BACKGROUND: Choosing this sailing was a bit of an accident. We had sailed on Princess last year and enjoyed it (for the most part) and had our eye on the Regal Princess. We were looking forward to sailing on Princess' newest ship but by the time we committed to going, the cabin type we had our eye on had sold out. We had sailed with Holland America two years ago and enjoyed that, despite the crowd being much older, and saw that the Nieuw Amsterdam still had a few Neptune Suites available. The date and price was right so we booked it, and I'm glad we did!

As with our past couple of cruises, we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale the day before the sailing, booked the Embassy Suites near the port, and rented a car from Avis. Avis has a drop off location at the Hyatt on the 17th Street Causeway with a complimentary shuttle in to the port. It's very easy and convenient.

This cruise itinerary had stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, both of which we stopped at last year on Princess. We weren't looking to hit these locations again, but we weren't averse to it either. The whole purpose of the trip is rest and relaxation. Our other stops were at Holland America's private island, Half Moon Cay, and Key West, with two single days at sea (one toward the beginning of the cruise and one towards the end). Read more