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!