This entry is specific to Nassau. Key West blog is here: http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/Keys/Key-West/blog-681995.html Ship blog is here: http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Atlantic/blog-681988.html Thursday we docked in Nassau Bahamas at noon. I played tour guide and showed Heather Fort Fincastle and the Queens staircase. The fort used to be free to tour, now it's $1 and they've added tourist info to it. The queens staircase is impressive because it was carved and dug into the rocks by slaves without the modern machinery we take for granted ven. From there we took a water taxi to Paradise Island to see Atlantis. There was a woman on the boat that was all shades of green. She made it, but we ... read more

Sometimes you just need to get away to put things into perspective. Solution: A girls trip with one of my childhood best friends! We left for Jacksonville around 3:30pm from Atlanta and had a pretty uneventful drive down - if you don't count the minor detour and being the victim of some type of suicidal bird. Maybe an owl? It wasn't until an hour after something large flew in front of our car, hitting the antennae, before we realized the 45 degree angle it bent into the metal! Thank goodness it was considerate enough to spare our windshield! We arrived into Jacksonville in time to grab dinner at Urban Flats. The decor is modern and the food is good. I was pleased with the prices and got the chicken salad croissant with their house specialty salad. ... read more

October 2-9 marked a cruise I had really looked forward to. I finally got to return to my favorite ship (Carnival Legend) and my favorite itinerary. Jason and I had another couple join us for all the fun. Ryan and Dana came along for their first cruise ever – and it was Dana’s first flight ever to get to the port in Tampa. I have some other blog entries for each of the ports: Oct 4 – Cozumel (Bar Hop) Oct 5 – Belize Oct 6 – Roatan (Beach!) Oct 7 – Grand Cayman (Sting Ray Sandbar) The ship had actually changed a little in the 2 ½ years since we’d been on it. The firebird lounge had a new backdrop making it a comedy club (Punchliners) and the Serenity area had some great lounge areas ... read more

Grand Cayman is another port where you have to tender from the ship and take a smaller boat to shore, but it’s not nearly as far of a trip as the 5 miles in Belize. We’d looked into a few excursions, but decided on booking through the ship. Jason wanted to snorkel, and we knew the thing to do was go to the Stingray City Sandbar too. I think our excursion was called “Coral Gardens and Stingray City Sandbar” through Carnival. We’d considered booking with Stingray Sailing independently, but it’s a good thing we didn’t! Our power catamaran (“Emerald Eyes”) had a roof which was very appreciated when the storm came – the sailed catamarans don’t have that luxury! The crew was knowledgeable and entertaining. With the help of “fluffy” the stuffed stingray toy, we ... read more

Belize was a simple day for us. We took the 5 mile tender from the ship to the mainland. For those who have never cruised – this happens in areas where there either isn’t a port big enough for the ship – or there never will be a port big enough for any cruiseship because of the water/land conditions. In this case, there is a coral reef that Belize is famous for. Obviously, destroying it in the name of capitalism isn’t an option! We walked around the port for a little bit before stopping into the Wet Lizard for a drink and snack. They fundraise by letting people write on the walls with markers and the establishment was started by an Atlanta gal who moved to Belize some 15 years ago with her family/children. She ... read more

It wasn’t until my second day into the trip when I remembered about the gulf’s oil spill and that I should be scared of the seafood. My trip to New Orleans for the first time ever left me embracing their food and instead scared of other things! We had driven through the night when we arrived to N’awlins Thursday morning. The trip took us around 8 hours from our midnight departure in Atlanta. It was a fun weekend trip for me, my childhood friend Heather, her mom (Sharon), and friend (Donna). We had incredible luck when we arrived to the W hotel and were able to check into our room that early! The hotel location was great, and ensured exercise. It was around a mile walk to the French quarter and with the beautiful weather (85 ... read more