As the cabby drove us through the port, I looked at all the large white cruise ships that were docked. I thought to myself, my god, they're so huge, I hope Ms Nieuw Amsterdam is not as large as these monsters. And to my relief, as we drove towards the end of the port, the cabby pointed his weathered finger at a ship and with his heavy accent, said "Thar she is. Ms Nieuw Amsterdam herself."

She sat calmly in the water, a dark navy blue hull with white above, decks, verandahs, the whole bit. Sitting next to it was the Allure of the sea, which looked quite trashy in comparison. My first impression was elegance and the promise for a wonderful trip through the Caribbean.

As we walked through the gangway onto the ship, we were greeted by two smiling faces, one holding a large bottle of hand sanitizer. An attractive blonde Dutch man welcomed us aboard, and directed us towards the Lido, where we dined on cakes and cookies while our baggage was being brought up to our stateroom. Everyone was smiling, working hard, and going out of their way to make it a pleasant experience for us. Read more