Wednesday, June 13, 2012 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Partly cloudy – 60s

Embarkation Day – Cruise No. 2 – Arctic Circle – Celebrity Constellation

 

Breakfast at the Hotel – OK again – cereal and toast and jellies.  We also reserved our room no. 5 for our next trip to Amsterdam.  The Hotel clerk also called a cab for us - he said the cabbies were “crooks” but I’m sure he found us a reputable one. 

The Cab showed up in five minutes and for 10 Euros (negotiated no tip and meter) we were at the ATP once again.  Check in was pretty smooth and we were on the ship pretty quickly.  Lunch was in the Sea View Cafe and it was good.

 

The River Ij from the Constellation  

We are in Cabin 3004 (Forward Starboard Side3).  It is a great room with a big window and roomy (for a ship) bathroom.  Plenty of room for toiletries in the bathroom. 

Cabin 3004 – Very nice and spacious

The Cruise Director for this voyage is Steve Gayda and the Activities Manager is Luisa Lopez.  There is a note in my room asking me to meet with Luisa at 5:00 PM (following the life boat drill) to go over the schedule. 

We headed to Shorex to sign up for excursions.  We have never been to these ports of call so we put our names down for just about all of them.  There weren’t many excursions offered and a large percentage of them were activity type tours rather than sightseeing. 

We then checked with the Maitre D’ about seating.  We are for late seating tonight but waitlisted for early seating. 

After the safety drill, we watched the Sail Away from the Solarium – this would become the most popular venue of the ship. 

Best way to watch the Sail Away

The Sail Away from Amsterdam up the River Ij to the North Sea was very scenic – the time to open sea was at least an hour so we had a chance to see much of the Dutch countryside.

City Center – Sail Away

We saw what appeared to be floating hotels or Condos along the River.  Low maintenance and a water view.

Living on the River

As we continued along, the city of Amsterdam really came into view. The Central Station and the church spires were also very visible from the ship.

City Center – Sail Away

Central Station – the Hub of the City

 

Hotels, Businesses, and Ferries

As we proceeded along, we moved out of the city and into rural Holland.  Eventually, we met the open sea – there was a beach (not expansive but a beach).

 

Beach along the North Sea

 

Leaving the Mainland Behind

As we sailed along the River Ij, we saw a wind turbine or two.  Once in the open sea, we ran across a flock of wind turbines.  I wonder how deep the water is to be able to put these turbines out in the middle of the North Sea.

Wind Turbines in the North Sea

Not wanting to eat in the buffet for dinner, we went to the San Marcos Restaurant to see if anything had opened up.  After some checking, we got a table for two with a bit of a view.  It would not be our final table – only for tonight.  The dinner was good and the best thing was that the Maitre D’ stopped by to tell us that a table for two had opened up.  It was around the corner from this table – sign us up.  We now had a home at the Dining Room.

We went to the Welcome aboard show at 7:45 PM.  The A Capella Group – Blend Tech – performed along with the French Aerialist Group and the Celebrity Singers and Dancers.

We witnessed a great sunset – these would be rare in the days ahead as we crossed the Arctic Circle.

Sunset – North Sea

Seas are calm.