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Cruising

Port Call – Exploring Livorno, Florence And Pisa

Posted on April 20, 2012

Pisa - Piazza dei Miracoli & Leaning Tower of Pisa

Today is the first visit to a port in Italy on this cruise, and it is a very early start. I was up and eating breakfast by 6.30 am to ensure joining the tour group at 7.20 am. My tour today was exploring from Livorno, Florence and Pisa as part of an 11-hour tour.

Florence

The tour started with a lengthy drive of around one and half hours to reach the city of Florence. Once the tour arrived in Florence we left the bus and set out on foot. There are a number of interesting sites here, and definitely worth the visit.

Dome of Florence Cathedral

The Dome of Florence Cathedral is one unique Cathedral that I have seen to date. The entire outside of the building is covered in marble. The use of marble on the exterior allows the building to appear very much as it did when built without a need to repaint.

Palazzo Vecchio

A short walk onto Piazza Della Signoria which is also the location of the town hall, Palazzo Vecchio. The building looks quite different to many other buildings in the area with a more castle look. In front of Palazzo Vecchio is where the famous statue of David by Michelangelongalo. However, the statue now resides in the Accademia Gallery to protect it from the elements.

Ponte Vecchio

Florence has almost an endless number of interesting sights. Of course, as with any tour, there is a limited amount of time, so the last stop before lunch was a bridge named Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio might have been destroyed twice in floods. But it was the only bridge in the city to survive World War II. When you are on the bridge it seems just like a street lined with shops. However, from a little further along the river you can see it is a rather interesting bridge.

Lunch

The tour today included a meal, I suppose partially to let us try the local flavour. But I suppose also to help ensure the timing of everyone on the tour. There were three courses, starting with pasta in a tomato sauce, followed by Roast Pork and Potatoes. The final course was dessert a delicious coffee flavoured cake and custard. After lunch, there was a short period to explore Florence, before the tour headed to Pisa.

Pisa

Pisa is, of course, best known for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, it does not take long to notice that there are also three other amazing buildings here as well. The Cathedral that stands next to The Leaning Tower of Pisa is almost more impressive than the tower.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa though is much more famous due to the fact it is leaning. Over the years the lean would increase by 1mm each year. But it eventually reached a point where it was fear it may fall over. In recent years extensive work has helped to remove this threat and make the tower much more stable. The Leaning Tower Of Pisa now is free standing with a lean of 4.6 meters off centre.

I do not think there is a better way that I could have spent my time in port today. Getting to explore the historic city of Florence, before a visit to Pisa. It would not have been possible to see as much without taking the tour.

Destinations

Port Call – Exploring Barcelona, Spain

Posted on April 18, 2012

Today the cruise arrives in the third and final port of call in Spain, Barcelona. In some ways, I have found the port more interesting than the last two, but that could also be due to the size of the city. Arriving in Barcelona is 17 days into my 29-day cruise, but is also like the half way point. For some guests who were only booked on the Transatlantic portion, this is the end of the cruise.

Barcelona is a city that I had decided not to book a tour, as there is a lot to see within easy walking distance. There was a tour bus available from where the ship docked to the area known as La Rambla. Which places you very close to some squares and interesting tourist spots. I am glad to say that Barcelona, for the most part, is very easy to navigate, but there is plenty of walking to get around. Below is little panorama over the city of Barcelona.

La Rambla

The shuttle bus drop off point is at the bottom of a walking mall known as La Rambla. It is a wide avenue lined with shops and cafes on both sides. It is a great place to walk along and take in the area early in the day. By the time I was leaving this afternoon, it was much busier with people and would have been not so pleasant to walk.

Barcelona Buildings

There are many interesting buildings around the city of Barcelona. Just about everywhere you look there is a mixture of old and much older with the occasional newer building. Just like the majority of Europe, there is a broad range of much older buildings, more so than other parts of the world. There is just so many different building techniques, but they all incorporate stone in some way. Below is the Port of Barcelona Building.

Arc de Triomf

Many people when they think of the Arc de Triomf, will immediately think to Paris, France, but it is spelt slightly different. Known as a Triumphal Arch the one in Barcelona is similar to the one in Paris in look alone. The construction method of Red Brick instead of Stone does set it apart a little. It was built in 1888 as the main access gate for the Barcelona World Fair around 50 years after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was completed.

Barcelona Cathedral

I took some time exploring some back streets to make my way to the Barcelona Cathedral. I did find some other smaller churches along the way but soon arrived at the Cathedral. Which like many Cathedrals in Europe is rather large and grand.

The Cathedral does dominate the square which is faces and is quite a nice building. Which is currently undergoing extensive renovations. I have some mixed feelings about this church in particular as it does feel a little bit overdone. There is a large amount of gold and ornate carving, with a large number of statues. I do think I prefer the churches that have not gone to such lengths to fill every inch of space.

One benefit of the visit to the Cathedral though was the option to pay a small fee to take a lift to the rooftop. The rooftop view is where I was able to capture the panorama I shared above.

Barcelona Cathedral

One of the final areas that I passed on the way back to catch the shuttle back to the ship was past the Barcelona Casino. They have quite a different sculpture located out the front which caught my eye. More a case of wondering what that is than any attraction to it. I cannot see what they are trying to convey; maybe it is just to draw people in.

A Good Days Walk

Barcelona turned out to be a great city to explore on foot, and I walked much further than I expected. But at the same t, me I was able to see a lot of different aspects of the city. There is a lot more for me to share in another post when I have time, so keep a look out.

The next 12 days are going to be rather intense, with nine port calls in 12 days. Tomorrow is a sea day and then we start on the first of four ports in Italy. I have a couple of tours booked to try and maximise the time in each port. It is going to be a challenge to keep up sharing each port with you, but I am sure it will all work out.

Destinations

Port Call – Exploring The City Of Malaga, Spain

Posted on April 16, 2012

Malaga - View of Malaga from Gibralfaro Castle

Today the Ms Nieuw Amsterdam arrives into her first port of call in the Mediterranean for my cruise. The port city of Malaga is the second port in Spain and the last before the halfway point of the cruise in Barcelona. I had a great view of the sunrise from my cabin as the ship arrived at the port around 7 am. Possibly this has to be one of the best reasons to have a balcony cabin I think.

Gibralfaro Castle & City Tour

I wanted to make the most of the day in port today and booked to be on a tour. The tour I choose would visit Gibralfaro Castle before returning to the city of Malaga for a walking tour. It is going to be fun just hopping on the tour bus and following the tour guide for a change. I do believe the best part of the tour might be the view from Gibralfaro Castle.

Gibralfaro Castle

The tour departed from the ship, and around 15 minutes later we arrived in the mountains at Gibralfaro Castle. The views from here are just so stunning. I have included a picture below, which looks out over the harbour and you can see the MS Nieuw Amsterdam docked. I do not think you could have asked for a better day to be in port.

There was not a whole lot of interest in the castle. With a small museum which included some pieces of history in the form of clothing and other artefacts. There is also many local plants around the grounds, with some information provided by the tour guide.

City Walking Tour

Once the tour returned to the city, it was time to set out on foot. There are many places that the tour passes by and a couple we got the chance to stop and look at as well.

Malaga Cathedral

The first stop was at the Malaga Cathedral; churches do somehow seem to attract my attention. The construction started here in the first half of the 16th century and continued through the 17th and 18th centuries. With work being completed in 1782.

While it ‘s hard to photograph the outside of such a large building within the confines of the streets, I was happy to see we could also go inside. The interior of the cathedral is beyond beautiful, and there is a large selection of paintings, statues and marble work throughout. There is also some different chapels around the outer halls with different purposes and dedications.

Two design features stood out to me. The first was the location of the choir, which was more towards the centre of the church. In other churches, I have visited this was more towards the front. The second was the large and exquisite organ as pictured below.

Pablo Picasso

After leaving the cathedral, the next two landmarks both have a link to Pablo Picasso. The first is The Picasso Museum, where more than 200 pieces of Picasso’s artworks are housed. The second is Merced Square which is a place Picasso spent most of his childhood. He grew up in an apartment that overlooked the square, I believe in the building in the picture below.

Roman Theatre

The last stop for the tour dated back even further than the others to the 1st century BC. The site of this Roman Theatre is located at the foot of the Alcazaba (The fortified palace of the Muslim ruler’s, which was built int he 11th century). It was only in 1951 while undertaking work to create a garden in the area that the ruins were uncovered. Even though not in great condition the ruins still do resemble a theatre, unlike the one I visited in Cadiz.

Port Of Malaga

Once the tour concluded I made a quick stop at the ship to get something for lunch before a little more exploring. I took a walk around the waterfront of the port, and there are some interesting sights here. As I understand the whole area is relatively new and seems to be quite popular with the locals.

The first building I came across is a relatively small 8 metre by 8 meters, two storey building. The building is The Chapel of Port Malaga and is probably the smallest place of worship I have seen in Europe.

I have enjoyed a fantastic day in Malaga today. The weather was near to perfect, and the city and surrounding countryside are very scenic and easy to enjoy. As I write this post, I am sitting looking out over the water and the beach. Towards the houses climbing the mountainside, with just a couple of clouds in the endless blue sky. It is a place that I think will be on my list to return and explore further one day.

Tomorrow is the first sea day in about a week, so it is going to be nice to relax a little onboard the ship. I will hopefully still get a post out for you, catching up on some of what I did in Lisbon.

Destinations

Port Call – Exploring Cadiz, Spain

Posted on April 15, 2012

Whenever you are travelling, there are factors that are outside of your control. One of those factors is the weather and today that has been the cause of a little change to the plans for the cruise. Today the port was scheduled as Portimao, Portugal. However, you will notice that the title above is Cadiz, Spain.

Late yesterday as the ship was departing Lisbon the captain announced due to poor weather Portimao would not be visited. Instead, the ship would continue to Cadiz for an early arrival and be in port overnight. Even though it would have been nice to see another port in Portugal, I am happy enough with the decision, read on and find out why.

Cadiz, Spain

The city of Cadiz sits on a small peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Although the land area is not excessive, it is well and truly fully utilised and unlike Lisbon is relatively flat. Upon arrival in Cadiz, it was raining, and there was a strong wind blowing. However, it only lasted about an hour, and soon a group of us from the ship were out exploring the city.

Torre Tavira

The first mission was to find our way to Torre Tavira (Tavira Tower) also one of the highest points in the city. Atop the tower, there is what is known as the Camera Obscura. Which is a system that uses a pinhole camera and mirror to reflect a live image from outside onto a screen. It is a rather interesting experience and not an overly common tourist attraction with a minimal number open to the public around the world.

Walking Cadiz

With the rain gone but the clouds keeping the sun at bay, it was rather pleasant walking around Cadiz. The great thing about the city I have found is that it is a rather small city and easy to navigate. In fact, it only takes around an hour or so to walk around the outer edge of the main downtown area. Heading into the town, I came across a cathedral, which was kind of interesting. However, unfortunately, there was not photography allowed inside.

Roman Ruins

There was a strong wind coming off the Atlantic foreshore across Cadiz. However, this did not stop us making the walk to take a look at some of the Roman ruins. Although they are mostly indistinguishable this small piece of wall is the remains of a stadium.

Cadiz Seawall

The city of Cadiz is protected from the rather relentless swell of the Atlantic Ocean. Right now it looks rather calm, but it is easy to imagine that in storm conditions the waves could be quite large and forceful. I also imagine in the past they could have played a part in defending the city.

Puerta de Tierra

The last stop before returning to the ship for dinner was at the Puerta de Tierra. The wall in this location was originally in place by the middle of the 16th century. However, in the current form and appearance is more from around the 18th century.

Evening Walk

Since the ship was in port overnight, I decided to make the most of this time. Walking any city by night does give a rather different feeling to the city. The primary reason for my walk though was to try and capture the sunset from the land across the Atlantic Ocean. However, it was mostly a non-event today with the heavy cloud cover.

I did not let that get me down though capturing a couple of nice nighttime photos along the way. The first is a cafe that I came across waiting for some evening patrons. The second is a fountain not far from the ship, which you can see in the background.

Must More To Come

I do have plenty more to share from my time in Cadiz. However, I wanted to maximise my time in port, so you can expect to see another post come through soon. If I had just had the one day, I think I still would have got to see most of the city. But it was nice to take it a little easier and not be rushing the whole time.

Cruising

Port Call – Exploring Lisbon, Portugal

Posted on April 13, 2012

Lisbon is the third port of call in Portugal, but it is the first port of call for mainland Europe. The ship arrived in port a little after 1 pm. Although this is later than usual for arriving in port, Lisbon is an overnight stop.

An overnight port can be an excellent way to explore a little deeper in some of the large cities. However, it seems to be rather rare on most regular itineraries. An overnight stop in port allows you to explore both by day and night, as long as you take proper precautions.

Lisbon

The ship docked in the new port area in Lisbon. It is not the most convenient place from which to explore the central area of the city. But the public transport is close at hand, and a short train trip gets you much closer.

The first point of interest I spotted was the fabulous cafe. There is a mixed range of colourful beanbags laid out to relax and enjoy your drink. It looked pretty comfortable to enjoy a coffee, but I was ready to explore a little further.

A short walk along the waterfront brings you to the main square in Lisbon known as Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square). The square contains to rather impressive features that you can see below. The first is a statue of King José I and the second is the arch of the Old City Gate. The square is quite large, and there are plenty of people sitting around or passing through.

Getting Around

Lisbon as a city sites quite prominently on the side of a hill. Of course, this means if you want to walk much of the city it is going to be plenty of uphill walking. However, there is a streetcar that can get you to the top allowing you the much easier task of walking down. The streetcar to take is the number 28 and cost €2.85. It may seem expensive but sure did cut out a lot of the steep uphill.

The ride in the tram is kind of worth it even beyond the benefit of getting up the hills. The streets are far from wide avenues, and the route the streetcar takes is interesting, to say the least. There are plenty of twists and turns, winding streets climbing the hill. Switching from one to two tracks and with the odd blind corner thrown in for good measure. However, it is a part of the city that survives and serves an important purpose.

From the top of the hill, you get some great views. The collection of buildings that form the city from old to new all tells a story. The view across the terracotta roofs to the Tagus River was one that caught my eye.

Ceramic Tiles

The use of ceramic tiles in Lisbon seems to be quite extensive. There are some with a very basic pattern repeated used to cover the side of a building. In other areas, some tiles form murals like the one below I found on the side of a church. Additionally, they seem to be a very popular item in the souvenir shops as well.

Local Flavours

My Tour through Lisbon was not entirely on my own. I joined with a couple of friends from the cruise ship, and we explored together. There was a good portion of the city that we explored in the afternoon, and some of these were cafes and bars. There were some opportunities to try some of the local coffee, beer and wine. All of which I am quite surprised to say that I enjoyed.

Looking For More?

Due to trying to fit as much into my time in Lisbon as possible, it is difficult to share it all in one post. Expecially with quite a number of back to back port calls coming up. As soon as practical I will be looking to share some more from Lisbon, and there is plenty more to share.

Cruising

Nieuw Amsterdam Behind The Scenes Tour

Posted on April 12, 2012

Nieuw Amsterdam Behind the Scenes - Bridge

The first two ports of call in the Azores Islands were fantastic. First a visit to Horta and the following day Ponta Delgada. However, there was still another 700 miles (1,100 km) for the Ms Nieuw Amsterdam to travel to the next port call Lisbon, Portugal. It would take around one and half days to cover this distance with the schedule arrival time in Lisbon of around 2 pm tomorrow.

Nieuw Amsterdam Ship Tour

On past cruises, I had heard talk of some ships offering a complete ship tour, kind of like a behind the scenes tour of the ship. Of course, I asked about this once onboard, and even though it cost a little money, it sounded like a great idea.

The tour takes you to some places that passengers do not get to see when onboard. Areas like Backstage in the theatre, laundry, engine control room, store rooms, bakery, marshalling area, kitchen, and the navigation bridge.

Going Backstage

On my first cruise, there was a very short backstage tour, so it was nice to compare the two ships. The first cruise, of course, was onboard Ms Statendam and it was a much smaller ship. The backstage area on that ship was small and seemed rather awkward. In comparison, the backstage area onboard Ms Nieuw Amsterdam seems rather spacious. Albeit there is still not a lot of space with the number of costumes and props kept here.

Laundry

The next stop was a rather important area on the ship, the laundry. By now I should probably be used to the idea of everything on a cruise ship being compact. However, I found the laundry to be much smaller than I thought. Especially considering just how much linen and towels they need to wash every day.

Everything from sheets to face washers, pool towels to napkins need to be clean and fresh each day. It is hard to imagine keeping all of these items clean, but that is what they do in this room every day.

Corridors & Hallways

Passing through the corridors and hallways below the passenger decks is very different as well. Everything is very minimal with little to no decoration. Most of the walls are painted plain white with no adornments. Which to be honest makes sense, these corridors are here for a purpose, to allow passage. They are very much work areas.

Engine Control Room

The engine control room is an area that very few passengers ever get to visit. It is an interesting place to visit and see just what happens to keep the ship moving forward. But it is the numbers that were shared with us that were even more astounding.

A ship the size of the MS Nieuw Amsterdam takes a considerable amount of fuel to operate. The fuel economy leaves a lot to be desired, moving just 5 metres for every litre of fuel (62 feet per gallon). Which converts to around 200 litres per kilometre, or about 3.3 tanks of fuel for my car at home.

Marshalling Area

The marshalling area is somewhere that does not get much use while at sea. However, when MS Nieuw Amsterdam is in port that is a whole other story. The marshalling area is where all of the goods coming on board or offloaded pass through.

Again like other areas on the ship considering the quantity of goods that pass through here it is much smaller than I thought. Particularly with the luggage of over 2,000 passengers on embarkation/disembarkation days and the volume of food and beverage supplies. All I can imagine is that the process is very fine tuned and it would be all hands on deck, so to say.

Bakery

While many types of food can easily be stored in transit, one that must be produced every day is fresh bread. Which is the job of the onboard bakery, which operates 24 hours a day. A rather small room that does create a lot of varieties of fresh bread to keep everyone happy.

Storage Areas

There are some different storage rooms on board for all the different types of food and beverage. The image below is off one of the beverage store rooms, with space to store everything from water to wine, spirits and soda. The next store room is a dry goods store where many of the basic ingredients such as flour, rice and condiments are stored.

Kitchen

From where the food is stored, the next stop is the kitchen. It makes sense that they are located reasonably close together to try and avoid physically moving things too far, too often. At the time we visited the kitchen, they were in the early stages of preparing for dinner. It looks like the favourite entree tonight might just be shrimp cocktail; there were easily a couple of hundred lining this bench.

Navigation Bridge

The final stop on the tour is the Navigation Bridge, which is a rather important part of the ship. It is here that the decisions, of course, speed and consideration of the conditions are all taken into account. On this day they were also keeping a close watch obstacles including whales that may come into the path of the ship. I also found the view from here to be one of the best on the ship, of course, what you might expect from this important area.

A Great Tour

It is hard to say, but this could be one of the best tours I have taken with a cruise ship, even including the ones onshore. It was well worth the time and money to see just how the Ms Nieuw Amsterdam is operated. While also getting a little better appreciation for what goes into operating a cruise ship in general.

Looking forward to the rest of the cruise, it is going to start getting much more intensive. In fact, after today there will be only three more sea days in almost three weeks. Although I am not complaining one bit as that means seeing a lot of fascinating places, it does not leave much time to relax.

Destinations

Port Call – Ponta Delgada, Azores

Posted on April 10, 2012

Ponta Delgada - Main Square, Old Town Gates & Church

Today is the second port of call in the Azore Islands. After departing Horta last night, we travelled a reasonably short distance to the island of São Miguel. The port of call today is the city of Ponta Delgada. I have arranged a tour with the ship again today so that I can see a little of the countryside.

Sete Cidades Crater

Like yesterday on the island of Fiail, São Miguel is a volcanic island. The profile of the island shows this in the rough and jagged profile, the result of many volcanoes. The Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) is, in fact, seven craters with a single town inside. Originally the Pele wanted to establish seven villages in the craters. However, in the end, only one village end up being properly developed.

The village of Sete Cidades is located on the bank of a crater lake which shared its name. The lake to some seems like two lakes separated by the bridge. The two lakes in the correct weather appear to be two different colours. On one side the smaller shallower lake has a green colour, which is a reflection of the surrounding trees. While the large lake has a blue colour, which is a reflection of the sky. The conditions today though were not good to see this phenomenon due to the cloud cover.

The village itself appears to be a beautiful place if you can imagine living in the crater of an extinct volcano. Many people have lived with knowing this for some time and the village does have some rather stunning features.

Another Crater Lake

After departing Sete Cidades there was a stop to view the village from above, but the cloud cover restricted the view considerably. There was a stop at another crater lake nearby as well, which was a little more visible.

The final stop on the tour is a rather interesting one especially for an island that is not in the tropics. The stop was a pineapple plantation that has devised a system to grow pineapples in greenhouses. While the system does work well, it also takes a longer time to produce fruit.

Ponta Delgada

The tour today was a short one, around three hours long. As such, I had almost half a day to wander around the town of Ponta Delgada itself. There are some different areas I got to visit. The first was the main town square with the old town gates still standing here.

Ponta Delgada has some churches that are quite nice. The outside of the churches here though is nothing much to look at. But once you get inside they are quite beautiful. There is a lot of ornate carvings and interesting features inside the couple I visited. Unfortunately, photography inside the churches here is not permitted.

After departing from Ponta Delgada this afternoon, the ship will be heading towards Lisbon, Portugal. There is a full day and a half at sea before arriving in Lisbon. I have quite enjoyed my time in the Azores and would look to return at some point in the future.

Destinations

Port Call – Exploring The Town Of Horta, Azores

Posted on April 9, 2012

Today is the first time since the 1st of April that I have set foot on dry land. When you are travelling by cruise ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean takes some time. The crossing has been reasonably good, and I have very much enjoyed the ship. Except for one or two days where the ocean was quite rough. But while the ship has been great it is quite nice to see dry land as well.

Horta, Azores

For the port visit to Horta today I opted to take a tour organised by the ship. The primary reason for this was because Horta is a tender port, and tour groups get priority tendering. Which turned out a benefit as tender operations started around 45 minutes later than expected. So being on the tour and getting off first makes much better use of the time.

Ponta da Espalamaca

The tour turned out to be a great option passing through a lot of the countryside of the island. The first stop was at Ponta da Espalamaca, where there is a fantastic view of the city of Horta.

Caldeira Crater

The second stop was one that I was looking forward to but end up being a little less than expected. The Caldeira Crater which is nearly 2km wide, end up completely enveloped in clouds. However, you can sort of expect this a little bit at times considering the crater is at an elevation of almost 1000 meters above sea level. At least it was not the only highlight of the tour.

Canyon Views

The next stop was more a bathroom break, but there is also a rather impressive canyon here. When there has been heavy rainfall, I am told there is a waterfall here, but with little rain recently it is not flowing at the moment.

Graciosa Capelinhos

From the crater of an extinct volcano, the next stop is the most recently active volcano on the island of Faial. The eruption was some years ago in 1957, but there are still many signs of the devastation to the area. Even though it is almost 50 years since the eruption, there is still little vegetation in the area. The area appears to be rather sandy, but it is in fact ash from the eruption.

At a little further distance from the eruption is a mixture of new homes built in amongst the ruins of many earlier homes.

Local Park & BBQ Area

The tour continued back along the southern coast of Faial with a stop at a local park/BBQ area. It is not somewhere you would normally imagine being that interesting. However, there are some features that add interest to the area, such as the small clearings in groves of trees with tables. Also the use of the abundant supply of black volcanic rock.

Ponta do Varadouro

The last stop for the tour is an area named Ponta do Caradouro. In summer this is a very popular local swimming area that makes the most of the natural rockeries and proximity to the sea.

On the drive back to the Horta there are many visual reminders of how the island has been formed over the years. Both from the rock that has been erupted through volcanoes and the erosion of the ocean. The below image is one such area where a rocky outcrop has formed like a natural bridge. Very similar to a feature on the southern coast of Australia known as London Bridge.

Exploring Horta

I took a walk around the city of Horta after the tour. There are many beautiful aspects to the city, and I wish I could share it all at the one time. I have around 150 images from today, and I still need to be somewhat conscious of how much time I spend online. So will share my explorations of Horta for a post shortly.

Tomorrow the ship continues onto the island of São Miguel and the city of Ponta Delgada, which is the second stop in the Azore Islands. I am definitely looking forward to exploring more ports over the coming weeks and seeing a little less of the ocean.

Cruising

Exploring Holland America Line MS Nieuw Amsterdam

Posted on April 7, 2012

Today is the sixth day onboard Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam for my Transatlantic Cruise. The first couple of days were a little rough as we followed a Low-Pressure system across the Atlantic. However, the past couple of days has become a lot more comfortable and smoother sailing.

Hollan America Line’s Ms Nieuw Amsterdam is a Signature Class ship and is currently the newest ship in their fleet. With a registered tonnage of 86,700 GT, this is the largest ship I have cruised on to date. The maximum passenger capacity is 2106, with a maximum 929 crew. There is a total of 11 passenger decks. The maiden voyage for Ms Nieuw Amsterdam departed Venice on the 5th of July 2010. Which currently places her at less than two years old.

When you are walking the hallways and public spaces it does become very easy to forget you are on a cruise ship. You very much get the feeling of being in a five-star hotel, with all the amenities plus more onboard.

Below is one of the elevator lobbies onboard, I am sure you would agree it could complete with many land based hotels. In fact, it is entirely possible it is better than most of the hotels I have stayed in the last three weeks.

With this being the third cruise ship that I have been onboard now I do believe you get a lot for your money. I have yet to find a hotel that offers so much under one roof. Of course, there are hotels with restaurants and even some with light entertainment in the lobby. However, there are not many that offer multiple restaurants, bars, entertainment and shows all under the one roof.

The Queens Lounge is one of two places for something a little more than just music while onboard. During the day there might be cooking demonstrations. At night Karaoke, a band or even dancing.

Ms Nieuw Amsterdam is the first ship I have cruised on to have a dedicated Disco or Nightclub. On the other ships, it has been combined with the Crows Nest and has been somewhat a compromise. Towards the back of the room is a bar, while there is also plenty of seating and a dance floor.

When you are onboard a cruise ship, it is hard to resist being outside and experiencing the fresh sea air. I cannot count how much time I spent walking the Promenade Deck for some exercise; you need to do something when you are at sea for so many days.

The below photo is of the two smoke stacks not too long after sunset. On this particular day, I was a little late for the sunset itself. However, below is a photo of the sunset over the stern of the ship one afternoon earlier in the cruise.

After not feeling the greatest with the rough weather at the beginning of the cruise, I have now found my sea legs again. But I think the thing I am happiest about is no need to visit an airport or catch a plane for the next three weeks.

As of this post today, there is just one more day at sea before out first port of call. The port is Horta, on the Azores Islands, located off the coast of Portugal. The Azores are in some respects independent, but they are a Portuguese Territory.

Destinations

Exploring Hollywood Beach Florida

Posted on April 1, 2012

Today it was all about getting out and explore Hollywood. That is exploring Hollywood Beach which is located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the Intercoastal waterway. Going to Hollywood Beach is rather easy from my hotel with a short walk and a ride on the Water Taxi.

Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi

The Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi is one of the easiest ways to get to Hollywood Beach. There are three ticket options for adults, two which give all day access and one that just covers the evening. An all day pass to visit all stops is $25, An evening pass (valid after 5 pm) is $15, and a pass for Hollywood stops only is $15. UPDATED: These prices are accurate as of March 2017 and in USD.

Water Taxi Experience

It is a beautiful trip down the Intercoastal on the Water Taxi; a full round trip takes around two hours. The stop I planned to visit takes about 45 minutes to get to. However, there is more than enough to keep you interested and watch along the way, from cruise ships to wildlife.

Hollywood Beach

Most of the time in Hollywood Beach was spent walking along the beach. It is a very nice walk and the day was near to perfect for getting out and walking. There is a two-mile stretch of the beach with a boardwalk which makes it much easier than walking on the sand. The area along the boardwalk is lined with numerous groups of cafes, shops and bars. The area is very clean and was a great way to spend an hour or so walking.

Joe’s Tiki Bar

While there is a lot of options around for places to eat, I choose one off the beach. Joe’s Tiki Bar has an outlook over the Intercoastal and is very close to one of the Water Taxi Stops. A great spot to enjoy something to eat and drink, while watching boats pass by and waiting for the Water Taxi as well.

The outside deck that looks of the Intercoastal Waterway is a great spot. Even though there is a fairly constant stream of boats passing by it is still nice and peaceful.

Fort Lauderdale Beach

After getting back to the hotel, I decided to catch the bus to Fort Lauderdale Beach. Being a Friday, I had expected it to be a little quieter than it turned out to be. The area was very busy with a lot of people in the cafes and bars, and also spending time on the beach. To be honest, it is the first sign of the area being a busy tourist area. Even this morning at Hollywood Beach there were very few people on the beach.

Hollywood Beach Evening

Since I had a ticket for the Water Taxi anyway, I decided to take the full round trip in the evening. I wanted to try and capture the sunset, while also maybe capture some night time photos. The sunset worked out, while the night time photos were not that successful at all.

I quite enjoy capturing sunset photos in different cities as there is always a bit of a different setting to see. I did miss the best of the sunset due to the timing of getting on the Water Taxi, but still tried to make the most of it.

As a whole, the day turned out to be a good way to see a little different area around Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow there are quite some cruise ships in port, so I am going to try and get some photos of them. While also doing a little bit of work on planning my time in Europe after the cruise.

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