Still unpacking...

May 16, 2011 – It’s been harder to adjust to the real world after this voyage. I’m still unpacking…and in the midst of it all, I came across this poem placed at our dinner table on the last formal night.

“We’ve been together for so long, it’s so hard to say goodbye
Our dreams of travelling the world, fulfilled, our spirits high
We turn, now, to the hardest part, to say farewell to friends
So dear to us, like family now, saddened as this trip ends
So here’s to the great “Amsterdam”, we won’t forget its crew
Or Olav, Master of our ship, its officers, “true blue”
And most of all we’ll love our friends, although we must now part
You know, I know, that all of us are bonded in our heart.”

Time to reflect once again on how special a voyage it was.

I just looked up at a fire twinkling star and thought that a voyager whom I know, now many days’ sail from this coast, might possibly be looking up at the same star with me. – Henry David Thoreau

Last days at sea

Saturday, April 23 – at sea

Cocktail party and dinner in Canaletto AGAIN! Our third and final time this week and we had a nice meal with our regular dinner-mates. There was a “garage sale” onboard, by the pool! People unloaded their unwanted items and they had a cruise line sponsored walk for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer.

Wayne Newton performed! We went to both shows and enjoyed the Las Vegas style entertainment with banter between him and the audience and his musical talent on five instruments.

Sunday, April 24 – Easter Sunday at sea and last formal night!

Sunrise service breakfast, lunch and tea with friends before getting ready for the Black and Gold Ball. The Queens Lounge was beautifully decorated for dancing and a fun time.

Monday, April 25 – last day on the ship! At sea

At the cruise disembarkation talk we were told why we gained all the weight we had! The kitchen staff had prepared 6,000 meals a day!!! -- We had consumed 70,000 pounds of beef, 120, 000 pounds of seafood, 175,000 baked goods, 80,000 Danish, 12,000 bagels, 500,000 eggs, 50,000 pounds of potatoes and 4,000 pounds of ice cream!! OK, this was over 13 weeks and we were approx. 1400 people when you count the crew but that is a LOT of food!!

We also enjoyed an incredible video of the precious crew of the MS Amsterdam. Each department had each person walk past the camera and wave. We saw them all – housekeeping, laundry, flowers, front desk, engine room, bridge, explorations team, dining, beverages, casino, entertainment…And the words they played to the music on the video...oh wow.

I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

In a city of strangers
I've got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end

I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

Just one word for the rest of the day. Packing. What is the sense in packing earlier when you still need everything?? The day was spent trying to cram as much as we could into the suitcases we came with PLUS the two extra given to us during the cruise. We received lovely gifts from Holland America – rolling duffle bags, document holders, Tiffany bowl with the cruise itinerary, very pretty refrigerator magnet with the entire voyage on it, an over-the-shoulder tote bag, a LARGE stuffed koala bear, a puzzle with the picture by Stephen Card (renowned maritime artist) of the AMSTERDAM, fleece gloves/hat/scarf, luggage straps, business card holder….every formal night there was a lovely gift beside the nightly chocolates!

“Our final gift to you is compact thus easy to pack,
And fridge magnets are collector’s item often sought after en-route.
Depicting the original itinerary with its published turn-around ports in green, our cruise color, we trust that each glance on it at home will warmly remind you of this exceptional voyage we have travelled.
Remember that travel is not about the destination, yet far more so about the journey to get there. Until we meet again!
Captain Olav van der Waard, Hotel Manager Henk Mensink, Ship’s Staff and our Precious Crew”

Tuesday, April 26 – disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale

We left in a rush -- many goodbyes and hugs and tears. It was a beautiful sunny day in Ft. Lauderdale as we disembarked. While waiting for Gene to return with our FULL SIZE VAN (there were four of us PLUS luggage enough for a family of 24!!), we helped others get on the rental car shuttle or bus to the airport, loaded their cars and enjoyed the last final moments at the cruise terminal. We were not going to be rushing back to her tonight for a wonderful dinner nor would we find chocolate on our pillow…others were already lining up to board her for the passage through the Panama Canal. And then…we saw them painting over the front of the ship where it once read HOLLAND AMERICA GRAND WORLD VOYAGE 2011. It was over. The white paint was the final testament that the voyage was indeed over.