Ijmuiden, on board Azamara Quest

 

We had a slightly earlier breakfast today, then went for a good brisk walk as far as the Rijksmuseum. A very nice morning, warming to about 19C with mainly sunny skies. It's Saturday, so less traffic, and less people on the sidewalks. We walked back a different way along one of the many canals in time for 11am check- out.

After storing our bags we headed out again to check out a couple of cheese shops, then bought a pastry to have with coffee back at our hotel as we waited for our transfer. The driver showed up about 15 minutes early, as one of the roads was closed and it was going to take us longer to get to the cruise port. There is certainly a lot of construction going on in Amsterdam!

The cruise port in Ijmuiden is in a mainly industrial area, although there are lovely looking beaches both north and south. It took us slightly over 30 minutes from downtown Amsterdam, and check-in was very fast. A quick safety drill and we were free to have some lunch. Cabins were available by 2pm so we were able to get unpacked well before sail-away at 5pm. We have a standard outside cabin. Cozy and comfortable. This is not a cruise that we need a balcony!

A bit windy, but the sea is relatively smooth, at least for a ship our size. Some of the small sailboats leaving port are certainly bouncing around!

There was a cocktail party for the Seminar at Sea guests at 5:30. About 30 of us at the cocktail party between Travel Agents and guests. 

We decided on the Seafood Buffet in Windows for tonight's dinner, and it was a good choice.We especially enjoyed the seabass and local red rockfish at the grilling station.

Afterwards we went to the show in Cabaret Lounge that had an introduction to the various entertainers on board as well as giving us the tally of passengers. Ship capacity is just under 700, There are about 580 passengers from about 19 countries, majority from the U.S. but a good showing from UK, and Continental Europe as well as Canada and Australia.








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