Holland America Rotterdam 12-Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 9: November 24, 2025

Day 9 already, and this cruise is flying by. So far on this 12-day Rotterdam sailing, we’ve checked off Half Moon Cay, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Scarborough (Tobago), and Bridgetown (Barbados). Today brought us somewhere completely new for me: Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. This is our second-to-last port before San Juan, and then it’s back to Fort Lauderdale — where I’ll be staying onboard for another nine-day cruise.

Guadeloupe is definitely not your standard Caribbean stop. It’s actually an overseas department of France, which means it isn’t just “French-influenced,” it is France. The euro is the official currency, French laws apply, French police patrol the streets, and yes, there are French bakeries you can visit. You’ll hear French and Creole spoken pretty much nonstop, and while some English exists in the port area, it’s not nearly as widespread as you get in other Caribbean ports.

So how did France, of all countries, get control of this island in the Caribbean?  Well, after checking with Mr. Google, I learned that  Guadeloupe has been bouncing between European powers since the 1600s, with France eventually consolidating control and abolishing slavery in the 1800s before upgrading the islands to full French-department status.  So there’s your history lesson for today!

As far as safety goes, Pointe-à-Pitre is generally fine, especially during the day. Like any Caribbean city, there are areas that look a little rough, but the spots around the waterfront, markets, and main streets are busy and well-patrolled. More on this when I talk about how I spent my time ashore.   However, as safe as a place may be, as a tourist, the usual cruise-port common sense applies: don’t flash jewelry, keep your phone in your front pocket, and avoid wandering down residential side streets.

Rotterdam docked at the Centre St-John Perse Cruise Terminal, which is smack dab right in the city.  Houses and apartments are literally right across the street.  When on land, just looking at the ship between apartment buildings is a bit strange and is one of those “how did that thing get there” moments.  Being a stones throw from the city — there’s none of that “20-minute walk along a freight pier in the sun” nonsense like Barbados.

However, the terminal is bare bones.  You’re not going to find any shops, no places to grab a bite to eat, none of that.  It’s just a large warehouse-like building with a security screening area and a taxi stand outside.  All the shopping takes place within the town, and trust me, there’s a LOT of shops, restaurants, and bakeries around town.

If you like exploring on foot, you can absolutely do that here and it doesn’t take you long to get anywhere. Within a few minutes of the port you’ll hit La Darse Market, a big, colorful market loaded with spices, fruit, and crafts.

The waterfront promenade is also a nice stroll.

A bit farther in, you’ll reach Place de la Victoire, a central square framed by colonial-era buildings, and the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral, an iron-reinforced church built that way to survive the island’s earthquakes.

Pointe-à-Pitre Excursions and Beaches

If you’re looking to do a little more than just wander around town, there are some excursions you can book such as The Cousteau Reserve, which is one of the top snorkeling and diving spots in the Caribbean,  Carbet Falls takes you into the rainforest for a waterfall hike, and if you’re feeling ambitious, you can actually hike La Soufrière, their still-active volcano.  Cool, but I’ll pass on that one.

Plenty of cruisers go for the island highlights tour to see rum distilleries, the coastline, and little towns, while others stick to catamaran trips — because nothing says “French” like sailing, baguettes, and wine for breakfast.

Beaches here aren’t right next to the port, so taxis or excursions are the way to go. Plage de la Datcha and Plage du Gosier are both around 15–20 minutes away. Bas-du-Fort Beach is a little closer, with hotels and cafés nearby, while Sainte-Anne Beach, one of the island’s most famous, is farther out.

Now here’s one thing to keep in mind, Pointe-à-Pitre is a real city, sometimes a little rough, definitely lively, and absolutely interesting if you’re someone who enjoys exploring like I do.

Exploring Pointe-à-Pitre by Foot

Once Rotterdam was cleared, I did what I always do in a new port — hit the gangway, and just started wandering with no real destination in mind. I’ve got a full walk-around video embedded further down if you want to get a feel for the layout of the city, the neighborhoods, and the overall feel.

The moment you cross the street from the cruise terminal, you’re not in some straw market or sanitized tourist zone. You’re immediately in real neighborhoods where people live, work, shop, argue, smoke (yeah, you can smell some of the Devil’s lettuce), cook, shout “bonjour,” and go about their day. It’s authentic — sometimes rough around the edges, but authentic nonetheless.

One of the first things you’ll notice is the street art. And I don’t mean random tags scribbled by a bored teenager. I’m talking full building-sized murals and actual art pieces everywhere you look. It feels intentional and contributes to a big part of the city’s personality. And even before you leave the pier, you’ll start spotting buildings with that unmistakable French look to them. If you’ve ever walked through the France pavilion at EPCOT, you’ll immediately see some of the French architectural style here.

Now let’s talk about safety, because I know people always ask. I felt completely safe wandering around — and I wandered a lot. Yes, you’ll encounter the same things you see in most Caribbean port cities (and major U.S. cities for that matter): a few homeless, some folks begging, maybe a street that makes you want to go the other way. But nothing alarming. No aggressive vendors. In fact, not a single person tried to drag me into their shop or sell me anything. If anything, the locals were incredibly friendly. I was greeted with “bonjours” but could not remember how to respond to — despite my years in high school French class with Sister Mary Miserableass, who ironically taught me nothing but fear.

Something that really surprised me was how clean the city is. Sure, like any Caribbean island, infrastructure isn’t high on the priority list, so watch your footing. Sidewalks are optional, pavement is uneven, and if ADA inspectors ever visited, they’d pass out from shock. But it’s far from dirty. And bonus: unlike Barbados, the cars here drive on the same side of the road we do in the U.S., which meant I didn’t almost get hit by a bus like I did in Barbados because I looked for traffic in the wrong direction.

As you wander the side streets, the city becomes a mashup of shops selling absolutely anything you can imagine.  You’ll stumble on the spice market by simply following your nose, and it’s set up in an open-air square with stalls selling spices, rum mixes, hot sauces, questionable drinks in unlabeled bottles, and some crafts. Venture farther and you hit the more commercial heart of the city: banks, clothing stores, grocery shops, bakeries, and office buildings. It’s definitely not a town built around cruise passengers.

For a first-time visit, I was honestly impressed. Pointe-à-Pitre is one of those ports where the city itself is the excursion. You don’t need to run to a beach or hop on a bus tour to feel like you’re experiencing something worthwhile. The culture, the neighborhoods, the architecture, the people — it’s all right there within walking distance. I’m glad I spent this visit exploring for a few hours. This place has made it into my top five Caribbean ports, and considering how rare it is to see Guadeloupe on an itinerary, I’m already hoping I get another chance to come back and wander even more.

Oh, and by the way… throughout the area there are public pay toilets!

Join Me for a Walk Around Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Please note, this video was originally presented as a Facebook Live and was shot from my Ray Ban Meta glasses, so video quality is not the best, but it will still give you a good idea of the area surrounding the port.  My commentary is unscripted, raw and in the moment.

Passenger Missing from Rotterdam

All aboard time today was 5:30 p.m., and Rotterdam pulled away from Pointe-à-Pitre just a bit before 6. But while we didn’t have any runners on the pier today, there is something far more serious that’s been quietly circulating among passengers all week.

We’ve had a passenger missing since November 20, the day we visited St. Maarten. At first, the rumor that floated around the ship was the usual one — someone “missed the ship,” which honestly happens more often than people think, especially if you book non-ship excursions or simply lose track of island time. Normally when that happens, it’s a bit of a headache for the cruiser.

But this situation is not that.

For days, information was almost nonexistent. Then, six days after the fact, on November 26, the Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) finally released an official missing-person report — and it confirmed what many of us speculated was something more than a simple pier-runner mishap.

According to the police statement (which I’ve embedded below), 55-year-old Ann Evans, a U.S. citizen and fellow Rotterdam passenger, disembarked the ship on November 20 around 10 a.m. for an organized island tour. During that tour, at a stop in Marigot on the French side, she got off the bus… and never returned. She did not make it back to the ship. She did not rejoin the tour. And she has not been seen since.

Both the Dutch St. Maarten police and the French Gendarmerie are actively searching for her, and the notice urges anyone with information to come forward. It also includes a message directly to Ms. Evans herself — if she somehow sees the post, she’s asked to contact authorities or her family to confirm she’s safe.

Now, here’s an important point a lot of people misunderstand about cruise “missing passenger” cases:  Police must treat them as missing-person investigations by default, even when there’s no evidence of foul play.

Why? Because in recent years, there have been cases where passengers intentionally walk away from a cruise ship and simply choose not to return. It sounds bizarre, but it happens more than you’d think. Some people use a cruise ship as an easy way to leave their current life behind — new country, new start, clean slate. In those situations, the person isn’t “missing” in the traditional sense; they’ve made a deliberate choice.

But until authorities can confirm that’s the case — through cameras, witness accounts, financial activity, or direct contact — they must treat the situation seriously.

And that’s where we are now. Both the Dutch St. Maarten police and the French Gendarmerie are involved. They’re asking anyone with information to come forward, and they included a message directly to Ms. Evans herself urging her, if she sees the notice, to contact police or her family just to confirm she’s safe.

This isn’t the kind of story any cruiser ever wants to hear, and it’s certainly not something any of us expected when we sailed away from St. Maarten that afternoon. It’s a reminder that when you step off the ship — even in familiar ports — things can happen, and it never hurts to stay aware, stay connected, and make sure someone knows where you are.

Hopefully there’s a positive outcome here, and Ms. Evans is found safe.

Dinner at Tamarind… Bar!

Sorry to put a damper on things with that last bit, but let’s swing the mood back where it belongs — food. Tonight was the second and final dressy night of the cruise and if you’re wondering what “dressy” means on Holland America these days, go take a peek at yesterday’s report. Spoiler alert: the HAL of today is not the HAL of yesterday! It’s still a night to put on something nicer than jeans and a polo, but you don’t need to look like you’re heading to a state dinner.

After a few pre-dinner cocktails at Half Moon Bar — where Reema, the friendly neighborhood barkeep, has basically taken on the role of my cruise mom — she reminded me, “Mr. Scott, the dining room is closing soon!” And yes… she had every right to call me out. The MDR has not been thrilled with my habit of strolling in about three minutes before closing, especially when they were serving a “gala” night menu.

Lido Market Dinner Menu

Main Dining Room Dinner Menu

So, with the clock inching toward 9 p.m., and not wanting the MDR team to give me the “really… him again?” stare, I decided to skip the dirty looks and make my way up to Tamarind, the ship’s Asian restaurant, for some sushi and bar bites at the bar.

Now, Tamarind is one of the speciality restaurants on Rotterdam. The main dinner menu is $35 per person + 18%, and it’s worth every penny when you sit down for a full meal. But here’s where things get fun: Tamarind also has a dedicated Morimoto-branded sushi bar tucked off to one side with its own full sushi menu, and on the opposite side, there’s a proper bar that serves both sushi and a special lineup of Asian-inspired bar bites.

Morimoto Sushi Menu

Tamarind Bar Menu

I kicked things off by cherry-picking a few favorites from both menus — because why commit to just one when you don’t have to? First up was the Satay Sampler from the Tamarind bar menu: Malaysian lamb, Indonesian chicken, and Thai pork skewers with a rich peanut sauce. Satay at Tamarind is one of those things that’s always good, so it was a no-brainer, and sure enough, it lived up to my expectations.

I followed that up with the pork bao buns, which were… fine. Not bad, not great, just solidly average.

Over on the sushi side of the menu, I went with two easy ones: a shrimp tempura roll and a spicy tuna roll. Both were fresh and well-made. I’m not officially admitting anything here, but let’s just say the shrimp tempura roll was so good that one may have magically turned into two!

After dinner, it was already a bit on the late side, so I decided to just call it a night.  We’re currently heading towards our final port-of-call for this segment of the cruise, San Juan, where Rotterdam is expected to arrive at noon.  More on that tomorrow!  As always, thanks for following along.

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