DAY 14 — January 17, 2017 — Cruising the North Pacific to San Diego, CA

The ms Amsterdam is a beautiful ship with elegant public areas and drinking/dining venues.        The atrium is the crossroads for all the activities.

DAY 15 — January 18, 2017 — Cruising the North Pacific to San Diego, CA

The LIBRARY is my favorite place on the ship, of course.  With a wide open design, it is beautifully appointed, and relaxing with large windows for amazing sea views.  Sadly, libraries are being phased out on most cruise ships.  I learned today that, at the end of this cruise, the Amsterdam Librarian will be replaced by a Communications Specialist.  This is not surprising since there is little demand for readers advisory services and a lot of demand for helping passengers with internet access.

Ron’s favorite thing to do on the ship:

Ron’s second favorite thing to do on the ship:

DAY 16—January 19, 2017—San Diego, CA

Beautiful San Diego!   But no zoo for us. It was a day to shop for forgotten items and use our phones and cellular service providers for free, fast mobile data access and calling home to catch up after 15 days away.  We may be on the trip of a lifetime but staying connected with family and friends back home is important to everyone.

It had been a little rainy off and on all day, but as we prepared to sail away, our captain informed us of trouble ahead.  Because of a big storm moving across the northern Pacific we had to re-route our course to avoid high seas, and, for some reason, that meant no Sail-Away party.  Everyone mumbled about a lost  opportunity to eat and drink more right before dinner.  What we didn’t know at that point was that many of us wouldn’t feel much like eating and drinking for the next five days.