Cruising to the Bahamas! Coco Loco anyone?

I know it's kind of cliché, but everyone's got to do it at least once.

It's like the "I need a short vacation where I basically just have to show up and everything is taken care of" kind of trip. Cruising has three major elements.

1. All you can eat

2. Very little trip planning required

3. Over-priced drinks.

Usually I love planning out my own adventures; trekking my way through a new country, struggling with the local language, getting lost and all that jazz! A cruise is really not for the adventurer, however, it has its perks too, I suppose.

Our first stop was Nassau where I would personally recommend travelers to take a quick cab ride over to paradise island (to Cabbage beach specifically). It's the most pristine beach in the area and you can hike down to the end of it away from the hotels for a little more privacy if you want. If you're feeling wild you can pick up a "Coco Loco" on the beach. Basically it's a coconut you buy for 20 bucks that gets you unlimited refills all day on you favorite Rum drinks. (And yes, they just keep filling up your coconut). The island Rum is strong so be careful not to forget the second half of your day and end up with a hangover out to sea. I may or may not have learned that the hard way...

Check out the local Bizarre market for good deals on fake designer goods, and don't forget to bargain bargain bargain!!! Don't be afraid to walk away because they will lower the price :-) Snorkeling is pretty good there too and there's a reasonably priced tour that takes you out to the reef with a tour on the way of the houses of the rich and famous (Oprah, Michael Jordan, Nicholas Cage, etc.) The Atlantis resort is very impressive and also very expensive. Don't expect to walk right in, they will charge you to see the resort unless you are a guest at their hotel.

The next day we went to Great Sirrup Cay which is an island privately owned by the cruise company. It was pretty there for sure, postcard perfection and pristinely picturesque. A little crowded for my taste though, I mean what do you expect really, it's a tiny island with a whole ship-load of people on it. ;-) There was a hiking trail to the other side of the island which allowed for a hint of adventure. I ended up swimming out to a very tiny island just off the shore of Great Stirrup Cay... I had to free that inner rebel adventurer I had kept locked up for the majority of the trip. I found a very shiny and black rock on the island, and decided to bring it back with me after I convinced myself it was part of a meteorite.

I made it back to the port of Miami still wondering what happened the second half of that day on Paradise Island. However, my lack of memory was compensated for with the abundance of food I consumed and the amount of sand I brought back in my suitcase.

Likes: All-you-can-eat, Bahama mamas, Oprah's house, snorkeling

Dislikes: crowded beaches, little time on each island, high prices at Atlantis

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Part of trip: Costa Rica and its Rich Coast

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