Norway
Day 1:
The Lyft picked me up at my place around 10:30AM. There was little to no conversation on the way to Charlotte Douglas International Airport as my driver spoke very little English.
The flight was smooth, up until I arrived in Amsterdam and had to wait in a 2 hour customs line. From there, it was off to the hotel via the free shuttle that ran every 20 minutes.
After checking in to the hotel about ten minutes away from Schiphol airport, the next 24 hours would be pretty brutal, with over-priced chicken wraps and Coke's being sold in the hotel lobby as my only viable option to eat. The hotel didn't have cable, and there were only a couple of channels that were in English.
The following morning, after check-out, I took the same shuttle back to the airport to meet up with my mom and step-dad. We grabbed some coffee and from there we caught a different shuttle to our cruise port.
On the way over, I received a text from my brother's wife, Sarah, informing me that mom had left her phone somewhere at the airport. The person who found the phone had looked up the most recent call in her history and had called Sarah to let her know she had turned it in to United's customer service desk.
Once we arrived at the cruise port, mom tried like crazy to get someone to shuttle or even taxi the phone over, but eventually gave up on the idea after being on hold for over an hour with customer service.
After boarding the vessel, we went to our state rooms and relaxed until the ship's captain came over the intercom, going over safety instructions and an evacuation plan in the unlikely event of an accident. Then we went to dinner on the 9th floor to a spot called The Lido Market.
It was a mega-sized buffet of steak, roast beef, mashed potatoes, seafood, salad, cheese, fruit, and just about every kind of dessert you could imagine.
Everyone was tired after dinner, so we went back to our room to turn in for the night. I couldn't sleep, so I went to the late night buffet to try to eat myself into a food coma. That didn't work, so I stared at the ceiling fan for the next 9 hours.
Eventually, 5:30 AM rolled around and I was fortunate enough to find the 24-hour coffee station on the Lido deck.
This is my third cruise and I don't remember any boat rocking as much as this one did. I wasn't sure if it was the boat or the water doing it, but it didn't bother me.
So I'm sitting in the main dining area writing this, waiting for 7:00 AM to roll around to get some breakfast. I can see the workers behind the translucent shades, scrambling to bring it all together on time. At 6:30 AM they opened up the fruit and pastry buffet, but I was holding out for the meat and eggs.
Day 2:
I had a much better night's sleep and adjusted to the new time zone. The entire day would be spent at sea. The weather was just warm and pleasant enough to lay out on poolside recliners on the upper deck and soak up the sun. The ship has five hot tubs and 2 full size swimming pools, so we took advantage of the amenities.
Later that evening, Alistair Begg did a sermon at the world stage, (the world stage is essentially a conference room primarily used for shows that is the size of a large movie theater) out of the book of Esther, and then we made our way to the main dining hall.
The food served at your reserved table was usually a notch or two above what you could eat at the Lido Market Buffet,
but not always as you’re constantly gambling with food that all looks delicious but doesn’t always taste that way.
Day 3:
All in all a very relaxing day. We never left the ship as it was raining non-stop. We did, however, enjoy a Swedish massage, along with the red-light sauna, steam room, and mineral-infused hydro-therapy hot tub. Later that evening we had dinner with my brother Steve. Sarah, his wife, was too tired to make it, and understandably so. Not only did they miss their connecting flight from Philly, but their luggage was also lost. They finally made it to the second port of call after a bout of planes, trains, and automobiles.
Steve and Sarah then got some much needed massage therapy at the spa. Later that afternoon, Steve and I lounged by the pool and listened to Brian Wilson's 2005 album, “Smile” from beginning to end. Then that evening, Alistair Begg spoke out of the book of Ruth. He was our family pastor growing up near Cleveland, OH, but had recently retired as lead pastor, and was now doing sermons about once or twice a year on cruise ships. and then it was time again for dinner, and then off to bed.
Day 4:
Our ship was docked in Nordfjordeid, Norway. The weather here is similar to what you get this time of year in the Pacific Northwest of the United States - cold, rainy, and overcast most of the day.
Mom woke up early with severe pain in her lower abdomen. Mike took her down to the medical center, where they took x-rays, urine and blood samples, but ultimately diagnosed it to be a case of bad gas. She was administered a shot for pain, and given some meds to take with her back to the room.
The medication seemed to work, and all five of us met up at the Grand Dutch Café on the 3rd floor. This is a very popular spot on the boat where you can get custom espresso drinks, and it's always difficult to find a place to sit. My brother and I asked one of the workers if we could play one of the many acoustic pianos on board. Of course the answer was no, but part of me could understand that letting just anyone bang on the keys on a semi-isolated ship could be enough to leave a sour taste in customer's mouths. Steve and Sarah decided to venture off on land to take in the scenery. The rest of us stayed behind to just take it easy.
Day 5:
4:00 AM. Got the best night's sleep of the trip so far. I've never been a great sleeper. I'm fortunate enough to get 5 consecutive hours most nights. Most of the day was spent eating and sleeping.
Day 6:
I woke up early and had breakfast. Then I went down to the sauna with my brother, after which, a nap until lunch. Mom still wasn't feeling great so they gave her some stronger medication. Around 5:30, Alistair gave a sermon about young David out of 1st Samuel, then it was off to dinner, then bed.
Day 7:
Final day at sea. More eating and sleeping. One week is enough for me. I asked the guy standing next to me at the coffee station early that morning if he was ready to go home. “It’s time,” he said.
We were ready to set foot on solid ground. The Holland America line is a notch above a Royal Caribbean, and leagues better than a Carnival cruise in terms of overall quality.
Some people spend three consecutive weeks or more on a cruise, yet some go as far to live full time on these vessels, like it’s a floating retirement home. As for me, one week is plenty. The food is good but not great, and after about that third day, it all starts to taste the same. When you’re feeding this amount of people on a ship, options become pretty limited and it’s up to the lead chef to get creative with what can be repackaged as something else - such as serving fried chicken one day, then serving that same chicken as Buffalo fried chicken the next. Just about anyone can find themselves gorging out 5-6 times a day; not because they’re hungry, but because they’re bored and want to make sure they get all their money’s worth.
In conclusion, is a trip like this worth it? I’d say so, if you want a carefree week of having all your food and most activities covered up front. There is some planned activity going on every half hour or so. It takes almost all the guesswork out of planning a relaxing vacation.
But my idea of a good time on a cruise is to just take things as easy as possible. Sleep in, (if you’re able) eat breakfast, nap, hit the Jacuzzi, eat lunch, read, write, or watch a movie, go to dinner and go to bed. That may sound boring, or even like a bunch of wasted opportunities, but to me, that's what a good vacation such as this is all about. Less is more.
People who have never been on a cruise probably think it’s heaven on earth, but services rendered are far greater before they are rendered, or the anticipation is always the greater part of pleasure.
Amsterdam
Day 1:
We disembarked the ship and mom and Mike caught their flight back to Cleveland. Then Steve, Sarah, and I checked into a hotel just a stone’s throw from the airport. It was too early to get into our rooms so we had the staff lock up our luggage in a side room until later that afternoon.
We decided to go into town and have lunch at a Brazilian steakhouse. It was fantastic. Afterwards, I took the train back to the hotel while they did a bit more sightseeing. I was ready for a nap that actually turned into a very good night’s sleep.
Day 2:
The following morning we met up in the lobby and took the train to Haarlem - one of the more charming parts of the city. We stumbled across a cat cafe and had some coffee. The felines were a real joy to be around. I take care of some strays and domesticated cats are much more friendly with new faces.
Sarah then recommended that we stop at Mama Soup, a brunch spot not too far away. Then it was more window shopping on the way back to the hotel so Steve and Sarah could catch their flight to the last leg of their trip to Austria. After we parted ways, I went back into the city after a short nap and couldn’t resist comparing Amsterdam’s version of Burger King to what we get here in the U.S. It seemed like the patty size was smaller, but it made up for it with its unique flavor profile. It’s pretty common knowledge that Europe en masse has some of the strictest food regulations, so it has to be much healthier too.
Day 3:
I did some sightseeing downtown early in the morning and also had coffee at a couple of different cafes. Then I walked over to a used English bookstore called the Book Exchange at Kloveniersburgwal 85 that had 3 levels of books, almost all in English. I picked up a paperback copy of “Roger’s Version” by John Updike for only 5 euros. After which, I went to Alber Heijn, Amsterdam’s premier grocery store with very affordable prices, and picked up some bread, cheese, and cold cuts to take back to the hotel.
Day 4:
This was my final morning in Amsterdam. I packed up early and went to my gate at the airport to think about what a great couple of weeks it had been. All in all, a very memorable experience.