Count Dimas of Transylvania

Tuesday, 12 May. This was our last day at sea. The weather was partly cloudy, windy and chilly (48 high). We packed and attended the debarkation briefing. We were assigned a 7:15 a.m. departure even though our plane wasn't to leave until 12:20 p.m. We also were worried about our luggage being overweight so we crammed our carry-ons full of the heaviest items. (It turned out there was no problem.)

In spite of having to get up so early the next morning, after dinner we went to the MainStage to see Count Dimas' encore performance. Then, as instructed, we put our suitcases out in passageway before going to bed.

Driving through downtown Copenhagen

Wednesday, 13 May. The ship docked in Copenhagen at 6:40 a.m. and debarkation started at 7:00. We were called at 7:15 as scheduled. We were somewhat surprised that our bus took us right through the heart of Copenhagen. We got to the airport at 8:00 and our luggage was waiting for us. The check in process was lengthy, but we still got to our gate before 9:00.

That entire wing of the airport was deserted, no airline personnel in sight. There was a large holding room but only for passengers already processed to board. Naturally, that was locked. There were only 13 chairs in the counter area. As more and more of the 200 passengers arrived, there were a lot of very angry people. The SAS people finally arrived about 11:30 and we were processed into the holding room soon after.

All in all, we thought the Danish airport personnel and SAS employees were unfriendly and in some cases downright rude. This was a surprise because we had visited Copenhagen twice before and found the Danes very friendly in 1971 and at least not unfriendly in 2005. However, we had not used the airport on either of those visits.

We boarded the plane on time but pull-back from the gate was delayed 30 minutes for some mechanical problem. We finally took off at 12:50 and had an uneventful flight. We landed at Dulles on time (3:00 p.m.) and were through immigration and customs by 3:30. Our son Joseph picked us up in our car. Traffic was unexpectedly light for rush hour. After a short visit with Joseph in Culpeper, we got home to Massanutten about 7:00 p.m.

Observations. This was our first repositioning cruise, our first cruise with Holland America, and the longest cruise we'd ever taken. We were very pleased on all three counts.

The cost of the cruise itself was surprisingly low (less than $65 each per day). Of course, taxes, port fees, tips, and excursions ran that up substantially, not to mention the ridiculously expensive one-way air fare back from Copenhagen. But it's amazing how little the cruise line gets for so much.

As for Holland America, they seemed to strive more noticeably than other lines we've taken to see that their passengers are pampered. Not that everything was perfect, but they accepted responsibility and took remedial action if they learned that it wasn't. The ship's officers were an international mix, but most of the crew were Indonesians (not surprising in view of immigration following the Netherlands' past colonial ties there).

Sitting with different people for dinner almost every evening, the one question that invariably came up was "Have you cruised with Holland America before?" We found only one other couple for whom this was their first such cruise. All but that couple had cruised multiple times; most more than ten; one couple more than 30 times. Obviously Holland America has a very high satisfaction rate.

Finally, the length of the cruise, and the fact that ten of the 18 days were at sea, were perfect for us at this particular time. Jane had been having medical problems for some time, but by the time the cruise was over she was feeling better than she had in years.

As for the ship's ports of call, except for Lisbon and Copenhagen they were all places we hadn't seen before. Lisbon was a place we very much wanted to see again, and we spent no time in Copenhagen. So, in that sense, it was a very efficient trip.