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Savannah, GA, Florida, and Caribbean Cruise - Dec 2015-Jan 2016
Cruise Around Cuba
The cruise we booked sailed in a clockwise direction around Cuba. Disembarking from Fort Lauderdale, with scheduled stops in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Key West before returning to Fort Lauderdale.
We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the afternoon of the day before we were to disembark on the cruise. We booked a room through parkingstay.com. We stayed at the Days Inn Hollywood, the price of the room included up to 14 days of free parking and the price was comparable with other hotels in Fort Lauderdale that did not include free parking. It sounded like a good idea until we discovered we needed to pay $25 per person for a round trip on the shuttle to the cruise port. We arrived at the hotel around 2:30 PM, check-in time was 3:00 PM, we were told we would have to pay a $20 early check-in fee if we checked in then, so we sat in the lobby until 3:00. Of course this was not as bad as the man we saw at the counter the next morning. He was staying three nights and when he arrived they did not have a room with a king-size bed available. The next morning he was asking to be moved to a room with a king-size bed for the final two nights. He was told he would have to check out then check back in, because it was not yet 3:00 PM he was told he would have to pay an early check-in fee. He asked if there was some place he could store his luggage until 3:00 he was told no he would have to keep it with him when he went to his business meeting.
The shuttle was running more than an hour late, there was a lot of confusion boarding the shuttle, and the ride to the cruise was so herky-jerky and the air in the shuttle so stagnant that it made Dale feel nauseous. If we book another cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, we will shop around for a better stay & park hotel.
The check in at the cruise terminal was fast and smooth. Once on the ship we found our cabin then went to lunch. Upon arriving back in our cabin we found all our luggage had been delivered. Because of the cabin location the balcony for our cabin was at least twice the size of other balconies we have had. It took just a few minutes to become completely free of the frustration with the hotel and shuttle.
We spent a lot of time on the balcony watching boats from very small boats with outboard motors to large yachts going back and forth in the canal where the ship was docked. There were a few jet-skis going around as well as the boats and one person on a paddle board. When it was close to time for us to depart we watched other ships leaving port, one was a Princess ship that was playing the theme song of "Love Boat" on the ship's horn, Dale had to tell Ernie what the song was. After we departed and were out of the sheltered area, we had a really good view of the pilot swinging off the side of the ship onto the pilot boat.
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We planned this cruise for relaxation. The itinerary included 2 full days at sea, Ernie's favorite part of cruising, and we had an additional day at sea as there was too much wind to tender in at one of the stops. While on board we relaxed on our balcony, by the pools, and on a forward deck that not many other passengers used. The first half of the cruise was in a southerly direction and our cabin was on the starboard side of the ship, so the first few nights we had great views of sunsets from our balcony. The first night out there was a Catholic church service on board that we attended. Ernie did some line dancing led by one of the crew members and attended a seminar on how to take weight off and keep it off. Dale attended a shopping seminar. We both participated in team trivia challenges. We also relaxed in the cabin a couple of afternoons watching some of the free movies they provided.
We went to the BB King's Blues Club a couple of nights and to the piano bar a few nights. We attended most of the evening shows they had in the theater. Some of the evening shows were: comedian Jim McCue, juggler/comedian Aaron Bonk, illusionist James Cielen, and shows featuring the Eurodam Entertainers the ship's song and dance troupe. We enjoyed all the shows we attended, but as is frequently the case the show we enjoyed the most was the one put on by members of the crew, in this case the Filipino Crew Show.
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The first place we were to stop was Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, Holland America's private island. It was determined that the wind was too strong to tender in so we had an additional day at sea. We were debating if we were going to go ashore or stay on board, the captain made the decision for us. The only reasons we would have gone ashore would have been to participate in the BBQ lunch they were going to prepare and to 'watch' the volleyball and basketball games they were going to have against crew and guests of the Amsterdam. We were very happy to have an additional relaxing day at sea.
Our next port was at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We decided to stay on board so we had the ship pretty much to ourselves.
The next port was George Town, Grand Cayman. As we came around Cuba the ship got close enough for us to see Cuba fairly well. From where we were it appears there are many miles of white beach sands on Cuba. We tendered in to Grand Cayman and went to Diamonds International so Dale could pick up her free zirconia earrings. As she suspected, you need a magnifying glass to see the stones. We went to Cariloha to look at the clothing made from bamboo. Dale did not find anything that she really liked and decided not to buy something just to have an article of bamboo clothing. At Cariloha we asked if there were any museums within easy walking distance. The Cayman Islands National Museum was just around the corner in the direction we would have to pass it on our way back to the ship. It was an interesting little museum with a lot of information on the history of the Grand Cayman Islands.
Our final port of call was Key West, FL. We got off the ship in Key west. We headed to the southern most point in continental USA. On the way we passed the Truman Little White House and decided to do a tour of it. It is a really interesting tour providing a lot of information about the non-political side of Truman. We continued on to the southern most point in continental USA. We then walked back to the dock area and went to Two Friends Patio Restaurant where on a previous visit to Key West Ernie had one of the best desserts he has ever tasted. We decided to have lunch instead of just dessert, after eating his lunch he was too full to order the dessert. We then walked around looking in some shops then asked directions to the Key Lime Pie Factory where Dale had previously had what she considered a great key lime pie. When we got there Dale decided to get key lime ice cream instead of pie. So we each went to a place where they have a dessert we really like, but neither of us had that dessert. We stopped in some of the everything for $5.00 stores and Ernie bought a really nice shirt at one of them.
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may 21 2017