“I’ll take a bad day at sea over a good day on land anytime.”
I overheard someone say that last night and it rings so true. There is something calming about the sea, whether stormy and rough, or flat calm like it is this morning as I write this. Maybe it’s the rhythmic motion of the waves that rock the ship back and forth like a baby in a cradle. Or it could be the sense of nothingness that surrounds you, just vast amounts of water in each direction, with no distractions or interruptions. For me it’s the notion of getting away from it all, leaving all the daily frustrations on land, thousands of miles away.
I first cruised back in the early 90’s when I lead a group from the radio station I was working for at the time. We were on Royal Caribbean‘s Sovereign of the Seas which at that time was the largest ship afloat with less than 2,000 passengers. Now ships hold over 6,000 and are more like floating nations rather than floating cities.
Since that first cruise I have sailed on the legendary Queen Mary 2 from Cunard Line twice, once during the inaugural season, Regent Seven Seas Cruises Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Navigator, Holland America Line‘s Westerdam, Eurodam and now the Nieuw Amsterdam all during their inaugural seasons as well.
My only bad day at sea was when I was lucky (?) enough to experience 40 foot seas in the North Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2 when injections were given to the passengers instead of meals – that’s a story for another time as my stomach still hasn’t quite recovered.
Speaking of stomachs, we ate dinner at the Pan-Asian Tamarind restaurant last night again and like before, wasn’t disappointed. I really want to learn the secret to all the servers, stewards, sommeliers and bus persons superior memory skills which allow them to greet you by name, bring you your preferred drink and know exactly how you want things even though they met you only once before. I’m sure it has something to do with chewing plenty of Ginkgo Biloba gum.
We are now cruising alongside Cuba and the water is flat calm. The sure sign of land-ho was a visit by a sea gull looking for a bite to eat on the Lido. We have a beautiful day at sea today with a near cloudless sky and temperatures in the high 70’s. One last dinner tonight in the Pinnacle Grill courtesy of the Captain then it’s off to dreamland one last time before returning to reality.
Personal Day-By-Day Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of the Nieuw Amsterdam:
No vacation would be complete without a ton of photos, right? For this particular cruise, I took a bunch of photos of the ship’s interior, pool areas, the stateroom itself, and more. Photos can be found in the Nieuw Amsterdam Photo Tour as well as in the day-by-day review of the cruise at the links above.
Just booked a February cruise on the N. Amsterdam and really appreciated your blog. Once weathered 16 foot seas in the late and lamented SS Norway but never felt the winds you describe. Especially enjoyed reading someone else who is just happy to be on the water. Enough to be gently rocking and not reading much of my book; no need to be entertained 24 hrs a day.