Warning: Long post ahead... Stick with it, there's a prize at the end!
Well, I suppose a post is long overdue detailing my Christmas vacation. As my last post indicated, I went cruising this year over Christmas with the Fam. We left on Saturday, December 23rd from Fort Lauderdale, FL on the ms Zuiderdam of Holland-America Line. First let me get a summary of the entire post out of the way...
Cruising is all kinds of awesome.
Anyway, from Ft. Lauderdale we sailed (without technically sailing) to the privately owned (by the cruise line) island of Half Moon Cay (pronounced "Key") in the Bahamas. Being a private island, every service there was provided by the cruise ship. There were a couple bars and shops, but mainly there was the beach. And it was the best beach I saw all trip (ergo, the best beach I've ever seen). I should mention that at all ports of call, there were "shore excursions" that one can sign up for (for a fee, of course). At this particular location, I did no such shore excursion and spent my time sitting on the beach and wandering through the island, and it was the best way to start the week, I think.
The next day was Christmas, and we spent the entire day at sea (hence, I had time to make my previous post). They had a good amount (ie. not too many) of Christmas decorations on board. They also had a couple special Christmas shows that they performed on Christmas Eve. The shows stood out in my mind a little bit, and I'll tell you why. Every night there is a live show, whether it be a musical show or a comedian or magician, etc. There were three musical shows put on by their cast, and they're probably the same shows the put on week after week, all rehearsed to a T. But the Christmas Eve show was one that they'll only put on once, and yet it was just as good as the other shows. Of course, they were singing Christmas songs, so it's not like they really had to learn the music. But still, it stuck in my head. Also, since it was a Christmas cruise, there was a healthy mix of ages on board (not just old people as is the cruising reputation, earned or not), including children... So, the ship had Santa pay a visit on Christmas morning. Hurray!
Onward we go to Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here I did a shore excursion with the whole family, which was a historical/sightseeing tour. We saw the island from Paradise Point, we went to Drake's Seat, and then to Blackbeard's Castle. It was a bit busy there, but not terribly so... after all, it was the day after Christmas, so everyone might have been out doing their shopping. Anyhoo...
On to the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Tortola is a much more laid back island (but then again, I think it's a bit poorer too) and the scenery is simply gorgeous. Having said that, all the islands in the Caribbean are beautiful, really. While in the BVI, Kier, Kyler and me took a shore excursion to The Baths on Virgin Gorda to do some snorkeling and swimming. The defining characteristic of The Baths are huge boulders on shore and in the water where there are coral. I have never snorkeled in a tropical setting before, so I loved it. I saw (and heard) fish, crabs on the rock, and I even saw a turtle and an octopus! It was also during this time that it rained for the only time (that I noticed) on the trip, which lasted for all of 15 minutes, while I was in the water.
After leaving Tortola, we had another day at sea. It was during the times on board that we could participate in the many activities on board. The ship had two pools, one outside and one underneath a retractable roof (designed by the same people who did Skydome, apparently). There was also two theatres, three dining rooms, a nightclub, numerous bars and lounges, a library, an internet cafe, a souvenier shop, a duty free shop, a jewelery shop, a casino, and various sport facilities. And it the sports where we did most of our activities. You see they had an incentive program which give you "dam dollars" every time you participated in a designated event. The events included volleyball games, basketball games, miniature golf and chipping, etc. At the end of the cruise, we could trade in the dam dollars for swag. So basically, we were being paid to play games. At the end of the cruise, I came away with a hat and a t-shirt. Sweet.
We then arrived in Nassau, The Bahamas. Here I didn't do a shore excursion and instead wandered the town with Kyler and Kier (for a bit, before she went to swim with the dolphins). We went to the straw market, which was the congregation of all the merchants of souvenir-type goods. It was crowded and it smelled. The thing that struck me the most about Nassau was the aggressiveness of the merchants, especially the ones on the street. Not to mention the sheer insanity of the drivers. All in all, Nassau the town was unimpressive. However, I didn't go across the bay to Paradise Island, where all the big resorts are. I've heard it's nice there.
The next day were were back in Fort Lauderdale and as we had about 11 hours to kill before our flight left, we decided to take one last shore excursion... this time to take an airboat ride through the Florida Everglades at the Sawgrass Recreation Park. That was pretty cool. We saw a couple of alligators in the Everglades and then a few more in the habitats they had set up. Also, there was a baby tiger, lynx, and panther. That was a good way to wind up the trip.
So, in closing, I had a fabulous week. I'd recommend cruising to anyone. You can do as much or as little as you want, and the service was top notch. Thanks Mom and Dad! Now for the prize I promised at the start. It's a photo album of selected photos that I put together. Click below to see!
I say important things of importance
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