Our little cruise group has unanimously titled Hettie the Cruise Director for good reason: she thinks of everything! The hotel she chose, for example, is located on the dock. When we woke up this morning Celebrity Reflection was docked right out the back door! That meant we could sleep late and just walk on board when the mood struck. She also kept track of price shifts as the sail date approached. We originally booked verandas, but when suites went on sale just ahead of the cruise we all jumped on it and now have access to a special lounge (Michael’s Club) and fine-dining restaurant (Luminae). Hettie’s attention to detail does not disappoint!

Our cruise director had us organized and ready to board as soon as possible, which went without a hitch. When a hostess saw our suite access cards she pulled us aside and escorted us to Michael’s Club where we were invited to wait until our rooms were ready. We thanked her for the special treatment, but as soon as she was out of sight, we made a beeline for the sumptuous lunch buffet.

Our suites were ready around 1:00. Everyone but me (late luggage) was unpacked and had everything put away before the 4:00 safety drill. From the safety drill we went for cocktails and from there to dinner in our beautiful dining room.

Walter volunteered to be in charge of dinner seating for the cruise. (We like to mix it up so we’re not by the same person each night.) To kick things off he placed a small card at each place with a key word on it. We were each to decide which one referred to us and sit there. Cleone’s word was matriarch, Hettie’s was director, Dan’s traveler, Ronnie’s fixer, Walter’s tinkerer, and mine was contractor.

I am in charge of table topics for the cruise. To kick things off we started with this question: What good news have you had in the last week or so. Dan and I knocked it out of the park and took everyone by surprise with the news that we are going to be first-time grandparents early next year! 

Dinner was delicious! Besides having as many courses as we want, there was also an amuse bouche to kick things off and sorbet to cleanse our palettes before dessert. We waddled out of the dining room.

We set sail at 5:00 and three hours and a few locks later ended the long trek out to the open water of the North Sea. I did not realize Amsterdam was tucked so far inland. 

The Fly Boys were the entertainment tonight and performed with great enthusiasm. Popular tunes meets four-part harmony meets swing meets big band … with a seven-piece orchestra backing them up. We thoroughly enjoyed them!

Before going to bed Dan and I set our watches back an hour, packed away our euros, and got out pounds in preparation for our first port tomorrow. We had a whopping 171 nautical miles to cover before dawn.

NOTE

A nautical mile is a unit of distance used for air and sea travel.
It is equal to 1.151 miles.