Cruise 2025 - The Rock and Roll Cruise - Part 2 - Curacao Revisited

Hiding from over two thousand, four hundred and four other passengers on a ship less than a thousand feet long is really very easy, just stay in your room and order everything from room service. We don’t use room service except for the daily bottles of drinking water, but we do love being on the balcony during sea days. We aren’t hermits, but we love what can only be done while cruising on the open sea and the best place we’ve found to enjoy it is on our balcony. This trip is no exception. 

With Cuba in the background, we enter the tranquil Windward Passage toward Curacao

We head into the appropriately named Windward Passage early on the morning of our second day with a brilliant sunrise to the east just as Cuba comes into sight on the horizon to our west. Ilse and I go up to the open top deck and watch the awakening pool activity two decks below. The Windward Passage, the channel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Hispaniola, has always intrigued me. We’ve sailed it four times now, and while we’re certainly not maritime experts, we’ve come to expect a different type of cruising here from anything else we have experienced. The appropriately named passage is always an interesting part of any cruise headed toward South America or the Panama Canal from the northern hemisphere. While it’s called the Windward Passage for good reason, the introduction, the first section has always been calm for us, almost a cunning lie to seduce unaware sailors. 

The subtle change in the sea as we pass Haiti

Breaking into the open Caribbean south of Haiti several hours later has always been enough to make whichever ship we’ve been on shudder and shake and the Rotterdam is no different. The wooden coat hangers in the closet even rattle. This is as pleasant as any other trip through here, and far from the worst when we had gale-force winds at 54 knots across our bow and fifteen to twenty foot seas while on the Crown Princess. The staircases on the Crown Princess squealed and banged in warped protest and water in the closed off pool deck sloshed higher than than the hand rail on the deck above. This passage was sedate by comparison, but still with enough personality to remind everyone why it is so named. We won’t be coming back this way as we will swing around the other side of Cuba for our return trip.

We are headed toward Curacao, then Cartagena, and a quick stop at Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal, then we will visit Georgetown in Grand Cayman, a repeat of our 1993 visit way back in the last century, before heading back to Ft. Lauderdale by way of the Yucatan Channel between Cuba and Mexico.

We had two full sea days – and one time change, ahead one hour – and we are anxiously awaiting our approach to Curacao, a port we really liked visiting way back in 2012. We are soon tied up, and after a nice relaxed breakfast, we head toward town.

Arriving at Willemstad, Curacao

MS Rotterdam, Willemstad, Curacao Dec 2025

The first thing that strikes me as I look across the rolling hills around Willemstadt is the numerous chimneys and smokestakes from the many petroleum processing plants are gone. The facilities are still there, but modernized and no longer conspicuous.

The floating Queen Emma Bridge in the foreground, and the soaring Queen Juliana Bridge in the background, Willemstad, Curacao

The Queen Emma bridge is cool, even if it is over 137 years old. The famous pedestrian bridge started swinging open while we were walking on it and drew oohs and aahs along with probably several thousand cell-phone photos from the pleased, conscripted “passengers.”

The pedestrian only Queen Emma bridge in Willemstad

 

A bridge unexpectedly swinging open is a thought that would normally instill visions of chaos and panic, not the pleasant giggles and laughter that enveloped the bridge. The “Old Swinging Lady” is world famous, and famously slow. It doesn’t raise up like a draw bridge or swing on a pivot like some of the old railroad bridges. Instead, it floats open on a hinge. The pontoon bridge that lifts and falls with the tides has an operator’s shack on the picturesque Punda side of Saint Anna Bay. 

The operator remotely closes the pedestrian gates on either end and starts the diesel motors that slowly propel the bridge away from from the abutment and the bridge “sails” open. Those on the bridge laugh and ride as if at an amusement park, it had enough undulation to make us hold the handrails, but the veterans of Old Swinging Lady didn’t even bother to look up. One woman hopped over the small gap between the bridge and the abutment as the bridge swung closed as she looked at her phone.

The oldest synagogue in the Americas

The famous floating market of Willemstad - Home of the famous three dollar banana

Being the good Samaritan that I try to be, I walked over to a couple sitting in what appeared to be a parked, brand new, locomotive pulling several open, surry-type sightseeing cars. Obviously a tourist tram waiting on passengers. Only this one was the little engine that couldn’t. The middle-aged driver was grinding the starter over and over again, but the shiny new engine only ground away mercilessly. It simply would not start. His wife, I assumed, sitting next to him was obviously getting desperate. They were both well dressed, obviously waiting on ship passengers for a local tour of Punda, on the other side of St. Anne’s from Otrabanda, which incidentally means “the other side.” He stepped down from the driver’s seat as I approached and I asked if I could possibly be of assistance.

“I don’t know,” he answered, “We just got it, it is brand new! It started fine when we drove it here!”

“Probably the choke valve is stuck open,” I answered, based on being from Miami and growing up putting my hand over carburetor throats to start cars and jeeps. I’ve done this many times before. “Well, open the engine cover and let’s see if we can fix this,” I answered.

Surprise, surprise! The fuel injected engine is part of a dedicated towing vehicle, not simply a converted jeep or truck chassis. It is state of the art and beautifully laid out, meticulously painted and labeled. It is spotlessly clean. Every label or tag, however, is written in Chinese. Well, basics still apply, I told myself and began following tubing and air ducts until the intake went out of sight behind the engine.

The woman had called an associate who arrived just as I reached the upper level of my expertise, I believe it’s still called the Peter Principle. I explained my actions to him as he stood quietly, his hands behind his back. He looked at me and said ‘Hmmm,” then reached behind the engine somehow and within a minute or so, said, “Try it now.” After several half-hearted coughs, it started just as a bus showed up and people began climbing into to the waiting tram. The woman came over to me and thanked me profusely, even though I hadn’t fixed it. “He did something inside the air cleaner, so, yes, you did.” By the time she picked up her microphone, they had a full tour loaded and ready to go. I got another big smile and a wave.

"Toto, we're not in Iowa anymore..."

We return to the ship to find another behemoth docked behind us, the Carnival Horizon, a cousin to our Holland America Rotterdam, which adds another 4000 visitors to the port. The third and fourth piers, smaller than the open sea piers, are in town, and are both occupied as well. Moored alongside St. Annabaai is the Crystal Serenity, famous for having been taken by Bahamian authorities several years ago for owing well over four million dollars in outstanding fuel bills, and another, unnamed boutique cruiser docked in front of her. The completely refurbished Crystal Serenity, carrying just over a thousand passengers, is now under new ownership and is operated by Crystal Cruises.

We have dinner and head for the top deck to catch the Thursday evening fireworks. Another great visit to one of our favorite ports.

Next –  Cartagena Revisited

The Cruise to Aruba - On to Aruba

From Part Five - http://piddlepaddler.blogspot.com/2012/03/cruise-to-aruba-willemstad-city.html

Punda, the heart of the old city is gaily lighted with reds, blues, and greens as dusk settles over Willemstad, Curaçao. We ate another marvelous dinner on the ship and decided to just relax on the ship and not go back into town.  We later stood on the top deck taking in one last view of the pretty city before going to the ship's theater and watching another one of the great shows, the ship's company version of “Motor City.”  This time the dancers had a flat, level stage to perform on! I still don't see how they do it in heavy seas!

We headed back up top after the show to catch our last glimpse of Willemstad as we cast off and headed toward our morning arrival in near-by Aruba. This departure was quite different from our last port departure on a Princess ship when we left San Juan on the Star Princess some eight years before. On that trip, we were adjacent to a Carnival Cruise lines ship that blared party music almost non-stop. The Star Princess was comatose by comparison. When we finally slid out of our berth late that night, it was if the Star Princess was trying to slip out of a party without being noticed. While the revelers next door waved goodbye, we slipped silently and morosely out into the dark harbor. We nick-named that cruise the “Geritol Cruise.”

This one was different. We think it was the work of an energetic young woman we met back on day one when I stopped her on a staircase and asked some inane question about the ship, like, where could I get writing material. She cheerfully helped as much as possible, and before being swept away by the throngs that surrounded her. It turned out to be Lisa Ball, the ship's cruise director. The “company” part of the cruise was really enjoyable because of her. 

 To me there are two main parts to cruising: the “natural” part, ie, ocean, sky, weather, the enjoyment that comes without any outside influence, and the “company” part, which includes music, dancing, dining, and entertainment, the part that is supplied or created by the ship. On the Star Princess, the “natural” part was outstanding, the “company” part left a lot to be desired. Not so on the Crown Princess, we enjoyed all parts of the cruise, and even really didn't mind the rocking and rolling of the heavy seas. Part of the experience.

The good news was we enjoyed the “company” part of the cruise this time as well, and the departure from Willemstad was a showcase for Lisa Ball's efforts. A huge banner was hung across the top railings of the pool deck that proclaimed “The Ultimate Deck Party,” which usually is a warning for poor, loud music, and confused drinkers who aimlessly wander around looking for something that vaguely looks like a party. This one was a model for how to throw a deck party properly. 

When Lisa took the microphone on the deck below us (we stayed one deck above the pool deck) and enthusiastically welcomed everyone to the world's greatest deck party, we realized the group of young, good looking people behind her were the ship's dancers who had changed into casual clothes. Lisa started the dancing by encouraging everyone around her to follow her lead. Soon the whole side of the pool she was on was dancing in rhythm, clapping their hands and really getting into the spirit of the party. As more and more passengers joined in the dancing, more of the ship's dancers faded away, and soon, the whole pool deck was a mass of dancing passengers. 

Great stuff, lead by the assistant cruise staff who had stepped in as lead dancers for the entire deck. By the time they got to the conga line, by now with a live band, there were well over several hundred passengers enjoying themselves. A great wrap up to a great day. My wife and I ended up in a piano bar listening to really good jazz and a great vocalist, the very things we missed on our last trip. You couldn't tell we were under way as we quietly sailed northward at 11 knots with trailing wind and a following sea. It is only 100 miles or so to Aruba.  No rush, we would be there by 8:00am.

Both parts of the cruise were in harmony.

Next: Aruba 

The Cruise to Aruba - Willemstad - The City

From Part Five - http://piddlepaddler.blogspot.com/2012/03/trip-to-aruba-willemstad-curacao.html

Ah, A writing pad! One of those old-fashioned lined ones from days of yore, you know, high school! A kind, but somewhat bewildered saleslady with a limited knowledge of English, dug out an old white pad from a stack of paper products near the cash register in a Willemstad dime store. She looked at me as if I were trying to pull a fast one, but, took my FL 2.90, about $1.70, without question and cautiously closed the cash register drawer. 

Now, to catch up. I actually started scribbling while we were having one of our rare soft drinks in a sidewalk cafe, oddly enough across the street from a McDonald’s. We had crossed the Queen Emma pontoon bridge over into Punda, the original section of the city, and spent several hours poking into shops and stores, generally looking around acting like tourists when we decided to take a rest break. We were sitting in the shade, chatting and watching the crowd of tourists that shuffled aimlessly along, not like us, of course.  We were joking about the McDonalds across the street when a police car rushed up, quickly parked and blocked the street. Two uniformed officers got out and headed toward the restaurant. We joked, “Man, they must be hungry!” but it turned out to be a business call. 

They met an agitated, concerned young woman wearing the traditional McDonald's management-type uniform on the sidewalk outside the store. We watched idly as they all disappeared inside. Soon, they all reappeared on the sidewalk with three young, clean cut, muscular looking young white men in tow. The tallest of the three had on a red T-shirt with “Guantanamo Fire Department” emblazoned across the back. He was obviously not happy, taking photos of both police officers, their car, the license plates, the manager, and anything else he thought would intimidate the police officers who simply ignored him.  The two police officers addressed the other two men who stood with their arms folded across their chests.  We could only imagine the confrontation inside the restaurant.

We finished our drinks and headed back toward the ship, and as we crossed the street we heard one of the police officers say rather firmly, “No one is going anywhere until the U.S. consul arrives!” A good time to speak German.

We asked a woman we stopped on the street if, by chance, she knew where the Numismatic Museum is located, the one attraction we all wanted to visit.  That is the coin and money museum run by the Bank of the Netherlands.  The lady walked us a complete block out of her way, saying hello to friends as she went, even stopping to caress a baby of a friend, just to point to the building several blocks away. We walked right past it coming in and didn't see the sign. We thanked her and slowly headed in that direction, but got sidetracked once again, this time by the huge open air vegetable market we could see down a side street. By the time we reached where the Queen Emma bridge should be, we realize we have missed the museum once again. Oh well, something to see next time!

Waiting on the Queen Emma pontoon bridge.

The Queen Emma bridge wasn't there. It was completely on the other side of St. Anna Bay. We joined the throngs patiently waiting for a tug boat to tow an ocean-going freighter slowly up the bay, taking photos as we waited for the floating pontoon bridge to chug across the river and reattach to the landing. The bridge is self powered, and within minutes of the freighter passing, the bridge reopened and hordes of pedestrians crossed the bridge in both directions.

We finally bought our goodies at the shops we knew to have the lowest prices, we never buy going in to town, only coming out after we know prices, and we picked up a bottle of blue Curaçao liqueur for a friend. Of course we bought the prerequisite trinkets and mementos, stuff that always ends up in a junk drawer somewhere, but, hey, that's one reason we're here. 

Time to head for the ship and another great dinner.

 

Next: On to Aruba