3-day cruise to the bahamas
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
There is nothing else like the warm, "Welcome back," that's extended by customs agents to citizens returning to the United States after travel abroad. I feel wanted, I feel included, I feel home. Ahhhh....
Well, I am home today. The room is rocking as I type. Guess it will take a while to get rid of these sea legs that I earned over the weekend. And boy, did we earn 'em! Doris and I committed to using the stairs on our ship rather than the elevators. It's 336 steps top to bottom, each time, and boy, were we ever running those stairs. Whew! I walked a lot in Nassau, danced at the salsa club on the ship, worked my way up the mammoth rock wall, did laps around Deck 7, and swam enough in Coco Cay to qualify for a triathlon. Over just three days, there is a visible difference in my body as my leg muscles are now actually defined.
The cruise was with Royal Caribbean and we visited Nassau and the cruise line's private island, Coco Cay. That's the trendy thing to do now, have your own island for the tourists to run around on.
We were given all sorts of advice before leaving on the cruise, and I must applaud our opinionated friends because every tidbit was great! Photocopying our documents before leaving, breakfasting in the formal dining room, taking the first dinner seating, avoiding the elevators, waiting to very end to get off the ship.
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
Food. I was overwhelmed by the presentation and quality of the food served, but I don't understand any more the assumption that people automatically gain weight on cruises. There's not that much food unless you actually go out of your way to get it. And twelve floors up and twelve floors down to go to Sorrento's for midnight pizza should at least help with, if not cancel out, the calories in the "lite" snacks available. During the dinners, I had garlic tiger shrimp, Indian vegetable curry, and teriaki salmon as entrees. Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee as desserts for my first time. A chilled strawberry-mint soup amazed me as an appetizer on one night! On Coco Cay there was a barbecue lunch with great ribs! Beautifully presented French toast one morning. Chocolate on the pillows. A midnight buffet one night. The best coffee I've had. Ever. It's Seattle's Best.
Alcohol. Hello, spring break! The college students were out in full force. I almost thought that I was on Carnival by the amount of alcohol being slurped down around me throughout the day.
Cleanliness. Spotless! Very elegant. I was sort of expecting a "beachy" theme on the ship, but instead it was decorated with golds and bronzes and mahoganies and walnuts and cedars and glass and artwork. Lots and lots and lots to clean, but the crew was on top of it constantly. Our stateroom attendant, Dominique, was in our room three to four times a day to clean and straighten and leave us treats.
God. I was saddened to realize on this trip what a pagan nation the United States has become. Everywhere that Doris and I went, there were evidences of God in individual's lives.
New experiences. Doris and I did our best to try new things out. One morning, she dragged me along to a pilates/yoga class. I was totally intimidated, but soon realized that all it is is stretching, like Mom did with us kids when I was little. When we were on Coco Cay, it was Doris's turn to try something new, so I dragged her into the water to go snorkeling with my equipment. It was kind of fun teaching her, like teaching a child. Little bit by little bit, I got her into the water and, thankfully, she was delightedly snorkeling around on her own before my stamina wore out -- I had been swimming along side of her, holding her hand and supporting her when she panicked in the big waves.
Shopping. How do people consider this a leisure activity?! Blugh. I went with Doris through some shops on Nassau because that's what tourists are "supposed to" do in the Bahamas, and it was downright painful. At one shop, we stopped to look at some rings made with rose gold (had never heard of it before) and ended up trying them on; Doris's was a $10,000 ring and mine $2,000. The shopkeepers felt obligated to see that those rings went home with us and tried all sorts of tactics! I literally had to walk out mid-conversation. The straw market on Coco Cay was a lot less pressure, and that's where we picked up gifts for those people who have been encouraging us along the way as we prepared for this cruise. Also, on board the ship, I bought a gorgeous white gold ring with a deep blue triangle-cut tanzanite in the center and four diamonds to each side. Gorgeous!
Photos. Here's a piece of advice I'd give should you ever take a cruise. Bring the charger for your camera battery, no matter how much it's "supposed to" stay charged. Yup. Mine died on Sunday afternoon upon arrival at Coco Cay. Very sad, because I looooooooove to be behind a camera while on vacation -- not for the sake of documentation, but because things are so pretty and I want to make art! Something available to us throughout the cruise was Royal Caribbean's photo services, but to purchase anything other than the formals and portraits is a rip-off because of quality -- and I did get some of those done. Very pretty! Now I need a husband or a boyfriend or someone who actually would want a beautiful picture of me.
International flavor. Of all the Caucasian staff members aboard the ship and also on Coco Cay, I only met two who were American. Imagine that! Tons from Australia, England, Eastern Europe, Denmark, and Norway. A couple from Canada. One from South Africa. Of the non-Caucasians, there were a lot of Filipinos, Dominicans, and other islanders. It was a looooooooovely wonderful hodgepodge, and the accents were great! Truth be told, I never understood our captain when he gave important announcements. Hah. Oh well.
Music. Uh-huh, there was music. Of course, the expected fare of reggae and Jimmy Buffet was to be had, but there were also some splendid performances by a three-piece orchestra in the lobby and the Latin band in Bolero's. One night at Bolero's, Doris and I watched a beginners Salsa class, and then jumped up to dance during the free-style time. Later in the hallways, one of the instructors, a dancer from Australia, recognized me and gave me a beautiful confidence-boosting compliment. How kind!
Nature. Snorkeling at Coco Cay was wonderful! I'd brought most of my own equipment, so they only charged me $6 for the day to use a snorkel vest and the services of the lifeguards should I need them. The snorkeling area was massive, unlike any other I've seen! From the shore, I literally had to squint to see the furthest lifeguard station. I swam out to it twice, and both times the trip took about 20 minutes of simply swimming and fighting the waves. But it was worth it -- near the stand there are two sunken airplanes! I have seen plenty of shipwrecks, but these were firsts. I dove under again and again and again to look at the bodies, to watch the fish, to be fascinated. Also during my day of snorkeling, I found a huge rock covered with sea anenomes, part of an old shipwreck that had bits of its cannons revealed (fake?), fantastic huge mother-of-pearl pieces, fire coral, and fish-fish-fish-fish-fish.
Ervin. We were bountifully blessed on Nassau to hook up with a cheerful taxi driver and tour guide named Ervin. At 62 years old, he's got more stamina than I do! This man drove us around the island, giving all sorts of information about the Bahamas' history, geography, government, social organization, and everyday life. If he ever ran out of stuff to say, we'd get a dramatically proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen! The Bahamas!" And everybody in the taxi bus would laugh. Ervin took us to Fort Charlotte, to the Queen's Staircase, past all sorts of interesting buildings (the jail, a school, the post office, the police station, various cemeteries), and eventually onto Paradise Island to the hotel Atlantis. Unfortunately, Doris and I were late getting back to the taxi, so we didn't get to finish out the day with him -- and getting on another taxi for the return trip proved how unusual Ervin really is. Too bad about getting separated, because I wanted to say thank-you and also encourage him as his Christian sister. Oh yeah, he was full of the Holy Spirit! I loved this man.
Shane. He runs everything on the ship -- well, at least relating to activities. I doubt he sleeps. Unlike other staff who'd be announced or referred to by title and possibly then by their full name, Shane was just Shane. Yeah. Various other staff would introduce themselves by saying, "Hi, my name's ____, and I'm with Shane." Imagine a young Jim Carrey, and there you have Shane.
Ummmm. Pilates/yoga? The comedians? Ice sculpture carving? Cooking demonstrations? Scavenger hunts? Rock wall climbing? The salt-water pools? All those stairs? Bath-towel animals? Art auction? Dueling pianos? Parasailing? Barbecue? Hair braiding? Tours? Seminars? Programs? Shows? I don't know how to categorize so many of the opportunities on board. There's a lot!
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
This was my first cruise, and my conclusion is that a cruise is what you make of it. There's no set "way" to do it, so if you're not one to enjoy running around the islands on tours, you don't have to. There is plenty to see and plenty to do and plenty of opportunities to simply sit and relax. Whatever you want. "The ship is yours!" says Shane.
Although it was tough to be out of the stateroom by 8:00 this morning, there's nothing like getting home at noon to unpack and unwind before having to talk to people and jump back into the week.
Umm, is that it? Let me think on it, and in the meantime, I'm going to get working on pictures for y'all. "Yippee," right?! I hear you.
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
There is nothing else like the warm, "Welcome back," that's extended by customs agents to citizens returning to the United States after travel abroad. I feel wanted, I feel included, I feel home. Ahhhh....
Well, I am home today. The room is rocking as I type. Guess it will take a while to get rid of these sea legs that I earned over the weekend. And boy, did we earn 'em! Doris and I committed to using the stairs on our ship rather than the elevators. It's 336 steps top to bottom, each time, and boy, were we ever running those stairs. Whew! I walked a lot in Nassau, danced at the salsa club on the ship, worked my way up the mammoth rock wall, did laps around Deck 7, and swam enough in Coco Cay to qualify for a triathlon. Over just three days, there is a visible difference in my body as my leg muscles are now actually defined.
The cruise was with Royal Caribbean and we visited Nassau and the cruise line's private island, Coco Cay. That's the trendy thing to do now, have your own island for the tourists to run around on.
We were given all sorts of advice before leaving on the cruise, and I must applaud our opinionated friends because every tidbit was great! Photocopying our documents before leaving, breakfasting in the formal dining room, taking the first dinner seating, avoiding the elevators, waiting to very end to get off the ship.
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
Food. I was overwhelmed by the presentation and quality of the food served, but I don't understand any more the assumption that people automatically gain weight on cruises. There's not that much food unless you actually go out of your way to get it. And twelve floors up and twelve floors down to go to Sorrento's for midnight pizza should at least help with, if not cancel out, the calories in the "lite" snacks available. During the dinners, I had garlic tiger shrimp, Indian vegetable curry, and teriaki salmon as entrees. Baked Alaska and Cherries Jubilee as desserts for my first time. A chilled strawberry-mint soup amazed me as an appetizer on one night! On Coco Cay there was a barbecue lunch with great ribs! Beautifully presented French toast one morning. Chocolate on the pillows. A midnight buffet one night. The best coffee I've had. Ever. It's Seattle's Best.
Alcohol. Hello, spring break! The college students were out in full force. I almost thought that I was on Carnival by the amount of alcohol being slurped down around me throughout the day.
Cleanliness. Spotless! Very elegant. I was sort of expecting a "beachy" theme on the ship, but instead it was decorated with golds and bronzes and mahoganies and walnuts and cedars and glass and artwork. Lots and lots and lots to clean, but the crew was on top of it constantly. Our stateroom attendant, Dominique, was in our room three to four times a day to clean and straighten and leave us treats.
God. I was saddened to realize on this trip what a pagan nation the United States has become. Everywhere that Doris and I went, there were evidences of God in individual's lives.
- Cruise announcements that ended with, "Have a blessed day"
- Stepping off the ship in Nassau to a set of street musicians playing praise songs
- Bold in the courtyard of a police station in Nassau was a great marble monument reading: "Fallen Officers' Memorial. Dedicated to the Honor and Glory of God"
- Our tour guide of Nassau, a wonderful gent named Ervin, shone with the Holy Spirit and grace
- Music on the tender (water taxi) back to the ship consisted of doctrinally strong spirituals
- Musicians in the main lobby of the ship playing songs like "How Great Thou Art," "I Will Be Here," and "Above All"
- Stumbling upon a prayer circle of fervent shopkeepers at Coco Cay's straw market
New experiences. Doris and I did our best to try new things out. One morning, she dragged me along to a pilates/yoga class. I was totally intimidated, but soon realized that all it is is stretching, like Mom did with us kids when I was little. When we were on Coco Cay, it was Doris's turn to try something new, so I dragged her into the water to go snorkeling with my equipment. It was kind of fun teaching her, like teaching a child. Little bit by little bit, I got her into the water and, thankfully, she was delightedly snorkeling around on her own before my stamina wore out -- I had been swimming along side of her, holding her hand and supporting her when she panicked in the big waves.
Shopping. How do people consider this a leisure activity?! Blugh. I went with Doris through some shops on Nassau because that's what tourists are "supposed to" do in the Bahamas, and it was downright painful. At one shop, we stopped to look at some rings made with rose gold (had never heard of it before) and ended up trying them on; Doris's was a $10,000 ring and mine $2,000. The shopkeepers felt obligated to see that those rings went home with us and tried all sorts of tactics! I literally had to walk out mid-conversation. The straw market on Coco Cay was a lot less pressure, and that's where we picked up gifts for those people who have been encouraging us along the way as we prepared for this cruise. Also, on board the ship, I bought a gorgeous white gold ring with a deep blue triangle-cut tanzanite in the center and four diamonds to each side. Gorgeous!
Photos. Here's a piece of advice I'd give should you ever take a cruise. Bring the charger for your camera battery, no matter how much it's "supposed to" stay charged. Yup. Mine died on Sunday afternoon upon arrival at Coco Cay. Very sad, because I looooooooove to be behind a camera while on vacation -- not for the sake of documentation, but because things are so pretty and I want to make art! Something available to us throughout the cruise was Royal Caribbean's photo services, but to purchase anything other than the formals and portraits is a rip-off because of quality -- and I did get some of those done. Very pretty! Now I need a husband or a boyfriend or someone who actually would want a beautiful picture of me.
International flavor. Of all the Caucasian staff members aboard the ship and also on Coco Cay, I only met two who were American. Imagine that! Tons from Australia, England, Eastern Europe, Denmark, and Norway. A couple from Canada. One from South Africa. Of the non-Caucasians, there were a lot of Filipinos, Dominicans, and other islanders. It was a looooooooovely wonderful hodgepodge, and the accents were great! Truth be told, I never understood our captain when he gave important announcements. Hah. Oh well.
Music. Uh-huh, there was music. Of course, the expected fare of reggae and Jimmy Buffet was to be had, but there were also some splendid performances by a three-piece orchestra in the lobby and the Latin band in Bolero's. One night at Bolero's, Doris and I watched a beginners Salsa class, and then jumped up to dance during the free-style time. Later in the hallways, one of the instructors, a dancer from Australia, recognized me and gave me a beautiful confidence-boosting compliment. How kind!
Nature. Snorkeling at Coco Cay was wonderful! I'd brought most of my own equipment, so they only charged me $6 for the day to use a snorkel vest and the services of the lifeguards should I need them. The snorkeling area was massive, unlike any other I've seen! From the shore, I literally had to squint to see the furthest lifeguard station. I swam out to it twice, and both times the trip took about 20 minutes of simply swimming and fighting the waves. But it was worth it -- near the stand there are two sunken airplanes! I have seen plenty of shipwrecks, but these were firsts. I dove under again and again and again to look at the bodies, to watch the fish, to be fascinated. Also during my day of snorkeling, I found a huge rock covered with sea anenomes, part of an old shipwreck that had bits of its cannons revealed (fake?), fantastic huge mother-of-pearl pieces, fire coral, and fish-fish-fish-fish-fish.
Ervin. We were bountifully blessed on Nassau to hook up with a cheerful taxi driver and tour guide named Ervin. At 62 years old, he's got more stamina than I do! This man drove us around the island, giving all sorts of information about the Bahamas' history, geography, government, social organization, and everyday life. If he ever ran out of stuff to say, we'd get a dramatically proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen! The Bahamas!" And everybody in the taxi bus would laugh. Ervin took us to Fort Charlotte, to the Queen's Staircase, past all sorts of interesting buildings (the jail, a school, the post office, the police station, various cemeteries), and eventually onto Paradise Island to the hotel Atlantis. Unfortunately, Doris and I were late getting back to the taxi, so we didn't get to finish out the day with him -- and getting on another taxi for the return trip proved how unusual Ervin really is. Too bad about getting separated, because I wanted to say thank-you and also encourage him as his Christian sister. Oh yeah, he was full of the Holy Spirit! I loved this man.
Shane. He runs everything on the ship -- well, at least relating to activities. I doubt he sleeps. Unlike other staff who'd be announced or referred to by title and possibly then by their full name, Shane was just Shane. Yeah. Various other staff would introduce themselves by saying, "Hi, my name's ____, and I'm with Shane." Imagine a young Jim Carrey, and there you have Shane.
Ummmm. Pilates/yoga? The comedians? Ice sculpture carving? Cooking demonstrations? Scavenger hunts? Rock wall climbing? The salt-water pools? All those stairs? Bath-towel animals? Art auction? Dueling pianos? Parasailing? Barbecue? Hair braiding? Tours? Seminars? Programs? Shows? I don't know how to categorize so many of the opportunities on board. There's a lot!
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!
This was my first cruise, and my conclusion is that a cruise is what you make of it. There's no set "way" to do it, so if you're not one to enjoy running around the islands on tours, you don't have to. There is plenty to see and plenty to do and plenty of opportunities to simply sit and relax. Whatever you want. "The ship is yours!" says Shane.
Although it was tough to be out of the stateroom by 8:00 this morning, there's nothing like getting home at noon to unpack and unwind before having to talk to people and jump back into the week.
Umm, is that it? Let me think on it, and in the meantime, I'm going to get working on pictures for y'all. "Yippee," right?! I hear you.
Photos here, courtesy of Facebook!