The Gratts Cruise the Caribbean Day 7: Last Sea Day then Home

We were up at 8:00 and went and had cereal on the Lido for breakfast as we weren’t hungry enough for brunch.  Ben and I decided to browse the Fun Shops since we hadn’t seen them.  I told Ben I found my Christmas present—a pink Rolex for $8,500.  I don’t think I’ll be seeing it under the tree, however.

Ben and Nick wanted to stay out of the sun and Nick wanted to pack of all things.  So that left me to my own devices and I thought about going to the spa and seeing if I could get a spa pass or maybe go lounge on the Serenity desk.  But on a whim, I went to Deck 11 to see if I could score one of the coveted cushy chairs in the shade that overlooks the pool.  And what do you know, there was one on the end with my name on it—perfect!

 

I camped out here for the day, reading and people watching.  I decided to stay there and then watch the pool games that were going to start at 1:00.  Eventually of course, I got a Twilight Zone, although this one was a little icy and not as good:

 

The boys joined me eventually and saved my chair while I went and got some pizza.  We stayed and watched the pool games and I thoroughly enjoyed my day there, but around 2:30, I was tired of loud music so we went back down to the shade on Deck 5 where we had been the day before.  It was less crowded this time and a lot quieter, maybe because it was cloudy.  I got another Twilight Zone from the casino which was much better:

 

Nick and Ben were drinking virgin drinks by this time.  They said they tasted just as good and were cheaper!

The clouds rolled in and it started to rain which chased us away from our lounge chairs.  We went to Red Frog and then to the Pixels gallery on Deck 4 to look at our one measly picture on Elegant Night where my eyes were closed.  We wandered down to the casino but someone was camped out at our WOF machine so we gave up.  We went to the room and started packing (bummer) and Ben laid down and fell asleep and I didn’t have the heart to wake him just for sunset so Nick and I went down together and saw what was probably the prettiest sunset of the whole trip:

 

Nick was skipping dinner since he didn’t want to eat heavy before our long car drive home the next morning.  So Ben and I went to the dining room alone so we could see our waiters one last time.  We tipped them each $20 and they were so grateful but they had done so much for us, we wanted to give it to them. 

 

For dinner, I had panko crusted jumbo shrimp and Ben had the bacon mac & cheese topped with chicken.  Dessert was grand mariner soufflés and it was all good and we enjoyed it.  The dining room definitely ended on a high note.

 

Back in the room, we had our lovely swan waiting for us.  We left our room steward a $20 tip also for all the great service.

We set the alarm for 6:45 am.  Since we were on Deck 1, we did self-assist, so we could leave the ship at 7:30 am.  So that is what we did and we were off the ship by 8:00 am the next morning and on our way home.

 

Goodbye Magic!

 

Overall I enjoyed cruising more than I thought I would.  I never felt claustrophobic or trapped, and I loved relaxing all day and the beautiful Caribbean weather.  Ben, Nick and I have a Royal Caribbean cruise planned for February 2016 going to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.  We will have a balcony room on that cruise and I’m looking forward to relaxing and watching the sunset from our balcony!  Until then, Bon Voyage!

 

The Gratts Cruise the Caribbean Day 6: Sea Day

We slept in until around 8:30 and then just relaxed in bed watching TV.  For breakfast, we all decided to do the Sea Day Brunch which was in our Southern Lights dining room.  I got two eggs with hash browns and chicken sausage.  And oh yeah, REAL orange juice!

 Ben got the blueberry pancakes which looked delicious but he wasn’t a huge fan of them.

 

I really enjoyed the brunch and it was a much nicer environment than the crowded, noisy Lido.  I was looking forward to coming back to tea at 3:00.

Ben had gotten too much sun on the Serenity deck the day before so he wasn’t up to doing much.  We decided to find a shady spot to lounge in and I wanted to read my book.  We ended up on Deck 5 by the Lanai hot tubs.  Nick got me a Twilight Zone from the casino bar and it was the best one yet.

 

At one point, the boys went to Oceanside BBQ for a snack.

 

It was nice to relax in the shade but we chose a very noisy area apparently since we were so close to the hot tubs.  Almost every adult that tried to go in said it was too cold and left but all the kids loved it.

The boys went to Red Frog at then Ben joined me for Tea Time at 3:00.

 

I was really looking forward to this but it was disappointing.  The servers could not keep up with the amount of people.  I think we were the first ones to leave.

Ben needed a nap so he went back to the room while I found a shady lounger on the Panorama Deck where I read for an hour or so before going back up for a nap myself. 

We all met back at 6:30 on Deck 5 for sunset:

 

Even though I had no makeup on, I went ahead and asked Nick to take our picture.

 

I told Ben we should plan to dress up for the last sunset and take pictures, but I’m glad I took this one because Ben ended up missing the last sunset.

After sunset, we went back to get ready for the second Elegant Night.  Ben didn’t feel like wearing a suit so he wore dress slacks and a shirt and I wore a long maxi dress but wore dressy jewelry to jazz it up.

 

Dinner was chateaubriand—I loved it and ate almost every bite. I ate so much, I finally skipped dessert. 

 

I squealed with delight when I saw my towel animal!

Tomorrow would be our last sea day before sailing home.

The Gratts Cruise the Caribbean Day 5: Nassau, Bahamas

We were up at 8:30 a.m. and the ship was already in Nassau.  The boys went to the gym and breakfast but I planned to skip breakfast and have an early lunch at the British Colonial Hilton where we were going to spend the day.

 

We had pre-paid a deposit for a day pass since we knew there was a chance they could sell out of them since it was spring break and there were 4 ships in port including the Magic.  But I had read that the hotel was very good about not overselling and that it shouldn’t be a problem.  I had wanted to go to the bigger Sheraton hotel for the day but Ben wanted to just be able to walk to the beach so I agreed.

We disembarked and arrived at the BCH at 10:00 local time. 

We went to the front desk and I heard the people in front of us get told that they had sold out of passes.  I wondered what this would mean for us but I guess since we prepaid, they allowed us in and gave us our wristbands.

We go outside and it all looks very nice:

We quickly discover that there are no chairs to be had anywhere, either at the pool or on the beach.  It’s a small place and a small beach and it was full to capacity.  More importantly, there are no towels either and since our receipt said they would be provided, we did not bring ours from the ship.  So we can’t even swim or sit down or really do much of anything.  Bummer.

We go get a drink at the bar while we contemplate what to do and the manager comes and offers us a refund which we decide to take.  I thought about suggesting we go to nearby Junkanoo Beach but again, with no towels, it wasn’t an option.  And Ben said “absolutely not” to going back to the ship, getting towels and walking the 15 minutes back.  *sigh*

Nick was thrilled because he loves spending the day on a ship when it’s in port.  Which was really our only option now.  So after getting a slice of pizza, we spend the day on the empty Serenity deck lounging and getting in the hot tub. 

 

I tried a Bahama Mama:

 

The boys even went down the water slides.

 

For lunch, I wanted to try the deli and Ben discovered the Tandoori Indian buffet.  Both were good but the Tandoori was so good, I had Ben go get me some after I ate my sandwich.  Finally a decent lunch on the ship!

We went to Red Frog and got ice cream at Swirls and then decided to go freshen up in our rooms.  We met back up at 4:00 for 80’s Trivia in the Ocean Plaza which was fun—we did really good on the second part of the trivia which was 80’s music.  We got 18 out of 20 but there was someone who had all 20.  So no ship on a stick for us.

 

We went up to Deck 5 for sail away and sunset.

 

After two nights away from the main dining room, we decided to go back and give it another shot.  This night I got short ribs (with my baked potato and salad) and it wasn’t bad at all.  Dessert was apple pie and ice cream—still not great but definitely an improvement.

 

The bread in the dining room was really good and I ate a ton of it.  I never turned it down once.  I think I owe the two pounds I gained to the bread and Twilight Zones.

The only bad thing about the late dining was that by the time we were done, we were really full and tired.  So once again, we go back to our rooms.  Schindler’s List was on so we watched that in our room and went to bed at 12:30 am.

My favorite towel animal yet—look at those ears!

The Gratts Cruise the Caribbean Day 4: Freeport, Bahamas

We were awakened at 6:00 am by the ship pulling into Freeport.  Being on the lower deck on the back of the ship, we felt alot of movement at times.  I felt like I might fall out of bed, the ship was rattling so much!

Today we were doing the Carnival excursion “Beach Getaway with Open Bar” and we didn’t have to be there until 11:45 am ship time so that meant we could have a leisurely morning until then.

The boys went to the gym and then we went down to the buffet.  There was hardly anyone there so I got an omelet and it was pretty ok actually.  We decided to go ahead and get off the ship and check out the port.

 

Seeing the port didn’t take long so we went back to the ship and had a drink on the Lido deck.  This is where I discovered my favorite drink, the Twilight Zone. 

We went down around 11:30 to get in line for the excursion and there was already a long one when we got there:

The buses arrived promptly at noon and I think it took 3 or 4 buses to take everyone. The buses were nice with padded seats and AC. The driver gave us some information on the island during the 25-minute or so ride.

Once we got to the beach, since we were one of the last ones, there were no chairs or umbrellas. By some miracle, I found 3 chairs under a palm tree.

Ben and Nick have to have shade at all times. It was an ok setup, we were just a ways back on the beach, directly across the bar/atrium area. There were alot of chairs, but there were also a lot of people. I think there were only two ships in port though and I can't imagine what it would have been like with 3 or 4.

 

We arrived at the beach around 1:00 pm and were called to leave at 4:00 pm so we got 3 hours at the beach. Our driver back was funny and kept us entertained with songs.

Back to the ship, we are all starving so after freshening up in our rooms, we headed to Off the Grill for a hamburger, which reminded me of the burgers served in my 7^th grade cafeteria.  I ate every bite of it.  We then decided to go to the Serenity deck for one of the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen.

I got a Mocha Chocolate Getaway:

 

After sunset, we decided to try our luck in the casino again but not surprisingly, Lady Luck was not with us this time!

Back to the room to this little guy: