One of us was up around 4am and watched the entrance into the lock on the way to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Despite the darkness, it was still interesting until the coldness got the better of him. At 5:45am, Ian gave a scenic sail-in commentary from the Crow's Nest, also heard on the promenade deck. A special treat of "anniversary rolls" was served during that time. Of course, they were really Panama rolls, which our trusty morning waiters saved for us.
This special day, April 18th, was the same day in 1873 that the Holland America Line was born. Originally a cargo and passenger line taking immigrants from Europe to North America, the line has become one of the world's longest serving and most loved cruise line. So today will be a busy one, beginning with the President's Club members and Pinnacle Suite guests gathering in the Rolling Stone Lounge at 12:30pm. We will be bussed to the city of Rotterdam, and be guests of Hotel New York, the original building of the HAL cruise line. Then at 3pm, we will listen to a presentation, hear remarks, and witness a gift given to the citizens of the Netherlands. At one point, we will raise our glasses in a toast to celebrate this milestone, according to the printed invitation.
We will depart the hotel at 4:15pm and re-join the coach for the ride back to the ship in Amsterdam. We should get back in time for the Gala Dinner tonight in the dining room, as well as be present for the for the Lido party from 8 to midnight. However, that is not exactly how it happened, but we will explain a bit later.
After breakfast, we worked online to keep the blog up to date. While we were busy with that, we also watched a huge delivery of flowers, several large pots planted with blooming tulips, and even some planter boxes. Stacks of extra chairs were off-loaded, not to mention more food products and fresh produce. We wondered if those 2023 GWV duffels bags were in the delivery. We suspect the flowers, chairs, and planters will have to be returned tomorrow. There were also two different security dogs sniffing everything before it was loaded onboard.
The suggested attire was "dressy", so we had to change to something nice, but also warm. The temperature was in the low 50's, but with the wind blowing, it dropped it even further. Cut right through anything we had on. Our group began gathering after 12:30pm, but all did not arrive until closer to 1pm. The slower walkers of the group went first, since there was a long walk to get off of the ship and through the terminal. The rest of us followed in the rear. Once down the escalator or elevator, we turned left and went directly to the buses in the garage area. We estimate there may have been 50 of us, and we had plenty of space with two coaches. The buses left the garage about 7 minutes late, which wasn't bad since they had to load the walkers and wheelchairs as well. No motorized scooters were allowed.
The ride to Rotterdam took all of one hour and a half, getting us there by 3pm. This was the better part of the tour since we got to see much of the countryside once we were out of the city. It was more like farming country with sheep, cows, geese and ducks. Big stretches of green fields went on for miles. And we took freeways most of the time. We did spot four McDonald's and a few Starbucks on the way. This freeway was full of big rigs, so their stops at gas stations seemed to come with the coffee and fast foods.
The closer we got to the city of Rotterdam, we began to see many high rises, some of which were ultra- modern in design. When some huge bridges came into sight, we knew we were close to the New York Hotel on the river. The traffic at this point prevented a quick access to this spot. As we disembarked the coach, we heard walking drummers and a three-person stilt walker characters parading up and down the street with flashing hand fans. Dressed in costumes like peacocks with painted faces, they must have been street performers. Later on, we discovered these performers were mermaids, all female, and were here for the special celebration. Some ladies were also dressed in period dresses from the 1800's, posing for the tourists. The Rotterdam was docked right there, walking distance to the Hotel New York. Lucky them. Later on, we were told there were only two President's Club members from that ship at this event. Our buddy Lyn knew both of them, and they said no one else was invited but them and some of their officers.
Upon entering the famous hotel, we had to be checked off of their list, where we were handed a card showing where we were to be located – section C2…..seated. Fighting a clogged entryway, we made our way to the restrooms first, which were down a steep flight of stairs. Coming back up, we picked up a half-full glass of bubbly wine and were offered some pretty strange looking canapies of raw salmon and something brown on a slice of toast. We passed on the food. We could see the area where the seating was filling up, and proceeded to find a chair. We were stopped before we could do that and asked to leave our glasses on a tray. They were not allowed in the seating area. By the time we took one gulp, we found most of the chairs were occupied. We got the last two, but Bob and Martha had no seats. There were several others of our group without seats. Bill offered his to Martha, who said no, she would find one on another aisle. Bob stayed in the back row without a chair. Cameramen were also crowded at the back wall. At least one third of the seating was filled with local people we were told. Not anyone associated with the cruise line. These folks almost knocked us over to get to the drinks and canapies. There was no excuse for not having enough seating for this event, since the number of guests from the Zuiderdam had been given to them weeks ago. The lower front and center section was reserved for other dignitaries, which was appropriate. We have to mention here that at no time was there a mention of our group of President's Club members being here. No recognition at all.
Promptly at 3pm, a speaker announced the beginning of the presentation, but first please stand for the Royal Princess Margarite of the Netherlands as she entered the room with her entourage. Then the show began. The family of the original owners of the HAL company spoke, followed by the new president, Gus Antorcha. He is very new to the team, having worked less than a year now. At one point, a special framed certificate was given the archives of the company, a gift to the people. The mayor of Rotterdam was also a special guest. A new stamp was unveiled, and finally a toast was made by three people pouring champagne over a ship's bell. There was no toast for the rest of the seated crowd since we had no glasses. Honestly, we were just there to clap for the big wigs. At the end of the event, several officers from both ships, the Rotterdam and the Zuiderdam walked across the upper level behind the stage which was made to look like a ship's promenade deck. They tossed over the streamers like they did in the old days. Then the show was over.
Then an announcement came saying the folks from the Zuiderdam should leave to join their coaches, while the remainder of the guests could stay until 4:45pm. By the way, there were only a few passengers from the Rotterdam ( only two President's Club members) which was docked directly across the street. As we left the hotel, we were handed a gift bag with a commemorative book all about the 150 year history of the cruise line. When the majority of us got outside, it was freezing with a strong wind blowing. We all checked our watches and the time was only 3:40pm. We had over a half hour before the buses would arrive. Eventually one of the front desk folks arrived and brought us to the parked buses around the corner. Since not all of us were there, we had to wait, wondering where they had gone. It turned out that after most of us left, more hot and edible canapies came out, and the wine was poured as well, mostly for those that were not part of our group. The few of our folks that had stayed at the hotel until it was close to 4:15pm ended up enjoying the food and drinks . They really got teased when they boarded since none of us knew more food and wine was being served.
In hind site, we feel HAL should have provided an escort from the ship on both of the buses, telling us the procedure once we arrived at the hotel. We had no directions, nor did we expect a flight of stairs to enter the building. That was most difficult for the guests who really needed a better way to access the building. It was a melee once we entered the hotel, and it was pretty much downhill from there. This was not just our opinion, it was the consensus of many of our guests.
The ride back took longer of course, since it was commute time. We have seen worse traffic at home, but at least we were moving even if at times, it was slow. The general comments from the back of the bus were that this event was underwhelming at best. It was a long way to travel for a half hour talk.
Anyway, it was a good chance to catch a few winks, which several of the fellows did. We got back to Amsterdam by 6pm , and happy to be home. For a change, we had double whiskey and scotch drinks with tortilla chips, since we had missed lunch. That would tide us over until dinnertime, which was advertised as being a uniquely crafted artisan Gala Dinner in the dining room. Upon being handed the one page menu, we were surprised to see only four appetizers, four mains, and the regular offerings of desserts. Maybe we missed something, but at least there were a few items that looked good. The tomato soup was different, even better than normal, the salad was passable, and the beef entrée was tender, and tasty but cold by the time the plates were served. It wasn't just us, it was our entire table. One of our entrees had not arrived with the rest, so Bill had the tomato soup, which should have gone to Barb, but arrived too late. She offered it to Bill, so her steak would not get cold. Didn't matter….it was already cold. Bill ended up passing on the entrée and was happy with the soup. Crazy….. Dessert was back to normal, and two small plates of chocolates from Jacques Torres were placed on the table for us to share. Remember when we got these every formal night? Now that is a thing of the past.
The Grand Party Lido Poolside had already started at 8pm with music by the Tiny Big Band, a local group. This is where a fine selection of complimentary drinks, appetizers, and sweets would be available. This would last until 11pm with an after party until midnight. When the word "free" is added to drinks, you better believe the guests will turn out in large numbers. By the time we arrived, there wasn't a seat left in the entire pool area, and was shoulder to shoulder packed. You couldn't see the decorations for all the tea in China, which was the only reason we went up there…to take some photos. At 9:45pm, Gus Antocha, President of HAL, was scheduled to give an anniversary toast with remarks at this affair. Since we had already heard the speech in Rotterdam, we got the "heck out of Dodge", and retreated to our room for the evening. It had been a very long day, but also nice for the birthday boy who did receive several cards, one of which came from the entire front desk staff. What was missing was the birthday cake at dinner. Guess we had to mention his birthday to our waiters, who usually automatically got that message. Funny story: one of our travel hosts had stopped by to wish Bill a happy birthday, and Gene said when he had his celebration at the dinner table last month, his tablemates ordered a different little cake instead of the chocolate mousse one. Unknown to him, it came with an extra charge, which his tablemates paid. It was a banana cake, which Gene did not like, but never admitted. Cannot believe the guests are being charged for something as simple as that. It wasn't that long ago when we ordered a full- size cake like strawberry, lemon cream, or even pineapple upside down cake. No charge. Those were the days my friends.
Lo and behold, when we returned to our room, we had gifts on the bed……the missing duffel bags with the 2023 GWV logo on them. Bet these were in today's delivery with the flowers and such. When we unfolded one of them, they appeared to be too large to use as an airline carry-on. Useful in other ways though.
At least we have tomorrow to explore Amsterdam because we are here overnight.
Bill & Mary Ann
PS We were given a note this morning saying we would be without telephone service in our rooms and everywhere else on the ship all day. That was a first. Guess that was something else broken and needed repairing.
