Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter from the Netherlands

I'm writing this post from AMA Waterways Amalegro enroute to Volendam. We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday and took a taxi to the ship which was docked at Ruijterkade oost. For those that have been to Amsterdam before, that is just a few blocks from Central Station.
It is also a few blocks from the Passenger Terminal where the larger ships dock.

The crew took our bags and we checked in at the reception desk. They kept our passports, at least for the first couple of days, since the cruise goes from the Netherlands to Belgium and back.

The cabins wouldn't be ready until 3 PM, so we relaxed for awhile in the lounge and then had some lunch before taking a little stroll along the waterfront and the area near Central Station. There are lots of shops and places to eat nearby. Not far from there is the famous Red Light District.

Since we didn't want to wear ourselves out the first day, we didn't do too much walking. We have been to Amsterdam twice before, so that was another reason why we could relax a bit.

Shortly after returning to the ship, our cabin was ready so we went there and unpacked. We had free time until 5 PM when the crew gave us a briefing about safety and our itinerary. The evening festivities started off with a local dance group providing entertainment and was followed by dinner.

After dinner, everyone went to bed, especially since most people had flown in the same day and were feeling a little jet lag. Today started early with breakfast followed by our first excursion. I'll tell you more about our Easter Sunday in my next post.

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