The Sea was Calling

After our terrible experience aboard the Rotterdam in 2017 we had a $1200 credit with Holland America that was about to expire. Husband wanted to cruise aboard a new Holland America ship so he booked us for 10 days aboard the Koningsdam leaving from Ft. Lauderdale.

What a nice change to hop aboard a new ship.

 I love coffee and the Dutch Cafe was a great place to to start each day. 

 This tea selection in Lido was another favorite spot of mine.

It was easy to make healthy food choices. Salads were our go tos for our lunchtimes.

They had a gluten free station for my celiac hubby.

Right next to that was a station stocked with plant based milks.

Always lots of fresh fruit options available.

We had an inside cabin in the very back of the ship. It was a perfect space.  A nice quiet spot and only one floor up from the outside walking deck or to the dining room.

This ship has a nice wrap around promenade on deck 3 but the lifeboats block most of the sea view.

I liked this part of the stairs on the upper deck with a view to the water(and decks) below.

Now onto the ports! 

Our first stop, Half Moon Cay. I brought my hammock and spent the day reading and relaxing by the beautiful clear Bahamian water. 

The next day we were in Grand Turk.

We booked a two tank scuba dive through Holland with Oasis Divers. 

Visibility wasn't the best but husband looked pretty chill 60 feet down!

We had a cool "swim through" on our first dive.

We stopped for a couple of rum runners at the beach bar after our dives and soaked in the caribbean sun before hopping back on board.

The next day we stopped in the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately I didn't book the tour I wanted to do in advance, waterfalls of Damajagua. They were not available to book once we got to the port. So we hung out all day at the Amber Cove cruise port.

We found a nice spot on a double hammock for a nap in the shade.

After a day at sea we stopped at our favorite port, Bonaire.

With beautiful water all around we knew we had to go check it out.

We hopped on a water taxi to spend a few hours on Klein Bonaire.

Look at the size of this grouper!

I enjoyed a couple of beers at the beach before heading back to town.

We had to hit up a couple of cafes for some delicious coffees.

Coffee comes with a side of gelato!

The next day we were in Curacao. We booked a two tank dive with Bas Harts Diving.

We went to a couple of remote shore diving spots.

Our first shore diving experience was a bit challenging getting to the water but worth it once we started diving.

Visibility was poor due to high surf again but look at all the life on this reef.

A scuba selfie.

We had a long day in Curacao so we dropped our scuba gear back on the ship and headed out to explore the downtown area.

We walked across the Queen Emma Bridge.

And enjoyed happy hour at a mojito bar.

We stopped into a movie theater for delicious caramel popcorn.

Later that evening we enjoyed a couple of beverages before getting back on board.

Our last port was beautiful Aruba. We hopped aboard a city bus and headed to Eagle Beach for the day.

Heading back to Ft Lauderdale we enjoyed two relaxing sea days.

We got dressed up for formal night dinners.

At our table for two by the window in the main dining room.

 And enjoyed sunsets on the sea.

We are celebrating our 25th anniversary in a couple of months. I feel lucky to have found my person and can't wait for more traveling adventures together!