Okay, I know you all have been waiting on pins and needles to hear about the cruise, especially now that it's been nearly a month! Warning: long post ahead . . .
Our trip began really early on Monday morning, March 24. Our flight departed St. Louis at 6:50 a.m., and we had a 45 min. drive to the airport, so you can imagine just how early it was. Margaret and I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at about 1 p.m., took a shuttle to the port in Miami and boarded our ship, the Majesty of the Seas. We set sail from Miami at around 5 p.m. The first thing we did was hit the gym, which really helped us wake up after a long day of traveling and get our sea legs. You wouldn't think you'd be able to feel much movement on a big ship, but you'd be surprised!On Tuesday morning, we arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. Here's a picture of our ship in port:
We spent the morning walking around Nassau to see the sights. I wasn't all that impressed, actually. The area we saw seemed to be full of tourist traps, and just wasn't all that clean or nice. But I did get t-shirts for Ava and Dane, and found a cute little straw purse for Ava at the Straw Market.That afternoon we boarded a catamaran for a snorkeling excursion. I don't have any pictures, because, to be perfectly honest, I was really nervous. The first and only time I had been snorkeling was in Ft. Lauderdale over spring break one year in college. At that time, I was really uncomfortable in the water, considering it had been almost 10 years since I had done any swimming. I seriously thought I was going to drown. Just ask Russ. He witnessed my little panic attack. Anyway, back to the Bahamas ~ because of my previous experience, I prepared myself by taking a refresher swim class at the Y last fall, so I felt better about being in the water. Margaret is a good swimmer and has been snorkeling many times, so she helped me out a lot, too. Also, the entry into the water was a lot easier this time around. We got to climb a ladder all the way down to the water, rather than jump in. it was really cool, and really fun! The water was crystal clear, we saw lots of cool fish, and the coral reef was beautiful. I just wish the weather had been warmer. I finally had to get out of the water because I was starting to shiver. Not that I'm complaining ~ sunny, breezy and 70s was a vast improvement over the mini-blizzard that hit the day before we left!
After snorkeling, they put the sails up on the catamaran and we sailed back to port. It was really cool to be traveling so fast, but to not hear any noise other than the sound of the wind and the ocean. Our guide, Carlton, gave us a little history lesson on our return trip and pointed out which gorgeous beach house belonged to which rich and famous person. Very interesting.
Overnight, we sailed to Cococay, Bahamas, which is Royal Caribbean's private island. Because there was no dock, they dropped the anchor in the ocean a little way out from the island:
then we took tender boats, like this one, to and from the island:
The water in the Caribbean is the most amazing shades of blue that I have ever seen. I had no idea these colors existed in nature. Even where the water was deep, it looked deep blue, rather than the greenish-brown I have seen in other places. Margaret has seen oceans all over the world, and she says the Caribbean is the only place where she has seen blue water like that. I tried to capture it, but looking at the picture just doesn't compare. Here's some examples anyway:
The lighter, more turquoise blue is where the water was very shallow, with sand underneath:
On Cococay, we did our best to be lazy beach bums. Neither one of us are very good at sitting around, though, so we ended up taking a long walk along the beach, then had barbeque lunch on the beach. Being on a cruise line's private island is like being on the ship, only on land. Our ship was only one there, so the only people on the island were the ship's passengers and the people who worked on the island. It was still probably over 2000 people, but nice, nonetheless. Again, the weather was not particularly warm. It was partly cloudy and breezy that day. Laying on the beach felt nice while the sun was out, but we were covering up with our towels whenever clouds would move in! Still, I'm not complaining. How could I when I was laying on a beach in the Bahamas? Here's our beautiful selves on the beach.
After we got back from the beach, we treated ourselves to massages (aaaahhh, must do that more often!), and then went back to our cabin to get all spiffed up for formal night. Most cruises have at least one formal dinner ~ cocktail dresses for women and suit & tie/tuxedo for men are required. Here's some pictures of us all dolled up:
We strolled around the ship for a while before dinner, enjoying the fresh air on deck, and doing a lot of people watching. Let's just say that there are many different ways to intrepret the word "formal." We thoroughly enjoyed good food, good wine, and good conversation at dinner. In the formal dining room, seating is assigned, and it happened that I was the only non-teacher at our table of six. After dinner, we took in some of the entertainment onboard, then headed to bed.We spent our final day in Key West, but you'll have to wait until the next post to find out about it. I promise it won't take another month!
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