Carnival Fascination
5 Night Cruise to the Bahamas, visiting Half Moon Cay and Nassau
Missed the previous installments? Here they are: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.
Today was our final day at sea. The seas were a bit rough and the sky was overcast, but we still had warm temperatures and no rain.
Joe and Lex face off at ping-pong on the Verandah deck.
The day started like previous ones: Lex playing basketball with his dad and grandfather. Today, Lex also played ping-pong with Joe and basketball with other kids too. While they played, Grandma and I played trivia games on deck. Afterward, we all watched an ice carving demonstration where an artist from Indonesia turned a 300 pound block of ice into a beautiful swan sculpture. I continue to be amazed at how quickly these guys can make these carvings. This time it took a mere twenty minutes!
After the ice carving, Grandma and I played “Sea Feud”. Think “Family Feud” but with vacation and cruise themed questions. We went up against a group that really, really, REALLY liked to win. It was a bit creepy, how gung-ho they were about beating us, especially since there wasn’t even a prize for this game. Anyway, we lost by one round and, as you can imagine, the other team was beyond happy! I’m glad we made their day and all but, honestly, it was just a game!
Up next was high tea in the piano bar. I love high tea. Love it, love it, love it. I love everything about it – from the little cucumber tea sandwiches, to the petite pastries, to the fine selections of tea. I love sitting for a little while, enjoying live music, feeling just a tad more civilized than usual, even if just for that moment. It was a truly lovely tea … and it was a shame that only twenty passengers showed up to enjoy it. I know we are on a “fun” ship but this tea should be promoted more. It is one of the true joys of cruising.
Our group soon met back at the cabins and prepared for our final on-board dinner with our table mates. We talked about various topics including Europe, traveling around England, how we were all getting home and, of course, what we thought of the cruise. We all agreed that, although this ship may not be as nice as some of the ships, you could not beat the price.
That's right … Joe turned TWO!
At dessert time, Joe’s parents surprised him with a cake for his birthday (November 5th). It served all ten of us. Very nice, and very chocolatey. We sat there until almost 8:05pm talking about our days, saying our goodbyes. I think they had to practically kick us out of the dining room (politely, of course!) since they had to get ready for the 8:15pm sitting. Edy, our headwaiter from Indonesia, was extremely competent at his job and we were so glad to have him at our table.
At night, Grandma and I went to the “Hey Mambo” show while the guys watched the World Series in Bogart’s Café. The show was GREAT! The costumes alone were unbelievable and it was non-stop action for about one hour. Again, the band was fantastic and the singers carried the show quite well.
We met up with the guys back at the cabin and watched the Yankees beat the Phillies to win the World Series. (Yeah! Hey, I’m originally from NY so I root for them.) While the game was on, I packed everything and put out only what was needed for Thursday morning as we disembark.
Tomorrow, we arrive back at Jacksonville, Florida, and then we start our long drive home to New Jersey. Overall, it was a nice cruise vacation, but I will sure look forward to sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.
Thanks for reading!
A final towel animal before the fourteen-hour drive home to New Jersey. Speedy/safe travels!
{ 3 comments }
Sounds like you had a great time! I’m looking forward to cruising again, and wish I was on one right now.
Hi, thank you for your posts regarding your cruise. It sounds like you all had a great time. I had a few questions that maybe you can answer for me. First, I hear they do not have hair dryers onboard is this true? Also you mentioned looking to buy alcohol. If you did buy it off the ship would you be able to bring it onboard? On our cruise out of puerto rico there was a duty free liquor store at the port there. We were under the impression that you couldn’t take liquor on the ship but later found people bought there and got on with it. Also the WI Fi is it free or do you have to pay to access it? Thank you for your time. Dawn
Hello Dawn,
Yes, they do have hair dryers on cruises. I have never been on one that hasn’t have one. Even Carnival has them. Sometimes they are not located in the bathroom but in a drawer in the main part of the cabin.
MANY people buy alcohol off the ship. Once you board, the cruise lines takes it from you and holds it until the night before debarkation. You can take it on the ship, you just cannot DRINK it on the ship. The cruise lines want you to drink THEIR alcohol
Some people do tend to sneak it onboard without claiming it on their customs form or they try to drink it before getting off the ship. However, this would mean you would have to sneak on a corkscrew and that is getting harder and harder to do since security is so tight.
The Wifi is NOT free. Every cruise line has a different set up but basically, you pay a set fee per minute and then you get to use it. We always buy the largest package since we need to check email and do work onboard every day.
If you have any more questions, just email me!
Thank you!! Nancy D’Andrea
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