Day Six - ms Veendam at Sea - Thursday 17 July 2014

Phil was up very early and took a beautiful photo of the sunrise about 4:45 am.  I got up about an hour later and was walking by 6:00 am-- it was cold and windy.

We moved our breakfast to inside the Lido -- since even with the roof closed it is chilly near the pool -- after all we are heading to the Arctic.

Just before sunrise in the North Atlantic!

 

At 9:00 am -- Good Morning Veendam had as their only guest Captain Eric van der Wal.   He is one of the most personable captains we've had since we have been traveling on these ships.   The Cruise Director, Bruce, interviewed the Captain asking about his background and career with Holland America.   He then asked the Captain to explain why he made the decision to eliminate our stop in Cartwright, Labrador.

The Captain came well prepared with slides of ice maps showing our route to Cartwright and the new route directly to Greenland.    It was a good interview and most informative.

I stayed for the next talk by Barbara, the Location Specialist explaining what to expect in Nanortalik, Greenland -- Phil joined me for this session.  We were at lunch by Noon -- very crowded but we managed.  I spent the afternoon downloading and organizing photos -- took a one mile walk on Deck Six at 3:15 -- stretch class at 5:30 and the Captain's Cocktail Party at 7:30 in the Crow's Nest (top deck). 

After dinner -- we went up to the Crow's Nest for a short while as they advertised a "Motown Madness" from  9pm to 11pm.  We danced a bit and chatted with a couple Phil had met earlier.

We were still in bed by 10pm.

Thanks for Reading!

Pat