By David Gjestson
Laura and David Gjestson embarking on a new adventure
Despite our 58 years of marriage and many international trips, an ocean cruise has never made our bucket list. However, Wisconsin’s freezing winter and our desire to seek out some new adventure got us to the Middleton Travel Agency to plan a Caribbean cruise.
Our agent quickly selected Holland America to be our ship of travel because of its high rating and entertainment genre that favored elderly passengers. A series of options for room, drinking, tipping, and port excursions were balanced with our budget (Google Holland America for the price range), followed by booking our air travel.
The Dutch ship Nieuw Statendam is 975 feet long, 114.8 wide and holds 2,666 passengers with a crew of 1,025
American Airlines got us to our debarkation port in Fort Lauderdale in four hours of air time via Charlotte, North Carolina. A Holland representative met us at the airport and directed us to a shuttle service that took us to a 5-star hotel for an overnight stay before an early morning departure to the ship.
Our luggage was taken directly from our hotel room to our estate room onboard the ship, so clearing security was easy. A huge building adjoining the ship prevented me from getting a picture of the ship except for a peek when we were on the enclosed entry ramp.
My view from the entry ramp giving a brief glimpse of the ship’s 12 decks and the front of a sister ship nearby
Entering the ship on Deck A, crew guides were stationed throughout the ship to direct passengers to their berths (rooms). We joined a group waiting for a bank of four elevators to take us to Deck 6, the location of our estate room.
Four elevators were located in two different locations, fore and aft on the ship (note the stairway leading to a second similar stairs providing access to the next deck)
The image of a stateroom being “closet-sized” proved false as we found our queen-sized bed, couch, desk, closets, and bathroom/shower quite adequate. Note the veranda for added leisure!
A large-screen TV not only provided us with news, sports, music, or movies but also serves to inform us of restaurants, room service, massage appointments, emergency directions, weather, bow view, stern view, ship’s location, and more.
After viewing emergency procedures and locating life jackets in our room, we were required to go down four decks and report to a crew member for lifeboat assignments. Once he scanned our access card (now carried by each of us for billing and ID purposes), we were free to go about the ship to get oriented.
A schedule was delivered to our room daily that displayed more than 50 activities occurring throughout the day, highlighting special events and live music
Most evenings, we ate dinner in the dining room on Deck 3 at 5 p.m. We were assigned a specific table to use for dinner the entire cruise. Other specialty restaurants could be used but required an additional fee
Breakfast and lunch service (or anytime you felt hungry!) was at various restaurants or a series of buffets on Deck 9.
There were two small swimming pools, fore and aft. We soon learned people would leave their stuff on the deck chairs early in the day to reserve the spot for most of the day (the only negative we experienced on the trip!).
A kiosk at each elevator identified the location of the ship’s many facilities
Getting underway or arriving in port had many passengers on the open deck that allowed walking/jogging around the entire ship’s perimeter
Despite the crowds and the “pre-reserved” deck chair ruse, Laura and I managed to get to the hot tub for a relaxing soak
At various times during the day, we just enjoyed the comforts of our room, TV, and relaxing on our veranda
Our dinner time selection was 5 p.m. daily at a numbered table used the entire trip. If we chose the dining area for breakfast or lunch, we would be seated with others.
Stewards, Asians mostly from Indonesia (especially Jakarta), waited on tables and provided daily room service. They were very professional, ultra-courteous, and always greeted travelers cheerfully!
As we steamed along at 15-19 knots, we filled our day with Epicurean delights, deck walking, ice cream eating, sun-soaking, beer/wine drinking, movie watching, and veranda napping.
Our first nighttime entertainment was a concert pianist (Hyperion Night) who was fantastic and
mixed in humorous storytelling of famous composers.
The size of the “Big Stage” entertainment area was surprising as it seated one thousand people!
My early perception of a Caribbean cruise was that we would spend as much time on land as we did at sea. The fact is that the port visits were quite brief (7-8 hours). Shore excursions allow good exposure to area culture and historical features but are expensive. We found that exploring the area on our own was just as rewarding.
The Grand Turks, Turks, and Caicos are a series of 42 islands that mark the northern border of the Caribbean Sea, but only nine are inhabited. Laura was eager to check it out!
The tour highlight for the excursion we chose was a visit from one of the island’s wild burro population that had the run of the island.
On the beach, Laura enjoyed a pair of burros close up!
Back onboard, we enjoyed the abundant food provided by the all-day buffet.
The second Big Stage entertainment we watched was comedian Alvin Williams, who was quite good and had been doing ship tours for more than 10 years.
Our second port call was San Juan, Puerto Rico. We chose to enjoy the city on our own and enjoyed the narrow, historical streets with other “touristas.”
We managed to find a funky little bar on a side street that offered us pina coladas to die for!
Back onboard, while we slept, the ship moved quickly to our next port of call…Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, a 31-square-mile island dominated by lush tropical greenery.
Riding a gondola to a high point above the city gave us a spectacular view of this charming city by the sea.
In the downtown area, we found a pleasant alley cafe to enjoy our favorite beverage and watch other tourists watching us
We were soon underway for our last port of call and the end of our adventure. Night activities offered live music, gambling, drinking, and people-watching until your legs gave out
For us, gambling, that is, “throwing away our money” only took us a few minutes!
Shops were open in the evening and did a brisk business in clothing, souvenirs, and diamonds
Our last stop was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, a company-owned island where we had to take a tender to the beach
Beach lounging is always a trip highlight for us
Shopping no longer had any appeal as we had the T-shirts and souvenirs required of such trips. Time to go home!
Checking out was easy. Our billing was correct, bags packed, and the room empty of our possessions. All we needed to do was to walk off the ship.
Would we consider doing another cruise? Absolutely! The 51 ocean cruise lines and 27 river cruise lines offer a wide variety of travel choices and price options. If you would like to know more about our adventure, email me at dgjestson@gmail.com or collar me at the next ARC luncheon.
