A Christmas River Cruise - 2023

December 20 - So today we are flying to Amsterdam in The Netherlands. After a long and thankfully uneventful flight, we landed in Amsterdam around 8:30 a.m. We were met by a driver sent to meet us by Tauck. We were driven for about 30 minutes to the ship where we boarded the MS Grace river boat. Even though it was early in the morning, we were happy to learn that our cabin was ready and we could go straight to our room. Like most ships, the cabins are fairly compact but our room had a larger bath than expected.

 

our home away from home for the week

from opposite side

bath is roomy

Until now, our cruising has always been on the ocean. Unlike the huge ocean liners, a river boat is much smaller in scale. Above are some photos of our room and others taken inside the social areas of the boat. Our cruise is named Yuletide Spirit and since it's Christmas, the boat is decked out in greenery, trees, lights and decorations. Each cabin has a stocking hung outside its door. Hopefully we have been good and Santa is planning to leave some treats for us. ha!

 

looking up to lobby, reception and small gift shop

stairs lead to dining room

lounge is on upper deck

Arthur's on top deck for quick bites

staff are super nice and helpful!

Since it was the first day on board, passengers were arriving all throughout the day. I had not slept on the flight over (I can never sleep on a plane), so I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I know you're supposed to try and stay awake in order to adapt quickly to the local time, but I didn't care, I had to take a nap! Afterward, we explored the ship and had lunch in the ship's dining room. 

We found the boat to be very clean and the ship personnel to be friendly and extremely accommodating. I'll share a few pictures of the giant gingerbread display onboard that was made by the chef. It is a very detailed Belgium village that includes a large windmill, a cheese shop, bikes and other typical Netherlands scenes.

 

chocolate bicycles and stairs to windmill

cheese shop in Gouda where cheese is made

very tall gingerbread windmill

stroopwaffles, oliebollen and stollen for sale

a gingerbread campground

That evening we had the opportunity to participate in a Dutch tradition of eating raw herring. It's done twice a year when herring is plentiful. Bones are removed and they are eaten in 3 bites after dredging through raw onion, then chased down by a pickle. Needless to say, we passed. Afterwards, there was a visit from Sint Nick. From the internet: According to tradition, St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas in Dutch), a 4th century bishop, appears on the night of December 5-6 loaded with gifts for Dutch children, accompanied by his curious pages, the Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters). Notice the black faces. Anka, the young woman who was explaining this to us, showed pictures of herself as a child being visited by Sint Nick and his piets.

 

guest lining up to eat raw herring

Anka downing her herring in 3 chews

a visit by Sint Nick

Anka visited by Sint Nick and piets

Our body clocks are still on US time and we're off to bed after dinner in the Compass Rose dining room. The staff has something planned for us each day, in spite of the windy, cold and wet weather (which is common here at this time of the year).

We are not sailing tonight as planned because of extreme weather conditions. Like the larger cruise ships, the captain monitors the weather closely and makes itinerary changes as necessary.