Sea Day!

Monday, March 11, 2024  (sorry!  the email with the photos hasn't arrived yet!)

It doesn't seem to matter what time you ask for coffee!  Maureen had just fallen back to sleep when the phone rang announcing room service and four minutes later there was a knock at the doorr!  Barely time to grab a robe if you sleep au natural!  And they were nearly an hour early!!  Oh, well.

We have lots of time to wander down to deck 3 for breakfast.  On sea days you don't have to join the herd at the Windjammer!  It is nice to be waited on;  but you don't have a lot of choices.  It's a nice break from the buffet and we only can do it twice.  Scrambled eggs (better than those upstairs), bacon, potato cake, bagel and cream cheese, cranberry juice. and decaf - and as we're leaving the waiter says, "See you in an hour and a half"!  I think we'll skip lunch or maybe just get some fruit!  We see Tobi and Dean but Dan and Diana aren't making it to breakfast.  They are doing an art auction at 10:30 or so.  We are doing our first flash mob rehearsal, but there's some time to kill so we first stop back by the room and then check out the shops again.

Couldn't convince myself I needed a cap with gold sequins!

The kids were loving the cotton candy!

What a hoot!  And what a talent!  She kept dancing with all those drinks balanced
on her head and that smile on her face!!

Well... they're small!

Wow!  There are more than forty people in our flash mob!  And the music is fast and the choreography is pretty complex!  Our cute little Brazilian instructor promises we'll know the routine by show time Thursday night!  I think she's optimistic!!

We stop at the shore excursions desk to ask, again, about the Labadee excursions and also what is available within walking distance from the DR pier.  Apparently Labadee is fine, since they don't really go near Haiti proper;  but there's not much close to the pier in DR.

A little more window shopping and then back up to the room to regroup and decide whether to have lunch or not.  At 1:45 there is a free giveaway of something called an Effy Royal Rope.  It's worth checking out and there's only a fifteen minute window! (Let me add that I made the trek and it was so seriously not worth it!  But I got more steps and I don't have to have FOMO!)

After that there's a line dance class at 2:30, then dinner at 5:00 and the Tenors show at 7:00.  We'll head straight to the Duck and Dog to get seats before Christ starts to play at 8:45.  That should work - we'll see!

So - let me pick up after the window shopping...we do decide to have a bit of lunch, but just salad!  Well, and a little tiny bit of dessert!  I go in search of the stupid rope (it's one of those tiny fabric bracelets with the knot that slides apart.  And it has a cheesy metal diamond hanging from it.)

Then I head for the line dance class.  There are only three people there, counting me.  One is a lady from the flash mob and the other is Chris!!  I've seen her more in the past two days, than in the previous two years!!  After twenty minutes, we all agree that probably no instructor is coming and we disperse.  I check the room, but it's empty, so I go down where the Caribbean band will be playing.  Sure enough, there are my buds!  I actually get to see the end of the belly-flop contest!  

It's hot in the sun and there aren't any available places to sit so I give up on the band and explore a bit.  There are some cute sculptures in the Imperial Lounge and I read that the World Wildlife Fund was selling t-shirts, so I go check them out.  It's a good cause and they're only twelve dollars!!

Diana texts me that they have changed their Dominican Republic excursion so I go down to change mine and that's easy!  But they tell me that my Labadee excursion is canceled.  Actually they say that Labadee is canceled but I learn later, from Diana, that it's only ours.  And that's fine!!  I was pretty nervous about going!

It's dress-to-impress night, so we all shower and change to our glad rags and meet at our assigned table.  I think it's the first time we've all been together today.  I've been texting with Diana through the RC app, but it's my first D&D sighting!  Dinner is the usual - delicious!  I'm going with the chef's recommendations night, Escargot à la Bourguignonne, Roasted Beef Tenderloin, and Crème Brûlée.  So decadent!!

Right after dinner is the Nashville Tenors, which I was not prepared to enjoy, not being a huge country fan.  Boy was I surprised!  Strong, lovely voices and beautiful harmonies. One of the guys is a counter tenor and he sure can get up there.  They ended with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and it was a show stopper!  Even had people with their flashlights waving in the audience.

We had planned to go up to the Duck and Dog pub for the guitarist and we all took different routes.  Robin and I were going to walk up the two flights, to deck 5, but on deck 4 we saw Dean and Tobi and Dean said not to bother because it was packed.  I'm concerned that the others won't know where we are and Dean goes off to find Ma and Maureen.  I text Diana and she replies that she and Dan are up there with two tables and lots of room!  Apparently the trivia players are finished and they vacated!!  We all trundle up and the eight of us have plenty of space to settle in and order before the music starts.  Chris is very good.  When he plays "Margaritaville" he comes to our table and asked who's to blame and we all name Ma (Sheila) so he works her name into the song!

We're all such light weights that by 9:45 we're done.  But we got to sing "Sounds of Silence" and "Miss American Pie" and "Uptown Funk", so it was a good way to end the day!  I'm so beat that I don't even blog, hence the morning catch up!  I'm going to post this and then see if I have time to add photos after breakfast. (or next Wednesday!)

Nassau, the Bahamas

 Sunday, March 10, 2024

Oh dear,  it's daylight-savings time and the room service coffee arrives bright and early!  And my herbal tea is camomile - the exact opposite of what I need!!  Still, I manage to do my yoga and we head up to breakfast close to our nine o'clock expectation.  everyone is in the Windjammer because it's a port day and the other restaurants are closed;  but we find a table and even find Tobi and Dean! 

Our excursion meets at 12:15, so we have time to up to the sports deck and see what's happening.  Robin plays pickle ball so she's interested in seeing the level of competition.  I just want to see what's available and there is plenty - miniature golf and the dreaded tubular slide of death and the wave rider, to say nothing of the climbing wall!  Fun pictures but nothing I want to actually DO!!

Cool elevators!

This is why we don't sail on Carnival!

That's not a lot of water to land in!!

And he's no spring chicken!

Everyone had their own caption!  Fun people!

Back to the room to gather our resources and head down to our meeting spot before 12:15.  We meet up with Dan and Diana and the girls go with Ma to the tram stop.  But we all wind up at the bus and all is good with our cool guide, Mike. We learn a lot about Nassau and thhe Bahamas, which is made up of 700 (!) islands, of which Nassau is the largest with three-fourth of the population of 400,000.  Each island has its own specialty, like pink sand, or salt, or bonefish.  We stop at the Rum Cake factory with samples andd shopping and if you buy a cake you get a free shot of rum next door. I think it's a little early for that;  but I might regret it later!

We cross the Sidney Poitier bridge (I didn't know he was Bahamian!) to Paradise Island, which used to be Hog Island but that isn't great for PR!  All the super rich folks live here like Michael Jordan and Johnny Depp!  We stop at the Atlantis (that's Michael Jackson's suite over the arch!) Hotel and learn that there is now a Bahamian Hotel that is giving it a run for its money.  Between them they employ 12,000 people!!

Follow the leader, like good little ducklings!

Wonderful air-conditioned bus with free wifi.

They've only been independent since 1973.

Color, color everywhere!

Yes, please! 

In the Atlantis we see a magnificent Chihuli!!  and lots of high-end shops, as you'd expect. There is a couple that is late to the bus because they went into the casino andd"the machine kept winning!"  They nearly got left!

Our next stop is one of the three ports that were built to stave off the pirates.  It is Fort Montague and it. is shaped like a battle ship (at least at at distance!) and it's the only one that actually got to fire off it's cannons.  There is also a shop selling conch fritters and other island treats.  Dan and I are going to split an order of fritters but we don't know it will take half an hour to get them!  Mike had recommended the fritters, so he pretty much had to wait for us!

(The bus's windows are tinted and I'm not going to edit until I get home.
It's just to complicated on the ship.) But look at all the cruise ships!

The famous (and super-expensive) Atlantis.  The suite that is over the arch was
Michael Jackson's.  Average rooms are $55,000 a night with a four-night minimum.

The panther is Cartier's symbol, for those who are as ignorant as I!

Gorgeous water!

Fresh coconut water

From these very trees

You could certainly find your guide!

We see Junkaroo costumes.  Junkaroo is similar to Mardi Gras but it happens twice a year and "is much better" or so Mike says!

We've seen the exclusive side of the island so now we see the slums - pretty much like low-end living everywhere.  Some homes don't have running water, so the government provides public pumps.

Next stop a Straw Market.  Like so many businesses, many of these shops closed during the pandemic, so we are happy to support the few that have survived.

We skip the chocolate factory in favor of the rum distillery, John Watlings.  Fittingly enough he died of an injury to the liver!  We all taste the frozen pina colada. but the other tastings aren't actually tastings.  You can just buy cocktails!! Pass! The entire production is handled by only six people and they do not export any of their products!  We learn, once again, how much the Bahamians dislike Christopher Columbus, who never "discovered" anything!  During the pandemic, someone took a maul to the statue in front of the government building!

This well was dug by hand, but it's no longer in use.  Too many people
have dropped things into it, like phones!

Other interesting facts - all the schools are yellow, although the uniforms are all different.  The municipal court buildings are all pink and the police stations are all green.  The postal system isn't like ours.  Most people have a box at the post office and go collect their mail.  The country gained it's independence in 1973. The new US embassy, under construction, is four or five times larger than the current building.  The main industry is tourism, with banking coming in second.  Mike says that if we have a few million we want to hide we should talk to him! The local beer is Kalik and it has won four gold medals in world competitions!  Nassau is seven by twenty-one miles and is the biggest cruise port in the Caribbean, welcoming one to six cruise ships every day.  Three fourths of everything is imported, so the cost of living is exorbitant.  The Bahamian dollar is on a par with the US dollar and gas is six or seven dollars a gallon. They drive on the left , so remember that is you're left you're right, and if you're right, you're wrong!

We get back to the ship and I'm surprised that my alcohol isn't confiscated, to be returned at the end of the cruise!!  We go upstairs to change shorts for jeans and head to dinner.  Dean has ben successful at securing a table for all of us.  In fact we have two extra seats!  I have corn cakes, chili-lime crusted salmon (YUM) and tres leches, with that delicious malbec, Trumpeterby Rutini, from Mendoza, Argentina.

Interesting drink selections!

After dinner we go straight to the Lyric Theater for "Invitation to Dance" with the Adventure of the Seas singers, dancers, and orchestra. A lovely performance with lots of Latin influence and some Fosse thrown in.  We move on to the piano bar in the Schooner Bar where Dan and Diana join us and we run into a friend who used to attend Spirit of Life!!  The bartender here knows how to make a rusty nail!  

Tobi and Dean try to join us but there's no way to get her chair where we are so pretty soon we move on to Bolero's for the Latin music and after a bit of that I'm fried!  Tomorrow is the first flash mob rehearsal at 10:30, so breakfast will be around nine again.  Sea days are supposed to be relaxing!!  And there's a line dancing class in the afternoon!  No rest for the wicked.  I'll try to add photos in the morning!! (Done!)

An assortment of beverages

He's all right;  but not as entertaining as Chris, the guitarist in the Dog and Duck Pub!

The girls!

And the guys!

Interesting decor all over the ship!

Awww!  Our little towel buddy!

Remembrance - the best joke that Saturday's comedian told had to do with the showers.  You feel like you're at the bank in one of those tubes that carry the money into the building!  Pretty accurate!

Mike!