 It took about 18 hours to sail from Hamburg to IJmuiden. Calm seas. Ships travel to Amsterdam from the North Sea via the North Sea Canal, which is part of the Netherlands extensive inland waterway navigation system which has a constant water level. Because the North Sea level varies with tides and storm surges, locks are used for ships transiting from the Sea to the Canal. |
 The Royal Princess approaching the big lock at IJmuiden. |
 On the North Sea Canal. View of a polder from the ship. Polders are land reclaimed from the sea. The land elevation is well below the water level of the canal, which is close to sea level. |
 A hydrofoil commuter boat on the canal near Amsterdam. |
 The North Sea Canal carries a lot of traffic, and it is well equipped to do so. The Dutch are great hydraulic engineers and sailors. A large container port is being constructed where the cranes are at the upper right. |
 The Princess map of downtown Amsterdam. Note the proximity of the Cruise Terminal to the Central Railway Station and the heart of town. |
 Approaching the Cruise Terminal at Amsterdam, which is about 0.5 km to the left. |
 Our friends Henk and Jeanne met us at the ship the next morning and showed us the city. |
 One of the main streets of Amsterdam. |
 We toured on a canal sightseeing boat. Passengers could get off and re-board at the various stops as they wished. |
 Different style gables are noted architectural features of these old townhouses. Houses had various widths. We saw one 3 story house with a width of only 2 meters -- a different family lived on each floor. |
 Another canal view. |
 A replica of a historic Dutch ship at the Maritime Museum. |
 On board the historic ship. As may be seen, the weather was great. |
 Judy and Jeanne looking at a painting at the Museum.
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 After leaving the museum we walked to the Central Station. The Cruise Terminal is about 0.5 km to the right of the Station. Of course there are many bicycles in Amsterdam, and bike paths are numerous. The grey sidewalk is for pedestrians and the pink path is for bikes. |
 Henk and Jeanne escorted us back to the Royal Princess, which sailed at 1700 for Zeebrugge. This is a teleview of the Maritime Museum from the ship as we departed. |
 View from the Lido Cafe on the Royal Princess en route to IJmuiden on the North Sea Canal. In the evening one side of the Lido Cafe was a Pizzeria. The other side was The Bistro, a fine restaurant where one ordered from a menu. These are alternatives to the Dining Room, which had assigned seating and two sittings. We ate all our evening meals at one side or the other of the Lido. The food on the ship was excellent. The "dress code" for two evenings of the cruise was formal, but it did not apply outside the Dining Room. We did not bring any formal attire, but got along fine. |
 Entering the big lock at IJmuiden. The captain (back to the camera) is on the port (left) bridge wing using joysticks to control the ship's bow and stern thrusters and main propulsion. |
 Through the lock and near the North Sea en route to Zeebrugge.
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