Dec 7-10, 2007 - 3 Day Cruise to the Bahamas!

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With the end of the year approaching, and two days of vacation time left, I knew I had to head to warmer weather! We were lucky enough to find a cruise that fit into a weekend, so December 7th, we departed Port Canaveral for a 3 Day, $230 cruise to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas. Our itinerary was fantastic, leaving us with full days and little time actually on the boat:

Friday - Depart Port Canaveral (5PM)

Saturday - Nassau, Bahamas (11AM-Midnightish)

Sunday - Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas (9AM - 4PM)

Monday - Arrive back to Port Canaveral (7AM)



Our trip began with us driving down from Atlanta. It’s roughly a 7 ½ hour drive, of course, it always feels longer than that with the anticipation of the weekend to come! The boat was bigger than the 1 other cruise I had been on (Carnival’s “Holiday”), but more adult feeling. My take on it is that Carnival focuses more on fun, and Royal Caribbean is a bit more adult oriented. Odd since there were more people in our age range on this cruise. Maybe it just has to do with the time of the year. Our ship was nice, the ship was decorated for Christmas and even had a rock climbing wall that Chris enjoyed. I’d forgotten just how much food you eat on a cruise too! There was even some sushi as part of the buffet. (We never did the sit down dinner, not even for formal night this time.) We’ve decided we prefer the buffet arrangements because we can always see our food ahead of time, and it is fuss free.



For both stops, we declined any formal excursions, and opted to explore on our own.



In Nassau, we headed straight for Fort Fincastle. From the top, you can see the water, and a fair amount of the surroundings. It was interesting because of how cool it was on the inside. This was because of the vents that were constructed into the walls. It was also smaller than I would have thought. Adjacent to the fort was the water tower. I’ve heard you can go up to the top for 50 cents, but we think it was closed that day. We did get to see the Queen’s staircase. This is another MUST SEE. It was carved out by slaves as an escape route for the leaders in case of emergency. It’s a beautiful and serene place now where even a water feature has been added. It is 64 stairs, and luckily, our approach had us coming down, instead of walking up. We also saw the straw market, Senor Frogs (I know, I know… but it’s the Caribbean!), and where the pirate’s museum is. We didn’t go in the museum, but we did stop for a photo op with the things outside. For the most part, we spent the rest of the day relaxing on a beach pier close to the ship. We saw the Sun go down and also wandered over to a little strip of bars where more of the locals were. I can honestly saw I was surprised at how friendly everyone was! We were walking down a random sidewalk, and one of the little girls who had been playing got a big grin on her face and asked us if we were enjoying the Bahamas- It was adorable!



After the sun set, we got ready for the evening out. We ended up at Senor Frogs which was very close to the ship. It turns out that a lot of the young people from the Navy vessel that was also docked decided this was the place to go also. It was fun to watch them just kick back and relax. It was undoubtedly a nice treat for the amount of time they spend in tight quarters at sea. Senor Frogs definitely caters to the party/tourist crowd. The night time admission charge was $35 for locals, but only $7 if you had your ship pass. We were a bit surprised to pay $11 for 2 beers on top of that, but then we realized where the money was going to. Free shots are given out stage-side all night long… and they definitely know how to through a party! People were dancing and having a great time, cold compressed air was sprayed onto the crowd, and there was even a conga line with pit stops for free shots. It’s not necessarily my scene, but a blast to watch none the less. Lots of smiles. J



Sunday found us on Royal Caribbean’s private island: Coco Cay. They’ve done a great job with it! There are little bars here and there, and all types of areas waiting to be discovered. Hammocks, cabanas, beach chairs.. some areas more full than the others. The back side of the island had a remote beach feeling to it, and could be accessed by walking around the shoreline, or wandering along the nature trail which was home to a bunch of hermit crabs! I’d never been snorkeling before, and it was an amazing experience! I didn’t realize all the neat little things that live so close to the beach. There was even a small plane crash with fish all around. I’m hooked on whole snorkeling thing! Snorkeling is exhausting, so we grabbed some food from the beachside buffet area they had setup and then took a nice hammock nap in the light shade of a palm tree. Chris says that this island is much nicer than some of the other cruiselines islands.



As 4pm approached, we headed back to the boat for the journey back to the USA. A 3 day cruise is too short for my tastes, but considering the time we had to work with, it was a perfect trip to finish up the year with!

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Photos

Let me out!
At Fort Fincastle.

In Fort Fincastle.
The holes are air vents going out through the thick walls to the exterior.