Day One
Harwich, England

The flight to London was bumpy! Upon arrival at Heathrow we found ourselves in what seemed like an unending maze which eventually led to Customs. After that we had to wait for the busses to take us to the start of our adventure, Harwich. We were originally supposed to sail from Dover, and the change in plans upset us some, as we did want to see the famed white cliffs! Waiting outside the airport was a bright shiny purple London taxi with "Do You Yahoo?" painted in yellow on the side! Suddenly a drive into the city sounded like a better idea than a cruise! I have a digital camera for Kodak moments like this one, so why was it packed in a suitcase I couldn't get to? By the time we did get hold of a functioning camera, the "coaches" had arrived and the taxi was gone. There isn't much to see between London and Harwich, which is not "Harwick" or "Har-Witch" but "Hare-Ich", with the A as in Harry and not as in Hard. I tried to sleep off a bad headache but couldn't get comfortable. When I wasn't sleeping I was staring at green flat land that looked like the Midwest. I completely missed Old McDonald's farm. Yes, kids, Old McDonald has a farm, e-i-e-i-o. And on his farm he has some cows, and horses and sheep. The heck with Old McDonald! I was still mad about missing the purple taxi photo-op! The terminal building in Harwich is as boring as the bus ride was. It's just a big room with a bunch of tables and some booths where passengers checked in and were issued room keys, which conveniently doubled as "credit cards" on the ship. From there we walked upstairs, smiled wearily for the waiting cameraman (more on that later) and then the fun began! Join us now as we take you on a journey through Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. See the sites we enjoyed, especially the ones we can't identify because...who thinks to make notes while taking pictures on a tour? Also laugh at the silly things we found to do on the ship at night and during our days at sea. The pages will be mostly photos, so they will take some time to load. We hope you like them.

	The day we left Harwich was, like most of our trip, cloudy. We got our first glimpse of the Rotterdam as the bus pulled up to the terminal.
	Don't we look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, after traveling in a crowded plane all night? There are some aspects of the cruise industry that can only be explained by someone's sick sense of humor. The obligatory "boarding the ship" photo is a prime example. There's no way to avoid the cheesy shutterbug standing at the "Smile Line", snapping away like a paparazzi at the red carpet on Oscar night! Nobody ever looks good in these shots, but still, I suppose some people actually buy the pictures (for extortionate prices, I might add). We thought this was a clever approach!
From Left: Rory, Cheryl Leigh, Mom, Dad

	We set sail for Oslo, Norway at dinnertime on 23 June. This was the view from our table in the dining room. Unfortunately the shades were pulled down and we didn't have window seats! The La Fontaine Dining Room is big and bright, with windows all around. Located at the stern of the ship, it yielded several impressive views, especially while sailing in the Stockholm Archipelago.
The ms Rotterdam is the flagship of the Holland America line. This is the sixth ship to bear the name, and she is quite lovely. As you will see, we found lots of flower arrangements and sculptures to use as backgrounds and props for our photos!
	Mom took this photo of Dad, Rory and me trying out some of the art, I mean furniture, on Deck 4, the Promenade deck. Check out the body language on that statue behind us. Making sure we didn't steal the chairs, I guess!
	Here's what those chairs look like without people in them! They'd look great in any décor, wouldn't they?
There is an unwritten law of the sea that bears mentioning here: Every cruise ship must have a Promenade Deck and a Lido Deck. Holland America took this to the extreme. There was only one Lido Deck, but there were THREE decks all creatively named "Promenade." There were the Lower Promenade Deck, the Promenade Deck, and the Upper Promenade Deck. The dining room, shops, casino, and the piano lounge we frequented (where we were able to put our store of useless information to the test, winning several trivia contests) were on this deck.
	Mom posed with this sculpture and candle and I didn't notice until it was too late that I cut his head off!
	Here we are checking out the Queen's Lounge, which is the theater. Behind us the "Flagship Orchestra" is tuning up for the first show of the cruise.
	SHOWTIME! Really this was just Rory playing with the camera, but the colors are pretty, so here it is.
	A sunset on the water is beautiful. A sunset on the water that happens at around 9PM is fascinating to those of us who aren't used to such things. This picture was taken through a window on the Lido Deck.