Day 14 – The end is near

We wake up on our last full day on board. With regret, we realize that it is over. Tomorrow morning at 7am the Koningsdam  will moor in Amsterdam and this means that our trip to the North Cape is coming to an end. A trip that took us to the north through the beautiful Norwegian fjords during the midnight sun. Of course, we have not seen all the fjords, there are just too many, no cruise company does that, but we have certainly seen the most important and most beautiful fjords. We have been on the North Cape. We have discovered  Norwegian cities, including some gems.

And here also ends the historic journey of the Koningsdam, the end of its maiden voyage with full passage over the Arctic Circle. The Koningsdam just baptized and therefore completely new. In true style of Holland America, we had fantastic gourmet dinners, with an abundance of choice so that it was sometimes difficult to make a choice. Food of the highest quality, perfectly cooked and served beautifully.

We slept wonderfully in the big soft bed of our cabin under our comforter. We enjoyed the sun on our private verandah. For that verandah we had to sacrifice space in the cabin itself. . And admittedly, the cabin should have been slightly larger. Because with the desk and the lounge has well, the room itself is quite small. But the storage space was more than adequate. As well as European and American plugs and USB gates. Well done. The bathroom may be just slightly larger, but the towels in Egyptian cotton made amends.

For two weeks we have been spoiled by the crew. Even today during cooking lesson or flower arranging ... The crew, outside officers, reception and entertainment staff, are mostly Filipinos and Indonesians. They are well trained and very professional, they are clearly not just taken from the bush. They all come with their own story. There is Jessica from the Philippines, our lovely waitress from Billboard on board bar. She is already for the fourth time on board one of Holland America ships. The period of one contract is 10 months and that means 10 months working, seven days at a stretch without a day off. But it also means 10 months away from home, away from her family and especially away from her son. The irony is that she mainly does it for her son. What she earns on board, she can’t earn in the Philippines. It allows her even  to send her son to a private school. But it comes with a price of course. Now her son is getting older, he asks more questions and she finds it difficult to enter into a new contract. We wish her every success in her future plans and much love. That same love and attention she gave us two weeks.

We wish the Koningsdam a wonderful future and especially nice trips; be it the White Nights in St Petersburg, the splendor of the Mediterranean, or the exotic beaches of the Caribbean. But we wish her mostly quiet seas on all the world's oceans on which she will sail. Safety for the ship, wisdom for her officers, health for her crew and comfort and enjoyment for its passengers.

Anchors away and steady as she goes ...