Second Holland tour, first on the Caribbean

[ProfDave]

Hi

We're leaving on March 3, 2012 on the Eurodam on the Eastern Caribbean cruise. This is our second cruise (first was the Oosterdam on the Inside Passage in Alaska in July . . . we may be hooked). Any suggestions for first time Caribbean cruisers?

Thanks

Dave

[Sandi3667]

Nothing to suggest, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread too. We were on the Oosterdam in May (first cruise too), and are looking at a Caribbean cruise for 2013.

[Sea42]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You're sure to find a lot of very helpful information here!
You may want to start with a look at the Ports of Call message boards.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587
You can check out each island that you're visiting and come up with many interesting ideas for each port. You'll find many things you can do on your own, with private guides or through the cruise line.

You may also be interested in "talking" with others who will be on your sailing in the Roll Call section.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1518103

Cruise Critic is a great way to pass the time until your cruise arrives.
Have Fun!

[English_in_Spain]

Tell us a bit about yourselves and what you like to do.

Where do you live (it is not in your profile)? Are you used to a warm climate?

What do you like to do? Do you like beaches, snorkelling, sightseeing etc?

[GeriatricNurse]

Hi

We're leaving on March 3, 2012 on the Eurodam on the Eastern Caribbean cruise. This is our second cruise (first was the Oosterdam on the Inside Passage in Alaska in July . . . we may be hooked). Any suggestions for first time Caribbean cruisers?

Thanks

Dave

Wear a head covering in the sun & apply sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 to all exposed skin areas! ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Eurodam -- have an evening cocktail in the Silk Den.

Have dinner in the Tamarind.

[cruiseapril]

What are your ports and do you have excursions planned?

[ProfDave]

HAL eastern caribbean ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. No excursions planned, except to find a cemetary in St. Thomas. Our interests don't include swimming or sunning, but do include lighthouses, nature, whales, and dolphins

[djhsolara]

There is an "on and off" tour of Grand Turk where you have 3 or 4 stops and get off and then back on again whenever you'd like. The lighthouse is part of this tour (although when we went you couldn't go up inside).


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[luv2travel06]

Hi

We're leaving on March 3, 2012 on the Eurodam on the Eastern Caribbean cruise. This is our second cruise (first was the Oosterdam on the Inside Passage in Alaska in July . . . we may be hooked). Any suggestions for first time Caribbean cruisers?

Thanks

Dave

Everybody has their own routine, but I like to get up early and observe the arrivals into the various ports. Being a tropical area, there are often brief rain showers that produce rainbows. On our last cruise, there was a beautiful double rainbow off the stern as we approached Curacao. Another memorable one was in St. Thomas where the end of the rainbow was right in front of us as we entered the port.

If you like to take photos, the morning light is softer than the bright sunshine later in the day. On the other hand, as the shadows change throughout the day, you may find you get the picture you want later in the day.

In your later post you listed your ports. Quietly gliding past El Morro as you approach the port in San Juan is amazing. There is a cemetery in St. Thomas near/as you are going toward Coral World. The beach at Half Moon Cay is like no other. At Grand Turk, be sure to explore beyond the port area. We had a nice chat with a hotel owner and DW actually played the organ in a church in the downtown area.

As someone else said, be sure to check out the port boards. And even if you don't take the ship excursions, review their excursion brochure to find out what there is to see in each port.

Enjoy the cruise! We board the Maasdam on March 2 for a 10 night Eastern Carib cruise. :D

[kazu]

HAL eastern caribbean ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. No excursions planned, except to find a cemetary in St. Thomas. Our interests don't include swimming or sunning, but do include lighthouses, nature, whales, and dolphins

San Juan is glorious - if you like forts - there are two great ones there to explore and admire. Watch as you enter and leave San Juan, you will see El Morro. Very pretty spot - nice walking tours available on line as well.

St. Thomas - if you like nature - head on over to St. John - beautiful (ferry takes you across and HAL does offer either transfer or tours).

[kyriecat]

ProfDave,

Are you interested in cemeteries in general or just the on in St. Thomas? The cemetery in Old San Juan near the El Morro fort is amazing. Some of the graves date back to the 17th century. Several of the tombstones are elaborate tributes to lost loved ones. I try to visit every time I go to San Juan because I love the history and artwork there.

I thought I still had some of my photos from my 2009 visit online but I must have taken them down. I found one that shows an overview of the cemetery with El Morro in the background.

http://escape.topuertorico.com/postcard/cards/mccemebg.jpg

[mmr923]

Hello Prof Dave! If you are nature and wildlife lovers, you should plan a trip to "El Yunque" National Forest - the only rainforest in the US National Forest System! :)

http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/elyunque/about-forest

Lots of rare tree and bird species, some found nowhere else on the planet! It's a very special place for nature lovers.

P.S. - That cemetery is very cool. My grandmother is buried there!

[cruiseapril]

We enjoyed the Eco Lagoon Tour at Half Moon Cay.

[SwissMyst]

When we did the Eastern Caribbean we found a great history of the Caribbean and learned we were seeing a lot of what Columbus and the early explorers had been seeing too - it opened us up to a lot of the very early colonial history and landmarks which took us well beyond the sun and sand aspects of these islands. I'll see if I can find the title, if this interests you.

It is stunning really when you see what was monumentally constructed in these islands by those who first came and how the ships' ballast was used for many of their signature construction features, like the blue pavers in San Juan. Additionally for background reading, the book "1493" is a great reminder of what the "Columbian Transfer" did for the world after these discoveries were made.

[mamaofami]

HAL eastern caribbean ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. No excursions planned, except to find a cemetary in St. Thomas. Our interests don't include swimming or sunning, but do include lighthouses, nature, whales, and dolphins

Just returned from St. Thomas. Which cemetery are you trying to find?

[birder22]

Dear Prof Dave,

My family went on the Eurodam in December as our second cruise following one to Alaska on the Westerdam. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but you should be aware that the Caribbean is not Alaska in terms of wildlife sightings.

You are unlikely to see whales or dolphins from the ship and will see few marine birds.

Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvador Island) is a bird refuge and you can easily see about a dozen Caribbean species there if you get to the island early in the morning and wander the trails. There is a nature trail with signs identifying some of the plants. We encountered the nature walk shore excursion and the guide walked right by interesting birds and then misidentified a lizard. So I don't recommend this shore excursion.

If this is your first visit to the Caribbean the old part of San Juan and the forts are worth seeing and are an easy walk from the ship. We saw several feral cat colonies in San Juan and a few seabirds flying overhead. El Yunque is better visited when you have more time and can get to the forest in the morning.

Even if you are not fond of swimming, the wall at Grand Turk has impressive snorkeling and is one of the better opportunities on this trip to see undersea "wildlife".

If you have an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale, the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades has plentiful birds and crocodiles to see at this time of the year.

[cmdchiefthom]

Seven days are never enough on a Holland America cruise, so why not jump right in and book 10 nights aboard the Zuiderdam and see a wonder of the 20th Century, the Panama Canal. Enjoy HMC, Aruba, Curacao and Costa Rica while your at it!;)

[sail7seas]

We've sailed Eurodam a number of times and really like the ship.
Last time we were in San Juan on Eurodam, we saw three dolphins follow the ship in and swam around where we were docked. They stayed for a long time. Very fun.

I agree to have a drink in Silk Den and dinner in Tamarind. Only Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have those features. Wonderful!

Seeing you like lighthouses, whales and nature, you might wish to think about Maasdam's Canada/New England 7 day cruise for your next booking. Whale watching and lighthouses are among the highlights of this Boston to Montreal or Montreal to Boston cruise. We love seeing the wonderful lighthouses along this route.

[ProfDave]

We're looking for the HISTORICAL DANISH CEMETERY on St. Thomas where my spouse's foster grandparents are buried.

Thanks

Dave

[sail7seas]

I believe there is a visitor's booth at Crown Bay where Eurodam will dock.
Perhaps they can help you with directions to the cemetery,