1of4

Thanks! There is an elevator that goes to all indoor decks, including dining room and lounge. It does not go to the sun deck and the stairs to that level are steep. Scenic ships are split levels too with everything being one set of stairs away. This is why we prefer cabins on the Sapphire deck (middle deck) because the dining room is one set of stairs down while reception and the lounge is one set up.

The limo is still an available on some promotions but no good to us as we live too far from the airport so they take a token amount off. In 2019 there was a range of freebies depending upon the loyalty level of guest. But we received free airfare so that was a real bonus.

In 2019 we received two backpacks and a padded folder containing all our trip information. This time we received nothing ahead of time and no OBC although it was included on our first switched cruise post Covid but when we had to switch again because of my brain surgery it disappeared from our records. We received two very nice water bottles in our cabin which I believe everyone received.

Well I got sidetracked in a major way when I fell after the safety briefing. So our trip no longer includes a trip to Vienna 😔 but we have rented a wheelchair so I can still go to Keukenhof Gardens on Tuesday. I’ll spare you the details but I am being well cared for and we can stay onboard for the week. so I missed the lovely town of Veere yesterday and today we are docked in downtown Antwerp. DH has gone into Ghent in Belgium with explicit instructions to being back chocolate 🍫 😝 Back to comparisons, let’s talk laundry. Back in 2019 one bag of laundry was included and boy did I stuff that bag! We were told by our butler on the first day that it is 1 kg of laundry which is generally half a bag. Because we are in a junior suite we also get 2 items pressed daily. In the top suite(s) it is unlimited laundry and pressing.

Okay, the time has come to speak about the inevitable dirty laundry. Scenic includes 1 kg of free laundry. In 2019 it was one bag. Our butler told us on the first day that 1 kg is generally half a bag. Being in a junior suite, we also get 2 items pressed daily included. The top suite(s) get unlimited laundry the pressing.

Update…we are docking in Antwerp today, not Rotterdam!

Thank you for this. The message is being passed along! 🍫 😋

Yesterday in Veere DH visited the Waterworks then took a walk around this very pretty town. This is what he had to say about his excursion: We are in Veere today. It was a powerful trading town in the 1600's and 1700's as it was then on the North Sea and had deep trading relationships with Scotland. Now with the land reclamation efforts of the Netherlands over the last few centuries the North Sea is a distance away. We visited the Delta Works a massive engineering project in the late 60s and early 70s that concluded in 1997 for the installation of dykes, dams and very large surge barriers to protect the inland from incursion by the North Sea.UPDATE Driver stopped to let us see the Delta Works from the North Sea side. The chefs were at it again on Thursday with a very entertaining demonstration for cooking with cheese.Friday we had an oyster tasting. Canapé’s are delivered to our room every day at 4:00. Today, Saturday, we are in Rotterdam and DH is going to Ghent. He has one job and he better do it well: buy chocolate! 😂

If you have an interest in history and specifically the German occupation of Amsterdam then this is a somber and eye opening experience. I found it through TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g188590-d1758423-Reviews-or320-Amsterdam_in_World_War_II_Walking_Tour-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html our Guide was Ben but there are no bad reviews of any of the guides or the tour in general.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy your cruise. The tote is called the Waterlily Tote, original size (not mini) by Blue Calla Patterns. The sling I made for DH is called The Triple Sling by Country Cow Designs and is a quick sew. I posted the link for the pocket infinity scarf but it is a free pattern by Patterns for Pirates. It was one of their free holiday patterns a few years back.

Wheelchair rented! Everyone on the boat is supportive and wouldn’t let me miss it!

Wow, that’s quite a story! Glad they could accommodate you. In Paris we went to Sainte Chappell, the cathedral with surrounding stained glass. A similar situation as you encountered happened when I couldn’t climb the stairs to the upper cathedral where the main stained glass is. We were brought over into a connected building and used that elevator. Only thing was, when we went to leave, a bunch of able bodied people noticed and crowded in the elevator until it wouldn’t go until some got out. One person had the nerve to tell me to get out as I could always get the next one but she would be told to take the stairs! The cruise director is trying to secure a wheelchair or scooter for me so I can see Keukenhof Gardens next Tuesday.

Well it a beautiful day here in Veere. The tours have departed and it’s me in the lounge with the very attentive crew. All plans for Vienna are now cancelled and we will return home on Wednesday, the day this voyage ends.

My fall happened after our excursion, just after the safety drill. But still, no climbing ladders for me.

We are staying aboard but are trying to switch our flights to return home on Wednesday direct from Amsterdam instead of flying on to Vienna.

Today at Kinderdijk

Thanks so much to everyone with your well wishes. I am so embarrassed but also upset at myself. We had the safety drill and had to go to the sun deck. It had been a heavy mist all morning. There is no railing for the last stair from the sun deck to the deck at the bow and it was like my feet just gave away. I will see tomorrow if I need to see someone in Veere. Right now the swelling and bruising are coming out. this is my left hand

Today in Dordrecht we went 30 minutes away to see the Kinderdijk Windmills (children’s windmills). There is no definitive explanation for the name. we had our safety briefing at 2:30 as it has to occur within the first 24 hours and we didn’t leave until 10 last night so all aboard was 9:30. Well wouldn’t you know it…I fell down an exterior wet stairway and landed hard. I may have to go to a doctor tomorrow as my left foot, right knee and left hand are swollen and in pain. so I missed the chef’s cheese tasting extravaganza and by all accounts I really did miss an event. But the evening canapés were delivered: steak tartare. DH ate both as I don’t eat raw things except vegetables.

Here is the glass open on the balcony and a photo I took of our morning neighbours without anything between them and me 😊

If the safe was on the floor rest assured our friends would have been ranting about it!

On the Gem in 2019 we were in a deluxe balcony suite and it was in relatively the same position. Friends in a balcony suite said nothing about the placement of their safe. Chef Lynn Crawfor is a Canadian chef and tv personality. She has competed on Iron Chef and restaurant makeover as well as having her own show called Pitching In. She has been the head chef in a number of restaurants. I am not vegan nor lactose intolerant. I can not consume heavy cream so the chefs are accommodating me by removing cream from all my dishes. Like today they made me a pea soup without cream.

Today’s itinerary

The chefs are here! They will host a cheese tasting this afternoon. We had a choice between 4 excursions this morning, all returning to the boat by 1:00 for lunch. yesterday I attended a Stroopwafel demonstration. This decadent delight is a Dutch delicacy that has a caramel like sauce between two layers of waffle.

Let’s talk about the balcony. On HAL it is a true outdoor space while on Scenic it is an extension of the cabin that you can choose to turn into a balcony by opening the “window” by sliding down half the glass “railing” to be in front of the lower half. The buttons to operate the glass are inside the cabin on the wall by the glass sliding partition. If you have the glass open, even a few inches, the thermostat in your cabin will not operate. Since it is cooler, we close half the sliding glass partition at night to keep the cooler air away from the bed. This sliding glass partition can be left open so that there is more room in your cabin but they suggest closing your curtains at night as you never know where you will be in the morning. If you are on the riverbank side people may be walking by mere inches from your “balcony”. That wouldn’t happen on HAL! We have arrived at our first stop on our itinerary. It is 6:00 in the morning when I took the pictures. Later I will show the window open.

The “balcony” has a two window “railing”, the top half can slide down to cover the lower half. When that window is open the thermostat in the room will not operate. There are two buttons inside on the wall which operates the top glass. the balcony is separated from the cabin by a sliding glass partition, in our cabin it is 4 pieces of sliding glass. We have it half closed at night to keep the cooler night air away from the bed. But in daytime we open it right up along with the opaque and blackout curtains to have more room in the cabin. In 2019 we were sailing in August so we never shut that glass partition. They suggest that you always close at least the opaque curtain because most sailing to new locations is done at night so you never know where you will be in the morning and if there will be a clear view into your cabin. We are docked for our second day but if we were on the port side we would either be along another bot or the riverbank which may have people walking right beside.