January 23, 1026 - Marietta to St Cloud, FL
We're leaving town ahead of the predicted ice storm with our sights set on sunny skies, warm weather, and beautiful Caribbean water. As we breeze through Atlanta, at 0715, the normal height of rush-hour, we're wondering where is all the traffic? Actually, our entire drive was super easy. T, G, and I took turns driving, and in record time we arrived at the charming little town of St. Cloud, FL.
It was a gloriously sunny day, so we strolled around the revitalized, patriotic small town. We stopped at an outside bar for a quick drink, before walking back to Phyre's for a fabulous dinner of chicken, candied bacon, and waffles, as well as a side of extra-crispy fries. After dinner, we walked around for a bit more before returning to the Hunter Arms Boutique Hotel.
January 24, 2026 - St. Cloud to Port Everglades, FL - HAL Koningsdam Happy Birthday, Jane!
We packed our belongings, loaded the car, and we're on our way to Starbucks and Walmart before hopping back on the FL Turnpike, then I-95 to Fort Lauderdale. Again, the traffic was light and our drive was easy. G parked the car, after unloading our luggage, and we were on our way to boarding HAL's Koningsdam. Check-in was speedy, and soon I was settled in my home away from home, Cabin 4191, for the next 11 days. I was surprised to find a lovely card from G&T, the Captain, and a lovely Happy Birthday cupcake.
Sail away was stunning, in chamber of commerce weather! When I returned to my cabin, I found beautiful flowers from G & T. I appreciate their thoughtfulness as I navigate this first "alone" cruise.
My snapper dinner was fabulous. We enjoyed our sharing table with Meredith, a sweet widow, from Tampa who was cruising with a Bridge group, and a fun couple originally from PA. After dinner, we enjoyed music at the BB King Lounge before returning to our cabins. Great first day!
January 25, 2026 - Day at Sea - Happy Birthday, Robin!
How I love days at sea! We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast in the dining room with a very well-traveled couple from Manitoba, Canada, before heading to the Grand Cafe for coffee. T and I worked on hotels for our upcoming Hussy trip to Portugal, while enjoying great coffee. Before we realized it, it was time for lunch. The salad buffet in the Lido is well stocked! Afterwards, T and I roamed around checking out the shops. My feet were freezing, so I returned to my room to thaw on my over-sized balcony. Next, it was time to walk the promenade before gym time. On one of my laps, I was entertained my a sea bird traveling along side the ship.
before getting ready for Happy Hour. I had planned to photo the sunset. I went out once, captured this shot, but then, didn't return to photograph the actual sunset. Oh well, tomorrow's another day.
Tonight was dressy night, so it was fun to see all the beautiful outfits. Ny grouper dinner was wonderful, as well as a delightful British couple, Mora and Bryan, in the 90's, yet still enjoying traveling. We enjoyed the BB King Lounge was they played a great set of Motown music. I left the Stewarts to enjoy the next set of music, as we were setting our clocks ahead, and I wanted a full 8 hours of sleep. Thank you, Pruda, for the cute towel animal.
January 26, 2026 - Day at Sea
This morning, we tried the buffet, which was very quiet since some folks could have possibly slept in since we lost an hour of sleep last night moving ahead to the next time zone, Eastern Caribbean. Now, we're in the Crow's Nest, working. The weather is sunny and uppper 70s, my kind of weather.
After lunch, I spent time on my balcony working on Suduko and needlework. We enjoyed a delightful dinner meal with a very sweet British Couple, Brian and Mora. We went to the show, "A Thousand Steps" which was fantastic. T and G went to listen to more music at the BB King Lounge, and I opted for an early evening to read, as well as get a good 8 hours sleep.
January 27, 2026 - St Martin
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the Lido to allow the rest of ship to disembark. A lovely breeze was blowing and the temps were in the upper 70s, so we enjoyed our water taxi ride to town. We arrived around 0915 and the majority of the stores did not open until 9:30, so we strolled around before going to Boolchands. Both T and I needed to watches. I had done my homework, so I knew the price and stats for the new Samsung Galaxy 8. The price was $80 less, so we purchased our new watches. Alan purchased flipflops and some alcohol, and I purchased a bottle of $25 Buffalo Trace which I have a hard time finding back home. We boarded our water taxi immediately to return to the ship.
Back on the dock, we saw three huge tarpons and a couple of iguanas.
Back on board, we enjoyed iced coffees while our watches charged. We had a quiet lunch at the Lido before attempting to set up our watches. I rapidly became frustrated due to the ship's firewall preventing the installation, so I packed up my watch and returned to the small Boolchands store at the port. The sweet employee immediately understood my situation, and began the installation. In less than thirty minutes, everything was installed! I tried to tip him for his help, but he insisted that the help was part of Boolchands' responsibility to their customers.
Back on board, I went to the gym for a long workout, then rested on my balcony as we sailed away. We met a sweet lady, Cora, from Holland, and Larry and Sharon from Boston. I love hearing everyone's story. We visited so long that we missed the show, so we went directly to the BB King Lounge. The music was awesome, and it was a great way to spend my last day as a 71 year-old!
January 28, 2026 - St John's, Antigua
Happy 72nd Birthday to me! T and G have gone above and beyond to make this birthday special. I awoke to sweet messages and a card taped to my door. We enjoyed breakfast in the Main Dining Room with Jeff and Jane from Hendersonville, NC and a sweet retired middle school teacher from New Hampshire.
Alan opted to stay on board while T and I explored the small town of St. John's. I purchased a few gifts for home before we returned to the ship. Now, we're in the Eagle's Nest enjoying iced coffees. The Stewarts gave me a lovely t-shirt from New Zealand. We had salads for lunch.
After lunch, I returned to the gym for my daily workout, then sat on my balcony for an hour to read and work on my needlework.
Showered, happy hour, and a delicious dinner at Pinnacles. The Stewarts spoiled me with more gifts, a beautiful red heart and adorable kiwi earrings from New Zealand. After our amazing dinner, Pinnacles gave me a very lovely birthday cake.
We then went to the World Stage to watch the production of Sing. We stopped by the BB King Lounge where I stayed for one set before retiring to bed after a fabulous 72nd birthday. Life is good.
January 29, 2026 Port of France, Martinique
Alan and I met for breakfast before setting off on our excursion. T decided to stay on board to avoid the heat and sunshine. We boarded our bus for the Botanical Gardens and St. Pierre Excursion. Our first stop was a mini-Sacre Coeur, five times smaller than the original one in Paris. It is being restored, which it definitely needed!
Next stop, the Botanical Garden, which truly exceeded my expectations! The hummingbirds were an added bonus, as well as the Japanese coy ponds. The gardens were exquisite!
We rode through the rainforest on narrow, windy, curvy roads.
Next, we went to the small village of St. Pierre that had been destroyed by a volcano on May 8, 1902. The ruins, including the prison where one survivor was found, was impressive. It was like driving through Pompeii.
After lunch, we went to the Crow's Nest, where I am updating this travel blog, and discussing a future cruise.
Forgot to mention the amazing humming birds at the Botanical Gardens. I could have stayed there all day!
Worked out after lunch, then met for happy hour. Our dinner was definitely with the B Team. Nothing seemed appealing, so T and I ordered chicken on top of a Caesar salad, and what we received was a small Caesar salad with hot chicken parmesan on top! Not so delicious, so we asked for another Caesar salad and we removed the chicken to another plate. This was actually quite tasty. We sat with Tony and Maureen, both retired teachers from Boston.
We went to the Rolling Stone Lounge because the BB King Lounge was closed. The group was excellent, and the cute female lead singer had a fabulous voice. Another wonderful day ended on the beautiful Koningsdam.
January 30, 2026 - Rosseau, Domninica
The weather prediction called for rain today, so Alan and I took our HAL umbrellas which came in quite handy for a variety of reasons. Our tour guide, Louis, was quite informative as we drove on extremely narrow roads to our first destination, the Emerald Pool. We used our umbrellas as walking sticks while walking to and from the Emeral Pool, which is now a UNESCO protected site.
Fresh water crab in a stream along the walk to the Emeral Pool.
Once we completed our tour, the heavens let loose. Oh well, we are in a rainforest!
We continued our drive through the rainforest, seeing a most unusual horizontal rainbow! I tried NOT to watch the road, because the narrow passage was simply daunting! As we reached the Trafalgar Falls, an on-coming car caused us to have to stop, then Louis could not get traction to get up the hill, so he had to back down for quite some distance! Upon our arrival, it was raining torrentially, so this time we used our umbrellas to stay dry!
Throughout the rainforest, many red flowers can be spotted. The national flower, African tulips, are also referred to as the flame of the forest.
We drove back through the town of Rosseau where we saw a very well attended funeral.
Next we rode to the top of a mountain for a beautiful view of the city, including our ship.
Back on board, we had lunch, then went to the Crow's Nest for coffee. I went back to my room early to get ready for Shabbat Services in the Hudson room at 1800. It was quite well attended, with about 24 folks. I met a sweet lady whose last name was also Kleimon, but spelled with an "a" instead of our "o".
We had dinner with a delightful couple from Komloops, Canada, Loreen and Iver. He shared pictures of his British cousin's exquisite wood carvings!
We went to the World Stage with the intensions of watching the performance but opted to return to the BB King Lounge instead. I stayed for one set, then retired for the evening.
January 31, 2026 - St. Kitts
We enjoyed breakfast with Karen and Ian again. They educated us on the current political happenings in Canada regarding immigrants and their government which made us appreciate our current administrations immigration policies.
We got off the ship, walked around a bit, made a couple of purchases, and returned to our ship. Now, we're up in the Crow's Nest working and relaxing.
After lunch, T and I returned to the gym to get the rest of our steps in, before watching the ship sail away. Tonight is "orange night" in honor of Holland, and I have NEVER seen so many folks dressed in orange which made for a very cheery atmosphere! We had d inner with Cora (again) from the Netherlands, John and Inez from FL/New York. The show, "Move" was fabulous, and then we went to the Orange Party. Great way to end a great day!
February 1, 2026 - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. - Happy Birthday, Jim Rhoden!
Breakfast was in the buffet before heading out by open air taxi to Alpha's Jewelry. T and G made a few purchases, and I bought an adjustable necklace. We were treated to lunch at Gladys' Cafe courtesy of Sonny at Alpha's. The grouper sandwich, fries, and ginger beer were delicious. We had some free time before T's jewelry was ready to we shopped and Mr. Tablecloth and Charleston Shoe. T and I made purchases at both places.
Back on board, we're back in the Crow's Nest. I am trying Kombucha for the first time, and I like it! T and I went to the gym for our daily workout. Tomorrow's weather prediction for our sea day isn't looking too great, so the gym may not be an option if the ship is rocky.
Tonight, we had a magnificent dinner at Tarramind. Wow!! All of us agreed that our meals were some of the best we've ever had on a cruise. Alan had the lobster ($28 upcharge), T had the sea bass and I had the wasabi crusted seak. Our appetizers (scallops, shrimp, and satay sampler) and desserts (mango something and sorbet selections) were truly fabulous! The atmosphere was serene and the service superb!
We went to the Rolling Stone to enjoy the band. The lead singer, Christina, is from Long Island, NY, and the remaining band members are from Italy and Argentina. They are very talented and true crowd pleasers. We got an extra hour of sleep tonight which is always appreciated.
I've enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets on this cruise.
There is something special about the sun and ocean on a cruise.
February 2, 2026 - Day at Sea - Happy Ground Hog Day!!
Well, drats ff both groundhogs (PA and GA) didn't see their shadows which means 6 more weeks of winter! I'm just grateful that I missed one ice storm and one snow (somewhat - half of Atlanta received snow, luckily Marietta did NOT) while on this cruise. Hoping for warm, sunny days upon my return.
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Don, from Michigan, and a sweet couple from Indiana. We spent some time in the Crow's Nest, until we needed to give up our seats for a special event, so we moved up to the Ocean Bar where I've worked on activities for our upcoming Hussy Portugal trip and now, this travel blog.
For lunch, we went to the Grand Dutch Cafe for their amazing split pea soup, grilled cheese/ham panini, and we all shared an incredible chocolate bomb. Wow!!! Back to the Ocean Bar we went to work on individual projects. I made great progress on my needlework while listening to my audio book. The afternoon flew by. T and I walked around the promenade until I got cold, and we went back to our cabins for floor exercises since it really wasn't safe to go to the gym.
It was formal night in the Main Dining Room, and we were seated upstairs with a lovely couple, Barbara and Bill, from Manitoba, Canada. Bill had served in the Canadian Army for 33 years, so we compared US/Canadian Army life. Bill is a very talented photographer, particularly interested in animals, specifically birds. Wow! He shared some absolutely stupendous pictures.
After dinner, we found excellent seats in the Rolling Stone Lounge to listen to the very talented band. I retired after one set to read before bed. Look what I found in my room:
February 3, 2026 - Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
We awoke to sunny skies, but chilly temps in HAL's private island. We've been here MANY times so I opted to stay on board and not risk the chance to getting chilled/sick as I have another skin cancer procedure next week. After breakfast with a lovely couple, Al and Suzie, from Lake Tahoe, we are back in the Crow's Nest working on individual interests. I am so glad that I brought my laptop to keep up with this travel journal rather than reconstructing it once I'm back home.
