Cruise 15 On Hold.

[rickychas]

I am now, officially, bummed out. My boss has rejected my vacation request for July. I wanted one week off, July 22 through 27 for a cruise to Alaska on the MS AMSTERDAM, the co-flagship of the Holland America Line fleet. This is a ship I really wanted to sail on especially since she

Comments

[marklevoyageur]

Damn, that looks like a beautiful ship, *smile*, and I love the name Amsterdam! Where's she sailing from - the point of embarkation? Sorry it won't work out. I bet come budget crunch time you'll be sitting around the office twirling your thumbs. That's always the way it seems to workout when you put your life on hold for the job. Sacrifices.

Not that they care, but remind your boss come raise time of the sacrifices you made.

Re:

[rickychas]

You got that right. Come budget time, just like last year with the energy crisis, I sat around during the "summer recess" twiddling my thumbs. I am not involved in the budget process whatsoever nor am I the "energy person". I'm the "sin" guy -- smoking, drinking, horse racing and gambling (regulation, that is).

The AMSTERDAM is a lovely ship. Amsterdam Interiors
She's going to be sailing round-trip out of Seattle to Alaska. It's such an easy hop and cheap for me to catch a Southwest flight to Seattle to board this ship. She was supposed to be sailing the Med and Northern Europe this summer but after 9/11 was redeployed to the Alaska run.

[marklevoyageur]

I've never been on a cruise, but your starting to make my mouth water. Looks fun. Beats sitting on a plane for 8-9 hours on a transatlantic flight and arriving with jet lag.

*whine*

[wantedonvoyage]

Awesome picture! Save your pennies and your vacation days for the Aurora in Sept. ;-)

Cruel Hoax

[rickychas]

Actually, if you look at her after decks, you can see that it's actually a mislabeled photo of the ROTTERDAM. AMSTERDAM's Lido Deck extends all the way out to the stern and the outdoor pool is on Lido Deck aft. On the ROTTERDAM, Lido Deck ends just aft of the Lido Restaurant. The pool is located on Navigation Deck aft. Otherwise, it's hard to tell the difference. I didn't intend to deceive. I did a search for MS AMSTERDAM photos on the web and didn't notice the aft decks until this morning. Cruel hoax. Take a look:
Amsterdam Interiors

What have you found out about the AURORA? Are they selling to Americans? When I sailed on ORIANA, I had to go through a Canadian travel agent. Of course, the big, important question is, $$$?

[wantedonvoyage]

[rickychas]

[wantedonvoyage]

Similarly, I have apparently practised to deceive; I believe the photo in the above post is Oriana not Aurora.

I have not enquired as yet; However, I would be stunned if the P&O would turn anybody away in these times, my money is as green as theirs... Oh wait, their money is red. I think we should be able to get it; I'll put Christopher Kyte on the project. They list it from GBP 1,450 so that is about $1,800... pretty outrageous, but I am sure he can do better.

[wantedonvoyage]