If you are new to cruising and have selected the Nieuw Amsterdam (NA) for your first cruise experience, you are about to set a vacation standard that will be hard to top. And if you are a seasoned cruiser, perhaps disenchanted with the cost-cutting incentives some of the lines have implemented, be prepared to have your expectations of a high end cruise experience restored.

We sailed on the 1/26 NA western Caribbean itinerary; Half Moon Cay, Cayman Islands, Cozumel and Key West. We have been on this itinerary several times before but decided to do it one more time to shake the winter blahs. We also selected some different tours for this sailing; but more on that later.

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before our departure and stayed one night at the Pelican Bay Resort. This hotel was one of the top choices (#11) on Trip Advisor. It was a nice enough property but seemed over-priced and undeserving of such a high rating. The room was small, cramped and nothing special. However the lobby bar is very nice and the outdoor restaurant offered a great Sunday brunch. Read more