Art for Sail

Monday, February 2, 2026

It’s another day at sea. The weather is better, but not what I would call “nice” weather. It’s still cool and a bit bumpy.

Seems like a perfect day for an art tour on Deck 3. Here you will find the upper entrance to the theater, the library, some classrooms/meeting rooms, jewelry store, shops, the OceanBar, the photo gallery, and the upper level of the Main Dining Room. There are no cabins on this level.

It is a tradition for a port to give a ship a plaque the first time the ship visits that port. Some of the plaques are quite lovely. Between Deck 2 and Deck 3 there is a small staircase where many of the Zuiderdam’s port plaques can be seen.

In a dimly lit passageway nearby we discovered a half dozen interesting little “viewboxes.” They are shadowboxes, recessed into the wall, about the size of a book, perhaps. Each box contains a tiny three-dimensional display. Each one is illuminated with a light that slowly changes color. They are very difficult to photograph. We found that an iPhone does a better job photographing dark tiny things than a digital camera. If you are viewing this on a phone, you may not be able to see the details of these pieces.

The viewboxes are by Volker Kühn, Germany, 2001.

Heavenly Joy

The Dealer

Way to the Stars

Off We Go
(Tiny man on actual size champagne cork)

Auf dem Richtigen Weg (On the Right Path)

Music in the Air

A painting of our ship! (A painting of the Zuiderdam I, by the same artist, is Here.)

The Zuiderdam II, Cruising the Carribbean 2002
By Captain Stephen J. Card, Bermuda 2002

This large Waterford crystal seahorse hangs in the atrium. I think it’s kind of ugly, but a lot of people think it is special.

“Sailing Vessels at Sunset,” by Jacob Willem Gruyter, The Netherlands, 1887. Sorry, little out of focus, but it’s such a beautiful scene, really wanted to share it.

One more nautical painting from Deck 3. No plaque. I would like to know what is happening in this scene.

A beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers.

“The Robe,” a cast bronze patinated sculpture, by Sean Rice, England, 20th Century.

Most of the elevators on most of the decks have these vibrant Art Deco doors.

“De Vecht,” copy of a weathervane on top of a home at the River Vecht, The Netherlands, by Willem Jonkers, The Netherlands, 2001.

Ken had a drink called a “Smokey Old Fashioned.” It smelled like a campfire. I don’t know how this was done. Here is a video, 21 seconds. Once again, I don’t know if everybody will be able to view the video. Let me know if you can view it. I will try to address this when I get home. I think the internet here will not support the use of a video.

Today’s fabric is “Not Quite Rembrandt, by edsel2084 for Spoonflower.