11-28-17 to Florida:

We were planning to have Angie take us to the airport, but we managed to give her the colds we had just gotten over.  So I checked into renting a car from near our apartment and driving ourselves to the airport.  I was surprised to find it was only about $35!  No brainer, we rented a car.  Picked it up at 9am---very close to our apartment and very convenient.  Soon we were back at the apartment and loading up the car.

The ride to the airport wasn't bad---for Atlanta.  But having to return the rental car did add an extra 45-60 minutes to our trip by the time we gassed up the car, found the rental car return center (a few miles away from the airport), turned the car in, made our our way to the train to take us to the airport, wait for the train to take us to the airport, ride the train to take us to the airport, then walk hauling all our luggage to the other side of the airport to check 3 bags.  Finally made it to our gate and still had plenty of time before our 2pm flight.

The plane was on time and it was a beautiful day to fly.

Good bye Atlanta, see you in 2 weeks!

I even had a coupon for a free drink, so I used it.  After the hectic day we'd already had , it was a welcomed treat.

Hello cloudy rainy chilly Fort Lauderdale! 

By the time we got our rental car from FLL and got checked into the Ramada, it was time to go in search of dinner.  That wasn't much of a search.  I knew Flanagan's was near our hotel and I wanted one of their plastic glasses for our cruise; not to mention I also wanted some of their food right now!  Along with our appetizer of garlic cheese bread and salad, I had the prime rib special.  It was as excellent as I'd remembered!  This was one of our favorite restaurants when we lived in Coral Springs for a year a couple years ago.

After dinner, we headed back to the Ramada for the evening.  Not the 4 bedroom penthouse I had reserved at the Wyndham Palm Aire, that had been canceled by Wyndham due to Hurricane damage, by any means, but not bad.  Just was annoying to have to spend money on a hotel when we still have so many Wyndham points left for this year.    But I certainly wouldn't have been disappointed if this was our cruise cabin!

Certainly adequate for 1 night pre-cruise.

The bed was even comfortable.

We didn't use the coffee maker, but it was a nice touch.

After dinner, we were ready to wind down and hit the sack a little early---by early I mean about 11 pm.  Travel days are always a pain.  But this went about as smoothly as it could have.

2016 Dec. 4-14 Koningsdam 10 nt Cruise

2016 Dec. 4-14 Koningsdam 10 nt cruise (Half moon cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba):

On our last cruise (2015 Nov. cruise) we signed up for the future cruise bonus.  The Koningsdam is the newest ship in the HAL fleet and was going on a route we wanted to do.  Didn't know if we'd like being on such a big ship, but it turned out to be great.  We met a lot of interesting people, ate a lot of great food, visited several interesting ports, enjoyed the entertainment; everything would have been perfect----if it hadn't stormed all day in Bonaire.  Oh well, there's always next time!

We tend to base most of our cruises (and most of our land vacations) around beaches and snorkeling.  This one was no exception.  In fact I chose this specific itinerary because it went to Bonaire and Curacao again, plus a couple new ports for us---Amber Cove and Aruba.

Instead of making a ridiculously long blog, I'm supplying links to the ship, ports, and sea days individually.
 
The Koningsdam

Dec. 4---embarkation day

Dec. 5---Half Moon Cay

Dec. 6---Grand Turk

Dec. 7---Amber Cove

Dec. 8---1st sea day

Dec. 9---Bonaire

Dec. 10---Curacao

Dec. 11---Aruba

Dec. 12-14---sea days and disembarkation

I'd read a lot of complaints about the Koningsdam---no library, walking was hard on the promenade deck, lines were bad in Lido, not enough elevators,  more places to nickel and dime you, and more that I can't think of right now, but none of that bothered us.  We loved the Koningsdam.  But then, we've loved every ship we've been on.  This one was different from the other HAL ships, but I kind of liked that.  Shows they're trying to grow with the times.  I especially loved the digital daily Navigators, the Lido movies, the New York Deli, and the World Stage.  I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on the Koningsdam again.

2016-12-12 through 12-14 --- Sea days and back to ATL:

Dec. 12---Today was the day of the Mariner luncheon.  Our time slot was noon.  Apparently we've moved up in days sailed so that we now get seated with the higher ranking Mariners!  I think we have about 125 days sailed on HAL. Can't say the menu was too impressive this time---either a fish or pork entree.  One of the couples seated with us even got up and left before ordering.

  I ended up with the fish.  It and the rice was pretty good. The fritters were chewy.

2016-12-11  Aruba (7am - 4:30):

I was excited and apprehensive about Aruba.  I've heard alot about it being a great vacation spot, but we've never been there.  It doesn't have the reputation for snorkeling that the other ABC islands have, but I had printed off a map with a couple spots listed as snorkel areas, so we decided to check at the information center in the port shops and see what they say about snorkeling from shore.  Especially since the destination guide on the ship said there was no shore snorkeling on Aruba.
The view from our verandah from where we were docked in Aruba.  I was amazed that there was a tree growing in the ocean. 

2016-12-10  Curacao (7am - 10:30pm) :

They were calling for the same weather here today as we had on Bonaire yesterday, so I was a little down.  But we were seeing some blue skies, so decided to head out and hopefully get some snorkeling in.  We had tentatively made plans to go to Porto Mari with someone from Cruisecritic.com.  I had gotten her room number at the meet and greet which was held before docking at Grand Turk.  I think I woke her.  She wasn't wanting to leave before 11.  So we headed down with no real plans.  I figured we would see if anyone else was wanting to go to Porto Mari at the taxi waiting area, or just go to Blue Bay again (where we went last time we were here). 

 After waiting about 30 minutes, someone wanting to go to Blue Bay finally showed up, so we joined them.  Made our fare $7.50@ one way.

2016-12-9   Bonaire (8am - 5:30pm) !

I was hoping to be able to take a water taxi over to the little island just off shore, Klein Bonaire, but the weather wasn't cooperating today.  It was suppose to rain heavily and storm all day. 

 So we rushed off the boat and took a short taxi ride to the nearby Eden Beach.  Our fare was only $7.50/person each way.  Not bad when you consider how much a HAL excursion costs.  We had gone here the last time we were on Bonaire, too, and knew that there was great snorkeling and that the water taxi also ran from here.  Being a resort, it also had a pool, bar, restaurant, restrooms, and lots of chairs for rent.  

 If I remember correctly, the chair fee was only about $5 and included access to the pool. 

 We managed to get there before the storm and were able to snorkel for about an hour.

2016-12-8 a day at sea:

A day to wander around the ship and rest up a little before the next 3 port days.  I suppose it's a neat idea to have these exercise equipment pieces along the walking deck, but they sure didn't get used much.  In fact, the whole deck didn't get used much. 

 Nice that they have filet mignon and shrimp in the Lido cafe for dinner.  They even had lobster one night.