It’s weird to think, as a Floridian, I had never been on a cruise or to the Caribbean. But I can finally say I’ve done both thanks to a recent cruise on Holland America Line. Seeing crystal-clear waters from photos and videos hardly does a destination justice when you actually get to dip your toes into the warm waters and soft sands.

At Grand Turk we got to enjoy an early morning through afternoon on the small island, just 5 miles long. In fact, if you ever felt lost, simply finding a high elevation point would almost guarantee a view of the ship.

I took part in a bus tour that brought us to some of the major sites around the island past the island’s small airport, a replica of the space capsule used by John Glenn in 1962 after he orbited the earth, local shops and market stalls and, of course, the beaches.

I especially liked seeing donkeys roaming free on the island. They were present when we arrived at Grand Turk Lighthouse, a 19th-century lighthouse that, while no longer allowing visitors to its top, promises some unbeatable views out over the cliffs and waters below.

It was sad to see so many buildings destroyed by recent hurricanes, something our guide pointed out to us as we passed government buildings and homes that faced both water and wind damage over the years. As a Floridian who expects hurricane news and/or the residual effects of distant hurricanes from the Caribbean, seeing how powerful these storms truly are stuck with me. Many buildings are currently being rebuilt farther away from the coast.

I loved learning about the history of the island, too. Grand Turk was a big slave island, one of its main resources being salt. Our guide showed us the remnants of salt sites, called salinas, that slaves once worked day and night. These artificial ponds were used to extract salt from sea water through evaporation, and these low-lying water areas are still visible today.

It was an informative, interesting and great day experiencing my first Caribbean destination. At the end of the tour we spent an hour swimming at one of the beaches where the water was so clear, I felt I could see for miles beneath the surface. Comparing these waters to the murky Atlantic Ocean waters of North Florida is hardly fair, but it’s difficult not to put them side by side when basking beneath the sun and floating atop the gentle waters.

— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor