(10th January 2025) From our balcony, we could see the iconic Burj Al Arab emerging through the early morning mist as we began preparing for the day. It was a leisurely start, as Jamie needed to catch up on some online work, while I used the time to edit a few past blogs. It was… Continue Reading

(9th January 2025) Jamie opted for the fold-out bed in the lounge, generously giving up the double bed in the bedroom for me. As we couldn’t find a spare duvet, he had to make do with a couple of blankets. Despite this, he slept well. The air conditioning, however, kept the room a little too… Continue Reading

(8th January 2025) It was a chilly 0°C on Tuesday, the 7th, when I walked into town for my 9:30 a.m. six-month dentist appointment. After a couple of X-rays, an appointment was made for February to repair a tooth the dentist said had a small crack developing (though I remain unconvinced). Everything dental seemed fine… Continue Reading

22nd December 2024 Today I discovered a quote by Carl Sagan the American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator which he made over 30 years ago and is rapidly becoming true: “I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy;… Continue Reading

21st December 2024 Disembarkation day began early, in the dark, at 5:30 am. Although we had set the alarm for later, we were both awake and unable to get back to sleep. A shower and breakfast on Deck 9 seemed the best course of action. It was a leisurely meal; there was no rush, and… Continue Reading

19th December 2024 We were disturbed several times around 3 am by Sue’s phone chiming to indicate a ‘push notice’, and then again at various times throughout the morning. While I had no difficulty falling back to sleep on each occasion, Sue did not. She eventually chose to quietly leave the cabin around 7 am… Continue Reading

18th December 2024 The Nieuw Statendam glided into her berth at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. By the time we had breakfast, we could see a light rain shower through… Continue Reading

17th December 2024 It was a partial sea day when we docked around 1 pm at San Juan port. The morning began leisurely for most passengers, with plenty of seating available in the buffet for breakfast, likely since the clocks had been put forward by one hour the previous night. After breakfast, we attempted to… Continue Reading

16th December 2024 During the second week of our cruise, we are revisiting several ports from last week, and today sees us return to Turks and Caicos. Having already explored much of the island by golf cart during our previous visit, we decided this time to follow a coastal walk from the port that we… Continue Reading

14th December 2024 For many passengers aboard the Nieuw Statendam, it was disembarkation day, a bleary-eyed farewell to floating luxury and an unreasonably early start. We, however, had grander plans. With a tour booked, we joined the weary masses at the breakfast buffet at the eye-wateringly early hour of 6:15 am. The day ahead promised… Continue Reading