On Sunday, May 3, 2015 we arrived in Amsterdam with mixed feelings as we had to leave the ship and say good by to several new friends that we had met during our two weeks on the ship.
Before the cruise I was concerned that10 days at sea without any ports might be boring, but I was pleasantly surprised that we had plenty to do. We played bridge or hand-and-foot every day, I read a lot and just plain relaxed with no worries at all.
Kathy and I took painting lessons several days, played some bocce ball, gambled and all three of us took in various lectures. I could easily do another re-location cruise but I think Shirley desires trips with more port calls.
During our many sea days we were fortunate in meeting a delightful couple to play bridge with, well I need to rephrase that, we were able to obtain bridge lessons from. Sandy and Anita are a delightful couple that taught us some new bridge techniques. Sandy is an excellent teacher since he once taught bridge lessons, in fact on many earlier sea cruises he was invited to provide lessons during the cruises. The two of them played competitively for many years and It was interesting to see how they knew what cards each of them had as well as what we held in our hands. We learned some new bidding systems that we look forward to using with our bridge friends, if only we can remember!!!
We were pleasantly surprised that the process for leaving the ship did not include any immigration inspection as we had purchased several bottles of port in Lisbon and we were not sure of how much we could bring into the country. Apparently ours was under the limit....
I guess this is a good time as any for me to vent my frustration with the Celebrity Cruise Line.... Apparently their industry is suffering as many of the nice offerings they use to provide no longer exist. They offered an expensive internet service on the cruise but access to the WiFi was very poor reception and also very slow once you were able to connect. We spent several times just trying to connect and thinking that we were not connecting meanwhile the clock usage time continued to tick. Upon complaining to their internet staff they passed it off as sorry... The price for their port excursions have risen to the point where it does not make sense to purchase them. One is better off just going to the port and hiring a local guide who also knows the areas.
Many people were complaining about the special brunch they use to offer near the end of each cruise which normally had many special food offerings but this time it was held in the normal buffet dining area and did not include anything special or didn't even include any breakfast items.
Now for the good things, in general the dining room food was OK, but the staff was excellent as they went out of their way to be sure you had everything you could ever want regarding meals. Shirl, who enjoys avocados asked for some with her salad early on and from then on she had an avocado for every dinner meal.
The entertainment on the ship was the best we have ever seen. Many trapeze type shows and good singers, dancers and with an excellent program director.
Prior to our arrival in Amsterdam on Sunday we had signed up for a tour of the city by a passenger who lives here in the town. He provided a walking tour of the old part of town, including two boat tours, one during the day and another at night. We also dined at a restaurant where the meal was a 23 course dinner, providing a small taste of numerous different types of food, all interesting.
Our apartment is typical of many here in Amsterdam, very narrow and deep. The stairwell is VERY narrow and curved with stairs that spiral causing one side of the steps to be quite narrow. We refer to it as the Stairway to Hell, or Heaven as that is where you will be should you slip. The apartment itself is quite clean and comfortable.
Stairway to Hell
View of apartment, our room is on the top floor.
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| Typical canal view |
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| There are more bicycles in Amsterdam than any other city in the world, with the possible exception of China. You must be very careful when crossing streets as more people are hurt from bikes than cars or trams (trolleys). |
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| View of our ship still in port. |
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| View of the Central Station, heart of all transportation in the city. |
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| Our tour guide with the wonderful yellow hat, easy to keep track of in the crowds. |
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| Notice the beams that extend over each building. With the narrow stairways the only way to get furniture into the buildings is via the outdoor beams with the pulleys and rope. |
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| Some of the red light district shops. We were cautioned not to take their pictures as the girls would stop outside and throw a cup of urine at you. They actually do dance in the windows wearing skimpy clothing's. |
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| Happy travelers in the Amsterdam-Sequim mist. |
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| Typical paraphernalia found throughout the city. |
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| Getting ready for a boat tour |
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| You might think the camera caused the buildings to lean, but they actually do lean because the buildings are built on reclaimed land from the harbor. This area use to all be the harbor in earlier times. They also built the buildings touching one another to keep them from tilting worse. |
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| Some sidewalk flower venders and the many bulbs and flowers they sell. |
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| Some red light shops at night. |
I am glad we have included Amsterdam in our trip as it has been on my bucket list ever since I saw an article showing some nice homes with water canals all around, where those homes are I have no idea as we have not seen anything like that yet. In fact I have been quite surprised at how dirty the town is. You will see garbage floating in the canals and all over the ground. While I was aware of the red light district and the open policy towards sex, drugs and gays I am surprised at how common it is. It is common to see male couples strolling together and showing affection towards each other. I guess I am a little old fashion but I was surprise in the number of young people here.
I suddenly realized that I must be getting old as at two different times younger people have gotten up and offered me their seat on a tram, something that is not that common back home.
Tomorrow we go out to the flower garden.
Good night all,
shirl, Kat and Roger
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