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We left a day early on
January 1, 2005 just in case of bad weather. It was our first
cruise, and we chose a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise with Holland
America. This picture is at Starbucks in the Cincinnati
airport. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Delta, |
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We stayed one night at
Springhill Suites in Ft. Lauderdale, |
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Getting ready to leave
Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale Sunday evening on the Oosterdam, |
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A view of Nassau, our
first port of call. In the distance you can see Paradise Island, |
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A view of the Oosterdam
(on the right) from Nassau, |
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On our way to see the
Marching Flamingos at the Ardastra Gardens in Nassau, |
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The Marching
Flamingos. They actually obey his commands! |
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We took the 'behind the
scenes' tour of the kitchens on the Oosterdam, |
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More of the 'behind the
scenes' tour. Yo is learning how to fold napkins, |
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Our stateroom (they
don't call them cabins). We were upgraded to a suite for some reason
so we had lots of space and a large verandah, |
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Yo is doing the
vacuuming with Little Henry! See his eyes? |
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One of the two 'formal'
nights in the Vista Dining Room. Both the food and service were
excellent, |
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The presentation of the
food was outstanding! |
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Our waiter Amsar
(right), and our busboy Brilliant (left).
They really looked after us well, |
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Dave and Julia came all
the way from England for the cruise. This was taken in the Vista
Lounge just before the nightly show, |
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Breakfast on the
verandah. Room service was complementary so we usually had breakfast
in our suite, |
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Arriving in Philipsburg,
St. Maarten, our second port of call. St. Maarten is the Dutch part
of the Island and is the southern half. St. Martin is the French
part and is the northern half, |
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Crossing from St.
Maarten into St. Martin, |
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This is Marigot, the
capital of St. Martin (Philipsburg is the capital of St. Maarten), |
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Looking north along
Orient Beach in St. Martin, |
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Looking south along
Orient Beach, |
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Snacking in the Lido
Lounge. Food is available 24/7. Fortunately there was an
excellent gym on the Oosterdam which we frequented most days, |
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Road Town, Tortola in
the British Virgin Islands was our third port of call. It was a
beautiful Island with fewer tourists than the other ports of call, |
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Soper's Hole marina on
the western end of Tortola, |
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Our tour bus on
Tortola. There were great views and very steep roads! |
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Our guide on the tour, |
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A view from Tortola, |
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A view of Virgin Gorda
from Tortola, |
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The Oosterdam
(front-left) and other cruise ships in Road Town, |
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Our last port of call
was Half Moon Cay which is owned by Holland America. It is between Eleuthera
and Cat Island in the Bahamas, |
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We took the eco-tour of
the lagoon at Half Moon Cay, |
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Yo found a Starfish! |
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A view of the Oosterdam
from Half Moon Cay, |
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More of Half Moon Cay, |
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Heading towards the
Beach, |
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The beach at Half Moon
Cay, |
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Back in Ft. Lauderdale
in the early morning on Sunday. We flew to Cincinnati that day and arrived in
Springboro at about 6:00pm, |
