Not Lugging Luggage - April 28

Disembarkation

All the people who were last to get off (9:00) had brown luggage tags. We had brown luggage tags as we were not flying out today. The AmaViola moved over and rafted on the AmaStella in the evening. Bob thought this would be a problem, but it wasn't so much of one. With luggage in the hall it was a bit tight for the scooter to get through, but we went down to breakfast and this time I had the A+ breakfast just to see what it was. It had sausage, bacon, a minute steak, a fried egg, and a grilled tomato. I couldn't eat all the sausage and bacon.

German cat bought in the ship store for our cat sitter

Blueberry soup recipe

We put the luggage out a little early and did the last bathroom run and checked to be sure that we hadn't left anything, and went down to the foyer a little early. Our luggage was still there in the foyer. The drill is - you put your luggage out half an hour before your disembarkation time, and someone takes it down to the lobby. Then people shuttle the luggage down to a tent on street end of the pier.

Crew taking suitcases down the dock

The guy with the yellow thing is moving pallets down from the ship

As your transportation gets there, you get your bags and you are off. So we went out a little early - they were bunkering (water or fuel I don't know which) and Bob talked to the chief engineer for a few minutes.

Bunkering barge on the water side

Then we lifted the scooter over the ramp of AmaStella (as that ramp has a step on each end) and went down to the pier. It was a nice day - sunny and cool but without much wind. Our suitcases were under the tent.

There was also a provisions truck there unloading pallets

I took a photo of the captain with the lady who has the big group from California.

Captain of the AmaViola and Travel Agent

There was a cab driver there who attempted to pick us up but he didn't know our name or where we were going so I concluded that he was not the proper person. I was getting concerned about our transport so I called the number I had called from the airport and got someone who didn't know anything about our transport. Then I got a call from our driver who wanted to know where we were. I did have the address on me, but I couldn't pronounce it, so I said we were between the Movenpick Hotel and Central Station. That allowed him to find it. It turned out that the guy who had been booked for the transport decided not to do it (maybe hung over from Kings Day), so the manager got this other guy to take us. And he did have the hotel address.

Leaving Amsterdam

Highway to Alkmaar

Picture going through a tunnel

From the taxi window

Tulip fields from the taxi

He had a meter and on the meter, the price would have been 128+ € which was confusing to Bob as he didn't hear the guy say that we only needed to pay 83 € which was the discount rate.