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European Summer
  • A. Cook
  • Jer Mahon
  • A. Cook
  • Jer Mahon

European Summer

Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Scotland, England, Faroe Islands, Germany and more!
Prides, motorcycling, hiking, running, scuba, and more! En savoir plus
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  • European Summer
    Sunrise over Half Moon Cay
    Tender TimeTenderOn Land... FINALLY 🌴🌸 !!Map of the islandIsland walk'n 🏝️"Cruising Duck" that I found above Mozart on the ship. Took his photo and rehid on the ship 🛳️😊M & D on the bus for jetskiIsland road 🚗 🚜Jetski time !The fleet of fun!Jetski routePicture perfect beach time 🏖️Lunch visitorShore to ship timeRotterdam at the CayDeparting Half Moon Cay, from our TV showing forward cameraDining room "chandeliers"Lamb 🐑! Again, so delicious 😋Yum yum fish 🐟Dance performance, with signer from the jazz group 💃👏

    Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

    21 octobre 2023, Bahamas ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After nine days across the Atlantic Ocean enjoying various activities, lectures, and shows, we finally arrived at Half Moon Cay! It used to be known as Little San Salvador and is a private island reserved for the exclusive use of Carnival, who owns Holland America. No one lives on the island, so staff from a nearby island and the ship are busy providing for the guests.

    Up fairly early we decided to enjoy a coffee at the Dutch Cafe onboard. This is a tender port, so the ship drops anchors and the tenders shuttle folks to land. The water is the stunning blues and greens listed on the travel brochures!

    Though the past week was impressively smooth on the ship, it felt great to be on land once again. We enjoyed a short walk before our excursion we booked due to the cancelled Azores port. It was a very warm morning (late 20s), and slightly overcast, with a few rain drops. The skies quickly cleared into sun and fluffy little clouds.

    We met up with our new friends, and M was lucky enough to be able to join our earlier 10am group. Jet Skis! Combining 30mph, with fresh air and perfect weather is a great recipe for fun! We darted through the lagoon and out along the beach. We guessed they were speed governed as they did go faster then 32 mph. We diligently followed the guide in single file formation around the various buoys and shallow waters in the lagoon. The jet skis were a hoot, but definitely not as responsive as a motorcycle though they float much better than one! The freedom of no helmet was liberating.

    We headed to the beach to enjoy a swim in the shallow clear water of the Caribbean: the sand was amazing, so fine and flour-like. D decided to head back to the ship with M&T, and we went to the BBQ pit for lunch. They setup a delicious spread, and not easy considering they had to pack most of it over from the vessel. The "all aboard" time was 2:30pm, so we headed back to the ferry after lunch to avoid the passenger rush.

    That evening our meal in the dining room was noticeably louder than previous nights. Located on deck 2, above the two propellers, this evening's 18knt speed to get to Fort Lauderdale wasn't the quiet hum of the transatlantic 16knts 🙃    En savoir plus

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  • European Summer
    From the ship🛳️ to a boat 🚣
    Cruising friends 😊The kind of boat we rode inGatorSalad timeSome large enginesLocksAmerican purple gallinuleVroomAlligatorBromeliads (air plant) growing on a treeAlligator rescuePretty sculptureLeaving Fort LauderdaleColorful Seattle welcomeTriple🍪🍪🍪 cookie! Thanks for being such a fun dad ❤️

    Ft Lauderdale, Florida

    22 octobre 2023, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Another early morning as we needed to disembark the M.S. Rotterdam at 8am. We met with D at the Dutch cafe, followed by a trip up to deck 9 for breakfast at the buffet. M&T joined us for a last quick visit as we waited to disembark. There seemed to be some regulation mis-coordination, and we weren’t able to leave the ship on time. We eventually found our luggage and the bus terminal for our local day excursion, followed by an airport drop off.

    We headed west of Ft Lauderdale to the Everglades Holiday Park for an air boat ride, and to see a crocodile show. Our hostess was a bit too engaging on the bus, and was excited to educate us with facts on Florida, mostly reading a Wikipedia page with intermittent microphone issues 🙄. I wasn’t sure what to expect upon our arrival, but wasn’t surprised at the reality. I guess I figured we’d be in a more natural setting, something similar to what you see in the movies with mossy trees and narrow waterways. The reality was drudged canals with lock systems through open grasslands. The boat engines were also ridiculously loud when the operator opened up the throttle on wide stretches of water. We did see a plethora of birds, inclusive of turkey vultures, and fauna that had grown since the days of the Army Engineers attempts to drain the region. Alas, their attempts to drain the swamps failed as it is actually a very slow moving river 🙃 We also saw a couple of large wild crocodiles. We were informed there is a State Law forbidding the feeding of the crocodiles, but the reptiles were pretty quick to head to the boats 🤔

    Once back at the dock we were whisked over to the Crocodile show. Unfortunately the facility wasn’t paying much attention to the number of seats available in the stands, so many had to stand or didn't stay. The show was educational, but the host definitely had limited material and used his Beyoncé "put a ring in it" punch line too much. We were then usher through the zoo area with various animals displayed, then into the gift shop. All in all, a unique experience, but disappointing too.

    As our hostess is a grade school teacher, we got to enjoy a pop quiz on the previous bus ride trivial facts, followed by endless jokes 😫 We were happy to get to the airport, only to have to wait 4 hours till we could drop off our luggage and have our passports verified for the flight to Victoria, BC.    En savoir plus

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  • Fin du voyage
    23 octobre 2023