Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas

Thursday, February 4, we embarked on a cruise to the Bahamas, our first experience at cruising. Our ship was the Sensation, a medium-sized cruise ship. While in the Bahamas we saw the Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship afloat.

Our first day we discovered how difficult it was to walk on a moving ship. We lurched along, losing our balance. Our stateroom was much nicer and larger than we expected. It was spotlessly kept by the crew, and the king sized bed was most comfortable. It was nice to have a window so we could see the water going by. Most of the trip involved high winds and rough seas, so we were rocked to sleep by the waves of the Atlantic. The weather was cloudy

and windy, so upper decks were off limits much of the time, and sitting in the sun was not possible on the full day at sea. We were placed on the late dining list, eating dinner at 8:15. We became friends with a couple from Illinois who shared our table. The food had fancy names and the quality of the meals varied. We had a Maine lobster tail one night.

On Day 2 we docked in Nassau in the Bahamas. We disembarked from the ship and took a water taxi to Paradise Island, a site of many resorts and movie star homes. We visited the Atlantis Resort, the largest of the resorts. There are pictures of this incredible place included. Michael Jackson had the suite over the arch in the resort. Oprah also broadcast from this site. We walked down streets of grand shops designed for the tourists. In Nassau we shopped briefly in the straw market, a huge tent-like structure with aisles and hundreds of locals selling their wares. Bartering and haggling were part of the process in this place. We returned to the ship foot-sore and sunburned. It was a lovely day in a lovely place.

The evening meal was a formal affair, and we have included a picture of us dressed up for dinner. The promenade and public areas of this ship were elegant, with purple the dominant color, Glass elevators and bright neon lights accompanied gambling in a casino, little night clubs with live music, and evening shows of live entertainment in an auditorium that seated over 2,000 people.

Saturday was spent aboard ship, relaxing and exploring. We read in several quiet areas, and even tried the slot machines briefly. The wind and waves kept people off the decks for most of the day.

We concluded this adventure this morning with a 4:30 AM trip to the deck, in bathrobes, to watch the shuttle launch. It was cancelled at the last minute, but we would have had the perfect viewing of it, just a few miles off Cape Canaveral. Perhaps we will get up again at 4 AM tomorrow morning?