ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK! MY 1st TRANSATLANTIC CRUISE, MS ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND AMERICA LINE 150 ANNIVERSARY

THE FINAL VIDEO IN MY TRANSATLANTIC CRUISE 4-PART SERIES! Sailing into New York after seven days at sea is quite something and this video shows exactly what that sail-in entails, from getting up early in the morning (it was still dark when we arrived at 5.30am) to where to stand on the ship for the best views. The Statue of Liberty is on the port (left) side of the ship and then a few minutes later Manhattan starts coming into view on the starboard (right) side. I tried viewing from the bow which they opened up specially and then from top deck (I was dashing around from one place to the other) but the best view of the Statue of Liberty ended up being from the quiet of my cabin balcony in the end and away from the crowds. Obviously I had to find a balcony on the other side to watch Manhattan coming into view, but luckily I had a friend with a cabin on the correct side who allowed me to watch from theirs. Then the video shows the distances from the amazingly central pier where we docked to Times Square, Central Park (where I go cycling) and Fifth Avenue. And then in the other direction from the port there's a lovely walk along the River Hudson to a new attraction that I visited called The Edge - a high viewing platform which juts out from the side of a building, 100 stories high. It's definitely NOT one for vertigo sufferers, but it was brilliant. As well as charting our arrival in New York on my 1st Transatlantic Cruise on Holland America Line's MS Rotterdam, I also sum up on what the whole experience is like. It really is quite an extraordinary adventure, but remember, this involves seven days at sea and is not a regular cruise.