Continuing the Cruise

In case you missed the first post (which you can find here), Jason and I took a cruise for our 5th anniversary. The second stop on our cruise was in...

Nassau, Bahamas

We had nothing planned for this stop, but I had determined that we were going to actually do something. There were about 5 other cruise ships stopped at Nassau that same day, so getting off the boat and into the little town area was a bit frustrating. Especially since I really had no desire to be around people. But, we eventually made it through the crowds, through the little shopping huts where people wanted to braid your hair, and I
think I found a map somewhere along the way. There were hawkers everywhere trying to get you to rent a scooter, a car, a horse-drawn carriage, etc., as well as sell you a souvenir. I originally thought walking, or renting a scooter like Jul and Linden did when they were in Nassau, might be a good idea. After seeing the madness of people driving on rented scooters in the crazy, tiny streets amongst the regular town traffic, we decided against that. Jason wasn't interested in walking too far, so after talking to a carriage driver (who may have slightly mis-informed us) we decided to see the town via horse-drawn carriage.

Compared to the previous two days, it was hot in Nassau.

I don't remember our drivers name, but he gave us the "narrated tour," though it was hard to understand him. I'm not sure what all the traffic laws are in Nassau, but his carriage had a bicycle bugle horn, and he wasn't afraid to use it or to tell people how to drive!

It really wasn't a harrowing experience, the carriage ride, but it was interesting. And not quite what we thought it was going to be.

After the short ride, we chose to eat at one of the little restaurants. I think I got Jerk Chicken and Jason, who wasn't really hungry, got something less spicy. If I remember right, it was good food, but not sure that it was amazing, though. As we walked around looking at all the tourist shops (which all sold the same things), there were guys with their boats pulled up along the side of the canal selling "fresh conch salad." And yes, it was very fresh, right off the boat. I think I would've been game to try it, but seeing it served up fresh, sitting in the sun on the hot cement, made me question how fast salmonella grows. So we passed on trying that delicacy this time.

One big attraction in Nassau is Atlantis and the Atlantis hotel. If we had budgeted and planned well, I think Jason would have gone to see this.

For myself, I really don't know anything about it, so I didn't know why the great attraction. But, apparently it is a big deal. I'm sure most everyone else can relate with Jason's excitement over the Atlantis. We probably spent a few hours out in Nassau, and made our way back to the ship so Jason could take a nap.

It was formal night on the Carnival Glory, so we got to dress up for dinner. The menu was steak and lobster, which was one of the best meals we had on the ship.

The servers also performed for us, which included dancing on the tables to the song, "Celebration."

The following day was to be a day at sea, so there was no hurry to go to bed. And Jason was wide awake anyways by this time, so after dinner we moseyed about the ship to see what all we could see.

We walked through the casino trying to find a machine that I could play a quarter. (I've never found one in any casino, by the way.) I think we ended up playing a dollar, and then realized that you can't cash out your earnings unless you have $5 or more dollars to cash out. We came back another day and played another $2, I think, to try and get our money back. (Bad idea, I know!) Jason ended up being the lucky guy and punched the button just right to win $12. And then we cashed out and didn't play anymore!

Throughout the day at sea, they had all kinds of activities and contests to partake in. We went and watched the ice carving demonstration.

This particular ice carver is also the ships dentist!

I think he carved this Native American bust in less than 15 minutes. If he can do root canals that fast...

The ships entertainment crew also put on a "Santa is Here!" event, where Santa showed up for pictures. The Carnival cruise lines are supposed to be family friendly, and are known as the "party cruise line." There were a lot of family's with little kids on board, so they did have several kid-friendly, or kid-themed events to partake in if you wished.

I'll go ahead and end this post with our towel animal, the Crab. (At least I think it was a crab; correct me if I'm wrong.)

Look for the next Cruise post on Monday!