OUR 35-DAY CRUISE ON THE NORWEGIAN ENCORE IS OVER...WE ARE NOW IN AMSTERDAM

Our cruise on the Norwegian Encore from Seattle to Southampton, UK, is over. Day 35, yesterday, might well have been the worst day, while Day 1 on land, mostly in Amsterdam, could well have been the best day of the trip. I'll explain.

To begin, I began to have some sleep problems during the final few days on the ship. The final night was the worst, with only one hour of sleep. This was partly because of the stress of having to awake at 5AM to be off the ship at 7AM. Just the thought of then having to catch a bus to Heathrow Airport, then fly to Amsterdam was stressful. Well, on the bus, and goodbye to the Norwegian Encore.

After an hour and a quarter, Heathrow Airport. Got there at 8:30. Our flight was to leave at 2:15PM. On the board were signs that indicated you could not check in to the flight until 2 hours before departure, which meant a wait of almost four hours. But then, we learned that business class passengers can go to another area in Terminal 5 and check-in at any time. Whew. Got to the British Air Executive Club at 9AM or so. Airline loyalty is not considered when in business or first class. You can enter the executive lounge of that airline. A truly outstanding assortment of food and drinks. As our flight was to leave at 2:05, we thus had access to a breakfast, then later, lunch buffet. The drinks assortment was first class, with scotch of Talisker and Johnny Walker Black. But a lot more.

Made myself a Bloody Mary.

And Talisker Scotch.

Had some beer and wine.

The lunch buffet was somewhat Mexican.

So you ask, with all the above, how could this have been a bad day. Well, I was exhausted. Had no appetite. Kept dozing off. Not felt good at all. After four hours, off to the gate, which was just below the Club. Travel on British Air was fine, with an English meal of scone, clotted cream, petite sandwiches, Johnny Walker Black Scotch and tea.

Then off to Amsterdam, an hour away. The jet stream pushed us forward. But had to change time an hour.

Landed at sunset.

The walk from the gate to the immigration area was very long. But customs went easily, and we could just stroll to the Sheraton at Schipol Airport. First opened in 2008, I've stayed here before. However, they must have given it a recent makeover, for everything looks new. The view from our room.

The Executive Club at this Sheraton was excellent for Europe.

But I was as exhausted as ever. Just thankful I could walk to the room. Not much of any an appetite, but had a glass of Chardonnay and bottle of Amstel Beer, with soup and bread and cheese. Walked a good 6684 steps.

Watched some Japanese sumo, but slept ten hours. The best and most satisfying of my entire trip. I think being on land made a difference. The ship had a smallish TV screen and only a very few stations that played the same films. There are more than 100 stations in this Sheraton, from the world over, but curiously for an American hotel, no CNN, MSNBC, ESPN or anything American. Woke up and took the following photo from the room.

Went down from a free breakfast, and, like the Executive Club, the buffet with a person making omelets, terrific for Europe. Nothing like the Orient, but better than Marriott/Sheraton in the USA or Europe. And champagne was free, for breakfast. The salad was argula, radish and cucumbers.

Why is this my favorite day so far on this trip? Just comparing it with the ordeal of yesterday. We'll be here a second night, then move to the Amsterdam Marriott, and board the Viking Vail for their 2-week Christmas River Cruise in three days. I'll tomorrow review our stay on the Norwegian Encore. Nothing much more to say about Amsterdam, as we were here earlier this year and wrote about the city in April.

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