Deluxe Veranda Suite on Holland America

A few of our friends and family have asked to see pictures of the suite we stayed in on Holland America's ship the Ryndam.  Our cabin was on the 10th deck and we were room 004.  Our cabin type was called Deluxe Veranda Suite on Holland America Cruise Line.  We had an amazing time.  When you have a young child you tend to spend a little more time in your room, at least we do.  Staying in a suite made things a lot more easy and relaxing.  We had a lot of space, extra services - including laundry and dry cleaning, a special breakfast just for suite guests, special parties, lunches, and other perks.  If you are able to save a little more and splurge on a suite then do it.  This was our second suite to stay in, first on Holland America.  We stayed in a penthouse suite last year on Norwegian Cruise Lines and that was really nice too.  We feel extremely spoiled when we stay in a suite.  Cruise ship suites are special and so are the services, I highly recommend getting a suite if you can.  If you are unable to get a suite then I recommend splurging on the laundry service.  We used it almost daily and it was so nice to have most of our clothes clean when we returned home from our vacation.  A HUGE plus for someone who lives in Germany where it takes 3-4 hours to wash and dry one load of laundry. Ugh! We also have an amazing travel agent.  If you are looking for one, contact Cathy, she is wonderful!!

Here are some pictures of our cabin and balcony. 

Nice and comfortable king size bed

Living area

Awesome balcony!

Dressing room and where we put our son's bed at night

Bathroom

Jetted Tub!

Picture I took on the balcony with reflection of the size

Oslo, Norway

View from our balcony

Our last port of call on our Holland America cruise before returning to Rotterdam was to Oslo, Norway.  I loved this port town and this was one of my favorite stops.  There was a lot to do and see.   We took a 1.5 hour bus tour around the city and stopped at the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park.  We have never seen so many interesting and somewhat disturbing statutes.  It was a huge park, with a playground, and had lots of statutes made out of granite.

Along our bus tour we saw the Akershus Fortress, the Parliament building, the Royal Palace, and the Nobel Institute.  We also passed the Viking Ship Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum, and many other places that we could have stopped at.  We were planning going to the Kon-Tiki Museum but decided we wanted to eat lunch on the ship and we would go back later.  The weather was so nice that day that we ate lunch then let our son play outside on our balcony as we enjoyed ship and people watching and the nice weather.  The captain gave us a bottle of champagne so we ordered room service and had a drink on our balcony.  We would go back to Oslo.  We really liked it.

Oslo Tip:  If you ever stop in Oslo, it is easy to get around on your own.  Some stops are worth going on a n excursion with the cruise ship and if you like that kind of thing then go ahead and take a ship excursion here. However, if you want to save some money just do your own thing.

Vigeland Sculpture Park

Famous "Crying Baby"

Oslo City Hall - where the Nobel Peace Prize is given

Skagen, Denmark

Drinking my hot chocolate in Skagen

Our third port of call on our Baltic Cruise on Holland America was to Skagen, Denmark. Skagen is a fisherman's village.  We took a boat tender to shore.  My son fell asleep in my lap on the way to shore - it took about 15-20 minutes to get there.  He woke up before 6am that day and was pretty tired.  He slept for almost 2 hours. Skagen is not a city I would have gone to as a primary destination but it was nice. 

The waffle cone making man

Since my son was asleep and it was quite windy and cold, we walked through the town, stopped in a few shops, and decided to stop for drinks at the Brondums Hotel.  This hotel was one of the stops for a shore excursion and was very nice.  For two drinks we spent $25.  Like I said before, Denmark is expensive.   I had hot chocolate and thankfully it was some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had.  We sat and talked in this sleepy town and enjoyed the rest.  After our son woke up we went back through the pedestrian walking zone and walked to the other side of the main street.  My husband and son stopped for a waffle and ice cream while I went on to look in a few more shops.  The prices were outrageous and there was nothing worth spending money on.  Except for a Skagen watch, which I really wanted.  We looked in the watch store at the famous Skagen watches but ultimately decided that $300+ for a watch was not part of our budget right now.  However, we did end up getting Skagen watches, on our ship.  We lucked out and bought them on our ship for half off.  We love them, they are light weight (made out of titanium) and exactly what we have been looking for.

Skagen is a cute sleepy town.  There are sand dunes, if it was not so windy, we had considered seeing them.  We attempted to go in the Skagen Museum but when we got there we found out that strollers were not allowed.  It would be a great city to bike in but overall there was not a lot to do with a young child.  Most other cruisers seemed to shop and sit at the cafes.

We love our Skagen watches!

Danish Krones

Copenhagen, Denmark

Tivoli Gardens

We docked in Copenhagen for an overnight stay at 6pm on May 31, 2011.  That was during dinner so we did not go out.  I also had a spa appointment at 7:30pm which I did not want to miss.  I got a facial, massage, and pedicure.  I don't usually go to the spa except when we are on vacations such as cruises. 

We explored Copenhagen the following day.  The main thing we wanted to do was go to Tivoli Gardens amusement park which did not open until 11am.  The mornings are the best time of day for us.  My son woke up around 6:30am almost everyday.  A few times before 6am.  The sun rose at 4:30am which woke us all up early.

This ride cost us $15 to ride

The first thing we did in Copenhagen is took the ship's bus to town.  Then we walked around the peditrian only area, explored the shops (all of which were too expensive and not worth the money (in my opinion) to buy anything), and ate lunch at McDonalds.  We are not big McDonalds fans, however, we did not want to spend $40+ on lunch.  I think it cost us around $20 at McDonalds, which is expensive for McDonalds considering we got two Happy Meals and one cheeseburger.  After lunch we went to Tivoli Gardens.  Our son was free and our tickets were around $30 each whcih did not include any rides.  If you wanted to get unlimited rides the ticket jumped to around $75, I believe.  Or you can just pay for rides as you go, which is what we decided to do.  The rides cost anywhere from $5 per person to $15 per person.  The only rides our son could ride cost $5 since he's small.  If he was older we would have bought the unlimited ticket.  We only spent around $25 for rides and sadly only rode 2 rides, like I said, Denmark is expensive.

The park was neat though.  There was an aquarium which of course cost money, I think around $8, and we got to see them feed the fish.  There was also a nice playground which our kid loved.  We enjoyed our time at the park and are glad we chose to do that.  Copenhagen is a nice city and I would go back. 

Helsingborg, Sweden

Our first port of call was Helsingborg, Sweden.  Since we are traveling with a toddler we decided it would be easier for us to do our own shore excursions.  It's cheaper and we can tailor them to our needs.  We looked at the shore excursions offered by Holland America and then decided what we wanted to do from there.

The Swedish people were very kind and welcoming.  Most everyone spoke English.  We decided that going to the open air museum would be the most enjoyable for our family.  Our son loved it and so did we. The open air museum is called the Sofiero Gardens.  We took the local bus to the gardens and walked up the hill.  It was about a 15 minute bus drive from the town center, very easy to get to.  The bus driver even told us when to get off.  The gardens had a lot of neat things in it.  You learn about farming and how to grow a garden, there are farm animals, a children's activity house where kids draw pictures of what they saw, we even got to hang our son's picture on the wall.  It was a beautiful place to run around and explore, perfect for a little guy with a lot of energy.

One of many garden plots

Children fishing in the little pond

Old town

Sweet boy in the children's learning center at Sofiero Gardens

After touring the gardens we headed back to the town center.  I wanted to buy a dress from Sweden.  Thankfully there was a H&M.  H&M has less expensive clothes than many places and the style is usually more alligned with what I would wear.  Sweden is expensive, not as expensive as some of the other places we visited but more expensive than Germany.  I lucked out with finding a beautiful blue and white dress for half off. 

Enjoying our balcony in my new dress

My husband enjoyed going in one of the electronic stores and seeing a 3-D TV.  On the ship we met a man who had a 3-D video camera, which was neat.  I'm not a big TV person so it will be a long time before we make a purchase like that but it was neat to see.

Baltic Cruise with a Toddler

We just got back from a wonderful vacation.  My family took a 7-night Baltic Cruise on Holland America Cruise Line.  We sailed on the Ryndam.  I have been wanting to take a Baltic Cruise since we moved to Germany.  I am glad we finally were able to go.  This was our second Holland America cruise and mine and my husband's 4th cruise, and my son's 2nd cruise.  We sailed from Rotterdam, Netherlands.  Before our cruise we spent one night in Delft, Netherlands, which is about 20 minutes from Rotterdam.  Delft is known for their pottery and we actually were given four Delft pottery coasters for free as a gift from Holland America since we were past guests.

It is a lot different taking a cruise with a toddler than traveling with just my husband and I.  Last year when we took my son on his first cruise he was only crawling.  Now that he is older he enjoys running rather than walking most places.  We were disappointed that Holland America did not allow our child in the kids' club.  I had read somewhere that children under 3 could play in the kids' club if a parent accompanied them.  Even when no other children where in there we were told we couldn't stay there and he was not welcome. Thankfully, we were able to pay extra for a babysitter and my husband and I went to dinner alone twice.  We love our son and are always happy for him to come along but sometimes it's nice to have adult time.  Our Norwegian Cruise Lines ship had a special area for children 2 and under, including their own swimming pool.  Not having a place for our child to play besides our room was a little disappointing.  However, having a suite made up for the inconvenience as we had extra space for him to play.

We were blessed with a deluxe suite on this cruise.  We really lucked out as we were upgraded about a week before our cruise.  We are past guests and did pay for a balcony suite (which on this ship was just a balcony).  So when we were upgraded to a deluxe suite we felt very blessed.  Our room was beautiful and spacious.  If you ever get a chance to stay in a suite on a cruise ship, I highly recommend it.  Not only was our room twice the size of the balcony cabins but we had special privileges such as free laundry and dry cleaning throughout our cruise - which I highly recommend, especially if you are traveling with your child(ren).  We were also able to have special breakfast in the specialty restaurant, priority boarding on and off the ship, a nice lounge just for suite guests, and more.  Last year we stayed in a penthouse suite on Norwegian Cruise Lines which was very nice as well.

Holland America, the Ryndam

You can read about each country we visited in a separate post.  As an overview we visited Rotterdam,  Netherlands (which is a beautiful city); Helsingborg, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark (where we spent the night); Skagen, Denmark; and Oslo, Norway.  Before our cruise we stopped in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and visited the Noah's Ark Replica.  My almost two year old son has now been to 17 countries. He is becoming a world traveler and picking up new words from different languages all the time.

Why I love Holland America Cruise Line

May 2008, Olympia, Greece.  Behind us, is the Noordam

Almost exactly 3 years ago, my husband and I decided to take the trip of a lifetime. We saved up over $8,000 to fly to Europe and take a 10-night cruise on Holland America Cruise Line. This would be our first and what we thought only time to visit Europe before having children. The week before we left for our luxury vacation, my husband was interviewed for the job in Germany. I also was unfairly punished at my job for "talking" too much. Imagine that! Funny thing was, they said I did a great job and was quick to get my work done but I needed to stay in my cube like a prisoner. Okay, I added the prisoner part. But that's how I felt, trapped. Anyway, our cruise gave us time to think about the possibilities of me looking for another job where I could socialize and do something I truly loved doing. I mean you only live once, right? Might as well spend the majority of your time doing something you enjoy and are appreciated for. 

Back to the cruise. In 2008, we saved up big bucks to fly to Rome and take a Mediterranean cruise. Our ship was beautiful. We paid for an ocean view because that was all we could afford at the time. The service was outstanding. We were celebrating our 5-years of marriage a little early (our anniversary is in January) and having a great time. One joke we heard from several older couples were, "is this your honeymoon?" When we said no, they said, "haven't you heard the old saying, Holland America is for newly wed or nearly dead." We thought that was kind of funny as there were not very many younger couples. But we enjoyed the older crowd and didn't mind going to breakfast and seeing people well-dressed. It beat another cruise line we went on where people came to breakfast in a bathrobe! But the real reason I now really love Holland America is because we have been upgraded, for FREE to a Deluxe Veranda Suite! Oh yes, a HUGE room with a large balcony. Thank you so much Holland America! This time we did splurge for a balcony cabin, which they call Veranda Suite (Approximately 283 sq. ft. including verandah).  However, the Deluxe is over twice as big (Approximately 575 sq. ft. including verandah).  This cabin comes with a lot of perks, including special breakfast dining with other suite guests, High Tea in suite, special lounge, complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning throughout your cruise, and more.  I am just overwhelmed with gratitude!!  God and Holland America provide.

A little more background to our situation.  A week ago Holland America sent an offer to upgrade us for $349 per person. After examining our budget we decided we just couldn't do it. We already are spending more than normal to get the balcony in the first place.  Although we were both very torn because of all the extras, including space you get for our little guy to play in.  Today I received an email from them with this wonderful news. Oh and did I mention, I have the best travel agent, ever?! I do recommend using a cruise agent when you cruise. If you are looking for one, contact mine, her name is Cathy, click on her name and you can go to her website with her contact information.  Thank you Cathy for all your help as well!!

Here are my top 10 reasons I love Holland America, in no particular order:

1. Outstanding Service
2. People are dressed up for dinner, i.e. no shorts in the dinning room
3. High Tea - everyone should experience high tea at least once
4. Clean ship
5. Fun games to play and great prizes at the end of the cruise
6. Wonderful food
7. Comfortable beds
8. Peaceful and quiet nights - many of the older cruises go to bed early so the top decks are practically empty at night
9. Conservative guests

10. They gave us a wonderful and free upgrade! This could be partly because we are past guests. Loyalty is important to companies.

Ports of Call - Western Mediterranean Cruise

Here is my summary of each port of call we visited on our cruise on the Norwegian Jade.  In a future post I'll tell you about our time in Barcelona and later give some travel cruise tips for people traveling with a baby.

Casablanca, Morocco

The five of us took a taxi tour in Casablanca.  We took the ship's shuttle into town and decided to take a taxi for what we thought would only be 10 Euros to the Hassan II Mosque.  Well, we ended up doing a 2 hour tour with the driver.  We were all a little suspicious after he removed his taxi sign after we got in his car and were ready to get back to the ship once he was pulled over by the police. Thankfully we got to see all of Morocco we ever wanted to see and do not feel the need to go back.

First we went to Hassan II Mosque, which is the second largest Mosque in the world - largest religious monument after Mecca. We could not go inside because we are Christians. Which was fine. It was an impressive monument.  Our driver then drove us through Anfa (a wealthy part of town), past Rick's Cafe, the Royal Palace, we stopped at Andalusian Gardens and we saw the old and new Medina. We also drove through the United Nations' Square where the police pulled over our taxi driver. Our driver got out and argued with the police, got back in the car, told us they were giving him a ticket for speeding, and then immediately our driver took us to a strange park and told us to get out of the car and wait while he went to take care of his police issues.  The park was filled with lots of locals  and we were not sure if he was going to come back for us or not. Thankfully none of us were alone.  We just watched our pockets and stayed together.  Our driver did come back to get us.  He then wanted to drop us off at a pharmacy to see a spice demonstration and a theater. But after he dropped us off at the strange park we just wanted to get back to the ship.  I'm glad we made out of Morocco safely because we later found out that most taxi drivers pack guns and will sometimes drive people to secluded places and hold them up for ransome.  Scary!!

Rick's Cafe

Hassan II Mosque

Agadir, Morocco

We decided not to do a tour Agadir. I really wanted to ride a camal but that would not be possible with Caden, so we just got off at the boat but didn't do anything in the city.  We left Caden on the boat with my parents.  This is the day we played tennis with my dad.  The port area was not pretty but we enjoyed a game of tennis on our ship's tennis court.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Las Palmas was beautiful!  We did another taxi tour.  We found that if you have more than 2 people it is often cheaper to take a taxi to see everything you want to see.  You also get a more personalized tour and are able to go at the pace you want to go.  Our driver was fantastic!  We took a 3.5 hour tour here in a nice, clean, and comfortable taxi for the same price we paid in Casablanca.

Here we went to the Botanical Gardens in La Calzada (Jardin Canario), the largest botantical gardens in Spain.  Our driver took us along a winding road to look out above the volcanic Caldera of Bandama.  He drove us through the oldest quarter of the town called Vegueta to see Columbus' house and the Cathedral.  We went to Teror Village and saw the square and the church.  Then we went by Arcus, the stone church.

Arcus

The house Christopher Columbus lived in before he sailed to America

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Portugal is one of my favorite countries and the island of Funchal did not disappoint.  It was my favorite port.  Not only was it absolutely breathtaking beautiful but the people were very friendly.  We took another private taxi tour and were blessed with another wonderful driver.  He told us that Funchal does not have a lot of crime and generally people look after each other.  Don't you wish your neighbors were all like that?

Our driver took us to the Botanical Gardens with more than 2,000 plants.  The garden was on a mountainous hill and had beautiful plants and amazing views.  We spent a little over an hour there.  We then went to the Village of Monte where we road a tobaggan on wicker sledges downhill back to Livramento.  The tobaggan ride was a lot of fun!  This was the main thing I wanted to do here.  Last, we went to Cabo Girao, Europe's highest sea cliff at 1900 ft.  Cabo Girao is the second highest sea cliff in the world, the tallest is only 3 meters higher.  The views were absolutely amazing!

Below are pictures from the Botanical Gardens, Cabo Girao, and our tobaggan ride.

Malaga, Spain

We decided to take a 40 minute horse carriage ride around Malaga and saw La Alcazaba, the Cathedral, Plaza de Toros (La Malagueta), and Playa La Malagueta.  Caden seemed to enjoy the ride, this was his first time to ride a horse, or a carriage pulled by a horse.  Then we walked around the city and passed Museum Picasso and visited Pablo Picasso's birthplace.  His house was not very impressive, but his art was neat to look at and some of it honestly looked like something a child would draw.  I guess if you live during the right time you can make big bucks or someone makes big bucks off your work once you die.  We also went into a run down mall and bought a snack at a local Dunk n' Donuts, it's not the same food, I got a smoothie and it was horrible!  Everyone else got coffee and a donut.  We had a nice time in Malaga.

One more thing, I also decided to get a haircut in Malaga.  I don't know why I like to get my haircut in any country but Germany but I do.  I don't speak Spanish very well but thankfully Collin is fluent.  So he told the man what I wanted and the guy did a great job.  The only thing different was the man who cut my hair sat down to do it.  Don't most people stand?  Oh well, for 17 Euros you can't beat it!

Below are pictures of Pablo Picasso's house and the castle in Malaga.

Western Mediterranean Cruise

Our cruise was amazing.  Our flight was only delayed one hour and it was because the French Air Traffic Controllers went on strike.  Go figure!  Anyway, we made it safely and were able to meet up with my parents which is what matters most.   

Thankfully we were not cruising on Louis Cruises (the cruise ship that got hit by three "abnormally high" waves that broke windows in the front of the ship and killed two people. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of those who lost someone that night.

We left out of Barcelona and sailed on the Norwegian Jade.  This was our baby's first cruise and mine and my husband's third. We got a penthouse suite with my parents that had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a living room, and a dinning area.  We also had a butler, something we've never had on a cruise ship before. I highly recommend getting a suite! The master bedroom and bathroom in which my parents so generously let us have for 8 of the 9 nights was very spacious! It fit the baby's crib nicely. From the shower we had a huge window looking out on the ocean, and a nice ocean view from the big bathtub. Our suite also had a private balcony and four televisions! Crazy! We  do not allow our baby to watch TV. However, two of the TVs had DVD players and we could rent movies from our ship to watch for free. So most nights after putting our baby to bed, my husband and I watched a movie in the living room or sat and talked while my parents went to a show or other evening event.  Our ship also had a tennis court and my dad and I played a set. It was really nice!  They also had a special room on the ship for children under 2 called Zoo under 2.  We took our son there a few times and he had a great time.  

Our baby did great and everyone had a wonderful time.  This coming week I will post our experiences at each port and about our time in Barcelona.  

Packed and Ready!

After an exhausting day, we are finally packed and ready to go on our cruise.  I should have taken my own advice and been 100% done packing yesterday.  There is just so much to think about when you're going to be gone for two weeks and have a baby.  Our suitcases barely closed after we were done.  It's amazing how many diapers, wipes, and baby food is consumed weekly.  Hopefully our flight back home will be lighter since most of the baby items will be used up.  That is if we don't buy anything.

This will be our third cruise to go on, first with a baby.  Thankfully my parents are joining us and will be a huge help in helping with our baby.  They have not seen him in six months.  This will be nice for all of us.  We are looking forward to catching up in person rather than on Skype.

As of now our flight is on schedule.  We have no shore excursions planned which is really unlike us.  I guess we'll book some on the ship.  These past few weeks/months have been really busy.  I'll give you the full report when we return.  Stay safe!

Traveling with a Baby

As we are preparing to go on our first cruise with our soon to be 8 month old son, I want to share a few travel tips from our own personal experiences.  While this is our first cruise to take our son on, we have done quite a bit of traveling since he's been born.  He has already been to 7 different countries, taken 3 round trip flights, including one overseas.  I am not an expert but I have learned a few things.  Here are 11 tips for traveling with a baby.

1. Make a list of what you need and pack early.  I try to have everything packed at least two days before.  

2. Pack extra diapers and wipes especially if you are traveling somewhere you've never been.  This way you’ll have more time enjoying your destination rather than shopping for baby items. 

3. Carry-on extra clothes for the adults and the kids when flying.  There is something about airports and flying that sometimes makes a kid throw up or have extra leaky diapers.  

4. Try to keep your child's regular sleep schedule.  When you travel to a different time zone this is difficult.  But it's important that they get enough rest.  

5. Wipe sanitizers are lifesavers.  I know you can't avoid germs but there is nothing worse than having a sick baby when traveling.  We make it a habit to wipe down highchairs, seatbelts on airplanes, and toys that have fallen on the ground.  

6. On car trips stuff an empty tissue box with plastic bags.  These come in handy for dirty diapers, clothes, and all sorts of things.  

7. Take time to play.  Every day on your trip make sure your baby laughs and smiles.  It's very stimulating for them to travel and they need the extra connection with you.

8. Do not be afraid to throw clothes away.  If you're traveling and your baby has a big blow out diaper sometimes it is just easier to throw the outfit away.

9. Pack baby Tylenol and any other medicine they may need.  

10. Pack extra food.  You never know when your plane will be delayed.

11. Take lots of pictures.  They may not remember these trips so having pictures is a nice reminder.

Most children love traveling.  I hope these tips help you.  I’d love to hear any travel tips you have.