Day 2 at Sea

 I got up at 8:20 after another restless night. I got ready and went to breakfast at 9:30.  After breakfast, I returned to the cabin to work on the blog. After some problems with google's 2 step verification process due to the fact that I can only have one device connected to the internet at a time, I couldn't receive their text to the phone.   I finally got that turned off so that I could get my laptop signed into google for blogger and I caught up on the last 2 days for the blog. I went to the library to pick up the crossword puzzles for yesterday and today and managed to work the Sunday one, but got stumped on the Saturday one. Tonight is a Dressy Attire night and the tour tomorrow is modified somewhat due to ice and snow. The forecast is for 90% rain and temps in the 30s and 40s. This will be my first test of cold weather gear in quite a while. 

I got dressed for the dressy night and went to the happy hour at 4 in the Billboard Onboard and met a lady during the trivia contest. We weren't playing, but it caused a conversation over our drinks.  At 5:10, she went to her cabin to change for dinner while I went to dinner and was seated with a couple and a single lady and a single man. We talked during dinner and afterward I went to the cabin before going to the Lido pool for the Captain's Welcome at 7. Whoever decided to have this event at the  pool instead of the World Stage really goofed since it was very crowded and difficult to  hear the speeches. I returned to the cabin at 7:45 and gathered my first bag of laundry.  I laid out my heavy duty clothing for tomorrow's tour and to update the blog. I read and went to bed at 10.

Day 1 Boarding the MS Rotterdam

 I put my bags out at 8:40 and went to breakfast.  At 10:30, I checked out of the hotel and identified my bags to the Holland America agent in the hotel to ensure that they were in fact in the group of bags to be sent to the ship.  I then walked the block to the terminal and checked in for the cruise. I got a card with group 8 and was sent to the waiting area seats.  They started boarding at 11:30 and my group was called about 11:15. I went on-board and to my room.  At 12:30, I went to the main dining room for a Mariners Society Welcome Aboard Lunch and when I returned to my cabin, my bags were there, so I unpacked my bags and at 6, I went to the Singles and Solo Travelers Meetup and at 7, I attended the 3,4, and 5 star Mariners for free wine. At 7:45, I went to dinner and dined alone during the Open Seating. I returned to the cabin and worked on the computer until 10:30 when I went to bed.

My cabin for the next 21 days

The view from my verandah

During our travel through the lock on our way to sea

Arrival in Amsterdam

 On arrival Schipol Airport in Amsterdam I had a long walk through the terminal only to end up in a long queue for Immigration and Customs. Apparently, they were doing some construction on the main entrance and were only allowing 15 or 20 people to proceed at one time. I was about in the middle of the crowd of maybe 200 to 300 people and was waiting for 45 minutes until I was in the group to proceed.  They walked us another quarter mile to the Immigration which only took a few minutes.  We had ended up at the baggage area T1 and our bags were on T17 which was another quarter mile.  When I got there, my bags had already been pulled with one at one end of the loop and the other one at the other end.  After going through Nothing to declare, I exited to find the Holland America agent and he directed me to sit and wait for my ride to the hotel. This was another 30 minutes and then another couple and I were taken to a limo type van and arrived at the Movenpick Hotel in Central Amsterdam. Check-in took about 5 minutes and I was in my room at 12:15. The 7 hour time difference caught up with me at about 4 pm local time and I went to bed to try to adjust but had a very restless night and eventually got up at 7:35 am. 

My room 1900

The hazy view from my 19th floor room.

The view at night.

The MS Rotterdam from my room window

21 Day Norse Legends and Baltic Jewels Cruise

 

 I leave in 2 weeks to take the Rotterdam for 3 weeks and I will visit 4 new countries to bring my total to 115. The following is my agenda for the cruise.

 Day Date       Itinerary                                        Arrival Departure
FRI 28APR23 Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam 1D Guests 1
FRI 28APR23 Transfer Ams Airport/Hotel
FRI 28APR23 Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam
SAT 29APR23 Transfer Amsterdam Hotel/Ship
SAT 29APR23 Sail from Amsterdam, The Netherlands  5:00pm
SUN 30APR23 Sea Day
MON 01MAY23 Eidfjord, Norway                         7:00am  3:00pm
MON 01MAY23 Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord                             Cruising Only
TUE 02MAY23 Alesund, Norway                          8:00am 5:00pm
WED 03MAY23 Geiranger, Norway                     7:00am  5:00pm
WED 03MAY23 Cruising Geirangerfjord                                          Cruising Only
THU 04MAY23 Bergen, Norway                           8:00am  5:00pm
FRI 05MAY23 Sea Day
SAT 06MAY23 Amsterdam, The Netherlands    7:00am  5:00pm
SUN 07MAY23 Sea Day
MON 08MAY23 Copenhagen, Denmark             7:00am  4:00pm
TUE 09MAY23 Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany 7:00am 10:00pm
WED 10MAY23 Sea Day
THU 11MAY23 Riga, Latvia                                   7:00am  3:00pm
FRI 12MAY23 Tallinn, Estonia                               9:00am  8:00pm
SAT 13MAY23 Helsinki, Finland                           7:00am  5:00pm
SUN 14MAY23 Stockholm, Sweden                  8:00am
MON 15MAY23 Stockholm, Sweden                                  6:00pm
MON 15MAY23 Cruising Stockholm Archipelago                           Cruising Only

TUE 16MAY23 Sea Day

WED 17MAY23 Kiel (Hamburg), Germany         7:00am  5:00pm
THU 18MAY23 Arhus, Denmark                        8:00am  5:00pm
FRI 19MAY23 Sea Day
SAT 20MAY23 Debark Ship Amsterdam            7:00am
SAT 20MAY23 Transfer Ams Ship/Airport