50 Years, 9 Nights, 5 Beds and 1 Big Fat Mistake

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Night 2 on the high seas passed without a repeat performance of asshattery from our friends down the hall.  Either they passed out earlier, or they bothered someone else.  Between missing sleep the night before, and the extremely comfy bed and calm rocking motion of the ship, I slept like a champ!  (I don't like to use the phrase "slept like a baby"....I've never in my life met a baby that sleeps well). 

 

This was the one morning that I didn't even make it up on deck to see the sunrise.  I think I slept until 7.  I scooted up to grab some coffee quickly, but otherwise by the time we got moving it was breakfast time.  INC's niece had wanted everyone to meet at 8:00 for breakfast in the main dining room (My Fair Lady), before leaving the ship to explore Nassau. 

 

We were a bit late but did make it to breakfast.  This was a nice option compared to the buffet, in that you could sit and be served which allowed us to visit more. 

 

INC and I had our usual...oatmeal. 

 

 

The oatmeal here was really good and filling.  And they had a cereal bar at the small buffet area in the restaurant that had raisins, walnuts, granola and other things you could add to it.  They also offer soy milk if that matters to you. 

 

Here's one of the kid's plates.

 

 

Nice presentation on that french toast!  And the kids thought the pineapple smiley was cute.

 

 

Anna loves eggs.

 

 

After breakfast, we decided to head downstairs to leave the ship.  As I mentioned earlier, when we stopped in Nassau on our Disney cruise we opted to stay onboard and enjoy all the ship has to offer.  We just didn't have much interest in Nassau.  But there wasn't much besides the pools that were going to be open on this day, so we figured we'd just get off the ship and walk around a bit. 

 

Here's the general scene in the terminal before you enter the city. 

 

 

Pretty much a bunch of crap for sale and vendors selling excursions. 

 

Once we made our way outside the terminal, my BIL started negotiating with people to take some of them on a snorkeling trip.  They struck a deal to go to Paradise Island, where the Atlantis resort is, and go snorkeling.  Our 16 and 14 year olds were interested in this, so they went along with that group,  My inlaws went on a walk to do their own thing, and me, INC, our oldest and Stella and Anna went to get some hair braids. 

 

 

 

 

Stella just wanted 2 braids off to the side.  She still has them today. 

 

 

Notice Anna in this picture....she didn't want anyone touching her hair at first.

 

 

But eventually the woman in the background there pulled her stroller over and she convinced Anna to get one braid.  It didn't last too long....Anna won't leave anything alone in her hair for long.  But I think it made it a couple of days which shows you that these women know what they are doing. 

 

We walked around.  Of course we had to walk past Senor Frogs....but we didn't go in. 

 

 

And we had to walk through the Straw Market. 

 

 

Then we made our way back to the ship.  We weren't off the ship for very long, but it was long enough.  Nassau is good to see....once.  Now, if we ever came back and could swing the cost of an excursion to Atlantis, that might be worth seeing.  The group that went there to snorkel were able to sneak into Atlantis and reported back that it is something else.  But they charge an arm and a leg to go there, and I'm not THAT interested in seeing it. 

 

Before we reboarded the ship, we had to take a selfie.

 

 

Fortunately, we were back on board in time for lunch.  I may be cheap, but why pay for lunch off the ship when they provide a nice one onboard!  (unless you are off having fun somewhere like our family was....but my BIL wouldn't even tell me how much their lunch cost at Atlantis). 

 

We opted to hit Windjammer this time.  Here's my plate.

 

 

As usual it was all very yummy. 

 

After eating, we relaxed by the pool for a while like we had the day before.  I may or may not have finished my bucket of beers.  And INC may or may not have had a pina colada. 

 

Sometime during the afternoon, the amenities onboard began to reopen.  Stella had wanted to do the bungee jumping and the rock climbing wall, so we set about to get those done. 

 

We hit the bungee jump right before it opened, so we were 2nd in line and the wait was short. 

 

Here she is getting strapped into the harness. 

 

 

After you are strapped in, they push a button that controls the amount of air in the bag you jump on.  As it gets firmer, your jumps get higher. 

 

Here she goes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a short video to give you an idea of what this is like.

 

http://youtu.be/RT2iM4G82kE

 

If you are wondering whether I did it....the answer is no. 

 

There are two reason for that.  First, it looked kind of boring.  Even Stella, after the initial 45 seconds or so, seemed to get bored with it.  But primarily, I didn't want to mess up my back.  You may remember me posting about how I pulled by back out the week before the cruise and had to go to the doctor for a shot and some antiinflamatory pills to get it better for the trip.  I wasn't about to risk that for some lame jumping ride. 

 

After our time at the bungee jump, we headed right to the back of the ship for the rock climbing wall.  I don't have enough room with the picture limit to post that so I'll break here and pick it up in the next update. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Excursion to Atlantis ... one time I was there we negotiated a price of $25 or under (don't remember exactly) for a private tour of Paradise Island, including Atlantis.  Our driver was extremely proud of his "limo" ... I can't tell you how bad it was!  But he did give us an excellent tour.  Including the casino at Atlantis.  It's amazing!  And part of the Dig is free.  Since that visit I paid for the entire Dig.  It is well worth the money.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It looks like the Straw Market is finally in a building.  For a lot of our most recent visits to Nassau, it has been under big tents.  I'm sure the stuff they're selling hasn't improved in quality, though.

 

You're smart to save you money on Atlantis.  I've been.  They have a nice aquarium, water park and casino, but none of them are nicer than similar venues in the states that you can visit for much less.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

There are some problems with this update:

1) No Anna braid picture. 

2) No Dave hair braid.

 

I approve of Stella on the bungees. I think that view would kind of scare me because it's at the edge of the ship.

 

I also approve of the breakfast pictures. I want French toast now. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

oops

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Excursion to Atlantis ... one time I was there we negotiated a price of $25 or under (don't remember exactly) for a private tour of Paradise Island, including Atlantis.  Our driver was extremely proud of his "limo" ... I can't tell you how bad it was!  But he did give us an excellent tour.  Including the casino at Atlantis.  It's amazing!  And part of the Dig is free.  Since that visit I paid for the entire Dig.  It is well worth the money.

Dig?

[Beckers 1,136]

We went on an excursion to Atlantis but joke was on us, you couldn't use the water park stuff. So it was an over priced visit to the aquarium and a beach we couldn't use because of rough seas.

Oh and food? Yeah it's like $23 for a burger. We opted to go hungry lol

[Beckers 1,136]

oops

I think that was all worth posting twice

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

You know in all these updates and pictures you have posted some things have been missing. Did no one order room service? Was there not a self serve soft ice cream machine at the Windjammer?

I hope you also took the time to visit the main dining room at lunch one day. Steve finally listened to me and agreed to go on our last full day. Drew and him loved the pasta bar. You don't know how hard it was for me not to say, "Told you so" to them.

I hope your back is starting to feel better. It was wise of you not to take any unnecessary risks.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

So there is no picture of you jumping on stage to retrieve Anna?

Actually no video?

That is a GBearStudios Fail.

No Anna braid pic?

What is this world coming to?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Excursion to Atlantis ... one time I was there we negotiated a price of $25 or under (don't remember exactly) for a private tour of Paradise Island, including Atlantis.  Our driver was extremely proud of his "limo" ... I can't tell you how bad it was!  But he did give us an excellent tour.  Including the casino at Atlantis.  It's amazing!  And part of the Dig is free.  Since that visit I paid for the entire Dig.  It is well worth the money.

 

Dig?

 

It looks like the Straw Market is finally in a building.  For a lot of our most recent visits to Nassau, it has been under big tents.  I'm sure the stuff they're selling hasn't improved in quality, though.

 

You're smart to save you money on Atlantis.  I've been.  They have a nice aquarium, water park and casino, but none of them are nicer than similar venues in the states that you can visit for much less.

 

TCD

 

Yeah, that Straw Market merchandise is worse than Chinese crap.  It's like old North Korean crap that didn't sell in Vietnam and was shipped to a Dollar store but even they rejected it so it was boxed up and shipped to the Bahamas.  

 

There are some problems with this update:

1) No Anna braid picture. 

2) No Dave hair braid.

 

I approve of Stella on the bungees. I think that view would kind of scare me because it's at the edge of the ship.

 

I also approve of the breakfast pictures. I want French toast now. 

 

Anna wasn't cooperative.  

Have you seen my hair??

French toast is good.  

 

Dig?

 

Exactly.  

 

We went on an excursion to Atlantis but joke was on us, you couldn't use the water park stuff. So it was an over priced visit to the aquarium and a beach we couldn't use because of rough seas.

Oh and food? Yeah it's like $23 for a burger. We opted to go hungry lol

 

Yeah, that water park is like gold apparently.  I'd rather go to Blizzard Beach.  

 

$23 burgers?  I'm glad my BIL didn't tell me.  And glad he paid for my girls.  LOL.

 

You know in all these updates and pictures you have posted some things have been missing. Did no one order room service? Was there not a self serve soft ice cream machine at the Windjammer?

I hope you also took the time to visit the main dining room at lunch one day. Steve finally listened to me and agreed to go on our last full day. Drew and him loved the pasta bar. You don't know how hard it was for me not to say, "Told you so" to them.

I hope your back is starting to feel better. It was wise of you not to take any unnecessary risks.

 

Room service?  Oy.  I'll get to that.  

 

There was a soft serve ice cream machine....but I never used it so I don't have pics.  

 

A lot of the family had lunch at the main dining room and they really enjoyed it, but there wasn't much on the lunch menu for us so we opted for the buffet.  

 

Yes, my back is much better.

 

So there is no picture of you jumping on stage to retrieve Anna?

Actually no video?

That is a GBearStudios Fail.

No Anna braid pic?

What is this world coming to?

 

GBearStudios opted not to bring their video equipment on this trip....so no film available.  And like I said before....I was too busy running toward the stage to pluck her off.  

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I guess I'll have to make due then.

Do you have any cinnamon rolls?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I guess I'll have to make due then.

Do you have any cinnamon rolls?

 

I do.  

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I do.

Are you willing to share?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Are you willing to share?

 

Share a picture or share the cinnamon rolls?

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Cinnamon rolls

[Okieatheart 33]

We went to Atlantis on an excursion tour with RCCL.  The visit reminded me of Stella's bungee experience - cool for the first few minutes, but then it was rather boring.  IMHO, you didn't miss much.  

 

I've always wanted to get my hair braided.  Those braids looked so very cute on your daughter!  And I'm so glad you didn't get your pocket picked in Nassau - that would not have been magical.

 

Loving these cruise pix!  

[LONE-STAR 370]

My daughter loves thoses bungee jumping things she has done them several times. It was funny when she was 3 there was a group of high school cheerleaders jumping at the same time as her. They were doing back flips while jumping so my daughter was trying as hard as she could to do a back flip. She never did it but it was cute to watch.

[Beckers 1,136]

I've always wanted to get my hair braided.

I had mine done but had the braids against my skull (like tiny tight French braids) it was a nightmare and I mean nightmare to eventually unbraid them. It's amazing how tiny and tight they could do them.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Dig?

 

Yes, the Dig.  See here:  http://www.atlantis.com/thingstodo/marinehabitat/thedig.aspx

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Cinnamon rolls

 

Can't share....but I know where you can get some in 6 months and 21 days.  

 

We went to Atlantis on an excursion tour with RCCL.  The visit reminded me of Stella's bungee experience - cool for the first few minutes, but then it was rather boring.  IMHO, you didn't miss much.  

 

I've always wanted to get my hair braided.  Those braids looked so very cute on your daughter!  And I'm so glad you didn't get your pocket picked in Nassau - that would not have been magical.

 

Loving these cruise pix!  

 

Pick pocketing would not have been magical at all.  I didn't bring much with me (small amount of cash and passport) but I kept my hand on it most of the time.  

 

My daughter loves thoses bungee jumping things she has done them several times. It was funny when she was 3 there was a group of high school cheerleaders jumping at the same time as her. They were doing back flips while jumping so my daughter was trying as hard as she could to do a back flip. She never did it but it was cute to watch.

 

Do you have pictures of that?  I bet that was awesome!

 

I had mine done but had the braids against my skull (like tiny tight French braids) it was a nightmare and I mean nightmare to eventually unbraid them. It's amazing how tiny and tight they could do them.

 

There was a girl there, and I'm talking late teens, getting those corn rows done.  She was literally in tears!  Didn't look like a lot of fun to me.  

 

 

Yes, the Dig.  See here:  http://www.atlantis.com/thingstodo/marinehabitat/thedig.aspx

 

Ok, I knew about that but didn't know what it was called.  As you can tell, I'm not big on actual terminology.  LOL.  

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

The only way I can get a cinnamon roll then is if one of your MSB cinnamon roll return threads actually comes true.

It would be nice if Kelly or Becks would make a reservation for the same time period, make some cinnamon rolls at their site, and then invite me over for breakfast.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I had mine done but had the braids against my skull (like tiny tight French braids) it was a nightmare and I mean nightmare to eventually unbraid them. It's amazing how tiny and tight they could do them.

Those are called cornrows.  It hurts to get them done, but I love them.  I had them done in Freeport when I went on a cruise in 1999.  I also got them done at a local beauty school before my last camping trip.  I have also tried to do something similar when I went camping, incl. WWW 2013.  The best thing is that I can shampoo your hair with them in.  Then, when i get out of the shower, my hair is already done for the day. :)

 

Yes, the Dig.  See here:  http://www.atlantis.com/thingstodo/marinehabitat/thedig.aspx

Cool!

[Duane 152]

When you walked through the straw market how many times did you hear.... "STEP INTO MY SHOP!" ? Which amounted to a fold out table. When we went several years ago, the straw market was under a large tent. I think the original had burned down and this was the temporary location... It was rows and rows of the same touristy crap, just laid out on a table a little differently....

I am definitely in the camp, "been there, done that, don't need to do it again"

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The only way I can get a cinnamon roll then is if one of your MSB cinnamon roll return threads actually comes true.

It would be nice if Kelly or Becks would make a reservation for the same time period, make some cinnamon rolls at their site, and then invite me over for breakfast.

 

There are some other good looking cinnamon rolls available at the World.  I can't personally vouch for them....but they certainly look good, and I have a picture to share. 

 

Those are called cornrows.  It hurts to get them done, but I love them.  I had them done in Freeport when I went on a cruise in 1999.  I also got them done at a local beauty school before my last camping trip.  I have also tried to do something similar when I went camping, incl. WWW 2013.  The best thing is that I can shampoo your hair with them in.  Then, when i get out of the shower, my hair is already done for the day. :)

 

Cool!

 

No doubt those cornrows look cool, but they look painful to get.  At least based on the girl that I saw crying in Nassau. 

 

When you walked through the straw market how many times did you hear.... "STEP INTO MY SHOP!" ? Which amounted to a fold out table. When we went several years ago, the straw market was under a large tent. I think the original had burned down and this was the temporary location... It was rows and rows of the same touristy crap, just laid out on a table a little differently....

I am definitely in the camp, "been there, done that, don't need to do it again"

 

When walking through the Straw Market, any time Anna reached toward something, which was often, the woman would yell "Buy it for her, Daddy!". 

 

I have no regrets about getting off the ship and walking around, but I'm glad we didn't waste any good AquaDuck time on our last cruise by getting off in Nassau, and I have no plans to ever get off in Nassau again.