DAY 5 – Boarding our ship

 DAY 5 – Boarding our ship

Before leaving the Netherlands for a while, it is worth pontificating about my (Ben’s) sense for the Dutch people and culture.  Many aspects of the culture and people’s behavior are quite Germanic (they might hate me for saying this), but they have, particularly in Amsterdam, a playful spirit and a lighter view of “behaving properly”.  I see the Germanic aspect in the way they ride bicycles and line up in crowds.  On bicycles they are focused, insistent, and expect that everyone “follow the rules”.  And they ride fast!  If a pedestrian steps into a bike lane, even for a moment, they beep or ding insistently.  Crowds are always orderly, even when everyone is drinking.  On the other hand, they consume weed and alcohol in prodigious quantities and at all hours.  And sex is just a normal part of life to be accepted easily.  Those we talked with were serious about helping us and both polite and congenial.  And there was often a humorous glint in their eyes.




The Dutch language, though guttural sounding and completely incomprehensible to me (despite having studied German for four years), has a intermittent lilt and engaging softness which is only slightly noticeable in German speech.

We took the tram over the very long bridge – the same one we should have taken from the train station to our hotel – and walked the short distance to the cruise terminal.  The check-in process was very well organized, but involved multiple stations and many officials checking various things.  We then waited briefly to board and were able to go immediately to our rooms.  This is remarkable, since the previous guests had left a scant 3 hours earlier.  We remember our first cruise where we waited many hours on board for our rooms to be ready.

The Rotterdam is HAL’s newest ship and is in immaculate condition.  It is BIG, but still follows HAL’s typical configuration.  Public spaces on two lower decks as well as the Lido deck above the bridge.  There are four higher decks with open areas for lounging, sports, and walking.  The latest technology is most obvious in the show lounge, with video projections and amazing lighting replacing curtains and nearly all props.  There are at least seven dining venues, but many of them require extra fees.  Lots and LOTS of venues for drinking!  Two pools (one under a sliding dome) with hot tubs were very pleasant places to relax.  It was obvious as more and more people got on board that crowding would be the norm, especially in the most popular spaces.  Of course, you can always find a quiet place in some corner of the ship.

We settled in and hung out on deck with glorious views of Rotterdam, including enjoying the outdoor pool.  They then announced that the ship would be delayed departing until some time in the early morning due to testing of the coastal protection dam works.  These works are extensive, stretching 100s of km between land along the coast.  The “dams” are movable and are raised during storms to prevent flooding in the very low lying country.  As a hydraulic engineer, Ben would love to see the testing and operation of the works.

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