It will be here in no time!

Fly into Ft Lauderdale for one nights stay before the cruise.  More details to come on the hotel package. 

The Rotterdam is Holland America's newest ship.   She delivers the best of everything Holland America represents: exquisite cuisine, award-winning service, superbly appointed staterooms and suites, and world-class entertainment. Dance the night away at B.B. King’s Blues Club or relive your favorite rock classics at Rolling Stone Rock Room. Experience Rotterdam’s Pinnacle Class luxury and find a mastery of the details that keep our guests returning again and again. 

 Our first port of call is a visit to the private island of Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.  You can enjoy the crystal blue waters and white sandy beaches.  Take an excursion and wade with  stingrays or horseback ride in the surf.  There is a shipwreck bar and fantastic views.  A lunch is served on the island.   

These are days  free to explore and enjoy the ship with all the activities offered or just grab a cool drink and head to the pool.   

 Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, is known for its beaches tucked into coves and its expansive coral reefs rich with marine life. The capital, Willemstad, has pastel-colored colonial architecture, floating Queen Emma Bridge and the sand-floored, 17th-century Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. It’s also a gateway to western beaches like Blue Bay, a popular diving site.  

Sea days are the times on your cruise when you’re sailing between ports. A cruise ship is like a floating resort; everything you could possibly want is available to you. Feel like lounging the day away by the pool, you can do that. How about a few hands of blackjack? You can do that too. Massage,  yoga, afternoon cocktails? 

 There are many activities on the ship that you can participate in or just take the day to pamper yourself and relax.   

 Its official name is Cartagena de Indias—or "Cartagena of the Indies"—but call it Cartagena for short. The formal name hints at this Colombian city's colonial relationship with Spain; it was founded in 1533 and named after the mother country's Cartagena. Colombia declared independence in 1810, but there's plenty about its fifth-largest city that evokes old Spain, including the impressive fort of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, and the wall that encloses the old town, one of the few intact structures of its kind in the Americas. Both were considered important enough to inscribe on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1984. They may be historical artifacts, but the fortress and wall aren't merely tourist attractions; they are central to daily life here.  Along with history, there's cultural and culinary intrigue here, too.  

  Experience one of the wonders of the modern world. A cruise to the Panama Canal is an incredible experience, worthy of any bucket list as you travel between oceans. The shipping channel—which took 33 years to complete and cost more than 25,000 workers their lives—is arguably the greatest engineering achievement of all time. As you cruise the canal, you will pass through the two-chambered Miraflores Locks, the one-chambered Pedro Miguel Lock, and three-chambered Gatun Locks.  Gatun Lake, once the largest manmade lake in the world, which has proved a boon for the species that thrive here, undisturbed by the passing ships. 

Later this evening there is a visti to Colon, Panama.

Stretching along the Caribbean Coast, Limon is considered to be one of the most pristine and lush regions of Costa Rica.

Roughly 125 miles of shoreline between Nicaragua and Panama boast picturesque white-sand beaches lined with coconut trees for an ultimate tropical paradise.

As one of the country's most geographically diverse regions, Limon features everything from mangrove wetlands to towering mountains.

San José, capital of the Republic of Costa Rica, is situated on the inter-volcanic plateau of Central Valley. It is an important political, economic and social center and is a hub for transport and telecommunications. 

Full days at sea are what make cruising such a unique way to travel.  Many experienced cruisers find these the best days of the cruise. 

These are the days  you get to encounter the big wide-open heart of the ocean with nothing on the horizon but the sun and stars. .. and maybe more wonderful wine.

 In and around George Town, the Cayman Islands' capital, you’ll find such an amazing array of culinary offerings, you’ll fear for the future of any buttons, snaps or hooks on your waistband.  And that’s where the island’s other chief pleasures come in: There’s enough walking (whether along the fabled Seven Mile Beach, around historic sites or through lush gardens) as well as stunning swimming, snorkeling and diving to be done to counter the effects of . . . So. Much. Good. Food. Or at least you can begin to. Regardless of what you do, Grand Cayman is sure to have something relaxing and enjoyable for you to experience and remember.

The days spent at sea can be some of the most serene or fun segments of your cruise, with a list of activities, dining options, performances and additional amenities readily available. It is also a great time to savor the experience of a great cruise.  

We disembark back in Ft Lauderdale this morning.  Time to say goodbye and head back home or enjoy a few nights in Ft Lauderdale or surrounding area.  If you are planning to fly home the same day, be sure your flight is after 12noon.  Until next year!