Trip Update Feb 2012 Part 2

Welcome dance in Samana
Marin, Lois, Pat, Eldon & Don

Curacao at night

Our first hassle was finding parking for the RV. Port Everglades is located very close to Ft Lauderdale Airport. This is great for those flying in for a cruise, but parking between the two is certainly at a premium. We finally found semi-secure RV parking at a convenience store for $14/day. We arrived at the Holland America’s Noordam two hours before scheduled departure. That is when we found out that the Norwalk virus had made people sick on the previous cruise. Extra cleaning crews were brought in to do a thorough cleaning of all areas of the ship while all the passengers were sent to a waiting area. No one complained about the wait - we all wanted the ship cleaned. They must have done a great job because no one got sick from the virus.

Our first landing was Half Moon Cay, which is an island owned by Holland America. The beach was very nice, although the snorkeling was a waste of time. On Grand Turk we took a dune buggy tour of the island. The off road portion of the tour was fun, but most of the tour was on roads. The island did have a great beach. Next we went to Samana, in the Dominican Republic. We took a bus tour; the highlight was Taino Park, a museum about the culture and history of the Taino Indians and their demise due to the Spanish soldiers. After a day at sea we landed at Bonaire. Fortunately, our friends Eldon and Lois were staying on the island at their cottage with their daughter Marin at the time. Eldon picked us up at the boat and Lois had breakfast ready for us. We spent the day with them. We also did our best snorkeling there. On Curacao, we took a bus tour to Hato Cave and did a walking tour of the port city. In Aruba, we had a beach day on DePalm Island; unfortunately we had to cut our snorkeling trip short due to the rough conditions. After two more days at sea we were back in Ft Lauderdale. Overall, we were very happy with the cruise - great entertainment, food and weather. What more could you want!