Category Archives: Ports of Call

Skagway Cruise Port

Temperatures in Skagway, Alaska range from wintertime lows in the 20’s Fahrenheit to summertime highs in the 60’s Fahrenheit. It averages about a week’s worth of rain per month with the least rainy months from February to June and the … Continue reading →

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Tahiti Beginner’s Dive

Our cruise from San Diego to Sydney, Australia on Holland America Noordam had an overnight port stop in Papeete, Tahiti. We booked the cruise through Vacations to Go. When you book through Vacations to Go they offer shore excursions at … Continue reading →

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Tahiti Van Tour

Following our missed port in Kiritimati, we arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at noon, a couple hours ahead of Holland America Noordam’s scheduled 2pm arrival. We had nothing planned for that day, but found people with signs for bus or taxi … Continue reading →

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Skagway Yukon Tour

The White Pass Railroad is by far the most popular excursion in Skagway. The main one goes up to the top of the mountain just over the Canadian border and back down again without ever leaving the train, though there … Continue reading →

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Papeete, Tahiti Cruise Port

It seemed like a tight squeeze to get a cruise ship through the narrow entrance to the harbor in Papeete, Tahiti, but the Noordam docked next to the much larger Ovation of the Seas so apparently even a large ship … Continue reading →

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Antigua Island Tour

On our Caribbean cruise on the Enchanted Princess we docked in Antigua with nothing planned to do. The dock our ship was on exited directly into a port shopping area called Heritage Quay, though that was not the case for … Continue reading →

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Snorkeling With Whales

Our trans-Pacific cruise on Holland America Noordam made an overnight stop in Tahiti. We had no set plans on the day we arrived, so we took a last-minute island tour that was available through locals at the port. For the … Continue reading →

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Antigua Cruise Port

Antigua is a coral-reefed Caribbean island in the Leeward islands of the Lesser Antillies. Despite the spelling, it is pronounced An-tee- ga as if there were no u. English is the official language. The climate is warm, tropical, and drier … Continue reading →

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Saint Kitts Island Tour

We hadn’t made any pre-cruise plans for the Saint Kitts port stop on our Caribbean cruise on the Enchanted Princess. One of the couples we had dinner with said their daughter and son-in-law lived on a sailboat and would be … Continue reading →

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Juneau Whale Watching

On the way to Juneau, Holland America Zaandam was scheduled to visit Tracy Arm. This is the third Alaska cruise I’ve taken that was scheduled to go into Tracy Arm. Besides being later in the season than the first two, … Continue reading →

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