Annual Thanksgiving Cruise

12-Day Panama Canal Discovery
Costa Rica & Greater Antilles

November 16 - 28, 2025

Itinerary       Pricing       Inclusions

Roseborough Travel has been hosting an Annual Thanksgiving Cruise for over 30 years for a reason... be it no cooking or cleaning of dishes, the opportunity to visit amazing ports of call, or the fun of getting together with a group of like-minded traveling companions. Whatever your reason is, you will not want to miss out on our tradition.

Travel roundtrip from DeLand via deluxe motorcoach with Roseborough Travel down to Fort Lauderdale, where we’ll set sail on Holland America Line's Rotterdam and discover a vacation like no other. The Rotterdam delivers the best of everything Holland America does: exquisite cuisine, award-winning service, superbly appointed staterooms and suites, and world-class entertainment. Dance the night away at B.B. King’s Blues Club or relive your favorite rock classics at Rolling Stone Lounge. Experience Rotterdam’s Pinnacle Class luxury and find a mastery of the details that keep our guests returning again and again.

November 16: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US - Embark

Bright and early, we'll head down to the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale to embark on our exciting Thanksgiving Cruise! 

November 17: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

In a region renowned for tropical wonders, one island rises to the top—ours. We’re not the only ones enamored with our slice of paradise—Half Moon Cay is the highest-rated Bahamas private island. It has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award consecutively for 20 years. We’ve spent a quarter of a century perfecting the experience. When you feel the sugar-white sand on your toes or kayak its crystal lagoon, you’ll understand why cruise travelers love Half Moon Cay, a highlight of our Bahamas cruises.

November 18 - 19: Days at Sea

November 20: Willemstad, Curacao

There is so much to see and do on our cruises to Curaçao. This precious island has a good mixture of history and modernism which all of our guests can truly enjoy. The capital of Curaçao, Willemstad, is almost as old as a more famous Dutch settlement—it was founded in 1634, just 10 years after New Amsterdam, later called New York. But while the Dutch control of New Amsterdam was relatively brief, Curaçao remains a part of the Netherlands to this day. Our Curaçao cruise takes you to its historic center which is a unique mixture of Dutch architecture and Caribbean pastels, its gabled row houses overlooking Sint Anna Bay, a waterway dividing the city in two and connecting the Caribbean to the protected Schottegat Bay. The entire historic center of Willemstad has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While Willemstad's legendary days of yore can be explored at institutions like the Kura Hulanda and Curaçao Maritime Museum, this is a vibrant, living city too. Our Curaçao cruise highlights this multicultural melting pot which might include a stop at its floating market and a visit to a Curaçao distillery to taste the famous local liqueur. Natural wonders await as well: Some of the Caribbean’s most stunning diving and snorkeling spots are here. Finally, a meal in Willemstad will let you experience the diversity of the island through the surprising flavors of its cuisine, which reflects European, Caribbean and Latin American influences.

November 21: Day at Sea

November 22: Cartagena, Colombia

Its official name is Cartagena de Indias—or "Cartagena of the Indies"—but call it Cartagena for short. The formal name hints at this Colombian city's colonial relationship with Spain; it was founded in 1533 and named after the mother country's Cartagena. Colombia declared independence in 1810, but there's plenty about its fifth-largest city that evokes old Spain, including the impressive fort of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, and the wall that encloses the old town, one of the few intact structures of its kind in the Americas. Both were considered important enough to inscribe on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1984. They may be historical artifacts, but the fortress and wall aren't merely tourist attractions; they are central to daily life here. Take a stroll and you'll see couples sitting atop the wall, locked in passionate embraces; parents watching their children walk it like a balance beam; and friends chatting while enjoying the Caribbean breeze. Along with history, there's cultural and culinary intrigue here, too. This colorful city was a muse of the late Nobel Prize–winning writer Gabriel García Márquez, and is increasingly being recognized outside Colombia for its cuisine, which takes many cues from Caribbean ingredients. (Don't leave without trying the coconut rice.)

November 23: Cruising Panama Canal - Gatun Lake, Panama - Colon, Panama

Think of the Panama Canal, and the image that may come to mind is of the world’s huge tankers and cruise ships passing through a series of locks. That, however, reflects only one aspect of this part of the world. As ships travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, they also pass colonial towns, historic fortresses and manmade lakes that are today home to sanctuaries for hundreds of different animal and plant species.

At the center of one of the world’s greatest engineering projects is a place where nature has been given a space to flourish—the vast Gatún Lake. The lake includes some 33 kilometers (20 miles) of the 77-kilometer (48-mile) route that ships follow through the Panama Canal. While a passenger gazing at its forested shores may assume they are looking at a landscape that predates the canal, the lake is as much a manmade creation as the various locks. It was formed in 1912, with the damming of the Chagres River, and the islands that dot the lake were once the peaks of hills.

The surface of the lake sits at an elevation of between 25 and 27 meters (82 and 87 feet) above sea level. At its Caribbean end, the Gatún Locks raise ships traveling towards the Pacific to the level of the lake; at its other end, the Pedro Miguel and then the Miraflores Locks lower them back to sea level. In addition to opportunities to see the infrastructure of the canal, created at the expense of millions of dollars and thousands of lives, Gatún Lake is fascinating for its remarkable biodiversity. More than 100 species each of mammals and reptiles, as well as some 500 different birds, thrive in the nature reserves in and near the lake.

Colon lies on the stunning Caribbean coast of Panama, where unparalleled beaches and lush tropical scenery are de rigueur. In nearby Portobello, discover the ruins of Spanish forts, watch the colorful yachts sailing in the bay or hunt for treasures in the local markets. Travel to the Gatun Locks for a bird's eye view of the immense ships passing through the Panama Canal.  

November 24: Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica

Puerto Limón probably isn't the most bustling port you've ever visited, but don't be put off by its facade; like most coastal towns in Costa Rica, it is a perfect base from which to explore an attraction- and activity-rich region that can fulfill a variety of interests. You're never far from a rain forest or outdoor adventure in Costa Rica, and there are lots of day trips from Puerto Limón that allow you to pack in an adrenaline rush or a few more ticks on your birding list within just a few hours. There are treetops for zip lining and rushing rivers for whitewater rafting if you’re a more active traveler, and animal lovers can take sanctuary tours in and around Puerto Limón. Of course, when it comes time to eat, there's plenty of the national favorite, gallo pinto (rice and beans), and as with many port towns, there is lots of fresh seafood and even an upscale Italian restaurant. As for shopping, you can find arts and crafts that were made locally as well as edible treats like handmade chocolate.  

November 25: Day at Sea

November 26: Falmouth, Jamaica

As claims to fame go, this one is pretty cool: The world's fastest man ever, Usain Bolt, was raised just outside of the northern Jamaica town of Falmouth and went to school there. Centuries earlier, the coastal town was best known as one of the Caribbean's most prosperous towns, its wealth based on sugar, coffee and rum though all of those were surpassed by the slave trade. By the mid-19th century, however, economic decline was swift, and the once-bustling harbor fell into disuse. Today, its waterfront district with the stone St. Peter's Anglican Church is a National Heritage Site, and the outlying area is filled with historic buildings such as the Green Park Great House, once owned by the great-grandfather of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Falmouth is described as one of the Caribbean's best-preserved Georgian towns, but not all is well. The humid Caribbean climate wreaks havoc on wooden homes, and many are in dire need of upkeep. Thankfully, the World Monuments Fund has helped, and the town is the perfect place to dream about picking up a fixer-upper on a heritage walking tour. Falmouth is also a great starting point for visiting any of the towns along the north coast, from Montego Bay to the west and Ocho Rios to the east.

November 27: Day at Sea - Happy Thanksgiving!

November 28: Fort Lauderdale, FL - Disembark

The time has come to disembark and make our way back home with all the wonderful memories made on our trip.