Poppies at Bartlett Lake

We drove out to Bartlett Lake today to see the poppies and other desert wildflowers.

Caribbean Cruise w/ Panama Canal (January 3-16, 2026)

We decided to start the new year with a partial Panama Canal Cruise that includes several Caribbean islands and Latin American ports. This map shows our itinerary (except visiting Curacao instead of Bonaire).

All of these locations are new destinations for me, except Limon Costa Rica, and I was there way back in 1988, so I'm sure it has changed!

Days 0-1: Fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Days 2-3: At Sea

Day 4: Aruba

Day 5: Curacao

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Cartagena, Colombia

Day 8: Panama Canal  / Panama City

Day 9: Limon, Costa Rica

Day 10: At Sea

Day 11: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 12: At Sea

Day 13: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida/home

Days 0-1: Fort Lauderdale

Day 0: Travel to Fort Lauderdale

Today was primarily a travel day, so I counted it as Day 0, which allowed all the other days to synch with the cruise itinerary days.

Our flight arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 4 pm, giving us time to see a bit of the beach and Hollywood broadwalk.

We booked one night at the Tiana Beach Inn, which is only one block from Hollywood beach broadwalk.

After wandering up and down the beach, we saw the moon rise over the ocean.

Then we enjoyed some tuna nachos at Oceans 13 before heading back to our room for the night.

Day 1: Begin cruise

We spent a bit of time at the beach/walking the broadwalk this morning before we checked out of our room.

After checking out of our hotel, we caught a Lyft to Port Everglades.

There were a bunch of ships in port,  so traffic was bad and it was a bit chaotic, but we weren't in line very long, given how busy it was. Once we were on board, we relaxed with a drink and had lunch.

A balcony room was a bit pricier than we wanted to spend on this trip, so we booked an aft room with a porthole.

The location was great (next to the aft pool, bars, buffet for early morning coffee). This room felt really really small though, but there was ample storage.

There was a bit of a delay leaving the port, then we said goodbye to Fort Lauderdale and headed out to sea.

Days 2-3: Relaxing at sea

We spent our first two days relaxing at sea and enjoying the views as we cruised from Florida to Aruba.

View of Cuba in the distance

Enjoying the view from the back of the ship.

A brief rainstorm moving towards us.

The resulting rainbow over the sea.

A second rainbow after another rain cloud.

We went to a few shows, trivia games, 

and ship activities (like the martini demonstration).

But we mostly mostly hung out and  relaxed.

We also made sure we got value from our Princess Plus package.

Enjoying a breakfast (coffee) cocktail.

A nameless cocktail the bartender made up.

Overall service has been a bit slow and inefficient, but we have time to be patient. The ship feels very understaffed (the crew is hustling, there just are too few people to handle the demand).

Similarly, food has been what I expect on a cruise.

It's nicely presented but is typical banquet quality. We haven't had anything bad, but nothing has been remarkable, and the desserts are beautiful but fairly flavorless.

Day 4: Aruba

We had a fun day in Aruba today. After picking up the Jeep, we drove south to Mangel Halto beach where we snorkeled. We didn't see a lot of fish but there were some rainbow parrot fish (we left our cameras locked in the car, so we don't have any pictures here). 

From there, we drove to Baby Beach. We were going to just take pictures but it was really crowded and difficult to find parking, so we just did a drive by. 

And then explored some dirt roads past the beach.

We enjoyed seeing desert plants that were different from what we have at home.

Our next stop  was at the Seroe Colorado Natural Bridge.

There was about a 5-10 minute walk from the parking lot but the view was worth it. It was amazing how many people pulled into the parking lot then left when you couldn't see it from where you parked 

Steve needed to show off and walk across it.

Next, we drove to Arikok National Park. Our first stop was Quadirikiri Cave, where we spent some time exploring the cave. 

Next, we went to Fontein cave. 

The cave was smaller and the bat smell was heavy, so we didn't spend much time there. 

From there, we continued to drive along the ungraded dirt road along the coast watching for goats

visiting sand dunes,

other beaches, 

a bumpy off road trail,

and a sea arch.

After a lunch stop

we went to the Bushiribana Ruins 

then continued to follow the coast to the  California Lighthouse, which was closed for renovations. 

So Steve found another hill he could play on.

We planned to snorkel at Boca Catalina, but it was getting late and parking was difficult. Instead, we drove south and just looked at the various beaches. 

We stopped at Eagle Beach long enough to dip our toes in the sand/water

then returned the Jeep and headed back to the ship for a late dinner.