Bahama Mamas!

If you have been keeping up with my blog, thank you...if this is your first time, please come back and bring a friend:) I'm attempting to get 100 hits in my first week...more than half way there, so help a sister out!

Welcome to the Bahamas!

Last year for spring break (which I still have because I'm a high school teacher in my spare time), my friend Ida and I embarked on a 5-day Bahama's cruise out of Miami. We flew in through Ft. Lauderdale and took a shuttle to the boat, which was pretty easy and convenient. The Miami Port is large, if you've never been there, so it was nice to have a driver who was familiar with the area and could get us there quickly. We chose to cruise NCL because of the price, which I was a bit hesitant about, but did anyways. I've cruised NCL before in Hawaii. And although the scenery was amazing and all of the stops were more than worth the time and money, the ship was just decent and the staff (All Americans on the Pride of America) was not really what you hope for on a cruise. So, I was choosing the give NCL another chance...I'm not sure that I'll give them another one though. I've cruised with Carnival multiple times and in different locations, including Europe, and they were always fantastic. Maybe it's just my taste, but it is what it is! For those looking for a college spring break cruise, NCL is the way to go. Otherwise, check out some of the other cruise lines for more comfort and better service.

Off to a good start...

Back to the islands!  The first night was only slightly crazy. One of the new bar features on the cruise ship is that you can actually purchase a liter bottle of hard liquor (for a fairly decent price, well cruise price), and as long as you are drinking from it, they will give you free juice and soda as mixers. If you've ever been on a cruise before, nothing is free except tap water, tea, and coffee...so for those of us who live on diet coke, this was a great deal! I carried that bottle around for many hours, captured some people dancing and air humping to the music on the deck, and finally made it to dinner. We enjoyed a decent meal and then headed back to the deck for an evening of drinks and meeting new people.

Snorkeling near Grand Bahama Island

We spent the first day on Grand Bahama Island. We went snorkeling, which was a blast and then we enjoyed some refreshing drinks and live music in the town square. We didn't have a lot of time beyond our tour to visit the island, but the day was beautiful and our tans were off to a good start! Once back on the ship, we laid out on the deck and had a few cocktails until it was time to head to dinner. That night there was a dance on the pool deck, so we tore up the dance floor with all of the 19 and 20 year olds making us feel OLD!

Clear Kayaking near Nassau

The next day we were in Nassau. We had booked an excursion to kayak in clear bottom kayaks. The trip took us by Paradise Island and the Atlantis Resort. It's a beautiful property, but there are so many great places to stay on the islands, a resort wouldn't be my first choice...personal opinion once again! So we kayaked for quite a while, flirted with the tour guides, and headed back to the island to do some shopping. We walked around and tried some conch fritters, which were a decent snack, and bought some bamboo sheets from Bariloca. Bamboo sheet=worth every penny!! They are the most amazing sheets I've ever owned! We then headed back to the ship to hang out on the pool deck.

Private Island

The last day of the cruise was spent on a private island and the weather was PERFECT! It was sunny with a slight breeze all day. We laid out, snorkeled in the lagoon and watched people act like idiots. It was a great day! That night was also fun...I think they were filming some sort of show on the ship...I don't know what exactly...but there were some interestingly dressed girls causing trouble. There really isn't a better way to describe it! But we walked around, gambled a little bit and had a few more drinks.

Ida and her giant margarita!

We had to head to the airport the next morning, but we got there early enough to check in our bags and head to Fort Lauderdale Beach for lunch. Another great day in south Florida, we had some yummy tex-mex and HUGE margaritas as our last hurrah.

The Bahamas were a nice place to visit. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a quick getaway and fantastic weather. There are many different islands to visit and the people are friendly on all of them. There is plenty of beer and liquor to go around, and enough fun in the sun to make anyone happy!