'Free' Cruise to the Bahamas, 2014
Ron and Carol have
done several cruises with Carnival, so they decided to give them a free cabin
on an upcoming cruise. They only had to pay taxes. Ron splurged and got a
balcony, but the total for the 6 night cruise less than $400! From Baltimore
the stops were Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. Here is a link to Carol's
blog relating to the trip: http://carolbuckles.livejournal.com/29594.html
The first morning and
this is what Ron and Carol felt and saw when they got up. 50mph winds off NC,
the “graveyard of ships.” Fortunately the winds were from the north, behind the
ship.
Pretty girl alert! The next day was much nicer.
Still a bit cool so sitting in the sun was actually nice.
Somewhere off SC. Ron and Carol with Executive Chef
‘Panda’ Nirada. Ron and Carol decided to do the
“Chef’s Table” which included a tour of the galley and a 7-course meal prepared
and served(!) by the ship’s head chef, a really
likable person. What a treat.
Lone Cabbage, a turn-of-the-century
fish camp outpost on the banks of the St. John River, east of Port Canaveral.
Lone Cabbage – Carol and a new
friend. There was an animal rescue group there raising
funds for the many animals they could not return to the wild. For a donation
you got to hold some of the animals. Carol also got to hold a baby alligator.
Lone Cabbage – An airboat that went
out on the St. John River and the Central Florida Everglades.
St. John River – Large alligators waiting for
someone to jump out of the boat. No one did.
Nassau - The harbor entrance with Paradise Island
behind.
Nassau. The cruise ship port and city behind. Ron
and Carol walked east from here all the way down Bay Street and over and across
a tall bridge to Paradise Island and to a beach, over 2 miles. Shopping and
eating along the way. They took the ferry back to the ship.
Nassau - Mary L’s Kreative
Krafts. Possibly the best Bahaman
craft store in Nassau. A shop in the front and a large
open workshop in the back with ladies making the crafts. Really nice people also.
Nassau, still on Bay Street.
Zombie alert! A graveyard with a broken tomb. Ron and
Carol made sure they were back on the ship before dark.
Nassau - Ron on the high bridge going over to
Paradise Island. The beach turned out to be full of people. There are much
better on the island, and closer to the cruise ships. From 2010: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1315840876007&l=69ac620232
Nassau – The Carnival Pride as seen from the
Paradise Island ferry. (88,500 ton, 2124 guests)
Freeport – Ron and Carol did a bus tour of the
island. Here are the Bahamian Pines that covered the island in earlier times,
and was the crop that brought the first Europeans here.
Freeport, Taino Beach –
The bus stopped at this really wonderful and empty beach. Carol found some nice
shells and beach glass.
Freeport, Port Lucaya
Marketplace – Big modern shopping area with some local crafts.
(Nothing as good as Mary L’s.) The Arawak and Lucaya Tribes were the native inhabitants of the island.
Atlantic, heading north – Another ‘Shroud of Carol’,
as Carol cleans up after a formal dinner.
Baltimore – Carnival kicked everyone out of their
cabins early. (Another departure that afternoon.) Ron
and Carol were able to snatch a nice cabana to spend their last hours on the
ship.
Baltimore – Ron and Carol enjoyed the cabana so much
they were slow to get off the ship and were near the end of the line, leaving
their bags all along.