I think we were all too excited about our cruise that everyone was up early and down for breakfast before 9:00am. What I love about staying at the Hampton Inn besides the beds is their hot breakfast buffet. We got the cars packed up and started our drive into New York City. The drive was pretty easy and what was really cool was seeing the New York City skyline in the distance.
It didn’t take us long (about forty-five minutes) and then we were at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It was really weird where we actually parked the cars. It was basically along the roadway to the pier. And it wasn’t cheap ($245) but it was nice and close to the ship, Holland America’s MS Veendam. The Veendam is a small ship, compared to the other huge ships out there. It only holds 1,258 guests. It has everything that we’ve experienced on previous Holland America ships, but just more compact.
We dropped our bags off and proceeded down to the terminal. It did not take us long to get checked in. We only had to wait about fifteen minutes before we were allowed to board.
We each proceeded to our respective staterooms … Teresa and Marie are on the fourth floor, in H701, Kris and Becca are in H707 (right next door to Teresa and Marie), and Karen and I are on the 9th floor in BA119. After checking each other’s staterooms, we headed up for the lunch buffet in the Lido Restaurant.
After lunch, we wandered around the ship investigating all of the different areas. We went back to the stateroom and lucky for us our luggage arrived so we unpacked and got settled. We took a tour of the Greenhouse Spa, and enjoyed the amazing heated stone beds. We also enjoyed the loungers at The Retreat at the back of the ship for a while.
The ship set sail around 5:00pm and the on-board travel guide narrated our departure from New York City. We started at the bow of the ship but had to head inside because of the rain. We got a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the NYC sky-line while cruising down the Hudson River.
Time for more food. We got changed for dinner and went down to the Rotterdam Dining Room. What is nice about having six people at dinner is that more than likely everyone will get something different. I won’t list what each person ate but selections included Pan-Seared Rainbow Trout, Roasted Chicken with Sausage Cornbread Stuffing, Eggplant Cannelloni Parmigiano, Parmesan Coated Veal Loin and Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus.
Marie and I skipped dessert because we wanted to get to the Crow’s Nest for music trivia. All I can say is that Team C.C. won with 28 points (out of a possible 34). There is music trivia every night and I think I’m going to have to brush up during the day with my iPod.
Before retiring for the evening, we stopped by the shops and casino. Luckily for us it is a sea day so we get to sleep in. I’m sure there will be lots more adventures tomorrow!
Be First to Comment