Well it's all over bar the memories and what a great time we had on-board the Ryndam. When you read this you will have to bear in mind that this was our first cruise, and while we are seasoned travelers, we were cruising virgins - but no more!

We did the Western Caribbean itinerary from Tampa calling at Key West, Ocho Rios- Jamaica, Georgetown - Grand Cayman and Cozumel - Mexico. Our main aim with this holiday was to get an introduction to cruising and also to get some heat and sun! We achieved our aim in bucket-loads, the weather couldn't have been better, 7 glorious sunny days and no port or weather issues. The Ports of call were another matter. Key West is always fabulous and I never tire of visiting here, though I did miss the glorious drive down from Miami. No problems here. In Jamaica we booked a private trip up to the Enchanted gardens. The gardens themselves were fine, but there was a lot of work going on there with building and landscaping. The driver (for an extra fee) took us up Fern Gully and to a look out at the top of the hill where we got a fabulous view down over the port. He also gave us lots of interesting information along the way. Interesting, but would I do Jamaica again? No.

We had to tender in from the ship in Georgetown which was fine. This was extremely well organized and we were in the first tender off the ship. Again we had booked a private charter with Stingray Sailing to visit the Stingray sandbank. There were only 10 of us on a 43ft catamaran and we were one of the first out to the sandbank. This was an amazing experience and I would certainly recommend the charter. Shopping in Georgetown on our return was fine, none of the pushy sales seen in Jamaica (or later in Cozumel) so a pleasant experience. Yes I would go back to Grand Cayman. Read more