Prior to this cruise we also 'met' numerous people on various cruise web sites (Cruise Mates, Cruise Addicts, Cruise Critic, and others) who were scheduled for the same sailing. One lovely lady by the name of Bev, took it upon herself to arrange a get-together Happy Hour for everyone once we got onboard. This turned out to be a more daunting task than I think she ever realized, because she couldn't get any confirmation back from Celebrity with regards to an available lounge where we could meet on our desired date and time. By the time we sailed, our 'Net Buddies' group had grown to 40 people.
This was also Celebrity's Annual Captain's Club Reunion Cruise and numerous special activities, not to mention frequent gifts, were bestowed on all Captain's Club members. These included galley tours, parties, complimentary cocktails and wine tasting, cooking demonstrations, group photo, photo album, journal, disposable camera, and others we've already forgotten. The Captain's Club representatives did a super job, even though there were a few stumbling blocks along the way, and helped enhance our enjoyment of the cruise.
AMSTERDAM: Pre-Cruise and Embarkation
Over the years we've learned never to trust the airlines to 'get you to the ship on time,' and this is even more applicable today. Thus we always plan a pre-cruise stay of a day or more at our embarkation location. We flew into Amsterdam one day early and stayed at the Radisson SAS Airport Hotel. This was a very nice modern hotel with full amenities and a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. We were 'forced' to stay out by the airport because there was a Broadcaster's Convention in Amsterdam and virtually all of the downtown hotels were full months ago when we first booked this cruise. Even Celebrity could not offer their pre-cruise package for this sailing. As it turned out this was an ideal location at a very reasonable price.
A month before the cruise we scoured the Internet for tour ideas in Amsterdam and came across an Evening Dinner Canal Cruise, that we subsequently reserved and confirmed on-line with final payment due when we actually boarded the canal boat. After arriving in Amsterdam and checking into the hotel, we took the complimentary shuttle back to the airport and caught a train to take us to the Central Train Station in the heart of Amsterdam (US$5 return train trip from airport to city). The canal boats all leave from this area, but we had a bit of time to tour the adjoining streets and canals. The dinner cruise left at 7:30PM and for the next 2½ hours we savored a four course gourmet meal (choice of salmon or game hen entree) with complimentary wine, and enjoyed the sunset and spectacular evening views of the sights. This is definitely something to be considered by anyone taking a trip to Amsterdam (approximately US$51 per person).
The next morning we took a bus tour of the city that was arranged by our Travel Agent, followed by a 1 hour canal boat cruise. Although the canal cruise covered much the same route as the one the previous night, it was interesting to see the differences during daylight. After the cruise, the bus transferred us to the brand new cruise terminal building–nicknamed 'The Wave' because of its roof design that resembles a cresting wave–where we arrived at 1:15PM. Boarding had just commenced a few minutes earlier, and as we entered the terminal building we were immediately greeted by Celebrity attendants who gave us our Priority #0 Captain's Club embarkation numbers. We immediately went to the Captain's Club and Suites line where we only waited about 5 minutes before being let into the check-in area. Ten minutes later we were on the ship and being showed to our suite. This was one of the smoothest and most trouble free embarkations we have ever experienced - it sure makes the $35 per family one time fee more than worth the cost. Friends who were traveling with us and who were not Captain's Club members ended up waiting 1½ hours in the terminal building before their embarkation numbers were called. We sailed on time at 6:00PM with hordes of people on shore–and later at the locks–watching our departure.
