7th January 2019

Whether we made it onto our next cruise depended on Sue getting well. Neither of us wanted to repeat last January’s disappointment of cancelling our trip down the Amazon. With that in mind, Sue resolutely stuck to the task, staying in her pyjamas for four days, keeping herself warm, dosing herself with medication, and eating whatever I cooked, without complaint. By Friday, it was felt she had got on top of the ‘bug’ and we allowed the family to visit in the evening for a fish and chip supper.

On Saturday morning, Sue continued to show further improvement and seemed nearly back to her old self, so we set about getting the house ready for an extended absence. The alarms and camera passwords had been transferred to Suraj so he could monitor the house online. Our neighbour had been asked to keep an eye out (we do the same for them), the pool had been topped up, and for the first time during a winter excursion, I left the thermal cover on. Gas, water, and some non-essential electrical equipment had been disconnected, and Jamie had been primed to drive us to Tilbury Docks. He had planned a meal at the Oxo Tower in London after dropping us off at the port with Ashton, but as luck would have it, when she woke that morning, she was too ill to travel (she may have caught Sue’s bug), so he was taking his best friend, Tommy, instead.

Jamie duly arrived to pick us up at 1:30 pm before collecting Tommy on our way to the A14. We completed the journey in just over two hours, with only one delay. Thirteen miles from the port, there was a crash on the slip road off the notorious M25. Fortunately, it delayed us by just 20 minutes, and we were soon checking in on the Columbus.

Our cabin was ready, so we quickly located it, dropped off our carry-on baggage, and set off to find the Plantation Bistro for a much-needed coffee. With thirst quenched, we returned to the cabin to find our suitcases had been delivered, so we set about unpacking and checking the various documentation left for our information.

Like most others, we then wandered the ship to locate the main facilities before returning to our cabin to change for dinner in the Waterfront Restaurant. We had opted for the second sitting, so it wasn’t until 9 pm that we sat down to eat. We had also chosen a table of six to chat with fellow travellers, but disappointingly, we were the only ones who turned up, so we ate alone. We hoped the others had chosen to dine at the buffet that evening and would join us the following nights, or perhaps they were guests not boarding until Amsterdam. We would soon find out.

We managed to stay awake long enough to take in a show at the theatre, where the ship’s resident singers performed a medley of songs, finishing with Nessun Dorma. Then, it was off to bed.

Breakfast was followed by a game of bucket bean bags in one of the bars, a fierce competition, magnificently won by me by a huge margin, with Sue coming in second. My prize for lobbing bean bags into a bucket three metres away? A ship’s pen. We were brought down to earth with a dismal showing in the following quiz, scoring just 7/25. The winning score was 11/25, earning its victors a plastic piggy bank. Truly life-changing prizes.

The ship docked in Amsterdam at 1 pm, so after lunch, we left to explore. As our berth was in the city centre, most tourist sites were within a 30-minute stroll. It was a rather chilly wander around the canal-lined streets, constantly on guard against the seemingly millions of healthily motivated citizens on bicycles going about their daily business. We felt sorry for the poor little children strapped into box-like contraptions on the front of their parents’ bikes; they looked blue with cold, while the adults, exerting themselves, appeared perfectly glowing.

Following the map on my mobile phone, we easily found ourselves outside the Anne Frank Museum after navigating and photographing our way over picturesque bridges and alongside busy, tourist boat-infested waterways. We knew the museum had been fully booked weeks ago, but we decided to try our luck and hope for fate to smile upon us. She didn’t. After taking a few photos outside, we visited the nearby Tulip Museum, where we learned about the history and industry of tulip growing. It turns out they originated in Afghanistan, and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was particularly struck by them. It is thought that the name tulip is derived from the flower’s resemblance to a turban. Sue made a few purchases in the shop.

Next, we stumbled upon the Cow Museum, followed by the Duck Museum, both amusing collections of plastic and pottery figurines in every conceivable pose and scenario. A bit of light-hearted fun that raised a smile on an increasingly cold day.

We finished our city ramble with a wander around Magna Square, home to the Royal Palace. The square itself was busy with various protest groups displaying their banners, posters, and propaganda paraphernalia. A pro-Israeli group stood opposite a pro-Palestinian group, with a pro-Lebanese group to one side. Despite the differing viewpoints, the atmosphere remained low-key and civilised. Scattered around were the obligatory human statues touting for donations, and for a while, we were drawn to a whip-cracking entertainer. Over his Tannoy, he promised a superb performance, though of what, we never found out, as the cold seeped into our bones while we, along with everyone else, waited patiently for him to set up his act. It seemed to involve some form of bondage (very apt for Amsterdam), but feeling thoroughly chilled, we left before it began.

On our route back to the ship, we stopped at a Mison pottery outlet, Sue to make a purchase, and me to escape the Dutch refrigerator outside.

The Dutch passengers were still boarding as we returned. Eager for warming coffees, we hurried inside.

The pre-dinner show was a lively mix of music and dance. That evening, we finally had company for dinner, Ian and Diane from Plymouth, who had opted for the buffet the previous night. We got on well, chatting throughout the meal, and found them to be pleasant company. As we dined, we wondered whether the remaining two seats at our table would be occupied the following evening.