2019 - "Italian Riviera"

Celebrity Edge
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

MY WIFE rarely makes an impulsive decision.  She is, however, always on the lookout for a good cruise and - if possible - combined with a good deal. And if there is an area where she might be impulsive from time to time, it is travel and particularly, cruising.  There have been 2 times when she has kind of "surprised" me with a major cruise. I haven't regretted either. The first time was our first Celebrity cruise, to the Caribbean, with the O'Brien Estate wine group. It was not only our first Celebrity Cruise (The Celebrity Reflection - which we have now been on 5 times - has taken its place as my personal favorite cruise ship), but our first cruise on our own. We had planned our previous two cruises with family members. We would continue to cruise with family or friends whenever we could. But we learned from that one that we were perfectly fine to venture out on our own, making a couple permanent new friends, and firming up relationship Bart and Barb O'Brien, who we would travel with again a couple more times (including two more upcoming trips in 2027 and 2028).

The Magic Carpet - Celebrity Edge Class Ships
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE SECOND "surprise" was this cruise. We had developed a pattern at first of a cruise every other year or so. Sometimes 2 in one year (a warm-weather Caribbean and someplace in Europe). Even then it was not an every year kind of thing. We had never done two (in either venue) in the same year. This time, I came home from work one day and she put it in front of me and said "I signed us up for this one." I looked at her with some surprise. We had just finished one in June, and this would be October. Of the same year! That kind of thing no longer surprises me, but it was a first for us in 2019. It was also the third time we would head out for a cruise on our own.

Capri, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THIS WAS our first time sailing on Celebrity's "Edge" class ship, their newest class. The first in the class was The Celebrity Edge, which had been in service for just under a year, having made its first voyage in December of 2018. We have, since then, sailed on Edge Class ships many times, including the Edge, Apex, Beyond and Ascent (and will do so again for sure). We have gotten pretty familiar with this class of ships and feel very comfortable sailing on them. There were a couple major changes from the prior Solstice Class (itself considered a unique and modern class of ships - which included my favorite: The Celebrity Reflection). It was considered an innovative design. The most prominent feature is the orange "elevator" on the outside starboard side of the ship, just about amidships. Sharing duties as an outside bar and occasional tender point (when the point of exit or entry was not on the primary tender/entrance deck), it is a feature that makes any Edge Class ship immediately identifiable, even from a distance. Called "The Magic Carpet," this feature hangs around on the pool deck most of the time when not being used as a point of ingress/egress.

Manarola (Cinque Terre) - Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

ONCE AGAIN, that cruise proved to be a great friend-making opportunity, and a whole lot of fun. We met an handful of other couples, several of whom we have kept in touch with. Perhaps best of all, one of those couples was none other than Rob and Carole Cook, from Manchester England. Since then we have met up with them in Liverpool in 2023, and then again in London just this past year, when we spent several days with them, sightseeing, eating, drinking and just overall enjoying each other's company. We spent some time with them on this cruise, too, so we knew we would enjoy hanging out together in the future.

Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma - Palma de Mallorca
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE ALSO thoroughly enjoyed the itinerary on this one. This one was dubbed: "The Italian Riviera." Once again, I had never really given those names a lot of thought. Most people know of the "French Riviera." The Italian Riviera was new to me. I learned, though, on one of our excursions the the word "riviera" means roughly: "where the land meets the sea." So it is reasonable that where the French coastline transitions into the Italian coastline along the northern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, it should also transition from "French" to "Italian" Riviera. Starting from Civitavechhia, we stopped first in Naples, and then spent a couple "at sea" days as we sailed across the northern part of the Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian Sea), to the small, Spanish Island of Mallorca. From there, we made an overnight stop in Barcelona, and then proceeded up the "riviera" coastline to Monaco, Santa Margherita/Portofino and finally stopping in La Spezia before finishing the cruise back in Civitavecchia.

Port of Barcelona, Spain
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WE FLEW into Fiumicino, the airport for Rome/Civitavechhia. We did not plan any time on land this time, going directly to Civitavechhia and boarding our cruise ship. That is not - by the way - something I recommend, for various reasons. But it was what we did this time. Once on board, I immediately began comparing ships. I really missed my traditional "Sunset Bar" with its adjacent cigar smoking area. But the Edge ships had actually expanded the smoking area a bit with ample seating and an open deck. That has its pros and cons, but on this voyage, it was mostly pro, as the weather cooperated. And the new Sunset Bar smoking area was where we would meet most of our new friends on this cruise. And, after our first stop the next day, we had a couple "at sea" days for me to get acclimated to this new setup. As a side note for cigar smokers (readers here probably know I have a "thing" for cigars and cruises 😀), I have posited over numerous blogs that Celebrity is the most "cigar-friendly" cruise line. In addition to their great Sunset Bar areas (on the Edge and Solstice classes), I was to much later (another cruise) learn that on the Edge class ships, there is another area in the mezzanine level just above the pool on the starboard side of the ship that is covered and partly sheltered from the wind. Also on the Edge, there is a small, but cozy area outside the Eden complex on the rear of the ship, this time on the port side. But for now, I grew comfortable on the Sunset Bar Cigar/smoking deck (in fairness none of these areas are exclusively "cigar." They are smoking areas).

Smoking area adjacent to the Sunset Bar on the Celebrity Edge and Apex
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THIS WAS one of the most fun and memorable cruises we have taken. I hope you will travel on with us.

IN JUST 2 days, we leave for Europe once again; this time on a new cruising venue for us: a Viking River Cruise (longboat), splitting our time on the Rhone in the south of France and the Seine in the north. There are some substantial differences between river and ocean cruising, and we look forward to our new adventure - and I will most certainly report back here evenually. For now, I will be absent for the next couple weeks. See you when we return, a resume the Cruise Journey through the years.

2019 - Amsterdam

Known for their unique front gables, narrow rowhouses line the canals in Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THIS WAS our first visit to Amsterdam. There would be a couple more that would be more in-depth, but in this case, it was the termination point of the cruise, and we only scheduled the day we arrived (flying out of Amsterdam's Schipol early the next morning). No tours or excursions, but we made the most of it, walking around much of the quite "walkable" city. Originally settled by various germanic tribes, the area that encompasses today's Netherlands didn't really come about until the 1800's following The Reformation. Previously part of the Roman Empire, the combined lands of what are now Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg, after the defeat of Napolean in about 1815, became The United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The entire area is heavily influenced by substantial coastal land along the North Sea and down the coast on the English Channel. Many of Central Europe's major rivers (and later canals and waterways) ultimately flow into the ocean there, making the entire geographic region strategically important - particularly for trade. Around 1830, Belgium, which remained primarily Catholic, split away from the region which ultimately became three different sovereign nations: The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE NETHERLANDS remained neutral during WWI and tried valiantly to remain so during WWII, but were disingenously invaded by the Nazis, who occupied Rotterdam and Amsterdam during the war. Pre-war, however, the area, and in particular Amsterdam, became one of the world's most important and dominant trade and financial centers. Many of the later "new world" explorations originated out of (privately-owned) Dutch corporations like Dutch East Indies Company (South Africa) and the Dutch West India Company (U.S. and the Caribbean), who in the beginning, dominated these regions. There are still a number of Dutch - controlled, popular Caribbean islands, like St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. For a time, the Dutch also dominated the seas around the world.

Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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AMSTERDAM'S ARCHITECTURE is an interesting mix. The old city center along the canals and the Amstel River are lined with 17th Century "Canal Houses;" narrow houses built in neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival buildings noted for their unique gabled roofs, separating one from another in terms of their looks. Note that most of them have a hook near the top that was used to lift cargo up into the upper stories. These homes were often a combination of residence and commerce. The world famous Rijksmuseum is a wonderful example of Rennaissance Revival/neo-Gothic architectue. As you move out from the city, you start to see more modern touches, including some Art Deco, "Amsterdam School Expressionist," and more modern archictecture. Much of the landscape is - of course - adorned by colorful flowers. Most of us know that the Netherlands (Holland) is especially noted for flowers, and in particular, tulips.

Landscaping around the Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

DURING THE Nazi occupation more Jewish persons were sent away to concentration camps than anywhere else in the world (roughly 105,000 of the roughly 140,000 residing there). The majority of them were murdered in concentration camps. In 2022, my wife and I spent several days in Amsterdam prior to our Celebrity Apex Baltic Cruise. We spent one of our days visiting the Anne Frank house and taking a very intense, interesting and heart-rending tour and histsory of Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

BUT ON this trip, by the time we had disembarked The Reflection and gotten our luggage squared away in hour hotel, we really only had an afternoon. So we mostly walked around. Mostly in the old city around the canals.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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SEVERAL OF the prominent cities in the Netherlands end with "dam" (e.g., Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zaandam). I am not sure I ever put that together before our second visit there, a couple years hence, during  one of our walking tours. But there is a (perhaps obvious) reason. Each of them originated at or near the point of a damn on a significant river (in the case of Amsterdam, the Amstel River). Nearby Rotterdam is on the Rotte River. Both the Amstel and The Rotte are relatively major rivers connecting parts of Europe to the North Sea, making them logical points to set up trading centers. By the late 19th Century, a`s commerce and shipping continued to grow and at the same time agricultural growth and population growth contributed to silting up of the rivers, The North Sea Canal was dug from the freshwater sea (IJMeer) immediately east of the Amsterdam Port all the way out to the North Sea - a distance of over 20 miles. Coming in on this cruise was my first time in the Canal, and it was during the dark of night, so I didn't see it. When we sailed out of Amsterdam in 2022, I was able to do better, making a few nice photos along the shore from our high up viewpoint. A year later, we sailed out of Rotterdam where they have built a similar canal, and spent most of the sailaway up on deck with my camera.

DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

YOU MAY have noted my near-interchangeable use of the terms "Netherlands," "Holland," and "Dutch." I wondered about that myself. As much as I am chary of using "AI" as a research tool, this explanation from Google's AI search engine seemed pretty apt: "The Netherlands is the official name of the country, consisting of 12 provinces, while Holland refers specifically to two provinces (North and South Holland). "Dutch" refers to the people, language, and culture of the entire country."

"Head Shop" - DeWallen - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

We did get a brief opportunity to walk the famed De Wallen, Red Light District, and the adjacent area streets where the smell of some kind of "incense" was really strong 😇. I was told I could get it at a coffee shop, but it seemed to me like it was coming out of the bars and along the streets. I found it fascinating that "weed" is legal in Amsterdam and freely available - but technically not if you are not a Netherlands resident. I say "technically," because I know of numerous instances where U.S. visitors purchased it and nobody blinked and eye. I doubt it is something that is vigorously enforced.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019

WE ALSO stopped in for a drink in what is I believe the oldest bar in the Netherlands - and maybe in Europe. The size of the entire bar was only maybe 3 times what you see in the image above.

Bicycle parking - Downtown Amsterdam, Netherlands
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ONE THING that really hit home with me was how much a bicycle-culture there is in Amsterdam. The number of known bikes in Amsterdam exceeds it official population. By maybe 100,000 bicycles!

Bicyles parked in a residential alley - Amsterdam, Netherlands
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HAVING COMMENTED about the "canals" in general in my Bruges post, I should say something about them here. If there is another city in Europe that I personally would compare to Venice, it would be Amsterdam. But a little research tells me that in terms of sheer number of canals, the number of miles of canals, and the number of bridges over them, Venice is actually not at the top of that list. Hamburg, Germany (yet to visit) tops that list. But other cities, like Birmingham, UK, and Amsterdam have more canals and bridges than Venice. I still think Venice trumps them all. It is about the aesthetics, in my view. And the layout and density and variety of the canal. Venice is the only one of these cities that is completely on an isolated "island" and has only foot traffic. In each of the others, there are a few vehicular bridges, and streets and traffic often lining each side of the canal.

Amsterdam Canal - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

NONETHELESS, THE Amsterdam canals are impressive, with their "canal house" lined banks, and the beautiful landscaping that surrounds them. The other phenomena I have noted in virtually all the "other" European Canals is the presence of the private, liveaboard canal boats. I do not recall ever having seen them in Venice. Any that they do have are unusual.

Liveaboard Canal Boats - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

LIKE THEY all do, our cruise had to come to an end at some point. This short, busy day in Amsterdam was it for us for our 2019 cruise. Or so I thought. Stay tuned. It turns out that we decided to book another one just a couple months hence!

2019 - Bruges - Perhaps the Tiniest, but most Charming Stop in the English Channel

Markt - Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

OF ALL the cruise stops we have made in Europe, Bruges is probably the tiniest of all. The only other one that might come close is the Swedish town of Visby on the tiny Swedish island of Gottland). But an awful lot of beauty, architecture and history is packed into that little space.

Bruges City Hall  Bruges, Belgium
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

LIKE SOME of the other port "stops," Bruges is not on the water. But unlike many of them, it is reasonably close (10 miles) and transportation to and from the cruise port it relatively easy, buy shuttle, taxi or uber. The port is Zeebrugge. In both instances (and in most cases I have seen on itineraries) Bruges was not even a full day stop. Amsterdam, long a primary cruise port for cruise ships and river cruises, is a short hop from there, and I think Bruges is one of those "lets make a quick stop there on the way" destination. But in my view it is every bit worth that stop. It takes 30 minutes to get to the main square (Markt) in Bruges, depending on the mode of travel. We have found it most expedient to go by cab or Uber. Once you enter the Markt, it becomes immediately apparent why Bruges is such an attraction.

Bruges Belfry - Bruges, Belgium
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THIRTEENTH CENTURY Belfort, a gothic Belfry, towers over the Markt at one end of the plaza, dominating Bruges' historic center. Ringing the rest of the plaza are colorful, mostly single story, buildings, all in gothic style. In the middle is an ornate statue. A block away, the very ornate, but again gothic, City Hall stands in front of its own plaza.

The canal behing Belfort - Bruges, Belgium
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BECAUSE IT is so small, Bruges is easily walkable from the Markt Plaza. On this day, our cab driver dropped us off on a small street directly behind one of the entrances to the Markt. Knowing our time frame was tight, we arranged with him to pick us up 4 hours later in the same spot (and thankfully, he was dependably waiting for us right on time).

Back canal - Bruges, Belgium
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I HAVE often read about Bruge being compared to Venice because of its "canals." In reality, there are a couple large canals on the outskirts of the town, and one very picturesque canal that cuts through the middle of the old historic district. It seems to me that whenever we encounter a city that has one or more canals, people want to compare it with Venice. Having spent some time in Venice over the years, I don't find those comparisons particularly apt. But I will say that any of them can be very beautiful for viewing and for picture-taking. One of the salient features of canals are their ability to create and present (often colorful) reflections. For such a small place, I found plenty of opportunity to exercise my picture-taking muscles. Line a canal with gothic architecture, plant some colorful flowers, let the sun create reflections, and you have a ready-made photo-artistic model.

Canal Boat Tour - Bruges, Belgium
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WE WALKED around a bit, stopped at one of the many cafes lining the Markt for a drink, and then boarded one of the canal boats for a leisurely float along the canal, with remarkable views and reflections along the way. The drink? For me it was - of course - one of the local Belgian Lagers!

Church of Our Lady - Bruges, Belgium
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LATER, WE walked along the canal in the middle of the historic district. At the end of the canal is the impressive and equally gothic Church of Our Lady. Also dating back to the 13th century, I was taken in by the old stone bridge spanning the canal in front of the approach to the church.

Canal - Bruges, Belgium
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THE END of our time in Bruges nearing, we headed back to the little Chocolate shop behind the Markt, where we had begun, to meet our driver. Sadly, the shop was not open. The two things most people think about sampling when they visit Belgium are their beer and chocolate. Fortunately, we did find some chocolate in another shop in the town. We re-boarded our ship, knowing it was our last night aboard. Tomorrow, we would terminate in Amsterdam.

Bruges, Belgium
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