Holland America Westerdam

We checked out of our hotel this morning at 11AM and walked to the Osanbashi Port.  It took about ten minutes.   

We were going to carry all our bags with us so we didn't need to check any luggage with a porter.   We were given a number which would be used to call us when it was ready for us to check-in.   We has number 6 which was called at 12:10.  We then went through the usual check-in process of passport validation.  There was also one special step.   Since this sailing will stop in South Korea, that country has a requirement to have a digital copy of your passport.  Once they took care of that, we headed onboard at 12:30.  We had all our luggage and the cabins were ready.   We headed to our cabin which is on the port side in the forward section of the ship and rejoiced in being able to unpack everything!!   We hadn't done that in the last eight days, just living out of our suitcases.  We also had to watch the safety video so I put that on the TV as we unpacked.   We also had some laundry which I put together for our steward to take.  We should get that back sometime on Wednesday.   

It was then time for some lunch.  We headed to deck 9 for some lunch.  We both had burgers from Dive-In and some of their double battered fries.   The best fries on any cruise ship.   

And there was a taco bar which had an assortment of chips and taco shells along with beef, chicken and all the toppings.  

We then headed to deck 10 which has the Crow's Nest,. An observation lounge in the forward part of the ship.  We found some comfortable chairs and just relaxed.   "Allegedly" we might have napped a bit.  Who knows for sure?   Only one of the other 1700 guests onboard.   

At 3:30 we needed to check into our muster station on Deck 3.   After that we checked out all the public venues on deck 2 and 3 including several bars and music lounges.   We'll do a more thorough review of those as the cruise progresses.  

After that we went back to the Crow's Nest and found those same comfortable chairs.  This was my favorite venue when we sailed on the Koningsdam and I think it will be on the Westerdam as well.  Big open area.  Comfortable seats.  Great views.  And a bar.  What's not to like?  

For dinner we went to the Lido Buffet. We both have loved the salad station on prior HAL sailings and it was no different on the Westerdam.  They make your salad for you.  Your choice of three greens and all the usual toppings.  They also had some seared tuna.  They also had a steak dinner as well as an assortment of other grilled favorites such as salmon and chicken. I got a medium rare steak and it was pretty good.  Needed a bit more seasoning, but it was cooked properly and juicy.    They had all the usual sides including mashed potatoes.  I was hoping for a few more vegetables such as broccoli.   They also had a very good lasagna and pasta made to order with a choice of three sauces.  

After dinner we decided it was time to call it an evening. We have our first port of call tomorrow in Omaezaki and we dock there at 7AM.  We will meet our guide for a private Tours By Locals excursion at 7:30.  So we put out the room service breakfast hanger.