Binnenspuikanaal

The breakfast bar at the hostel wasn't very exciting 😌, but we had prepaid for it. After checkout and storing our luggage we went to explore Amsterdam. Surprisingly it was much warmer and sunnier out compared to our visit pervious in August! Thankfully the crowds were a fraction of those as well.

We meandered along the various Canals and streets into the older part of the city center. We stopped and browsed the booths setup in Nieuwmarkt before reaching the Rokin. The tram ride back to the hostel was quick. With still some time before our cruise ship check-in at the terminal, we bought lunch from the nearby stores. A was instantly enamored and purchased some ribs, and J picked up a falafel wrap to share.

By mid-afternoon we were taking an Uber to the Cruise Ship terminal. Check in was amazingly fast and we were aboard Holland America's MS Rotterdam! Our inside Stateroom is quite comfortable on this vessel which was only launched in November 2021. It was such a luxury to unpack our cloths and not be living out of a suitcase for the next 15 days. It's not as fast of a way to cross it Atlantic, but more adventure! Once the obligatory safety items were addressed, we met up with D to explore the ship, and find a place for dinner.Read more