It is hard to accurately compare the two ship experiences. Over six years divide our cruise experience. It's hard to determine if we feel Princess was nicer than Holland America because of a true comparison, or was it that Princess, being our first cruise, really impressed us with the opulence and fine dining available on most cruises. The MS Veendam seemed a bit tired looking, which was disappointing because we had read that she had recently gone through some serious renovations. Once on board, we found out that only certain parts of the ship had been refit to provide more cabins with balconies. This left our cabin without an update thus the tired look and feel.
This ship felt smaller than the Coral. It didn't take nearly as long to walk from one end to the other. It also did not have as much retail space as Princess seems to offer. I view this as a serious plus! It seemed just as much space was dedicated to the library and internet cafe' as was given over to the overpriced and heavily discounted retail area.
Carey didn't think the food was as good, but he's got a history of NYC restaurant dining to compare it to. I thought it was just fine! The formal dining room offered better dining than we can get here locally, IMHO.
The waters of the Pacific Ocean were definitely rougher than the inside passage of Alaska. So much rougher that I, and several of my fellow passengers, got seasick in the first couple of days. As I was leaving dinner our first night, I ran into a couple from Portugal that we had met earlier in the day. Pat took one look at me and put her arm around me to escort me to their cabin and her stash of remedies for every occasion. If I ever felt the need for a visit to the ship's doctor, all I had to do was find Pat and Frank's cabin. Feeling quite green but well armed with motion sickness drugs, I headed to bed. I discovered motion sickness is best endured in a horizontal manner. Vertically, you are challenged to predict the direction, pitch, and speed of the motion and attempt to counter it with your own body. Horizontally, you can pretend you are rocking in a hammock; sometimes with a gentle breeze, sometimes with a more forceful gale.
Looking at the map of our cruise itinerary, I thought we would be closer to the shore for the first half of the cruise. I was unaware of the international gambling laws and how they would affect our cruise. In order for the ship to open and operate the casino, we had to be 12 miles off shore. That meant sailing away from the shore and further out into open waters. Let me get this straight... I got seasick so that other passengers could gamble. Dear fellow passengers, You're welcome.
Several days into the cruise the captain apologized over the intercom system for the rough waters and explained that we were experiencing 12 foot swells. The good news, he said, was that the seas would be improving later in the day - then we would only have 9 foot swells. Oh goody! Three feet less than 12, but still 9 feet more than what I would call smooth sailing.
The funny thing about swells is that they are not really waves. When you look at the ocean, it appears to be breathing. In and out. In and out. I imagined the life underneath that would create this breathing. Over 250,000 known species live in the ocean. With this much life below us, is it a wonder that the ocean should breathe?
It took several days for me to get used to the rocking and rolling and to be able to look at the breathing of the ocean while remaining in a vertical position! On particularly rough days, older gentlemen would watch me swaying while walking through the halls. They would tell me I shouldn't drink so early in the morning. I just laughed and told them if giving up drinking would allow me to walk straight again, I would give it up in a heart beat.
No comments:
Post a Comment