1st Time HAL Rotterdam Norse Legends Review 9/9-9/16/23

[Trish Traveler]

1st Time HAL Rotterdam Norse Legends Review 9/9-9/16/23

This was our first HAL cruise, and first time to Amsterdam and Norway. This was our 23^rd cruise.  We have previously sailed NCL, Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity and Princess.  It was a fantastic cruise and itinerary!  The ship is beautiful and we loved exploring a new ship.  We booked about 5 months out and chose an aft verandah cabin on Gershwin Deck 5 – 5189.  We were a bit concerned about the fact that it was connecting and the possibility of noise through the door, but it was not a problem, as our neighbors were quiet and we only occasionally heard their TV.  When we booked, there were no non-connecting cabins available in the area and price range we wanted.  We quite often book inside cabins, but felt that this itinerary to see the fjords really warranted the splurge of a verandah!  We did receive two upgrade offers from HAL via email, which we declined.  This review is long as it also serves as my personal memoir.  Lots of ameteur photos -  although I had over 4000 to sort through!  This entire review might take a while to post while adding photos, so please have patience.

 

We also used the HAL Flightease Air which worked out fine for us.  When we booked, we were still about two months out from final payment and weren’t sure if the cruise was a definite for us, so the flexibility of holding the airfare without paying until final payment time worked out perfect.  It was about the same price as booking directly with the airline for our itinerary.   I like that you can totally choose the flights that work for you with Flightease, as opposed to some cruise lines that assign you inferior flights.  After booking, I did check the flights directly with the two airlines we used (United and KLM) and saw my reservations appeared on their sites also.  I had read here on CC that people have had issues with flights disappearing, so I checked quite often.  I also chose the category of economy where we had our luggage fees included and we were able to do seat assignments right when we booked.

 

PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM  Wednesday, Sept. 6

Seeing the lush green fields of the Netherlands countryside from the plane reminded me of flying into Ireland.  We arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport about 10:15am after a nice 8 hour United Airlines flight, but with very little sleep. Oh well, our adrenaline will have to carry us through.  After landing, the plane taxied for about 10-15 minutes to get to the gate.  Customs was only about a 20 minute wait and our luggage was waiting for us. Looks like a really nice airport through my sleep-deprived eyes. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day.  We had researched the options to get to our hotel and even though we can be frugal we decided to use a cab, even though it was expensive at about 68 euros.  We have large luggage and even though the train can be convenient, it would be too much for us to train and tram and walk to our hotel, after a long flight.

 

Having never been to Amsterdam, we planned a 3 night stay to thoroughly enjoy this fascinating city.   After too much research on hotels, we decided on the Best Western Dam Square Inn.  As with any large tourist city, the prices were all quite high to be in the city.  We love more authentic European hotels and even though this hotel is a BW, it happens to be in a 17^th century building that was originally a distillery!  It is small and quaint; in a great location near Dam Square and walkable to all the attractions we were interested in.  In fact, the street it is located on is narrow and does not allow cabs/cars so the taxi drops you off about a half block away.  The lobby is lovely with a small bar, water and coffee available and a great front desk staff who were very welcoming.  We had requested an early check in and were thrilled that our room was ready.   If it hadn’t been, we knew they would offer to hold our luggage.  There is a tiny elevator, and more importantly … air-conditioning, as they were in a heat wave where temperatures reached an unseasonable 85-90 degrees!  And a real plus was an included breakfast.

 

We booked a room with a double bed, which was decent size (but not American hotel size naturally).  It was modern and clean with a window that led to a small courtyard for light.  The bathroom was very nice, with a great shower and hairdryer provided.  Tip:  As most European hotels don’t provide washcloths, I bring my own old ones and then toss them. The only things we would have added was a mirror in the room at the desk area for make-up and hair, and a rack for opening our luggage, as we had to place it on the floor.  We had a very comfortable stay here, and were delighted with our choice.

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM  Wednesday, Sept. 6

After checking in, and getting refreshed, we headed out to fight jet-lag and begin exploring this amazing city.  We got our first views of Dam Square and were in awe of the fabulous old buildings in sight:  the Royal Palace, the New Church (1400’s), the National Monument and all the people enjoying this beautiful day.  Onward to the touristy Damrak Street heading north towards the Centraal Station, seeing the many bicycles of Amsterdam.  We had previously listened to the Rick Steves tour of the area so knew many of the sights we were seeing along the way.  Of course, we were hungry so our first “lunch” consisted of the famous French fries from Manneken.  We got the traditional mayonnaise type dipping sauce out of the 20+ sauces they offer.  So good! 

Royal Palace:

 

 

 

Back of the New Church:

Magna Plaza Shopping Center in old Gothic Post Office:

Amazing old architecture and BIKES everywhere! 😊

 

One of many bakeries:

Cheese Please:

 

We strolled towards Centraal Station and then spotted the Basilica of St. Nicholas which was open, so we sought refuge out of the sun to enjoy this beautiful church.  So lovely.

 

 

Next up was a canal boat ride.  There are oodles to choose from.  We just picked the one leaving the soonest, and it was enclosed, but with many windows and skylights open.  Being a hot day, it was a bit uncomfortable, but still a delight to get acquainted with the city by traveling the scenic canals.   There were no seats left next to open windows (which were every other seat), so many pictures were through glary windows.  When safe to do so, I could stand up and get some pictures through an open skylight.  When in Amsterdam, always remember to look up to see the unique variety of decorative gables on the old buildings.

 

[Trish Traveler]

PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM  Wednesday, Sept. 6

After we strolled more streets and stopped at an outside patio on the Singel for our first draft Heineken beer, which was so refreshing.  So many bikes everywhere.  So cool to people watch.  Continuing on enjoying the bridges, decorated bikes, flowers, canals, cool architecture of the old buildings until we reached the Matulti sculpture and headed back to the Dam Square area.  We needed a quick bite so we popped into Burger King for dinner.  Our last stop was right next to our hotel at the De Drie Fleschjes Bar (Three Little Bottles) to partake of the authentic Bols Jenever (Dutch gin). It is poured in a special tulip glass to the rim and you have to bend over to take the first sip.  It is meant for sipping, not as a shot.  It is traditionally served with a beer on the side.  Small, old (1600’s) very cool place with a great bartender who explained the Jenever.  I highly recommend visiting this authentic, old charming bar!  That was our nightcap, and we turned in next door at our hotel by 8pm.

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Thurs. Sept. 7

We were up early as we had a full day planned.  It would be bookended by museum visits:  Van Gogh in the morning and Anne Frank House in the evening, with a course plotted in between to see all the sights we were interested in.  Another beautiful day.  We began with our included breakfast at the hotel.  It was a nice room with plenty of seating, especially for a small hotel.  It offered breakfast breads, toast and pastries, Dutch cheese and lunchmeat, soft-boiled eggs, yogurt and fruit, cereals, veggies, coffee, milk, juices and more.  Very nice, fresh and clean.  The room was actually bigger than my photo as I was trying to avoid photos of other travelers.  It was definitely a perfect start to our day.

 

We had pre-booked the Van Gogh Museum about a month out online for a 9:15am arrival.  We could have taken the tram from nearby, but we decided to walk and enjoy Amsterdam waking up.  It was a delightful 30 minute walk, stopping for a few quick photos along the way.  It got much busier with bikes and vehicles as we approached the Museumplein and the view of the magnificent Rijksmuseum which you walk right through arches.   Ahead of time we had debated touring the Rijks, but with the nice weather and it being so big with an extensive collection, we chose the Van Gogh instead.  We briefly viewed the gardens there and walked on past the Modern Art Museum and saw the Concert Hall.

Church & Tram:

Rijkmuseum:

 

 

Soon it was time for our 9:15am ticket slot at Van Gogh Museum and we went right in.  They don’t allow backpacks, but they do have free easy to use digital lockers.  We had previously viewed some Van-Gogh youtube videos so we were more familiar with his life and work.  Therefore, we chose not to rent the audio tour (there was a line inside for that).  We really enjoyed this museum which included some works from other artists such as Gauguin, Monet, Rodin and more.  We knew ahead of time that his famous Starry Night (in NY) and Café Terrace at Night (in Otterlo Netherlands) were not in this collection, so we were not disappointed by that.  But I did find it odd that there was no mention of those paintings that I saw or prints to indicate which period of his life he painted them. The only Starry Night items I saw was in the bookstore gift shop on one of the higher floors.  It was a lovely shop, as well as a gift shop on main level.  We spent just over an hour here.

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Thurs. Sept. 7

 

Again, we had plotted a course north hitting many of the Rick Steves highlights as well as my choices from researching.  So we headed onwards to the large Vondelpark which was lovely on such a nice day.  This was a nice time of year as many flowers throughout the city were still in full bloom. 

 

 

 

 

 

After a loop through part of the park there we hit Leidseplein, but it was too early for much action there and the many restaurants were barely open yet.  Soon we reached the touristy, but lovely outdoor flower market on the Singel canal. 

 

 

Flower Market

 

 

 

Stopped for photos at the Mint Tower, before heading on to the the spiritual respite of the Begijnhof, which is a lovely courtyard from about the 1300’s, where beguines (which are like lay nuns, lived and still now many senior women live here in the homes)  We were able to enter the Chapel, although the other small church was closed.  We also saw a wooden house which is one of only two remaining in Amsterdam. You need to be quiet and respectful if you visit this courtyard.

 

Begijnhof entrance to the courtyard:

Inside the chapel:

The English Reformed Church which was not open:

The Wooden House:

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Thurs. Sept. 7

Onwards to a busy shopping street:  Kalverstratt. Lots of stores, some restaurants, a very popular Stroopwaffle shop and a Lego store which we popped into.  Very Cool.  We also visited the lovely, tiny De Papegaai (parrot) Church at #58 Kalverstratt.  This street leads back to Dam Square where we decided it was lunch time. 

In the Lego store:

De Papegaai (parrot) Church:

 

 

 

We chose alfresco dining at ‘t Nieuwe Kafe right by the New Church, with a view of the Royal Palace and all the great people watching on Dam Square.  I had the amazing original Toastie, which was the best grilled cheese sandwich I ever tasted! My DH equally loved his BLTChicken sandwich on brown bread.  Paired with a refreshing Affligem beer.

 

It was still afternoon, so we decided to walk around the Red Light District and see the Oude Church.  As many of you may know, a coffeehouse in Amsterdam is where you will find the legal cannabis.  Be careful of that.  If you want coffee, go to a café.  We also followed some of the Rick Steves walking guide for this area.  We didn’t take many photos as we walked around (we didn’t want to be disrespectful and it is forbidden to take photos of the ladies as it should be)   Much of it is a regular neighborhood.  It is different than what I expected, but of course, this was early, before dark.  Fairly quiet, like we like it.  Returning to the Dam area we stopped in a small café for a basic stroopwaffle with some much needed coffee to perk us up.  There are many places for fancy stroopwaffles dipped in chocolate with many sprinkle offerings.  We enjoyed the basic, a first for us.  Yum.

The Old Church:

 

 

 

The Bulldog - The first coffeeshop in the Red Light District:

 

Fancy Stroopwaffles:

Interesting street art near our hotel:

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Thurs. Sept. 7

Next we headed back to the hotel to drop our backpack which we wouldn’t need before we headed to the Anne Frank Museum.  It was another nice walk over across scenic canals and we saw the Westerkirk (which I forgot to get a photo of and the inside was already closed for the day). I did get a photo of the Anne Frank statue.

 

 

We prebooked online for the tour 6 weeks in advance when the dates opened up for our week.  Be sure to get tix in advance as this one does sell out because it is small and popular.  I had previously read Anne Frank’s book, “The Diary of a Young Girl” and we also watched a documentary, as well as the recent Hulu series “A Small Light” prior to leaving home to refresh ourselves on the details.  Very organized entry. We had arrival window tickets of 5:45-6pm.  I didn’t realize that you actually enter the museum down the block from the actual house, so they have more room for everything before the part of the tour when you actually enter the building that contained the secret annex.  There are no photos allowed inside.  The audio tour is included.  As expected it was somber and sad, but so important to see and remember.  Some of the small rooms got a bit of a people-jam at one point which was a bit uncomfortable, but there was an employee monitoring the crowds.  The stairs are steep.  The most emotional for me was entering through the secret bookcase door.  Upon exiting, we were instantly back into the tourist hub-bub of the early evening, with many canal boat tours boarding right out in front.

 

I'm getting obsessed with photos of these decorated bikes:

 

A leisurely walk brought us back to Dam Square where we watched a street performer with a balance/knife act before relaxing at another outside bar for a nightcap while people watching and listening to the melodic church bells.  Very happy that our hotel was only 3 minutes from this great spot.

[Sea42]

What a wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Fri. Sept. 8

I researched in advance how to take the train to get to Zaanse Schans Windmill Village about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam.  After breakfast we walked to Centraal Station and bought roundtrip tickets at a machine.  Asked the info booth how to find our train rather than wandering around.  It is very easy, clean and scenic along the way to ride the train.  The nearest railway station is Zaandijk – Zaanse Schans. This station can be reached by local train from Amsterdam Centraal Station in 17 minutes. Subsequently walk to the Zaanse Schans in 15 minutes.  As you cross a bridge, you have your first awesome views of the windmills.  The village is free to walk around and go in the various shops.  There are some charges and package prices to enter a windmill, museum, etc.  We arrived about 9:30am before some of the big tour busses which park in another area.  It was so cool to see authentic windmills, farm animals, wooden shoe demos, and such picturesque photo ops.  I believe bathrooms/WC were 1 euro with credit card.  We really enjoyed our time here!

Centraal Station:

 

First view of the windmills from the bridge at Zaanse Schans :

 

 

 

Back to the Dam Square area for another lunch at ‘t Nieuwe Kafe – we really liked it!  This time I had the Flammkuchen Traditional, which is like a gourmet flatbread pizza paired with pinot grigio wine. So delicious.  They are only open till 5pm, so breakfast, lunch or early dinner.  We then needed some rest time back at the hotel after all the walking and heat. 

 

[mac_tlc]

Wonderful pictures of Amsterdam. We were there before our Norwegian Fjords cruise in June. We really liked Pancakes Amsterdam !!!

 

 

mac_tlc

[Trish Traveler]

23 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

What a wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

Thank you!

[Trish Traveler]

1 minute ago, mac_tlc said:

Wonderful pictures of Amsterdam. We were there before our Norwegian Fjords cruise in June. We really liked Pancakes Amsterdam !!!

 

 

mac_tlc

Thanks.  Amsterdam and the Fjords were magnificent!

[mac_tlc]

1 minute ago, Trish Traveler said:

Thanks.  Amsterdam and the Fjords were magnificent!

I agree. Geiranger, Flam and Olden are some of the most beautiful places we have ever been.

 

mac_tlc

[seaoma]

I love Amsterdam and I appreciate you sending me down memory lane today. Thanks for posting your  pictures.

[Trish Traveler]

 

Just now, seaoma said:

I love Amsterdam and I appreciate you sending me down memory lane today. Thanks for posting your  pictures.

Glad you're enjoying it all!

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Fri. Sept. 8

Once refreshed, I realized I still had plenty of time to tour the nearby Royal Palace as it was open to 6PM.  DH took a pass on this.  It also came with a tour headset.  It was gorgeous.  So much opulence and art.  I even had a view of bustling Dam Square through the windows in the area where the Royals would step out onto the balcony for official events. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TotallyCruzin]

Fantastic pics, simply Awesome!

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. PRE-CRUISE AMSTERDAM Fri. Sept. 8

Once more trip down Damrak for a cocktail, people watching and souvenir shopping. As it was our last night here and the weather was still great, we decided to book a night canal tour to enjoy all the beautiful lights of Amsterdam. This time we made sure we booked an open boat with Stomma (again there are many companies that do these)  As I looked online, the availabilities were disappearing before my eyes.  We snagged one for about 8:30 which was 75 minutes long, located at the Damrak docks.  We were so happy we added this last adventure to our time here.  Amsterdam is magical at night from a boat with all the lights and reflections on the water.  We even saw the “Seven Bridges” which I believe is only visible by boat.  Highly recommend.  Last up for the night was one more order of the decadent French fries.

 

 

NEMO Science Center:

 

 

7 Bridges:

 

 

 

Centraal Station:

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

9 minutes ago, TotallyCruzin said:

Fantastic pics, simply Awesome!

Thank you!  Enjoy!

[Trish Traveler]

 

Amsterdam Embarkation Day for the HAL Rotterdam Sat. Sept. 9

Cruise Day!!  Up early to pack up and affix HAL luggage tags, breakfast and a lovely neighborhood morning walk.  The front desk clerk arranged a taxi pick up for us.  Again, since taxis can’t drive to this  hotel, you either walk a half block to meet them or the driver, as in this case, walked to the hotel to pick us up and lead us to the taxi.  Great stay at the Best Western Dam Square Inn!  We left about 11am for our 11:50am boarding time. The ride took about 20 minutes and was about 27 euros.  We dropped our luggage and walked into the terminal.  We were group #13 and were called about noon. Nice, organized, uncrowded embarkation. 

 

First impressions -  the ship is beautiful!  Rooms were ready so we headed there first.  Gershwin Deck 5, Verandah 5189.  Lovely room.  Great to have a little couch.  The balcony was a decent size with chairs and footrests, and a small low table.   The bathroom had plenty of storage and the largest shower with glass doors that we have ever had (forgot to take a picture).  Nice.

 

The only area which was a little difficult, was the closet doors right across from the bathroom door.  It could get a little tight in that area when unpacking, etc.   Overall there was plenty of storage.  We also bring magnetic hooks for the wall and I print our personal daily itinerary for the wall, listing  ports and times, tours, dinner res etc., so we both can glance and know our plans for the day. We met our room steward Hadi, who did an excellent job with our room all week.  I grabbed our first “The Daily Program” and a highlighter to mark any activities we were interested in. 

 

Headed out to check in at muster drill, explore the ship, eat, and have a first drink onboard!  We had the standard HIA drink package which included beverages up to $11 which was fine for us.   Pictured is a pool bar menu.  I forgot to snap a photo of our first drink. 

 

We knew the Lido Market buffet would be different from what we were mostly used to on other cruiselines, in that most of the food is served by the crew.  I like the idea for sanitary/health reasons.  So the buffet has two mostly identical sides, although both sides are only open at busy times.  It is set up with various themed stations like sandwiches, salad, sweets, breads, pasta (including made to order), traditional home-cooked dishes and carved meats, foreign lands etc.  (I don’t remember the actual names of all these areas).  There is a paper menu of the day posted at each “station” which is basically where I believe the line begins.  Some dishes will be individually marked, but some are not, so you need to guess which item on the menu matches up.   Below are a few random photos of a sampling of delicious choices.

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. EMBARKATION DAY Sat. Sept. 9

We were able to explore and get some photos while the ship was still rather empty, or everyone was in the buffet by now!  The main Lido pool area is lovely with nice loungers and couches up above.  And a retractable roof which would be a great feature for this cruise heading to cooler temperatures.

 

We figured out to use the forward elevators to reach The Crows Nest Bar/Explorations Café on the Observation Deck 12.  What a fantastic indoor viewing space.  Large with comfortable chairs and tables.  Coffee and alcohol available up here.  The menu is posted.  The bartender told us the special 150 year Celebratory Hals Pils Beer would not be available this sailing.  Oodly enough, the Shore Excursions desk is up here also.  And we saw a nice Game Room. 

 

Back down to Decks 2 & 3 where most of the entertainment venues are located and the Main Dining Room, Casino, Guest Services, Photo Gallery, Specialty Restaurants, several bars, a Library that is so well stocked that it looked like a bookstore, and more I’m probably forgetting.  We were already enjoying the beautiful art on this ship, which we later learned is valued at 4 million dollars!

Billboard Onboard Piano Bar:

 

BB King's Blues Club:

World Stage Theatre:

Nice public restrooms with cloth towels:

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. EMBARKATION DAY Sat. Sept. 9

We had a plan after sailaway to spend our time in various locations viewing the two hour sail out of Amsterdam down to the Ijmuiden Locks, which would take about an hour to transit.  We had researched here and got great advice.  So we wouldn’t be eating dinner tonight in the MDR, but would graze our way through some casual venues.  One place we were really eager to try was the Grand Dutch Café.  Pictured is the Dutch Pea Soup, which was so thick it looked like paste, but tasted good (I could have sent it back but I thought maybe they eat it this way –until later that week I saw a bowl and it sloshed like soup should)  The Sandwich Beenham and Vegetable Quiche were quite good.  And the much anticipated decadent, delicious Bossche Bol (chocolate covered cream puff) which we shared, along with coffee.  I love the Dutch Delft plates they use in there. 

We passed by the New York Deli and Pizza where you can get made to order pizzas or just a slice that they offer when it is a busy time.  The menu includes some sandwiches and you will find some ready-made salads and desserts.  Later, the cruise director was announcing that they would have strip steak in the buffet (which I think was an effort to draw people away from the MDR as the first night on most ships can be a bit chaotic)  Anyway, we tried the steak in the buffet – it was not good, tough and poor quality.  Although, that was one of the few things we didn’t like through the week that we chose in there.

[Trish Traveler]

CON’T. EMBARKATION DAY Sat. Sept. 9

Sailaway did not disappoint.  It was a beautiful Saturday evening as we left the busy city of Amsterdam, enjoying all the interesting architecture, through suburbs, some industrial areas and then some rural areas with small towns.   It was fun to see people waving and cheering as we passed by.  Some of it we enjoyed up on deck, while some we viewed relaxed on our balcony.   Plus, the luggage needed to be unpacked.  This part felt like a river cruise which is on our someday list.  While in your cabin, you can put on a TV station for the bow camera.  As we saw the IJmuiden locks approaching, we headed back out for better views.  There were also showing it on the Lido Pool big screen, which was nice, especially for any mobility challenged guests.

River Boats & a cargo barge:

Cool architecture:

Swans!

Ah, the Verandah life...I feel very bougee:

This was our first time through a lock on a cruise ship, so it was pretty exciting.  The sun was beginning its descent right in front of us so it was hard to get non-glary photos.  After the ship exited the lock, we went to the aft pool area to get one more view of the locks from that angle.   We also saw some large beach areas with tightly packed beach cottages as we entered the North Sea.  A beautiful sunset capped of this cool experience! 

View from the Promenade Deck:

Pretty tight fit!

Aft view after exiting the lock:

Beach cottages:

We had just enough time to make it to the World Stage Theatre for the start of the Origin Story which was a digital show on the screen with narration added by our Cruise Director Karlijn, who did a great job.  We loved learning all about HAL’s 150 year history – fascinating.  I believe it was repeated one more time during the week.   A quick stroll through the Music Walk to enjoy some music before turning in for the night.  We received a nice canvas HAL 150 Anniversary bag in our cabin.

 

[Trish Traveler]

Sunday, Sept 10 – Sea Day

Woke up early due to jet lag.  Otherwise slept well in this comfortable bed. Could hear the ship’s fog horn faintly.  Looked out and it was solid white fog.  Was wondering if a balcony for this cruise might be a mistake. 😲🤣 We were very happy to have a relaxing sea day after all our DIY touring in Amsterdam.  It was pretty empty early in the buffet, as most people were probably sleeping in after international travel.  We passed the Lido Pool area which now had that handy roof closed, so the area could be enjoyed on this misty morning.  A tai chi class was taking place.

Some of the many breakfast offerings:

My internet was acting wonky after I installed it, so I looked at the directory by the elevator to see that the Internet Desk was on deck 1 and finally saw a small desk with a sign that said “moved to Guest Relations”  Once up there, I saw that everyone being helped including me had to hand their phone to a crew member to assist.  She got it connected again, but I still had problems all week.  Even if I signed into my HAL account again and restarted my phone etc.  I didn’t plan on using it that much, but I do give my email to my family if they need to contact me onboard.  Occasionally it would work.  I saw lots of people on their phones, so maybe it was just me or my phone.  I went back on the last sea day because I couldn’t get connected to check in for my flight.  Once again, the scroll thru and tap, tap, tap until it connects again. The APP was okay, not great.  I did use it to check daily menus in the MDR.

 

We also needed to go to the Shorex desk to cancel a shore excursion.  About 6 weeks prior we had placed a waitlist for a Geiranger tour of the overlooks.  It had never opened up prior to sailing.  Once onboard, we received a card that said it was available and they had added it to our account already.  I almost missed this card with all the other promotional sales stuff you get.  Anyway, we had decided we didn’t want the tour as the weather forecast looked really rainy for that day and we decided to wait till we got off the ship and book something if the weather was okay.  It was no problem for Shorex to take it off our account.

 

We generally enjoy trivia on cruises, but were surprised there were no morning offerings.  We did do a fun Ship Hunt game which also served as morning exercise for us. We chilled for a while in the enclosed Lido area. Later the fog lifted and the sun came out for a quite nice day after all, with nice smooth seas.  We use the stairs a lot when cruising, so we were really exploring all the eclectic stairwell art. 

[Trish Traveler]

Sunday, Sept 10 – Sea Day

Picture of the afternoon sunny blue sky with smooth sailing:

Tonight was the first “Dressy Night” so we headed in to prepare for the evening, which would include attending the Captain’s Welcome party at 6:45pm.  The fog returned this evening.  We joined the crowd gathering in the covered Lido Pool area and had a glass of the complimentary champagne. But alas, the cruise director let us know that due to the fog, Captain Bas van Dreumel would understandably need to stay on the bridge and miss the party.  We headed next to the MDR for dinner and were seated quickly (we beat the crowd back from the Lido) at a table for two.  I didn’t do well with the photos past the appetizers, but we started with the delicious special Dutch 75 cocktail, then shrimp salad, green salad, and Beef Tenderloin and Sole Fish.  All great presentation and service, and very tasty dishes. 

After dinner, I attended the main show in the World stage:  The Step One Dance Company – Humanity.  I enjoyed the show – the dancing was very good and it was a different presentation with the wrap digital screen that adds a lot to the enjoyment of the show.  I also like the configuration of the stage that puts you closer and partially around the stage.  It’s different than many other cruise shows, since none of the performers sing.  My DH really enjoyed his time at the Music Walk listening to the Rock band which alternated with the piano players.  Returning to the cabin we had a towel animal on our bed.  We had an early excursion planned for the next day, so we put our card for room service breakfast on our door.