Final Sea Days an Opportunity to Reflect on European Odyssey

Days 148-154, 2025 European Odyssey

Sunday to Saturday, Nov. 23-29, 2025; Transatlantic crossing to Fort Lauderdale.

After months of about six port days a week on average, you might think we hardly know what to do with six sea days in a row. Au contraire, the days have been filled with activities. Multiple Mariner events honored those who received new medallions, for anywhere from 100 to 700 days at sea.

I wish I could report on the topics covered by our guest lecturers, but to be honest I didn’t attend any of them. I heard that one of the lecturers was very good, and the other not so much. Members of the crew amazed us with their musical ability at the talent show, and I heard more than one comment that they should have their own World Stage evening shows.

I discovered the late afternoon wine tastings (for just $9), as well as a premium tasting. We tried to fit in last dinners with friends.

One morning we awoke to see that the housekeeping staff must have been up all night creating the towel animals that filled the Lido Pool area. It seems that every cruise they try to outdo the previous creations.

By the end of the week, the Christmas decorations started appearing – a Christmas tree in the Crow’s Nest, gingerbread houses and buildings populating a village. I had seen some of them in progress during a tour of the galley.

One of the advantages of booking back-to-back cruises instead of a single long cruise is that I received shipboard credit for each cruise, some for owning Carnival Corp. stock, some for being a member of AARP and some for early booking onboard previous cruises. This credit is non-refundable, and through careful management I had enough left at the end that I splurged on the $179 Behind the Scenes tour, a new offering by Holland America.

I had previously toured the bridge a few times, and sometimes a walk through the galley (mainly the serving areas), but this nearly four-hour tour took us from the engine control room through the provisioning storage areas, with their cases of liquor among other items.

Signs showed just how to fill each bread basket for nightly dinners. Department heads described the recycling center, backstage at the World Stage and the navigation bridge. We saw racks of bicycles for the crew to use when their windows for going ashore were small.

Most of us found the laundry facilities the most fascinating. It’s hard to imagine how so much personal laundry is sorted, washed, dried, pressed and returned within 24 hours, all while massive amounts of sheets, towels and even napkins are processed. Giant machines press and fold the sheets, but towels are hand folded.

I faced a giant organizational challenge. It would have been relatively easy to throw everything into my suitcases to sort out later, but I was shipping one bag to a friend who will bring it to me in three weeks for my next five-month cruise (holidays and world cruise). I had to think carefully about what I would need and then make an itemized list of what I sent ahead, because I will forget by the time I repack in the interim between cruises.

This was my first time aboard one of Holland America’s largest ships (though small compared with huge ships). I’ve come to love the additional restaurant options – the NY Deli and Pizza, the Grand Dutch Café and Tamarind and Rudy’s dining rooms. Even after five months I still can’t find my way around the many food stations of the Lido Restaurant, which always seems a bit chaotic. I also find the acoustics horrible in the Main Dining Room, especially when I am seated at a large table in the middle of the room.

The Lido pool area has a great assortment not just of pool loungers and dining tables, but also couches and other seating arrangements. The big screen above the pool features movies and sporting events – it’s been great fun to watch Formula 1 on the giant screen.

My cabins – an ocean view for the summer and verandah for this fall – are well organized and have made a nice home, even when my nephew shared one for two weeks.

What I think I missed most is that there is no place for a clear forward-looking view. On Deck 14 I found a small area where I could hold a camera above the plexiglass, but equipment and multiple antennas block the view.

I’m not scheduled to return to the Nieuw Statendam until the summer of 2027. Until then, I’ll be sailing on the Volendam, one of Holland America’s smallest and oldest ships.

Speaking of which, I’ll close with my future cruse schedule, as some have requested. And before you know it, I’ll be back to report on my holiday cruise.

Dec. 21, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2026: Eastern Caribbean, Volendam

Jan. 4 – May 17, 2026: Grand World Voyage, Volendam

Sept. 26 – Oct. 8, 2026: Canada/New England, Volendam

Oct. 8 – Nov. 22, 2026: Legendary Ultimate Mediterranean, Volendam

Nov. 22 – Dec. 22, 2026: Legendary Amazon Explorer, Volendam

Dec. 22, 2026 – Jan. 5, 2027: Southern Caribbean, Volendam

Jan. 5 – May 15: 2027, Grand World Voyage, Volendam

July 10 – Aug. 7: 2027, Legendary Solar Eclipse, Nieuw Statendam

Aug. 7 – 21, 2027: Wild British Isles, Nieuw Statendam

Aug. 21 – Sept. 4, 2027: Baltic & Scandinavian Capitals, Nieuw Statendam

Sept. 11 – 21, 2027: Adriatic Antiquities, Italy & Croatia, Oosterdam

Sept. 21 – Oct. 2, 2027: Adriatic Antiquities, Greece & Istanbul, Oosterdam

Oct. 2 – 12, 2027: Greek Isles & Turkey, Oosterdam

Oct. 12 – 23, 2027: Greek Isles, Egypt & Israel, Oosterdam

Oct. 23 – Nov. 2, 2027: Mediterranean Splendor, Oosterdam

Nov. 2 – 16, 2027: Crossing with Andalusia & Bermuda, Oosterdam