In November of 2024 we embarked on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We always travel with Holland America Line and this time the ship was the Eurodam. We had sailed on her once before to the Panama Canal and Costa Rica. It was like coming home. We flew into Fort Lauderdale on November 5th. That’s right…..election day here in the United States.
We had already decided that after we settled into our room we were going to walk over to Subway and get dinner and stop by a liquor store and get some wine to watch the results on T.V. The mini-fridge in our room had a little starter kit for us.
Anyway, you know the results of that night and so the next morning we got up and showered and got ready to board the ship. Thank God for that cruise, it took our mind off of “other things.” Here we are settling into our cabin on the ship.
Jon wanted to decorate our door so we could spot it easily.
We were on our way and it was a little choppy at first. There was a hurricane just out to sea so we had to manuever our way around that. You can tell by the waves on the tug boat just how choppy it was.
We love the food on Holland America and here are just a few dishes in the dining room. A little food porn for you.
One of our favorite things to do is to go out to our veranda or to the Crows Nest to read a book and have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine . Unfortunately on this trip, Jon sat down in the Crows Nest and his back went out. I already had a broken finger that was healing and knee and hip issues and now his back is spent. (This was on the second day) Anyway, I digress. We managed to soldier on and have a great trip…….just a lot slower!
Our first port of call was St. Thomas. We’ve been there a couple of times and wanted to see and do something different. It was starting to get cloudy and threaten to rain but we took the tram up the mountain anyway. By the time we got to the top, it was not threatening anymore it was full on raining. Still beautiful views and we stopped at the top for a Bushwacker cocktail. That’s what you are supposed to do. Did not want to mess with Karma.
That night on our way to St. Kitts we had dinner and then went to the Casino. (I know you are shocked) Anyway, we were playing two slot machines side by side and someone behind me was commenting on the game to me. I recognized the voice. I turned around and said “Is your name Fran?” She looked at me quizically and said “Are you Jon and Debbie?” Then the hugging ensued. Two years ago we met them on a Greek and Croatian Cruise and became friends. So from that night on we shared a few meals together and some sightseeing too.
Debbie and Fran
The next day we arrived in St. Kitts. This was a new island for us.
We took an excursion to the Fairview Great House Plantation and Botanical Gardens. It was interesting and very beautiful. We watched a cooking demonstration and took part in the creation of Chef Che’s work. There were mirrors on the ceiling behind her so we could get a a better view of what and how she was cooking.
Just for our own enjoyment, we brought some googly eyes on this trip to put on our folded towel animals the cabin steward leaves on your bed. He enjoyed them so much he asked if we brought extra and of course we did. We left some for him to use on his next guests cruise.
OK, food porn break.
Next stop: Roseau, Dominica. This was another new Caribbean island to us. We went to a boiling hot springs and outdoors health spa. They told us it was a good idea to wear water shoes. Neither of us had any. Jon opted to rough it but I was too nervous not too. I bought a pair and I now have them forever. They are so ugly, but did the trick. The hot springs had a couple of fresh water areas to rinse the mud off in and about 4 or 5 bubbling springs complete with sulphur and mud. It really was a great experience.
Afterwards we went back into town and had lunch at a very cool bar complete with sand on the floor and our ship nearby.
Jon making a new friend.
St. Lucia is one of our favorite places. The Piton mountains are beautiful and their Beer is good too. (Piton Beer )This visit we took a boat ride over to a beach right near the Pitons and got in the water. On our way there they took us to a bat cave. I was not excited because I am not a big fan of bats……I’ll take frogs over them any day. However we didn’t even have to get out of the boat. So it was fine. We had a little scare though while in the water. The beach was very rocky, not a kernel of sand in sight. When we wanted to get out I couldn’t manage it because I had a life jacket on and my knees and hip are not strong enough anymore, plus we were slipping and scraping our feet on the rocks. So I asked Jon for help and remember his back is out, so this He-Man in our group took pity on us and came over and rescued the both of us. So grateful but embarassed!
Hello Antigua! This was a new destination for us and it was gorgeous. We docked right outside of this quaint shopping/eating area and just took it all in.
We took a catamaran cruise with drinks and snacks. The guys who ran this boat were a blast and we had a great time. Such a beautiful area.
And back on the ship……. A lovely dinner with Fran and Max!
The port of Sant Maarten is very interesting indeed. One half is owned by the Dutch and the other half is owned by the French. It is a beautiful island. We took a lift up to the top of the mountain and saw some incredible views.
Our greeter at the top of the mountain……Vinnie
Well, that was our last Port of Call and we had one more Sea Day left. During the afternoon Jon was chosen to be the contestant for Deal or No Deal. He ended up winning about $160 dollars but it was a lot of fun. That night we had dinner at Canaletto, an Italian restaurant on board the ship. We love that one. There a was a beautiful sunset that night and the next day we went to the private island of Half Moon Cay. It is owned by Holland America and I always love it when we stop there. We rent a Clamshell, go to the BBQ, swim and read. It is always a fun and relaxing stop.
We have to tender in to Half Moon Cay. It is so worth it. So that was it. We got back to Fort Lauderdale and we decided to stay another day and a half; it worked out better for our flights…..free with miles. We really enjoyed seeing a part of Fort Lauderdale that we’d never seen before. We’d only seen the port. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and that evening we took a boat ride down Millionaire’s Row and then to a Tropical dinner and show. The next day we did a hop on and hop off boat through the same area but stopped for a really good Mexican lunch.
Well that’s it for this trip. We are looking forward to our next adventure this summer. Alaska with our good friends “The Blounts”
