Post One:

Our home for the next four Months, is the ms Amsterdam--We are cruising on the ms Amsterdam.   The ms Amsterdam is the third ship to bear the name of the Dutch capitol in Holland America Line’s 140 year history.  Built in Italy, the Amsterdam blends the very latest in shipbuilding technology with the artistry, personalized touches, and superior service that has made Holland America Line one of highest rated cruise lines in the world.  She is the Holland America Line’s Pacific flagship and a sister ship to the ms Rotterdam.

                     

The Amsterdam features a multi-million dollar art collection.  This includes a three story fully functional Astrolabe in the main atrium which took over 15 years to design.  The Astrolabe tracks constellations, the planets, world time, and ship time as we travel. 

During the summer, the Amsterdam sails around Alaska; during the winter, she makes grand voyages around Asia, Australia/New Zealand and the South Pacific.  Join us on the Amsterdam via this blog as we circumnavigate the globe on our Grand World Voyage.

Fun fact: Several years ago, Ann’s Aunt and Uncle, Tom and Dot Moore, took the Amsterdam on a grand Asian and Pacific voyage.

General Information about the Amsterdam –

Owner                          Carnival Corporation

Operator                      Holland America

Port of Registry Netherlands, Rotterdam

Maiden Voyage           30 October 2000

Tonnage                       62,735 GT

Length                          777.6 Ft.

Beam                            105.8 Ft.

Decks                            12

Top Speed                    29 MPH

Capacity                       1,380

Crew                             647

Fuel Consumption      39,500 Gallons per day at 21 MPG

Our impressions of our ship, the Amsterdam, are excellent.  The size of the ship and the number of passengers appeal to us.  We have found that there are 950 persons on onboard, thus the ship is not near its capacity of 1,380 passengers. We are enjoying getting to know many of the passengers. Almost everyone is onboard for the full voyage, many have been on this voyage many times.  The ship goes to a different route each year, so that is attractive to many travelers. Three people at our dinner table have all been multiple times.

We have met legendary Dolly!  She extensively traveled the Holland America Line’s ships, mostly the Amsterdam.  At the end of this voyage she will have cruised 7000 days or just under 20 years.  She is spunky and very funny. She is the probably the source of the urban legend that many people live on a cruise ship.

From Florida through the Panama Canal - The first port of call was Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  It is the port nearest the entrance to the Panama Canal on the east or Caribbean side.  Having spent time in the beautiful mountainous regions of Costa Rica before, we chose to walk about town for a while and people watch.  Most interesting was the local market, a huge conglomerate of small shops and stalls ranging anywhere from meat and produce markets to a zapateria (shoe repair shop).  We had a great walk along the beach.

                       

                             Great day at Puerto Limon

The transit of the Panama Canal, “the ditch”, is awe inspiring and fascinating with its beauty.  We went through the Canal for our first time three years ago.  This year is the 100^th

anniversary of the opening of the canal.  It is difficult to grasp that this construction project was completed with the technology then available. The Canal presently is being enlarged to handle the bigger ships that are being built.  The completion date has been put back until 2016, creating problems for the ship lines that will have their newer “monster” ships in use before then.