It's that time again! Thanks to a nice offer from Holland America, Frank and I will be sailing to the Southern Caribbean aboard the Koningsdam. We leave on Saturday to spend one night in Fort Lauderdale, and then we will be off for 10 nights of tropical funshine!

Our Itinerary and general plans:


Day 1 - Fort Lauderdale - Board around 1pm (late boarding due to Coast Guard Inspection after her transatlantic)

Day 2 - Half Moon Cay - Private Island where we will rent a clam shell for my translucent husband, swim, sail (Frank) and snorkel.

Day 3- Grand Turk - Head to Jack's Shack for conch salad, adult beverages and snorkeling.

Day 4 - Amber Cove - This one is a cruise line developed port in the Dominican Republic, and doesn't sound too interesting to us since we have been to DR a few times. We might get off and take a walk around the port area, or we may stay onboard to enjoy the quiet ship.

Day 5 - At Sea

Day 6 - Bonaire - Snorkeling excursion aboard the Sea Cow, which will hopefully include drift snorkeling. Then we will explore Downtown.

Day 7 - Curacao - Taxi over to Mambo Beach to snorkel and swim for a few hours. Ship is in port until 11pm, but instead of spending the evening in town we will have dinner delivered to our balcony and pretend we are rich.

Day 8 - Aruba - Most likely Cab to Eagle Beach to soak up the sun on this last port day.

Day 9 & 10 - At Sea

Day 11 - Disembark and fly out of Fort Lauderdale to Boston. We should be home by 9pm, and will pick up the pups on Thanksgiving morning.

Here are some stats about the Koningsdam.

Koningsdam Facts & Figures
Owner/Operator: Holland America Line
Year built: 2016
Builder: Fincantieri, Marghera, Italy
Former names: -
Gross Tonnage: 99,836
Length: 296.0 m (971.1 ft)
Beam: 35.0 m (114.8 ft)
Passengers (normal): 2,648
Passengers (maximum): 3,194
Crew: 1,036
Service speed: 24.0 kn
Sister Ships: Nieuw Statendam

We booked a Neptune Suite (aft wrap balcony), and it comes with a number of nice perks that we will take advantage of (free laundry and pressing, priority boarding and tendering, sparkling wine, concierge service, Neptune Lounge, and breakfast in a specialty restaurant daily & more that I forget). We also booked a package of 3 dinners in specialty restaurants and I have chosen the Pinnacle Grill (steak house), Canaletto (Italian), and Tamarind (Pan Asian that I am very excited about after seeing the menu).

We chose open seating for our regular dinners, but will likely work with the concierge to get a set table and time. We have the non-alcoholic beverage package for both of us, a wine package for the lush (me), and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, also for the lush. Wish you could be there to share it @zeus. There is actually some interesting entertainment on this ship, so I might even go to a couple of shows. I am bringing a wee little bankroll for the casino, and if it doesn't suck too much, I may play some in hopes of another nice offer.

I will try to do some updates during the cruise, although internet is spotty and way overpriced. I have yet to pack, and have a bunch of errands to do today, including getting a mani-pedi and making a deposit from last week's Council Bluffs trip! Time to get productive!