversation.
The crew consisted of 14 people and was provided exclusively by the staffing agency, including the officers. The officers, all of whom were Ukrainian, were very sparing with any information.
Signs and posters were hung everywhere, detailing what had to be done and what was forbidden. The doors on the decks leading outside were kept locked at all times, so I had to go down from the 5th deck to the poop deck and then back up outside to the bridge deck. The shipowner had probably had some bad experiences.
Otherwise, it was a very peaceful and pleasant journey. The Baltic Sea was as smooth as a duck pond. I disembarked in Gävle. Everything went smoothly. As I’d been to Sweden a few times before, Gävle wasn’t particularly exciting, but I was able to stretch my legs.
The return journey was also uneventful; this time we passed through the Kiel Canal during the day. I was already familiar with Bremerhaven from my trip to Reykjavik in Iceland.
On Friday, 17 April at 11.15 pm, we moored at the CTA. This was followed on 18 April by the CTT and EuroGate before we moored at the CTB in the evening. I disembarked at 7.45 pm. I was back home by around 10.00 pm.
Conclusion: All in all, I really enjoyed the trip. It was another new experience. I got on best with the cook. We had a ‘good rapport’. When I said goodbye to him, he apologised on behalf of the officers for the fact that they regard the passengers as a necessary evil. I felt the same way.
Kind regards