Also, day's the ship is docked the spa usually offer discounts since most people or off the ship enjoying the port. This would be a nice time to have a massage at the pool.

Thank you both for your info! I'm just excited! Usually when I travel I do alot of research beforehand. Since I can't access the excursion info yet on Holland America, I don't know what my options are! Good to know you can go back and forth!!!

You have so many choices for days at port.  It is usually so quiet it can be nice to stay on board and enjoy all the comforts and dining; no lack of lounge chairs!  We sometimes go for a morning excursion, come back to the ship to eat/change and then head out for a little shopping or siteseeing close to the port area.

Might be good to look into what is close to port for yourselves as there are often things to see that are easy to get to and not very costly or free for the viewing (architecture, parks, etc.)

Good luck!  You won't be a virgin for long now!

Sometimes the ship is too big to dock directly at the port, so there are  small boats called tenders which shuttle us back and forth. These usually ran about every 15 - 30 mins. You come and go as you please. 

 To answer you're part two question, you don't ever have to ever leave the ship when at port if you don't want to. There is food and drinks served all day, and if remember correctly ther are also a few activities. I kind of like staying onboard during those times. The pools ususally empty and there is lots of quiet time.

Hope this helps.

I have major virgin series of questions...  It will be obvious to you that I have never been on a cruise at all, let alone an Olivia cruise. I am very excited and wanting to read and learn as much as I can before we go. But we just booked this past weekend and don't have our booking numbers to go onto the Holland America site to even begin to calculate what the off ship days could cost. Each one of the off ship days is very long.

Obviously you can't walk back into the ship, (I see it's way out there, and I didn't see any pictures of the boats that bring us in. but once you leave do you have to stay off the ship the whole time? Can you go back early or go back and forth once to break up the day? Especially at Half Moon Cay.. I love the beach but I don't know I can stay out there from 8am to 2pm. Especially on a budget when nothing on land is included. Since this trip happened as a last minute splurge, we haven't saved to spend alot beyond the cost of the cruise.

And part two of this..Is anyone left behind or does everyone go  If for some reason we chose not to go to the beach (after all the sun is shining at the pool too) are there events and things to do all day during the excursion  days, or do you have to leave the ship?

thanks in advance for answering my big convoluted questions!!!