Cruise Day 1
We had an early 5:50am flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Jenny stayed with us Friday night and we left home at 3:00am and drove to Hartsfield Jackson airport. We parked in the Park And Fly parking lot. A shuttle took us to the airport terminal and we went through check-in and security. We arrived at the gate and had a thirty minute wait for our flight. Our flight took off on time and we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at 7:30am. Our shuttle to the cruise terminal arrived at 9:00 and we were processed for our cruise at the registration area. At 11:00 we boarded the ship and found our cabin. We have a signature suite, which has more room and a larger bathroom than a regular cabin. Very nice. Our next stop was the Lido deck. We ate lunch and returned to our cabin for rest and naps. Dinner was in the main dining room. We were directed to our table located next a window. Randy was our waiter and Jonathan was the wine steward. Randy seemed to enjoy us and suggested we reserve our table for the rest of the cruise. He really liked Bob's version of "Georgia On My Mind". We had pre-purchased an eight bottle wine package. We had a red for dinner and brought a white to our room for our day at sea Monday.
Sunday, March 17, 2019, Key West, FloridaCruise Day 2
We awoke in Key West and showered and ate before our excursion. We walked to the Hop On Hop Off Tour Trolley near the dock and began our tour of Key West. When we arrived at the Hemingway House, we got off shortly before it opened. We toured the house and gardens and saw many of the cats that reside at the house. After we finished, we reboarded the Trolley, rode to the Southernmost Point, and took photos. After reboarding the trolley, we continued to the end of the route. From there, we walked down Duval Street to Jimmy Buffet's Margaretville for lunch. We decided not to drink our lunch and ordered appetizers to go with the reason to go to MARGARITAville. After lunch we staggered back to the Oosterdam (Holland America Lines) and relaxed until dinner. Our dinner song with Randy was "A Rainy Night In Georgia". Bob said that Brook Benton sang the song and Randy Googled and said that someone named Crawford sang it too. We are practicing "Midnight Train To Georgia" for tomorrow night.
Monday, March 18, 2019, At SeaCruise Day 3
We were at sea all day today on our way to the Dominican Republic. We had breakfast and walked on deck three. Deck three is the only deck with an outside walkway that continues completely around the ship. We hade a bottle of white wine with nuts and snacks at the cabin in the afternoon. We had a gala dinner, which is typical of sea days. The dress code for gala dinner has been down graded quite a bit. Before, men needed to wear a jacket, but now just a casual shirt and long pants were acceptable. Bob still wore his jacket to dinner and Sue and Jen wore dresses.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019, Amber Cove, Dominican RepublicCruise Day 4
Our day started with a quick breakfast and from there we separated for our excursion. Jen went on a catamaran sail and snorkel adventure. Sue and Bob took a Dominican Republic cultural adventure. The cultural adventure consisted of a bus ride with our driver Joseph and tour guide Rafael. We rode to a fort in Puerta Plata, the town square and drank fresh coconut milk, visited a historical museum, and drove to our lunch restaurant. We took a walk through a nature trail before eating. After lunch we walked through an art studio, sampled the local coffee and resumed our tour. Our last stop was a rum tasting at the Macorix House of Rum Distillery. We returned to the ship and prepared for our casual dining meal.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019, Grand Turk, Turks and CaicosCruise Day 5
Bob and Jen's excursion was a snuba adventure. A snuba is a combination snorkel and scuba. Each diver has a mask and snorkel but has a mouthpiece that connects to an air hose. The air hose is about fifteen feet long and is connected to a float that contains an air tank at the surface. The snorkel is not used except when the diver wants to use it instead of the air tank. Their dive instructor gave a training session about the diving equipment and hand signals to use while underwater. After practicing, the dive master swam to the reef to check for conditions. When he returned, he had to cancel the dive due to poor visibility. He needed a minimum of fifteen feet visibility in order to see all the divers for safety concerns. Everyone removed the equipment and the driver took Bob and Jen back to the ship. Sue decided to stay on board and visit the shops at the port facilities.
Thursday, March 21, 2019, At SeaCruise Day 6
On our full day at sea, we attended the Captain's lunch. Guests that have taken previous cruises are invited to have lunch with the captain in the main dining room. Champaign is served and we received another tile, this time with the Oosterdam on the tile. Since the meal was so filling we decided to eat at the Lido dining room. When we got back to the room, we watched the movie Crazy Rich Asians.
Friday, March 22, 2019, Half Moon CayCruise Day 7
Since we were going to Half Moon Cay, we ordered breakfast in our room. Half Moon Cay is an island in the Bahamas that is managed by the cruise companies and has numerous attractions for cruise guests. Jen and Bob snorkeled and Sue rested in our clam shell. That is a beach umbrella that provides good sun protection. After lunch on the island, Bob took a long beach walk while Jen and Sue read. After we returned to the ship on a tender, we enjoyed some white wine in our room before dinner. After dinner we watched the first half of the Black Panther movie.
Saturday, March 23, 2019, Fort Lauderdale, FloridaCruise Day 8
The first half of our cruise ended back at Ft. Lauderdale. We were required to exit the ship and reboarded after presenting our passports. We relaxed on the Oosterdam and departed the port in the late afternoon and headed back to Half Moon Cay for the start of our second week. After dinner we watched the rest of the Black Panther movie.
Sunday, March 24, 2019, Half Moon CayCruise Day 9
We repeated our activities on Half Moon Cay from several days ago. Bob and Jen took a long beach walk looking for photo opportunities for Jen. We saw the horseback riders riding in the water near the shore. Sue read in the shade of the clamshell sun umbrella. Lunch was served on the isle at the food pavilion. There was an open air covered seating area for eating. The Holland employees went ashore on the first tender to set up the food serving lines. They were last to leave and return the Oosterdam.
Monday, March 25, 2019, At SeaCruise Day 10
We had our typical day at sea. We relaxed, walked, and enjoyed reading and resting on the balcony. This was our first experience with a larger cabin. The balcony was larger than one with a regular cabin and there was enough room for the three of us to stretch out and feel comfortable. Since we were at sea all day, there was another gala dinner. We have been going to dinner early (5:15) and have a four chair table reserved for the three of us. We prefer to dine alone together. It is easier for Bob to hear with fewer people to listen to.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Falmouth, JamaicaCruise Day 11
Bob and Sue took a bus tour of the island of Jamaica - Yeah-Mon! We stopped at St. Peter's Anglican church built in 1796. From there we drove to the Greenwood House, a mansion built by a sugar plantation owner. It was in remarkable condition with much of the original furniture, flooring and furnishings. We enjoyed a taste of Jamaica, including pulled jerk chicken and a rum punch drink. Jenny went on a land and water horseback ride. We learned our tour scheduled for the Cayman Islands was canceled. Prince Charles will be visiting the island and the tour was canceled for security reasons. Jenny decided to go on a photo excursion and Bob and Sue picked a trolley tour of Georgetown to replace our canceled tour. Bob and Jenny are eating menu selections from the vegetarian menu at dinner for a few nights. There are interesting selections and mostly new items for us.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019, Georgetown, Cayman IslandsCruise Day 12
Our original plans for the Cayman Islands were canceled due to a visit by Prince Charles to the island. We rescheduled our excursions with Jen going on a photo shoot and Bob and Sue taking an open air tram tour of the Georgetown area. This island was the most prosperous of the islands we have seen on this cruise. Our tour took us through a wealthier area and we did not see much of the island. We made several stops and our guide talked about the trees and vegetation found on the island.
Thursday, March 28, 2019, Cozumel, MexicoCruise Day 13
This stop was the longest and most time consuming of the trip for Bob and Sue. They toured the ruins of the Mayan city of Tulum. Tulum is located along the coast and required a bumpy ferry ride over rough water from Cozumel to the mainland followed by a long bus ride to Tulum. The area was built in the late thirteenth century and was a port trading center. It was protected by the sea and a high city wall around the land side. We walked through the ruins and then back to the area where the bus would take us back to the ferry. Raul, our tour guide spoke English very fast and was difficult to understand. While we waited for the group, we had something to drink and rested. When we got to the ferry, we had to wait for other tours to return and finally rode the ferry back to the pier at Cozumel. Jen's photo excursion was canceled because of low attendance. Instead she went on a pontoon sail and snorkel trip. She enjoyed the day by sailing, snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. Bob and Sue's trip took eight hours that included ferry boat and bus trips and a lot of waiting.
Friday, March 29, 2019, At SeaCruise Day 14
We had our last day at sea. We relaxed, walked, and enjoyed reading and resting on the balcony. We packed our clothes and prepared for Saturday's departure. This is our last day of the cruise and we attended another lunch with the captain. We tried to eat light, since our evening meal is our last gala dinner.
Saturday, March 30, 2019, Fort Lauderdale, FloridaCruise Day 15
The Oosterdam arrived in Fort Lauderdale around seven in the morning. We departed the ship at 8:15, claimed our luggage at the pier and boarded our bus to the airport. The terminal was very crowded at the JetBlue gates. There were three flights scheduled for takeoff close to the same time. We boarded our plane without incident and had plenty of space for our carry on luggage. We arrived in Atlanta nearly twenty minutes early, found the Park'N Fly bus and the driver took us to Jen's car in the parking log. We drove home to Marietta, unloaded our baggage and relaxed for a while. Jen went to dinner with us at Ted's and left for Dacula after we finished eating. This was a great family trip and one we will remember fondly.