One problem with writing a daily blog after the fact is that you quickly forget anything you haven't memorialized in pictures. So, this is going to be brief.
I got up reasonably early (Cathy had been up for hours because she didn't sleep at all last night). We decided to go to the dining room for breakfast. We were seated at an aft table overlooking the ship's wake and given a huge breakfast menu. (Sorry no menu pics)
The menu we had compliments of Professor Cruise
The menus on the other pages of this website seem to match the menu we had on our cruise.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict with crabmeat. Cathy ordered an egg platter. We immediately noticed how stingy Holland has become with things like butter and syrup. First of all, no more whole pats of butter, they now cut them in half and give you like 4 halves. Of course, always ask for more, if needed. And second, for an entire order of pancakes, you again get skimpy butter and syrup in a teeny container that was only a teaspoon or so. What? Again, tell them you need at least 5 of those or a big dish of syrup. Sheesh.
After breakfast, the stomach games began for me. OMG I was so nauseous. Was it the food or just my wonky stomach? We will never know.
But the sun was shining and as our ship was only sailing with about 700 passengers, deck chairs abounded! Of course, there were pool towels and wool blankets available. The temperature was close to 70, but still a bit chilly with the wind.
And of course, there are always a few quite odd people on a ship. Here is one example:
The scenery was beautiful as we sailed north.
We pretty much did a whole lot of nothing and just watched the beauty of the passing scenery! I drank a lot of ginger ale and had a green apple and some broth for lunch.
We 'shopped' for replacement clothing for Cathy in the ship store. Note to Holland America: Not every women that sails on your ships needs a size XXL, 2XL etc. The store had 1 pair of pants in medium. We begged them for crew clothing. Very, very sad. And the expense--OMG T-shirts, 2 for $40, hoodies $75. Insanity really, but when you have no clothes, your choices are limited.
Cathy made the best of everything and certainly didn't let this ruin her trip. We were having a great time so far and talked to a ton of lovely people---all now know about the luggage situation and the cancelled flight drama!
We also discovered the Crow's Nest on the deck above the bridge. What a great place. A huge room with window walls on 3 sides. It was furnished with comfy chairs and ottomans facing the front of the ship. The side windows had tables for two. In the middle of the room were sectionals, larger tables and a great coffee/regular bar. The Caramel Lattes are THE BEST! (they are included if you have the drink package)
That afternoon, the place was fairly empty, so we were able to snag two of the comfy chairs facing front. Another great way to watch the gorgeous scenery.
As dinner time rolled around, my stomach wasn't feeling a dining room experience so we went to the buffet and just chose what we wanted.
A little about the buffet:
- You cannot serve yourself any food--you don't even pick up a plate. It's all served by the kitchen staff.
- Everything that is served in the dining room is served at the buffet.
- They have this lovely salad bar---again, served by the crew and it is amazing
- They have a separate dessert area that also serves ice cream in a variety of flavors and with several toppings.
- There is a pasta bar and a poke bowl area along with fresh rolls and sandwich fixings.
- When you choose a seat in the lido area, silverware and napkins are on the table and crew members bring you drinks---water, lemonade and iced tea are free. They also serve bar drinks.
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