You guessed it – it was back to rain again.  We walked to the Metro station, ending up with soaked luggage.  A 20 minute ride to Wilhelminaplein, a brief discussion about the position of the ship relative to the position of the Erasmus Bridge (I was right, Google was wrong), and soon we had deposited our suitcases, whipped through the formalities, and were walking the gangplank to our home for the remainder of the trip.  Everything was swift and smooth – even our stateroom was ready.

We had about 4 hours between boarding and sailaway, so we began settling into the cabin, had an unjustifiably large lunch at the buffet, and did some exploration of the ship.  I found my favourite perch on the Sky Deck, from where I can take photos uninterrupted by ship paraphernalia.  There are none of your tacky waterslides and go-cart tracks on this ship.  Although it’s the newest in HAL’s fleet, it is a classic design.  This means it is empty of screaming kids racing each other up and down the stairs.  Already I liked the décor and the artwork on the stairs, some of which is really unusual and creative.  I will do a DIY art tour when I get a chance.

We watched the two high tech fuelling barges which were pulled up alongside us.  Just before 4pm, the lines were cast off and we were under way.  It’s quite a long sail down the Maas River to the Hook of Holland, before a hard right and into the North Sea.  We passed the Euromast tower; the SS Rotterdam – HAL’s first cruise liner, now permanently moored in Rotterdam; the windmills of Schiedam; then the enormous commercial port, which extends all the way to the river mouth.  Parts of it looked like a giant Meccano set.

We met up with Carla and Bob for dinner.  We started talking straight away, and didn’t stop until they kicked us out of the dining room 4 hours later.

Cruise day 1 is a sea day.  We have unpacked a little more, attended several talks, including a very interesting one by two Bridge officers, and been to high tea.  Lots more talking with Carla and Bob too.  Still ahead is our first trivia contest; a welcome by the Captain (not ours; the one who actually sails the ship); and the live show. Tomorrow – Oslo, where we will be overnight. 

PS The Captain (ours) was given his own towel animal by our room steward. Everyone is happy.