Half Moon Cay—We did a back to back cruise of seven days each and this port was the first and the last port of call. This is one of the best beaches that I have ever seen. The sand is like powder and the water is clear. There are lots of chairs that are free and some trees for shade. They have cabanas for rent, both one and two story. They are fully stocked with food and beverages. There are numerous activies that can be had for a fee. We rented a one story cabana on our first visit and while it was a little pricey, it was a nice place to get cooled off and get out of the sun for a while. It’s bad to start ones cruise sunburned. One caveat is on our first visit we were the only ship in town, but, on our second visit, we had the Eurodam with us and this made for a crowed beach. If you want a good spot hit the beach before 10:00 am and you will have good choices.

Half Moon Cay

Georgetown, Cayman Islands—At this port we just got off the ship and walked around town for a few hours. Very safe and right at the cruise terminal. If you wanted to go to a beach with chairs, umbrellas etc. you can search on Google for hotels, that for a fee, will allow you admission to their property and facilities.

Grand Cayman (Georgetown)

Cozumel, Mexico—I researched online for a suitable beach club to spend a day at. There are many to choose from and we opted for Nachi Cocom. Just walk across the street from the cruise terminal and catch a cab. Nachi Cocom is approx. 16 km from the terminal which cost us $17. If you want a lively beach with lot of things to do, go somewhere else, this beach is for relaxing. They allow 100 people a day, so reservations in advance might be a good idea. The cost is $55 per person which includes a beach lounge under a palupa, unlimited drinks and a three coarse meal. You can stay on the beach and waiters will come to you and take your order for food and drinks. Nice beach, pool and hot tub. We had a very relaxing day there and would go again.

Cozumel

Key West, Florida—We rode the City View Trolley to get to various destinations and to get an overview of the city. All of our driver/guides were very knowledgeable about the city and able to communicate to us in an interesting manner. We got off the trolley at three places. The first was Hemingway house. . I did not realize that Hemingway led such an interesting and varied life. He was surely a giant personality. The second stop was to get a bit of Key Lime pie from Kermit’s. Easily the best key lime pie I have eaten. We had several items shipped home. Our third stop was to visit the USCGC Ingham, which I understand is the most decorated Coast Guard ship. It was humbling to go back in time to see the conditions that these men served under. All in all a day well spent in a quirky and interesting city.

Key West

Grand Turk—We went to the cruise center beach which is adjacent to the pier. The beach is nice with plenty of lounge chairs and shade. There is not a fee to use the loungers or the pool (beautiful). There are also plenty of retail stores and the largest Margaretville in the Caribbean here.

Grand Turk

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands—We have been here before, so this time we walked around town, ending up in the jewelry area of town, which was a costly stop.

St. Thomas

San Juan, Puerto Rico—We booked a tour thru the cruise ship. It was a city tour and a trip to El Yunque Rain Forest. Our guide was very informative and engaging and the tour was a pleasure and a learning experience. By the way it poured rain in the rain forest.

This was a spacious room with all the amenities a person will need. It had a shower and a good sized window.

No hunting for or dragging your luggage at the cruise terminal, thru customs, to the taxi and to airport check in.We were going to check out early in order to get a shuttle to the cruise port and we got lucky.

Nieuw Amsterdam Review

Great and relaxing cruise

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