Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation, right? After spending five hot days with so much walking at Walt Disney World, a three night cruise to the Bahamas was just what we needed. Unfortunately, k, n and I all came down with something, so we were not able to fully enjoy it. I will spare you the details, but at least D was healthy and we did have a good time at the end.
- Port: Port Canaveral
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Cruise Ship: Mariner of the Seas
- Ports of Call: Nassau, Coco Cay
Due to not feeling well, I hardly took any pictures the first couple of days. 🙁 This is all we have from our first day on board. It was nice to have a ocean view, although it does not compare to having a balcony!
On Saturday morning ate breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe (buffet-style). Food just does not taste as good when you are not feeling well. We thought the selection was pretty good, though.
We debarked from the ship early, before 9:00? at Nassau. We were not up for much sightseeing, so we decided to walk to the closest beach, which is called Junkanoo Beach. On our way there, we were bombarded by locals offering us taxi rides, tours, carriage rides and hair braiding. The kids found this a little off-putting, but we explained how they are just trying to make a living. The walk to the beach was not the most pedestrian-friendly, especially in flip-flops. It was quite humid, and I was still feeling weak, so I requested that we make a stop at McDonald’s so that I could get a Sprite. The A/C was so nice and much-needed. We ended up with some Bahamaian coins for change. That ended up being our only souvenir!
I know there are nicer beaches on Nassau, but Junkanoo would have to do. D was impressed by the white, soft sand. We knew we were not going to be able to stay long, so we did not rent beach chairs and an umbrella.
We headed back to the ship and rested. The kids and D also went swimming in the pool and tried out the water slides.
Saturday night was the first time we were able to make it to the Dining Room. It was Formal Night, and we were ill-prepared. Some people really went all out, which I would not expect on a three night cruise. We found out that we were supposed to be at a table for 8 or 10. I was not up for small talk with strangers, so we requested a table of 4, and they were able to accommodate our request.
When we told our waiter about the kids’ nut allergies, n’s Caesar salad came without croutons. Doh! I guess we should not fault them for being overly-cautious.
For some reason, I neglected to take pictures of our main courses. I guess I will need to see if D has any pics on his phone.
Jumping to dessert, this was the tres leches cake.
k was happy with her creme brulee.
My beignets were eh.
n’s chocolate cake was a winner!
At the end of dinner, the waitstaff did a little parade around the dining room and n joined in the napkin swinging!