Well it's been about a month since we got back from our Bahama cruise with the Thorpes. It was a DREAM. I am so glad that we are finally taking advantage of these last minute cruise deals living in Florida. Super last minute-spontaneous trip, which is the best way to vacation I think (at least until kids come anyway).
I make it a goal to get lots of footage on these adventures so I can add music and have a compilation of DVD's of our Florida adventures. Here is one I made from the trip.
We stopped at Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau.
Grand Turk: We rented a car (which was difficult to drive on the different side of the road) and drove around the small seven mile island. We stopped to see a lighthouse. In back of the lighthouse there was a cliff where you could look down and see an awesome beach full of conch shells. We were very determined to get down there. We found a path that led us to the side of the beach but you had to make your way through water to get to the place we wanted. I was a little hesitant since I am such a worry wart and the tide was getting higher as it got later in the day. But I decided to go for it. It was beautiful and we felt super adventurous {haha}.
Half Moon Cay: This is an island that is owned by the Princess Cruise line so it was a very small deserted island that only had the other ship guests on it. I felt like I was living an episode of survivor. Although it was paradise. The water was incredible, turquoise, clear and amazing. The Thorpe's knew some friends that just did that same cruise so they told us about an amazing snorkel place that was very secluded. It was mine and Shaun's first time snorkeling where we didn't just see one or two tiny fish. It was incredible! The bright colored fish and sting ray were beautiful. On our way back to the ship, we had to walk pass the rest of the tourists. It was so loud and crowded, I was so happy we had ventured off on our own and stayed clear of the "water park" atmosphere.
Nassau: This was an island that actually had a big population of people. It was a big tourist city. We took a taxi to a port where we jumped on a tiny boat. That boat took us to an island just off of Nassau called Blue Lagoon. It is a privately owned island that has a huge ropes course in the water and paddle boarding. It also is where we did our interactive dolphin excursion. It was definitely worth it but probably a once in a lifetime thing. I was surprised once the dolphin was up in my face, how ugly I thought the fish was. Not to mention how much it smelled! It was cool though and we got to feel like real dolphin trainers as they pushed the balls of our feet as we flew across the water. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to balance on the dolphins but it somehow worked out! Jodi and Drew were able to watch us and take a few pictures which I was grateful for.
I think other than the island hopping, life on the ship was the best part. It was so fun to eat whenever we wanted (THE 24 HOUR PIZZA BAR--YES!) and have entertainment all the time. While Shaun was doing karaoke one night, the music director saw him and asked him to compete in the ship talent show. That was probably the number one highlight. He was hilarious! And got to do his thing in front of all the guests. We got off the ship wanting to get back to our homes and our own beds but the next week we were begging for another cruise. I think we are converted to the cruiser way of life!
