Category Archives: Ports of Call

Seattle Cruise Ship Ports

Seattle Seattle is the largest city in Washington State with a population of over 800,000. It’s nickname is the Emerald City due to the abundance of year-round greenery. Washington is called the Evergreen State due to its native evergreen trees. … Continue reading

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Saint Lucia Cruise Port

Saint Lucia is an independent country, but also a member of the British Commonwealth. It’s a volcanic Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles with reefs, rainforests, and waterfalls. The capital is Castries, the official language English, and currency the east … Continue reading

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Punta Arenas, Chile Cruise Port

Punta Arenas, Chile Punta Arenas lies on the Strait of Magellan near the tip of southern Patagonian Chile. It’s often a starting point for those heading to Antarctica. It has a population of over 145,000 and is the coldest coastal … Continue reading

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Cartegena Cruise Port

Cartagena, Columbia Cartagena’s tourist draws include the 16th century walled old town and its beaches. Temperatures in Cartagena generally stay with lows in the mid to high 70’s F to highs in the high 80’s to low 90’s year-round. Annual … Continue reading

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Nuku Island and Swallow’s Cave Snorkel Excursion

I was happy to see that Holland America’s information on our transpacific cruise on the Noordam for this excursion from Vava’u, Tonga specified reef-safe sunscreen and that there was no mention of insect repellent. So many snorkel excursion instructions say … Continue reading

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European Christmas Decorations

Throughout the areas in Europe where Christmas markets flourish, those markets provide a lot of festive decoration for the areas where they reside. Some of them get quite creative. Even the market stalls are sometimes festive. Nearly every Christmas market … Continue reading

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Aruba by Land and Sea

Aruba Aruba’s motto is One Happy Island. There are lots of beaches on the 70-square-mile island. The country is an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Prior to 1986 it was part of the Netherlands Antillies, but gained … Continue reading

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Vava’u Tonga Cruise Port

Neiafu, Vava’u Tonga Neiafu is the second largest city in Tonga with a population around 4000 people. It is located in the island archipelago of Vava’u, which encompasses about 50 islands in the north of the Kingdom of Tonga and … Continue reading

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Grand Turk Beach Day at the Port

Grand Turk is the largest and capitol island of the Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory. Divers come to the island for spectacular wall dives on its nearly 7000 foot wall. Tourist attractions on Grand Turk include an 1852 … Continue reading

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Patagonia Nature in Depth

At Holland America Oosterdam’s port stop in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile we booked an excursion called Patagonia Nature in Depth. This excursion promised a walk through the Aiken del Sur private 5 square mile park with superb views of lakes, rivers, … Continue reading

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