It’s time to head back to another “dam” ship! After spending three weeks on Holland America Line’s Rotterdam cruising the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas, I’m back onboard again, this time on Koningsdam, the lead ship in Holland America’s game-changing Pinnacle Class. Launched in 2016, Koningsdam was a…

Day 9 and final report from Rotterdam, and we wrap up this ABC… or CBA… cruise with a stop that doesn’t even get a letter in the name… Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s private island in the Bahamas. This is a staple stop on just about every HAL Caribbean itinerary,…

Day 8 on Rotterdam and it’s our second straight sea day as we make our way toward the final stop on this ABC… or CBA… cruise, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. With no port to explore today, it’s a good time to step back and talk about the ship…

Day 7 on Rotterdam and we’ve officially hit the first of two back-to-back sea days as we make our way toward our final stop of this 9-day ABC (well… CBA) cruise, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. Sea days are usually when I like to focus on ship stuff since…

Day 6 on Rotterdam and we’ve officially made it to the final stop in this ABC island run… Aruba. So yes, after doing Curaçao and Bonaire first, we finally get to the “A” in ABC. Makes perfect sense, right? We pulled into Oranjestad right at 8:00 a.m. and were cleared…

Day 5 on this 9-day ABC cruise… except we’re doing it backwards as a CBA. Curaçao yesterday, Bonaire today, Aruba tomorrow. Keeps things interesting, I guess. This is also part of Rotterdam’s "farewell tour" of the Caribbean for the season. After this run wraps up in Fort Lauderdale, she heads…

Day 3 on Rotterdam and we’ve officially made it to the first port of call on this second segment… Willemstad, Curaçao, kicking off the “CBA” version of this ABC run. We picked up the pilot just before 11 a.m. and started making our way into the harbor, docking right around…

Day 3 onboard Holland America's Rotterdam brought our second straight sea day as we continue making our way toward Willemstad, Curaçao on this “CBA” run through the ABC islands. Yesterday I talked about the two busiest bars on the ship, and back in the previous segment I covered the usual…

Day 2 of this second segment was a sea day, and the first of two back-to-back sea days as Rotterdam makes her way toward our first port of call on this itinerary, Willemstad, Curaçao. We’re scheduled to arrive there at noon on Monday, March 16. As I mentioned in the…

Poof. Just like that it’s time for the second leg of this back-to-back cruise aboard Holland America’s Rotterdam. If you’re just jumping in here, the previous segment was a 12-day Panama Canal sailing. This next cruise is a 9-day ABC itinerary… well technically a CBA itinerary since we’re visiting the…