This is our 6th cruise and our 1st on Holland America. We had decided to take this itinerary primarily because it fit with our friend's work schedule and the ports except for Grand Cayman would be new for us. My husband is 57 and I am 53. For me half the excitement about taking ia cruise is that I read up on different ships and read reviews and by the time we have made our decision, I have unfortunately killed a forest by printing out the reports and reading them to each other over a leisurely weekend coffee.

We arrived a day early in Fort Lauderdale to ensure that our luggage came too. This time luckily we had no issues. We stayed at the Sheraton Yankee Clipper on the beach and it was satisfactory. Breakfast in the morning on the beach at Shula's was good and got us in the spirit of the ocean as we had arrived from Dallas seeking water!

We had a rental car from Hertz and therefore returning it and catching the complimentary shuttle to the pier is the best idea since the line of taxis was backed up with needing to show identification. We breezed through on the right side as these drivers have a pass. Read more