Rubyfisch

Good morning! Current balcony view: Where my phone thinks we are .... (Inexplicably....) Where we actually are:

Only between 10:30 and 11:30 pm. The Lido reopens and they have a selection of desserts. The lack of options between 8:00 and 10:30 is probably the first thing I would magically change if my opinion to do such things was asked.

I just tried that one twice, and both times it was servers in Kansas:

I think that is the server that is running the test - but I'm not 100% sure.

Dinner was fantastic - I asked our server whether I should get the chicken or salmon, and he said salmon. It was so good. Beets: Sushi (we shared this): Salmon: Ricotta tart:

Speed test results. It's been great and consistent - uploading here works well, we can stream videos in bed at night, it's been great.

On Zuiderdam now - opening time varies by day between 8 am and 9 am (as far as I can tell).

Almost sunset from the promenade:

Tonight's dinner menu:

Now that we are sadly halfway through the cruise, some initial thoughts. We are having a great time. I would definitely book another Holland Cruise. There are definitely things that take some getting used to, like the random periods during the day were there is effectively nowhere to get food (particularly as everyone is getting back on board). I love how friendly the staff and most of the passengers are, which really makes up for the limited amount of scheduled programming.

The gangway opened at a minute or two before 11, and the meeting time was on the pier at 11:15, so you have only a couple of minutes. The excursion was very prompt, and we left the fort at 2:45, which put us back at the pier before 3:30. Which gave us plenty of time to look in the little shops, all of which were still open, including the yarn store:

The amount of damage to the trees from Hurricane Fiona is unreal.

And one more set:

More pictures:

Louisbourg was super, super cool. Here are some photos:

Yes - the bow was open - it was super windy, though. They had sweet rolls and coffee midship on both sides. It was lovely.

Off on a shore excursion to Louisbourg ... Not sure about this one, but I'll report back.

Sydney!

Sail into Sydney, complete with the sweet buns (do they call them Panama rolls?).

This morning, I woke up and went to sunrise stretching. It was a lovely way to start the day. And then I grabbed a couple of pastries from the lido before getting ready for the day, and another breakfast in the dining room:

Dinner was good, but the appetizer and entree portions were a bit small:

If I see him, will do!

Dinner menus:

So, after coloring and puzzling, we went swimming in the covered pool and then to the thermal pool. It's growing on us. After that, my partner grabbed a chicken sandwich at Dive In, and we got ready for the even. We met some folks for a drink in the Gallery Bar before doing some promenade loops and heading to dinner.

No. I'm definitely used to Royal where you can go to the early show and then the late traditional seating for dinner, but that doesn't work out on Holland. And by 9:00 pm I don't really have the interest in going to the main show. I've walked through the live music, and they are quite good, we haven't stayed and listened.