Contributor John Hoiden is currently sailing on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas and has graciously agreed to share his experience with us over the course of his cruise!  Here is John's Day 3 report:  It's my third day on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, and I got a…

The last time I was on an MSC cruise ship, was for a Christmas cruise on the MSC Meraviglia in 2022, when she was sailing out of Port Canaveral, near Orlando.  However, MSC Cruises isn't new to me.  In fact, I've been cruising with them since the MSC Divina was…

Contributor John Hoiden is currently sailing on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas and has graciously agreed to share his experience with us over the course of his cruise!  Here is John's Day 2 report:  Today is our first sea day on this 4-day Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas…

For the next four days, guest contributor John Hoiden is cruising on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas on an Eastern Caribbean cruise from Miami with one port-of-call, Grand Turk.  John is a frequent Royal Caribbean cruiser and recently shared his experience on his first Carnival Cruise Line cruise with…

This morning marks the last day of this 11-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise and the Eurodam is anchored off Half Moon Cay, Holland America's private island in the Bahamas. We arrived around 6:30am and crew from the island and the ship started ferrying food, drinks, and supplies to the island via…

It's hard to believe its day 10 of this 11-day adventure on the Eurodam as we sail through the Eastern Caribbean.  There have been so many port calls during this trip, some being new to me, and there's still one more to go!  Today is a sea day as we…

This 11-day adventure on Holland America Line's Eurodam is drawing to a close, with today's visit to St. Thomas marking one of the final two stops. The last will be Half Moon Cay on Tuesday before the ship returns to port on Wednesday. We arrived in St. Thomas around 6:30…

The adventure continues this morning as the Eurodam docked in St. Kitts, an island steeped in history! St. Kitts holds the distinction of being the site of Britain's first successful Caribbean colony, established in 1623. The island's past is marked by a tug-of-war between French and British colonists, a legacy…

Day 7 of this 11 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Holland America Line's Eurodam finds us in the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Lucia, docked in the capital city of Castries. This port is new territory for me, and today we're sharing the harbor with the Enchanted Princess from Princess…

Day 6 of 11 on Holland America Line's Eurodam on this trek around the Eastern Caribbean, hitting up several lesser-cruised-to islands including our stop today Roseau, Dominica! Unlike yesterday's disappointment in St. John's, Antigua, I'm approaching Roseau with an open mind and a sense of adventure. Roseau, the capital and…