I received 3 pictures from one of the Duty managers.

sorry you are so negative

to witness the inner city of amsterdam in white conditions is like a true postcard, those visitors today are extremely lucky

you better see for yourself, if you 'll ever have the chance

(we hardly do, as i lived there for 18 years)

so please first think before making this kind of remarks...

best regards,
b. Joe

[ 12-20-2009: Message edited by: buddhaJoe ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by buddhaJoe:
why you question what people do on
winter X-mas cruise to Amsterdam???

what you do when the wind is blowing and
some snow is falling??

---

I really don't know why people take a Christmas Cruise/Winter Cruise to Amsterdam. Really! That's is why I asked. What special Christmas/Winter activities are there? Indoor or otherwise. Shopping, sightseeing? It would be nice for details instead of critisism. It might make ME want to go there in Winter, who knows?

During THIS recent snow storm I haven't been out of the house in 2 days. Maybe up there you love this kind of weather? Here we tolerate it.

[ 12-21-2009: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Atlcruiser:
Wow, I didn't find those remarks negative. I found it more as a "question" and a good one at that. Some folks are just too touchy.

---

Thank You!

And it was just a question. Since Aad mentioned it was 'snowing very hard', I simply asked what do cruise ship passengers do in such bad weather. Reports showed the winds blowing 15-20mph and a windchill below freezing. Simple enough. No offense intended. In the first picture it looks like the snow was blowing sideways!

At least the respondent could have done was answer the question before beating me up? What do they do in this kind of weather.

They are also quite intricate in their design, with lots of different areas & levels of deck to explore, more so than the Saga Sisters. I would like to sail on Boudicca. I am not sure to what extent she differs from Black Watch. Some people on Black Watch said that they prefered her to Boudicca.

Graham.

[ 12-20-2009: Message edited by: bcscot ]

i m not beating you up, if i did sorry

but nevertheless first THINK

why you question what people do on
winter X-mas cruise to Amsterdam???

what you do when the wind is blowing and
some snow is falling??

why do people come to Amsterdam anyway??

i replied that a white Amsterdam is a VERY SPECIAL
and beautiful occasion, one NOT to be missed

there are lots of indoor activities to be seen
so if the weather is too cold for comfort a
visit is always rewarding...

best regards,
b.Joe

[ 12-21-2009: Message edited by: buddhaJoe ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by dougnewman:
Wonderful, I would love to be there.

We have lots of snow here (about two feet) but home is less interesting.

---

I had permission to visit Boudicca, but due to the weather we decided not to go. The roads were terrible and trains were cancelled.
There was a negative travel advice : If you don't have to go, than don't go !

So our visit is now portphoned till next time when Boudicca calls again in Amsterdam and the weather will allow us to go down to Amsterdam.

quote:

---

Originally posted by buddhaJoe:
why you question what people do on
winter X-mas cruise to Amsterdam???

i replied that a white Amsterdam is a VERY SPECIAL
and beautiful occasion, one NOT to be missed

what you do when the wind is blowing and
some snow is falling??

---

I really dont know why people take a Christmas/Winter cruise to Amsterdam. Really! Thats why I asked. What special Christmas/Winter activites are there? Sightseeing, shopping? What makes it so special? lI don't know. Maybe if I got answers instead of criticism it might make me want to go there during this holiday.

sorry, you really don't know?

for the same reason people go to N.Y.
London, Tokyo...

to spell it out that means for most people shopping and sightseeing...

what is so special? i told you twice.. we celebrate
when we get snow... we rarely get this much
and only once in every 15 years we have a white X-mas

i saw your lovely photos of your city, to me
it looks very nice indeed...

and yes, there are people who don't like these conditions
(i think of Willem and my wife)
but i go out and make long walks enjoying the scenery very much

i still find it very very hard to believe
that you don't understand why Saga, Cunard, P&O and Fred Olsen are selling X-mas cruises....
(may-be because they are British orientated??)

good luck

reards,
b. Joe

[ 12-21-2009: Message edited by: buddhaJoe ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by buddhaJoe:
sorry Willem,

you clearly never lived in Amsterdam

what you are saying is just ridiculous
what we call a provinciaaltje who
does NOT really know what the city is about

and no, i'm not born there and have no connection to the city, i like the inner city of Hoorn just as much...

it's just 30 miles on a freeway to Amsterdam,
so there was no reason to cancel your trip...

best regards,
b. Joe

---

Sorry Joe, but although I am living in Hoorn, that does not mean that I am a 'provinciaaltje' :-(

And I indeed never lived in Amsterdam. You cannot expect from a Rotterdammer to live in Amsterdam.
I just worked there as my employer in 1977 decided to close the Rotterdam office and they wanted me in Amsterdam.

And yes, there were reasons enough to cancel our trip to Amsterdam.
It seems that you did not listen to the radio and did not hear the negative travel advices.
I myself do not have a driverslicence so we had to travel with our daughter and son-in-law and they were just cautius enough to stay at home, following the travel advice.

Most of the trains were cancelled ! Just like today ! !

I do like snow, but I do not like the frozen ground below the snow as for seniors it is very dangerous to fall.

Maybe you do not understand why we cancelled the trip to Amsterdam, but the people at Fred Olsen, who invited us, did understand it very well.

So Joe, you have to think more than twice before calling someone a 'provinciaaltje' !

quote:

---

Originally posted by buddhaJoe:

what is so special? i told you twice.. we celebrate
when we get snow... we rarely get this much
and only once in every 15 years we have a white X-mas

reards,
b. Joe

[ 12-21-2009: Message edited by: buddhaJoe ]

---

Joe, you have to read the papers and watched television about the celebration of getting snow

quote:

---

Originally posted by dmwnc1:
I give up...

---

Don't worry, the Dutch always love to complain about things even if they enjoyed it :-)

people in De Goorn are provinciaal as well
or farmers,,

yes i fully understand your reasons for cancelling

next time you can call me and i take you there
safely, no problem

(as for the foreigners here, we only live 10 minute driving apart)

regards
b. Joe

[ 12-22-2009: Message edited by: buddhaJoe ]

Most of the younger foreigners are coming to Amsterdam to get drugs, which you cannot deny ! !
As you might know, Amsterdam is worldfamous for the Red Light district and the drugsstores.
You don't realise how often I had to show the way to the Wallen.
As for cruisepassengers I can tell you that you will meet a lot of them on the Wallen, as they say you have to see the girsl in the windows by yourselves.

So, it is very unrealistic to call me a 'provinciaal'!
By the way, who are 'we' ? ? ?
And why do you call inhabitants of De Goorn 'stupid farmers' ? ? Why ? ? ? ? You do not have any respect to them nor other people

Have you been on the A7 on Sundaymorning ? ?
Have you seen the snowfall on Sundaymorning ? ?
My daughter did and she did follow the advice for not to go if one does not have to go !
Just using common sense ! !

The trainproblems are caused by the many points (wissels) in the tracks. That is not only a Dutch problem but happens in other countries too !

you only see and believe what you want to see and believe

your view on Amsterdam is so different than
most people who live there

but yes, some people can't see beyond
the red lights and coffeeshops...

i was out on sundaymorning and afternoon, it
wasn't that bad...