Cruisin’ To The Bahamas

We realized that we didn’t post anything about the cruise! I have no idea how we could forget such an adventure but alas, we did. Here’s hoping we remember enough to create a thoughtful blog!

In celebration of Ron’s mom’s 60th birthday, Tracy, Pat, Ron, and I booked a cruise out of Miami on the Norwegian Sky. We had all cruised before but this was the first time that any of us had cruised this particular line. In order to ensure that we didn’t get delayed too long and miss our cruise (because, let’s face it, we are talking about air travel in the 21st century – are any flights on time any more?), we left from O’Hare on Thanksgiving day, 2009, a day before a cruise left. I have to admit that it was a little strange not having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. But not to worry, Tracy created a fantastic Thanksgiving meal which included turkey jerky, sweet potato chips, and craisins!

The flight was uneventful and landed us in Miami with plenty of time to spare before the cruise. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn at the airport – one of 3 (yes, 3) located at the airport. I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel and even enjoyed making my very own waffles in the morning. The hotel provided a free shuttle to the port, which was certainly a nice perk! We made it to the port relatively early, making us one of the first people to board. No complaints here, especially since they met us on board with a glass of champagne!

Of course the first thing we did once we got on the ship, after enjoying the champagne, was to take pictures in the beautiful Port of Miami. The sun was shining, the water was bright blue, and the wind provided a slight breeze. In other words, it was an utterly perfect day! The second thing we did? Find lunch! Ron and I attempted to try a buffet but we weren’t really all that impressed. Perhaps we were just too hungry to actually make a food decision. Who knows. But we ended up joining Pat and Tracy in one of the two main dining rooms where we enjoyed a very nice lunch. Now, Norwegian Cruise Lines don’t have mandatory dining times – all in the name of “freestyle cruising.” That meant that we never had the same waiter nor did we eat with other people. Call me crazy, but I kinda liked that aspect of the other cruises. I did however, enjoy being able to eat whenever I wanted. Who really wants a schedule when they are on vacation?? No Clark Griswald inspired itineraries for me, thank you!

Once we were finally able to get into our rooms, we went to check them out. Ron picked out our room and he did a fantastic job. We were in an inside cabin (after all, we did only pay $175 for the whole cruise) but Ron managed to find one close to everything and thankfully, not below any crazy nightclub. The best surprise of our room? Free cookies! I will admit that it took me a good 20 minutes before I realized that Ron had actually ordered the cookies for us. I realized that right about the time we got a “free” bottle of wine magically delivered to our room. Well played, Ron. Well played.

We didn’t get too much time before we were required to dress up in- er, I mean wear carefully and in the most respectful manner – our life vests. I always find that part of the cruise a bit strange. It’s not like anyone is going to be acting civilized and polite if they know the ship is going down. Nor do I think anyone would actually remember to which life boat they were supposed to go. No, everyone is going to find the first life boat the can, jump in, and hope for the best. Oh well. Ron and I did manage to get some great pictures!

Perhaps the BEST part of the cruise? 2 for 1 martinis.  Tracy agreed to enjoy the 2 for 1 martinis with me and enjoy we did! I vaguely recall enjoying three different types of martinis that night and finishing the night with dinner at the local “sports pub.” It would have been a perfect evening except that the waiter forgot my chicken fingers. It might sound petty to you but after enjoying an evening of martinis, I wanted chicken fingers. It was THE greatest disappointment of the entire trip.

For obvious reasons, bedtime soon followed. On Saturday morning, we woke up in Nassau! It was another beautiful day and the warm weather felt amazing after the cold, torturous Illinois winter. The second we stepped off the ship we were bombarded with people wanting to braid our hair (which, now that I think about it, would have been hysterical if Ron had had that done) and take us on a tour of the island. We decided not to take any of the excursions offered by the cruise line, mostly because I am too cheap. However, out of pure curiosity, we did ask a local how much he would charge for a tour of the island. He wanted $75. We said thanks and quickly got out of dodge. We did get a map and realized that we could really walk to everything we wanted to see. We managed to walk all over the island in about an hour and a half and we got to see everything – for free!

Our secret tip? There is a little boat that leaves from the Port at Nassau and takes you to Paradise Island for $6 roundtrip – a lot less than what the cruise line wanted to charge us. You do have to listen to the tour guide talk for the entire 20 minute ride. But it was worth it for the price. Ron and I enjoyed walking around Paradise Island and even had the opportunity to explore the beautiful Atlantis. While we didn’t have access to the entire resort, we were able to see enough to appreciate it – it truly is a spectacular place!

We decided to skip 2 for 1 martinis on our second night of the cruise. No worries, we merely replaced it with 2 for 1 mojitos. The best part of the evening was the comedian! I have to tell you, I am very skeptical of cruise ship entertainment. I have been burned by terrible acts before and I was reluctant to get hurt like that again. But I was convinced to at least try the comedian: Rich Purpura. Hysterical. Seriously, check him out. I mean it. I was so impressed with him that he changed my view on cruise line entertainment – at least for now.

Sunday was beach day! Norwegian Cruise Lines owns their own island named Stirrup Bay. The beach itself isn’t that large and frankly, it can get a bit crowded. But there was no way I was missing a day at the beach! Ron and I decided to rent snorkel equipment and purchase an underwater camera. Throughout our snorkeling excursion we saw a variety of colorful fish and coral and we were even lucky enough to spot a sting ray. Ron had fun swimming above the sting ray but as soon as the ray spotted him, Ron took off, remembering just has dangerous they can be! A beach party ensued, complete with turkey burgers and Miami Vices. Oh, and how could I forget the sunburn?

On an interesting note (or at least I think so), the judge I appear in front of went on the same cruise just this past weekend. The beach, Stirrup Cove, has been washed away thanks to a horrible storm!

Once again, we were back on the ship and ready for 2 for 1 martinis. It was also on Sunday night that Ron and I chose to eat at one of the three “pay for” restaurants. We chose the Italian restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner, nice bottle of wine, and a beautiful view of the ocean. Since I no longer held such a hatred for cruise line entertainment, Ron and I joined Tracy (complete with ANOTHER 2 for 1 martini for me) and Pat at the Variety Show. Another great show and I have just one word: Fountains.

On Monday the shipped docked. After breakfast we packed up our suitcases and made our way off the ship. There has to be a better way to disembark but until cruise lines figure it out, we will continue to stand in long lines and spend a good 20 minutes just walking out of the port. We hopped a shuttle to the airport where we then caught the shuttle to the La Quinta North. In case you are keeping track, that is NOT the same hotel we stayed in on the way down! Since we had another day in Miami (we didn’t leave until Tuesday morning), we decided to check out that town! We found a great Cuban restaurant oddly named Versailles. We absolutely loved the fried plantains! Great food overall and highly recommended! We also toured Coral Gables which, frankly, was a bit dead. But we did locate a great bookstore!

An absurdly early flight started our trip back to O’Hare and the frigid Chicago temperatures that awaited us. We had no flight delays and that seemed a bit too good to be true. It was. As we were leaving the parking lot at O’Hare, Ron’s car blew a belt. A tow truck was called and Belle was transported to the local mechanic. Luckily, this all happened on the way home! See, always looking on the bright side!

Pictures from this trip can be found here:
http://planetnothing.com/photos/v/bahamas-2009/