Sunday, August 11, 2013

Nieuw Amsterdam 2012 - Day at Sea

The seas were a bit rough last night so Nieuw Amsterdam gently rocked us to sleep. Today is a day at sea, so the list of activities offered on the ship is extremely long. The most difficult part is to choose what not to do.

Executive Chef Martin showed us how to prepare the soup we loved so much in Tamarind, as well as the filet mignon from the Manhattan Dining room that’s so tasty. The demonstration stimulated our appetite, so afterwards we went up to Tamarind for another excellent Asian lunch. We are so going to miss Tamarind. This venue should really be on all HAL-ships!

Also famous on every cruise ship are the towel animals. Holland America offers a workshop where you learn to make the animals yourself. That’s where the ladies went after lunch. We don’t have many pictures of the other activities today, so enjoy the pictures of the towel animals that the cabin stewards made for us each day.




 

Sunbathing on a sea day is particularly great because there is always a great cooling breeze when the ship is sailing. That makes lying in the sun much more comfortable and less transpiring then while in port. There is one disadvantage. Because of the breeze you might not notice you are actually getting a sunburn. Time for the aloe crème to do it’s job…

The mandatory debarkation information session was held this afternoon. That is when you actually realize that the cruise is coming to an end. They do try to make it look like a show, but the show element contained the usual jokes like the top 10 stupidest questions asked on a cruise ship. Same jokes as previously, like “what do you do with the ice sculptures after they melt” and “where is the elevator that takes me to the front of the ship”. They should try to make up new jokes at least once a year.

At 3 pm we went to another highlight: Indonesian High Tea served by the Indonesian staff and so delicious.
Later that afternoon we changed into our formal wear once again for the final formal night. It was also the dinner where the waiters and kitchen staff performed their goodbye-show. So nice that they are thanking us. However: All the thanks should go to them. They made our cruise fantastic with their great service and ever present friendly smiles.


Great entertainment tonight. In the Showlounge they performed “Live at the Avalon Ballroom”. Afterwards Cruise Director Dan hosted the wedding show. Really hilarious. It got quite late, but this night we cross the border between Greece and Croatia, so the clock is set back one hour. That means we get an extra hour of sleep before arriving in Split, Croatia.

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