So often when traveling, I go out of my way to avoid the touristy spots – especially when it’s a place I’ve been to many times.  Today however was a nice reminder for us that often, the touristy spots are popular because they have something nice to offer.  We enjoyed some beach time, good conversation, ran errands, and a great performance once back on the ship, on our second from last day on Holland America Line’s Niuew Statendam... read more

I often find on a seven-night cruise that there ends up being one day where I do almost nothing.  Sometimes this is planned, sometimes it happens by accident.  Today we got a late start, learned of two itinerary changes, took it very easy, but ultimately had a lovely day.  read more

Ocho Rios is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Jamaica, the third largest island in the Caribbean.  We spent the day enjoying the peaceful scenery from a raft while learning about the island Nation, on this, our fourth day on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam... read more

I love visiting new places in different countries throughout the world – I also really enjoy relaxing on a ship at sea, and today was perfect for that, as we enjoyed our first sea day on our seven-night Nieuw Statenam cruise... read more

On the first full day of our cruise we visited Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private destination in The Bahamas.  We took it easy and enjoyed what I truly feel is one of the prettiest beaches in the Caribbean... read more

Today we boarded Nieuw Statendam, a new Pinnacle Class ship from Holland America Line (HAL).  Our seven-night sailing will take us to Half Moon Cay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.  Usually I start with separate post explaining out upcoming cruise, why we chose it, etc, but since I’m starting right off on embarkation day, I’ll share a tiny bit of that information before jumping into our day... read more