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There were a lot of "firsts" for me on this trip! It was my first time to Orlando, my first time on a cruise ship, first time in the Bahamas, and I fulfilled my childhood dream of going to the Lost City of Atlantis.
Cruising to the Bahamas
My boyfriend and I first flew into Orlando, Florida and spent a few days at Disney World, which that itself was an adventure that I will save for it's own blog post. But from
Orlando, we drove to the Port Canaveral terminal and boarded the Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. We booked a 3 day cruise on the Majesty of the Seas ship. For my first cruise experience, it was actually pretty fun and there was tons to do on the ship. They had everything from casinos, to hot tubs, to pool parties, gyms, rock climbing wall, theater, late night movies, art auctions, bingo, arcades, basketball court, ping pong, and even a shopping mall. There was seriously something for everyone. There was always food available (which you need to be careful not to overeat), there are also a
bunch of restaurants on the ship if you aren't into buffets. Also, there were bars everywhere you go and the drinks were always really strong, you can also get ice cream 24/7! There was no reception or internet, it was just so nice to disconnect and relax. My favorite thing about the cruise were the sunsets and seeing dolphins swimming off in the distance. The first night we spent on the ship and cruising to Cococay, where the ship was tethered while a smaller boat took us to the island.
Day 1: Cococay
Once we got to the island, there were a ton of local vendors selling souvenirs and Bahamas t-shirts, the items were pretty cheesy and they only take cash. It was nice to
see some locals of the island, they were all very friendly. Once you get passed the little vendors and the public beach (which was flooded with people), we got on this little golf cart that took us to our private part of the island. Here is a tip to make sure you have a kick ass time: *always pay a little more and book the bungalow on the beach, it was so worth it. It was more private, comes with tacos and ceviche, and you get your own bar. We spent most of the morning lounging and eating breakfast from bed. Then in the afternoon it was time
to jetskii. I have to tell you about the water, it was the most clear, turquoise, and warm waters I've ever seen. We
rode on the jetskiis and looked for starfish in the water. My boyfriend drove and we pushed it to 48 mph, it was so much fun. Of course, after the jetskiis we got some frozen cocktails in coconuts and relaxed until the sun went down.
Day 2: Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau
We docked onto a port at Nassau and in a short car trip we were at the Lost City of Atlantis! I remember being a little kid and the Atlantis commercial would always come on the tv, the commercial had a beautiful resort and showed ancient ruins of the lost city and an
epic water park with a 60 foot drop slide into a shark tank. I remember always wanting to go as a kid so this was a big deal for me. Once we got there we walked through the casino and straight to the aquarium. It was like we were walking on the bottom of the ocean and the ancient ruins were all around us. It was really cool. The rest of the day consisted of water slides with tubes, the lazy river, and lounging on the beach. Finally the time to ride the Leap of Faith drop came. Okay so a little fact about me: I do not know how to swim. As soon as I actually saw how steep this drop was, and all of the huge sharks
swimming in the tank, my heart was pounding and my adult me was like "Girl, you are going to have a heart attack" and I immediately chickened out. But it wasn't until a few mango daiquiris later and my boyfriend convincing me to just do it and I thought "F@$%K IT! When am I ever going to be at the Lost City of Atlantis again?!" and jumped. It was one of the most exciting things that I have done in awhile. My inner child would've been so proud ha-. Also, if you ever go there and want a really strong drink, my boyfriend got the
Zombie, it was basically like 5 different rum drinks and some frozen slurpee on top. My drink of the day was mango daiquiris, they were so delicious! Once we got back from Atlantis, we walked around the local shops and went to a Pirate Brewery, a guy dressed as a Pirate came out and it was all pretty touristy but that's the kind of thing you have to expect with these cruises. Also, you can tell that this town thrives on tourist business so it's nice to support the locals. My favorite thing about walking around the streets were the really bright colored buildings, which a local told us that they painted the buildings light colored to keep the heat out from the sun.
Day 3: All day Cruising...
On the last day we spent the entire day on the cruise ship as we made our way back to
Orlando. There are endless amounts of things to do and there was an event happening every single hour that the cruise ship provides. We spent most of our time exploring the cruise ship, from the front of the cruise ship (totally had that Titanic moment) to the pool deck drinking more of our strong adult beverages and laying out in the sun. While laying out we heard a live band playing some Bob Marley covers which was just amazing! It was pretty hard to find a chair by the pool because everyone goes
to the pool on the cruising day, but we were fine with grabbing a chair on the second floor. The rest of the day consisted of eating Johnny Rockets (because I was getting sick of the buffet food and burger and chilli fries is always a good idea). Be prepared to gain some weight on a cruise ship, even though you try hard to not indulge, you're on vacation... embrace it. My boyfriend did the rock climbing wall, which for you intermediate climbers, they have different routes for you based on your level of
experience. It was pretty cool to see him
rock climb with the ocean in the background. They even let him go up three times! We then went to check out some Music Trivia in a bar on the cruise ship, it was really entertaining and the crew is hilarious. The rest of the night ended with some gambling at the Casino, won some money putting it all on Red in Roulette. Ha! After dinner in the dining hall (this was a formal dinner, formal attire optional), we ended the night cuddled up in blankets watching the movie "Elf" on the pool deck with ice cream of course (again, this is always available).
Overall it was a fun trip, cruising was a fun experience and was a cheap and easy way to get to the Bahamas. I would love to go again.
Love,
Laura C.
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