Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Cruise Region: Bahamas
Date: September 2003
Length of Cruise: 4 nights
Departure Port: Port Canaveral, Orlando
Cruise Price: $500 for a single oceanview cabin
Ports of Call: Bahamas
Accommodations:
In retrospect the cabin was tiny, but for me it was 122 square foot of pure heaven! There were two single beds that could be made up as a queen - for the sake of space I left them separate. From the moment I opened the door I only cared about one feature: the little window that looked out on the water. I spent a few nights curled up in that window letting my imagination wander back to earlier days of pirates... ho ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Dining:
The food was delicious. At dinner I sat with two couples, one celebrating their 20th anniversary and one enjoying their honeymoon. Every evening was enjoyable. The food was delicious. I especially enjoyed trying dishes I wouldn't normally try. Every evening I had a different cold soup - like watermelon bisque or pear with spearmint. You can order any and all you want. So try something different; if you don't like it, they'll gladly bring you something else. Save room for desserts! They're awesome!
Entertainment, Bars, and Lounges:
The nightly entertainment provided varies and usually includes musical, comedy, Vegas-style and is usually rated very good to mediocre. My thought about all the entertainment was "this is better than anything I'd be watching on TV at home"! Bars, lounges and casino were always full of fun-loving people!
Highlights:
Do not miss "The Quest"! It's called "an adult scavenger hunt" and anyone who has ever attended is sworn to secrecy as to what happens. It's always held after 10pm or 11pm and really is adults only. I can tell you if you attend nothing else the ship offers - be there for this. You don't have to participate, watching is (almost as much) fun!
Tips and Suggestions:
Be prepared to be corny and silly; leave behind inhibitions. You're on vacation... a cruise. Nobody here to judge... just others to join you in laughter at just how fun silly and foolish can be. On a cruise (at age 20-30-40-50-60-70) everything is fun and funny again!
Getting there (my LEAST favorite part)
I often find that this integral part of all vacations is missing from most reviews! Because it truly is a part of our vacation.
I am happy to have a good report here: 4:30am taxi to O'Hare Airport (Chicago, IL, USA) dropped me off in just 30 minutes. And, just like the expressway that brought me there, O'Hare was empty at 5am on a Sunday morning.
By 5:15am standing in the security line I looked around I realized I was the line. After walking through the snake path to the x-ray tables I found it wasn't required that I take off my shoes and show off my clean socks. At about 5:18am was on my way to my gate. Glad I passed up Starbuck's $10 coffee (one of the first stands you find), I got an egg mcmuffin at McDonald's.
Flight from Chicago to Orlando was a great buy on Spirit Airlines--about $160 at Orbitz. We were served (morning flight) a tiny bag of pretzels and a soda. We were three across; I had the window seat and a husband/wife were next to me. It was apparent from the blanket wrap and multiple kleenex tissues, I determined my seatmate had a bad cold -- great!
If you're flying into Orlando, remember odds are good, there will be kids on your flight. Lucky me... the little girl behind me was traveling with her aunt who didn't want to keep reminding her how impolite it is to kick the seat in front of you!
Upon arrival I found my bags and decided on a luggage cart from the free-standing machine. It took me $3 to figure out how to get the darn cart out!
So, there I was.. ready for my cruise... standing in the Orlando Airport... with my luggage cart without a clue!
There were lines and people with signs and everyone appeared to know what was going on.
Someone informed me that I needed to walk 'down there' for the RCL buses. It would have been more helpful if they had said "we're at this end of the airport and the buses are on the opposite side of the airport"?!
Before boarding the bus you are asked to fill out all your paperwork if you hadn't already.
There wasn't much room on the bus for your carryon - unless it was a briefcase. So all luggage was packed together and unloaded at the ship on its way to your cabin.
Shopping
Having no intention of buying anything (which must be why I tucked my new RCCL Credit Card in my purse) I headed into the Port of Nassau.
Word of advice: Learn how to read the map! Armed with only the shore map from NCL, I headed into town. Following the map, the streets and shops continued to look seedier and there were less people as I walked along. After being propositioned a few times I realized I had read the map upside down!
Quickly retracing my steps I searched for "Tanzanite International." Along my way (now among many other tourists) I found that liquor stores offer a taste of their wares. I fell in love with Banana Schnapps and had to have a bottle. Shopkeeper was wise enough to inform me that when I returned to the ship the cruiseline would take and hold my large bottle until the end of the cruise, but I could purchase a smaller bottle to take back in my purse.
The Tanzanite store? I eventually made it there... and they made me as the tourist I was... and I came home with a beautiful Tanzanite ring that I love - and I'll kick the person who says I paid too much!
NEW!