From 'I Do' to 'See You Next Year': Our Koningsdam Love Story

I still remember the exact moment my wife Sarah grabbed my hand on the Lido Deck and said, "We have to do this every year." We were on our fifth day of our honeymoon cruise, watching the sun melt into the Caribbean like watercolor paint, and honestly, I thought she was just being romantic. How naive I was. Let me back up. Sarah and I got married on a Saturday in June, and by Sunday evening, we were boarding the Koningsdam in Port Canaveral. We'd saved for two years for a seven-day cruise, and we were determined to make it the perfect start to our marriage. Spoiler alert: it was, but not for the reasons we expected. The ship itself is absolutely gorgeous. Koningsdam is one of Holland America's Pinnacle-class vessels, and the first time we walked into the main atrium with its soaring three-deck rotunda and that stunning chandelier, I heard Sarah actually gasp. The ship felt elegant without being stuffy—exactly what we wanted. We had a basic inside cabin on Deck 8, nothing fancy, but it was clean and comfortable, with that signature Holland America hospitality from the moment we stepped inside. Our cabin steward, Marcus, brought us champagne and left a chocolate on our pillow with a…