Nassau Day

In true “self made morning person” fashion, I was up way earlier than everyone else in the family while on the cruise, so I decided to get up and run. I had debated when I was packing on whether or not to take running clothes/shoes because it was going to take up a lot of room in an already full suitcase, but I’m glad I did because my early morning runs each day ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. There is something about running next to the blue Caribbean Sea, watching the sun rise and the destination of the day island approaching in the distance. And really, it was basically just me and a handful of other folks out on the running deck.

Now here are 2 things I didn’t expect, or maybe didn’t think about, when it came to running on the ship…..one side was always SUPER windy. I felt like I was running into a wind tunnel sometimes! There were also “hills”!!!! AKA ramps! Granted, not big ramps by any means at all, but I was looking forward to a perfectly flat run.

After running, I would go up to the pool deck and get some OJ for the kids and me and head back to the room. Everyone was always still asleep. Well, maybe Mom was up a few mornings when I got back. Usually she and I would head on to breakfast and eventually the sleepyheads would wake up and mosey to breakfast.

I got some great pictures that morning as we approached Paradise Island and Nassau. The sleepy heads missed out on all of this!

For our day in Nassau, I booked a day pass to the Hilton hotel, which was in walking distance to the port. The kids, however, had different plans in mind for the day, which included riding the AquaDuck first thing. So before we headed off the ship, we went to the pool for a bit. It took some convincing for the kids to leave, but in the end they were glad they did.

We had a great view of the Hilton as we approached the port.

The walk to the hotel was through the downtown part of Nassau. Lots of street vendors, etc…, which we’ll just call a good cultural experience for Will and Avery. The hotel was beautiful and we had free reign of the pool and beach, and even food and drinks included! We were so close to the port, as you can see. It was nice to see the beautiful cruise ships. And to keep an eye on it to make sure it didn’t leave us!!! The hotel was not crowded at all! It was wonderful. At any given time during the day, there were never more than probably 10 people on the beach, including us. But we were for sure the loudest!

Avery and Nana quickly found a cool place to lounge. Lounging is Avery’s thing, believe me!

And Will found a canon!

The pool was popular for both of them during the day. I was all like “We have pools in Raleigh!! Go get in the turquoise water also known as the Caribbean Sea!”

Avery kept yelling “Bahamas!!!” as she would jump into the pool.

I’m sure the people lounging around the pool appreciated Will cannon balling over. And over. And over.

I brought snorkeling equipment for everyone to use. Albeit not the best snorkeling equipment money could buy so there were lots of tears over leaky masks. But they both still had a good time and really enjoyed it.

Everyone loved playing in the water. It had been a little bit of a stressful morning, just trying to get everyone up and out the door to the right place (i.e. not the ship’s pool) but I promise you the MOMENT I stuck my foot in the ocean, I truly felt my soul calm down. Salt water is certainly good for the soul.

We used the resort’s kayaks for a bit. That was fun!

On our way back to the ship, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts (I know, I know) to get the kids a treat and mom and I some sweet tea. Let’s put it this way, south of Georgia, you aren’t getting good sweet tea. The kids had fun waiting for me and Avery even started sassing a pirate!!!

Around downtown Nassau…

We went in a few shops and got a couple of souvenirs, did a quick walk through the straw market, managed to not get accosted and made our way back to the ship. We did stop and pose for a fun picture!

There were also a few “battle ships” at the dock where we were. Will was disappointed in the amount of weapons, which was basically zero. In his little mind he was probably glad we weren’t trying to fight off Communism all of a sudden!!

We spent the afternoon chilling, watching Disney movies and overall relaxing. Well, Mom spent her afternoon dancing on the balcony with the Norwegian Cruise Line dancers from below! She was even getting shout outs from them!

I had read online in all my trip research to order a cheese plate from room service in the afternoons as you were getting ready for dinner. I ordered one the first day and every day after that, I had to order 2 because Avery took one for her own!

It was Pirate Night on the ship so we got all dressed up for dinner and the Pirate Party. Will isn’t mad in the group pic; he’s just being a mean pirate!

Time to up to the pool deck for the party. Avery and I were front in center at the stage!

Having fun after the party…

Ian (Will’s “little friend”) and the gang!

What a fun day!!  Castaway Cay tomorrow!