I woke up predictably early on Sunday with that excited “we’re going on a cruise today” feeling keeping me from sleep. We finished getting our bags ready for the ship and then went down for one last breakfast at the world’s most amazing buffet.

I had arranged transportation with Pedro Pinduko who I read about on Facebook. We were going to make a leisurely drive to Rotterdam with a stop in Kinderdijk to see the windmills.

I’m so glad I found Pedro and cancelled our other transportation! Our trip to Rotterdam was very enjoyable! Pedro was personable and knowledgeable about the things we were seeing. He took us “off the beaten path” through some delightful towns instead of taking the highway all the way to Kinderdijk.

Kinderdijk was crowded but not unmanageable. We decided not to get admission tickets, and instead we just walked the paths and saw the windmills from the outside. It was a beautiful day, and we actually got hot and had to shed layers!

It was such a pleasant trip to Rotterdam! We plan to use Pedro as a guide the next time we cruise from Rotterdam!

Before we knew it we were in Rotterdam dropping luggage. The port handles checked bags a little differently than others I’ve sailed from. Instead of handing bags over to a porter you line up and they are sent up a conveyor belt directly onto the ship! It was super easy, as was check-in. Everything is done with facial recognition now, so aside from checking passports and taking the ID pictures there really isn’t anything to do. I noticed there is no longer a health questionnaire to complete during boarding. About 10 minutes after we dropped our bags we were walking onto the ship! At last we’re cruising again!

One thing I really appreciate about Holland America is the cabins are ready when you board. We went straight to our room, a Neptune Suite on Deck 7 very close to the lounge. Almost immediately we met our cabin stewards, Mash and Nyomen. They were fantastic — attentive and eager without being intrusive or annoying. As a bonus, they actually brought our luggage with them!

We went down to the Neptune Lounge and met our phenomenal concierge Kristine (more about her later), and decided to go to the Lido for lunch.

Lunch was OK. Nothing special, but we try to avoid the buffet as much as possible and it’s always crowded on the first day. After lunch we made a quick trip to check in at our muster station, we went to the gym to check out the group fitness schedule, and then went back to our cabin to get everything unpacked and put away for two weeks! Part of unpacking was also sending out our first batch of laundry. It’s a great perk of being in a suite, and Holland America does a fantastic job with guest laundry.

We sailed on time at 4:00. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had clear views of Rotterdam and the surrounding area as we left.

We enjoyed dinner in Club Orange the first night of the cruise. We had followed our next door neighbors down to Club Orange and ended up sitting with them at dinner, as well as some other meals during the cruise.

That was it for our first day. I stopped in the casino to make a small deposit, and we were happy to be rocked to sleep on a ship headed for new to us territory!

Saturday was a beautiful day! We spent it walking miles through Amsterdam with our fantastic guide, Marten Koerse. Marten has an incredible knowledge of art and history, and we’re glad we chose him to guide us through the day.

Marten met us in the lobby of our hotel at 9:00, and we set off on a leisurely stroll to the Rijksmuseum.

Marten is a gifted storyteller, and I repeatedly saw us gathering a crowd inside the exhibit areas! I probably should have passed the hat to let those people pay their share of our tour!😂

The Night Watch is currently being restored. It sits behind giant sheets of thick glass which provide soundproofing so the experts working on the painting aren’t startled by noise from the museum guests.

As we were leaving the museum, Marten pointed out a long metal plate in the ceiling of the porte cochere. It is an emergency escape to lower the priceless masterpiece to safety in case of fire.

After we left the museum we made our way over to the Albert Cuyp Market for samplings of some of Marten’s Dutch favorites!

We started at the fish market, although both Jim and I politely declined the Pickled Herring!

By this time we were stuffed and tired, so we decided to head back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner. We were going to take the tram, but unfortunately there was a service interruption due to a large demonstration in Dam Square. Thankfully Marten was able to navigate a different way back using the Metro, and we got back to the hotel about 4:00.

Our day with Marten was exceptional, and we would love to tour with him again when/if we return to Amsterdam.

Dinner Saturday was something new to us…we arranged dinner in a private home using the “Eat With” website (https://www.eatwith.com). What a fantastic experience! We chose an Italian meal in Luca’s canal home, and are so glad we did that instead of going to a restaurant. Luca was a gracious host and an excellent cook. We enjoyed the meal, watching the chef in action, and Luca’s personal story of growing up in southern Italy and how he came to settle in Amsterdam. I highly recommend Eat With to anyone who likes to explore a different culture and get a taste of what life is like for the locals!

We didn’t have much energy left by the time we finished dinner. We knew we still needed to get back to the hotel and get packed up to leave in the morning. We were finally cruising the next day, and we couldn’t wait for 2 weeks on a ship exploring new places!