A Travel Journal · December 2025 · Holland America Line
Seventeen days from Fort Lauderdale to the bottom of the Caribbean and the long way home — a 10-day Southern Caribbean voyage aboard the ms Koningsdam, a few sun-blissed days in the Conch Republic, and a Canadian coda in the rain. There were dolphins that launched us across a lagoon, a private island we saw but never reached, a fortress made of sixteen million bricks, a Tesla AI that lost its mind, and one quietly determined campaign to manifest a sea turtle. This is the whole logbook.
The route: Fort Lauderdale → Half Moon Cay → Grand Turk 🇹🇨 → Amber Cove 🇩🇴 → Curaçao 🇨🇼 → Bonaire 🇧🇶 → Aruba 🇦🇼 → home via Key West, the Dry Tortugas, and Vancouver 🇨🇦.
The cast: me and Aimee — the Deal Fox 🦊, logistics CEO, and the reason every upgrade happened. Plus a rotating United Nations of cruise friends, one Vince-Vaughn-of-the-slot-machines, and The Citizens up north.
The running threads: the great sea-turtle manifestation, the refrigerator-magnet acquisition crisis, the wellness trifecta, cruise math, and a soundtrack that refused to come home when we did.
Ten days aboard the Koningsdam — embarkation, the islands, and the long blue sea days between them.
Day 01 · Nov 29 Fort Lauderdale — Mother Nature Can SlapEmbarkation · Fort Lauderdale, FL Day 02 · Nov 30 The Island We Saw, But Never Reached 🏝️Half Moon Cay (from the balcony) Day 03 · Dec 1 New Country Day — Sand, Sea & Surprise Donkeys 🇹🇨Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Day 04 · Dec 2 Dolphins, Blue Amber & a Tiny Identity Crisis 🇩🇴Amber Cove, Dominican Republic Day 05 · Dec 3 A Sea Day Toward Curaçao ⚓At Sea · The Ship's Log Begins Day 06 · Dec 4 A Caribbean Coloring Book Comes to Life 🇨🇼Willemstad, Curaçao Day 07 · Dec 5 The Silent Catamaran & a Reef Full of Drama 🇧🇶Kralendijk, Bonaire Day 08 · Dec 6 The 40th & 50th Country — Cacti, Gold & Balashi 🇦🇼Oranjestad, Aruba Day 09 · Dec 7 How a Floating City Works ⚓At Sea · The Captain's Log Day 10 · Dec 8 Human Time, Sacred Time & Dramatic Neighbors ⚓At Sea · The Last Sea DayOff the ship and onto the Overseas Highway — roosters, Cuban coffee, and a seaplane to a brick fortress in the Gulf.
Day 11 · Dec 9 Fort Lauderdale → Key West — Welcome to the Conch RepublicThe Overseas Highway · Key West, FL Day 12 · Dec 10 Roosters, Cuban Coffee & Aimee's Master-Level Surprise ✈️Key West & the Dry Tortugas Day 13 · Dec 11 From Roosters to Rush HourKey West → Fort LauderdaleNorth through weather systems and borders — first class, floods, Christmas markets, and a Canadian ending in Room 2112.
Day 14 · Dec 12 The Long Way Home — Baileys, Floods & a Very Canadian Ending 🇨🇦Fort Lauderdale → Seattle → Vancouver Day 15 · Dec 13 Winter Light, Christmas Markets & a Tesla AI MeltdownVancouver, BC Day 16 · Dec 14 Closing the Loop 🇨🇦Vancouver → Lakewood Day 17 · Dec 15 Rain, Reggae & Re-EntryHome · Lakewood, WA