On board the Westerdam

We finally arrived at the port, and the H.R. manager was at the port terminal to meet Paul. He could go via the crew entrance, but after a phone call, I would have to wait with the passengers to board. The manager ended up telling Paul he could stay with me and we could board together and later meet with him to collect our room keys.

We had to wait quite a while before the check-in process started, and then there was an even longer wait until we could board the ship. The H.R. manager was nowhere to be seen, nor was he answering his telephone. In the end, Paul decided we should go to the ship's reception desk to see if someone could issue me a room key. As it turned out, the H.R. manager had left Paul's keys with the reception desk, and I was issued with a key.

Having found our cabin (an inside cabin on deck 8 - small with no window), we went for lunch and had a walk around the ship before going to the Bridge so that Paul could meet the Captain and his team.

The Westerdam has about 1,800 passengers and is about the same size as the Noordam- one of the first ships I've sailed on with Paul. Admittedly, I feel rather "lost" because it is so big and has many passengers on board. It is sensory overload with noise and activities. No doubt I will settle in and get used to it.Read more