Half Moon Cay

The Holiday Cruise started off with a stop at Holland America Line's own private island in the Bahamas. I had not been there yet and couldn't wait to get off the ship. The water is even bluer than I imagined and the beach was filled with the most gorgeous white sand.  I did bring my camera and I took a few photos, but I must say most of my time on the island was spent swimming and enjoying my friend's company.  ;)    

A very rare photo of myself... !

Needless to say this is definitely a paradise island. I think "The Bachelor" should film a show here!! hahaha I'd say it's romantic enough. 

Warnemunde, Germany

Warnemunde, Germany is a small town filled with tall ships and little German shops along the water. It was gorgeous and sunny again today so I grabbed my camera with my 85mm lens and wandered off to find interesting things to take photos of. My new inspiration lately is taking 'detail' photos of the ports we go to. There are so many typical touristy shots of the cathedrals, canals and local shops that I've decided to try to take up close shots around towns. Here are a few that I took in Warnemunde!



 

Across the main bridge to cross the canal into town there is a chain with locks attached. The idea is to write the name of you and your love on the lock, lock it to the chain, and throw the key into the canal or river below. Read all about Love Locks on wiki.

 

Love Locks - Warnemunde, Germany

As I wandered around town trying to find the post office, I stumbled upon this little fountain with a procession of tiny statues. Each figure is only about 8 inches tall. The sign and description were all in German, so needless to say I was not able to understand what the symbolism behind it were.

 

 

 

Entrance to the Harbour - Port Light House, Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

As I was practicing getting used to focusing with my manual 85mm lens I happened to take this shot of a seagull about to take flight.

Seagull - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

Starboard Light House - Warnemunde, Germany

 

Detail of Rope - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

Warnemunde Boat - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

This was a really quaint town and I'm excited to go back there in a few weeks time and find more pictures!

 

Stay tuned for Tallinn, Estonia!

 

 



Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

It was a beautiful sunny day and I got off the ship in the evening to walk towards the harbour and find someplace to have a bite to eat. We passed the Little Mermaid on the way... One of the biggest tourist attractions of Copenhagen. She's a really small life-size statue sitting on a rock near the shore. 

 

 

The Little Mermaid - Copenhagen, Denmark

 

We continued walking... There were a number of interesting statues all over Copenhagen, hidden in strange nooks and crannies.

 

 

 

This is where the Royal Family lives. We were walking through and the square was almost empty outside the palace. They also had guards patrolling the grounds wearing ridiculous large fur hats.

Finally after about 40 mins of walking we reached our destination. A canal with sailboats lining it and plenty of restaurants in the sun.

 

 

We spent a long time just enjoying the food, sun and company. Eventually the sun began to set and we walked back to the ship. :)



 

Hope you enjoyed these photos! I have one more that I am working on of the Little Mermaid. I'll post that when I have it edited. We are going to be sailing about the United Kingdom for the next two weeks. I'm excited to return to Ireland! My Next post will be about Warnemunde Germany! Stay Tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land Ahoy! St. Malo, France

 

After 7 long days at sea we finally reached the coast of France! I didn't get off the ship this day either :(

 

Fun fact: My dad wrote me an email explaining that my French Ancestors came from this region of France. St. Malo, Cherbourg and Le Havre.

 

This town looked very medieval from what I could see. There is an old tower in the shot below.



 



 

St. Malo, France with a view of the old town

Sailboats in St. Malo Harbour

 

 

Bermuda!



 



The day after my birthday we arrived to the beautiful island of Hamilton, Bermuda. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Unfortunately I had IPM (In Port Manning) that day which meant I had to stay on the ship. A certain number of crew must be on the ship at all times.
I walked around the deck and took a few shots from the ship. I'll be back one day I'm sure ;)

 

Hamilton, Bermuda

Enormous Yachts and Gorgeous Blue Waters

Happy Birthday to Me!



Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the long delay in updating my blog. However, having 9 sea days in the first 10 days on the ship was time consuming to say the least! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up better now that we are doing ports.

 

Two days after embarking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Prinsendam, it was my birthday. Having only been on the ship for two days I didn't know too many people yet. But I still had a fabulous time. It was a formal night so most of us got dressed up to go to dinner. After hanging out in the Ocean Bar and enjoying the live music the Entertainment Team headed to the OB for more celebrating. Here are a few candid shots from the night... before my camera died :(

 





 

with Marcel



Colin, the Drummer

Fellow Canuck and Sax player, Andrew

 

Casey and Betsy

 

 

This was the first night of many more fun times in the OB. I have so many amazing team members here and I'm truly loving the atmosphere here on the Prinsendam. Stay tuned for my next post, Bermuda!