Sea Days

We knew the cruise would be fun, but we didn't expect it to be such a total blast that the shore days were almost unwelcome interruptions. The ship, Holland America's M.S. Volendam, came equipped with a Wii video game set up. The first day at sea, a few dozen signed up for a Wii Olympics, although the numbers dwindled as time went on. When the medals were awarded, about 15 men and 15 women were left in the competitions. Ken tied for the Bronze Medal - a Holland America key chain attached to a red ribbon.

It didn't take long to settle into a routine. Holland America has what they officially call Sports of Call dollars, but are more popularly known as 'dam' dollars, since all the HAL ship names end in 'dam.' The first event of each day was a walk around the deck. 3-1/2 laps equalled one mile, the minimum amount required to earn a dollar. Usually, we walked two miles, and occasionally three. Men's Wii olympics started at 9am, with women's following at 10am. Typically, the women showed up early to watch the men, and the men stayed over to watch the women. The olympians formed a pretty close bond that carried over into other parts of the cruise, though we never got into personal questions, such as last names or home towns.

During the day, we could earn dam dollars at various sporting events such as basketball shoots, tennis serves, ping-pong games, putting contests, even a paper airplane flying contest. Very cleverly, the staff included dance lessons in the dam dollar events, causing at least one man to participate who othwerwise wouldn't. In the afternoon, there were lectures about ancient polynesian navigation, bird life, fish life, all kinds of life. Just a couple of times, we laid out by the outdoor swimming pool and relaxed. In the evenings, we'd attend a show and then finish the night in the piano bar playing "Name That Tune" with Randall.

Of course, there was the food - lots and lots of food. HAL has set dining times or open dining. Either way, it took two hours to complete a meal. Eventually, we skipped the formal dining room and ate solely in the informal buffet.