Cruising to the Bahamas-Nassau

We woke to yet another beautiful day.  Today we stop at Nassau, The Bahamas and one of our favorite places to enjoy while on the island, Señor Frogs.  The group all agreed at dinner that we would meet up at Señor Frogs for lunch.  Rick, Mary, Dennis and Connie were going into town early to do some shopping and would meet us around 12 noon.

While eating breakfast Bob and Sandy mentioned that they learned from a very nice couple they met on our way to the cruise of a public beach not too far from the ship and would like to see before going to lunch.  Sounded like a good idea and so we agreed to do just that.

Well, it turned out to be a little bit more of a walk than expected but it felt good to get some exercise.   We ran into other cruisers who were on their way back to the ship who assured us that we were getting close and would enjoy the beach once there.

We arrived at this small but nice beach called Junkaroo Beach that was nestled in the shadow of the cruise ships.  The sand was nice, there were many people enjoying the sun and water and conveniently there was a small watering hole just waiting for us to stop by.

The Tiki Bikini Bar was perfect with very old overstuffed couches lazily placed around a small deck, small round umbrella tables with stools that sank into the sand whenever you changed position and a variety of cold beers on ice.  Perfect!  We always try new beers when traveling so ordered a Bahamian beer called Sands.  I think we all agreed it tasted a little like Corona.  It was wet, cold and quenched our thirst.  Again, perfect.

While we were there a very nice gentleman was offering samples of a cake and two different, what he called sauces.  The gentleman told me, “This is a coconut duff.  A flaky pastry rolled with coconut and sugar in a Guava sauce with rum”.  “This is done by the best chef’s on the island,” he added.  I decided to try both and both were delicious.  It was fascinating to listen to him invite and encourage visitors to try his cake and sauces.  I did not think I would be able to bring it back to the ship or I would have purchased a container.  The cake resembled a jelly roll with sugar and cinnamon inside.  It was very soft and moist.  According to the gentleman it was steamed.  I thought that was very unusual.

We enjoyed our beer then headed back to meet the others at Señor Frogs for lunch.  We got there first and managed to get a table for four with the promise of pulling a second table when the others arrived.  By the time they arrived the restaurant/bar was in full celebration mode.

The DJ got everyone into a festive mood dancing, singing, and participating in various fun activities.  The music is always varied, upbeat and at times loud.  The same can be said about the patrons of said restaurant.  It is always fun.

We decided to get buckets of beer and nachos.  Señor Frogs nachos are delicious in Nassau.  We ordered the mixed meat nachos with some chicken and some ground beef.  Yummy!  Before long many of us were line dancing and participating in conga lines getting shots of rum punch as we danced around the restaurant.

At one point Connie and Mary were having a great deal of fun playing air guitar and air drums at the table.  Very funny!

After a few hours we all headed back to the ship to relax poolside for the rest of the afternoon.  Today’s drink of the day was Captain’s Bahama Mama.

Captain’s Bahama Mama

2 oz. Captain Morgan original spiced rum

1 oz. orange juice

1 oz. pineapple juice

.25oz. grenadine

Mixology:  Combine all ingredients in mixing glass.  Shake with ice and pour into glass.  This drink recipe did not call for a garnish however, most of the fun drinks served on the ship come with a slice of orange, a cherry and a tiny umbrella.

Dinner time rolled around and again it was wonderfully delicious.  I really was not very hungry for anything heavy but unfortunately did not realize that until after I had ordered.  I chose the chilled raspberry and pineapple soup to start and the tomato, basil and mozzarella calzone for my main dish.  The soup was very refreshing.  After only two bites I realized I just could not eat my calzone and asked if I could please order a shrimp cocktail instead.  I felt bad returning the calzone and assured the waiter that it had nothing to do with the food that I just could not eat anything heavy.  I did order a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

After dinner Rick, Mary, Dennis, Connie, Randy and I went to the Welcome Back Party sponsored by the Crown and Anchor Society for those of us who are repeat cruisers with Royal Caribbean.  The party is a short affair shaking hands with the captain and other crew members, getting updates about the cruise lines future and enjoying canapés and cocktails.

After the party Randy and I decided to take a walk around the ship and browsed through the shops.  We ran into Bob and Sandy and had a good time looking at all the jewelry, tee shirts and other items for sale.

The ship was scheduled to leave port at 11:30pm at which time there would be a ‘Dancing under the Stars Deck Party’ with their wonderful Calypso band, Men of Culture band and the resident DJ poolside.  There was also a late night buffet planned but I believe only Rick and Connie took advantage of that.

Tomorrow we are at sea, relaxing poolside, drinking the ‘drink of the day’, reading books, listening to great music and I’m sure wishing we had a few more days before returning home.

Enjoy,

Mary