10 Random Things I Found Interesting During My Cruise

1 Our captain, Captain Verner Timmers, has been with Holland America for 40 years. He’s been a captain for almost 25 of those years. Toward the end of the cruise there was a cake on the Lido Deck celebrating his “million miles at sea.” That’s a lot of time on the water!

2 They change the mats in the elevator every day. The day of the week is spelled out in big letters for all of us retirees who aren’t keeping track.

3 I liked all the days at sea. There was far more to do than I had time for.

4 I didn’t like all the time changes. I thought it would be better than the sudden change from flights, but it was worse. Like going through the Daylight Saving Time change every day.

5 The ship had very effective stabilizers, but it would still be a tough crossing for anyone with motion sickness. We didn’t hit any rough weather, but I heard a man say he’d been seasick for four days.

6 When we arrived at the first port in England, every person on the ship had to queue up and visit British customs in the auditorium. We had to go whether we were getting off the ship or not. The ship handled it well and was very efficient, though I was glad when they stopped calling the groups over the PA system. It took approximately two hours. At the end, they had to call the individual names of around 10 people who hadn’t made the trek to the auditorium. We didn’t have to go through the same process at the French port. It must be because we satisfied European Union customs when we boarded this Dutch ship.

7 We crossed the English Channel at the shortest point: 18.2 nautical miles to get from France to Dover.

8 We could see The Netherlands from the seaside town of Deal in Kent, Great Britain.

9 Someone in the elevator said 1,800 Dutch people would be boarding this ship in Rotterdam. It’s headed to Morocco.

10 On a ship filled with wheelchairs and walkers and canes, they played music from my high school days: Earth, Wind & Fire, Steely Dan, Boston. I really enjoyed it. I wondered if all those “old people” liked this music. Then I realized what the ship’s playlist says about my age. Oh nooooooooo!