Finally the turquoise water we had dreamed of! This was by far the bluest water I had ever seen. It almost looks like they dump dye into it, (Ill check into this conspiracy theory...)
We had so much fun just shopping and laying out on beach chairs for most of the day. We were able to get some sun and still enjoy all the shops and mexican food within a few hundred feet. It was very relaxing :) This is where we hit the souvenir shops pretty hard. I wasn't quite sure if we'd make it back on the plane with that much junk, but somehow it happened! 2,000 miles later my niece and nephew can now form a family band with their Mexican moroccas and ukulele. (Your welcome sis!)
Day Seven: At Sea!
Another day, another buffet... On our last big day 'at sea' we started off with our daily breakfast buffet and took our towels up to the sundeck. It was packed from wall to wall by 10 am, but we were able to find chairs eventually (carefully avoiding the 'freestyle' deck.)
This day, (Friday), was our second to last day on the ship, but our last full one at sea. This is the day that they typically go all out on the cruise ship since most people have to pack on the last night. They served lobster in the restaurants, had a late night chocolate buffet, and put on their biggest show production 'Cirque Bijou', a spin off of Cirque du Soleil. It was all really impressive, and we were tired by the end of the day. Off to bed before our last port of call, the Bahamas!
Us at Tsar's Palace, the 'classy' restaurant onboard
Day Eight: Detour! Nassau, Bahamas!
We were scheduled to stop at Norwegian Cruise Line's private island 'Great Stirrup Cay' from 10am-6pm on our last day of the cruise. We arrived around 9am and were supposed to take tender boats to shore around 10, until they announced over the PA system that all of the tender boats were broken down but one, and that it could not accomodate 2,400 passengers trying to get to and from shore in a timely and 'safe' manner. Our captain made the decision to redirect us to Nassau Bahamas where we would arrive about 2.5 hours later. We pulled into Nassau's port at about 11:30 am and people were getting antsy to enjoy their last day on the cruise. When we finally got off the ship and looked around for a minute, it was fairly apparent that everyone was taking ferry boats and taxis over to 'Paradise Island' where the best beaches and sight seeing were. On our boat ride over, we were given a mini tour by a local Rasta 'mon with dreads and the whole giddup. He told us that this was the island that Anna Nicole Smith lived on and eventually was buried on. It was also home to Nicholas Cage, and many other celebrities. One of the Atlantis hotels was located on this island, which he told us was a favorite vacation spot of Oprah, Michael Jordan, and even Michael Jackson, who supposedly owned a 10 room suite in the bridge section of the Atlantis hotel (costing the public $25,000 per day to rent.)
We arrived on Paradise Island and made our way to 'Cabbage beach' on the north end of the island to catch some rays on our last day in the Caribbean. The beach was beautiful and the water and scenery were straight out of a post card; probably our favorite stop of the trip!
a panoramic view of Paradise Island, with the Atlantis Hotel on the right
Day Nine: Fort Lauderdale and Homeward Bound!
We had to pack and have our suitcases in the hallway for pickup by midnight on Saturday, so we didn't do much else but relax and pack on our last night. The morning of 'disembarkation' we were able to eat our last buffet breakfast before leaving our enormous cruise ship. The rest of the day was filled with waiting in lines, going through customs, waiting for our shuttle, and eventually laying around our hotel room in south Florida. :) We stayed in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday night and had our last dinner of amazing Mexican food before our early morning flight. One of my favorite moments was being able to go for a jog in shorts and a t-shirt outside of our hotel in late January. It was just perfect; the sun was setting (although cloudy), it was misting a light rain, and the temperature was about 70 degrees. It felt so good to finally be in a quieter place, away from all the traffic and people, and being able to just take a deep breath.
By this point in the trip, we were ready to be home, so getting packed up and to the airport by 4:30am wasn't the end of the world. We had another long morning of waiting, in airports, lines, restrooms, etc. But finally, at 1pm, Eric picked us up from the airport, with a backdrop of gently falling snow and 9 degrees.
Glad to be back in Minnesota!!
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